Read it! 10 financial mistakes that can make you poor, how to avoid it and improve your savings

                                

Our personal finance lessons are often learned through experience. However, it is important to realize the mistake and prevent it from happening again.
Many people around the world find themselves struggling with debt on a daily basis. The recession has shed light on how poorly many people manage their finances. Debt, decreased savings and increased expenditures are some of the pitfalls that can seriously derail your finances.
Avoiding these mistakes can make a huge difference in terms of financial security. It's true that, when it comes to money, we all make mistakes. Our personal finance lessons are often learned through daily experience. However, it is important to realize the mistake, prevent it from happening again and say NO to financial crisis. Here we have gathered 10 of the most common mistakes made in personal finances; avoiding these errors can help you build financial security.
1. Spending More Than You Earn
This is the cornerstone of personal finance, regardless of your income or net worth. It doesn't matter how much you earn, but if you live within your means, you can save money in long term. It is simple math: income < expenses = debt, while income > expenses = surplus. Although buying a couple of things here and there might not seem to have much significance, it can make a huge impact over time. Frivolous expense such as ordering out for lunch or dinner or going to movies at peak time can add up and drain your bank account. Ideally, you should save and invest a percentage of each paycheck or income source you have.
2. Not Setting a Budget
One of the main reasons behind frivolous spending is not having set a budget. A monthly financial budget helps you calculate how much you are supposed to spend in the entire month. It is calculated by considering your total income, your fixed monthly expenses, debts and any other liabilities. Your monthly budget should also take into consideration the amount you should be saving for retirement or a rainy day. Once the monthly budget is set, you can spend accordingly.
3. Ignoring the Need to Save for Retirement
Most young people think that retirement is simply too far away, so they can think of retirement savings later on. Actually, people grossly underestimate the true cost of retirement, and when and how much they should start saving.
4. Not Understanding the Importance of Your Credit Score and Report
Most of us often ignore our credit score. The credit score and credit report are essentially a record of how you have handled your finances over time. These two records actually determine whether or not you will be eligible for thousands in savings when you make bigger purchases. To improve your credit report and credit score, make sure you always pay your credit card bill on time, and dispute any mistakes on your report.
5. Having Too Much Debt
To put it simply, having debt stinks. If you owe money, then you are just reducing your cash flow to make the payments. Clear off your debts as early as possible to help increase your savings. If you do acquire new debt, do it cautiously and only after researching the best loan options.
6. Investing Too Much in a House
For most of us, buying a home is our biggest investment. Many people end up investing all of their savings and other funds to buy a dream home that is way beyond their budget. Living your dreams is great, but jeopardizing your financial situation in the process is not smart. Big or expensive houses also come with unnecessary added expenses, such as higher utility bills, maintenance costs and taxes, beyond the initial house price.
7. Living Paycheck to Paycheck
Most of us spend our entire paycheck and wait impatiently for the next. Living life to the fullest has become the motto for many people, and this leads to spending everything they earn without thinking about the future. Dinners, movies and drinks have become essential aspects of our lives, and we forget how easily our financial situation can take a turn. This puts one in a horrible position of being without any money if a paycheck were to be missed.
8. Not Having Enough Insurance
Insurance is a crucial emergency fund that supplements your cash emergency fund. It covers the things you could not save up to cover in advance, thus helping protect your largest assets in case of a major accident, injury or death. You should have enough insurance to replace your assets in case of extreme need. This may include auto insurance, home insurance, health insurance, long-term disability insurance, life insurance and long-term care insurance. However, it is also important that you don't go overboard in buying insurance. Take a balanced view and only pay for what you truly need.
9. Having High Car Payments
Car loan payments cause many people to find their heads 'under water' financially. We all know that a car is an asset whose value starts to go down the day it is purchased. Most people spend thousands of dollars on a new car only to find out that its value is seriously depreciated after a couple of years, while they are left having to make payments on the car loan. A car is a big investment, so spend judiciously on it. Buy a pre-owned model to minimize your loan payment and save enough for tough times.
10. Not Getting Professional Financial Help
High interest rates, huge expenses, lower income, more liabilities – at times all these factors can leave us confused. Despite trying hard, we are unable to come out of the vicious circle of debt. If you honestly need help with something – such as taxes, real estate investment or debt management – don't try to go it alone. It is wise to seek professional help if you really need it. This may make it much easier to analyze your situation and make the proper financial plans for the present and the future.

 

Chris Brown sentenced to 1 year in jail. To spend only 131 days

                   
TMZ just reported this breaking news...Chris Brown was a few hours ago sentenced one year in jail for violating his probation in the Rihanna case during an appearance in court today. But thankfully he will only spend 131 days or less in jail for time already spent in jail.

TMZ reports

Chris Brown was in court Friday afternoon, where he admitted he violated his probation by getting into a fight with a dude in Washington D.C.

That's all the judge needed to hear. He sentenced Chris to 1 year in jail. However, Chris got credit for 116 days he spent in rehab, and another 59 days behind bars. That leaves 131 days in the pokey.

But we're told the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept has been releasing inmates sentenced to 1 year after 240 days.  And here's the thing. Chris gets credit for 2 days for every 1 he served behind bars, so when you add it up, he has credit for 234 days -- 6 days shy.  So he could be released in days. Continue ..

The judge could have gone a lot harder -- 4 years in prison.  But Chris got a break because the judge took into account he was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which could account for some of the violence. 

The judge also ordered Chris to attend therapy sessions with a shrink 2 times a week.   And he must submit to random drug testing 3 times a week.

Chris is not out of the legal woods ... his D.C. assault trial is set to start in the following months

Trader hides drugs in crayfish, melon, caught by Airport security

                                    

A 38year old trader, Jude Izuchukwu, (pictured above) has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while trying to smuggle a 9.375 kilogramme of compressed cannabis out of the country, Punch reports.

The trader was arrested on Monday night while attempting to board an Ethiopian flight to China. the drug was found inside the suspect’s foodstuff.

Izuchukwu who claims to be selling clothes at Lagos Island said he got into the business after he was duped;

"I sell clothes on Lagos Island. My business was doing well until I was duped of N5m. Since then, I have been living from hand to mouth. I bought the hemp for N104, 000 and I learnt that I could sell it for $9,000 in China. That was the reason I decided to smuggle drugs" he said

Parading him before newsmen,  the NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar said officers detected the drug when the suspect came to check in his luggage. The cannabis was concealed in dried fish, dried bitter leaf, crayfish, melon and other local food spices. The weight of the cannabis is 9.375kg".

Dramatic images of Chibok girls who escaped from Boko Haram

                  

SaharaReporters has obtained photos of some of the girls who managed to escape from Boko Haram men after they were kidnapped (pictured above with their mothers/relatives) with many of them weeping as they publicly re-tell the horrors of the late night raid on April 14th.

The photos were taken in front of the Government Girls’ Secondary School, in Chibok according to SR, with the remains of the burned out building seen in the background. These images tell a dramatic story of a tiny, and isolated village, Chibok, that the world has now come to know as the site of a mass and disturbing kidnapping. continue after the break for more pictures....

                    




                    
                   

I will lead protest to Chibok, says Patience Jonathan

The first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has promised to stage a protest march to Chibok, Borno State, if the abducted schoolgirls were not released. 

Mrs Jonathan said this in Abuja after a meeting with governors' and ministers' wives, female senators, commissioners and more than 200 women from various groups at the State House in Abuja.

The meeting was to seek the actual whereabouts of the kidnapped girls.

According to her, a committee will be inaugurated to include wives of all relevant stakeholders at a meeting scheduled for May 4.

She said that refusal of any of such relevant stakeholders to be contacted for the meeting would also lead to a mass protest.

"I cannot perpetuate hearsay and rumour; I must have facts to tell the international community.

"We will set up a committee to seek the truth as women.

"If any of those we call refuse to come, we will take the protest to Chibok.

"I do not mind being shot as long as they return our girls to us safely, we are tired of the kidnapping," she said

More picture from the scene of yesterday's blast in Abuja

See more pictures after the break......

Military mobilises four thousand soldiers to search for abducted schoolgirls in Sambisa forest

Some days after the abduction of 234 students of the Government Girls Secondary School Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram terrorists and following public outcry and protest for the release of this schoolgirls, a major military operation is set to commence as four different battalions, a little more than a Brigade of the Nigerian Army, have been mobilised. 

The battalions comprised all formations of the Army, including those from Signals Corps, Armoured Corps, Ordinance Corps, Intelligence Corps, Infantry Corps, Artillery Corps, Military Police Corps and the Medical Corps. 

Also, fighter jets of the Nigerian Air Force and Police surveillance helicopters have been mobilised and are waiting for the command to begin the joint security operations for rescue efforts of the girls. 

The battalions are said to have been positioned in the North, South, East and West of the Sambisa forest so that when the troops move in from all the angles, there will be no escape route for the terrorists. 

Owing to the possibility of 
encountering bobby traps, land mines, ambush and other unknown traps, it was gathered that Air Force fighter aircraft, helicopter gunships and Police surveillance helicopters would carry out round-the-clock missions. 

Aircraft and land equipment including air ambulances, vehicles with mobile medicalfacilities and a considerable number of medical personnel, are said to have been deployed for the operation to ensure that casualties, if any, are quickly attended to when necessary. 

It was gathered that since the forest shares borders with towns in Adamawa, Yobe, Borno and Cameroon, the different battalions would each launch their offensive from these locations. 

Vanguard was further told under condition of anonymity, that because of the high caliber nature of the arms and explosives in the hands of the terrorists, the Federal Government had made available to the security forces night vision equipment. 

In this regards, specially trained counter terrorist units, anti bomb discovery units, the K 9 Dog units of the Army and the Police, the landmines unit of the army and other specialized units of other security agencies are all involved in this operation, Vanguard was told. 

Speaking on insinuations that most of the girls may have been moved to Chad, Cameroon or abroad by the terrorists, the security source said: "Let us wait and see. 

"All I can tell you is that since the incident happened, the borders close to Sambisa have been fortified and a lot of cordon and search operation has been going on. How they would have moved the girls abroad will be a mystery." 

When Vanguard expressed apprehension that a major military intervention involving air bombardments will lead to killing of the girls, the source said: "It doesn't necessarily follow. 

"On the contrary, the terrorists are afraid. They will be fighting to save their own lives. Many of them are cowards who cannot stand the army, that's why they look for soft targets. 

"They know they won't achieve anything injuring the girls. We feel they just wanted to get attention with the girls in their possession. We have strategies in place to get the girls and ensure their safety if indeed they are in the forest. The plan is to rescue them alive."

Confirmed! P-square break up and make up was a publicity stunt

While all P-square fans were worried and praying against their break up, Peter and Paul Okoye were busy laughing and playing a 'publicity game' (Seriously???). In a chat with Icon Weekly magazine, P-Square's Publicist, Bayo Adetu opens up on what really transpired.. 

Greetings, Bayo, we heard that the Okoye brothers have finally reconciled, can you give us an insight on what really happened? 

(After a long laugh… ) My brother, I'm telling you this as a friend, there was no fight at all. The whole thing started after Jude tweeted some days back and bloggers feasted on it and gave it several interpretations which never existed, and that was how we got here. 

Are you saying there wasn't a fight at all, how then did Peter and Paul keep releasing comments through their Facebook accounts? 

My guy, I can authoritatively tell you that neither of the P-Square brothers, nor even Jude operate their Facebook accounts anymore. Whatever Facebook posted was from an impersonator, pretending to be anyone of them. P-Sqaure is active on twitter, not on facebook, so you see, the whole thing was founded on lies. 

If what you are saying is true, why did they all tweet a reconciliatory tweet this morning indicating that they have mended fences? 

There's one thing you should know, P-Square are not politicians, neither are they businessmen to be worried about what one useless blogger or the other has to say about them. In this game, bad publicity is good publicity. When we read those funny posts, we decided to play along with the general public and what they were meant to believe. 

Yesterday, Thursday, April 24, 2014 was Jude Okoye's birthday and he also used the opportunity to propose to his girlfriend while we laughed at the stupidity of some Nigerian bloggers. 

We later decided to further play into their hands by reaching a consensus to tweet what they have termed the 'reconciliation tweet'. 

However as a journalist, I am pained that trained journalists allow themselves to be remoted by Linda Ikeji, a mere blogger without any professional training to stall them from investigating serious news material like this. These days, immediately Linda posts anything on her blog, journalists just go there and copy and paste the story without any checks and balances, it is outrightly wrong, I'm really upset about this. 

She called me after posting the story and I just decided to ignore her calls, because I didn't think we had anything more to say when the milk has been spilt. 

I have taken my time to explain to you this way because, you are a friend and did not join the bandwagon. 

As for those bloggers out there, I allowed them to write whatever they like; after all, they are consuming their Internet data, not mine.

Man tortured and raped in jail for raping 2-year-old boy to death

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor named Daryell Dickson Meneses Xavier was reportedly beaten and raped by about 20 men after he was convicted and locked up for allegedly killing and possibly raping his girlfriend's 1 year 11 months old son (pictured with him left)which happened in Taguatinga, suburb of Brasilia, Brazil in Sept 2013. 

According to local media, trouble started for the man after his girlfriend left him alone with her son. A few hours later, he called his girlfriend claiming the boy fell and was having seizures. The child was rushed to the hospital and died two days later. 

Doctors who didn't believe the boy fell called the police and told them they suspected foul play because the injuries on the boy wasn't consistent with a fall but with blunt trauma, and also said possible sexual abuse was involved. 

Doctors concluded there was blunt trauma and that the child also had a fissure in the anus. Fissure could come from sexual abuse or constipation but the boy's mum said he didn't have constipation. 

Daryell was immediately arrested and charged with abusing and killing the boy, an accusation he vehemently denied. Then he went to prison and other prisoners who had heard what he did, came for him. (See the anus area in the right pic above) 

According to local media reports, prisoners who were furious about the crime he committed against a child descended on Xazier and took turns violently raping him in prison. He was also brutally assaulted. He was saved by prison guards after hours of torture, who removed him from the facility. He was treated and kept in prison hospital for weeks so he could recover. 

When he recovered a little, they returned him to the prison and once again… the prisoners descended on him. They tore open the stitches on his back, stabbed him some more and raped him again. 

Xavier has since been removed from the Wansbeck, DF prison and taken to another prison.

Culled from > davidvsnaija.blogspot.com

Meet captured Fulani herdsmen who confessed to being Boko Haram members

             
These are the faces of some of the people causing terror in Nigeria. These 17 men you see above are Fulani Herdsmen who were recently captured by the military. They were part of the group that terrorized residents in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara recently. They also took part in the recent killing of hundreds of people and burning of houses in Wukari, Taraba state. After their capture, they confessed to being members of the Boko Haram sect.

The military released the pic above and a statement signed by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade. Find it below...

“A group of terrorists operating under the guise of herdsmen from a camp in the outskirt of Wukari have been arrested, while others died after an attack on military check point at Gindin Dorowa, a suburb of Wukari in Taraba State”. Continue...

Other members of the group were sighted in the course of air surveillance and later trailed to their camp where they engaged the troops in a battle.

The terrorists were clad in the usual pattern of dress of their counterparts operating in Borno and Yobe States”.“One of the apprehended armed men confessed that he had been fighting for the terrorist group in Borno State and was recently brought to Wukari area in furtherance of their mission”.“Assorted arms and ammunition were recovered from them.

Meanwhile, the curfew imposed on Wukari and its environs is expected to be relaxed as normalcy returns to the town. Troops have maintained patrol of the area while a house-to-house search for arms is ongoing”.“In another development, troops on patrol of the Lake Chad Islands have made some arrests”.“Among those arrested was a boat operator who ferries terrorists across the Lake Chad while another confessed to being a supplier of hard drugs to the terrorist groups in the area.

In the meantime, the search for the abducted students of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok is also being intensified”.

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Photo: D'banj visits Nyanya blast victims

D'banj visited Nyanya blast victims yesterday April 22nd, where he reportedly donated several gift items to the victims and settled some hospital bills.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, the entertainer visited the victims at the Asokoro District Hospital, Abuja in company of the FCT Health Secretary, Dr Ademola Onakomaiya.

During his visit, D'banj said the government alone cannot do all that is required for peace to reign in the country.

"I am a Nigerian and I am affected by any tragedy that befalls us and particularly in the spirit of Easter, I came to show the victims support. I have seen that the survivors are responding positively to treatment and thanked the medical team here for the efforts.

"We are appealing to the perpetrators of these acts to have a rethink and support the peace initiative so that our people would not be subjected to such wickedness,” he said.

Woman arrested with 686 grammes of cocaine in her private part

36-year old food vendor, Chinelo Okorom Lynnette yesterday excreted 685 grammes of cocaine concealed in her vagina at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport after she was suspected and questioned by members of NDLEA during the inward screening of passengers on an Ethiopian airline flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Nigeria.

She said she was introduced to the business when she could no longer take care of her four children which her husband abandoned with her and she was forcefully ejected from the house they lived.

Narrating how she started the business, Chinelo said after her landlord forcefully ejected her, she had nowhere to go and was crying like a baby when a man who came to console her promised to introduce her to importation business.

"When my rent expired, I had no money to renew it. My landlord:ejected us and I had nowhere to go with the children or who to talk to. I was crying like a baby when a man came to console me.

"He told me to wipe my tears and promised to introduce me to importation business. I felt he was God-sent when he sponsored my trip to Addis Ababa. Before leaving, he said I was to go into importation of female hand bags.

"But when I got to Ethiopia, he told me to take cocaine to Nigeria. Initially, I disagreed but he threatened to recover his investment at all cost. I am just a victim of man's cruelty to man."

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, said the arrest was made following the eagle-eye operatives at the airport, as a result of different antics used by drug traffickers.

He noted: "Going to Addis Ababa to smuggle cocaine into Nigeria is one of the tricks employed by drug trafficking syndicates. Cocaine is not known to come from Addis but we were able to detect it because of our vigilance. We are prepared to counter activities of drug kingpins and bring them to justice. We look forward to fruitful progress in our investigation."

He, therefore, advised members of'the public to be cautious of the tricks by drug syndicates, adding that the suspect's action is shameful.

The dangers of drinking cold water ,read this

According to Natural Law, our normal body temperature is about 98.6 degrees F. If we raise that temperature a few degrees, the body starts to show signs of distress, and we say we have a fever. We try hard to return to homeostasis or normal functioning.

When we drink ice-cold water, juice, or any ice-cold fluids, we create the basis for chronic diseases.
If you purchase a bowl of cow’s blood at the market to make some famous black pudding, and you put a cube of ice in this blood, observe what happens. This fluid, warm blood becomes thick, sticky, cool, or cold blood and appears to be like jello as it clots. This is what happens in our bodies when we drink cold water or juice or any ice-cold fluids like beer etc.

The body is about 70% fluid, and any fluids taken into the body becomes part of that 70%. Knowing this, we have a responsibility to put into our bodies, only drinks and foods that will enhance its proper functioning. A body that cannot circulate its blood is like an uninviting swimming pool in which moss and bacteria grow. The blood may be thick, unable to flow properly to the extremities of the body, the hands and feet begin to feel numb and hurt, the toes begin to hurt, the toenails lose their shine and may begin to decay. The heart labours to pump the blood throughout the body, and the lungs fight to keep up. The legs may swell and become dark, when blood cannot be efficiently pumped back up to the heart.

When the blood is free from toxins and flowing freely and properly, we can then liken the blood to an inviting swimming pool, clear and clean. It generates happiness and perfect health, energy and creativity. This individual contributes maximum to the health and wellbeing of others in an innocent, natural way.

Illness may have many symptoms, but it is a process as we go from perfect health to ill health. If we understand the process of Perfect Health, we will recognize when something undesirable is happening in our bodies or minds and we will not allow it to become chronic before seeing our doctor. We need to change our fascination with disease to fascination with perfect health; then our lives will mirror our fascination and create it.

There are other things that make the blood thick and toxic: little or no exercise, little or no sunlight especially early in the mornings, junk foods and eating at the wrong times, especially late at nights and going to sleep with a full stomach. It settles and ferments instead of being digested and absorbed. Wrong breathing habits which cause carbon dioxide to back up in the lungs and pollute the blood. Taking hallucinogenic drugs of any kind and also the use and abuse of alcohol, have similar effects. Trauma and abuse, even on the mental and emotional levels will give similar results.

How to get rid of this undesirable condition:

• Visit your doctor as soon as you notice that there is something that should be corrected.
• Take warm and or hot fluids
• Take regular walks
• Start an exercise program
• Eat smaller food portions and eat more often to generate and conserve energy
• Have your blood pressure checked regularly
• Research, investigate, inquire, be curious to know more about yourself and your condition
• Do not be afraid to find out if something is wrong with you
• Have regular checkups with your doctor

Expect perfect health. It is your birthright!
It is up to you to work towards Perfect Health, the state in which the body, mind, behavior, and spirit function as one – in Wholeness. In that state, illness cannot exist or take hold. It is a state of constant cheerfulness, where positivity and right thoughts, words, and actions are the norm.

On the contrary, when ill health is attacking the body, the mind becomes unstable and negative. The nervous system is restless and also unstable, and we can’t be still for one moment. We can’t resist talking constantly, and cannot stop having negative thoughts. The emotions may be out of control, we experience anxiety attacks, panic attacks, depression, fear, phobia and the like.

Persons experiencing the above symptoms need to learn to relax and meditate. Even to pray, one needs a quiet and peaceful mind. The immediate need is to quieten the mind. Because of the intimate connection between mind and body, when the mind is quiet, the body will quieten down also and we experience inner peace, inner silence, inner stillness. In this state, the entire body becomes alkaline and illness cannot exist in an alkaline environment. With regular practice of stillness, silence day and night, morning and evening, the body takes the habit of functioning in a healthy rested creative but dynamic way, and inner happiness – bliss is the result. Such persons contribute maximum to the creation of an ideal society, free from crime and negative deviant tendencies.

It is possible to create such a society, as it is the individuals who collectively contribute their positive thoughts, words, actions, and intentions in a simple natural way to the collective consciousness of the nation.

Malaysia Airlines 'loses contact with plane carrying 239 people'

This is not good at all. A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 carrying 239 people lost contact over the South China Sea on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, raising fears that the plane might have plunged into the pacific ocean.

The plane, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, lost communication two hours into the flight in Vietnam's airspace at 1.20am local time, China's official Xinhua News Agency reports.

The aircraft left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing 12: 11 am on Friday and had been expected to arrive China at 6:30 am but lost contact with traffic controllers over the South China Sea between Malaysia and Vietnam.

Passengers were from 14 countries, including 153 from China, 38 from Malaysia, seven Australians and four Americans.

Search & rescue have begun and families and next of kin of passengers and crew have been notified. The last time a plane went missing like this, the plane, an Air France aircraft, was eventually found in the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in the deaths of 228 people. This was in 2009. This is not good.