The Perfect Porch Swing There is a magical quality to porch
swings. In his summertime classic Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury
describes the “ritual of the front-porch swing.”

“In the garage they found, dusted, and carried forth the howdah,
as it were, for the quiet summer-night festivals, the swing
chair which Grandpa chained to the porch-ceiling eyelets…they
sat, smiling at each other, nodding, as they swung silently back
and forth, back and forth.”

Perhaps it is the soothing rhythm or the reassuring creak of the
porch swing that attracts us. Perhaps it is the companionable
silence or quiet conversation. Or maybe swings simply remind us
of more genteel times.

Materials and Construction Although porch swings can be
purchased in a wide range of materials, the most common are
wicker and wood. You can also make your own porch swing from one
of the myriad of woodworking patterns available at garden
centers, hardware stores, or on the Internet. You can even
improvise with a rope chair or a wicker chair with the legs cut
off and a support base added.

Whether you are buying or making, here are things to look for:
•Seat depths vary from 18 to 36 inches (50-100 cm). There is no
one “correct” depth — it’s a matter of personal comfort. •Chair
slats should have some curve or slant to them to make a more
comfortable seat, and there should be enough space between slats
to allow air to circulate. •Swings can hold one to three people
depending on the length of the seat. Of course, the bigger the
swing, the heavier the load and the sturdier the supports need
to be. •Swings with additional length-wise supports under the
chair slats will be sturdier and will swing more evenly. •All
joints should be bolted or screwed together, not nailed. •Pine,
maple or oak swings will not weather as well as cedar or teak,
but can be painted with an exterior paint to extend their life.
They also suit a sheltered porch area. •Wooden bench backs come
in a variety of styles. Back slats can run horizontally,
vertically with a topper or even vertically at differing heights
to form a “round” back. Some styles will suit certain homes
better than others. •Seat cushions, covered in durable outdoor
fabrics, can adapt a swing to just about any architectural or
decorating style, and also make the swing more comfortable for
whiling away those summer evening. Installation •Allow a 4 foot
(1.2 m) arc for the swing to move freely. •Use galvanized or
stainless steel chain or marine-grade braided nylon or polyester
rope, and eye-bolts or S-hooks with 4-6 inch (10 cm-15) shafts.
Using S-hooks allows easier removal of the swing for winter
storage but is not as secure as using eye-bolts. •ALWAYS hang
the swing from a roof joist, not the roofing material itself. If
the joists on your porch roof are not exposed, cut away a
section of roofing to find them. Otherwise, don’t hang the swing
from the ceiling — use a frame instead. •Drill a pilot hole
slightly smaller than the shaft of the eye-ring or S-ring. This
will ensure a snug fit to the shaft of the ring. Tighten the
ring securely, using pliers or a screw-driver for the last turn.
•Measure the required chain. As an example, seven foot (2.1 m)
chains hung from a beam 8 feet (2.4 m) above the floor will lift
a swing about 18 inches (45 cm) off the ground. If you have a
measurement, your hardware dealer can cut the exact length of
chain you need and you won’t have to cut it with a hacksaw. •Use
four chains to hang your swing — two chains from each hook, one
to the front of the swing and one to the back. It’s easier to
hang swings with holes in the arms, but swings with chains
attached to the seat or to the bottom supports give a more
comfortable ride without as much twisting and wearing of the
chains or the ropes. •Check your swing each spring and replace
any rusted chain or bolts. Also maintain the finish of the wood
because weathered wood eventually will loosen fasteners and
produce splinters. No porch? Don’t despair if you don’t have a
covered porch. •Some swings come suspended in their own frames
or can be installed on decks on a wooden A-frame. •Put one in
your garden, hanging from an arbor. Train vines up the sides and
soon you’ll have a leafy hide-away nook. •Hang a board with rope
from a sturdy, level tree branch •If you need something that
takes up less space, consider a glider — a bench that gently
moves forward and back on a mechanized base. There are even kits
available that will turn a wooden garden bench into a glider. So
don’t just sit there this summer — swing away and make some
memories!

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A tree is a natural example of a perfect business. It energises us with fresh oxygen while recycling our waste air. It absorbs energy directly from the sun while we still have to digest food. It aligns with the forces of nature. Imagine your business is like a tree. Is your business growing each year and producing ripe results? Or is it stunted and withering.

Here are some ways that you can regenerate your life and business using the wisdom of a seed, a tree and a forest.

1. The Seed That Grows A Forest.

Look at a seed. Perhaps an apple seed. It has an entire apple tree enfolded within it. This one seed can start a tree. Perhaps a whole forest. Now apply the same thinking to your business. What seed vision animates your business? Where is the heart in your business? What makes it breath and live? The answer is YOU. Your business vision must support your life vision. What is my life vision, you ask. Hmmm.

Think like a seed again. Design a lifestyle that you desire. Envision your life in all its many colours, shapes and stages of growth. Create wonderful possibilities. Charge this vision with good feelings. What you feel becomes real. Sow this seed vision within your heart. It will soon grow upwards into your head and outwards beyond your body.

2. The Roots Produce The Fruits.

Whatever you sow, it will grow. A seed grows a complete root system before it breaks through the soil surface. Now if you planted cabbage seeds when you really wanted apples then you will experience a very different result. The results in your life and business are like fruits. They can be traced back to your original seed thoughts. These original seed thoughts grew deep roots. They formed your beliefs about life and business. Your beliefs branched into behaviours. Your behaviours formed habits. Your habits created results. Your results created your life. If you have a major problem area in your life then this is just a result. It could be the result of a limiting memory planted many years ago. For example, a barking dog can still cause anxiety in an adult who remembers being bitten as a child. Certain words capture the power of our beliefs. For example, say the word, STOP, 10 times with feeling. Note the physical sensations in your body. Now say the word, GO, 10 times with !

feeling. Note the physical difference between these two words. The lesson here is to choose words that cause a positive vibration in your body. Changing your vibrations can help to eliminate old root beliefs by shaking them loose from the soil of your mind.

3. Turn Weeds and Toxic Thoughts Into Fertiliser.

The success of your business depends on increasing energy levels and removing blockages. So start to clear out any weeds. I call WEEDS - Wasted Effort Energy Drains. Find all the weeds in your life and business. Simply make a list of the 10 most terrible negatives in your life. On a separate paper, write the complete opposite of these negatives. Find their positive equivalents. Like turning your weeds into flowers. Now tear up your negative list and ceremonially burn it. Like burning old weeds in the garden. Now focus on your positive list. Use this list as seeds for positive growth. It is important that you raise your life-force, your energy levels. Weeds, pests and toxic thoughts drain your energy and stunt your growth.

4. Money Is Just A Fruit Full of Energy.

Money is just another form of energy. It is like a ripe fruit. We desire the juicy taste and sweet joy of the fruit. Rather than just the fruit itself. Similarly with money. We want the freedom and joy that money brings. Rather than just lots of money. So focus on all the good things money can create. Imagine you have sufficient money or fruit to feed yourself and a 1000 other hungry mouths. You help them grow their fruit trees so that they can feed others. It is no point in having basket-loads of money yet you are still poor in heart and mind. It is like the greedy king who kept all his ripe, golden fruit in his kingdom for himself. His joy was short-lived when his fruit all started to rot. So the lesson is to be wealthy in mind, heart and bank account.

5. Marketing Lessons of A Tree.

What value does your business provide to the market? Who is your market? Think like a native tree in a forest. How does it attract birds, bees and other animals? Does it use nuts to attract squirrels or shiny red berries for the birds? Does it have bright flowers with a beautiful fragrance to attract bees? The marketing lessons of tree are about sending out good vibrations that attract your preferred customers. Using light, sound, touch, smell, taste and feeling to form a connection. What subconscious messages are you sending out about your business? Your customer’s subconscious antennae are picking up signals all the time. Make sure you are releasing a positive message like a flower releasing a beautiful perfume.

So look to nature when seeking new inspiration and ideas. There are many business masters within the classrooms of a forest. So start with the teachings of a tree. In fact, grow one. Grow several. It all starts with a single seed.

Copyright 2004 Hirini Reedy

About The Author

Hirini Reedy is a native author, poet, civil engineer, retired military officer, martial arts black belt, NLP master and internet entrepreneur. He shows people how to integrate ancient wisdom with modern success principles using SIMPLE TEACHINGS. Learn more at http://www.maori-secrets.com

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If you’re finding yourself going through entire days without achieving anything. If you’re tired at the end of the day but can’t remember the last time you did something important - then this article is for you.

It’s very easy, when you’re starting your company, to lose track of time.

I, for one, can spend hours thinking about what I should do next without actually doing anything. I find it very easy to amuse myself by myself - but that doesn’t help my company at all!

The question is, how do you stop yourself from wasting precious hours in your day?

How do you get things done?

The first thing you should do is create a list of important tasks that need to get done for each day. So, before you go to bed each night, spend some time writing down just SIX things that are important to do the next day.

I personally don’t mind if they’re personal goals or business goals. As long as I do at least SIX things each day that bring me closer to achieving my goals in life.

So, for me, a typical list might look like this:

1. Practise guitar for 1/2 hour

2. Invoice clients

3. Buy accounting package

4. Spend 2 hours on Project X (Where Project X is the name of a particular project I’m working on

5. Automate web site subscriptions

6. Re-write salesletter for front-page

It looks pretty easy doesn’t it? It isn’t. It takes a lot of discipline to get just 6 important things done each day.

When I first started doing this, I had a lot of motivation to get these things done, so my business grew in leaps & bounds. The problem is that I eventually got demotivated and started losing track of my time.

I started spending hours just reading email, posting on forums and generally doing things that weren’t helping me achieve more!

Until today, that is. I’ve started a new “plan” to ensure I don’t mysteriously “lose time”.

It’s a simple plan really. All you need is an exam pad and a pen. Then, down the left of the front page, write down time slots in half-hour increments like this:

06h00
06h30
07h00
07h30
08h00
…
…
21h00
21h30
22h00

Then, as each half hour passes, quickly jot down in a word or three what you spent it doing.

This is going to help you see where all your time is wasted and will also give you something to answer to. If you’re checking up on yourself every half hour (by jotting down what you’ve done), you’ll find yourself more disciplined to do the things that count.

This is a very basic technique taught in many time-management classes, tapes and CDs and it works wonders. I never tried it out until now but if you do it, and you’re honest with yourself, you’ll quickly find out why you’re not getting any REAL work done!

Those 2 techniques together have helped me grow my business much faster than my previous self would have.

When you’re an employee - you don’t mind wasting a few hours here and there but when you have to put food on the table each month, suddenly your hours start being your most important assets!

I hope this helps you! Good luck

Norio is a young South African entrepreneur that enjoys teaching others the things he has learnt to make running his business easy & profitable. He runs a small business site for South Africans at http://www.small-business-hub.co.za

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How I Found My Home Based Business Niche.

I found myself suddenly and unexpectedly unemployed after more than twenty-five years in the same job. Prior to this I had no ambition to own my own business. I had previously had vague thoughts that it would be very nice to be able to work from home, but I never had any idea of what I could actually work at. I have a computer, I am literate and can type at a pretty fast rate. Apart from these, I have no skills which I can see as the basis for a home based business. I like reading and I grow all manner of plants from beans to cacti, but I couldn’t see anybody paying me to stay home and do any of these things.

If you had told me then where I would be today, and what I would be doing, I would have thought you were crazy. I would not have believed that I would own some websites (my own domain actually), be working from home and have published articles which I had written myself.

I searched for work, both on and off the internet and the more I searched, the more downhearted I became. Sure, there were jobs about but they all required things I lacked: some wanted experience, some wanted much younger people, the worst ones wanted people who were prepared to work long hours for peanuts.

I was regularly searching on the Internet for opportunities for home work. I joined forums and read posts from women who were desperate to work from home, most of them had children and were unable to find suitable jobs to fit in with their schedules. It began to seem as if there is a great army of people all wanting to work but unable to find the right opportunity to suit them.

I signed up with a couple of companies to get paid for reading emails, but reading a couple of emails each day is not the way to make a fortune. I still read emails for these companies, but only out of sentiment (you will understand what I mean by this when you get to the end of this story).

I picked up a couple of ideas which seemed promising and I tried them out. The first thing was mystery shopping, which sounded simple enough, and potentially enjoyable - well, getting paid to go shopping sounds good to me. I found many companies through searching the internet and I applied to dozens of them; I wanted a full time job, not just the odd shopping trip. Months went by and I heard nothing from any of these companies.

Fortunately, I had not been just sitting back and waiting for the mystery shopping jobs to come pouring in. I saw advertisements for paid surveys, and it seemed that you could make a full-time income filling in surveys on line. There were many websites which advised that you should never pay a fee to join a survey company, and these sites displayed the web addresses of various survey companies. At the same time, I saw a lot of advertising by a company which promised access to an enormous database of the best paying survey companies for a fee of only $35, which you would be bound to recover within a few days. Against my better judgement, I paid over the $35 and was disappointed to find that many of the companies in this database would accept US and Canada residents only. Nothing wrong with that, apart from the fact that I live in the UK. Of the companies which would accept international residents, I had already signed up to most of them. I got precisely nothing back for my $35. The only money I earned came from two paid survey companies which I did not join through that database. To date I have received a total payment of £12. I have earned another £21 which is in an account which would only pay out if my total reached £50.

My work search turned into a research project. I started looking at home based businesses rather than jobs. No shortage of possibilities here, but how to choose? I saw some attractive websites aimed at selling all kinds of goods but I had no idea where I would obtain stock, or even what I should try to sell, let alone how to set up a website, and my budget was limited. I tried searching for turnkey businesses. I looked at affiliate programme opportunities, and they seemed a good idea, no stock to buy or handle, but what should I sell? There were also different grades of memberships. I hardly knew what most of it meant to start with, but I was learning, and I was getting a pretty good feel for what I didn’t want.

I would like to say that I found my niche as a result of my own genius, hard work and perseverance. Actually, it was an accident. I opened one of my paid to read emails, clicked on the link and had my first view of a Plug-in Profit Site. I try to avoid clichés but this truly was a sight for sore eyes, eyes which felt as if they were ready to bulge out of my head after hours of staring at a computer screen. If it is possible to fall in love with a website, I did just that; I knew absolutely without a doubt that I wanted a Plug-in Profit Site of my own, it was everything I needed and more besides.

An attractive young man (young enough to be my son, I am afraid) was offering to build for me free of charge a website, complete with five free to join affiliate programmes selling a wide range of items, to provide multiple ways of earning money. He was also offering me, free of charge, my own pre-written newsletter, his own guide to setting up and running my business and many other free things which I came to appreciate even though I didn’t know what they were at the time (remember, I did not know a mailing list from a grocery list at this time, and I thought a lead was just something you needed to walk your dog). I could take delivery of all this within 24 hours, thank goodness; I don’t think I could have waited a minute longer. I did not resist this temptation for even a second and within 24 hours, I was a website owner all ready to trade.

The learning curve started here but I’ll save that for another story. I’ll just tell you one thing that I learned: I found out that I had, once again, been extremely lucky. I joined a couple of forums and read many posts from people who had struggled for years to find a decent home based internet business. These people told harrowing tales of failure, money lost, mounting debts, years of hard work and worry. In a strange way, I feel almost guilty that I found my niche by accident.

—

Elaine Currie, BA (Hons) © The Hunting Venus Group

This is one of a series of articles
published by the author, Elaine Currie, BA(Hons)
at http://www.huntingvenus.com
The author’s monthly newsletter is available free
from mailto:networkerhvm@ReportsNetwork.com

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Daniel Defoe’s most famous novel - Robinson Crusoe - makes for a delightful read, even after several centuries of its publication in 1719. The author was a whig supporter, a champion of freedom, free speech and a firm believer in reason and Christianity.

The Story

The novel - with two rather unknown sequels - is about the life of a young boy whose destiny it seems is to travel and meet cruel fates. He rebels against his parents, and boards a ship to make a fortune for himself while still in his teens. Alone on the island, he comes to repent and becomes a firm believer in Christ.

Living alone, hunting, food gathering and cultivating his own crops, he battles natural and human enemies to survive. Clashes with savage man-eaters, saves one of the victims and makes him a servant - his ‘man Friday.’ Finally, in the company of several ‘conquered’ subjects, he declares himself the ‘king’ of the island, only to ensure his full control.

The final action sees Crusoe traveling through France and fighting with wolves! He comes back to his country, gets married, only to take to seafaring again. This time his visit is to China. There is a third sequel to the story where Crusoe, grown old, settles down to write his reflections on the life he lived.

What the Work Means

The author is quite sure that this was a foolish act of a young mind, and was rightly punished when Crusoe is marooned on an island and spends the major part of his life there. He makes the sinner repent, re-discover Christianity and Christ, and pledge to live a virtuous life. There is therefore a moral to the story, like in another of Defoe’s work - The Moll Flanders. Yet, in both the stories, he seems to play around with the idea that it is somehow human nature that takes the upper hand, like it was in Crusoe’s blood that he was destined to roam around and live that kind of life, or the way Moll Flanders somewhat relished her previous life, though she gave it all up. These remarks are however very minor suggestions in the whole story.

The novel was said by Defoe to be a symbolic representation of his own personal struggle in life. Many of his business initiatives had failed until he turned to writing as a profession. Crusoe too has to face all the challenges - making sure nothing attacks him by surprise - man or animal, Keeping provisions, and ensuring he remains in total control of the island when natives and other nationalities join him.

His Style

The novel runs smoothly from page to page, and the writer is an expert in keeping the flow of language uninterrupted. The interest in the story is kept alive with such devices as Crusoe’s personal diary reproduced date wise.

Defoe is an excellent writer. He writes with deep understanding of the issues and factors. He makes the reader think, gives food for thought, and reading his works is a way of educating oneself in the ways of the world, and how to go about living a life of reason. His novels also teach us how to write well with passion and understanding of the subject matter.

Coming soon - Moll Flanders Review.

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Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress trading statement. In just 8 months, she had managed to turn her $120,000 account balance into less than $70,000.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized that the financial freedom she so desperately sought was slipping uncontrollably out of her grasp. For the first time since the accident, she felt desperately fearful of the future.

How would she be able to keep custody of her two young children, Paul and Sara, without an income once the money was gone? She just knew her violent ex-husband, Tom, would file for custody as soon as he discovered that she had no way of providing for her children, and then she would be on her own. Her situation seemed hopeless…

12 months earlier, she had received a compensation payment for a work related accident and at the time had no idea of what to do with the money.

Her injuries were so severe that the likelihood of her working again in the near future was slim at best. She needed financial advice, but who to turn to, she had no idea.

A well meaning friend had mentioned an options trading course he had attended and suggested that trading might be a way for Sidney to earn above average returns on her compensation payment money, as interest and dividends would not be able to provide enough income for the family to live on.

She thought about it for several weeks, $5000 was a lot of money to put up to learn something that seemed totally foreign to her. Her other friends, when asked for their advice, warned her not to even consider options trading - it was a casino and everyone who ventured there lost their shirt.

The thought of extra returns however was too much for her, so she signed up for an upcoming course and hoped she could learn enough to succeed where so many others had failed.

The weekend course came and went in a blinding flash of trendlines, moving averages, support and resistance and Bollinger bands. She didn’t know what had hit her.

At home the following day, she sat and stared at the course materials and was more confused than ever about options and spreads, puts and calls.

She looked at her two young children as they slept peacefully and decided that she simply HAD to get this right - she could see the potential - the course presenter had shown them trading statements showing profits of up to $25000 on a single trade, and no losses, so it was possible.

For the next two weeks, she read and re-read the course notes and listened to the CD’s of the event she had received in the post after shelling out another $1400 at the seminar for them.

It finally started to make some sense for her one Saturday afternoon when her seven year old daughter looked at the chart she had on her computer screen and said, “That line is going up, Mommy, what is it?”

She looked into her young child’s eyes and smiled, thinking “How simple was that?” She had just written out a trading plan for a put option trade based on her analysis of that very chart - she thought the price would go down; how wrong would she have been?

She stared at the chart for several long minutes and then she saw it.

She had been told that the safest place to buy put options was on the first lower top - at the start of a downtrend. However, she also had been told to place a 30 day simple moving average on the chart and never to trade against the direction of that indicator. The Stock had made a lower top, but the trend was still up.

These two conflicting filters had confused her until now. She re-read her notes and found that she must never trade against the direction of the 30 day moving average.

She felt like she had discovered the Holy Grail of trading.

She went back over her charts and looked at the 30 day moving average on each one - in all cases, that had been the trend direction and it just kept going - she had been trading against the trend! If she went with it she would be raking in the profits in no time.

Armed with this new insight, she decided that she would take the next trade that presented itself with real money and she was sure she was on her way.

The opportunity duly presented itself. She bought 10 (no use starting small) MSFT (Microsoft Corp) July Calls for $1.12, a total outlay of $11,200 plus commission.

The Stock promptly fell for three days straight. She panicked and sold the options at what turned out to be the low of the third day for $0.38 cents - a loss on her first trade of $7500! She was shattered. The next day, the Stock rallied and within two days it was at a new high for the move.

What had happened? She had sold at the very low of a reaction to the main trend. How could she have been so stupid?

She watched as the option premium quickly rose to $2.14 without her. This movement consumed her completely and she didn’t even bother looking at her other watchlist Stocks - she was mesmerized by the one that got away.

The Stock continued to climb, as did the option premium - $2.85, $3.41, $3.82. Each day she watched as it doubled, then tripled her original stake. She cried - why?

It seemed the trend was going to continue forever, so she decided to get over it and buy some calls at the bottom of the next 3 day reaction - yes, that was it.

The Stock was having reactions of 2 and 3 days, so at the end of the next one, she would buy calls and make her lost money back.

That week, the price of MSFT started to come off a little, and had three big days down.

She bought 20 MSFT calls (well she had to get her money back, didn’t she?) at a much higher strike price than the last ones and paid $1.31 for them, expecting the rally to come the next day.

Overnight, the US market fell 4% after terrorists attacked a Government building and threatened more similar attacks in the weeks and months that followed.

Sidney woke up to see the carnage in the US Stockmarket and just knew it was going to be a bad day.

MSFT opened down $1.30 along with the general market. Her call options were bid at $0.40 cents.

She remembered the last time this happened - she had sold in a panic. This time, she decided to hold on for a better price. The Stock continued to fall. The rally never came this time - the season had changed in the Stock Market.

Sidney held those options all the way to expiry - to zero, because she didn’t have the stomach to take another loss like the last one. In two trades, she had lost over a quarter of her compensation payment. Things looked grim.

Her trading continued on for the next few months in much the same way. Small profits, large losses.

She frequented the trading forum of the group that had held the seminar but couldn’t find any answers there either - most of the traders who posted comments were in the same boat.

Her friends kept saying “I told you so!” so she stopped hanging around with them. She was consumed with getting this thing right and nobody was going to stop her.

Then came that fateful day when she opened her monthly Options Account statement and saw the account balance had dipped below $70,000.

She wept uncontrollably for hours that day. She had failed. Her kids would be taken away by her ex husband and there was nothing but black for as far as she could see into the future - her life looked bleak.

In the midst of this horrible experience, her 12 year old daughter came home from School and found her mother in tears. “What’s wrong mom?” her daughter asked. “Oh, this option trading will be the death of me darling,” Sidney sobbed.

“Why, what’s happened?” Sara asked. “Every time I buy an option, it goes down in value,” her mother answered. “Who do you buy the options from, mum?” Sara asked after some thought. “Other traders,” Sidney answered.

Then Sara said the most profound thing Sidney had ever heard a child say, “Mom, it sounds like those other traders are getting the best deal, and you are getting ripped off. Why don’t you do what they do?”

Sidney was about to explain why she was an option buyer instead of a seller, but stopped mid thought when she realized the power of what her daughter had just said.

Of course, every option that she had ever bought and then sold at a loss had made a profit for the seller, at her expense. She was speechless…

She had to change her strategy - immediately! She would become a writer of covered calls and sell options to others.

The next day, she went to the library and found three books on option writing and studied them cover to cover. It was simple…she would become an option writer and take the profits from the punters expecting extraordinary profits that rarely came.

To do this, she would start buying Stocks and writing covered calls over them. But which ones. She studied the pages of Investors Business Daily, looking for the options with the highest volatility, because she knew from her studies that she had to sell high volatility options to get good premiums.

She also wanted a low Stock price so she could buy more than a couple of thousand of them to minimise the effects of Brokerage fees on her profits.

The US options market appeared to be a goldmine for sellers because so many Stocks tended to hold strong trends, while still offering good premiums for their options - apparently many traders expected the trend to change every day, therefore bidding up the prices of options that were clearly not going to make them a profit if the trend continued - Sidney would use this to her advantage.

After careful study and several weeks of research on the Internet, Sidney chose one Stock to focus her initial attention and looked for a buy point.

Please Note - the following example is for illustration purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy the Stock mentioned or any other Stock for that matter - please do your own research before undertaking any investment strategy mentioned - we cannot give you investment advice.

She waited for the trend to turn up, and bought 2000 Airtran Holdings (AAI) at $4.30 in January 2003 as the Stock had appeared to start a strong rally. The charts below show the trades Sidney took in this Stock. (Charts available at StockTradingReview.com)

She wrote (sold) 20 January $5.50 strike call options (one option contract covers 100 Shares) and received $440 after Brokerage.

Three weeks later, the Stock was trading at $6.00 (point 2). The options were exercised, as they were in-the-money at expiry and Sidney was forced to sell her Stock at the strike price of $5.50, netting herself a capital profit of $2400 plus the option premium of $440, a total of $2840 for three weeks or around 33% on her invested capital for the period!

She was hooked. “That was more like it,” she thought.

She immediately bought 3000 more AAI and wrote 30 February call options with a strike price of $7.00. She received a total premium of $670.

The Stock price basically tracked sideways for that month, and the options expired worthless (point 3). “AHA,” the light was coming on for her.

“That used to be me,” she thought to herself, as she called the Broker and sold another batch of $7.00 strike price options, this time for March expiry. Another $680 was deposited into Sidney’s trading account. “Every little bit helps,” she thought.

The Share price rallied during March, but come expiration day, AAI again failed to close above $7.00. The options expired worthless and Sidney again kept the premium (point 4).

Sidney’s total profit so far was $4190. And it had only taken her a few minutes a month to earn this income. “How long had this been going on,” she thought to herself.

The buyers of all those options had to sweat out weeks of time decay only to receive a small profit in one case or a loss at the end of the time. “That used to be me!”

She decided to increase her stake, and purchased an additional 3000 AAI Shares at $6.85 at the beginning of April (for a total of 6000 shares). She then wrote 60, $8.00 strike price call options for a total premium of $1240, and then just waited for expiry.

On the day of expiry, the Stock price closed at $7.85 (point 5) - she again kept the all the premium and the buyers of those options lost all of their stake.

For May, Sidney sold 60 more call options at a strike price of $9.00 as the Stock continued to rally.

Her premium income was $1195. The Stock price moved sideways for the month and the options again expired worthless. (Charts available at StockTradingReview.com)

Sidney bought another 2000 AAI in June and wrote 80 $9.00 call options. Her premium income was $1585. She sold her call options a long way above the market because it looked like the trend was accelerating and she didn’t want to leave too much profit on the table by selling them too low.

During the month, the Stock did indeed rally strongly and closed on the day of expiry at $10.47 (point 6). Her call options were exercised and she received a total of $72000 from the sale of her Stock.

For July, she immediately reinvested this amount plus a little of her own funds and again bought 8000 AAI and wrote 80 call options with a strike price of $12.00.

She wrote a higher strike price this time around because the trend appeared to be accelerating and she didn’t want to miss out on too much capital growth if it continued to rally.

Her premium income was much less this month, due to the options being further out-of-the-money than previously.

She only received $650, but with the trend accelerating, she was confident that she would be exercised and stood to make a good capital gain if she was right. The price didn’t quite make it, closing at $11.83 on the day of expiry (point 7)…

She continued to buy more AAI Stock and write call options during August and September. Her total profits and premium income from trading this one Stock and strategy have made back nearly three quarters of her losses from the previous 8 months. Plus, she now had a good income to live on. Her children would be able to stay with her and the future looked much brighter.

The Stock continued to climb in price to above $20 and Sidney rode it all the way, writing call options over her ever increasing portfolio. When the trend eventually changed, she sold this Stock and moved on.

Sidney can now confidently continue to build on this initial success using other Stocks that are rising in price. There is a large universe of Stocks that are both optionable and often trend strongly, which give traders huge opportunities to profit from this strategy.

There are of course some ground rules to follow, but the fact that 85% or more of out-of-the-money options expire worthless puts the balance of probability on the side of the writer rather than the purchaser in most instances.

Some things to consider are -

1) When considering writing covered calls, always buy Stocks that are trending higher - if the 30 day moving average is rising and the price bars are above it, the trend is currently up - that doesn’t mean it’s going to continue in that direction but you will be trading with the balance of probability.

2) Always have a stop loss order in the market in case the trend reverses and you have to exit the Stock. You will have to buy back your sold call options prior to selling the Stock as the Shares are held as security by your Broker.

3) Start off slowly and build your position over time. Continue to look for covered call writing candidates and switch Stocks if you find something better than the ones you are currently trading.

I trust this example has given you an insight into writing covered calls. It is often a lower risk strategy than straight buying Stocks or options. It can provide a great income stream for people to live on or to build wealth for the future.

To Your Trading Success,

Tony Spann and the Stock Trading Review Team

Stock Trading Review is dedicated to helping you succeed as a trader by sharing with you simple and easy to follow tips and techniques.

Discover more insider secrets and the exact proven strategies to trade stocks profitably: http://www.stocktradingreview.com

Copyright(C)2005 Stock Trading Review

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The internet can be a great asset in finding the best loan for
your personal needs. Online loans can be a convenient way to
apply and check on your loan. Some online services also offer
lower interest rates than many loans offered by more
“traditional” lenders such as banks and finance companies.
Traditional lenders also offer much of their information on
their websites, so online research can provide an easy method of
comparison to aid in your decision.

If you’ve been considering applying for an online loan, it’s
best to do a little bit of research beforehand so that you’ll
know exactly what sort of loan you’re getting. And make sure
that you’re getting the best offer for that loan that you can.

Let’s look at some of the various advantages of getting an
online loan, as well as ways to research traditional lenders.

Advantages of online loans

One of the main advantages of getting an online loan is the ease
of accessibility to both the lender and the loan via the
internet, which can be a great boon if you’re usually pressed
for time during the regular business day. Instead of having to
visit a bank or finance company during their hours of operation,
with an online loan you can simply visit a website for the
information that you need at any time during the day or night.

Most online lenders feature secure websites with additional
security measures in place to protect your personal information.
Often, you can either contact the lender directly via e-mail or
apply for a loan from the privacy of your own home. Many of
these lenders can offer loan decisions in a time frame of
between 30 seconds and two days, and since most of these lenders
use electronic bank transfers to handle funds borrowers can
often receive their loan money either the next day or within a
few days of their loan being approved. approved.

Advantages to traditional loans

Loans given through a bank or finance company generally offer
more options than online lending. Banks will offer better rates
to members who carry a checking or savings account through them.
Competition between major banks ensures the best Banks and
finance companies offer basic information on their websites, but
you can often find more out through a one-on-one consultation
with a bank officer. Often, researching a traditional loan
online will leave you with more questions than answers.

Things to keep in mind

The more you research, the better options you’ll find. Better
online lending sites will offer various informational pieces on
their products and services, as well as some information on
financial services in general in order to assist you in making
your financial decisions and to convey a sense of interest that
shows the online lender to be concerned about your finances.

It is also advisable to make sure that the loan that you decide
upon is truly within your ability to repay. Shop around with
online and traditional lenders to get the best interest rate and
keeping your loan amount low in comparison to your total equity.
This will ensure that you can meet payment deadlines even if
sudden expenses arise, and will save you money in the long run
as well.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following
author’s biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

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2006 is just around the corner, and there are several issues to
consider if you currently have a Health Savings
Account, or are planning on getting one in 2006.

Contribution Limits and Deadlines

100% of the deposit you place in your HSA is deductible on your
federal income taxes. All but a handful of states also make HSA
contributions tax-deductible on state income taxes. If you are
looking to reduce your 2005 tax burden and/or put away more
money for retirement, your HSA is the first place you should put
your money if you have not yet maximized your contribution.

The maximum you can contribute to your HSA in 2005 is the lesser
amount of your deductible, or $2,650 for singles and $5,250 for
families. Individuals who are 55 or older may contribute an
additional $600.

Note that contribution limits are pro-rated, based on the number
of complete months during the year in which the taxpayer has a
qualifying health insurance plan. If you obtained a qualifying
health insurance plan in 2005, you may use our HSA Contribution Calculator to quickly
determine your maximum contribution.

You have until April 15 (or later if you file for an extension)
to make your 2005 contribution. If you do not fully fund your
account for the current year, you cannot make a catch-up
contribution for 2005 after this deadline. However, you can
reimburse yourself in later years for qualified expenses
incurred in 2005, even if you do not have the funds in your
account to reimburse yourself at this time.

In 2006, the maximum annual HSA contribution will go up to
$2,700 for individuals and $5,450 for families, and people 55 or
older will be allowed to contribute an additional $700.

To maximize your tax benefit for 2006, it is important to have
your HSA-qualified health coverage in place no later than
January 1.

Record Keeping

In order to pay for a medical expense from your HSA, it must be
a qualified expense. In previous issues I have discussed some of these
qualified expenses, including dental expenses, eyeglasses,
chiropractor visits, over-the-counter medications, and sometimes
even nutritional supplements. Please see our qualified expenses page for more details.

Now is a good time to make sure you have an accurate record of
your medical expenses for the year. Make sure you separate the
expenses for which you have reimbursed yourself from your HSA
from those that you paid for out-of-pocket. You’ll want to keep
receipts for all medical expenditures paid from your HSA with
your 2005 tax records. Place the “non-reimbursed medical
expenses” in a separate file, keeping them with the concurrent
year’s tax records in whatever year you decide to reimburse
yourself.

Over-funded Accounts

The penalty for over-funding your HSA is a whopping 6%. I
actually over-funded my own account, because I had set it up in
January yet made the maximum deposit as if it had been in effect
since January 1. (Yes, I should have known better!)

You have until April 15, 2006 to withdraw excess funds for the
2005 tax year to avoid the penalty. My HSA administrator
fortunately notified me of my mistake, but they had no
obligation to do so. It is your responsibility, so make sure you
check into this if you think you may have over-funded you
account.

2006 Deductible Changes

The minimum deductible for HSA-compatible health insurance plans
in 2005 was $1,000 for individuals and $2,100 for families. In
2006 this will increase to $1,050 for individuals and $2,100 for
families. If you currently have an HSA-qualified plan with the
lowest eligible 2005 deductible, that deductible will
automatically go up on January 1 to the new minimum.

Strategies to Maximize Your Tax Benefits

There are basically three different strategies you can take when
deciding how to fund your health savings account.

1) Put no money in the account, except when you incur a medical
expense. This strategy allows you to legally “launder” any money
used to pay medical expenses. In other words, by depositing
money into your HSA, then immediately withdrawing it to
reimburse yourself for medical expenses, you are making your
medical expenses all tax-deductible. You may want to use this
strategy if you are on a tight budget and want to keep your cash
outlay as low as possible.

2) Fully fund the account, or at least put in as much as
possible based on your budget. Take money out of the account any
time medical expenses are incurred, and let the rest grow
tax-deferred. This strategy will maximize your tax deduction,
while making your HSA funds available to pay any non-covered
medical expenses before your deductible is met.

3) Fully fund the account, but pay all medical expenses from a
non-HSA account. Reimburse yourself for medical expenses at a
later date. This strategy will allow you to maximize your tax
deduction, and will also allow you to maximize the tax-deferred
growth of your HSA. You can then reimburse yourself, tax-free,
at any time in the future for medical expenses incurred over the
ensuing years. (For an example of this strategy, see Maximize Your HSA, Issue 3).

To maximize the potential growth of your funds, you may want to
make your 2006 deposits as early in the year as possible. Any
growth in your account is tax-deferred, like an IRA. I plan on
making my deposit the first week in January.

If you do not yet have an HSA-qualified health insurance plan,
please give us a call at 866-254-5121 as soon as possible. By
getting your HSA-qualified health insurance in place by January
1, not only will you be able to maximize your tax benefits, but
you also may be able to lock in 2005 rates for the next 12 - 24
months.

To your health and wealth,

Wiley Long President HSA for America
http://www.HSAforAmerica.com

P.S. Every December I write out my goals and objectives for the
next 12 months. Finance and health are two areas I always spend
some time thinking about. By staying healthy, I expect to build
a nice second retirement account with my HSA. Next month I’ll
cover some lifestyle strategies that you may want to adopt as
part of your New Year’s resolutions, that have the potential to
dramatically improve your health (and wealth) over the coming
years.

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Once you have found a scent that you feel really defines who you are and what you are all about, (and makes you just a little more unforgettable!), how do you make it your own?

By that we mean, how do you make people think, “that smells like Sheryl” or, “that smells like Jeff” instead of, “isn’t that the cologne that Janet wears?” Making the cologne “your own” means engulfing yourself in the scent so that it becomes an integral part of you, without becoming overwhelming to others.

For example, you don’t want to continue spraying yourself with perfume or cologne all day long, since the sharp, introductory notes will continue to come through and that sharp scent will be overwhelming to people if they smell it on you constantly.

Instead, try building a the scent in layers. For example, many fragrance manufacturers don’t just make cologne or perfume, they make other products with the same fragrance as well. You should start by using their soap and shampoo to get a light fragrance over your body.

When you are out of the shower, try using their fragranced powder or body lotion to build up the next layer of scent.

Finally, you have two choices. You can either spray perfume on your pulse points (perfume is the strongest concentration of sent offered by a fragrance manufacturer), or you can spray the eau de toilette or eau de cologne all over your body, since it is a lighter version of the fragments.

Throughout the day, your fragrance layers will evaporate and give off that scent. And over time, your clothes will become infused with the smell as well, and it won’t be long until people begin to associate a smell only with you.

And why would you want to smell associated only with you? It’s easy! Smell is the sense that is most closely related to our long-term memory. So when people smell something, they often make close associations between the scent and the experience. So give people something to remember about you and layer your body with a scent that will keep you in people’s memories for a long time to come.

Jeff Lakie is the founder of Cologne Information a website providing information on Cologne

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Just about everyone loves freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Many of us have fond memories from our childhoods of the aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies filling up the house. Our eager little eyes anxiously awaiting their arrival from oven to countertop.

Chocolate chip cookies are the ultimate comfort food. There’s just something about them that makes us feel warm and fuzzy. The chocolate chip cookie has evolved over the years into a mouth-watering variety of textures and flavors.

If you’re a fruit lover you’ll enjoy banana chocolate chip cookies or cherry chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate lovers will delight over chocolate chocolate chip cookies, double chocolate chip cookies and white chocolate chip cookies.

Another popular variation is the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Who knew that oatmeal would taste so good with chocolate?

If you want to spice up your favorite chocolate chip cookies even more, you can add tasty morsels like mint chips, craisins, candy bars, espresso beans, m&ms, candy cane, walnuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts, dark chocolate or big chunks of milk chocolate.

Some folks love eating gourmet chocolate chip cookie bars and even chocolate chip cookie pie!

If you have special dietary needs, you can still enjoy home baked chocolate chip cookies. There are special recipes online for low fat chocolate chip cookies, vegan chocolate chip cookies, wheat free and egg free chocolate chip cookies, and whole wheat chocolate chip cookies.

Now that you know about the many ways you can enjoy the world’s most famous cookie, I hope you will try many of the delicious recipes so you too can enjoy the ultimate chocolate chip cookie experience.

Copyright 2004

Donna Monday is a contributing author at: http://www.best-cookie-jar-recipes.com.

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