The top 100 reasons it's great to be a guy
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
Movie nudity is virtually always female.
You know stuff about tanks.
A five day vacation requires only one suitcase.
Monday Night Football.
You don't have to monitor your friends sex lives.
Your bathroom lines are 80% shorter.
You can open all your own jars.
Old friends don't give you crap if you've lost or gained weight.
Dry cleaners and haircutter's don't rob you blind.
When clicking through the channel, you don't have to stall on every shot of someone crying.
Your ass is never a factor in a job interview.
All your orgasms are real.
A beer gut does not make you invisible to the opposite sex.
Guys in hockey masks don't attack you.
You don't have to lug a bag of useful stuff around everywhere you go.
You understand why Stripes is funny.
You can go to the bathroom with out a support group.
Your last name stays put.
You can leave a hotel bed unmade.
When your work is criticized, you don't have to panic that everyone secretly hates you.
You can kill your own food.
The garage is all yours.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
You see the humor in Terms of Endearment.
Nobody secretly wonders if you swallow.
You never have to clean the toilet.
You can be showered and ready in 10 minutes.
Sex means never worrying about your reputation.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
If someone forgets to invite you to something, he or she can still be your friend.
Your underwear is $10 for a three pack.
The National College Cheerleading Championship
None of your co-workers have the power to make you cry.
You don't have to shave below your neck.
You don't have to curl up next to a hairy ass every nite.
If you're 34 and single nobody notices.
You can write your name in the snow.
You can get into a nontrivial pissing contest.
Everything on your face stays its original color.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can be president.
You can quietly enjoy a car ride from the passenger seat.
Flowers fix everything.
You never have to worry about other people's feelings.
You get to think about sex 90% of your waking hours.
You can wear a white shirt to a water park.
Three pair of shoes are more than enough.
You can eat a banana in a hardware store.
You can say anything and not worry about what people think.
Foreplay is optional.
Michael Bolton doesn't live in your universe.
Nobody stops telling a good dirty joke when you walk into the room.
You can whip your shirt off on a hot day.
You don't have to clean your apartment if the meter reader is coming by.
You never feel compelled to stop a pal from getting laid.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
You don't give a rat's ass if someone notices your new haircut.
You can watch a game in silence with you buddy for hours without even thinking (He must be mad at me)
The world is your urinal.
You never misconstrue innocuous statements to mean your lover is about to leave you.
You get to jump up and slap stuff.
Hot wax never comes near your pubic area.
One mood, all the time.
You can admire Clint Eastwood without starving yourself to look like him.
You never have to drive to another gas station because this one's just too skeevy.
You know at least 20 ways to open a beer bottle.
You can sit with your knees apart no matter what you are wearing.
Same work....more pay.
Gray hair and wrinkles add character.
You don't have to leave the room to make an emergency crotch adjustment.
Wedding Dress $2000; Tux rental $100.
You don't care if someone is talking about you behind your back.
With 400 million sperm per shot, you could double the earth's population in 15 tries, at least in theory.
You don't mooch off others' desserts.
If you retain water, it's in a canteen.
The remote is yours and yours alone.
People never glance at your chest when you're talking to them.
ESPN's sports center.
You can drop by to see a friend without bringing a little gift.
Bachelor parties whomp ass over bridal showers.
You have a normal and healthy relationship with your mother.
You can buy condoms without the shopkeeper imagining you naked.
You needn't pretend you're "freshening up" to go to the bathroom.
If you don't call your buddy when you say you will, he won't tell you friends you've changed.
Someday you'll be a dirty old man.
You can rationalize any behavior with the handy phrase "F*#k it!"
If an other guy shows up at the party in the same outfit, you might become lifelong buddies.
Princess Di's death was almost just another obituary.
The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
You never have to miss a sexual opportunity because you're not in the mood.
You think the idea of punting a small dog is funny.
If something mechanical didn't work, you can bash it with a hammer and throw it across the room.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
Porn movies are designed with your mind in mind.
You don't have to remember everyone's birthdays and anniversaries.
Not liking a person does not preclude having great sex with them.
Your pals can be trusted never to trap you with: "So...notice anything different?"
Baywatch
There is always a game on somewhere.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Why Women Get Angry?
WHAT THE WIVES DON’T LIKE ABOUT THEIR HUSBAND
There are a few (chosen the unlucky number 13) tips for the erring husbands. I’m writing this from the experience of my close friends and relatives supplemented by mine.
Of course there are some people who has sensible wives…………Ladies , please don’t take offence for my language. I’ll amend it to indulgent, considerate and forgiving wives who condone their loving husbands as minor offences.
HERE I START…………………
You must avoid the following to keep your wives in good humour.
Ladies get most upset by the following husbands’ action:-
1. Putting the wet towel on bed after bath.
2. Not lifting the commode seat after using the toilet.
3. Keeping the bathroom wet without mopping.
4. Not recognising the new saree worn leave aside praising it.
5. Putting on a non matching tie and shirt and pants.
6. Comparing the culinary skill of your dish with that of mother in law.
7. Planning to spend holidays in in-law’s place rather than your parents’ place.
8. Enjoying to buy vegetables rather than shopping in a air conditioned Mall.
9. Reading newspaper covering the face while seeping morning cup of tea.
10. Not be the first person to wish Happy Birth Day.
11. Never forgetting the handkerchief, but forgetting to kiss the wife before going to office.
12. Coming late from office via a relative’s home and saying that the delay was due to some urgent conference in office.
13.
Praising the friend’s wife for look, smartness, sweet voice and friendly nature.
There are a few (chosen the unlucky number 13) tips for the erring husbands. I’m writing this from the experience of my close friends and relatives supplemented by mine.
Of course there are some people who has sensible wives…………Ladies , please don’t take offence for my language. I’ll amend it to indulgent, considerate and forgiving wives who condone their loving husbands as minor offences.
HERE I START…………………
You must avoid the following to keep your wives in good humour.
Ladies get most upset by the following husbands’ action:-
1. Putting the wet towel on bed after bath.
2. Not lifting the commode seat after using the toilet.
3. Keeping the bathroom wet without mopping.
4. Not recognising the new saree worn leave aside praising it.
5. Putting on a non matching tie and shirt and pants.
6. Comparing the culinary skill of your dish with that of mother in law.
7. Planning to spend holidays in in-law’s place rather than your parents’ place.
8. Enjoying to buy vegetables rather than shopping in a air conditioned Mall.
9. Reading newspaper covering the face while seeping morning cup of tea.
10. Not be the first person to wish Happy Birth Day.
11. Never forgetting the handkerchief, but forgetting to kiss the wife before going to office.
12. Coming late from office via a relative’s home and saying that the delay was due to some urgent conference in office.
13.
Praising the friend’s wife for look, smartness, sweet voice and friendly nature.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Healthy Foods Instead of a Diet
Choose Healthy Foods to Fit your Lifestyle
Healthy Foods for a Healthy Lifestyle
There are several fad diets that will lead to successful weight loss if you follow them exactly as they are designed. That doesn't mean every food that fits into a diet is a healthy food, but it does mean you have to change your eating patterns to fit the diet's rules.
Rather than worry about following a fad diet, think about your health and your lifestyle instead. Start by learning which foods are good for you
Healthy Foods to Eat
The closer a food is to its natural state, the better it is for you. Fresh fruits and berries are great and will satisfy a craving for sweets. Whole vegetables have lots of vitamins and minerals, so eat more green, orange and yellow vegetables. Steam them to retain the most nutritional value and be careful with sauces, they may be high in calories and fats that aren't good for you.
Any pasta or baked goods should be made from whole grains. Avoid sugary snacks and pastries as well. An apple is good for you, an apple pie really isn't.
Shop for lean meats and don't forget the fish. The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in ocean fish are often deficient in our diets, so serve seafood two or three times per week. Baked fish and chicken are healthier than fried, and lean meats like bison or venison may be healthier than higher fat beef.
Processed lunch meats, hot dogs, bacon, and sausages have a lot of saturated fat and nitrates in them you don't want in your body. If you love these meats, you can find healthier versions sold at health food stores.
Remember to eat a variety of foods to get all of the vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy.
Stick to water, milk and 100% fruit and vegetable juices as your main beverages and limit sugary soft drinks. If you get tired of plain water, add a slice of lemon or lime to add a touch of flavor. For kids, try some fruit juice jazzed up with carbonated water.
Unhealthy Foods
* Battered and deep fried foods
* Sugary sodas
* Processed lunch meats
* Greasy snack chips
* White bread and refined pasta
* Most canned spaghetti and ravioli
* Sugary breakfast cereals
* Frozen fried chicken, fish sticks and corn dogs
Healthy Foods
* Green and brightly colored vegetables
* Dark leafy greens and lettuce
* Fresh fruits and berries
* Lean turkey and chicken
* Nuts, dried fruits and healthy snacks
* Whole grain breads and pasta
* Healthy cooking oils like canola and olive oils
* Grass fed beef and bison
* Cold water oily ocean fish
* Low fat milk or soy beverages
* Nuts, seeds, and legumes
Assess Your Lifestyle
Once you learn which foods are good for you, you need to look at your eating habits. If the foods you eat are not healthy, you might want to work within your habits and current lifestyle conditions, since they are usually tough to change. Consider these questions, then read on for tips to help you add healthy foods:
* Do you eat because you are bored, sad, or happy?
* Do you snack in front of the TV without even giving it much thought?
* Are most of your meals eaten at home or in restaurants?
* How often do you eat fast food?
* Do you like to cook?
* How often do you grocery shop?
* Do you skip breakfast or lunch, then overeat later in the day?
* How big are the portions you consume?
* Do you crave sweets?
* Are there foods you won't give up?
Healthy Foods for Snackers
If you are an emotional eater, keep the junk food like potato chips, tortilla chips, ice cream, and candy out of the house. Keep healthy snacks like fruits, crunchy vegetables with dips, or nuts handy. If you absolutely feel the need for a treat, then purchase a small piece of high quality chocolate or your favorite treat and enjoy it, just don't buy any to bring home.
The same tips are helpful for those who enjoy TV snacking at home. If you don't want to give up nibbling while watching your shows, keep low calorie foods close by, because it is very easy to eat too much when you are entranced by your favorite drama, football game or cooking show. Eat crisp raw vegetables with your dip instead of greasy chips.
Healthy Foods When Eating Out
It is difficult to maintain good health if you eat out a lot. Those salads might not be as appealing as a greasy cheeseburger and fries. Restaurants frequently serve huge portions of food too, much more than you need. If you can't hold your resolve to stick to the salads, compromise; pick out an appetizer that you love, combine it with a salad or a cup of soup, and skip the larger entrees. You can also share a meal or take half of it home. You could die for dessert? Order as small a size as possible, or maybe just one scoop of ice cream, rather than a larger, heavier dessert. Try a dish of mixed berries topped with nuts and a small bit of whipped cream. Be careful with the after-dinner drinks as well. Maybe just have one glass of wine with your meal.
If you eat a lot of fast food, you have found out how difficult it is to feel good and stay healthy. Some places have added salads and some better choices, but it really isn't a good way to eat. Keep fast food dining to a minimum, don't go with the super sizes and choose places that offer more fresh ingredients.
Eating Healthy Foods at Home
If you hate to cook, all that fresh produce you bought may just rot in your refrigerator. You might prefer to purchase prepared foods from markets that specialize in healthier whole foods, or even hire a personal chef to prepare meals that only need to be heated and served. If you have a tighter budget, perhaps you can set aside some time on weekends to prepare meals and freeze them to be reheated later that week.
It is important to be prepared if you are going to eat good foods at home and not run out for fast food when you don't feel like cooking. Unfortunately, grocery shopping can be very tedious. Set aside enough time to do your shopping for a few days' worth of healthy food and ingredients. Make a list and stick to it. Don't go shopping when you are hungry, and once you are at the store, stay away from the junk and the processed food aisles. Buy lots of fresh produce and choose lean meats and fish. Stay away from processed meats, fake cheese products, processed boxed and canned meals and avoid the snack aisle. Better yet, shop for organic products whenever possible. If you have no choice but to shop infrequently, choose frozen fruits and vegetables over canned, as they may retain more of their nutrients and don't have the extra sodium.
Don't Skip Meals
If you skip breakfast, you may find that you lose energy by midmorning. Rather than skipping breakfast completely, split it in half. Eat a small breakfast early, such as an egg, small serving of oatmeal, or a slice of whole grain bread. Have a small snack on hand such as raisins and 10 or 12 almonds to eat at midmorning. This split breakfast is a much better solution than reaching for coffee and candy bars to perk yourself up.
Control Portion Size
Our stomachs really aren't that big. Without stretching, the stomach will hold about two cups of food, but because the stomach will stretch, it can hold considerably more food than we need at any given meal.
When you eat at home, serve your meals already dished up on individual plates rather than family style at the table. You will be less likely to reach for "seconds" that way. At restaurants, ask for "take home" containers and take half of your meal home to heat up tomorrow. Avoid buffets, unless you are very disciplined. It is way too tempting to load up three or four plates plus dessert.
Tame Your Sweet Tooth
Curb your cravings for sweets with fruits and stay away from sugary snacks and pastries. These treats have lots of calories and can be loaded with unhealthy fats. If the fruits and berries aren't sweet enough for you, add just a bit of Splenda, stevia or even a tiny sprinkling of sugar. Avoid sugary sodas and try iced herbal teas or ice water with Splenda, and a slice of lemon or lime.
Things You Won't Give Up
Do you feel like you can't live without your chocolate? If there are foods you won't give up, enjoy them in smaller amounts. Buy one tiny high quality piece of candy and enjoy it, but don't buy a bag full of snacks to take with you. Limit other treats or favorite foods that aren't healthy, maybe let yourself eat them one time per month, or search for healthier versions at natural foods markets.
Rome Wasn't Built in a Day
If you can't transform your unhealthy diet overnight, don't despair. Most people can't. Start implementing some of these ideas, even just one at a time. Every change you make will be one step in the right direction.
Healthy Foods for a Healthy Lifestyle
There are several fad diets that will lead to successful weight loss if you follow them exactly as they are designed. That doesn't mean every food that fits into a diet is a healthy food, but it does mean you have to change your eating patterns to fit the diet's rules.
Rather than worry about following a fad diet, think about your health and your lifestyle instead. Start by learning which foods are good for you
Healthy Foods to Eat
The closer a food is to its natural state, the better it is for you. Fresh fruits and berries are great and will satisfy a craving for sweets. Whole vegetables have lots of vitamins and minerals, so eat more green, orange and yellow vegetables. Steam them to retain the most nutritional value and be careful with sauces, they may be high in calories and fats that aren't good for you.
Any pasta or baked goods should be made from whole grains. Avoid sugary snacks and pastries as well. An apple is good for you, an apple pie really isn't.
Shop for lean meats and don't forget the fish. The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in ocean fish are often deficient in our diets, so serve seafood two or three times per week. Baked fish and chicken are healthier than fried, and lean meats like bison or venison may be healthier than higher fat beef.
Processed lunch meats, hot dogs, bacon, and sausages have a lot of saturated fat and nitrates in them you don't want in your body. If you love these meats, you can find healthier versions sold at health food stores.
Remember to eat a variety of foods to get all of the vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy.
Stick to water, milk and 100% fruit and vegetable juices as your main beverages and limit sugary soft drinks. If you get tired of plain water, add a slice of lemon or lime to add a touch of flavor. For kids, try some fruit juice jazzed up with carbonated water.
Unhealthy Foods
* Battered and deep fried foods
* Sugary sodas
* Processed lunch meats
* Greasy snack chips
* White bread and refined pasta
* Most canned spaghetti and ravioli
* Sugary breakfast cereals
* Frozen fried chicken, fish sticks and corn dogs
Healthy Foods
* Green and brightly colored vegetables
* Dark leafy greens and lettuce
* Fresh fruits and berries
* Lean turkey and chicken
* Nuts, dried fruits and healthy snacks
* Whole grain breads and pasta
* Healthy cooking oils like canola and olive oils
* Grass fed beef and bison
* Cold water oily ocean fish
* Low fat milk or soy beverages
* Nuts, seeds, and legumes
Assess Your Lifestyle
Once you learn which foods are good for you, you need to look at your eating habits. If the foods you eat are not healthy, you might want to work within your habits and current lifestyle conditions, since they are usually tough to change. Consider these questions, then read on for tips to help you add healthy foods:
* Do you eat because you are bored, sad, or happy?
* Do you snack in front of the TV without even giving it much thought?
* Are most of your meals eaten at home or in restaurants?
* How often do you eat fast food?
* Do you like to cook?
* How often do you grocery shop?
* Do you skip breakfast or lunch, then overeat later in the day?
* How big are the portions you consume?
* Do you crave sweets?
* Are there foods you won't give up?
Healthy Foods for Snackers
If you are an emotional eater, keep the junk food like potato chips, tortilla chips, ice cream, and candy out of the house. Keep healthy snacks like fruits, crunchy vegetables with dips, or nuts handy. If you absolutely feel the need for a treat, then purchase a small piece of high quality chocolate or your favorite treat and enjoy it, just don't buy any to bring home.
The same tips are helpful for those who enjoy TV snacking at home. If you don't want to give up nibbling while watching your shows, keep low calorie foods close by, because it is very easy to eat too much when you are entranced by your favorite drama, football game or cooking show. Eat crisp raw vegetables with your dip instead of greasy chips.
Healthy Foods When Eating Out
It is difficult to maintain good health if you eat out a lot. Those salads might not be as appealing as a greasy cheeseburger and fries. Restaurants frequently serve huge portions of food too, much more than you need. If you can't hold your resolve to stick to the salads, compromise; pick out an appetizer that you love, combine it with a salad or a cup of soup, and skip the larger entrees. You can also share a meal or take half of it home. You could die for dessert? Order as small a size as possible, or maybe just one scoop of ice cream, rather than a larger, heavier dessert. Try a dish of mixed berries topped with nuts and a small bit of whipped cream. Be careful with the after-dinner drinks as well. Maybe just have one glass of wine with your meal.
If you eat a lot of fast food, you have found out how difficult it is to feel good and stay healthy. Some places have added salads and some better choices, but it really isn't a good way to eat. Keep fast food dining to a minimum, don't go with the super sizes and choose places that offer more fresh ingredients.
Eating Healthy Foods at Home
If you hate to cook, all that fresh produce you bought may just rot in your refrigerator. You might prefer to purchase prepared foods from markets that specialize in healthier whole foods, or even hire a personal chef to prepare meals that only need to be heated and served. If you have a tighter budget, perhaps you can set aside some time on weekends to prepare meals and freeze them to be reheated later that week.
It is important to be prepared if you are going to eat good foods at home and not run out for fast food when you don't feel like cooking. Unfortunately, grocery shopping can be very tedious. Set aside enough time to do your shopping for a few days' worth of healthy food and ingredients. Make a list and stick to it. Don't go shopping when you are hungry, and once you are at the store, stay away from the junk and the processed food aisles. Buy lots of fresh produce and choose lean meats and fish. Stay away from processed meats, fake cheese products, processed boxed and canned meals and avoid the snack aisle. Better yet, shop for organic products whenever possible. If you have no choice but to shop infrequently, choose frozen fruits and vegetables over canned, as they may retain more of their nutrients and don't have the extra sodium.
Don't Skip Meals
If you skip breakfast, you may find that you lose energy by midmorning. Rather than skipping breakfast completely, split it in half. Eat a small breakfast early, such as an egg, small serving of oatmeal, or a slice of whole grain bread. Have a small snack on hand such as raisins and 10 or 12 almonds to eat at midmorning. This split breakfast is a much better solution than reaching for coffee and candy bars to perk yourself up.
Control Portion Size
Our stomachs really aren't that big. Without stretching, the stomach will hold about two cups of food, but because the stomach will stretch, it can hold considerably more food than we need at any given meal.
When you eat at home, serve your meals already dished up on individual plates rather than family style at the table. You will be less likely to reach for "seconds" that way. At restaurants, ask for "take home" containers and take half of your meal home to heat up tomorrow. Avoid buffets, unless you are very disciplined. It is way too tempting to load up three or four plates plus dessert.
Tame Your Sweet Tooth
Curb your cravings for sweets with fruits and stay away from sugary snacks and pastries. These treats have lots of calories and can be loaded with unhealthy fats. If the fruits and berries aren't sweet enough for you, add just a bit of Splenda, stevia or even a tiny sprinkling of sugar. Avoid sugary sodas and try iced herbal teas or ice water with Splenda, and a slice of lemon or lime.
Things You Won't Give Up
Do you feel like you can't live without your chocolate? If there are foods you won't give up, enjoy them in smaller amounts. Buy one tiny high quality piece of candy and enjoy it, but don't buy a bag full of snacks to take with you. Limit other treats or favorite foods that aren't healthy, maybe let yourself eat them one time per month, or search for healthier versions at natural foods markets.
Rome Wasn't Built in a Day
If you can't transform your unhealthy diet overnight, don't despair. Most people can't. Start implementing some of these ideas, even just one at a time. Every change you make will be one step in the right direction.
Fairy Tattoos
Fairy tattoos are one of the most feminine tattoo designs and are a favorites among women. Actually, there is not much of a difference between fairy tattoos and angel tattoos. While angels can be said to be messengers of god and are considered to be of the religious type, fairy tattoos doesnt have religion attached to it.
Fairy Tattoo Design
Fairies were just some supernatural beings with magical powers. Fairies are supposed to be fun loving creatures, who can be naughty too. According to various legends fairies used to punish the persons with an evil nature and helped the prince fight the big bad ogre.
Some people also believe that fairies are lucky to the one who is able to see them. Fairy tattoos show the sensual side of females and can give a hint of naughtiness or even flirtiness in their nature. Ladies, if you are thinking of getting a tattoo, please keep fairy tattoos in your mind.Some mor designs we have for you:
Fairy Tattoo Design
Fairies were just some supernatural beings with magical powers. Fairies are supposed to be fun loving creatures, who can be naughty too. According to various legends fairies used to punish the persons with an evil nature and helped the prince fight the big bad ogre.
Some people also believe that fairies are lucky to the one who is able to see them. Fairy tattoos show the sensual side of females and can give a hint of naughtiness or even flirtiness in their nature. Ladies, if you are thinking of getting a tattoo, please keep fairy tattoos in your mind.Some mor designs we have for you:
The Obliging Mortician
Dorothy was very upset because her husband Albert had just passed away.
She goes to the mortuary to look at her dearly departed, and the instant she sees him she starts wailing and crying.
One of the attendants rushes up to comfort her. Through her tears she explains that she was upset because Albert was wearing a black suit and that it was his dying wish to be buried in a blue suit.
The attendant apologizes and explains that they always put the bodies in a black suit as a matter of course, but he'd see what he could do.
The next day, Dorothy returns to the mortuary to have one last moment with Albert before his funeral the following day. When the attendant pulls back the curtain, Dorothy manages to smile through her tears as Albert is now wearing a smart blue suit.
She asks the attendant, "How did you manage to get hold of that beautiful blue suit?"
"Well, yesterday afternoon after you left, a man who was about your husband's size was brought in, and he was wearing a blue suit. His wife explained that she was very upset, as he had always wanted to be buried in a black suit," the attendant replied.
The woman smiled.
He continued: "After that, it was simply a matter of swapping the heads around".
She goes to the mortuary to look at her dearly departed, and the instant she sees him she starts wailing and crying.
One of the attendants rushes up to comfort her. Through her tears she explains that she was upset because Albert was wearing a black suit and that it was his dying wish to be buried in a blue suit.
The attendant apologizes and explains that they always put the bodies in a black suit as a matter of course, but he'd see what he could do.
The next day, Dorothy returns to the mortuary to have one last moment with Albert before his funeral the following day. When the attendant pulls back the curtain, Dorothy manages to smile through her tears as Albert is now wearing a smart blue suit.
She asks the attendant, "How did you manage to get hold of that beautiful blue suit?"
"Well, yesterday afternoon after you left, a man who was about your husband's size was brought in, and he was wearing a blue suit. His wife explained that she was very upset, as he had always wanted to be buried in a black suit," the attendant replied.
The woman smiled.
He continued: "After that, it was simply a matter of swapping the heads around".
Saturday, April 24, 2010
3 Keys to Successful Green Marketing
Green Marketing Can Win More Customers If You Do It Right
Show potential customers that you follow green business practices and you could reap more green on your bottom line. Green marketing isn't just a catchphrase; it's a marketing strategy that can help you get more customers and make more money. But only if you do it right.
For green marketing to be effective, you have to do three things; be genuine, educate your customers, and give them the opportunity to participate.
1) Being genuine means that
a) that you are actually doing what you claim to be doing in your green marketing campaign and
b) that the rest of your business policies are consistent with whatever you are doing that's environmentally friendly. Both these conditions have to be met for your business to establish the kind of environmental credentials that will allow a green marketing campaign to succeed.
2) Educating your customers isn't just a matter of letting people know you're doing whatever you're doing to protect the environment, but also a matter of letting them know why it matters. Otherwise, for a significant portion of your target market, it's a case of "So what?" and your green marketing campaign goes nowhere.
3) Giving your customers an opportunity to participate means personalizing the benefits of your environmentally friendly actions, normally through letting the customer take part in positive environmental action.
Let's put the three essential elements of a successful green marketing campaign together by looking at an example.
Suppose that you have decided that your business will no longer use plastic bags to wrap customer purchases. You know that the traditional plastic bag takes about one thousand years to decompose (cbc.ca) and want to do your part to stop the proliferation of plastic bags in landfills. You feel that this is the kind of environmental action that will be popular with potential customers and a good opportunity to do some green marketing.
To be genuine, you have to ensure that none of your business practices contradict your decision not to use plastic bags. What if customers who happen to walk behind your store see an overflowing trash bin filled with paper, cardboard and plastic bottles? Obviously, he or she will decide that you don't care as much about recycling as you say you do in your green marketing.
Not using plastic bags appears to be environmental no-brainer, but you will still need to educate your target market. Did you know that a single use plastic bag takes about one thousand years to decompose? I didn’t until I researched this article and probably a fair number of otherwise environmentally conscious people don't either. This one little factoid about plastic bags could be used as part of your green marketing campaign - all by itself it lets the public know why single use plastic bags are environmentally disastrous and that you and your business care about the environment.
And the third element? By shopping at your store, the customer is taking action to protect the environment by preventing at least one single use plastic bag from going into a landfill. It doesn't sound like much, but he or she gets the satisfaction of physically doing something that fulfills their beliefs. You can also reinforce your customers’ green decisions and increase their participation by offering them additional related actions, such as buying cloth bags to use for future purchases.
Sometimes the best thing to do with a bandwagon is jump on it. You have to walk the talk and actually implement green policies and act in environmentally friendly ways for green marketing to work, but if you do, you've got a powerful selling point with those who are environmentally conscious and want to act to make the world a greener place - a market that's growing exponentially right now.
Show potential customers that you follow green business practices and you could reap more green on your bottom line. Green marketing isn't just a catchphrase; it's a marketing strategy that can help you get more customers and make more money. But only if you do it right.
For green marketing to be effective, you have to do three things; be genuine, educate your customers, and give them the opportunity to participate.
1) Being genuine means that
a) that you are actually doing what you claim to be doing in your green marketing campaign and
b) that the rest of your business policies are consistent with whatever you are doing that's environmentally friendly. Both these conditions have to be met for your business to establish the kind of environmental credentials that will allow a green marketing campaign to succeed.
2) Educating your customers isn't just a matter of letting people know you're doing whatever you're doing to protect the environment, but also a matter of letting them know why it matters. Otherwise, for a significant portion of your target market, it's a case of "So what?" and your green marketing campaign goes nowhere.
3) Giving your customers an opportunity to participate means personalizing the benefits of your environmentally friendly actions, normally through letting the customer take part in positive environmental action.
Let's put the three essential elements of a successful green marketing campaign together by looking at an example.
Suppose that you have decided that your business will no longer use plastic bags to wrap customer purchases. You know that the traditional plastic bag takes about one thousand years to decompose (cbc.ca) and want to do your part to stop the proliferation of plastic bags in landfills. You feel that this is the kind of environmental action that will be popular with potential customers and a good opportunity to do some green marketing.
To be genuine, you have to ensure that none of your business practices contradict your decision not to use plastic bags. What if customers who happen to walk behind your store see an overflowing trash bin filled with paper, cardboard and plastic bottles? Obviously, he or she will decide that you don't care as much about recycling as you say you do in your green marketing.
Not using plastic bags appears to be environmental no-brainer, but you will still need to educate your target market. Did you know that a single use plastic bag takes about one thousand years to decompose? I didn’t until I researched this article and probably a fair number of otherwise environmentally conscious people don't either. This one little factoid about plastic bags could be used as part of your green marketing campaign - all by itself it lets the public know why single use plastic bags are environmentally disastrous and that you and your business care about the environment.
And the third element? By shopping at your store, the customer is taking action to protect the environment by preventing at least one single use plastic bag from going into a landfill. It doesn't sound like much, but he or she gets the satisfaction of physically doing something that fulfills their beliefs. You can also reinforce your customers’ green decisions and increase their participation by offering them additional related actions, such as buying cloth bags to use for future purchases.
Sometimes the best thing to do with a bandwagon is jump on it. You have to walk the talk and actually implement green policies and act in environmentally friendly ways for green marketing to work, but if you do, you've got a powerful selling point with those who are environmentally conscious and want to act to make the world a greener place - a market that's growing exponentially right now.
Green Marketing
Definition:
What is green marketing? Green marketing refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in itself or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.
The obvious assumption of green marketing is that potential consumers will view a product or service's "greenness" as a benefit and base their buying decision accordingly. The not-so-obvious assumption of green marketing is that consumers will be willing to pay more for green products than they would for a less-green comparable alternative product - an assumption that, in our opinion, has not been proven conclusively.
While green marketing is growing greatly as increasing numbers of consumers are willing to back their environmental consciousnesses with their dollars, it can be dangerous. The public tends to be skeptical of green claims to begin with and companies can seriously damage their brands and their sales if a green claim is discovered to be false or contradicted by a company's other products or practices. Presenting a product or service as green when it's not is called greenwashing.
Green marketing can be a very powerful marketing strategy though when it's done right. See Three Keys to Successful Green Marketing.
Also Known As: Environmental Marketing, Ecological Marketing, Eco-Marketing.
Common Misspellings: Geen marketing, gren marketing.
Examples:
Chad’s green marketing campaign bombed because he made the mistake of packaging his environmentally friendly product in styrofoam.
What is green marketing? Green marketing refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in itself or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.
The obvious assumption of green marketing is that potential consumers will view a product or service's "greenness" as a benefit and base their buying decision accordingly. The not-so-obvious assumption of green marketing is that consumers will be willing to pay more for green products than they would for a less-green comparable alternative product - an assumption that, in our opinion, has not been proven conclusively.
While green marketing is growing greatly as increasing numbers of consumers are willing to back their environmental consciousnesses with their dollars, it can be dangerous. The public tends to be skeptical of green claims to begin with and companies can seriously damage their brands and their sales if a green claim is discovered to be false or contradicted by a company's other products or practices. Presenting a product or service as green when it's not is called greenwashing.
Green marketing can be a very powerful marketing strategy though when it's done right. See Three Keys to Successful Green Marketing.
Also Known As: Environmental Marketing, Ecological Marketing, Eco-Marketing.
Common Misspellings: Geen marketing, gren marketing.
Examples:
Chad’s green marketing campaign bombed because he made the mistake of packaging his environmentally friendly product in styrofoam.
Britney Jean Spears Tattoo Style
Is (born December 2, 1981) American singer and entertainer. Raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, where Spears was released in 1992 on national television contestant on the Star Search program, and time went on the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993 to 1994. In 1997, Spears signed a recording contract Jive, released his first album 1999 Baby One More Time album Based on his pop icon and "bona fide pop phenomenon", credited for influencing the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s. Britney gave her sixth studio album, "Circus its 27 birthday in December 2008.
Britney Spears Kabbalah some of the symbols on the back of neck. It is hoped that the translation of "medicine". But there are many reports claiming that three of his tattoos as symbols of failed anything, it does not really. It is a fairy lower back, small daisy toe around the second circle on foot, a butterfly leaving grapes on the left foot, and the flower symbol of the mystery of the Chinese hold the middle-lower. Britney has three Hebrew letters on the back of the neck - a Kabala connection - and a pair of pink dice inside left, a small addition on the importance of hand. During a recent crisis, he added two more tattoos, red lips and a thin pink and black hands, white and pink cross below the hips. Other physical changes include the right nipple and belly button pierced.
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Five Teams Every Organization Needs
Team work, effective work teams, and team building are popular topics in today’s organizations. Successful teams and team work fuel the accomplishment of your strategic goals. Effective work teams magnify the accomplishments of individual employees and enable you to better serve customers.
If you're experimenting with ongoing teams, start with a few to determine what team activities your organization can support. Teams require resources, and especially, time. Your teams are most effective when:
* a diverse group of employees is able to participate,
* you limit the number of teams on which any one employee may participate
* the teams establish a regular meeting schedule,
* you require periodic team goal setting,
* minutes or notes are posted from team meetings or projects, and
* teams self-perpetuate by regularly adding newer employees.
There are five work teams that every organization needs. We’ve seen many different approaches to team roles and responsibilities. Different organizations may also group responsibilities differently. As an example, We asked the safety committee to take on employee wellness responsibilities in one organization. The team refused, preferring instead to add environmental responsibilities. With this in mind, these are the five teams We most frequently recommend.
Leadership Team
Often an organization’s senior managers or department heads, the leadership team is the group that must pull together to lead your organization. The leadership team is responsible for the strategic direction of your organization, The leadership team plans, sets goals, provides guidance to, and manages your organization.
Motivation or Employee Morale Team
Known by different names in various organizations, the Employee Morale Team plans and carries out events and activities that build a positive spirit among employees. The team’s responsibilities can include activities such as hosting employee lunches, planning company picnics, fund raising for ill employees, and fund raising for philanthropic causes. The team leads the celebration of company milestones, employee birthdays, and the arrival of new babies. The team sponsors company sports teams. You can have fun with this team as the team’s only limit is the imagination of the team members.
Safety and Environmental Team
The team ensures the safety of employees in the work place. The team takes the lead in safety training, monthly safety talks, and the auditing of housekeeping, safety, and workplace organization. Recycling and environmental policy recommendations and leadership are provided by the team as well.
Employee Wellness Team
The wellness team focuses on health and fitness for employees. Most popular activities include walking clubs, running teams, and periodic testing of health issues such as high blood pressure screening. The wellness team can sponsor whole person wellness activities such as how to make a budget or lunch and learns about investment products – not investment advice.
Culture and Communication Team
The team works to define and create the defined company culture necessary for the success of your organization. The team also fosters two-way communication in your organization to ensure employee input up the chain of command. The team may sponsor the monthly newsletter, a weekly company update, quarterly employee satisfaction surveys, and an employee suggestion process.
Start several company teams, such as these, and nurture their success. When employees see successful teams, more employees become interested in serving on the teams. The teams make the company a better place to work and provide the opportunity for real employee involvement and commitment.
If you're experimenting with ongoing teams, start with a few to determine what team activities your organization can support. Teams require resources, and especially, time. Your teams are most effective when:
* a diverse group of employees is able to participate,
* you limit the number of teams on which any one employee may participate
* the teams establish a regular meeting schedule,
* you require periodic team goal setting,
* minutes or notes are posted from team meetings or projects, and
* teams self-perpetuate by regularly adding newer employees.
There are five work teams that every organization needs. We’ve seen many different approaches to team roles and responsibilities. Different organizations may also group responsibilities differently. As an example, We asked the safety committee to take on employee wellness responsibilities in one organization. The team refused, preferring instead to add environmental responsibilities. With this in mind, these are the five teams We most frequently recommend.
Leadership Team
Often an organization’s senior managers or department heads, the leadership team is the group that must pull together to lead your organization. The leadership team is responsible for the strategic direction of your organization, The leadership team plans, sets goals, provides guidance to, and manages your organization.
Motivation or Employee Morale Team
Known by different names in various organizations, the Employee Morale Team plans and carries out events and activities that build a positive spirit among employees. The team’s responsibilities can include activities such as hosting employee lunches, planning company picnics, fund raising for ill employees, and fund raising for philanthropic causes. The team leads the celebration of company milestones, employee birthdays, and the arrival of new babies. The team sponsors company sports teams. You can have fun with this team as the team’s only limit is the imagination of the team members.
Safety and Environmental Team
The team ensures the safety of employees in the work place. The team takes the lead in safety training, monthly safety talks, and the auditing of housekeeping, safety, and workplace organization. Recycling and environmental policy recommendations and leadership are provided by the team as well.
Employee Wellness Team
The wellness team focuses on health and fitness for employees. Most popular activities include walking clubs, running teams, and periodic testing of health issues such as high blood pressure screening. The wellness team can sponsor whole person wellness activities such as how to make a budget or lunch and learns about investment products – not investment advice.
Culture and Communication Team
The team works to define and create the defined company culture necessary for the success of your organization. The team also fosters two-way communication in your organization to ensure employee input up the chain of command. The team may sponsor the monthly newsletter, a weekly company update, quarterly employee satisfaction surveys, and an employee suggestion process.
Start several company teams, such as these, and nurture their success. When employees see successful teams, more employees become interested in serving on the teams. The teams make the company a better place to work and provide the opportunity for real employee involvement and commitment.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Ten Powerful Marketing Tips for the Small Business
#1. Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market.
People read postcards when the message is brief. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site and generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.
#2. No single marketing effort works all the time for every business, so rotate several marketing tactics and vary your approach.
Your customers tune out after awhile if you toot only one note. Not only that, YOU get bored. Marketing can be fun, so take advantage of the thousands of opportunities available for communicating your value to customers. But don't be arbitrary about your selection of a variety of marketing ploys. Plan carefully. Get feedback from customers and adapt your efforts accordingly.
#3. Use buddy marketing to promote your business.
For example, if you send out brochures, you could include a leaflet and/or business card of another business, which had agreed to do the same for you. This gives you the chance to reach a whole new pool of potential customers
#4. Answer Your Phone Differently.
Try announcing a special offer when you answer the phone. For example you could say, "Good morning, this is Ann Marie with Check It Out; ask me about my special marketing offer." The caller is compelled to ask about the offer. Sure, many companies have recorded messages that play when you're tied up in a queue, but who do you know that has a live message? I certainly haven't heard of anyone. Make sure your offer is aggressive and increase your caller's urgency by including a not-so-distant expiration date.
#5. Stick It!
Use stickers, stamps and handwritten notes on all of your direct mail efforts and day-to-day business mail. Remember, when you put a sticker or handwritten message on the outside of an envelope, it has the impact of a miniature billboard. People read it first; however, the message should be short and concise so it can be read in less than 10 seconds.
#6. Send A Second Offer To Your Customers Immediately After They've Purchased
Your customer just purchased a sweater from your clothing shop. Send a handwritten note to your customer thanking them for their business and informing them that upon their return with "this note" they may take advantage of a private offer, such as 20% off their next purchase. To create urgency, remember to include an expiration date.
#7. Newsletters
Did you know it costs six times more to make a sale to a new customer than to an existing one? You can use newsletters to focus your marketing on past customers. Keep costs down by sacrificing frequency and high production values. If printed newsletters are too expensive, consider an e-mail newsletter sent to people who subscribe at your Web site.
#8. Seminars/ open house
Hosting an event is a great way to gain face time with key customers and prospects as well as get your company name circulating. With the right programming, you'll be rewarded with a nice turnout and media coverage. If it's a seminar, limit the attendance and charge a fee. A fee gives the impression of value. Free often connotes, whether intended or not, that attendees will have to endure a sales pitch.
#9. Bartering
This is an excellent tool to promote your business and get others to use your product and services. You can trade your product for advertising space or for another company's product or service. This is especially helpful when two companies on limited budgets can exchange their services.
#10. Mail Outs
Enclose your brochure, ad, flyer etc. in all your outgoing mail. It doesn't cost any additional postage and you'll be surprised at who could use what you're offering.
People read postcards when the message is brief. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site and generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.
#2. No single marketing effort works all the time for every business, so rotate several marketing tactics and vary your approach.
Your customers tune out after awhile if you toot only one note. Not only that, YOU get bored. Marketing can be fun, so take advantage of the thousands of opportunities available for communicating your value to customers. But don't be arbitrary about your selection of a variety of marketing ploys. Plan carefully. Get feedback from customers and adapt your efforts accordingly.
#3. Use buddy marketing to promote your business.
For example, if you send out brochures, you could include a leaflet and/or business card of another business, which had agreed to do the same for you. This gives you the chance to reach a whole new pool of potential customers
#4. Answer Your Phone Differently.
Try announcing a special offer when you answer the phone. For example you could say, "Good morning, this is Ann Marie with Check It Out; ask me about my special marketing offer." The caller is compelled to ask about the offer. Sure, many companies have recorded messages that play when you're tied up in a queue, but who do you know that has a live message? I certainly haven't heard of anyone. Make sure your offer is aggressive and increase your caller's urgency by including a not-so-distant expiration date.
#5. Stick It!
Use stickers, stamps and handwritten notes on all of your direct mail efforts and day-to-day business mail. Remember, when you put a sticker or handwritten message on the outside of an envelope, it has the impact of a miniature billboard. People read it first; however, the message should be short and concise so it can be read in less than 10 seconds.
#6. Send A Second Offer To Your Customers Immediately After They've Purchased
Your customer just purchased a sweater from your clothing shop. Send a handwritten note to your customer thanking them for their business and informing them that upon their return with "this note" they may take advantage of a private offer, such as 20% off their next purchase. To create urgency, remember to include an expiration date.
#7. Newsletters
Did you know it costs six times more to make a sale to a new customer than to an existing one? You can use newsletters to focus your marketing on past customers. Keep costs down by sacrificing frequency and high production values. If printed newsletters are too expensive, consider an e-mail newsletter sent to people who subscribe at your Web site.
#8. Seminars/ open house
Hosting an event is a great way to gain face time with key customers and prospects as well as get your company name circulating. With the right programming, you'll be rewarded with a nice turnout and media coverage. If it's a seminar, limit the attendance and charge a fee. A fee gives the impression of value. Free often connotes, whether intended or not, that attendees will have to endure a sales pitch.
#9. Bartering
This is an excellent tool to promote your business and get others to use your product and services. You can trade your product for advertising space or for another company's product or service. This is especially helpful when two companies on limited budgets can exchange their services.
#10. Mail Outs
Enclose your brochure, ad, flyer etc. in all your outgoing mail. It doesn't cost any additional postage and you'll be surprised at who could use what you're offering.
Green Tips for Your Diet
The foods we buy and consume have an impact on our economy as well as our environment and there is a growing concern about how the way we live affects our global environment. Two words that are growing in popularity are green and sustainability. They both refer to the idea that products can be high quality and good for the environment, or at least not harmful.
The cost of putting food on our tables has gone down over the past few decades, mostly due to advances in agricultural techniques that allow farms to produce massive amounts of crops and animals in less time or in smaller spaces. But there are questions about how this food production is affecting our planet. Fisheries are being over-fished, rain-forests are being destroyed to make way for food production, and fertilizer and pesticide use is increasing as farmland erosion occurs worldwide. Large-scale farming also relies on massive amounts of fossil fuels and water. Plus even more fuel is used to transport foods to the market.
Some forms of agriculture are more sustainable. They pollute less, may be better for the environment and include more humane farming practices for food animals. You can support sustainable agriculture by following a few green tips for your diet. Here are some ways:
Support locally grown foods. Food grown close to home requires less fuel and other resources to get to your grocery store. Eating local is also a good way to support your local economy because you buy products produced by farmers who live in your area. You can also join a Community Supported Agriculture group in your area to make supporting nearby growers easy.
Eat less beef. Meat products require more resources to produce because the animals need to be fed until they are large enough for slaughter. It takes eight pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef. From this perspective, chicken is a more sustainable choice because it takes about two pounds of grain to produce one pound of chicken. Fish and seafood require even less - about a pound in a half to produce a pound of farm raised fish.
Choose fish carefully. When you buy fish, you can choose either wild-caught fish or farm-raised fish. The most sustainable choices include farm-raised plant-eating species such as catfish, tilapia, and trout, which are grown in farm ponds that take up relatively small amounts of space and are quite productive. Wild-caught salmon and pollack from the Pacific ocean are also fairly sustainable, but farm-raised salmon and other carnivorous species such as tuna and sea bass are not as sustainable when compared to their plant-eating counterparts. Also avoid predator species such as swordfish, marlin, bluefin and albacore tuna.
Go organic. Plants that have been raised organically have not been exposed to artificial fertilizers or pesticides. Organically produced animal products such as milk, milk, eggs, poultry and seafood are produced from animals that have not been raised with growth hormones or given antibiotics. Organic foods are becoming more common in most grocery stores, just be sure to look for the "100% Organic" label on the product.
Read labels carefully. Some labels, such as the 100% organic labels are regulated, but words like natural and healthy aren't regulated to mean anything specific. Other labels have low standards, for example free range chickens only need to be outside for five minutes each day. They can spend the rest of the day confined in small cages and still be considered to be free range. When you read the claims on food packaging labels, look for some indication of a certification from an organization - they're more likely to be sustainable.
Grow your own foods. Depending on the time you have and the amount of land you own, you can grow some of your own food in a vegetable garden or possibly raise a few chickens for poultry and eggs. But even if you don't have much space, you can still grow a few greens or tomatoes in a small container garden on your deck or if space is even tighter you can have a little herb garden in your kitchen.
Buy shade-grown, fair-trade products. Many of the regions where coffee and cocoa for chocolate are grown are suffering from loss of biodiversity as the forests are destroyed to produce cropland. Shade-grown, fair-trade products may be better for the environment and buying them helps to support small farm families who grow them.
Reuse grocery bags and containers. Many stores offer inexpensive but durable grocery bags that you can reuse every time you shop. Some stores offer incentives such as giving you a few cents off your order when you bring a bag back in. Reusing grocery bags cuts down on the number of plastic or paper bags that need to produced, and since most of them end up in the garbage, reusing garbage bags cuts back on litter and landfill use.
Filter your own water. Those plastic bottles of water may be convenient but they take a lot of resources to produce. And while some bottles are recycled, most end up in the trash. You'll save money and help the environment by filtering your own tap water (Compare Prices) and reusing your own water bottles.
The cost of putting food on our tables has gone down over the past few decades, mostly due to advances in agricultural techniques that allow farms to produce massive amounts of crops and animals in less time or in smaller spaces. But there are questions about how this food production is affecting our planet. Fisheries are being over-fished, rain-forests are being destroyed to make way for food production, and fertilizer and pesticide use is increasing as farmland erosion occurs worldwide. Large-scale farming also relies on massive amounts of fossil fuels and water. Plus even more fuel is used to transport foods to the market.
Some forms of agriculture are more sustainable. They pollute less, may be better for the environment and include more humane farming practices for food animals. You can support sustainable agriculture by following a few green tips for your diet. Here are some ways:
Support locally grown foods. Food grown close to home requires less fuel and other resources to get to your grocery store. Eating local is also a good way to support your local economy because you buy products produced by farmers who live in your area. You can also join a Community Supported Agriculture group in your area to make supporting nearby growers easy.
Eat less beef. Meat products require more resources to produce because the animals need to be fed until they are large enough for slaughter. It takes eight pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef. From this perspective, chicken is a more sustainable choice because it takes about two pounds of grain to produce one pound of chicken. Fish and seafood require even less - about a pound in a half to produce a pound of farm raised fish.
Choose fish carefully. When you buy fish, you can choose either wild-caught fish or farm-raised fish. The most sustainable choices include farm-raised plant-eating species such as catfish, tilapia, and trout, which are grown in farm ponds that take up relatively small amounts of space and are quite productive. Wild-caught salmon and pollack from the Pacific ocean are also fairly sustainable, but farm-raised salmon and other carnivorous species such as tuna and sea bass are not as sustainable when compared to their plant-eating counterparts. Also avoid predator species such as swordfish, marlin, bluefin and albacore tuna.
Go organic. Plants that have been raised organically have not been exposed to artificial fertilizers or pesticides. Organically produced animal products such as milk, milk, eggs, poultry and seafood are produced from animals that have not been raised with growth hormones or given antibiotics. Organic foods are becoming more common in most grocery stores, just be sure to look for the "100% Organic" label on the product.
Read labels carefully. Some labels, such as the 100% organic labels are regulated, but words like natural and healthy aren't regulated to mean anything specific. Other labels have low standards, for example free range chickens only need to be outside for five minutes each day. They can spend the rest of the day confined in small cages and still be considered to be free range. When you read the claims on food packaging labels, look for some indication of a certification from an organization - they're more likely to be sustainable.
Grow your own foods. Depending on the time you have and the amount of land you own, you can grow some of your own food in a vegetable garden or possibly raise a few chickens for poultry and eggs. But even if you don't have much space, you can still grow a few greens or tomatoes in a small container garden on your deck or if space is even tighter you can have a little herb garden in your kitchen.
Buy shade-grown, fair-trade products. Many of the regions where coffee and cocoa for chocolate are grown are suffering from loss of biodiversity as the forests are destroyed to produce cropland. Shade-grown, fair-trade products may be better for the environment and buying them helps to support small farm families who grow them.
Reuse grocery bags and containers. Many stores offer inexpensive but durable grocery bags that you can reuse every time you shop. Some stores offer incentives such as giving you a few cents off your order when you bring a bag back in. Reusing grocery bags cuts down on the number of plastic or paper bags that need to produced, and since most of them end up in the garbage, reusing garbage bags cuts back on litter and landfill use.
Filter your own water. Those plastic bottles of water may be convenient but they take a lot of resources to produce. And while some bottles are recycled, most end up in the trash. You'll save money and help the environment by filtering your own tap water (Compare Prices) and reusing your own water bottles.
Full Back Tattoo Designs
Full back tattoo designs is always impressive especially at the first glance.
This tattoo design is very cool. It got a wall sculpture inked on the back, which has dragons and taichi. This tattoo wins a gold award in a competition.
A Chinese style tattoo. This is a figure of Chinese mythology, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings.
This tattoo design is very cool. It got a wall sculpture inked on the back, which has dragons and taichi. This tattoo wins a gold award in a competition.
A Chinese style tattoo. This is a figure of Chinese mythology, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings.
10 Calculations To Know
Managing money can involve calculations to understand the worth of an investment. To arrive at a result, calculations can be done in a different way or by using a different formula.
Even the same formula can be used differently to arrive at a certain result. Here are a few commonly used money management formulas. Use an excel sheet to do these.
1. Compound Interest
I want to take a loan of Rs 1 lakh to buy a used car. How much will the car cost me at an annual interest rate of 8 per cent for four years?
The compound interest formula can be used here to calculate the final cost, which would include the loan amount and the interest paid. The amount that is actually paid for Rs 1 lakh is Rs 1,36,048.90. The total amount of interest charged for borrowing Rs 1 lakh is Rs 36,048.90.
Formula: Future value = P(1 + R)^N
Type in: =100000(1+8%)^4 and hit enter. P: amount borrowed; R: rate of interest; N: time in years.
Also used for: Calculating the maturity value on lumpsum investment (bank fixed deposits and National Savings Certificate, for example) over a fixed period at a certain rate of interest.
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2. Compound Annualised Growth Rate
I had invested Rs 1 lakh in a mutual fund five years back at an NAV of Rs 20. Now the NAV is Rs 70. How should I calculate my returns on an annual basis?
Compound annualised growth rate (CAGR) will be used here to calculate the growth over a period of time. The gain of Rs 50 over five years on the initial NAV of Rs 20 is a simple return of 250 per cent (50/20 * 100). However, it should not be construed as 50 per cent average return over five years.
Formula: CAGR = {[(M/I)^(1/N)] 1} * 100
Type in: =(((70/20)^(1/5))-1)*100 and hit enter. M: maturity value; I: initial value; N: time in years. CAGR here is 28.47%.
Also used for: Calculating the annualised returns on a lumpsum investment in shares.
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3. Internal Rate of Return
I paid Rs 18,572 every year on a moneyback insurance policy bought 20 years back. Every fifth year, I received Rs 40,000 back and Rs 4.5 lakh on maturity. What was my rate of return?
The internal rate of return (IRR) has to be calculated here. It is the interest rate accrued on an investment that has outflows and inflows at the same regular periods.
In the excel page type Rs 18,572 as a negative figure (-18572), as it is an outflow, in the first cell. Paste the same figure till the twentieth cell.
Then, as every fifth year has an inflow of Rs 40,000, type in Rs 21,428 (40,000-18,572) in every fifth cell. In the twentieth cell, type in 18572. In the twenty first cell, type in Rs 4,50,000, which is the maturity value of the policy.
Then click on the cell below it and type: = IRR(A1:A21) and hit enter.
5.28% will show in the cell. This is your internal rate of return.
Also used for: Calculating returns on insurance endowment policies.
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4. XIRR
I bought 500 shares on 1 January 2007 at Rs 220, 100 shares on 10 January at Rs 185 and 50 shares at Rs 165 on 18 May 2008. On 21 June 2008, I sold off all the 650 shares at Rs 655. What is the return on my investment?
XIRR is used to determine the IRR when the outflows and inflows are at different periods. Calculation is similar to IRR's. Transaction date is mentioned on the left of the transaction.
In an excel sheet type out the data from the top most cell as shown here. Outflows figures are in negative and inflows in positive. In the cell below with the figure 4,25,750, type out =XIRR (B1:B4,A1:A4)*100
Hit enter. The cell will show 122.95%, the total return on investment.
Also used for: Calculating MF returns, especially SIP, or that for unit-linked insurance plans.
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5. Post-Tax Return
My father wants a bank FD at 10 per cent return for five years. He pays income tax. What will be the returns?
The post-tax return has to be calculated here. The idea is to know the final returns on a fully taxable income. Interest income from the bank is taxed as per your tax slab.
Formula: ROI (ROI * TR)=Post-tax return
Type in: =10 (10 * 30.9%) and hit enter. You will get 6.91%
ROI: rate of interest; TR: tax rate (depends on tax slab)
Also used for: Calculating post-tax returns of national savings certificates, post-office time deposits, and Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme.
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6. Pre-Tax Yield
My brother says that the investment in public provident fund (PPF), which gives 8 per cent, is the best. Isn't 8 per cent a low rate of return?
An investment's pre-tax yield tells us if its return is high or low. The return on PPF (8 per cent) is tax-free. Also, this has to compared with returns of a taxable income to estimate its worth. For someone paying a tax of 30.9 per cent, the pre-tax yield in PPF is 11.57 per cent. At present, there is no fixed, safe and assured-return option that has 11.57 per cent return and a post-tax return comparable to PPF's 8 per cent.
Formula: Pre-tax yield = ROI / (100-TR)*100
Type in: =8/(100-30.9)*100 and hit enter. You will get 11.57%. ROI: rate of interest, TR: tax rate, (depends on tax slab)
Also used for: Calculating the yield on an Employees' Provident Fund or any other tax-free instrument.
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7. Inflation
My family's monthly expense is Rs 50,000. At an inflation rate of 5 per cent, how much will I need 20 years hence with the same expenses?
The required amount can be calculated using the standard future value formula. Inflation means that over a period of time, you need more money to fund the same expense.
Formula: Required amt.=Present amt. *(1+inflation) ^no. of years
Type in: =50000*(1+5% or .05)^20 and hit enter. You will get Rs 1,32,664 as the answer, which is the required amount.
Also used for: Calculating maturity value on an investment.
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8. Purchasing Power
My family's monthly expense is Rs 50,000. At an inflation rate of 5 per cent, how much will be the purchasing value of that amount after 20 years?
Inflation increases the amount you need to spend to fetch the same article and in a way reduces the purchasing power of the rupee. Here, Rs 50,000 after 20 years at an inflation of 5 per cent will be able to buy goods worth Rs 18,844 only.
Formula: Reduced amt.= Present amt. / (1 + inflation) ^no. of yrs
Type in: =50000/(1+5%)^20 and hit enter. You will get Rs 18,844, which is the reduced amount.
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9. Real Rate of Return
My father wants to make a one-year bank FD at 9 per cent. On maturity, he says, the capital will be preserved and he would get assured return on it.
It is true that fixed deposit is safe and gives assured returns. However, after adjusting for inflation, the real rate of return can be negative.
Formula: Real rate of return=[(1+ROR)/(1+i)-1]*100
Type in: =((1+9%)/(1+11%)-1)*100 and hit enter. -1.8% is the real rate of return. ROR: Rate of return per annum; i: rate of inflation (11 per cent here).
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10. Doubling, Tripling of Money
I can get 12 per cent return on my equity investments. In how many years can I double or even triple my money?
Formula: No. of years to double = 72/expected return
Type in: =72/12 and hit enter. You will get 6 years. For tripling, type in: =114/12 and hit enter. You will get 9.5 years. For quadrupling, type in: =144/12 and hit enter to get 12 years.
Even the same formula can be used differently to arrive at a certain result. Here are a few commonly used money management formulas. Use an excel sheet to do these.
1. Compound Interest
I want to take a loan of Rs 1 lakh to buy a used car. How much will the car cost me at an annual interest rate of 8 per cent for four years?
The compound interest formula can be used here to calculate the final cost, which would include the loan amount and the interest paid. The amount that is actually paid for Rs 1 lakh is Rs 1,36,048.90. The total amount of interest charged for borrowing Rs 1 lakh is Rs 36,048.90.
Formula: Future value = P(1 + R)^N
Type in: =100000(1+8%)^4 and hit enter. P: amount borrowed; R: rate of interest; N: time in years.
Also used for: Calculating the maturity value on lumpsum investment (bank fixed deposits and National Savings Certificate, for example) over a fixed period at a certain rate of interest.
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2. Compound Annualised Growth Rate
I had invested Rs 1 lakh in a mutual fund five years back at an NAV of Rs 20. Now the NAV is Rs 70. How should I calculate my returns on an annual basis?
Compound annualised growth rate (CAGR) will be used here to calculate the growth over a period of time. The gain of Rs 50 over five years on the initial NAV of Rs 20 is a simple return of 250 per cent (50/20 * 100). However, it should not be construed as 50 per cent average return over five years.
Formula: CAGR = {[(M/I)^(1/N)] 1} * 100
Type in: =(((70/20)^(1/5))-1)*100 and hit enter. M: maturity value; I: initial value; N: time in years. CAGR here is 28.47%.
Also used for: Calculating the annualised returns on a lumpsum investment in shares.
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3. Internal Rate of Return
I paid Rs 18,572 every year on a moneyback insurance policy bought 20 years back. Every fifth year, I received Rs 40,000 back and Rs 4.5 lakh on maturity. What was my rate of return?
The internal rate of return (IRR) has to be calculated here. It is the interest rate accrued on an investment that has outflows and inflows at the same regular periods.
In the excel page type Rs 18,572 as a negative figure (-18572), as it is an outflow, in the first cell. Paste the same figure till the twentieth cell.
Then, as every fifth year has an inflow of Rs 40,000, type in Rs 21,428 (40,000-18,572) in every fifth cell. In the twentieth cell, type in 18572. In the twenty first cell, type in Rs 4,50,000, which is the maturity value of the policy.
Then click on the cell below it and type: = IRR(A1:A21) and hit enter.
5.28% will show in the cell. This is your internal rate of return.
Also used for: Calculating returns on insurance endowment policies.
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4. XIRR
I bought 500 shares on 1 January 2007 at Rs 220, 100 shares on 10 January at Rs 185 and 50 shares at Rs 165 on 18 May 2008. On 21 June 2008, I sold off all the 650 shares at Rs 655. What is the return on my investment?
XIRR is used to determine the IRR when the outflows and inflows are at different periods. Calculation is similar to IRR's. Transaction date is mentioned on the left of the transaction.
In an excel sheet type out the data from the top most cell as shown here. Outflows figures are in negative and inflows in positive. In the cell below with the figure 4,25,750, type out =XIRR (B1:B4,A1:A4)*100
Hit enter. The cell will show 122.95%, the total return on investment.
Also used for: Calculating MF returns, especially SIP, or that for unit-linked insurance plans.
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5. Post-Tax Return
My father wants a bank FD at 10 per cent return for five years. He pays income tax. What will be the returns?
The post-tax return has to be calculated here. The idea is to know the final returns on a fully taxable income. Interest income from the bank is taxed as per your tax slab.
Formula: ROI (ROI * TR)=Post-tax return
Type in: =10 (10 * 30.9%) and hit enter. You will get 6.91%
ROI: rate of interest; TR: tax rate (depends on tax slab)
Also used for: Calculating post-tax returns of national savings certificates, post-office time deposits, and Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme.
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6. Pre-Tax Yield
My brother says that the investment in public provident fund (PPF), which gives 8 per cent, is the best. Isn't 8 per cent a low rate of return?
An investment's pre-tax yield tells us if its return is high or low. The return on PPF (8 per cent) is tax-free. Also, this has to compared with returns of a taxable income to estimate its worth. For someone paying a tax of 30.9 per cent, the pre-tax yield in PPF is 11.57 per cent. At present, there is no fixed, safe and assured-return option that has 11.57 per cent return and a post-tax return comparable to PPF's 8 per cent.
Formula: Pre-tax yield = ROI / (100-TR)*100
Type in: =8/(100-30.9)*100 and hit enter. You will get 11.57%. ROI: rate of interest, TR: tax rate, (depends on tax slab)
Also used for: Calculating the yield on an Employees' Provident Fund or any other tax-free instrument.
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7. Inflation
My family's monthly expense is Rs 50,000. At an inflation rate of 5 per cent, how much will I need 20 years hence with the same expenses?
The required amount can be calculated using the standard future value formula. Inflation means that over a period of time, you need more money to fund the same expense.
Formula: Required amt.=Present amt. *(1+inflation) ^no. of years
Type in: =50000*(1+5% or .05)^20 and hit enter. You will get Rs 1,32,664 as the answer, which is the required amount.
Also used for: Calculating maturity value on an investment.
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8. Purchasing Power
My family's monthly expense is Rs 50,000. At an inflation rate of 5 per cent, how much will be the purchasing value of that amount after 20 years?
Inflation increases the amount you need to spend to fetch the same article and in a way reduces the purchasing power of the rupee. Here, Rs 50,000 after 20 years at an inflation of 5 per cent will be able to buy goods worth Rs 18,844 only.
Formula: Reduced amt.= Present amt. / (1 + inflation) ^no. of yrs
Type in: =50000/(1+5%)^20 and hit enter. You will get Rs 18,844, which is the reduced amount.
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9. Real Rate of Return
My father wants to make a one-year bank FD at 9 per cent. On maturity, he says, the capital will be preserved and he would get assured return on it.
It is true that fixed deposit is safe and gives assured returns. However, after adjusting for inflation, the real rate of return can be negative.
Formula: Real rate of return=[(1+ROR)/(1+i)-1]*100
Type in: =((1+9%)/(1+11%)-1)*100 and hit enter. -1.8% is the real rate of return. ROR: Rate of return per annum; i: rate of inflation (11 per cent here).
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10. Doubling, Tripling of Money
I can get 12 per cent return on my equity investments. In how many years can I double or even triple my money?
Formula: No. of years to double = 72/expected return
Type in: =72/12 and hit enter. You will get 6 years. For tripling, type in: =114/12 and hit enter. You will get 9.5 years. For quadrupling, type in: =144/12 and hit enter to get 12 years.
Why I Fired My Secretary
Last week was my birthday and I didn't feel very well waking up on that morning.
I went downstairs for breakfast hoping my wife would be pleasant and say,” Happy Birthday!", and possibly have a small present for me.
As it turned out, she barely said good morning, let alone" Happy Birthday."
I thought... Well, that's marriage for you, but the kids.... They will remember.
My kids came bounding down stairs to breakfast and didn't say a word. So when I left for the office, I felt pretty low and somewhat despondent.
As I walked into my office, my secretary Jane said,” Good Morning Boss, and by the way Happy Birthday! “It felt a little better that at least someone had remembered.
I worked until one o’clock, when Jane knocked on my door and said, "You know, it’s such a beautiful day outside, and it is your Birthday, what you say we go out to lunch, just you and me." I said, "Thanks, Jane, that's the greatest thing I've heard all day. Let's go!"
We went to lunch. But we didn't go where we normally would go. She chose instead a quiet bistro with a private table. We had two martinis each and I enjoyed the meal tremendously.
On the way back to the office, Jane said, "You know, it’s such a beautiful day... We don't need to go straight back to the office, Do We?"
I responded,” I guess not. What do you have in mind?" She said,” Let’s drop by my apartment; it's just around the corner."
After arriving at her apartment, Jane turned to me and said," Boss, if you don't mind, I'm going to step into the bedroom for just a moment. I'll be right back."
"Ok." I nervously replied.
She went into the bedroom and, after a couple of minutes, she came out carrying a huge birthday cake ... Followed by my wife, my kids, and dozens of my friends and co-workers, all singing "Happy Birthday".
And I just sat there...
On the couch....
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NAKED……
I went downstairs for breakfast hoping my wife would be pleasant and say,” Happy Birthday!", and possibly have a small present for me.
As it turned out, she barely said good morning, let alone" Happy Birthday."
I thought... Well, that's marriage for you, but the kids.... They will remember.
My kids came bounding down stairs to breakfast and didn't say a word. So when I left for the office, I felt pretty low and somewhat despondent.
As I walked into my office, my secretary Jane said,” Good Morning Boss, and by the way Happy Birthday! “It felt a little better that at least someone had remembered.
I worked until one o’clock, when Jane knocked on my door and said, "You know, it’s such a beautiful day outside, and it is your Birthday, what you say we go out to lunch, just you and me." I said, "Thanks, Jane, that's the greatest thing I've heard all day. Let's go!"
We went to lunch. But we didn't go where we normally would go. She chose instead a quiet bistro with a private table. We had two martinis each and I enjoyed the meal tremendously.
On the way back to the office, Jane said, "You know, it’s such a beautiful day... We don't need to go straight back to the office, Do We?"
I responded,” I guess not. What do you have in mind?" She said,” Let’s drop by my apartment; it's just around the corner."
After arriving at her apartment, Jane turned to me and said," Boss, if you don't mind, I'm going to step into the bedroom for just a moment. I'll be right back."
"Ok." I nervously replied.
She went into the bedroom and, after a couple of minutes, she came out carrying a huge birthday cake ... Followed by my wife, my kids, and dozens of my friends and co-workers, all singing "Happy Birthday".
And I just sat there...
On the couch....
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NAKED……
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Celebrate Earth Day at Work
While you still have a chance to plan a celebration, or an ongoing commitment in your workplace to all things "green," here's a heads up. April 22 is Earth Day. In honor of Earth Day, We have expanded this blog post into a full article with twenty tips to get a green team started in your workplace.
In honor of this year's celebration of Earth Day, form a green team at work. While debate exists about recycling and other aspects of environmentalism - try to get an answer to paper bags or plastic in the grocery stores, as an example - a green team is motivational for employees who want to make a difference in their work environment.
And, the team may even save energy and time, keep trash out of landfills, opt for reuseable dishes, share books in a library, and more. A team is a great way to brainstorm and develop ideas, develop employee leadership and planning skills, and involve employees who might not be engaged by other team topics.
Ten Tips: Get Your Work Green Team Started
Here are ten ideas your green team can start out with as they brainstorm and implement their own ideas (the article offers more):
* Keep room temperatures at 68 degrees in the winter and 55 degrees at night.
* Experiment, because employees have to be comfortable, but use air conditioning with discretion.
* Turn off your office lights while you attend meetings and at night and over the weekend.
* Limit the use of space heaters. Ask employees to dress more warmly instead.
* Recycle cans, bottles, newspapers, magazines, and electronic equipment such as computers.
--Computer Recycling in the U.S..
--Computer Recycling in Canada.
* Limit the use of disposable products at company supplied lunches and events.
* Put your computer and printer on energy saving settings when you know you'll be away for awhile.
* Purchase energy efficient appliances for your offices.
* Turn lights off in restrooms, conference rooms, libraries, and so forth when the room is not in use.
* Send extra food from company events and lunches home with employees rather than throwing it away.
In honor of this year's celebration of Earth Day, form a green team at work. While debate exists about recycling and other aspects of environmentalism - try to get an answer to paper bags or plastic in the grocery stores, as an example - a green team is motivational for employees who want to make a difference in their work environment.
And, the team may even save energy and time, keep trash out of landfills, opt for reuseable dishes, share books in a library, and more. A team is a great way to brainstorm and develop ideas, develop employee leadership and planning skills, and involve employees who might not be engaged by other team topics.
Ten Tips: Get Your Work Green Team Started
Here are ten ideas your green team can start out with as they brainstorm and implement their own ideas (the article offers more):
* Keep room temperatures at 68 degrees in the winter and 55 degrees at night.
* Experiment, because employees have to be comfortable, but use air conditioning with discretion.
* Turn off your office lights while you attend meetings and at night and over the weekend.
* Limit the use of space heaters. Ask employees to dress more warmly instead.
* Recycle cans, bottles, newspapers, magazines, and electronic equipment such as computers.
--Computer Recycling in the U.S..
--Computer Recycling in Canada.
* Limit the use of disposable products at company supplied lunches and events.
* Put your computer and printer on energy saving settings when you know you'll be away for awhile.
* Purchase energy efficient appliances for your offices.
* Turn lights off in restrooms, conference rooms, libraries, and so forth when the room is not in use.
* Send extra food from company events and lunches home with employees rather than throwing it away.
Form a Green Team to Improve Your Work Environment
o raise employee awareness of opportunities to save energy and contribute to a healthy work environment, form a green team at work. While debate exists about recycling and other aspects of environmentalism, a green team is motivational for employees who want to make a difference in their work environment.
And, the team may even save energy and time, keep trash out of landfills, opt for reuseable dishes, share books in a library, and more for your work environment. A team is a great way to brainstorm and develop ideas.
Twenty Ideas to Get Your Green Team Started
In addition, here are twenty ideas to get your green team members started as they brainstorm and implement their own ideas:
* Keep room temperatures at 68 degrees in the winter and 55 degrees at night.
* Experiment, because employees have to be comfortable, but use air conditioning with discretion.
* Turn off your office lights while you attend meetings and at night and over the weekend.
* Limit the use of space heaters. Ask employees to dress more warmly instead.
* Recycle cans, bottles, newspapers, and magazines.
* Limit the use of disposable products at company supplied lunches and events.
* Put your computer and printer on energy saving settings when you know you'll be away for awhile.
* Purchase energy efficient appliances for your offices.
* Turn lights off in restrooms, conference rooms, libraries, and so forth when the room is not in use.
* Send extra food from company events and lunches home with employees or deliver the food to a local charity rather than throwing it away.
* Email advisories about how employees can use less paper. Examples include: set printers to duplex by default; print on both sides of paper for internal or personal use documents.
* Purchase large or refillable containers of creamer, sugar, salt, pepper, and butter instead of individual containers.
* Suggest lighting changes and use more energy efficient bulbs.
* Buy all employees a "green team" sweatshirt that they can leave in their offices or cubicles to wear when feeling cold.
* Evaluate packaging, shipping, and marketing materials to eliminate waste.
* Ask vendors who supply company lunches not to deliver lunches in individual boxes.
* Encourage employee car pools.
* Encourage employees to recycle at home; provide a listing of recycling centers or reuse sites such as Freecycle.com.
* Donate unwanted cell phones to organizations such as Recellular, Inc. that will recycle, refurbish, and promote reuse to provide funding for charitable and environmental causes.
* Buy and sell used two-way radios, parts, and equipment at locations such as TalkFar.com and UsedRadios.com.
And, the team may even save energy and time, keep trash out of landfills, opt for reuseable dishes, share books in a library, and more for your work environment. A team is a great way to brainstorm and develop ideas.
Twenty Ideas to Get Your Green Team Started
In addition, here are twenty ideas to get your green team members started as they brainstorm and implement their own ideas:
* Keep room temperatures at 68 degrees in the winter and 55 degrees at night.
* Experiment, because employees have to be comfortable, but use air conditioning with discretion.
* Turn off your office lights while you attend meetings and at night and over the weekend.
* Limit the use of space heaters. Ask employees to dress more warmly instead.
* Recycle cans, bottles, newspapers, and magazines.
* Limit the use of disposable products at company supplied lunches and events.
* Put your computer and printer on energy saving settings when you know you'll be away for awhile.
* Purchase energy efficient appliances for your offices.
* Turn lights off in restrooms, conference rooms, libraries, and so forth when the room is not in use.
* Send extra food from company events and lunches home with employees or deliver the food to a local charity rather than throwing it away.
* Email advisories about how employees can use less paper. Examples include: set printers to duplex by default; print on both sides of paper for internal or personal use documents.
* Purchase large or refillable containers of creamer, sugar, salt, pepper, and butter instead of individual containers.
* Suggest lighting changes and use more energy efficient bulbs.
* Buy all employees a "green team" sweatshirt that they can leave in their offices or cubicles to wear when feeling cold.
* Evaluate packaging, shipping, and marketing materials to eliminate waste.
* Ask vendors who supply company lunches not to deliver lunches in individual boxes.
* Encourage employee car pools.
* Encourage employees to recycle at home; provide a listing of recycling centers or reuse sites such as Freecycle.com.
* Donate unwanted cell phones to organizations such as Recellular, Inc. that will recycle, refurbish, and promote reuse to provide funding for charitable and environmental causes.
* Buy and sell used two-way radios, parts, and equipment at locations such as TalkFar.com and UsedRadios.com.
Different types of Mutual Funds
Equity Funds
Equity funds are considered to be the more risky funds as compared to other fund types, but they also provide higher returns than other funds. It is advisable that an investor looking to invest in an equity fund should invest for long term i.e. for 3 years or more. There are different types of equity funds each falling into different risk bracket. In the order of decreasing risk level, there are following types of equity funds:
Aggressive Growth Funds - In Aggressive Growth Funds, fund managers aspire for maximum capital appreciation and invest in less researched shares of speculative nature. Because of these speculative investments Aggressive Growth Funds become more volatile and thus, are prone to higher risk than other equity funds.
Growth Funds - Growth Funds also invest for capital appreciation (with time horizon of 3 to 5 years) but they are different from Aggressive Growth Funds in the sense that they invest in companies that are expected to outperform the market in the future. Without entirely adopting speculative strategies, Growth Funds invest in those companies that are expected to post above average earnings in the future.
Speciality Funds - Speciality Funds have stated criteria for investments and their portfolio comprises of only those companies that meet their criteria. Criteria for some speciality funds could be to invest/not to invest in particular regions/companies. Speciality funds are concentrated and thus, are comparatively riskier than diversified funds.. There are following types of speciality funds:
Sector Funds: Equity funds that invest in a particular sector/industry of the market are known as Sector Funds. The exposure of these funds is limited to a particular sector (say Information Technology, Auto, Banking, Pharmaceuticals or Fast Moving Consumer Goods) which is why they are more risky than equity funds that invest in multiple sectors.
Foreign Securities Funds: Foreign Securities Equity Funds have the option to invest in one or more foreign companies. Foreign securities funds achieve international diversification and hence they are less risky than sector funds. However, foreign securities funds are exposed to foreign exchange rate risk and country risk.
Mid-Cap or Small-Cap Funds: Funds that invest in companies having lower market capitalization than large capitalization companies are called Mid-Cap or Small-Cap Funds. Market capitalization of Mid-Cap companies is less than that of big, blue chip companies (less than Rs. 2500 crores but more than Rs. 500 crores) and Small-Cap companies have market capitalization of less than Rs. 500 crores. Market Capitalization of a company can be calculated by multiplying the market price of the company's share by the total number of its outstanding shares in the market. The shares of Mid-Cap or Small-Cap Companies are not as liquid as of Large-Cap Companies which gives rise to volatility in share prices of these companies and consequently, investment gets risky.
Option Income Funds: While not yet available in India, Option Income Funds write options on a large fraction of their portfolio. Proper use of options can help to reduce volatility, which is otherwise considered as a risky instrument. These funds invest in big, high dividend yielding companies, and then sell options against their stock positions, which generate stable income for investors.
Diversified Equity Funds - Except for a small portion of investment in liquid money market, diversified equity funds invest mainly in equities without any concentration on a particular sector(s). These funds are well diversified and reduce sector-specific or company-specific risk. However, like all other funds diversified equity funds too are exposed to equity market risk. One prominent type of diversified equity fund in India is Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS). As per the mandate, a minimum of 90% of investments by ELSS should be in equities at all times. ELSS investors are eligible to claim deduction from taxable income (up to Rs 1 lakh) at the time of filing the income tax return. ELSS usually has a lock-in period and in case of any redemption by the investor before the expiry of the lock-in period makes him liable to pay income tax on such income(s) for which he may have received any tax exemption(s) in the past.
Equity Index Funds - Equity Index Funds have the objective to match the performance of a specific stock market index. The portfolio of these funds comprises of the same companies that form the index and is constituted in the same proportion as the index. Equity index funds that follow broad indices (like S&P CNX Nifty, Sensex) are less risky than equity index funds that follow narrow sectoral indices (like BSEBANKEX or CNX Bank Index etc). Narrow indices are less diversified and therefore, are more risky.
Value Funds - Value Funds invest in those companies that have sound fundamentals and whose share prices are currently under-valued. The portfolio of these funds comprises of shares that are trading at a low Price to Earning Ratio (Market Price per Share / Earning per Share) and a low Market to Book Value (Fundamental Value) Ratio. Value Funds may select companies from diversified sectors and are exposed to lower risk level as compared to growth funds or speciality funds. Value stocks are generally from cyclical industries (such as cement, steel, sugar etc.) which make them volatile in the short-term. Therefore, it is advisable to invest in Value funds with a long-term time horizon as risk in the long term, to a large extent, is reduced.
Equity Income or Dividend Yield Funds - The objective of Equity Income or Dividend Yield Equity Funds is to generate high recurring income and steady capital appreciation for investors by investing in those companies which issue high dividends (such as Power or Utility companies whose share prices fluctuate comparatively lesser than other companies' share prices). Equity Income or Dividend Yield Equity Funds are generally exposed to the lowest risk level as compared to other equity funds.
Debt / Income Funds
Funds that invest in medium to long-term debt instruments issued by private companies, banks, financial institutions, governments and other entities belonging to various sectors (like infrastructure companies etc.) are known as Debt / Income Funds. Debt funds are low risk profile funds that seek to generate fixed current income (and not capital appreciation) to investors. In order to ensure regular income to investors, debt (or income) funds distribute large fraction of their surplus to investors. Although debt securities are generally less risky than equities, they are subject to credit risk (risk of default) by the issuer at the time of interest or principal payment. To minimize the risk of default, debt funds usually invest in securities from issuers who are rated by credit rating agencies and are considered to be of "Investment Grade". Debt funds that target high returns are more risky. Based on different investment objectives, there can be following types of debt funds:
Diversified Debt Funds - Debt funds that invest in all securities issued by entities belonging to all sectors of the market are known as diversified debt funds. The best feature of diversified debt funds is that investments are properly diversified into all sectors which results in risk reduction. Any loss incurred, on account of default by a debt issuer, is shared by all investors which further reduces risk for an individual investor.
Focused Debt Funds - Unlike diversified debt funds, focused debt funds are narrow focus funds that are confined to investments in selective debt securities, issued by companies of a specific sector or industry or origin. Some examples of focused debt funds are sector, specialized and offshore debt funds, funds that invest only in Tax Free Infrastructure or Municipal Bonds. Because of their narrow orientation, focused debt funds are more risky as compared to diversified debt funds. Although not yet available in India, these funds are conceivable and may be offered to investors very soon.
High Yield Debt funds - As we now understand that risk of default is present in all debt funds, and therefore, debt funds generally try to minimize the risk of default by investing in securities issued by only those borrowers who are considered to be of "investment grade". But, High Yield Debt Funds adopt a different strategy and prefer securities issued by those issuers who are considered to be of "below investment grade". The motive behind adopting this sort of risky strategy is to earn higher interest returns from these issuers. These funds are more volatile and bear higher default risk, although they may earn at times higher returns for investors.
Assured Return Funds - Although it is not necessary that a fund will meet its objectives or provide assured returns to investors, but there can be funds that come with a lock-in period and offer assurance of annual returns to investors during the lock-in period. Any shortfall in returns is suffered by the sponsors or the Asset Management Companies (AMCs). These funds are generally debt funds and provide investors with a low-risk investment opportunity. However, the security of investments depends upon the net worth of the guarantor (whose name is specified in advance on the offer document). To safeguard the interests of investors, SEBI permits only those funds to offer assured return schemes whose sponsors have adequate net-worth to guarantee returns in the future. In the past, UTI had offered assured return schemes (i.e. Monthly Income Plans of UTI) that assured specified returns to investors in the future. UTI was not able to fulfill its promises and faced large shortfalls in returns. Eventually, government had to intervene and took over UTI's payment obligations on itself. Currently, no AMC in India offers assured return schemes to investors, though possible.
Fixed Term Plan Series - Fixed Term Plan Series usually are closed-end schemes having short term maturity period (of less than one year) that offer a series of plans and issue units to investors at regular intervals. Unlike closed-end funds, fixed term plans are not listed on the exchanges. Fixed term plan series usually invest in debt / income schemes and target short-term investors. The objective of fixed term plan schemes is to gratify investors by generating some expected returns in a short period.
Hybrid Funds
As the name suggests, hybrid funds are those funds whose portfolio includes a blend of equities, debts and money market securities. Hybrid funds have an equal proportion of debt and equity in their portfolio. There are following types of hybrid funds in India:
Balanced Funds - The portfolio of balanced funds include assets like debt securities, convertible securities, and equity and preference shares held in a relatively equal proportion. The objectives of balanced funds are to reward investors with a regular income, moderate capital appreciation and at the same time minimizing the risk of capital erosion. Balanced funds are appropriate for conservative investors having a long term investment horizon.
Growth-and-Income Funds - Funds that combine features of growth funds and income funds are known as Growth-and-Income Funds. These funds invest in companies having potential for capital appreciation and those known for issuing high dividends. The level of risks involved in these funds is lower than growth funds and higher than income funds.
Asset Allocation Funds - Mutual funds may invest in financial assets like equity, debt, money market or non-financial (physical) assets like real estate, commodities etc.. Asset allocation funds adopt a variable asset allocation strategy that allows fund managers to switch over from one asset class to another at any time depending upon their outlook for specific markets. In other words, fund managers may switch over to equity if they expect equity market to provide good returns and switch over to debt if they expect debt market to provide better returns. It should be noted that switching over from one asset class to another is a decision taken by the fund manager on the basis of his own judgment and understanding of specific markets, and therefore, the success of these funds depends upon the skill of a fund manager in anticipating market trends.
Gilt Funds
Also known as Government Securities in India, Gilt Funds invest in government papers (named dated securities) having medium to long term maturity period. Issued by the Government of India, these investments have little credit risk (risk of default) and provide safety of principal to the investors. However, like all debt funds, gilt funds too are exposed to interest rate risk. Interest rates and prices of debt securities are inversely related and any change in the interest rates results in a change in the NAV of debt/gilt funds in an opposite direction.
Money Market / Liquid Funds
Money market / liquid funds invest in short-term (maturing within one year) interest bearing debt instruments. These securities are highly liquid and provide safety of investment, thus making money market / liquid funds the safest investment option when compared with other mutual fund types. However, even money market / liquid funds are exposed to the interest rate risk. The typical investment options for liquid funds include Treasury Bills (issued by governments), Commercial papers (issued by companies) and Certificates of Deposit (issued by banks).
Commodity Funds
Those funds that focus on investing in different commodities (like metals, food grains, crude oil etc.) or commodity companies or commodity futures contracts are termed as Commodity Funds. A commodity fund that invests in a single commodity or a group of commodities is a specialized commodity fund and a commodity fund that invests in all available commodities is a diversified commodity fund and bears less risk than a specialized commodity fund. "Precious Metals Fund" and Gold Funds (that invest in gold, gold futures or shares of gold mines) are common examples of commodity funds.
Real Estate Funds
Funds that invest directly in real estate or lend to real estate developers or invest in shares/securitized assets of housing finance companies, are known as Specialized Real Estate Funds. The objective of these funds may be to generate regular income for investors or capital appreciation.
Exchange Traded Funds (ETF)
Exchange Traded Funds provide investors with combined benefits of a closed-end and an open-end mutual fund. Exchange Traded Funds follow stock market indices and are traded on stock exchanges like a single stock at index linked prices. The biggest advantage offered by these funds is that they offer diversification, flexibility of holding a single share (tradable at index linked prices) at the same time. Recently introduced in India, these funds are quite popular abroad.
Fund of Funds
Mutual funds that do not invest in financial or physical assets, but do invest in other mutual fund schemes offered by different AMCs, are known as Fund of Funds. Fund of Funds maintain a portfolio comprising of units of other mutual fund schemes, just like conventional mutual funds maintain a portfolio comprising of equity/debt/money market instruments or non financial assets. Fund of Funds provide investors with an added advantage of diversifying into different mutual fund schemes with even a small amount of investment, which further helps in diversification of risks. However, the expenses of Fund of Funds are quite high on account of compounding expenses of investments into different mutual fund schemes.
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