If you are one of those people who are diligent about their monthly budget and enjoys finding ways to improve and perfect it, consider taking a more green approach to what and how you spend as well. There are ways to control your spending and its effects on the environment that won’t add significant costs to your life. With that in mind, below are some ways to make a more environmentally friendly budget.
Choose a Greener Bank
One of the first things you can do to help improve the environmental friendliness of what you budget and spend is to be more selective with your banking. We are starting to witness a push from the corporate sector (banks included) to be more conscious of how they invest and spend their money. There are some banks that are choosing to channel their considerable funds away from and out of carbon-intensive industries like fossil fuels. Since your money is what the bank uses to make its money, by opting for a greener bank, you can amplify the impact of your spending by leveraging the institutional power of the bank.
Incorporate Second-Hand Purchases
Buying second-hand is something you can choose to do for a variety of reasons. You might like the vintage aesthetic; you might be looking to save money, or you could be simply trying to cut down on the number of new products you are responsible for creating.
Every time you purchase a new phone instead of a refurbished one or new clothing instead of ones from a second-hand store or website, you are prompting more creation of those products. If you have a disposable income component of your budget that you spend on new consumer goods every month, consider shifting some or all of it over to second-hand purchases.
Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies
Cleaning supplies might not be that significant to your overall budget, but they add up, and there are some ways of cleaning that are more environmentally friendly than others. There are plenty of DIY cleaning supplies you can make on your own that will cut down on the amount of noxious and harmful chemicals you release back into the environment, from all-purpose cleaner to grease, brass and glass cleaner.
All of the bottles under your sinks could be easily and cheaply replaced by much gentler DIY products that will be better for you and your family, as well as the environment.
Do More Food Supply Chain Research
The food you choose to eat will dictate a significant portion of your overall carbon footprint. Red meat, dairy products and processed foods, in particular, all come with hefty environmental costs. What it comes down to, in many cases, is the supply chain for each final product.
How were the ingredients sourced? What kind of forestry, fishing, or agricultural practices were involved? Different companies and food products take different approaches to harvesting raw materials, purchasing, managing land, controlling emissions, etcetera and almost all of this information is discoverable online. If you can audit the food you eat in this way, you can make more environmentally conscious food choices.
Conclusion
Many people are apathetic when greening their budget because they either don’t know where to start or feel that they are up against such tremendous industrial forces working against them that their actions are largely symbolic.
If everyone chose to do one or all of the above, however, the aggregate impact would not be insignificant, however. What’s more, by setting an example for your friends and family and by being more demanding of the kinds of goods and services you use, you use your purchasing power to pressure the market into changing.
It’s always a great idea to learn a new language when travelling to a new country. It helps you get acclimated with the local culture before you even go and makes it easier to get around and seek assistance from locals once you’re there.
Many people will try to learn a new language by taking a course or reading a book, but experienced captain Jako Hall says there are better ways. There are many fun ways you can learn a new language once you arrive in the country.
Here are seven valuable tips for improving your language skills while you are on vacation.
Tip #1. Be Social
Restaurant and bar staff are a very good place to start developing the transactional basics of any language. You also get to practice your “please” and “thank you’s” and your basic greetings.
Tip #2. Take a Class at a Library
Local libraries will often hold classes or workshops. This is a great place to practice your language skills, as they will be held in the local language.
Not only will the people there be very willing to work with you on language skills, but they’ll also help you learn some local dialect and lingo, too.
Tip #3. See a Movie
Watching movies in a foreign language can be a great way to learn new lingo. If you watch them at home, though, they will likely have subtitles.
Captain Jako Hall says you can remove this safety net by going to a local movie theatre. There, you can see regional movies in the local language without the subtitles, forcing you to follow along.
Tip #4. Get Your Hair Cut
The best way to dive headfirst into the local language is to go somewhere that people will be talking — a lot. And a hair salon or local barbershop is an excellent place for that.
You can enter and tell them that you’re a foreigner learning the language and see if you can practice your skills while you get your haircut. The hairdresser might find it a fun topic to talk about that is much different than what they’re used to.
Instead of opting for a walking tour in your language, opt for one in the local language. This will help you work on your language skills as you walk around on vacation. Many of these tours are free, too, which is a nice side benefit.
Tip #6. Go to Local Places
Many of the major cities in the world speak English. This can make it hard to learn the local language, as people often want to talk to you in English.
You can avoid this by staying away from the main places and venturing off the beaten path. Do your research and figure out where the locals go. Then, go there yourself. It’s a great way to experience local culture, too.
Tip #7. Visit a Coffee Shop
Another place where you can meet a lot of local people is at a small coffee shop. Go there for the experience, and relax and listen. Then, if you’re feeling up to it, approach some people and try talking to them in the local language.
About Captain Jako Hall
Captain Jako Hall is an experienced mariner and a former naval officer known for his strong work ethic and ability to lead and motivate crews. He pursued Maritime Studies at the University of Technology in Cape Town and has received the highest level of training in Navigation and Seamanship during his years in the Navy. After 13 distinguished years in the Navy, Jako joined the superyacht industry, following his passion for creating unique and exclusive experiences for high-net-worth clients. He’s managed multi-million euro projects that required attention to detail and efficiency and has a proven track record of operating at sea in remote and unsupported areas.
It feels like just about everyone has a website nowadays, and rightly so. For businesses, they’re a complete no-brainer, especially the small and medium varieties. Gone are the days of sites being optional. A business without a website may as well not exist in the eyes of some prospective customers, and it’s a missed opportunity in terms of market penetration.
Websites aren’t just for businesses either. You might want an online presence to share things with friends and family or have a side hustle in mind. Websites aren’t the only options in these cases, but they’re the ideal complement to social accounts and other online activities.
There are plenty of people out there that are more than happy to help put a website together for you – for a price. However, while custom design and unique code can get expensive, such investments can be overkill for people and businesses alike. There are tools and services out there that can make putting together an excellent site a breeze.
Crucially, you don’t have to sacrifice visuals or functionality when you make your own site, even if you’ve never done so before. Sure, it won’t be completely unique, as you’ll be relying heavily on templates and plugins. However, emulating successful sites doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Most web designers reuse items all the time!
You could have a site for yourself, your business, or anything else that comes to mind up and running in just a few hours if you take the time to familiarize yourself with these great platforms.
1. WordPress
WordPress isn’t the most straightforward tool on this list, but we’ve chosen to start with the resource that can provide the best return on investment. Thanks to templates and page builders, you can get a great-looking WordPress website off the ground quickly for any purpose.
However, what makes WordPress stand out is its unlimited potential. You might just want to create one website and never even think about another. However, building sites can become addictive, and the sky’s the limit on this platform. Many agree – an estimated 40% of all websites rely on the power of WordPress.
You can genuinely use WordPress for just about anything, and it lends itself particularly well to information-driven sites. From simple sites that reach their goals with just a single page to massive publications like BBC America and The New Yorker, WordPress can make it happen.
2. Wix
While WordPress is packed with potential, it does involve a fairly steep learning curve. Of the hours spent getting a site online, the first couple will often be spent getting to grips with the basics of the platform.
For those that want to skip that curve and get straight to the design stage, Wix is the ideal choice. Even if you’ve never thought about building a site before, you’ve probably heard of the brand, as they’re never shy about marketing their admittedly outstanding site-building solution.
Sites are hosted by the company itself, cutting costs in the process, and there are hundreds of templates to choose from. The Wix ecosystem isn’t as open as the WordPress equivalent, so there aren’t as many different themes, widgets, and tools here. However, they’re all designed to work perfectly with each other, which beginner designers love to hear.
There are over 350,000 sites on the platform, and it’s so beginner-friendly that it’s virtually impossible to create anything but great-looking, functional sites.
3. HubSpot CMS
If you have even a passing interest in online marketing, there’s every chance you’re familiar with the HubSpot brand. Most people are aware of their various customer acquisition and management tools, but comparatively few know that they also boast their own content management system.
Now, the HubSpot CMS isn’t for everyone. It involves a similar learning curve to WordPress but in a relatively closed system. However, if the goal of your website is for it to be seen by as many people as possible, there’s a lot to explore.
What HubSpot does incredibly well is ensuring that every tool and service they offer operates seamlessly with everything else. So if you use their marketing tools, CRM system, or anything else, their website builder is fantastic. It integrates with your marketing data and other tools to give your site the best possible chance of being found.
Bonus Builder for Online Stores – Shopify
If you want to sell online with an online store, your site deserves a specialist setup, and they don’t get any better than Shopify. Of course, it’s possible to add stores onto sites on other platforms – there’s the famous WordPress and WooCommerce combo, for example. However, if online sales are the priority, Shopify can be the answer.
Like each of these platforms, you’ll need minimal technical expertise to get online, if any. They also take care of many hurdles amateur site builders face, such as hosting and domains.
While eCommerce is front and center, there’s no need to compromise on other areas of the site. For example, your Shopify site can display blog posts, capture email addresses and integrate with social media.
Summing Up
Most designers won’t appreciate us saying it, but you don’t have to spend a fortune for a functional, visually impressive web presence. As long as you can find a couple of spare hours to get things going, you’ll have something to be proud of, no matter the purpose.
WordPress is the ideal choice if you want site-building without limits and you’re happy to put in the work. If you’re more concerned with getting a site online quickly and with minimal fuss, Wix is well worth a closer look.
For more sales and with business growth in mind, HubSpot CRM fits the bill, and if you’re all about selling products to a potentially global audience, our bonus pick Shopify won’t disappoint.
There are hundreds of ways to build a site. Some people still prefer to code their websites from scratch. There’s nothing at all wrong with that, especially in pursuit of unique results. However, if building a site is one of many tasks on the to-do list and time is of the essence, the options outlined above make life more straightforward than you might have ever considered.
Some people have never heard of Branson, or don’t know how popular it is. Branson is a tourist destination that’s often more affordable than some other well-known vacation spots. It’s a place for families to reconnect and have a good time seeing one of the shows or eating at some of the affordable restaurants.
There’s a lot to like about Branson, from the dozens of shows to the camping opportunities to the holiday-themed events if you’re there at the proper time of year. If you plan to take a trip to Branson soon, you’ll want to read our guide. We’ve compiled this handy list of eight of the best tips that should prepare you for an unforgettable adventure in America’s heartland.
Get Show Tickets in Advance
There are Branson attractions like Silver Dollar City that families seem to love. Silver Dollar City is a theme park attraction with some excellent roller coasters and classic food choices. Their Harvest Festival Pumpkin Nights during the fall are one of the best things you might choose to do in this entertainment mecca.
There are also some very popular shows, though, and you really haven’t experienced Branson until you’ve attended some of them. There are Dolly Parton-themed ones, there’s one with the comic Yakov Smirnoff, and there are ones with magic and live horses.
If you want to go to some of these shows, though, it’s probably best that you buy your tickets before you ever get to town. You can do that online, either on a venue’s website, or else you can find sites where you can buy tickets to multiple Branson shows at once.
It’s sensible to do this because if you get to town and want to see a particular show, it can sell out. Sellout shows are common at certain times of the year, like summer, autumn right around Halloween, and also Christmas when there are several holiday-themed extravaganzas.
Decide What Transportation Method Makes the Most Sense
Since the pandemic began, some people worry about certain travel options. You can fly to Branson if you like, but if you do, you will have to be on an airplane, probably with many other individuals.
Maybe you’ve vaccinated yourself, and the airline will require you to wear a mask. Still, you might feel nervous about being in such close proximity to people who you don’t know from all over the country.
If so, you may decide that driving makes more sense. If you don’t live all that far away from Branson, the whole family can pile into the car and perhaps get there in 1-2 days.
Driving means you don’t have to wear masks, which is nice. It will also probably be cheaper than flying, perhaps by thousands of dollars.
One drawback is that you might not like driving all that much, especially with multiple kids in the back seat singing songs or bickering the whole time. Thinking about that might be enough for you to decide flying is the superior option. You’ll have to take some time to think it over and talk to the other adults going on the trip.
Pack Everything You Think You’ll Need for This Adventure
You should also make sure you bring along everything you think you will need to enjoy Branson fully. That means taking along things like your pajamas, clothing for each day, sunscreen if it’s the hot time of the year, enough cash, your credit cards, etc.
You might want to look into the best travel toiletry bags or maybe bug spray if you know you’ll be there during the mosquito season. The more things you can think of that you can take with you, the better off you should be. If you forget to bring along some of the essentials, you will have to buy them while you are there, and just about everything costs a little more in Branson since it is a tourist area.
Decide Whether You Want Luxury or a More Rustic Experience
One thing that’s so nice about Branson is that you can have many different experiences while you’re there, depending on what you prioritize most and how much money you’re willing to spend. If you choose to rough it, there are cabins you can rent that approximate camping out. You can even bring some tents and sleeping bags and have the most rustic experience possible since there are all also campsites you can rent.
This might appeal if you like the idea of sitting around a campfire and roasting some hot dogs or marshmallows at night. You can point out the constellations, tell scary stories, and bond with your kids that way.
Maybe you’d prefer a luxurious hotel stay. That is possible in Branson as well. There are some five-star hotels where you can get a massage and facial in the spa. You can order room service and watch movies in bed all day long if that’s what appeals most to you.
Plan Out Your Days Before You Plunge Right into Them
It’s probably smart to look at some of the things you can do in Branson before you go. We’ve talked about buying tickets, but you can also look at what’s around you depending on where in town you are. There are certain attractions by the hotels, and others by the campsites.
You might loosely plan out each day in Branson before you get there. That way, you can be sure you won’t miss any of the things you most want to do.
You might talk to each family member who’s going on this trip and get an idea of what they’d like to do. Probably each child and adult will have some items on their wish list, and you might plan a day around what each person likes. That could mean a horse-themed show, a spa day, a fancy dinner, or any of the other enticing Branson attractions.
Tell Your Credit Card Companies You’re Going on Vacation
Before heading off to Branson for a few days, it’s a wise idea to contact your credit card companies to tell them about your plans. There are often service numbers you can call to talk to an Amex or Visa representative, or you can speak to them via online chatting as well.
You want to tell them you’re going out of town because if you don’t, they might find it suspicious if you start charging lots of items from a location that is not your hometown. The credit card companies won’t know for sure that someone has stolen your card, but they might worry that’s the case and flag some of your purchases. Telling them you’re going on vacation should stop that from happening.
Figure Out What to Do with Your House and Pets
Maybe you have pets like a dog, cat, or fish. If so, you will need to figure out what to do with them while you go out of town.
You might get a trusted neighbor or friend to watch a cat or fish. They are fairly self-reliant animals. All someone would likely have to do is go over and feed them and make sure they’re happy and healthy.
If you own a dog, you may need to board them if you go to Branson. Dogs need a lot more attention, and if you have a trusted kennel you’ve used before, you can put them there. The attendants can walk them, and they can play with the other dogs during the days. That should keep them content, well-fed, and safely occupied until you get back.
Figure Out What to Do About the Mail and Other Household Considerations
The one other thing you should do before you’re off to Branson is to at least think about shutting down your postal service for a few days. You might also ask if a neighbor can grab your mail and hold it for you until you get back. That all depends on whether you have a good relationship with your neighbors or not.
You might also set automatic timers on your lights, both inside and outside the house. They can come on at random times or at night when it gets dark. Doing that can deter burglars, and if you live in a high-crime area, you’ll want to think about that.
Branson can be a trip that brings the family together, and that’s important right now. Many individuals report feeling higher stress levels because of the pandemic, financial concerns, and so forth. If you can afford a trip, spending some time with the family and getting away from your usual environment might make all of you feel better.
Branson is an excellent pick because it’s where you can have some lighthearted family fun, and you also won’t spend nearly as much there as you might going by to a place like New York or Los Angeles.
A lot of people are interested in learning how to blog. But blogging isn’t as simple as everyone thinks it is, whether you’re doing it for fun or for a living. If you want to make a significant impact on the world of blogging, you’ll need to follow a few guidelines and tips.
Raising your own blog from the ground up might be intimidating, but if you remember the following tips, you’ll be up and running in no time.
On the other hand, you can always buy a blog that has an already established base of visitors. In that case, you will already have a fountain for success.
However, if you want to do it on your own, keep on reading.
Find the right audience for your blog
You must first determine who you are selling to before you can learn how to market your blog. Before you begin using these methods, you must first identify your target audience.
Look at your social media pages for a start. People spend at least 144 minutes per day on social media. And with COVID-19 and shutdowns, that number has only increased.
Furthermore, social media is a great way to learn about people’s hobbies, beliefs, demographics, and other information that will help you market your blog.
You should also look for your loyal followers on various discussion forums. You may find discussion forums in almost any niche you can think of.
A great benefit of this is that when you’re on these types of highly targeted sites, you don’t have to trawl through millions of people to locate someone who is interested in your blog niche. Rather, these sites gather groups of people who are passionate about the same subjects as you.
Many people begin by using popular free blogging sites such as Blogger or Medium. However, these systems have limitations. If you’re serious about blogging, you don’t want to waste your time there.
To begin, you must adhere to these platforms’ terms and conditions, and they reserve the right to terminate your blog at any time. There’s also no guarantee that you’ll be able to export your content if your blog is shut down.
You can only use the few functionalities available on their platform. Furthermore, the majority of free sites also prevent you from earning money through blogging.
On the other hand, WordPress gives you complete control over your blog. If you decide to give it a go, you’ll see that you can add features, earn money, and do whatever you want with your blog.
Use social media to boost visibility
To boost your blog traffic, you need to consider using social media networks the right way.
First, you should start a Twitter page. Start following bloggers in your niche and slowly start posting and interacting with other users there.
You also need to have a Facebook page for your blog. This will provide an additional subscription option for Facebook users.
You should also invest your time and efforts into Instagram marketing, especially if your niche can benefit from visuals.
If handling all of these on your own sounds a bit intimidating, you can always look for a good agency to help you out. You should find a business that can provide you with organic growth, such as Path Social or other similar agencies. However, make sure to check Path Social reviews before you decide to work with them to learn more about how they can assist you.
Guest blogging is one of the most effective web marketing tactics available. So why not start providing content to other blogs connected to your market or specialty if you want to spread your brand’s message and get the trust of your target audience?
Contributing to other blogs should excite your audience’s interest regardless of whether you receive a connection to your own website. If you create a high-quality piece of content, traffic will begin to flow to your site as soon as it is published.
Every blog relies on web traffic to survive. And if done correctly, even something as basic as a guest article has the potential to result in new loyal audience members.
Learn something from your rivals
Once you have a good understanding of your target market, the next step is to look into your competition, especially if they’re already well-known in your sector.
What does your competition in your market already offer, and how can you either provide more value or offer a unique twist that will appeal to a certain portion of the audience you want to reach?
Answer these questions:
How is your rival marketing their blog articles?
What can you learn from their social media pages, newsletters, and other communication channels?
What kind of content performs best for your rivals?
These tips are incredibly useful as you can never know when you will get a good idea for your own blog while going through a rival’s blog articles.
Final thoughts
Produce quality content, learn how to market it effectively, and keep an eye on your rivals. These and other tips you have just gone through need to be a part of your core blog marketing strategy if you want to succeed.
Evidence suggests that effective interventions in at-risk teens can get them back on track and help prevent a life of crime and incarceration. By following the tips outlined here, stakeholders can promote positive behavior changes in youth.
Encourage Positive Behavior
Many psychologists say that offering incentives for positive behavior is essential for changing juvenile behavior because they teach teenagers to try and stick with desirable behaviors.
On the other hand, punishing young people for bad behavior may reduce adverse conduct. However, the negative behavior may not be replaced with positive actions, which need to be modeled consistently for long-term results.
This theory is backed by government research that suggests that young people on probation are more responsive to rewards for good behavior than punishments. Thus, the focus on incentives for good behavior is the primary way youth can avoid activities that lead to criminal charges and the need for a criminal defense attorney and law enforcement involvement.
Promote Maturity
Juvenile activity programs that encourage maturation by encouraging intellectual development often lower recidivism rates substantially.
But interventions that focus on discipline and punishment may encourage young people to commit more crimes. Also, law enforcement actions that focus on surveillance have little effect and may promote recidivism.
Focus On Youth Development
Research also shows that focusing on positive youth development in at-risk communities can promote the needs of young people who may be more likely to commit crimes.
Positive youth development typically centers on these areas:
Employment
Personal relationships
Education
Health
Community
Creativity
When youth development programs help youth in these domains, it’s more likely there will be positive results.
Home Visitation With Single Mothers
Some interventions start long before teens get in trouble. There are programs where nurses and social workers visit single mothers with low income in their sixth month of pregnancy and beyond that center on the mother and child’s health.
These visits also support the mother’s relationships with family and ensure that she enrolls in relevant social service programs.
Follow-up studies show that mothers and children in this program had a 55% lower chance of being arrested. There also was an 80% lower rate of child abuse and a 56% lower risk of child runaways.
Bully Prevention
Bully prevention programs in junior high school are effective, too. Such programs focus on the children engaging in bullying and those that are victimized most often.
Teachers and administrative staff learn about when and how bullying happens at the school. Then, class rules are established, and discussions are held that prevent bullying from occurring again.
These programs create a more positive and safer school environment that prevents young people from turning to crime later.
When Do Juvenile Crimes Occur?
When parents, teachers, and other stakeholders employ the methods above, there is a better chance that teenagers will stay on the straight and narrow and avoid trouble.
Following these guidelines is essential because data show that juvenile crime most often happens between 2-6 pm after school. Reports also indicate that about 25% of teen crime happens during this time, and the most frequent offenses are theft, assault, and drug-related crimes.
Further, it’s estimated approximately 11 million children and teenagers are home after school without adult supervision. Inadequate adult guidance indeed leads to more youth crime, but another program is simple boredom.
Surveys done in the early 2000s suggest that bored teenagers are more likely to engage in negative behaviors.
But the good news is many of these problems can be avoided when there are enough interventions for at-risk young people.
Hopefully, more responsible adults, including families, parents, and teachers, will continue to provide these programs to reduce the juvenile crime problem.
The demand for hand sanitizing products has gone through the roof since the pandemic and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. However, as people stockpile these agents, they are making a grave mistake. Not all of these products are created equal.
While some brands do produce medical-grade options, there are just as many that don’t have enough potency to get rid of the threat of the virus. Here is a closer look at the situation:
Consider the Main Ingredient
Believe it or not, the base ingredient in sanitizers isn’t the same. As a result, not each of the brands are equally as effective at getting rid of bacteria. This is why you should stick to brands that use alcohol. In particular, the brands should add either ethyl or isopropyl alcohol to their formula as this is most effective at killing bacteria.
Now, the one ingredient that you should steer clear of at all costs is methanol. To begin with, methanol is useless against bacteria. To make matters worse, it can also be rather harmful to people when absorbed through the skin. So, if you see this ingredient on the back of a bottle, it is best to give it a miss.
Identify the Potency
The other thing to pay attention to is the level of alcohol in the product. Lower concentrations have little to no impact on bacteria. Therefore, it doesn’t matter how much you use, it simply won’t have the intended effect. For a product to be effective, it needs to contain at least 62% of alcohol.
Of course, this is the bare minimum. You will be far better off looking for products on Germs Be Gone Online, as these have 75% alcohol content. As such, they are more than capable of getting rid of most harmful microbes.
Stick to Fragrance Free Options
There is no denying that the regular sanitizing agents can be quite overpowering to the senses. Due to this, it can be tempting to pick up the scented options instead. However, it is a good idea to steer clear of these if possible.
While the fragrance doesn’t have any negative impact, it can make you more prone to irritation. Bear in mind, that the alcohol in the product can dry your hands out. Adding fragrance to the formula can cause even more dryness or an allergic reaction.
Be Mindful of Widespread Limitations
At the end of the day, all brands have their limitations. This is simply because there isn’t any product out there that can protect you from bacteria 24 hours a day. The only way to remain safe is to reapply the sanitizing agent whenever you touch a surface or come into contact with another person. After the product has dried off your hands, it ceases to be as effective.
These are the top things that you should know about how to find out which sanitizing products are superior. Now that you have your answers, you will find it far easier to select the product that will keep you safe.
