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If you are thinking about using loan consolidation to possibly lower your monthly student loan payments, then now is the time to start consolidating and lowering those payments. Never in recent history have the interest rates on student loan consolidations been quite as low as they are these days. What does that mean for you? Quite simply, you will be receiving the best available deals for debt consolidation when you choose to consolidate your student loans now and here. Whether you have just a small amount of student loan debt or a very large amount, consolidation can start helping you to lower your monthly payments NOW if you get started on it right away.

Start on the net.
Where is the best place to turn when looking to receive consolidation on your student loans quickly and easily? A good place to start might be the Internet. Research exactly what student loan consolidations can do for your financial status. Secondly, visit a web site where you can learn about the latest trends in debt consolidation for student loans. Additionally, you can contact their financial advisors, who will walk you through the debt consolidation process and make sure that you save as much money as possible paying back your student loans.

Now is the Time
Once you have started the process, you can sit back and know that student loan consolidation is saving you hundreds of dollars a year on repaying your student loans. While the process is not complex, it is important for you to work with a trusted name when using debt consolidation. Some companies will simply rip you off and end up costing you more money than they save. You may be at a disadvantage with your debt hanging over your head, but that does not mean that you cannot receive a great deal through consolidation! Consolidate NOW and start saving with the ultra-low consolidation interest rates out there these days. You will thank yourself in a few years.

If you have student loans, consolidating can simplify repayment and lower your monthly payments. Student Loan Consolidation can combine your existing loans and deliver great benefits.

The Federal Consolidation Loan is one of the best ways to streamline repayment. All of your federal loans can be combined into one new loan with one monthly billing payment, eliminating bills from multiple lenders. Consolidation also decreases the likelihood that you will miss a payment, helping you to maintain your good credit.

Consolidating can extend your repayment period up to 30 years based on your overall outstanding loan balances. The longer terms result in significantly lower monthly payments. Plus, there are no penalties for prepayment.

In summary, student loan consolidation allows you to:

Lower your monthly payments
Enjoy no additional fees and no credit check
Lock in a new low rate for the life of the loan
Extend your repayment period up to 30 years
Receive one convenient monthly student loan payment

Over the years, I’ve had several copywriters ask me how important it is to have an “agency quality” website. My answer is always the same: it’s very important if you are prospecting other than locally.

When you prospect locally, the client can meet you personally. But when you prospect nationally, your website, “telephone” personality, and marketing materials form the basis of your prospective client’s impression of you.

Fortunately, it’s not difficult to find a designer/webmaster who can help you build a high quality site at a reasonable cost. And some of my students do a very nice job of creating a quality site themselves.

Because I’ve found national prospecting to be far more profitable than working with local business, I encourage my coaching students to prospect nationally (and sometimes internationally), and create a website that supports a sophisticated positioning.

What, exactly, constitutes an “agency quality” website?

Here are five pointers for creating a website that convinces quality clients that you are the right copywriter for them (plus two common mistakes to avoid):

1. Make sure your website has a “you” orientation. The Home page should not talk about “you” except in the context of what you can offer a client.

2. Have a “unique selling proposition” (USP), or positioning statement. Why are you “the best” choice? Do you serve a particular niche? Are you an expert at some important element of copywriting (e.g., offer development, headlines, concepting, etc.)? Make sure your USP “shines through” on your Home page.

3. View your entire site as a lead-generating tool. If you write a direct response package, you first try to get your prospect into the envelope. Once inside, you attempt to lead your prospect through the package, with the end destination the reply card or order device.

Use the same principle in designing your website and its navigation. Always send your prospect to the “contact me” page, or the page where you offer more information. As with any lead-generation effort, your only goal is to get your website visitor to respond.

4. Create an offer, and offer it on your website. Unlike general advertising, direct marketing is defined by the offer. If you don’t have an offer, you’re not employing the most fundamental rule of marketing, and it will cost you responses.

5. Pay attention to look and feel. Copywriters have the right and responsibility to make sure the end product produces leads or sales.

This means that the copywriter should offer the art director some level of direction on look and feel (without overstepping bounds, of course).

A clean, well-organized website that exhibits a “professional finish” will offer a sophisticated client some level of assurance that contacting you will not be a waste of their time.

What NOT to do on your website:

First and foremost, don’t “preach to the choir.” Because the world of copywriting is new to new copywriters, they have a tendency to “tell what they know” on their website.

But a quality client (usually mid-size to large companies and organizations), doesn’t want to know why copywriting will help him. He already knows that, even if he doesn’t know how to write copy himself.

What he’s looking for is validation that you could be the right copywriter for him.

Websites that attempt to “teach” generally attract clients who need teaching (oftentimes small business with a low appreciation of what good copywriting can do for them, and an even lower threshold for paying reasonable fees).

The second mistake I see is mentioning price on the Home page (or anywhere in the site, for that matter).

Quality clients do not put price first, and any discussion of price usually comes after the copywriter has a complete picture of the marketing problem that needs to be solved.

Not long ago, one of my coaching students complained that his prospects seemed fixated on price. After going to his website I noticed that his Home page positioned him as more attractively priced than other copywriters.

This positioning inadvertently created a USP based on “low price” — something we copywriters should always avoid.

Bringing up the subject of price on your website will actually cause your prospect to put it front and center. Best to let pricing discussions occur “naturally” in the process of landing a job.

In these times of sky high gasoline prices and rising costs of transportation, consumers are increasingly interested in credit card services that give them discounts on gas. Instead of looking into a specific gas credit card from an oil and gas company, you might look at the offer for a Chase credit card that gives you gasoline rebates when you use your card.

You can find the Chase credit card offer online at their website, http://www.chase.com. Simply look for the card called the Chase PerfectCard MasterCard. There are several credit card services offered along with this card that consumers find attractive.

· When you use your Chase PerfectCard MasterCard to buy gasoline for the first ninety days, you receive six percent of your purchase price back on your card. So you can go to any gas station anywhere and fill up your car or truck knowing that six percent of your bill will be come back to you. This gas credit card gives you the rebates in the form of credit on your account towards future purchases. So you will not receive a rebate check or cash back award at the end of the year as with some credit card services. Instead, you will automatically have access to this rebate amount when you use your Chase credit card in the future.

· After your initial trial period of ninety days is complete, Chase gives you three percent back on all gas purchases. Anywhere you fill up your tank, you get this rebate benefit. This is better than having a traditional gas credit card with only one gas company, as you would not have the freedom and flexibility you have with the Chase PerfectCard MasterCard.

· But the rebate deals do no stop there. You also receive one percent of all your purchases made on other products and services. This means that no matter what you buy with your Chase credit card, or when or where you buy it, you receive one percent of your purchase price in the form of a rebate. The one percent will be credited to your account for use in the future. Most cards only offer cash back rewards like this. But the Chase PerfectCard MasterCard offers you not only a return on your purchases, but a way to cut down on your transportation costs as well.

· With the Chase PerfectCard MasterCard, there is no annual fee. This is a great deal. You get rebates on all your purchases and you do not have to pay a fee for the credit card services.

· Chase also offers you the all important feature of quality customer service. The Chase customer service hotline is available to you where ever you live or travel at any time of day. If you have a question about your rebates or a need to review your account information, the Chase customer service representatives are at your disposal. And remember that Chase is a banking institution that has been around for many years and is one of the most reliable financial companies you can find.

The European Teapot has become an American heirloom that most of us thought originated here. Craftsmen and glassblowers from Europe have immortalized their craft for the American market where most European Teakettles are sold as gifts.

A teapot makes an attractive gift selection that adds character to a kitchen and is practical for daily purpose. A vast amount of history and culture is attached to the teapot. Its invention dates back to the sixteenth century. The aim behind creating this kitchen staple was to provide a vessel to brew and serve tea.

Tea has been a popular beverage since its discovery in the third century. The tea plant was first cultivated in the fourth century. This plant is actually a tree of evergreen variety and can grow up to a height of about 50 feet. However, for cultivation purposes, it is usually pruned into bushes and allowed to grow up to a height of five feet.

The discovery of tea has debatable origins. Some give credit to the Chinese Emperor named Chen Nung who reigned during the third century. It is said that he once sat under a tree to boil water for drinking. The leaves of the tree Camellia sinensis dropped into his bowl. The resultant mixture was so tasty that it prompted tea making.

Some attribute the discovery of tea to a Dharuma Buddhist monk who went to India from china in the fifth century. It is reported he discovered a brewed drink from the leaves of the tea plant which assisted in keeping him alert and awake.

Tea making, as practiced in ancient times was not as simple as it is today. In the eighth century, tea leaves were rolled manually and then dried. These dried leaves were ground into a powder, mixed with salt and shaped into cakes. To make tea, a cake was dropped into a bowl of boiling water to form a thick fluid. In the later years, the loose powder began being used. The powder was mixed with hot water and a froth was whipped up, steeped, and the mixture was poured.

Teapots were first introduced in china during the Ming Dynasty. They were made of purple clay called “zisha”. Teapots were also known as teakettles and used in Europe only after 1610, when the Dutch importers introduced tea there. In the eighteenth century teapots were made of porcelain and contained artistic paintings on its rounded surfaces. The English added their touch by mixing bone ash with porcelain clay to give it a freshly distinct look. The evolution of the teapot spanned hundreds of years to attain its present form. Today teakettles can be found in large varieties ranging from clay, porcelain, glass to even stoneware.

There are certain factors to be kept in mind while selecting the right
teapot. The European Teapot is the most sought after of all teakettles. Do remember to check the following:

1.. Looks – A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Selecting a European teapot that is visually appealing is the first step. It should look good enough to make a person long to use it. An attractive teakettle becomes a conversation piece and makes you want to show it off to your guests.

2.. Material – The right material is based on the use you want to put it to. A clay or porcelain teapot is a good idea if you only want something to serve tea in. A special glass teapot is ideal if you want to avoid unnecessary hassles as you can brew as well as serve tea in it. It is sturdy enough to be used on the stovetop and at the same time, it makes for pretty tea ware for your guests.

3.. Handle – Ensure that the handle is of a material that does not get heated making it difficult to hold. This should be especially looked into while buying a stovetop teapot. A handle that gets hot on heating will only serve to increase your troubles and the risk of burning your fingers.

4.. Flow – A good teapot is one in which the liquid will flow out smoothly through the spout without any risk of leakage. If the teapot is equipped with an infuser, its even better, as the tea will automatically be strained on pouring.

5.. Tightness – Keep in mind to check that the lid of the teapot is
tightly fitted. This will ensure that tea will remain hot longer and is an essential for brewing good tea (in a glass teapot only).

6.. Gravity center of the teapot – Try this small test. Fill the teapot with water to three-fourths of its capacity. Lift and pour the water into a cup. If you find any difficulty or if the hand becomes unbalanced, the teapot’s gravity center is not right. Reject such an item immediately.

The style of European teapot is an ideal kitchen gift for any virtually any occasion – a birthday, anniversary or Mother’s Day.

Quality cut crystal from Europe can be a treasure trove for the discerning buyer. Exquisite hand blown glass and cut crystal manufactured by master craftsmen in the Slovak and the Czech Republic is now becoming more available to the western market. Today, cut crystal of anniversary gift and heirloom quality is just one of the many glass products to choose from.

Although the Czechs and Slovaks are not the only skilled glass producers in Central Europe, few rival them in artistic range and expertise. Hardly a street in Prague is without a shop window that displays luxury cut crystal or fine hand blown glass. Visitors and tourists find breath-taking works of art exemplified in hand cut crystal and mouth blown glass.

In Bohemia, the craft and art of glassmaking goes back over 600 years. Often a family tradition, the craftsmanship of glass is highly specialized from artwork to glassworks production. Today, Czech glass is still one of the European heirloom treasures to look for and select that “perfect unique gift.”

After the collapse of the Communist Socialist system in 1989, state ran
glass factories in Czechoslovakia started down the path of privatization. More and more, they became free to make their own business decisions on which kind of glass they wished to produce and offer to market. Importers from the West also have more choices on goods and glass manufacturers as they are no longer required to go through state specified channels. The result has made world-class custom glass products from Bohemia, readily available to the world economy.

Collecting glass is an obsession to some. Locating and acquiring antique glass collectibles can be as exciting as finding new heirloom cut crystal from the shops of master craftsmen. From crystal chandeliers to colored decorative glass, Czech and Slovak pieces have become more sought after as centuries pass.

Heirloom crystal pieces can be cut to look like a faceted diamond in appearance. Leaded crystal is not the only top grade cut glass, some of the most elegant and expensive cut glass, in the world, contains no lead in it at all. Quality is reliant on the manufacturer and skill of the craftsmen rather than the type of glass produced.

Glass gifts are part of the civilized culture. Royalty often designated custom decorative glass pieces be made for occasions. Today, cut crystal has not lost its allure. Anniversary glass gifts can be cut crystal pieces or hand blown items. Cut crystal is selected for any anniversary year, but very often the 25th Anniversary gift and again for the 50th Anniversary present. Culinary and kitchen items have become popular for glass gifts of distinction. Gourmet kitchens often show off imported olive oil and aged vinegar, in hand blown decanters and cruets. Recently in vogue are glass-within-glass decanters of oil and vinegar. Their unique quality lends them to be an exceptional gift of European style and design.

Here I am again with another story. I was reading about Admiral James Stockdale, highest ranking officer in the “Hanoi Hilton” in Viet Nam as written by author Thomas Barnett. Stockdale spent eight years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi and was tortured numerous times by his captors. Four of those years were in solitary.

Mr. Barnett writes: “Stockdale tells the story of the optimists who never survived their time in Hanoi simply because they clung far too much to their dreams of release and in doing so couldn’t handle the brutal realities of what it took to survive the day to day.”

He goes on to explain how they tended to cling to the hope that they’d be home by the next holiday. When that day came and went their spirit sank to a new depth. Over time, they died because their courage had been done in by the reality of their present circumstances. Stockdale believed that while you must always believe that you will prevail in the end, it should not be confused with current reality, whatever that might be.

Suddenly, I paralleled Stockdale’s theory with Internet entrepreneurs; the extreme optimist. We are prime targets for zealous salespeople who promise residual slam dunks to starry-eyed prospects. While the result won’t be unspeakable torture in our quest for wealth, it’s sad to realize that ninety-five percent of us will fail simply because we never anticipated the obstacles.

If we are what we think, then most of us walk into a competitive program with “success” stamped on our forehead. We’ve already witnessed our sponsor turning his bank account into a “cash machine” – it can’t be that hard, right? And when you think about it, today a million bucks seems more like a living wage than a small fortune. Millionaires are a dime a dozen: nearly 5 million households in America have a net worth of at least that much.

The most powerful drive in our country is the desire for more. It has become the DNA of democracy and therefore inherited by every American. Brainwashed in guru-jargon that claims nobody wants to be a nobody, we begin to believe the dream “nothing can bring me down”. I’ll run with the big dogs, join the new wave, use this “can’t-miss” strategy.

Consumed with “positive thinking” the decision tree begins: I’ve done this before. This one pays more. I can do this. I can begin now. I will do this. Say it again and make it your own! I can. I will. Let’s dance.

Fast forward a month or two, and Stockdale’s theory materializes. No progress has been made in spite of the fact that this new kid on the block was well versed in Return On Investment (ROI), understood the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and had written his own Articles on the hidden order of MLM du jour. Spirits drop. Attitudes go sour. He puzzles which comes first, getting it right, or getting it going?

Out of ideas, out of a plan and out of money, common sense now seems to get suspended. He falls into a Marketing Coma and the rest is history.

Winners are really losers who got mad.

© 2006 Esther Smith

Copyright 2006 Tale Chaser Publishing, Inc.

Things haven’t been this perfect for a long time. In fact, not since one of the big engines really started to take off, when those who were lucky enough to be already seated firmly in the Top 10 for their keywords, has there been such a plethora of new traffic opportunities.

The internet marketing world has become multi-dimensional in ways that are surprising to most people who are still hooked on search engine marketing as their sole website promotion strategy.

Here are the new avenues of traffic that most people are NOT taking advantage of outside of the big companies and a handful of savvy marketers:

1. Podcasting

While it was “the word of the year” for 2005, most people still have no idea what Podcasting is really about outside of being able to download music at iTunes.com.

And, frankly, it’s because the people who “get it” are, for the first time ever, keeping quiet about it! Or at least keeping the information of how they are profiting wildly with Podcasting behind closed doors and in small groups.

And I am not going to get too far into it here for the same reason as the others: I don’t want the competition that will be here by the end of 2006 to come any earlier because I blabbed about how it is done in public!

Sorry, but you will have to pay something to become a millionaire using this information!

But I will give you a clue. Go to iTunes.com and download the free software that allows you to, yes, download music. But ignore that part for a minute.

With the iTunes software you can grab Podcasts from major news organizations and tiny garage websites mostly focusing on short comic bits.

Pay attention to what you are NOT seeing. One thing is there isn’t a lot of video Podcasts – period. Not even comedy! And there are no how-to podcasts save a couple from the people I talked about above.

The savvy marketers are already in the game and getting traffic from a source all other marketers seem to be totally discounting right now. To the tune of 6 million or so pairs of eyeballs dying to see and hear more content, especially video content, at iTunes.com alone!

Last year you could see the word “Podcasting” uttered thousands of times by marketers trying to gauge the buzz worthiness of it among their customer lists.

Well, without showing people how marketing with Podcasts is done, and with article marketing doing a great job of bringing people traffic in ways they COULD understand, not too many marketers really got into it.

We were lucky recently to have a guest speaker from none other than the Hawaiian Tropics site come in and talk to our clients about how easy it has been to blow away the likes of Playboy and other major competitors by offering their content through Podcasts.

We got to see the inner workings of a successful marketing campaign on a very very high level. And we gained valuable insight into how marketing with Podcasts can be done on the guerilla marketing level.

You watch. By the end of this year you will wish you started caring about including Podcasting in your marketing a year ago!

2. Audio and Video Syndication

Article syndication is not dead. It actually has yet to see its true “boom” period. I say that because until the content people syndicate gets MUCH better overall, we are basically using sophisticated software and networks to distribute garbage.

But as the article syndication industry slowly comes around to the fact that demanding good content is not going to hurt business, quite the opposite, there are new networks developing that will have us creating, syndicating and streaming much more audio and video around the web to promote our sites.

All-text content is wearing thin on the patience of surfers and possible customers. As the bigger sites lead the way (they almost always do when it comes to new web technology) we are seeing that our own customers, formerly content to read 15 page sales letters, are leaving for something more exciting.

As we all get used to the internet everyone promised us would be here long ago, we see that as we buy stuff and entertain ourselves on the web, we also expect small websites to measure up to the speed, excitement, movement and sound we see on many other sites today.

Less text. Much more multi-media. And as many different ways to access and consume content as we can possibly dream up. That is what’s on the menu and the source of traffic is MASSIVE!

Think of all those people who left your all-text site in the last month without buying or clicking on a thing. Where exactly to you think they were headed? That’s right. To sites with motion and sound to feed their brains without ruining their eyesight trying to read 10 point font at high resolution for 15 pages!

You have probably bought a product from a choice between a few different dealers just because the site was more engaging than the others. I know I have. And usually I buy from sites that look like they are really in business.

Any monkey can get a merchant account and slap up some text to sell a drop shipped product. I want to buy from people who take the time to take their business (and my credit card information) seriously! That means people who are into displaying information in formats other than all-text.

Audio and video editing and syndication tools have come a long long way in the last year. Anyone can get into the game and dominate in areas where the traffic is theirs for the taking because no one is competing with them for it yet!

So, after you are done writing your next article, while you are syndicating it around the web, make sure you remember that you are not done until you figure out ways to convert that article into an audio for your site or for a Podcast. Or a video script to power a how-to video for the same purpose.

Articles, audio, and video should become synonymous with syndication and traffic generation when thinking about your marketing campaign. Leaving any of them out of your marketing is going to cost you big time in 2006 and beyond!

Copyright 2006 Rod Rogers

Even if you boldly teach biblical principles of stewardship year after year, as I did, you will still experience an occasional church giving crisis. What do you do when your giving begins to plummet?

If you’re like many pastors, you probably pray harder and offer a brief reminder to your congregation to be faithful in their giving. In most cases this does not fix the problem. It certainly never worked for me.

After many years of fumbling around, I finally figured out that I should address poor giving as I would any other problem in the church: by taking the lead to determine the cause, to clearly explain that cause to my people, and to challenge them to do what they should to solve it.

Here are three steps you can take to solve any giving crisis:

1. Check the giving records to discover the cause. Your offerings haven’t shrunk for some mysterious or mystical reason. They have dropped because some of your people have failed to give as they should. Have your church treasurer examine the giving records and tell you what changes he sees in your people’s giving patterns. You don’t necessarily need to know the names of those whose giving is sliding; but you do need to know if a large donor has stopped giving, or if ten families who regularly tithe have given a much smaller amount than normal.

2. Directly address the issue with your congregation. Clearly explain the nature of the problem (“We are $1,500 behind each month”) and its causes (“Five members gave nothing last month,” or “Twelve families significantly decreased their giving the last four weeks”). You can do this in a matter of fact way without singling anyone out and without scolding or shaming your people.

3. Challenge your church family to do what they should to fix the problem. I always took the position that poor giving was not primarily the pastor’s problem (assuming I was giving obediently), but that it was a crisis our entire church family should own. It was their responsibility to give to overcome the crises that they had created. Therefore, I would boldly challenge them to do what they should to keep our finances stable. For example, here is an actual letter I sent to our members and regular attendees on October 20, 1999, about a giving crisis we were in.

Dear Friend, I’m writing to you, a part of our church family, to let you know our offerings have been down in the last couple of months. This has created a budget problem we must not ignore.

Here are the pertinent figures:
• July – $910.00 under budget
• August – $42.00 under budget
• September – $2,397.00 under budget (Here’s where things got real serious.)
• October – $1,297.00 under budget (so far)

Since our new budget year began on July 1, we have fallen behind by $4,646.00. If this trend continues we will find ourselves in deep trouble soon, since our budget contains no “fluff.”

How do I explain this deficit? It’s not due to anything mysterious or mystical. It is explained by the following facts:
• Three members (who committed to giving 10% in their membership covenant) have not given anything for four or more months.
• One member has not given anything for two months.
• Three members have not given their usual tithe amount, but have significantly decreased their giving, for two to four months. (This doesn’t include one member family who has been unemployed for several months—but who is still giving!).
• Five regularly attending families/individuals have decreased their giving from their usual amount for two to four months.

These giving decreases account for approximately $4,000.00 of our $4,646.00 deficit. As your pastor I am asking you to please prayerfully evaluate your giving to see if you are acting as a faithful steward of God’s money. And if you have been sloppy in your giving, please consider making up what you have missed!

Of course, if you have had a financial crisis which accounts for your decreased giving, we understand, and would love to be able to pray, assist, and encourage you. Just let us know!

No one likes to have to talk about money, but I just thought you should know what’s going on. You have been a wonderfully giving congregation for many years, so I have confidence you will do what you can to help meet our current need. Please be praying with shameless persistence for our offerings to increase to meet our financial needs.

I love you,

Pastor Rod

Our people responded well to this letter and our giving was back on track in a few months.

When you fall into a giving crisis, don’t ignore it and hope it will go away. Get the facts, share them with your congregation, and challenge them to do what’s right. In most cases they will.

Copyright 2006 Richard Keir

Wedding planning isn’t an easy task. A wedding is an incredibly complicated undertaking – unless you plan to elope or just go downtown to the justice of the peace. For a relatively large, traditional wedding there are many activities and events that you’ll need to track to keep the wedding on schedule.

Now there are people who actually choose to become experts in wedding planning. That’s what they do – day after day. While hiring someone to help you with your wedding can be the perfect solution, it’s not always feasible. A professional wedding planner may charge as much as 10% of the cost of the wedding. For many couples this extra charge is quite sufficient for them to take over their wedding planning themselves. Now there is plenty of software available that can help make this decision a smart one.

In looking at wedding planning software, one feature you definitely want is a calendar. Remember that this is not just a function for keeping track of dates. Your planning software should allow you to set notifications for important events. Wedding planning software usually uses E-mail reminders. And if your mobile telephone has a text-messaging feature, the ability to receive e-mail reminders on your cell phone is a great benefit.

Since wedding planning includes a significant number of tasks, being able to coordinate these tasks is essential in a wedding planning software program. After sending out your wedding invitations, you should be able to easily track who has responded and who hasn’t.

Also your tasks aren’t limited to your wedding ceremony. There are also specific tasks that are associated with the wedding reception which you also must track. Since a seating plan is the norm for a wedding reception, your wedding planning software should help you track the seating arrangements. Also think about gifts. No doubt, you’ll receive many gifts from friends and family. Tracking those gifts so you can send a thank you card is a very handy feature.

Along with scheduling and tracking, wedding planning involves money and budgeting. You really don’t need anything as complicated as QuickBooks or PeachTree, but you do want to be able to monitor your spending so that you don’t end up broke before the ceremony.

Another advantage of some wedding planning software is that it allows you to create custom stationary to use for your wedding. This can be a useful overall plus because it can save you a bundle of money. A software program with this feature will usually contain templates that you can use as a guide for creating invitations and any other stationary you might need for your wedding.

The best way to look for wedding planning software is to do a search on Google. You’ll find a variety of options from free online services to low priced online to dedicated software that runs on your PC such as Smart Wedding. You must compare features carefully – free is not always best, so be careful and do some thinking about just what you need and just what you want to do with the software. No matter which wedding planning solution you choose, it’ll make your wedding a lot easier.

Copyright 2006 Jennifer Givler

We’ve all heard the saying: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. But I like to think of it another way. Ask yourself, “am I planning to succeed?”

In business, it’s important to follow a plan. It’s important to have a plan for your year, each week, and each day. Otherwise, you’re being reactive in your business instead of being proactive. When you’re proactive, you control your business – it doesn’t control you.

Here are three easy-to-follow tips to creating and following a successful plan:

1. Start with the end in mind. Set a deadline for your goal. Write the completion of your goal on the deadline date in your calendar. Then, work backward by putting tasks in your calendar each day or each week. For example, if you want to send out a mailing this spring, choose the date that you want the mailing to go out. Then, work backward to create a to-do list each week. If you wanted to send your mailing out on April 1, you would write, “edit mailing” on March 31, and “finish creating mailing” on March 30 and so on. Do this for each goal that you have. Before you know it, you’ll have weekly, and even daily plans laid out.

2. Spend time each day planning. Take 15 minutes every day to create a plan. If you follow the example above, you’ll have a broad plan to follow. However, life is full of opportunities, and you don’t want to miss out on anything. Life is also full of things you don’t plan on – like having to get the hot water heater fixed. You’ll need to spend some time planning to include unexpected things into your day. It’s ok to change your plan, move things around, and re-arrange your schedule. It happens, and it’s ok to shift your plan to make room for the unexpected things.

3. Put strong activities on your to-do list. There are actually certain things that you don’t need to include in your to-do list. The little things. The things that will get done no matter what. For example, don’t put “mail the bills” on your to-do list. Keep your priorities on your to-do list. Put incidentals or non-essential tasks on sticky notes. Once they’re done, throw the note away. Also, don’t put little things on your to-do list just for the satisfaction of having something to cross off.

Planning to succeed doesn’t have to be intimidating or overwhelming. Simply set your goals and follow these three tips. Before you know it, the road to success will be laid out right in front of you.

Remember – any good plan needs to be put into action. It’s not enough to simply write words on paper. You must go forward and create your results.