How Much Is Your Second Income Costing You?
Most families choose to be two income producing for very good reasons. In the lowest income groups, it is probably a matter of economic necessity. There are many cases where mothers work as their partners employment lacks security or offers few benefits. Usually the second income earner is doing to in order to elevate the families standard of living.Many families with two incomes are able to economize, but the reality is they do not. If you are trying to evaluate the true value of a second income, you would be well advised to ask yourself these questions.Could you make large cuts in your food bills by gardening and freezing home grown produce and by cutting out pre-packaged convenience foods? Also cutting down on eating out and ordering in food would save a tidy sum in many families.Another area to examine is how much can be saved by shopping around when purchasing household appliances. A golden rul

Create Your Methodology Based on a Standard Framework (Part2)
In the previous article I explained why it is a good idea to create a methodology based on a standard framework and highlighted the criteria to choose the most convenient one. In this article I will give some tips for the adaptation and documentation of the methodology.Understand the frameworkOnce a framework has been chosen it is time to start building the methodology. The first step is to acquire a general understanding of the framework, a holistic view of its components. You must have a clear idea of its scope and boundaries. It might be useful (if you already have some formal processes in place) to carry out a mapping of your processes to the standard and perform a gap analysis. This is not necessary if you approach the project as a reengineering project, building the new processes from the ground up.Build a roadmapOnce you have a clear vision of the standard framework's scope and your curren

10 Reasons for Selling
During your investing career, you will do these two transactions; buying and selling. Buying requires knowing the fair value of a stock and then compare it with recent price. If recent stock price is 10% below fair value and an investor does not mind getting a 10% return, then he should buy the stock. If not, he can then move on to other stocks.Selling, however is not that simple. Sometimes, investment do not go the way you want it to be. Your prediction may not be accurate. Furthermore, your time frame may be longer than you expected. Here are ten different reasons investors might sell a common stock:Need the money. This generally happens due to improper planning. However, things happen. Even the most carefully planned strategy may not work. Catastrophic events such as Hurricane Katrina or Rita may force investors to sell an investment if his household is affected by it.The book is unclean.at I thought it might be interesting to discuss the subject here.

The truth is, there's no right or wrong way to do things - but there are guidelines that, if you adhere to them, will mark you out as a good and competent writer. Similarly, if you ignore them (without understanding what you're doing) then you'll most likely come across as an amateur.

Before we go on, let's make sure we know the terms of reference.

For most fiction, you have 4 basic alternatives.

1. First person, where everything is told from the limited POV of the protagonist - the classic 'I' story. Good because you can get right inside the feelings and motivations of the main character. Bad because only the narrator can propel the plot - that is, nothing can happen that the hero is unaware of.

2. Third person, where the writer (and reader) follows the action through the actions of one protagonist. Good because you can get inside and outside of the character, describing a rounded personality with some objectivity.

3. Omniscient, where the writer can describe the actions and inner feelings of all of the characters from any point of view that seems appropriate. Good because of its flexibility. Bad because it is open to abuse and mishandling.

4. A combination of all of the above.

Now, most aspiring writers have little trouble with options 1 and 2 - the limitations are relatively obvious when you use them. It's in the 3rd option where writers start to flounder.

Co

on, let's make sure we know the terms of reference.

For most fiction, you have 4 basic alternatives.

1. First person, where everything is told from the limited POV of the protagonist - the classic 'I' story. Good because you can get right inside the feelings and motivations of the main character. Bad because only the narrator can propel the plot - that is, nothing can happen that the hero is unaware of.

2. Third person, where the writer (and reader) follows the action through the actions of one protagonist. Good because you can get inside and outside of the character, describing a rounded personality with some objectivity.

3. Omniscient, where the writer can describe the actions and inner feelings of all of the characters from any point of view that seems appropriate. Good because of its flexibility. Bad because it is open to abuse and mishandling.

4. A combination of all of the above.

Now, most aspiring writers have little trouble with options 1 and 2 - the limitations are relatively obvious when you use them. It's in the 3rd option where writers start to flounder.

Co

ing can happen that the hero is unaware of.

2. Third person, where the writer (and reader) follows the action through the actions of one protagonist. Good because you can get inside and outside of the character, describing a rounded personality with some objectivity.

3. Omniscient, where the writer can describe the actions and inner feelings of all of the characters from any point of view that seems appropriate. Good because of its flexibility. Bad because it is open to abuse and mishandling.

4. A combination of all of the above.

Now, most aspiring writers have little trouble with options 1 and 2 - the limitations are relatively obvious when you use them. It's in the 3rd option where writers start to flounder.

Co

ters from any point of view that seems appropriate. Good because of its flexibility. Bad because it is open to abuse and mishandling.

4. A combination of all of the above.

Now, most aspiring writers have little trouble with options 1 and 2 - the limitations are relatively obvious when you use them. It's in the 3rd option where writers start to flounder.

Consider this piece:

Jenny thought about what he'd said. He was right, she was lonely and would do anything to stop him from leaving. Finally, she said, "Do you care at all?"

"Of course." Don looked away, trying to contain his angst. Should he tell her about Debra? He wanted to but knew it would only make things worse. He chose to lie. "We've grown apart, Jen..."

Gwen entered the room. Instantly, she could tell something was wrong. She scanned the lovers' faces and decided to leave them to it. Head bowed, she left.

This is fairly typical of the kind of inexperienced writing I'm sometimes asked to comment on. The writer desperately wants the reader to know all sides of the story, thinking that this creates drama and intrigue - but simply put, it doesn't. It creates confusion for the reader. What's called 'head-hopping' makes a reader uneasy for one main reason:

Identification. Readers want to relate to one character at a time - it's human nature. Therefore, it would be unnatural for a character to know what another was thinking. Indeed, it's NOT knowing what the other character is thinking that goes a long way to creating drama!

The practice of 'head hopping' has all but been eradicated in most modern literature but is still prevalent in some romance, especially during love scenes. Sometimes the romance writer is so keen to let the reader know that love (or whatever) is being reciprocated that they abandon the line between two points of view and m