Morning Lower Back Stiffness

A great way to avoid stiffness in the lower back upon waking is to perform small exercise movements in bed before trying to get out of bed.

Try the following:

Wiggle the toes

Point the feet forward and back like stepping on a pedal.

Make foot circles.

Contract your buttock (gluteal) muscles for 5 times.

Bring one knee to chest and hold 5 seconds then repeat with the other leg.

Turn to each side and repeat bringing your knee to your chest and holding for 5 seconds each.

On your back turn your head to one side then another, holding each stretch for 3 seconds.

Turn back onto your side and sit up from this position. While seated perform 10 heel raises (bring your heels off the ground, so you are on your toes) followed by 10 toe raises (keeping heels on ground and pointing toes towards the sky).

The stiffness might not be all gone but it should hopefully reduce the morning lower back pain At least it will hopefully make the first few steps easier.

Start Building Your Nest Egg

There are many vehicles today to grow your money. How you invest will depend on your age, debt ratio and income level. It is also easy today to attain information on how to invest. I wish I started at a much earlier age. There are certain tax advantages to investing whether you’re investing in Bonds, Stocks, CD’s or Money markets. While doing your research on saving/investment vehicles just save the money in your local bank. The idea is to just begin saving. I once read if you can learn to live on 50% of your take home pay you will be very prosperous. Well, I don’t know about you, but I cannot live on only 50% of my pay. Could I save $10 or $20 a week? That is surely possible. Again, if you take a look at your budget and operating costs to live and run your household you will see if you skip a few things and budget properly you could easily save an extra $10 or $20 a week or a month. The first step is to begin.

Credit Cards-Friend or foe?

You must be careful accumulating credit cards. If you are disciplined to have a credit card that you will use for your monthly needs and pay it off every month, then you should acquire a credit card that will offer, “cash back” at the end of the year or travel miles. It is also advisable to have a credit card that you keep a small balance (operative word is small) on each month. As you pay on time each month it will demonstrate that you can manage your debt. It is also my opinion that you should acquire a few extra credit cards for emergency use only. The plasma television or the new Xbox is not an emergency. Needing your appendix removed is an emergency. If you have a medical insurance plan that requires a high deductible you should definitely acquire a few credit cards for this emergency. Once you receive the credit cards place them in your safety deposit box at your bank. The cards will be out of sight and out of mind!


When the credit cards are close by people have a tendency to use them. Their debt grows higher. But some don’t worry about their debt because they receive offers in the mail, which will consolidate their debt. One must be careful of the consolidation game. I recently received a promotion to consolidate my credit cards. On my initial review it looked great. I would not have to pay interest for the next year. It would save me a lot of money. But after my 2nd review of the promotional material I learned that if I were late paying this specific credit card or any other credit card (that’s right, I said any other credit card) my interest would begin immediately and at 21%. The lesson learned is to read the fine print.

What Will Health Insurance Look Like in the Future?

In today's society you are lucky you have health insurance. You might even be luckier and have an employer pay towards your health insurance.

Enjoy it while you can because I feel the future is bleak on Americans continuing to be able to afford health insurance. Have you noticed your co-pays are increasing or you now have co-pay and a co-insurance?

So, how do you save on health insurance? Look at HSA (Health Savings Account) or MSP (Medical Savings Plan). Some plans have tax benefits. Begin your research now on these types of plans because they might just be our only hope to having any kind of affordable health insurance.

Find Money to Eat Healthier

Find Money to Buy/Invest in Healthy Food

This is a tough one. You want to eat healthy but there are rarely coupons for healthy food. Ever notice the coupons are all for box or canned items. These items are loaded with bad ingredients from partially hydrogenated oils to significant sodium content.

You are looking to purchase fresh vegetables and fruits, organic meats and poultry. One of the best ways to decrease your grocery bill is to make healthy snacks at home and take these snacks to work or school. It is much cheaper to take/pack your lunch everyday versus buying lunch. Once awhile is okay because you do not want to be antisocial.

Think about how much you can save by packing your lunch. If you go out to eat 3 times a week and each time costs you at least 6 dollars, that is $6.00 x 3 = $18.00/week. Let’s take $18.00 x 50 weeks (vacation, sick days, holidays) = $900.00/year. If you divide $900.00 by 12 months you have $75.00 per month to invest in healthier food for you and your family.

Credit Card Charges Add Up

Have you noticed that using your credit card for small amounts are not requiring your signature?

USA Today (October 10, 2006) reports "card companies are increasingly allowing no-signature transactions for purchases for less than $25 at movie theatres, pharmacies, convenience stores and fast food restaurants. Their goal is to speed up up the checkout process and get more people to pay for everyday items with plastic".

Watch out folks. This is a recipe for disaster. If you do not have the discipline to pay off your credit card each month, adding these types of "convenient charges" will "eat you up alive".

The best tip is Don't Do It.