Brain Wave – Page 3 – Sasha Says…

Brain Wave, Family and Home living, Money matters

Getting the car of your choice.

June 11, 2022 No Comments

My siblings and I grew up in a middle income family. My dad was an insurance company employee with a small-scale car accessories shop business on the side. Being a large family, my parents made do with what they had. We used to own a sedan where we would squeeze ourselves in to be able to move from one place to another, mostly on weekends. Those were fun times even if riding in the family car was uncomfortable for us kids.

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I remember my sisters and I discussing what vehicle we wanted to get for our family. Different car brands and models, car make and color, etc. What we agreed on was it had to be a large vehicle, big enough for all of us siblings and our parents. An SUV, automatic, diesel-powered.

When we could afford it, we exchanged the sedan for an SUV. Yes, the same one that we were dreaming of when we were kids. It took years before we finally decided that we can afford one. Two younger sisters and I are all employed, we have more than enough to pay for the down payment of an SUV, and we know for a fact that we can afford the monthly amortization of it. The confidence came largely through an easily accessible free car payment calculator online that we used to compute possible monthly amortization. I personally checked that our salaries were more than enough to pay for the vehicle of our choice. We gave the SUV to our Dad. Sadly, our Dad passed away before the pandemic. The SUV is now being used only when we have the nephews over and we would all go some place together.

My sisters and I are considering exchanging the SUV this time to an AUV. My suggestion is a Mitsubishi Xpander or a Toyota Avanza. The rising cost of fuel, difficulty in finding a parking space, and the cost of maintaining a five-year-old vehicle are all taken into consideration. We are also considering trading in our old SUV to lower the cost of getting a new car. Cost of fuel is a big consideration, the primary one actually, as it has risen to astronomical proportions. We calculated our fuel budget thru CarPaymentCalculator.net and it is a good indicator that we can still afford it. A final decision will be made this week as we are anxious to go on the road again but this time using a smaller car consuming lesser fuel.

There was a time when getting a car would require you to have three to four times the amount of salary of a minimum wage worker. It reminded me of how hard it was for my parents to get a bigger car for our family. Nowadays, with so many promotional schemes from almost all car dealers, it got easier for anyone to buy a car. My advice for first time car buyers or those getting a new or second cars, make sure you can afford it. Check the amortization and fuel budget as these are crucial financial considerations. You can easily use an online car payment calculator as I have mentioned above. If you find out you can afford, go ahead and get the car of your choice!

Brain Wave, Life in general

Why Helping The World Helps You Too

June 10, 2022 No Comments

Have ever wondered why you feel good when you help someone? Either giving a homeless person some change or donating to a charity, well it’s because that is the way you were created. Humans love helping others and seeing the joy on other people’s faces. You can help the world in many ways, you can volunteer your time to help others or you could set up a charitable fund to help those in need. Take a look below to find out what helping others can do for you.

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Makes You Feel Good

First of all, when you help people it makes you feel good. It’s as simple as that, feeling good is what we strive for. It is a similar feeling to the one you get when you eat a healthy meal and exercise rather than laying in bed all day. You feel a sense of accomplishment and achievement, and you know deep down you are giving to someone who needs it more than you.

Realize What You Have

If you venture off to a faraway land to do some volunteering then you will quickly realize that your own life isn’t so bad. Seeing how other people have to live and breathe every day can be incredibly traumatic, but it really does open your eyes. If you have ever complained about simple things such as waiting too long for a bus, then just think there are countries out there at war who don’t have access to anything.

Want To Give Back

Human beings want to give back, it’s in your DNA. If you have been in a bad place then you know how others are feeling. A bit of empathy goes a long way in helping others. If someone comes to you with a problem or you spark up a conversation with someone then listen to them, a problem shared is a problem halved. You can also set up a charity or give to a charity for example. Take Ukraine for example, there are tons of people and families out there now with nothing. Clicking on a simple link such as save Ukraine could mean the difference between a small donation and nothing at all.

Relieves Stress

Helping others is a huge stress relief, it is not often known why though. It may be due to altruism, this means that you get a sense of elation when you help someone. Your brain then realizes this is good for your body and wants you to continue doing it. It could also be due to the fact that when you are helping others, you aren’t thinking about your own problems. This means you get a break from the stress of everyday life for a bit.

Help Make A Change

When you help others or work for a worthy cause you will notice the changes that are happening. For example, if you go to work in Borneo with the Orangutans, you see the great work that you and the other volunteers have done and it gives you an incredible sense of achievement. Donating to a money pot is slightly harder to see the change but it will be happening in the background. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. People can’t be helped and overcome their difficulties in a day either. It takes slow progress to change the world into a better place.

Meet Like-minded People

If you are going off to help others in another city, country, or continent then you will be working with others who also want to help make that change happen. Meeting others and getting to know them will also give you an insight into their lives. Everyone has a reason for going off to volunteer their services, some will have interesting tales to tell. These are people that you will probably chat to and potentially meet for the rest of your life. Doing a good thing together means you are connected in a way nobody else is.

Feel Like You Have A Purpose

Finally, when you help others you feel like you have a purpose in life. Feeling accomplished and valued as a volunteer gives you that purpose that you were craving. You don’t want to be stuck in a boring nine to five with shouty bosses and employers. If you want to be out there helping others then you can do just that. Volunteer in your spare time and help make the world a better place for everyone.

We hope you found this article insightful and it gives you lots of ways helping others can help you too.

Brain Wave, Health and medicine

3 Helpful Tips to Recovery After Experiencing an Injury

May 25, 2022 No Comments

After any major traumatic event, such as an injury, it is normal to experience a wide range of emotions. Shock, disbelief, sadness, and anger are all common reactions. It is essential to allow yourself time to process these feelings and to seek help from professionals if you need it. This blog post will discuss three tips that can help you start the recovery process after experiencing a severe injury.

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1) Seek professional help

One of the most important things you can do after experiencing a severe injury is seek professional help. This can vary from therapy to anesthetists like Anthony Singh or simply talking to your doctor about what you are going through. It is necessary to find someone you feel comfortable talking to and who can help you navigate this difficult time.

If you are not sure where to start, many resources are available online. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from family and friends either. Sometimes just talking about what happened can be helpful. Seeking professional help is an essential first step in recovery after experiencing a severe injury.

It allows you to process your emotions healthily and to begin to understand what happened. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to someone about your experience, other options are available, such as writing in a journal or listening to relaxation tapes.

2) Give yourself time

One of the most important things to remember is that recovery takes time. There is no set timeline for how long it will take to feel better. Everyone heals in their way and at their own pace. Therefore, it is important to be patient with yourself and allow yourself the time you need to heal.

It is also important to do things that make you happy and help you relax during this time. This could include spending time with friends and family, listening to music, reading, or doing anything else that brings you joy. In addition, taking care of yourself during this difficult time is crucial.

It may also be helpful to talk about your experience with others who have been through something similar. Talking to someone who understands what you are going through can be very helpful. In addition, there are many support groups available for people who have experienced a severe injury.

3) Create a support system

One of the most important things you can do during recovery is creating a support system. This could include family, friends, therapists, or anyone else you feel comfortable talking to about your experience. These people can provide emotional support and help you through this difficult time. It is crucial to have someone to talk to who understands what you are going through.

Your support system should be tailored to meet your specific needs. If you need someone to talk to on a daily basis, make sure that person is available. If you only need someone to talk to once a week, that’s okay. The most important thing is that you have people in your life who understand what you are going through and who can offer support.

Recovery after experiencing a severe injury can be a complex and emotional process. However, there are things you can do to make it easier. Seeking professional help, giving yourself time, and creating a support system are important steps in the recovery process. Remember to be patient with yourself and take care of yourself during this difficult time.

Brain Wave, Family and Home living

4 Reasons To Ask For More Help Around The House

May 25, 2022 No Comments

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In the quest to become the perfect parent, many moms take on huge amounts of responsibility. But, eventually, it catches up with you. All that work around the house can often become too much, particularly if you have more than one child.

In this post, we take a look at some of the reasons why it makes sense to ask for more help around the house. Nobody is saying that you have to delegate entirely, but just getting a little help here and there can go a long way.

You’re At Risk Of Burnout

If the household chores are solely your responsibility, you’re putting yourself at dire risk of burnout. Constantly working during the day, and then at evenings and weekends, doesn’t give you any space to just relax, unwind, and forget about life’s troubles. You’re always on the go, moving from one room to the next, fighting a never-ending battle.

Getting some help, though, can provide you with the equivalent of one evening off per week, if not more. Having other people shoulder the burden gives you time to recharge.

You Feel Frustrated

Managing a household isn’t just physically demanding, it’s also emotionally burdening as well, particularly if other family members aren’t pulling their weight. It only seems fair that each person should share the work equally, but that rarely happens. Instead, you seem to be the one who is always cleaning and tidying up, which inevitably leads to frustration.

Again, asking for help can prevent this. Once your spouse and children are doing their bit, you have less reason to feel angry with them.

You Can’t Solve Some Problems

No matter how much cleaning and tidying you do around the house, there are sometimes problems that you just can’t solve. Take storage, for instance. If you have too much clutter in your home, no amount of “putting away time” is going to fix it.

Similarly, if you have mold in your bathroom, scrubbing won’t usually solve the problem. Without using mold mitigation services to investigate the root cause of the issue, you’re battling away in vain.

Asking for help isn’t capitulation. Instead, it’s an admission that some problems are just intractable and that you need help. Once you get the assistance you need, you often find that many household tasks get easier, or simply disappear altogether.

You Want More “Me” Time

A scarcity of “me” time can really hurt your happiness. If you’re constantly serving others and never taking time for yourself, you can feel trapped in your own home. You’re not living the life you want at all.

The good news is that asking for help is a way of grabbing more time for yourself. If somebody else is cleaning the bathroom because you’ve been doing it all month, you can finally put your feet up, do some exercise, or indulge in a hobby.

Just remember, it’s okay to ask for help around the house. The job of a mom is to raise healthy children, not operate a hotel service. Getting other family members to contribute helps you, and also helps them as well.

Brain Wave, Life in general

Keep Your Move Organized With These Simple Suggestions

May 17, 2022 No Comments

One of the things that you have got to do when you are moving is keep yourself organized. It’s not the most difficult thing in the world to do, but a lot of people struggle with it. It’s for this reason that we have written this article. If you know that you struggle to keep things organized and you’re going to be moving soon, you’re going to want to keep reading down below in order to find out more.

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Hire Professional Help

First, you need to make sure that you are hiring professional help. There are a number of different services that you are going to need in order to make this move a success. Ideally, you will plan this as far in advance as possible so that you can book the best services available. You need to look at movers such as Allied Van Lines to help get you going with moving your items, you are going to need cleaners to come in and clean the place up, and so many more. We recommend that you make a list of all of the services that you are going to need, and keep track of reviews until you can decide on the company that you want to choose.

Make Yourself A Checklist

The next thing that we recommend you do is make yourself a checklist. This list should be detailed and include who needs to be doing what, when they need to be doing it and whatever other information you think that you are going to need. You can tick each item off as it has been completed, keeping you up to date with where you should be at any given time. As well as this, it will help you understand what still needs to be done, and if you are running behind you can amend this as needed.

Start In Advance

Finally, we want to say that you should start preparing everything to do with the move in advance as much as you can. The reason for this is that it avoids the last minute panic and stress that comes when you are not prepared for the process. If you can get most things sorted and in place before they need to be, it is going to be far easier to keep yourself organized as the process goes on.

There is a lot of stress involved in moving, and the closer you get to moving day, the more stressful it is going to become. Avoid this with fantastic organizational skills.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you need to do in order to keep your move organized. The most important part of a move is maintaining the organization and knowing where you’re supposed to be, when you’re supposed to be there and so on. If this is all working out, then the rest will fall into place. We wish you the very best of luck and hope your move goes smoothly.

Brain Wave, Computers and gadgets, Entrepreneurship & Business Talks

How to Take Your Own Photos to Promote Your Business

May 16, 2022 No Comments

You need photos of your products if you want to sell them online. Sometimes you might be given good images to use if you’re purchasing your products from elsewhere. But there are often times when you need your own photography to promote not just the products you’re selling but also your brand. One option is to pay for a professional product photoshoot but that can get expensive. Although it’s more time-consuming, you also have the possibility of taking and editing your own photos. If you’ve never done that before, you’re going to need to pick up a few tips to help you.

Learn to Use Your Camera

The first thing you’ll need to learn to do is use your camera. It doesn’t really matter what the camera is. It doesn’t have to be fancy and could just be the camera on your phone, but it’s wise to make sure it can take decent photos before you commit to using it. Whichever camera you’re using, you have to know how to put it to use so that you can take the best photos. You need to learn what the different settings mean and how changing them will affect what your final photos look like.

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Pick Up Some Composition Tips

As well as knowing how to operate your camera, you should also know how to use it to get photos with good composition. Part of this is about the angle of your camera and factors such as the perspective and zoom. But you also have to consider what you choose to put in the frame and how it relates to everything around it. Of course, you might be taking different types of photos. Straightforward product photos that you want to use without backgrounds will be different to photos of your products being used or displayed in a more artistic way.

Know How to Use Editing Software

After you’ve taken your photos, your job isn’t finished. You also need to know how to edit them to get the best from them. This will likely involve using software such as PhotoShop or something similar. It doesn’t necessarily take long to pick up some useful skills, but it’s worth spending some time experimenting. You should also know how to troubleshoot some common problems. This article tells you how to tackle a frequent Photoshop problem that you might come across. It could prevent you from opening the program if you don’t know how to fix it.

Use Your Photos in the Right Way

Another important thing to keep in mind is how you’re going to use your product photos. Once you have some professional-quality photos to use, you have to think about the best ways to make use of them on your site. This might mean learning a few more skills in graphic design so you can use your photos to create banners or other images that make your online store look good.

You don’t have to hire a photographer if you want photos of your products. You could do it yourself if you’re willing to learn.

Brain Wave, Work at Home

7 Things That Make Working From Home A Drag (And How To Solve Them)

May 16, 2022 No Comments

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Working from home shouldn’t be a chore, but sometimes it can feel that way. Staring at the same four walls day after day soon gets boring.

In this post, we take a look at some of the factors that make working from home a drag and what you can do about them.

Lack Of Work-Life Boundaries

The lack of work-life boundaries when working from home is one of the most annoying aspects of having a career in 2022. Family starts intruding on your workspace, and because you are WFH, your boss is constantly harassing you, asking you to carry on working well into the evening, even though that’s usually family time.

At first, these blurred boundaries seem novel. But over time, they just start to grate. You wish you could go back to the way things always were.

The trick here is to negotiate new rules of the game. Bosses have no problem with people clocking out of the office at 5 pm, but they seem to have an issue with the concept now that people are in their homes.

The trick here is to point out the issue and insist on working hours. If communications are outside working hours, they don’t require a response until the next day.

Lack Of Equipment

Doing work from a home office is okay if you have all the right equipment, but that’s rare. Desks, proper seating, and printing equipment tend to be in short supply when in the domestic environment.

One option is to simply go out and buy all the equipment you need yourself, but that hardly seems fair. The other option is to lobby your company to provide it for you, just as they provide regular equipment in the office as a business expense. If your company offices have closed, you may be able to ask to use desks, chairs and so on until it opens again.

Virtual Time-Keeping

You would think that with people working from home, they would have more independence and autonomy. But in some businesses, that hasn’t happened. Digital technology is making the problem even worse. Companies are using web-based tools to make it easier to monitor precisely what their colleagues are doing in real-time.

Naturally, you want some accountability when working from home, but you don’t want your Big Brother boss breathing down your neck while you are trying to concentrate on your work. The solution is to suggest to your employer that they move towards goal-oriented performance supervision if they are worried about staff slacking off. This way, nobody needs to monitor anyone else. Employers simply collect the data they need and then use it to measure worker performance.

Isolation

Isolation is a big issue when working from home. People are alone all the time, unable to interact face-to-face with their colleagues. For extraverts, it’s a disaster. Slack and other messaging tools just don’t cut it.

The problems go beyond one’s mood as well. Social isolation isn’t good for personal well-being and can, in many cases lead to real breakdowns.

One option is to insist on video calls for the morning meeting. Another is to suggest team building exercises every month for everyone in the office. The more cohesion you can build, the less it will feel like you’re working solo.

Solving Technical Problems

When there’s a technical problem in the office, IT support staff quickly descend to resolve the problem. If they’re not there straight away, it’s unusual.

However, when you’re working from home, things are different. Mostly, you have to solve problems yourself.

The trick here is to read more about the problems you’re likely to encounter and how to solve them. You can also ask your firm to continue hiring IT staff remotely and provide them with digital tools that let them take control of your PC if there is a problem.

Problematic Performance

When you work from home, the temptation to procrastinate is extreme. It’s hard to knuckle down and work when there are so many distractions and other things that you could be doing.

The trick here is to find ways to make yourself more conscientious. Think about the negative emotions you experience when you don’t put the effort into your work that you know you should. Usually, it is better to just get on with it.

Difficulty Loving Your Company

It’s easy to love your company while you are there, but when you work from home, it feels like you are in a long-distance relationship. Again, encourage more engagement with your team.

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