Just Decide to Drive Within the Law

It is really easy to just make a decision to drive within the law.
So, keep within the driving limit,
follow 'Give Way' and 'Stop' signs, and other street signs
Park where you are supposed to and don't park where you are not supposed to.
Don't use your mobile,
etc., etc., etc.

Just decide it and Just do it.

We are not city planners, sometimes we can't see why there is a low speed limit in an open area, but it may be that area has a history of accidents or a blind corner.

We all slip into bad habits when driving, so just to decide to keep within the law can be very difficult for some people. But just making that decision and then sticking to it can free up a certain part of your brain which becomes tense.
It is like you feel a tiny element of release when you are not constantly looking for ways to cut people up or inch in front of the person in front.

Just do it and feel free.

Warning by Jenny Jospeh

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired
and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
and run my stick along the public railings
and make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
and pick the flowers in other people's gardens
and learn to spit.



You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
and eat three pounds of sausages at a go
or only bread and pickles for a week
and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.



But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
and pay our rent and not swear in the street
and set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Why is it Necessary to Budget? Download your FREE Spreadsheet.

Having a budget or living with a budget does not have to be as scary as it sounds. Neither does it mean taking the cheaper option, having to make do with lower quality things. It only means knowing how much money you have available to spend and this can only be a good thing.

A budget can be for a day if you are out for the day and have a certain amount of cash to spend. It can be for a week, or however long you want to make it.

The best thing about a long term budget is that you are not only in control of how much money you have now, but you are able to forecast how much money you will have in a year's time, or five year's time or longer, assuming that things stay the same.

The magic of this is that it allows you to see exactly what goes where. You can see where the little wormholes which suck up the cash for no reason and you can see work out your minimum monthly amount. That is what is the absolute minimum income you need to have to keep everything ticking along.

Then with the rest of the income, you are free to spend it however you like. You can pay off debts, you can save up to buy that special thing you have always wanted or go on that holiday of a lifetime.

Having a budget can actually free you to do more with your income.

And it is much better than living in the dark, not knowing how much money comes in, how much goes out.

I have put together an excel spreadsheet which can let someone manage their monthly budget over a year.
It is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD for anyone who wants to use it.

It can be downloaded from this page.

If you find it useful then please feel free to click one of the adverts on the right of this page.

There is a Microsoft Word document which explains how to use it.

To use it you will need to have Microsoft Excel.

Coaching service is Fully Booked

Please do not book any time slots for coaching. I am fully booked at the moment.

I will remove this post when more slots become available

Paypal Violin Update

As an update to the Violin destruction incident that was featured heavily in the blogosphere earlier this year, I felt that it was important to let the people over at Paypal have a chance to voice their side of what happened and give an explanation about why they ordered the destruction of an antique violin before determining whether it was genuine or not.

There was much debate online in many different forums: about paypal, musicians forums and also in general forums. Some people said that it was because it may be illegal to post a counterfeit item. This was reiterated in a statement by a paypal employee:

A spokesperson for PayPal said: "While we cannot talk about this particular case due to PayPal's privacy policy, we carefully review each case, and in general we may ask a buyer to destroy counterfeit goods if they supply signed evidence from a knowledgeable third party that the goods are indeed counterfeit. The reason why we reserve the option to ask the buyer to destroy the goods is that in many countries, including the US, it is a criminal offence to mail counterfeit goods back to a seller."

taken from the Guardian newspaper

But in reality this is nothing but a smokescreen by paypal. Before establishing the veracity of the claim, the violin is a bit of a Schrodinger's cat. Is it real? Is it counterfeit? Before they know, how can it be a problem to post it? Would the buyer post it to an expert for authentication? The seller had a certificate from a luthier to show that it was authentic but paypal chose to ignore this because all sellers are cheating, lying, underworld criminals trying to hoodwink the poor, helpless buyer at every turn!

But, I sent off an email to a contact at paypal customer services nevertheless to try and find out the result of the enquiries they had conducted.

Dear 'Customer Services',

Earlier this year, there was a story about a suposedly antique violin which had been ordered to be destroyed by Paypal. It was widely reported that you were conducting your own enquiries into the matter.

Since several months have now passed, I was wondering whether you had come to any conclusions regarding this matter.

 This is the reply I received several days ago and have not heard anything back since:

Thank you for contacting PayPal Customer Service.

In an effort to assist you as quickly and efficiently as possible,

please direct all customer service inquires through our website. Click

on the hyperlink below to go to the PayPal website. To ask a question

that is specific to your account, you must log in to your account. If

you indicate the type of question you have with as much detail as you

can, we will be able to provide you with the best customer service

possible.

If your email program is unable to open hyperlinks, please copy and

paste this URL into the address bar of your browser.

https://www.paypal.com/ewf/f=default

If you are contacting PayPal because you are unable to log into your

account, please use the contact form below.

https://www.paypal.com/ewf/f=default

Thank you for choosing PayPal!

This email is sent to you by the contracting entity to your User

Agreement, either PayPal Inc, PayPal Pte. Ltd or PayPal (Europe) S.à

r.l. & Cie, S.C.A. Société en Commandite par Actions, Registered Office:

5th Floor 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg RCS Luxembourg B 118

349.