Getting Started With Investing
IntroductionTraditionally investing has been seen as the preserve of the wealthy and has a reputation for being a minefield to the uninitiated. As western standards of living continue to increase, more and more people are beginning to realize the benefits investing even small sums can bring. This article seeks to explore some basic principles to help you get started with investing.1. What’s the basic premise of investing?The Collins English Dictionary defines the word invest in the following way; “To lay out, for profit or advantage.” To layout refers to the fact that something of value is needed in the first place in order to generate more wealth. In essence investing is a means of taking a pre defined sum of money and using it in such a way as to increase its original value, therefore generating a profit.2. Why Invest?This is one of the most fundamental questions that any person looking to invest needs to ask. The general answer is pretty obvious, to generate a profit, but the reason behind the investment are far more important and will directly influence how and where you chose to invest. In addition the answer will also determine the level of risk you are willing to expose yourself to and which will be explored in more detail later.Reasons as to why people invest are varied and may include some of the following; to build up a nest egg for retirement, to provide a financial safety net, to pay for future education or university fees for children, for fun because of the buzz investing can create.3. How Should I invest?This is also a deeply personal question and will depend upon the amount of money an individual has at their disposal. It is important to stress that investment takes many different forms all of which facilitate differing levels of investment. A single mum might decide to invest $20 or a business entrepreneur $1 million but both will seek a return on their capital outlay and how they go about achieving their investment goals may differ substantially.4. What level of risk should I expose myself to?Such a decision is very important as ultimately it will dictate the profitability of your final investment. In many respects this question will also be determined by the answer to the previous question, why invest? If an investment is being made to safeguard a financial future the level of risk taken may be lower than an individual investing for fun.Generally investments are made in three distinct categories low, medium and high. Low risk investments include Government bonds and savings accounts. Medium Risk investments could include certain types of shares or property. High Risk investments will almost certainly include shares in rapidly expanding companies exploring new markets. The dot.com crash in the late nineties, in which thousands of newly established technology companies went bust, is an example of a high risk investment going very wrong.What types of investment are there?This is not an easy question to answer because in theory anything that earns a profit from an initial outlay can be classed as an investment.There are however some common forms of investment that deserve further explanation.a) Government BondsThese are deemed low risk investments as money is invested in Government related projects and assets. It is unheard of in the western world for a Government to go bankrupt.b) SharesThis is a means of holding a stake in a company trading on the stock exchange and investors benefit from its profitability. Whilst share dealing can be low risk particularly if you are investing in established companies in the FTSE 100, most share investments are deemed medium or high risk. This is because such investments have the potential to return excellent profits but there is also a raised risk of losing your total investment.c) AntiquesAntiques are often a great source of investment given that they hold their value at the very least and have the added benefit of being easy to sell if you need a quick cash injection. In addition if you wish to leave a sum of money to family after your death they won’t be hit with inheritance taxes often associated with large amounts of physical cash. Perhaps one of the major drawbacks to investing in Antiques is the requirement of a level of technical expertise, or access to those skills, to ensure that suitable items are invested in.d) PropertyProperty can also be a very lucrative source of investment as property prices continue to increase across the developed world. Generally property prices increase in value in the long term.e) SavingsWhilst banks often make the distinction between savings and investments, in essence savings are a form of investment as the money you save with the bank is invested in low risk shares on your behalf, which ultimately enables financial institutions to make interest payments to you.How to investNow that you have more information to help you get started with investment the next step is to speak to an independent financial advisor. These consultations are almost always free and you can get specific advice tailored to your individual needs concerning investing. In the UK there is an excellent site for finding Independent Financial Advisors called unbiased, see the link at the end of this articleSummaryThis article has attempted to provide advice to enable individuals to get started with investment. Discussion has taken place about the basic premise of investing and the profitability of such a decision, along with examining different reasons for investing. Attention has also been given to how much might be invested and at what level of risk this might be undertaken at. Finally we have explored the vast array of investment options available and what the next step is for a budding investor.
Health Care – Degree Training Possibilities
Health care degree training programs allow students to train for an exciting new career in the medical field. Students can gain an education in this field by enrolling with an accredited school or college. Obtaining a certificate or degree in health care can open a world of opportunities for students looking to start a new career. There are a range of degrees to choose from when looking to enter a training program.Students looking to obtain an accredited degree in the field can do so at various levels of education. These levels of degrees available include:AssociatesBachelorsMastersDoctoratesStudents can also earn certificates in certain areas of the field and for continuing education.Health care degree training allows students to gain the education they need to succeed in the industry. Accredited schools and colleges provide students with the chance to specialize in a variety of areas including:Cardiovascular TechnologyHealth InformationHealth EducationHealth SciencesPreventive MedicineHealth ServicesPublic HealthWhen receiving a higher education students can choose the specific area that interests them most.Depending on the level of degree and educational program students will be able to enter a number of exciting careers. Accredited schools and colleges allow students to train for careers working in:HospitalsSchoolsClinicsHome Health Care AgenciesPrisonsPrivate OfficesEmployment placement will depend on the career and education received by each student.Educational training programs offer coursework in a variety of specialized areas. Students looking to enroll in a health care education program can expect to learn:AnatomyChemistryPhysiologyHuman HealthNutritionMedical ChartingOccupational HealthCoursework will vary depending on the level of degree and career each individual student chooses to pursue.Career opportunities in health care are available to students in a number of specialized areas. Some careers that students can pursue are:NurseAdministratorSurgical AssistantPhysician AssistantHealth Services ManagerAnesthesiologistHealth Information TechnicianStudents can find a variety of employment opportunities depending on the level of degree and school of attendance. Those who already hold a degree can enroll in continuing education courses to learn new skills and stay current with advances in the field.With an accredited education in health care students will have the opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge needed to enter into their chosen career. The need for professionals in this field is constantly on the rise, causing more students to pursue degrees in this field. Students can find more information about any one of the available degrees by contacting several schools and colleges that offer these programs. Students can be on the path to a new career by requesting more information and enrolling in the school or college that best fits their individual needs and career goals.DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised at PETAP.org.Copyright 2010 – All rights reserved by PETAP.org.
Costa Rica Health Care: Internationally Accredited and Affordable
The Costa Rica health care system is well recognized internationally and its quality and affordability are second to none. Though health care in Costa Rica it is widely discussed among interested foreigners, the extent to what makes it so great is relatively unknown; from high quality, broad coverage in the public and private sectors, to the prestigious training of medical staffs, Costa Rica truly has an amazing health care system.Costa Rica’s public health care is recognized as being of the best 20 systems in the world. There are 29 public hospitals and hundreds of clinics scattered around the country. In addition, in locations with out hospitals there are local, top notch doctors. The government run Social Security System (Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social – CCSS) sponsors the hospitals and is largely responsible for providing affordable, quality health care to the people. In 2010, a new immigration law implemented mandatory monthly payments to the CCSS by all expatriates. The monthly fees are $55 a month for anyone under 55 and $37 a month for anyone older than 55. In addition, the CCSS covers insured tourists in coordination with their providers in their home countries.Costs on procedures can be 30-70% cheaper that US or European standards depending on a number of factors. Due to the prominence of the Costa Rica health care system and the country’s accessibility, it has become a celebrated destination for medical tourism, particularly for elective surgeries. Any plastic or dental surgery can be completed at US standards, but up to 65% cheaper! All medical tourism is completed through private health care. Even if the surgery is not elective, the private sector provides state-of-the-art facilities and doctors for patients in need. Again, the primary reasons for coming are cost and reliability. Other places in Central and South America not have the proper care available to people in dire need of treatment, which adds to the list of reasons Costa Rica is a medical haven.The three main private hospitals in the Costa Rica health care system are CIMA, Clinica Biblica, and Clinica Catolica. CIMA has a hospital in San Jose and a brand new one in Liberia; they specialize in just about every medical category. Clinica Biblica is situated within metropolitan San Jose; it is prominent in many forms of major surgery, including heart and cancer care. Clinica Catolica is locate in surrounding suburb of San Jose called Guadalupe; it has a great ER and specializes in many zones of medicine, including: audiology, respiratory, nutrition, and mental, to name a few. Access to private health care comes through the government’s provided insurance company, INS. Depending on a multitude of factors, it costs roughly $60-$130 monthly.Pharmacies are all over the country and provide easy access to medication, much of which can be obtained over the counter. Migraine medication, birth control pills, and many other remedies are available at any pharmacy without a prescription. Some stronger painkillers, such as low dosages of codeine, are available over the counter as well. Since there is often someone capable of writing prescriptions at a pharmacy, additional medications can be much more accessible than in other places. Many pharmacies are provided through the public Costa Rica health care system.
The Three Magic Numbers You Need For Fast & Sustainable Weight Loss – Start Losing Weight Today!
Okay, the three numbers are not magic… but you already knew that yet there are no more important numbers when it comes to sustainable weight loss! You may have already come across some of these numbers when doing your research but may not have understood their true significance to the success of your weight loss.I am going to go over each of these so that you are better informed on how important these numbers are and how any weight loss program that does not address these will always fail you. I will also provide you with a link at the end of the article to a weight loss calculator that will generate these magic numbers for you. Let us start with the first of the magic numbers, your Ideal Weight!You no doubt have heard allot about this number. Your doctor, trainer or dietitian may have given you a weight value based on the accepted norms for your sex, age and height. Although this number is generic, it does cover at least 95% of most cases. What about that other 5%? Well this 5% can be +-10 pounds from the Ideal Weight given. It all depends on each individuals situation but does not lessen the importance of this value. What is truly important about the Ideal Weight is not that you need to maintain that exact weight but you use it to guide you towards your target to stabilize your weight at a level near your Ideal Weight that makes you feel comfortable and healthy. How do you know when the weight you have obtained is within the “healthy” zone for your Ideal Weight? Well that is determined by the next of the magic numbers, the BMI.The Body Mass Index (BMI) can be used by your doctor and/or dietitian to figure out your general weight health based on your sex, height and weight and is associated with the measurement of body fat. Once that BMI has been calculated, the value is compared against the following ranges to determine your weight health.
less than 19 –> Underweight
19 to 25 –> Normal
26 to 29 –> Overweight
30 to 34 –> Obese (Class I)
35 to 39 –> Obese (Class II)
40 or more –> Obese (Class III)
There are a couple of limitations with the BMI. One, it does not show the difference between body fat and muscle. Someone with a lot of muscle (body builder) may have a BMI in the unhealthy range, but still be healthy with little risk of developing health issues. Two, it may not accurately reflect the weight health of someone that is very short (under 5 feet) and in older people (80+). For the rest of us the BMI is a reliable indicator as to our physical weight health.What should you do if your BMI is too high?If your BMI is from 26 to 29 – start a weight loss program and increase your physical activity level.
If your BMI is from 30 to 34 – take your weight seriously as you are at a RISK of health issue, start a good weight loss program NOW and become more active.
If your BMI is from 35 to 39 – you are at a HIGH RISK of health issues. You need to address your diet with a weight loss program and include your doctor at each stage of your progress.
If your BMI is 40 or more – your health is at EXTREME RISK (DEATH!). Contact your doctor NOW and work to get your weight under control.The last of the magic numbers is your Calorie Maintenance Level (CML) and it is the key number in a weight loss program. The CML is based on many factors and is specific to each person’s height, weight and activity level. Since the effectiveness of your weight loss program depends on this number, it is important that it be as accurate as possible. What is the CML? It is the total number of calories you need to consume each day to maintain your CURRENT weight. Lets say your CML is 2608 calories for your current weight. To start losing weight, change your daily calorie intake to a value less than your current CML (target around 500 calories less). The decrease will trigger your body to find the missing calories from body fat to try to maintain your current weight at that activity level. You should start seeing weight loss the first week, if not decrease your calorie intake a bit more and/or increase your activity level. The additional increase in demand for calories will start eating away at your fat deposits.To make use of these magic weight loss numbers, you need to find a weight loss program that understands their importance and incorporates them in the program. A good weight loss program is required to make these magic weight loss numbers useful. You can lose weight with just the knowledge you have picked up here today but without a good weight loss program that helps train you for sustainable weight loss, you might not reach your comfortable and healthy weight.
What are anti-ligature blinds?
Anti-ligature blinds are becoming increasingly popular in a range of different settings. The way these blinds differ from traditional blinds is that they are designed to prevent suicide by hanging.
Initially, uptake for this type of blind was largely restricted to high-risk environments such as psychiatric hospitals and prisons, where suicide is common. In mental health environments and detention centres, suicide via hanging is common and preventative measures must be implemented. A huge range of objects could be used to create a ligature point, meaning anti-ligature systems are highly important.
Over the years, anti-ligature blinds have been supplied to hospitals, schools, student accommodation and even hotels.
How do they work?
There are a range of different systems on the market, but the most reliable could well be the magnetic anti-ligature system. YewdaleKestrel® products utilise load release magnets which separate when a downward force is exerted on the product. This means that the product falls to the ground safely and prevents suicide via hanging.
The magnetic systems used in Yewdale’s products are highly reliable because magnets don’t lose their strength for hundreds of years, guaranteeing a lifetime of lifesaving functionality.
Anti-ligature blinds usually have a magnetic connection point above the blind’s barrel. The blind is easy to reconnect to the magnetic bracket after it has fallen to the floor.
If you are considering an anti-ligature blind, Yewdale is a highly recommended company. Based in the UK, Yewdale produce a wide range of anti-ligature products, commercial blinds, and healthcare products including hospital cubicle tracks and medical curtains.
Yewdale produce other anti-ligature products too including a soft, lightweight en-suite door and other accessories such as soap dispensers, toilet roll holder, shelves and artwork. You can see the full range on the website using the link below.
Complete weight loss strategy
For those who want to lose weight
Research on the causes of obesity, knowledge about weight loss, and various diets for weight loss are updated every year. However, with the update of knowledge and the release of diet pills one after another, the obesity rate continues to rise every year, and there is no sign of wanting to decline. I used to be very, very fat, and I am also a person who is prone to obesity.
So I understand the voices of fat people, I really want to lose weight, but I tried many ways to lose weight at that time without success.
I have tried the common boiled meals on the market, eating less and moving more, but it was not until I tried other diets that I managed to lose weight. After I lost weight, I began to study the essence and method of losing weight, and wrote him in this weight loss strategy article, hoping to help you.
A few key myths about losing weight
The weight loss myth of eating less and moving more
The phrase “eat less and move more” is actually true, but most people do it wrong. Many people think that they should eat less of everything, so they limit their calories to a very low level, and it feels a bit like eating an ultra-low-calorie fairy meal. Then, for the hyperactive part, the first thing that everyone thinks of is aerobic exercise such as running, cycling, etc., but in fact, this is a very short-term and easy way to regain weight, mainly because eating too little is an easy way to lose weight. The reason for the loss of muscle mass, coupled with the fact that aerobic training is not helpful for muscle mass growth, causes the metabolism to drop too much.
Maybe you can lose 5 kilograms in this way, but if your metabolism declines, you will easily regain the weight. And it’s all the fat that gets back up, not the muscle you lose that makes you look fatter than before. This is what we call the yo-yo effect, lose weight, get fat back, get fatter than before, lose weight, get back on Fat, get fatter than before.
Stop taking diet pills and meal replacements
At this time, you may start to seek other ways, eat weight loss meal replacements, taking diet pills, and so on. But believe me, most diet pills will inevitably hurt the body, especially the gastrointestinal tract. You may actually lose weight in the moment, but when your gastrointestinal tract is damaged, you will be fatter than before.
The key to understanding how to lose weight
You must have thought, why some people will not gain weight no matter what they eat, while some people will gain a kilogram the next day after eating a little bread? What is the cause of obesity? This is not a simple answer that can be solved!
You can see the link to the picture below, mainly talking about the influencing factors of obesity, which are very, very complicated.
Image source: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/296290/obesity-map-full-hi-res.pdf
In the middle of this picture is the heat balance
So we can know that calorie balance is very important
But this article doesn’t keep preaching that calorie balance is the key to losing weight like other sites
If you don’t know what calorie balance is, you can probably imagine that our body has calorie consumption (exercise, thermogenesis, basal metabolism), and calorie intake (eating).
When calorie consumption exceeds calorie intake, the weight will drop, so the truth of weight loss is to eat less and move more, very simple. In the short term, it is really possible to simply achieve weight loss by eating less and moving more, but simplicity is not simple, because the operation of the body is very complicated. Many people think that they can control their calorie consumption, that they can achieve a lot of calorie expenditure by running all the time, and that eating fairy meals (low-calorie meals) can reduce calorie intake and then easily lose it.
However, according to research, 90% of people who use calorie control, eat less and move more to lose weight will fail or regain the weight.
Because eating less and moving more for too long, metabolism will easily drop, hormones will easily become imbalanced, and muscle mass will easily be lost. Even if you lose 10 kilograms, you will easily regain weight.
When losing weight, the body is like a factory
For me, the key to long-term weight loss and maintaining good posture is the environment in the body, such as hormones, the level of inflammation in the body, and the gastrointestinal system.
Think of the body as a factory
-Your hormones are the managers and workers of factory operations
-Inflamed condition is how good factory machinery and hardware are
-Calorie intake is wages for factories as well as fuel
If the manager of this factory is an idiot, or if the hardware in your factory is completely rotten, then no matter how it works, it will create a pile of waste. Just as our hormones are already out of balance and the level of inflammation in the body is very high, no matter how much you eat, if you don’t solve the existing problems, it will easily accumulate into fat. It may be easier to understand with a few examples.
Hormones vs Weight Loss
This study looked at the effects of sleep and weight loss
Research source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20921542
Both groups of humans were calorie-restricted, but one group slept 5.5 hours a night and the other 8.5 hours. Both groups lost weight, but the group that slept less lost 55 percent less body fat and 65 percent more muscle mass than the group that slept more. It is equivalent to losing weight, but most of the loss is muscle mass, which reduces metabolism and makes it easy to regain weight later.
There is such a big difference mainly because poor sleep has a negative impact. The imbalance of the secretion of these things will easily increase fat and reduce muscle.
This next study looks at the effect of insulin sensitivity on body composition!
Research source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19471290
Basically, many chronic metabolic diseases, obesity, and poor muscle-building effects are closely related to low insulin sensitivity. Insulin is an anti-catabolic hormone whose main function is to store nutrients in cells. For example, after heavy training, our muscles will be more sensitive to insulin, and the nutrients we eat will be more easily absorbed into the muscles. When insulin sensitivity is low, the nutrients we eat are more likely to be stored as fat rather than absorbed into muscles.
We can simply say that the nutrients in the food eaten by people who are insulin insensitive are more likely to be stored as fat, and the relative fat mass will be much higher than the muscle mass.
To put it simply, the key to losing weight is actually to improve hormones, improve inflammation in the body, and add an appropriate calorie deficit. It is not difficult to achieve a calorie deficit. What is more difficult is how to choose the type of food that suits your body to improve hormones and achieve a long-term good body.
If you only pursue short-term weight loss and rely on a lot of calorie deficits to achieve the effect of weight loss, and then the hormones are still the same after the loss, then I can guarantee that you will gain weight very easily.
With so many ways to eat on the internet, which diet should I try?
When talking about losing weight in Taiwan 30 years ago, everyone would definitely want to use boiled meals
When it came to losing weight five years ago, everyone might think of using a low-sugar diet. When it came to losing weight in the past two or three years, everyone might directly think of the ketogenic diet.
I lost 30kg in 3 months on a low-sugar diet myself for the first time, so I used to believe that a low-sugar diet was the best way to lose weight
But after my long-term understanding of weight loss-related research, genetic cognition, and observation of students, there is no diet that is most suitable for everyone! Although it is said that high-carbohydrate foods will most stimulate insulin secretion, which in turn promotes the storage of nutrients into fat, some people are naturally good at metabolizing carbohydrates, so they can still be healthy and strong after eating high-carbohydrate throughout their lives.
For example, this study compared the responses of people with high and low insulin sensitivity to high- and low-carb diets.
Research source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2005.79
The study concluded:
-For people with high insulin sensitivity, eating high-carb and low-fat to lose weight is very helpful
-However, people who are insulin insensitive use a high-carb low-fat diet to lose fat, but the weight loss effect is not so good.
But on the contrary, studies have also shown that people with low insulin sensitivity have a very good weight loss effect on a low-carb high-fat diet, which shows that improving insulin is very important for weight loss, and it also shows that people with insulin insensitivity are more suitable
Lose weight with a high-carb diet.
So if you have been obese for a long time, you know that you eat carbohydrates easily, or you know that you have diabetes in your family and want to lose fat, then I would suggest that you can start by reducing carbohydrates, which is what we call low carb diet!