Top 10 Holiday Diet Tips of All Time

Experts offer their top tips on handling holiday diet temptations.
By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic-Feature
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Holidays bring family and friends together to celebrate traditions and spread good cheer. They also bring lots of opportunities for socializing, eating, and drinking. Even the most disciplined people struggle with temptation during the holiday season.

To navigate the party landmines with your healthy diet intact, you need a strategy. Experts agree: Having a plan in place will help you handle night after night of eating and drinking.
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"Think of your appetite as an expense account, and figure out how much you want to spend on drinks, appetizers, entrees, and dessert," advises Michelle May, MD, author of Am I Hungry? What to Do When Diets Don't Work. She suggests giving yourself permission to enjoy your favorite foods -- in sensible portions.

To help you survive the seasonal parties without packing on the pounds, WebMD consulted diet gurus across the country for their best holiday diet tips. Here are their top 10 recommendations:

1. Trim back the trimmings. Go all out and deck the halls with boughs of holly, glitter, and lights, but when it comes to holiday food, accessorize with care. To shave calories, go easy when adding nuts, cheese, cream sauces, gravy, butter, and whipped cream -- additions that don't add much to the meal, but can add plenty to your waistline. Trim calories wherever you can so you leave the party feeling satisfied, but not stuffed, recommends Carolyn O'Neil, MS, RD, author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous.

2. Wear snug clothes and keep one hand busy. When you wear snug-fitting attire, chances are you'll be too busy holding in your stomach to overeat. While you stand around looking posh in your holiday finery, hold a drink in your dominant hand so it won't be so easy to grab food, recommends obesity expert Cathy Nonas, MS, RD.

3. Chew gum. When you don't want to eat, pop a piece of sugarless gum into your mouth. This works well when you're cooking or when you're trying not to dive into the buffet, says Nonas.

4. Be a food snob. If you don't love it, don't eat it, says American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Melinda Johnson, MS, RD. Scan the buffet for foods you truly treasure and skip the everyday dishes that are available all year long. And don't think it's your responsibility to sample everything on the buffet. Go ahead and indulge in your personal holiday favorites, then find a seat and, slowly and mindfully, savor every mouthful.

5. No skipping meals. Always eat normally on the day of a party. "People who skip meals to save up calories tend to overeat everything in sight once they get there," says Katherine Tallmadge, MA, RD, author of Diet Simple. "Eating sensibly throughout the day will take the edge off the appetite and empower a bit of restraint." Start with a nourishing breakfast, have a light lunch, then a small snack or salad shortly before the event.

6. Check it out. First things first. When you arrive at the party, grab a sparkling water with a twist, and wait at least 30 minutes before eating. This will give you time to relax, get comfortable in your surroundings, and survey your food choices on the buffet before diving in, says Tallmadge. A buffet is an invitation to eat all you can, and unless you carefully scrutinize it and make wise choices, you're likely to overeat.

7. Add fun and games. Cynthia Sass, MPH, MA, RD, co-author of Your Diet Is Driving Me Crazy, proposes taking the focus off food and getting family and friends more active during holiday parties. Think horseshoes, badminton, sledding, ice skating, or building snowmen. Indoors, try a spirited game of charades, or rent an instructional dance video followed by a dance-off. "The best parties include dancing, so why not make dancing after eating a new holiday tradition for a great form of fun and recreation?" asks David Katz, MD, MPH, author of The Flavor Point Diet.

8. Alternate alcohol with nonalcoholic beverages. Alcoholic drinks are loaded with calories -- especially holiday favorites like eggnog. "Cut your alcohol calories in half by alternating water or seltzer between alcoholic beverages," Katz advises.

9. Skip the appetizers. "Eschew the appetizers rather than chewing on them," says Katz. If you need a little nibble before the meal, go for the veggies, fruit, salsa, or a small handful of nuts.

10. Limit the variety. Brian Wansink, PhD, author of Mindless Eating, suggests putting only two items on your plate when you go to the food table. Return as many times as you like, but only take two items each time. "Variety stimulates appetite, and if you limit your choices to just a few items and stick with these, it will be easier to control than eating a little bit of 20 different dishes," agrees Katz.

49 Tower Defense Apps for the iPhone

By Alfredo Padilla Oct. 7, 2009, 11:00am PT 18 Comments

I was first introduced to the world of tower defense games a couple of years back with the venerable Desktop Tower Defense. I do have to admit that I wondered if the whole idea of the game, placing various types of gun turrets to try and annihilate a group of small creatures/people before they can escape from you, might indicate some deep homicidal impulse on my part. But when I realized that the creatures where aptly named “creeps,” my worries dissipated.

When the iPhone came along it was immediately apparent to me that this was the perfect platform for tower defense games, with the touch screen an excellent way to place my maze of death. Sure enough the genre has sprouted no fewer than 49 different iPhone games for those who share my intense desire to keep creeps from crossing the screen. I’m not going to tell you which are my favorite, that will come later, but I am going to try and give you a complete snapshot of what’s available in the App store today. Because, let’s face it, if you don’t have at least half a dozen of these installed you’re not really exercising your homicidal instincts to their full potential.
td-geodefensegeoDefense

Price: $1.99 (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 4.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: Futuristic Tron-like graphics, high-speed gameplay and path oriented maps.
td-geodefense-swarmgeoDefense Swarm

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: 4.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: Same purposefully (I hope) unsophisticated, futuristic graphics as the standard geoDefense, but with an open field approach to maps.
td-towermadnessTowerMadness: 3D Tower Defense

Price: $2.99 (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 3.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: This games gives you a reason for your killing, to protect your sheep from aliens. Also you get a 3-D interface, although the graphics leave something to be desired.
td-fieldrunnersFieldrunners

Price: $2.99
Current Rating: 4.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: Fieldrunners offers a relatively vanilla tower defense experience, but is distinguished by its extremely smooth interface and high quality graphics.
td-stardefenseStar Defense

Price: 99 cents (free “prelude” version also available)
Current Rating: 3.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: This space-based tower defense game has you playing on small worlds that you can rotate and zoom into. The graphics are definitely the key feature here.
td-dungeondefenseDungeon Defense

Price: 99 cents (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 3.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: In this version of tower defense you play the bad guys, in the form of skeletons, and you kill the heroes. I kind of like that idea. There does seem to be a limited amount of gameplay, however, with only three skeleton types to place.
td-sentinelmarsdefenseSentinel: Mars Defense

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: 4 stars
Distinguishing Features: You place towers to defend Mars from aliens. There seem to be a good selection of tower types and the graphics look impressive.
td-Sentinel2EarthDefenseSentinel 2: Earth Defense

Price: $2.99
Current Rating: 4 stars
Distinguishing Features: The same idea as its predecessor Mars Defense, only this time the alien buggers are invading earth. Impressive graphics are once again the highlight of this tower defense game.
td-navypatrolcoastaldefenseNavy Patrol: Coastal Defense

Price: $1.99
Current Rating: 4 stars
Distinguishing Features: Tower defense on the water, you place your navy to defend against an invader. Graphics are not overly impressive and the interface can get a bit cluttered, but gameplay seems to be deep.
td-thecreepsThe Creeps!

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: 4 stars
Distinguishing Features: This time the creeps aren’t just trying to innocently cross the screen, they’re trying to get under your bed! This take on the tower defense genre offers cute graphics and some interesting features like destroyable terrain.
td-tapdefenseTapDefense

Price: Free
Current Rating: 4 stars
Distinguishing Features: Solid graphics and gameplay seem to be marred by some user complaints about advertisements. Still, it’s hard to argue with free.
td-7cities7 Cities

Price: $2.99
Current Rating: 4 stars
Distinguishing Features: Coastal tower defense, you build towers next to waterways to destroy invading ships. Towers can gain experience to get more powerful. The graphics are impressive and you can even build your own maps.
td-battlefieldnuclearbombBattle Field – Nuclear Bomb

Price: $2.99 (free version also available)
Current Rating: 4 stars
Distinguishing Features: A wide selection of towers, with 10 different types. There’s also a leveling system and, of course, nuclear bombs.
td-towerdefenseTowerDefense

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: Not available
Distinguishing Features: Cartoonish graphics look decent but the description is strangely short and there aren’t enough ratings to merit a score. I kind of feel bad for the developer.
td-abugsdefenseA Bugs Defense

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: 2 stars
Distinguishing Features: The premise is pretty simple, bugs are invading the house and you stop them with various insecticides. The graphics are cute and cartoonish. Unfortunately there seem to be some game-play “bugs” that bother reviewers.
td-sgtowerdefenceSG Tower Defence

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: 2 stars
Distinguishing Features: Graphics are… unimpressive. There’s a strange wooden background to everything and the towers and creeps look like something out of 1985, and not in a good retro way.
td-BesiegementBesiegement

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: 3.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: Interesting mix of graphics for a fairly vanilla tower defense game. The point of view is different from most, and you do have a good selection of tower types.
td-portdefenderPort Defender – 2D Tower Defense

Price: $1.99 (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 2.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: Not a lot special here, the graphics aren’t anything to swoon over and the selection of maps and towers are pretty standard.
td-warpdefenseWarp Defense

Price: Free
Current Rating: 2.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: I was a bit curious to see how the “warp” in the title would be implemented in the game, but it turns out it’s just a path-based tower defense game with laser-showesque graphics.
td-dragonslaughterepisode1Dragon Slaughter Episode I

Price: $2.99 (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 3.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: Fantasy oriented game with excellent graphics. Interesting tower purchasing system requires you to combine orb types, with various strength and weaknesses.
td-ninjatdNinja TD

Price: $2.99
Current Rating: 4 stars
Distinguishing Features: OK, there are Ninjas, what else do you want? Well, there also seem to be some beautiful graphics here, along with magic based ninja powers. Unfortunately your enemies are not pirates.
td-moonlightminionsMoonlight Minions

Price: $1.99
Current Rating: 4 stars
Distinguishing Features: Impressive graphics, with an underground path-oriented theme. Your “towers” are various fungal compositions, I’ll let you make what you will of that.
td-gardenwarGarden War

Price: 99 cents (free version also available)
Current Rating: 4 stars
Distinguishing Features: A pest oriented tower defense game, in this one you defend your garden from various creepy buggers. Maps appear to be path-oriented and graphics are very good.
td-tridefenseTriDefense

Price: $3.99 (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 3 stars
Distinguishing Features: This version of tower defense offers decent graphics and some interesting features for example creeps can appear from anywhere on the screen and you can modify the terrain.
td-bloonstowerdefenseBloons Tower Defense

Price: $2.99
Current Rating: 4.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: In this path-based tower defense game you want to pop the escaping balloons, but you get to use dart-throwing monkeys to do it, sounds good to me.
td-boombrigadeBooom Brigade

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: 3.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: An interesting mix of shooter and tower game. You get three types of troops to fire at the incoming creeps, but they don’t do it automatically, instead you have to draw their attacks onto the screen. Reviewers indicate it’s a hard proposition.
td-defenderchroniclesDefender Chronicles – Legend of The Desert King

Price: $3.99
Current Rating: 4.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: Fantasy oriented path-based tower defense game with a leveling system for your general that gives you bonuses for troop types.
td-zombieattackZombie Attack!

Price: $2.99 (free version also available)
Current Rating: 3.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: There are zombies, you need to kill them…pretty self-explanatory really. The best part is the hand drawn (as in pencil on lined paper) tower picker.
td-tribaltroubletowerdefenseTribal Trouble Tower Defense

Price: $2.99
Current Rating: 2 stars
Distinguishing Features: Decent graphics and interface, but be warned that there’s only one level in this game.
td-killallbugsKill All Bugs!

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: 3 stars
Distinguishing Features: Basic tower defense game except the creeps are giant bugs. Graphics are nothing impressive, but there does seem to be a good depth of gameplay.
td-hextoptowerdefenseHextop Tower Defense

Price: 99 cents (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 3 stars
Distinguishing Features: Yes, it’s hexagonal, apart from that there’s nothing special here.
td-idefendiDefend

Price: $1.99 (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 3.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: A lot of gameplay with 36 levels, but you better be a fan of retro graphics.
td-exaltowerdefenseExal Tower Defense

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Features: A basic open field tower defense games with mediocre graphics.
td-mote-mMote-M

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: 3 stars
Distinguishing Features: Another basic tower defense game, this one with path-oriented maps.
td-nemesisdefenceNemesis Defence

Price: $1.99
Current Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Features: Path-based tower defense game with a good selection of towers but only three different maps.
td-circuitdefendersCircuit Defenders

Price: $1.99 (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 3 stars
Distinguishing Features: The premise is that you’re defending a circuit board from viruses. The graphics are… not bad. The gameplay is endless, and by that I don’t mean that you will want to play forever (although you might) but rather that you keep on going until you’ve lost all your lives.
td-retrodefenseRetro Defense

Price: $3.99 (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 3 stars
Distinguishing Features: Retro arcade style tower defense game with path-oriented maps and 15 levels.
Sweetwatertd-sweetwaterdefense

Price: $2.99 (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 3.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: This coastal defense oriented game features some very nice graphics and 3D effects. Be prepared, however, that this one is no pushover, reviewers rate it as one of the hardest tower defense games they’ve played.
td-lastportalLast Portal

Price: $1.99
Current Rating: 3.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: The graphics are a bit simple, but well designed. The interesting feature of this game is that you need to defend a central point rather than a maze or a side of the screen.
td-galacticinvasionGalactic Invasion

Price: $1.99
Current Rating: 2.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: Your towers in this game are orbital emplacements to stop alien invaders from reaching earth. Unfortunately the interface seems a bit difficult to use.
td-inkomingINKoming

Price: $1.99 (free lite version also available)
Current Rating: 3 stars
Distinguishing Features: Interesting resource management features require you to turn towers on/off to make the best use of your capabilities.
td-touchdefensetouchDefense

Price: $3.99
Current Rating: 3 stars
Distinguishing Features: Simple but well designed graphics in this basic tower defense game.
defense_stationDefense Station Touchable

Price: $2.99
Current Rating: 3 stars
Distinguishing Features: Average graphics and a pretty standard path-based setup without a ton of depth.
tower_defendTowerDefend

Price: $1.99
Current Rating: 3 stars
Distinguishing Features: Nice if you like old arcade graphics, but not much else compelling here.
td-marsdefenceMars Defence

Price: Free
Current Rating: 2.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: Very basic from graphics to gameplay. Reviews indicate this is a work in progress.
td-tidesofwarTides of War

Price: 99 cents
Current Rating: 3 stars
Distinguishing Features: A mix of real-time-strategy and tower defense. You have both units and buildings that you can deploy on the map to keep an invading horde of pirates from overwhelming you.
td-powertowersPower Towers

Price: $1.99 (free version also available)
Current Rating: 3.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: There seems to be a lot of depth to the gameplay, with nine tower types and eight different mission types. The graphics look like something from the DOS era, however.
td-stoptheboxesStopTheBoxes

Price: $1.99
Current Rating: 1.5 stars
Distinguishing Features: The developer says it’s a tower defense game, some of the reviewers agree, but I sure can’t figure it out.
td-defensegridcompanionDefense Grid Companion

Price: Free
Current Rating: 2 stars
Distinguishing Features: The graphics look nice, but there’s not a lot of information from the developer, nor a lot of reviews. Of course it doesn’t cost you anything to give it a shot.

Good Debt vs Bad Debt

Good Debt vs Bad Debt

A majority of the people today are in debt. We like to spend and spend and go out and have fun, thus increasing our debts. Most of us don't even carry cash anymore, meaning all of our daily and necessary purchases are made through credit and debit cards. These all add to each of our personal debt accounts. And the more we are in debt, the more in the hole we become.

So where is that light? What makes the poor different from the rich in terms of debt?

Both rich people and poor people have debt. But the difference is how we use our debt. Did you know there is a difference between good debt and bad debt?

Bad Debt - bad debt is what I described earlier as everything we purchase every day. In addition to that, those in bad debt generally get themselves into bad debt by purchasing fancy cars, state-of-the-art HD TVs, video gaming systems, going out to fancy dinners and clubs. These all add to our montly expenses and do nothing more for us than provide us a bill on our credit card at the end of every month.

Good Debt - good debt however, is getting yourself into a debt where you have the potential to generate money from it. For example, entreprenuers who start up a business get themselves into hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt at the beginning. This is an example of good debt, because hopefully the business will eventually become a gold mine that will generate large sums of monthly income that will eventually pull themselves out of debt into the positives and beyond.

Believe it or not, debt is a good thing for our economy as well. Debt is what drives and stimulates the economy, forcing the creation of more jobs, more income, more circulation of currency.

The fastest way to becoming rich is also related to getting yourselves into good debt. To use your credit and your money and purchase "items" which will bring in more money to you. It is like the old saying: "If I had three wishes, I would wish for three more wishes."

In this case, this can be applied to real life. If you could purchase a machine that generates $100 every month, wouldn't you put all of your money into purchasing more of these machines? And in fact, wouldn't you take out a large personal loan to purchase as many as you can so you could double, triple, and quadruple your monthly cashflow?

Now this is a very simple example, however in real life, we can purchase items that bring in money for us every month. This includes stocks, bonds, funds, royalties, rental property, dividends, just to name a few. And the few rich and wealthy invest all of their assets into purchasing more assets so that they never have to worry about being too deep in the hole, their assets will pull them out.

This also touches on the basis of Infinite Return. What is Infinite Return?

To calculate this, let’s look at the formula for calculating regular return:

If you put in $100 into a savings account and at the end of the month, your account increases to $101, you have received a return of $1, or 1%, which can be calculated by

or in this case

Now let’s look at an example where you receive Infinite Return.

Let’s say that your friend asks you to borrow $1000 to repair some car damages. He promises to repay you back the $1000 with 10% interest.

Since you don’t have $1000 to spare, you decide to ask your parents for $1000 with a promise to repay then back with 5% interest.

So you acquire the money from your parents and you lend it to your friend. One week later he sends you a check for $1100 ($1000 + 10%). You take that check and repay your parents the $1000 you owe them plus the 5% you promised them which is $50. In this scenario, you have pocketed $50 without spending a dime of your own money. This is another example of good debt and because you didn’t spend any of your money to begin with, here’s the formula now:

As you can see from this formula, your denominator is zero because you invested zero dollars initially. You end up with $50 as your numerator. Since we cannot divide by zero, we have to use calculus to determine our return %.

Using calculus, we need to look for the value as the denominator approaches zero, basically what happens to the formula as the denominator gets smaller and smaller and smaller?

As you can see from above, as the value of the denominator gets smaller and smaller, the entire value of the fraction gets bigger and bigger. Through this, we can see that as the denominator approaches zero, the value of the fraction will go up to infinity, thus if you invest zero dollars and make ANY money at all whatsoever, whether it be $0.01 or $1000, you will have obtained Infinite Return.

So to conclude this, there is good debt and bad debt, depending on how you use your credit and how you use your loans. For those of the rich and wealthy, they know where to put their money so that they can generate large amounts of return whether it be infinite or not. In the end, it all boils down to what you do with your money and how educated you are in using it.

Financial Freedom Blog: Good Debt vs Bad Debt

Financial Freedom - What is it?

With the current state of the economy, many Americans wonder if they wake up one day without a job. Bank of America had recently cut thousands of jobs as they restructure their organization. The government has threatened to shut down multiple times within the last three months. The DOW had dropped over 500 points in one day just last week, a historical record. Congress and Obama have increased the Government debt while cutting spending in essential areas and threatening to the increase the American income tax. The class structure may soon be changed forever as the poor and middle class get lumped into their own class while the rich continue to get richer without being phased with high income taxes and soon darkness will consume our markets as our world is plunged into another depression.

The few, the prosperous, the educated, know of the light in tunnel. They've passed around a phrase that represents an ideal lifestyle, that of which is free from the constraints of stress and worry over tax and job issues. These few know of how to survive like the fittest in the best of times and the worst of times. This phrase I'm speaking of is: Financial Freedom.

What is Financial Freedom?

Financial Freedom is the state of living in which you are free of any financial obligations. It is living life without any worry of a job or bills. Generally it's the rich and wealthy people who have financial freedom. They can go day to day without every stepping into an office and wake up whenever they want. They can eat whenever they want, go to the bathroom whenever they want, and they are the ones who have complete control over every little aspect of their life. Their biggest problem on a daily basis is deciding where to eat.

So how can they live so freely without having to worry about work? Well that's because they own assets, enough to generate an amount of income every month which is sufficient to cover any financial expenses they may have. The easiest example I can provide (and something I thought about as a little kid, although now that I'm older, I realize it's not feasible) is imagine that you have a savings account offering a 3% return in interest. If you had a million dollars in your savings account, you would accrue a couple thousand dollars per month off interest alone. That money could then be used to pay off any and all of your monthly bills including food, rent, utilities, and debt with some change leftover. Because your necessities are paid for every month automatically without a requirement of a job, you are financially free.

How is Financial Freedom Obtained?

So how do I obtain financial freedom?

There is no one straight answer to this question. You could, as mentioned in the example above, accumulate large amounts of money into multiple savings accounts and live off interest. However, savings accounts today are unable to keep up with the rates of inflation so you would be bleeding money out every year without even realizing.

You could also win the lottery and then be paid on a periodic basis, whether monthly or yearly, and then that money would automatically go towards covering your bills. Although this is a very unlikely situation.

The basic way to obtaining financial freedom, as Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad stated, is to buy assets. What is an asset? An asset is anything that puts money into your pocket. This is the strategy of the rich and this is how the rich literally get richer: because their assets bring in more money every month after month after month...

The majority of Americans do not have assets. Instead they unknowingly burden themselves with liabilities which causes many of them to live from paycheck to paycheck in an effort to pay off the expenses that the liabilities produce.

Take a look at the balance sheet below. It represents the lifestyle of an average middle-class worker:

As you can see, the majority of the traffic comes from liabilities to expenses. These are the most common forms of liabilities found today: mortgages, loans, and credit card debt. These people have only one source of income: their job or jobs. And only as long as they continue to work these jobs would they continue to have a source of income. If they were to lose their job, there would be no source of income left to pay for these monthly expenses and then they would be required to dive into their one asset, their savings account, if they even have one.

The balance sheet below shows the lifestyle of someone with Financial Freedom:Notice the drastic difference in the boxes. Instead of a large amount of liabilities, there is a large amount of assets. That is because the rich do not put money into purchasing materialistic possessions. Instead they pour their money into items that can generate more money. Because of this, they now have enough assets generating money for them that they do not need to worry about working a job in order to put food on the table, their assets do that for them.

Take my friend Ted Tran for example. He currently owns a condo and is living in a 3-bedroom townhouse which he has a mortgage on. He has to make monthly payments on his townhouse on the amount of $1700. His condo he completely owns so he pays a few hundred dollars per month on utilities and fees. He rented out his condo to a single family who pay $1500 a month for rent. That's $1500 that Ted pockets which he then uses to pay almost the full payment on his town house. He has two roommates living with him at his townhouse who pay $500 per month for rent. Ted's townhouse generates $1000 total and his condo generates $1500, each of these recurring every month. And because of these assets generating income, he is able to sufficiently use that money to cover his townhouse payments while having $800 leftover for food and bills.

In addition to that he also does trading on the stock market, generating between $500 - $1000 per month. Another asset bringing in more money.

Because of these money generating assets, Ted does not need to work a job. He has all of his necessities for living paid for by his assets. Thus, Ted is living, financially free.

Financial Freedom is a slow emerging concept. As this economy turns for the worst, more people are excavating to find ways to escape this disaster. Many turn to investing, to real estate, and few turn to the arduous journey of obtaining financial freedom. Keep in mind this is no quick fix, this is a long-term solution which may potentially change the life of your family and your children forever. But once you've obtained financial freedom, never again will you be required to go to school in search of a 40+ year job until your retirement while living paycheck to paycheck. It is the knowledge of how to obtain financial freedom that will sustain your family generations to come.

Move over people, this has become the new American Dream.

Financial Freedom Blog: Financial Freedom

Are Savings Accounts Really Worth it?

Ninety-five percent of Americans work for someone else. Most of these workers put away money to save every single month, whether into a savings account or money market accounts, these two being the most common forms of saving money.

But we must deduce why exactly people are putting money into these accounts?

It is because they believe that these accounts have little to no risk. Money accumulates based off compound interest. The account will only go up, never go down. That’s where the “no risk” comes in.

However, what most people don’t know is that their savings accounts are still subject to inflation risk. And this is something that most people are uneducated in. They are unaware of how their $1000 that they put away this year may not have the same purchasing power the following year. Although they are accumulating interest, the money and interest being accumulated is not following the economy fast enough.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not against savings accounts. I want to advocate the fact that there’s a time to put money into your savings account and a time not to. It boils down to how well you can manage your money during different times in the economy.

Let’s look at a prime example:

In 2007, the highest interest rate on savings accounts ranged around 5% APY.

This means that if you put away $10,000 at the beginning of the year, then by the end of the year you would have $10,512.67 if your interest was compounded daily.

Savings Account: $10,000 / 5% APY = $10,512.67

The average annual inflation rate for 2007 is 3.8%.

Putting in the same $10,000, by the end of 2007, your money would have the purchasing power of 10,383.96.

Inflation: $10,000 in 2007 -> 3.8% inflation rate -> $10,383.96 in 2008.
Meaning what cost you $10,000 in 2007 now costs you $10,383.96 in 2008.

Because you had your money in your savings account however, you’ve accumulated $10,512.67. Your savings account has surpassed the inflation rate and made you a positive net return of $128.71.

Now let’s use the same analysis on 2009: the market’s rock bottom era.

Savings account: $10,000 / 1.4% APY = $10,140.98

Inflation: $10,000 in 2009 -> 1.4% -> $10,163.98 in 2010
Meaning what cost you $10,000 in 2009 now costs you $10,163.98

Meaning that if you had saved up $10,000 to purchase something in 2009, you now need to save up an additional $163.98 in order to buy it. But because your savings account is working for you at 1.4% APY, your savings account now has $10,140.98 which STILL sets you at a deficit of $23 dollars.

The point of this article is to show that the old way of saving money is no longer relevant to today’s economy. The traditional saying of “save your money” from what our parents and what our grandparents said no longer holds true.

This is because back in their time, saving money actually meant “saving money”. Back in their time, the dollar bill was still held to the gold standard so saving money was literally saving gold. Since the dollar bill broke away from the gold standard in 1971 and inflation kicked in, people must devise new ways of saving money.

Saving money in the 21st century includes a combination hybrid system of investing and savings. When savings accounts can not keep up with inflation, it’s a good idea to take your money out of savings accounts and put it into other investments instead.

It really boils down to how the economy is doing and how much return you’re getting off your accounts. Be sure to keep a sharp conscious about this, other wise you would be hemorrhaging money and not even know it. The old traditional ways are gone, so adapt to the new systems or else it’ll leave you dry.

(Sources:
Interest calculator: http://www.bankofinternet.com/interest-calculator.aspx
Inflation rates: http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
Financial Freedom Blog: Financial Freedom)

Tim Tebow

Fans chanted Tim Tebow's name in derision. They hooted as he missed open receivers, got buried under blitzes and kept falling short on third down.

The Broncos appeared beaten when they trailed 15-0 with 5:23 left and took over at their 20. At that point Tebow was 4 for 14 for 40 yards.

'It was my fault we were in that position," he said. "Silly things kept happening. On the sidelines, we were still believing. We wanted it, and they believed in me for more than 60 minutes."

In the frantic final minutes of the fourth quarter, Tebow led TD drives of 80 and 56 yards sandwiched around a successful onside kick. He scored a 2-point conversion standing up with 17 seconds left to tie the game.

In overtime, Denver's D.J. Williams sacked Matt Moore to force a fumble and recovered it at the Miami 36. Three plays later Prater hit the game-winner.

"It was never in doubt," said Denver coach John Fox.

The Broncos (2-4) won for the first time in the eight games they've played on the Dolphins' field. Miami (0-6) extended the NFL's longest losing streak to nine games, leaving the status of embattled coach Tony Sparano even more tenuous.

"Of course he's the head coach and he's going to take a lot of heat," receiver Brandon Marshall said. "But trust me, it's not him. Not just him. It's all of us."

The Dolphins lost for the 12th time in their past 13 home games.

"I'm just discouraged for the players in the locker room," Sparano said. "They work really hard, and we don't have anything to show for it right now."

Tebow started for the benched Kyle Orton, and for much of the game the Broncos sputtered. Tebow was sacked seven times as he struggled to identify blitzes, and several throws landed nowhere near a receiver.

As he walked to the sideline after one series stalled, spectators jeered, and Dolphins players gestured to the crowd for more noise.

"You can't lose confidence in yourself, or you've lost already," Tebow said. "When you get knocked down, you've got to keep getting back up."

That's what Tebow did. With the Broncos on the verge of being shut out for the first time since 1992, he led an eight-play touchdown drive that got them back in the game.

Matthew Willis' 42-yard reception was a pivotal play, and Tebow threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Demaryius Thomas with 2:44 left to make the score 15-7.

Then came the onside kick. Miami receiver Marlon Moore leaped to catch the ball but bobbled it and the Broncos' Virgil Green recovered at their 44 with 2:31 left.

"They made the play. I didn't," Moore said. "It was just a bang-bang play. I had it, the dude turned the corner, hit me, it came out, they got it."

Tebow's strike to a diving Daniel Fells gained 28 yards to the 3. Two plays later, Tebow fooled the Dolphins by rolling left and throwing back to the right to Fells, who dived across the goal line for a 3-yard score.

Denver still needed a 2-point conversion to stay alive, and Tebow kept up the middle to score standing up. Prater missed field-goal attempts of 49 and 43 yards in regulation, but his kick with 7:24 left in overtime gave Denver the victory.

"I'm trying to search for answers," Miami running back Reggie Bush said. "I just keep coming back to embarrassing."

While the Broncos were two time zones from home, lots of fans wore Tebow jerseys, and the popular quarterback drew a big roar trotting onto the field for his first series. Tebow won a 2005 high school state championship and the 2008 national title with the Florida Gators in the same stadium.

Crowd loyalties were divided even at halftime, when the Dolphins paid tribute to the 2008 Gators. Seventeen former Gators and former coach Urban Meyer took part in the ceremony, drawing a mix of cheers and jeers.

Despite the salute to the Gators and Tebow mania, the stadium was almost half empty at the start — a sign of growing fan discontent with the Dolphins.

The crowd was booing the home team before Miami's first series ended, but Denver move the ball no better. Together the two teams failed to convert their first 16 third-down situations.

Midway through the third period Denver had netted 2 yards on 10 pass plays, an average of 7 inches per play. But in the final 13 minutes Tebow went 9 for 13 for 121 yards, and he finished 13 for 27 for 161 yards. He ran for 65 yards in eight carries.

"He's a young guy, a good player," Fox said. "He's going to get better. We saw him get better today."

AkariTutoring Revolutionizes Education with Digital Learning

Move over professors, there's a new school powerhouse in town. Akari Online has entered the world of education, revolutionizing the way tutors teach and students learn. Started by three young entrepreneurs in Fairfax, Virginia in March 2011, Akari Online is an online-based educational system which connects students to tutors anywhere on the internet. With today's youth, the amount of activity spent online surfing the web, updating Twitter, viewing Facebook, it's clear that the cyber world is the main target of interest. Akari Online has utilized this advantage and provides tutoring, coaching, and instruction to students anytime, anywhere through their tutoring company: AkariTutoring.

AkariTutoring has developed an online digital whiteboard where students and tutors come together to engage in a "virtual classroom." Their whiteboard simulates a real-life whiteboard, allowing anyone in the classroom to communicate and draw out problems. With the ability to support one-to-one or one-to-many types of lessons, their virtual classroom can connect students from all across the world together who share a common characteristics: striving to do better in school.

Founded by Nero Nguyen, Tran Pham, and Justin Nguyen, these three individuals came together with a mindset to start a business that will outcut the high rates of all the other major tutoring companies out there and also against the freelance tutors. Rates for tutoring in the Fairfax averages around $40/hour. This is mainly due to the high commute and traveling requirements within the area and to make the tutor's time worthwhile, rates are this high. Many students do not wish to travel ~30 minutes one-way to a students house to spend an hour of instruction only to receive $20. It's just not worth their time.

With AkariTutoring, they believe that education should not have a price on it. Many of the world's problems stem from the lack of education. In fact, the United States has even fallen in the world ranking of education as referenced in this article in the HuffingtonPost ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/07/us-falls-in-world-education-rankings_n_793185.html ). AkariTutoring rates begin as low as $15 per hour online and $25 in-person covering the entirety the Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. area.

AkariTutoring strives to help improve the economy also by reducing the number of students in school without a job who are "broke, busted, and disgusted." Their service creates job for many high school and college students who wish to contribute nothing more than their academic knowledge. Students are paid anywhere between $10 - $25 per hour on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) which provides enough pocket change for them to go to school comfortably and still be able to do the things they love without significant financial restrictions.

AkariTutoring's website can be found at http://www.akaritutoring.com/ where they will have more detailed information on their rates, services, and what they cover.

What to Expect at Apple’s iPhone Event

by Jesus Diaz

Tomorrow Tim Cook will be talking iPhone and perhaps something else. Here's a list of all the things you can expect:

100% chance

• iOS 5: Prepare your iPhones, because the final iOS 5 is coming for sure... but perhaps not yet. Most probably it will not be available for download tomorrow—the latest beta was not a very good one and there's no sign of the golden master anywhere. Still, if there's no download, there will be a release date and a full tour of the complete operating system, including its new killer feature: Assistant.

The new iOS 5 comes with a lot of new features—these are the top ten—but Assistant is the one that nobody has experienced yet. Assistant is based on Siri, a technology that Apple bought for a couple hundred million dollars. The rumor is that it will require the new and more powerful iPhone's A5 processor to work correctly, as well as a connection to the Internet. This is because Assistant is not just voice recognition, but artificial intelligence assisted by servers in the cloud. Expect a deranged Scott Forstall to be extremely excited about this tomorrow.

If you want to see a video mockup on who Assistant may work, check this video out.

• iPhone 4S: We know this is real because we got the exclusive info. The rumor is that it is a cheaper version of the iPhone. I think this is the new iPhone, period. It has appeared in the latest iTunes beta and has also been leaked on Germany Vodafone's site. An updated iPhone 4 with new A5 processor and more RAM, maybe a better camera, but with the same design. Just like the iPhone 3GS was a faster update to the iPhone 3G.

If you want to use the new Assistant, the rumor is that you will need the iPhone 4S' A5 processor. The question is: would people think the increased speed and Assistant is worth the upgrade?

50% chance

• New iPod touch: The event invitation says "Let's talk iPhone." That clearly sets the tone and perhaps it's an indication that they will only talk about iPhones. However, traditionally they have also made announcements about iPods during the iPhone events, so they may mention the new models for the holiday season. Or perhaps they will just pass on these completely, just like they usually do when new Macbooks or iMacs appear on the Apple Store without any fanfare.

• Click-wheel iPod is dead: If they talk about iPod, then they most probably will announce the death of all the non-iOS 5 iPods except the touchscreen iPod nano. In a one slide, farewell, you served us well, NEXT! kind of way.

10% chance

• iPhone 5: Don't hold your breath for this one. Despite all the Chinese cases and all the rumors, there's not a single tangible evidence of the iPhone 5. None of the iPhones—or any other Apple product in history, for that matter—has reached the day before its announcement without a leak in the supply chain. Our bet is that the iPhone 4S is the next iPhone.

1% chance

• One more thing may be Steve Jobs himself. Some people think he will appear and say hi. I strongly doubt it.

iPhone 5 becomes iPhone 4s

The rumours are growing every day that Apple is about to launch not one, but two new phones in October: the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5. Here's all you need to know about the feasibly forthcoming iPhone 4S.

On 30 September the existence of an iPhone 4S seemed ever more likely - but is it just a respin of the current iPhone 4? Read on for more.

If you're desperate to know what we think will be coming from the top end new Apple device, check out our iPhone 5: All You Need To Know video below:

But with more information emerging about a phone with 'minor updates' from the iPhone 4 emerging all the time, here's what we know about the rumoured iPhone 4S:

The iPhone 4S will be a minor update to the iPhone 4

In a similar move from the iPhone 3G to the 3GS(which saw only a slight processor improvement, video camera and compass added) the iPhone 4S will only feature slight spec upgrades, according to Jefferies and Co. analyst Peter Misek:

"According to our industry checks, the device should be called iPhone 4S and include minor cosmetic changes, better cameras, A5 dual-core processor, and HSPA+ support," he wrote.

These claims of 'better cameras' have been corroborated by leaked images of the new cameras from Apple.pro to be used in the next version of the phone - the iPhone 4S will reportedly have a separate flash from the main sensor.

The iPhone 4 has the flash built directly into the camera unit, so the new design could herald an even thinner iPhone 4S too.

On 3 October it was revealed that the iPhone 4S name has been used in the latest beta of iTunes, casting yet more doubt that the iPhone 5 will launch this week.

A screenshot from the beta makes several specific mentions the "iPhone 4S", offering both black and white colour variations.

iPhone 4S construction

Photos of what is supposedly the iPhone 4S were published in July showing a familiar-looking handset with a plastic casing in place of the iPhone 4's glass finish.

It's almost impossible to tell if these photos are the real deal; they could easily be of a regular iPhone 4 onto which an enterprising fraudster has transplanted into a plastic casing - or simply a pasted a matte cover - but it would go a long way to removing the possiblity of Antennagate again, plus would bring down the cost of building the device to help make it a truly budget iPhone.

iPhone 4S screen

Conflicting reports in August suggested the next Retina Display in the new iPhone will remain at 3.5-inches.

A leaked prototype LCD display component uncovered by the MacPost website fits exactly the same form factor as the iPhone 4.

That discovery could be interpreted in two ways. The first is that the iPhone 5 design will remain unchanged.

Secondly, it could add credence to rumours that Apple will launch a second tier 'iPhone 4S' that sticks to the iPhone 4 design.

The iPhone 4S is just a developer's version of the iPhone 5

The nickname iPhone 4S could just represent a devloper's version of the forthcoming iPhone 5, in order to stop the final hardware being leaked.

A select few games devs reportedly received a new iPhone in April, to help them prepare the best titles possible for the iPhone 5 launch.

9to5Mac reports that the new handsets feature Apple's super-nippy A5 chip, allowing developers to create the fastest and best-looking mobile phone games yet possible.

9to5Mac's source claims that the "iPhone 4S" is almost identical to the current iPhone 4, apart from the inclusion of the newer, faster processor.

The iPhone 4S replaces the faulty iPhone 5

Rumours of delays have dogged the upcoming iPhone 5 for months now, and rumours persist the device may be held back until early 2012.

The reason behind the hold-up, sources say, is the dual-core A5 processor that Apple is intending to use has been overheating - presumably this is a space issue in the thinner device, given the iPhone 4S is supposed to run with the same chip.

Many have speculated that this will see Apple waiting until the A6 chip is available, which won't be until the beginning of next year.

If true, this could mean we will see a slightly updated iPhone 4S launch in autumn (another recurring rumour), with a more major upgrade made public after Christmas.

There's talk of three memory varieties launching inside the 4S, which may mean we see a new 64GB model joining the 16GB and 32GB line up.

That, or we'll see a cheaper 8GB model swell the ranks.

Gizmodo (who else?) Brazil managed to sneak into the Brazilian Foxconn factory and nab snaps of hardware that looks almost exactly like an iPhone 4 and, interestingly, a document that includes the model number – N90A.

...or the iPhone 4S will launch with the iPhone 5

This one seems a lot more credible, with the iPhone 4S coming as an upgraded iPhone 4 to sit alongside the iPhone 5 on shop shelves.

Images have emerged of what is said to be components of the iPhone 5 as well as the insides of a re-tooled version of the iPhone 4, likely the iPhone 4S.

The images show a re-jigged A5 chip inside what is believed to be the iPhone 5, as well as a bigger battery capacity.

Alongside that are purported images of components inside something that looks like an iPhone 4 - showing off a plastic white casing and a dual core A5 chip.

Credit: MacPost

And more innocuously, Al Gore - a member of the Apple board - recently outed 'new iPhones' in a speech, which led to speculation of more than one model emerging.

Gore apparently told a leadership conference in South Africa: "Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug."

It remains unclear whether Gore meant that there would be multiple models or many of the same new model. The source, Stuff Magazine South Africa's Editor Toby Shapshak, says Gore did not clarify.

Later on Twitter, Shapshak followed up by saying "I clearly heard "iPhones". I recorded it. Double checked. Clearly plural but could be millions of one model."

iPhone 4S release date

If an upgraded iPhone 4 does launch with the iPhone 5, then it's highly likley the two devices, running iOS 5, will be launched at the same time, with reports of an iPhone release date between the 10 and 20 October seeming the most likely at this stage.

It will be interesting to see whether Apple does indeed bring out a dual-core model of the iPhone 4 - if so, then surely the company has big plans in store for the more powerful devices, so we should probably all get pretty excited at the possibility of all new applications being able to take advantage in the huge ramp up in power.

by Gareth Beavis

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/iphone-4s-rumours-what-you-need-to-know-956098

National Coffee Day

National Coffee Day: Celebrate with a free cup of joe

By Elizabeth Flock

Today, tell all those smug tea drinkers to take a walk, because it’s international coffee day.

(Via Facebook) Caribou Coffee, 7-11, Thornton's, and Krispy Kreme are all making it easier to feed your addiction by handing out free cups of joe at nationwide locations. (Note the fine print: 7/11’s freebies end at 11 a.m., and at Caribou, it’s buy one, get one for a friend free.)

Though rumored to be participating, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks say they will not be handing out free coffee, prompting one fan to write, “I still love your coffee, and I'd still pay for it on National Coffee Day while other people moan and complain, and go to 7-11 for a [expletive] cup of free coffee.”

In addition to getting a cup of java, we suggest you celebrate by remembering where coffee came from — a group of hopped-up goats.

According to the National Coffee Association, an Ethio­pian goat herder named Kaldi was the first to realize coffee’s wonders: “It is said that he discovered coffee after noticing that his goats, upon eating berries from a certain tree, became so spirited that they did not want to sleep at night.”

Today, those berries are then harvested and processed, the beans dried, milled and exported, the coffee tasted, roasted, ground and brewed — all to get to that steaming mug in front of you.

Now go get your caffeine on!

Amazon Kindle Fire

Amazon.com just introduced a new seven-inch tablet called the Kindle Fire. It’s got a smaller screen than the Apple iPad 2, less storage and no cameras, and it can’t do 3G.

But I think it just changed the whole tablet game.

Joshua Topolsky

An authoritative voice on technology and consumer electronics, Joshua Topolsky is the founding editor-in-chief of The Verge, a technology news and information Web site debuting this Fall, and the former editor-in-chief of Engadget. He is the resident tech expert for NBC’s “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, Bloomberg TV and G4’s “Attack of the Show.” A lifelong gadget enthusiast, Joshua used his first computer at age 6 (a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A), and has been breaking apart and reassembling gadgets since phones had rotary dialers.

In New York on Wednesday, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos took to the stage and presented a slew of new mobile devices for consumers with prices so eye-poppingly low that even some analysts who follow the market were shocked. In addition to the $199 Kindle Fire, Bezos also unveiled a $99 touch-screen e-reader called the Kindle Touch and a a $79 non-touch Kindle. In setting the price point of these devices so low, Bezos was laying out out how he views the future of Amazon. And that future is all about content.

Before I get to the content, let me tell you a little bit about the device that this stuff will live on. The Kindle Fire is a small, sleek tablet that looks a lot like Research in Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook. It has a dual-core CPU (which should help keep its performance on pace with most of its competitors), a bright multi-touch LCD display and 8GB of on-board storage. In comparison to the iPad and most recent Android tablets, it’s a weaker product from a hardware perspective.

On the other hand, Amazon has radically altered Google’s Android operating system, creating a smooth, simple user interface that looks and feels more polished than that of most Android tablets on the market. Your books, music and movies are kept in a big carousel on the home screen that you can page through like Apple’s “Cover Flow” for music on the iPod, and you can stick favorite apps in a row along the bottom of the screen. It looks kind of like a virtual bookshelf, and most people wouldn’t recognize this as any version of Android they’ve seen before.

The company has also equipped the Fire with a homegrown Web browser called Silk. The company claims the new browser speeds up Web page load times by pre-processing information and images on Amazon’s cloud servers and can even do things such as predict the next page you’ll visit based on the previous actions of all users. That’s pretty futuristic stuff.

But the announcement today wasn’t so much about the hardware or the software as it was about content and services. Amazon’s message to the market and users at the event was all about the company’s transformation from bookseller and retailer to purveyor and host of rich multimedia content. The announcement was paired with news of partnerships between Amazon and Conde Nast, Fox and DC Comics, and cheerleading about the company’s vast movie, music and TV offerings, not to mention its Android application store, called Appstore.

And that content — combined with a price point $300 lower than the least expensive iPad — sets the stage for a major disruption in this space.

Just a few weeks ago, we saw near mass hysteria over the price cut of HP’s discontinued TouchPad. When the $499 tablet went to $99 during a fire sale, stores couldn’t keep them in stock. And that was for a discontinued product. As consumers realize they can have most of what Apple and Android competitors are offering for less than half the price, it will cause a strong reaction.

For software developers, Amazon also provides a tantalizing mixture of retail know-how and automatic audience exposure. It doesn’t take a wild imagination to picture a future where it’s more lucrative to code your software strictly for the Fire and Amazon’s Appstore than for the plethora of Android tablets sitting unwanted on store shelves. Google and its partners have failed to catalyze developers and buyers, but Amazon just might stand a chance.

That’s not to say that Amazon doesn’t have a long battle ahead of it. Android tablets in general have failed to spark any real interest in the market, and the Fire stands to be left behind as the Android software matures since the device won’t be a target for regular updates from Google.

It’s also true that Amazon hasn’t shown the Fire to be capable of much beyond content consumption and game playing. That’s fine for casual users, but for those looking to replace a full-fledged laptop or even a netbook, this probably isn’t the device they need.

Still, Amazon has a proven track record of outdoing expectations and predicting what consumers want. A tablet at this price point — coupled with packages such as the company’s Prime service, which offers cheap or free deliveries along with access to lots of free streaming content — is a heady mixture.

When the device begins shipping on Nov. 15, it’s easy to see how the Kindle Fire could give consumers an alternative to the iPad that’s really worth considering. It’s a tablet that has the potential to be as vital and as desirable as any Apple product, but with a much lower price tag. Will it slow Apple’s sales? Maybe not, but for the first time since the launch of the original iPad, I think Apple has a reason to start worrying.

By Joshua Topolsky, Washington Post

Joshua Topolsky is the founding editor in chief of the Verge, a technology news Web site debuting this fall, and former editor in chief of Engadget.