6 Best Things to Buy in September

6 Best Things to Buy in September



By Barbara Pronin, RISMedia Columnist


The livin’ may be easy in ‘summertime,’ but bargain season typically begins to heat up in September as new models roll off the assembly lines and a holiday mindset kicks in.

If you’re in the market for household goods or travel, the personal finance advocates at Kiplinger Finance suggest September is the best time to shop for these bargains:

Holiday airfare – Experts say now is the time to search for buys in holiday airfare. You’ll likely get a better price and a better seat for holiday air travel now than you will if you wait much longer – and bear in mind the best air fares are usually offered on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Non-peak vacations – Look into a ‘shoulder season’ vacation, which offers some of the best buys on cruises, resort trips, vacation rentals and international airfare during the lull between peak vacation periods. Bonus: Pleasant weather and fewer crowds in many popular destinations.

New cars – Dealers are clearing inventory now to make room for the new models. Feel free to haggle a bit more for the best price possible on a new, end-of-year model of the vehicle of your choice.

Major appliances – As the new models come in, early fall will also yield the best prices on major appliances. In addition to searching out a buy on an end-of-year model, look for huge reductions on display appliances with minor dings or scratches.

Grills – As the weather cools down, so does demand, making fall the best time to replace your old grill. Look for good buys on models with extra features you may not have been able to afford last spring.

Landscaping plants – You’ll find the best buys on trees and shrubs in the fall, when nurseries want to sell off inventory to keep down greenhouse costs.

7 Steps to Start The School Year Strong, Safe and Sound

Looking to give kids a better start to their school year? A new list of seven steps can help your child start the year off strong, safe and sound.


1. Take a realistic look at your child’s emotional school-readiness.

Qualities like being more sensitive or less sensitive, more outgoing or more reserved, louder or quieter, are all normal and have both benefits and potential liabilities. The sooner children can learn to be in charge of their qualities, so that these are gifts instead of problems, the happier and more successful they will be.

2. Be clear about both safety and learning expectations.

Tell your child clearly, 'I expect you to feel respected and safe at school. And I expect you to act in safe and respectful ways towards others.' Be explicit about what this means, using specific examples relevant to your child.

3. Make a plan for potential problems.

Children can suddenly find themselves struggling with some academic subject or having emotional or social problems with someone in their circle of friends. Explore ways to make learning and interacting with friends easier. Sometimes children need major support, but often a little bit of help can make a huge difference.

4. Stay in touch with what is going on at school.

Many children are tired of school by the time they get home and don’t give much information when asked general questions like, “How was school today?" At the same time, most children like to share what’s going on in their lives if they are listened to without being lectured or having to hear negative comments about themselves, their school, or their friends.

5. Offer support to your child’s teachers and schools.

Teaching is a hard job and schools face many challenges. Supporting teachers and not taking them for granted is vital to helping kids have a good experience at school.

6. Prepare your children to set boundaries and to advocate for themselves.

In an ideal world, people would always be kind to each other rather than being mean to each other. However, even people who really care about each other annoy and bother each other sometimes. Rehearsing how to handle specific problems will help to increase confidence, reduce anxiety, and build competence.

7. Advocate for your children when things go wrong.

Remember that, as parents, our job is to make sure that our children are in places that are emotionally and physically safe and with people who are creating a supportive, effective learning environment. If something goes wrong, be prepared to advocate in a respectful, powerful way for your child.



Source: Kidpower.org

Top Tips to Master Your Grill

Tips for Successful Tailgating

With the kick-off to the football season here, tailgating season is upon us. Fans across the country are preparing their checklists and equipment for the pre-game festivities, for what is sure to be the best tailgating season yet.

And, according to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA), when it comes to tailgating, this season North Americans are more likely to tailgate at professional football games (27 percent) than any other type of event, such as outdoor concerts (19 percent) and college football games (15 percent). So, fire-up the portable grill, smoker or fryer, grab all the essentials for a finger-licking good time, and assemble your team to help get this year's tailgating season off to a winning start.

"What better way to kick-off game day than bringing together friends and family for a tailgate? From the rookie to the pro tailgater, everyone should always start with a game plan and the right equipment and tools," says Leslie Wheeler, HPBA Communications Director. "A portable grill, smoker or fryer is a must for a successful tailgate, and coming to the stadium prepared with all the essentials will ensure a touchdown every time."

Starting your tailgating season off right sets the right tone for the rest of the season. Follow these tips to get started.

Know the Rules: Know the tailgating rules for your stadium before game day. Are grills, smokers and fryers allowed? What time do the parking lot gates open for tailgaters?

Morning Practice: Create a tailgate checklist so you won't forget your gear, including food, drinks, grill, smoker or fryer, grilling accessories, chairs, table, cooler and paper goods.

Equipment Check: You can't play the game without the ball, and you can't cook without the grill, smoker or fryer. Make sure your 'equipment' works properly before getting to the stadium. You'll also want to bring your favorite outdoor cooking accessories, like tongs, and plenty of paper goods for serving.

Be a Team Player: Score big with your friends by bringing a variety of food to throw on the grill, smoker or fryer, and drinks and water, so that there's something for everyone, including kids, vegetarians and those who may just want a snack.

Pre-Game Prep: Prep and marinate meat ahead of time and keep on ice during transportation to ensure freshness (and safety). Arrive early to start up the grill so that it's fired-up by the time other tailgaters arrive.

Go the Extra Yard: You've got the grill and the food, but don't forget about tailgating entertainment, like an iPod, MP3 player or other device for parking lot music, generator to power a TV for pre-game coverage, or even a football, frisbee or cornhole set for activities to play before the game starts.

Clean-Up Blitz: Before heading into the stadium, make sure the grill is completely extinguished, coals are cooled and disposed, and you've cleaned up your tailgating area. Many stadiums provide metal trash cans to place used charcoal. However, if you are tailgating at a stadium that does not, it is always a good idea to bring your own small metal can to place cooled coals.

Practice Makes Perfect: After you and your guests deemed the tailgate a success and the game is over, go home and 'review the tapes'. Did the new marinade you used work? Do you have enough charcoal, propane, etc. for next week's tailgate? Take what you learn from each tailgate and apply it to the next to be the champion of the tailgating season.

Source: www.hpba.org

Own It! Be Brilliant!

We have had the opportunity to hear Simon T. Bailey and converse with him.  He is a "Brilliant" man with incredible communication skills.  We hope you enjoy this recent post.

Own It!

by Simon T. Bailey


The Gallup Organization states that there are approximately 100 million full-time workers in the United States. 28% of this workforce is engaged, 53% is not engaged, and 19% is actively disengaged. Jim Clifton, author of The Coming Jobs War and Chairman of Gallup, says, "The 53% of not engaged workers are just there, killing time with little or no concern about customers, productivity, profitability, waste, safety, mission and purpose of teams, or developing customers. They're essentially checked out."

Do you know people who aren't engaged, not to mention actively disengaged? I do, and it's draining when you have someone on your team who is more negative than an undeveloped piece of film.

I became curious to find out how companies could significantly increase engagement in their workforces. I started by reflecting on my seven years at the Happiest Place in the World-Walt Disney World Resort®-and then on my work with over 1,000 organizations over the last ten years. And that's when it clicked: When I worked at Disney, they sent all cast members to two days of indoctrination at Disney University, and that's where I learned how to create a magic moment. That's where I drank the magic potion, sniffed the pixie dust, and got the microchip planted in my head. I was so engaged at Disney that my wife said to me she personally thought Walt Disney himself had come back from the dead and hired me. Engagement, as I describe it, is brilliance (insight, potential, talent) being released; it's when one experiences The Vujá dé Moment. Engagement happens when an employee has not seen the future and so decides to create it.

Achieving real engagement-seizing the reins and actively creating the future-will only happen when people at work and in business take ownership of their productivity. Think about owning a home: This has, for many decades, been the heart of the American Dream. Being able to own real estate was and is a source of pride and fulfillment. Paying the mortgage on time and in full demonstrates trust and credibility to the lending institution. Over time, as the principal and interest are paid down, there is a transfer of ownership from the lender to the borrower.

However, in business you, the worker, are rewarded for your contribution to a place of business over a number of years of service. Though you may never own the company, you do own how you choose to show up and positively impact the company. I believe that those businesses that want to stay relevant and cause America to remain the number one superpower in the world must instill an ownership mindset in the percentage of the workforce that is disengaged.

Here's a cornucopia of ideas that will assist you in owning your future:

Financial Intelligence - If you are to thrive in the "New Normal," you've got to learn the financials. How does the company make money? What are the margins in the business? When leadership says its goal is to "cut expenses," what does that mean and how does it impact what shows up in your paycheck?

Unleash Brilliance - Gallup Organization asked 5,000 people in 18 industries, "How productive are you?" Let's assume the goal is 100% productivity in a given 40 - 60 hour work week; what do you think the answer to the Gallup Organization question was? 32%! That's right! The people asked estimated that they were only being productive at a 32% capacity. Why? According to Gallup, people said, "The organization doesn't know what I can offer" and "I don't think I am valued" or "I am not appreciated."

The fact is, if you want to maximize your value, you have to stop waiting for the organization to do something for you. Get up off of your blessed assurance and make something happen. Find a project that no one else will touch, and go for it. Ask your leader what you can take off of his plate. Cross-train in another department. Teach others what you have learned so you can make room inside yourself to learn even more.

Be a Hybrid - Recently I was speaking with a colleague who had grown up in the audit side of the Fortune 500 company she worked for and possessed a deep knowledge of the accounting side of her business. Now she has made a switch to the marketing side of the house and was recently promoted to Account Manager, responsible for a multi-million dollar client. I asked her, "How did that happen?" She said that she was able to leverage both the right brain and left brain aspects of her experience to influence internal and external customers.

Every day is another opportunity for you to own what you do. If you don't, then someone else will.

Simon's Sidebar...

The Vujá dé Moment - Shift from Average to Brilliant is now available on Kindle.

Click here to download it today - http://ow.ly/b1wfi


Be Brilliant,

Simon T. Bailey

Brilliance Institute

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New Sign of a Stroke -------- Stick out Your Tongue

Stroke has a new indicator They say if you forward this to ten people, you stand a chance of saving one life. Will you send this along? Blood Clots/Stroke - They Now Have a Fourth Indicator, the Tongue.


STROKE: Remember the 1st Three Letters..... S. T. R.

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) ...she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.
They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Jane went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.

Jane's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00 PM Jane passed away..) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Jane would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this.

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough..

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the '3' steps, S.T.R.  Read and
Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify.  Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.

T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)(I.e. Chicken Soup)

R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New Sign of a Stroke -------- Stick out Your Tongue

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke.

A cardiologist says if everyone who reads this post forwards it to ten people, you can bet that at least one life will be saved.
I have done my part. Will you?

(Source unknown)