Commonsense Ways To Move Toward Financial Security And Independence

By David Oliver

If you're put off by the term "financial planning" and you wonder whether you could ever be financially secure, fear not. These simple steps can take you there:

* Spend less than you make. Most people don't. Fine-tune your expenses so they fall below your take-home pay and leave something for savings. Aim for 10 percent. Gradually save more.

* Forget detailed budgets. Just save something first. Most people spend the amount they have available, so make that amount a little less.

* Pay off your credit card balances, and don't charge unless it's an emergency. This is one of the best decisions you can make says David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber (Prima).

* Buying a house is a good investment for most people. It increases in value with no effort on your part other than maintenance. Often you can buy a house with a small down payment. Check it out, and you may get a pleasant surprise.

* Use payroll deduction for painless saving.

* Put some money aside in a "rainy day" fund for emergencies. In case you have a problem with income, you won't have to go into long-term savings.

* Buy some index funds or mutual funds. The stock market earns better returns over time than other investments. Invest regularly in order to smooth out ups and downs in the market.

* Start now. Procrastination is the biggest enemy of wealth building. Invest it and forget it. Your money will grow on its own with little effort from you.

This Week's Bipolar News

Credit Card Consolidation Speeds Freedom from Debt from Bipolar Disorder
by David Oliver
There's no question that many people dealing with bipolar disorder have unfortunately developed a tremendous amount of debt.

A patient's view of bipolar
Minnesota Public Radio
After being diagnosed with the most severe form of bipolar disorder, Marya Hornbacher chronicles her journey to accepting and managing her mental life.

Mother's mental illness diagnosed a decade ago
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Sherri Love has a history of mental illness dating back more than a decade. The 47-year-old, on trial in District Court on charges she fatally stabbed her 7-year-old daughter, tried to kill herself multiple times and was diagnosed as bipolar, authorities said.

Click here for all Bipolar News.

Don't be a Victim of Pharmacy Errors

CNN Medical News published a story about a woman who was pregnant and filled a prescription for prenatal vitamins at her local Walgreens in St. Louis, Missouri.

Unfortunately, this woman miscarried within a few weeks of taking the drug. Later, she learned that instead of being given a prescription for her prenatal vitamins (Materna), she had instead been given Matulane, which is a chemotherapy drug used to treat Hodgkin's disease, according to a lawsuit filed this month in federal court.

According to the lawsuit, the drug (Matulane) is intended to interfere with cell growth and DNA development.

According to the National Patient Safety Foundation, each year in the United States there are 30 million dispensing errors out of 3 billion prescriptions which occur at outpatient pharmacies. Some errors are minor, and some patients catch them easily; however, other errors can be serious.

Click here to read the entire article.

BipolarCentral
Your One Stop Source For Information On Bipolar Disorder