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#Things2Do in #Hawkesbury #43 Why not pop in for fish and chips at Windsor Seafoods, located at Thompson Square in Windsor. It will warm you on a Winter’s Night, especially eating outside on the deck underneath their warm gas heaters. Don’t forget to try their homemade tartare sauce it is delicious.
Let me know what you order, enjoy.
Rachael 🙂
Did you know that 30% of street sleeping homeless in Sydney and 16% in Melbourne have suffered hypothermia, frostbite or trenchfoot. And that Rough sleepers have an average life expectancy of 42 years compared to national average 74 for men and 79 for women.
What would $68 buy you today? A dinner out, a couple of Albums from Itunes, some good books to read? $68 buys a swag for the homeless to use as their shelter from the harsh weather conditions throughout winter.
I have included an exert from www.swags.org.au website to provide further information. I know many people do a lot of good things for their community which I support. If you would also like to be one of those people that feel like giving up the value of a meal out or an Itunes Album or two today visit www.swags.org.au and make a difference to someone else’s life today.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post,
Rachael 🙂
“Swags for Homeless is a national not for profit charity and is winner of the 2011 Australian Human Rights award for best Community Organisation. This is one of Australia’s highest honours.
Testament to quality, the Backpack Bed™ has won 3 global product design awards including the Worlds largest and most prestigious product design award. The German 2011 Red Dot “Best of the Best” – 4433 entries from 60 countries. Past winners are Rolls Royce, Apple Inc. and Mercedes Benz.
Swags for Homeless distributes the World’s ONLY fire retardant Backpack Bed™ (swag) to homeless around Australia and the World.
80% of families are turned away from shelters tonight while 60% of individuals are turned away also.* However, 100% are turned away from 98% of towns around
Australia – simply because there is no solution. So what do you give tonight?
Salvation Army, Mission Australia, St. Vincent de Paul, Uniting Care, Rosies, Ozenham, Hanover, Anglicare plus 150+ other charities around Australia agree our famous Backpack Bed™ (swag) is an effective and dignified interim crisis measure.
Source: http://swags.org.au/
I was watching a seminar during the week by Bishop T.D. Jakes and I loved the simple message he shared. Now you don’t have to be religious to continue reading this post however it may just challenge the way you think so I encourage you to stay with me.
The Bishop says that “We live in a society that has dumbed down our ideas….Mobile Phones, Apps, Ipods, Ipads, Computer Games, Facebook, Twitter,Gadgets… because we have traded effectiveness for busyness.” He goes onto say that “we are busier than any other generation than we have seen in the last 300 to 400 years.”
I think we can all make the mistake of thinking because we are busy we must be effective. The Bishop encourages us all to take a look at our schedule. “Are you being effective or is your life being cluttered with all kinds of stuff that demands you, drains you, taxes you and stops you from being your highest and best self? And are you substituting busyness and all the chaos that goes along with busyness from being effective?”
He says, “You can take my clothes, I can get others. You can take my car, I can get another. You can take my house, I can get another but when you take my time, you have taken something from me that is totally irreplaceable.”
The Bishop says, “Every moment in your life is a gift, every thought is a gift, every idea is a gift, every opportunity is a gift, everybody you meet is a gift, you are gifted with opportunities, maximise what you have got. You are missing your life, your purpose, your passion, your enthusiasm.”
Are there things in your life you would like to be spending more time if you weren’t so busy? The kids, your husband, your wife, your partner in life, friends and family you haven’t seen in a while, the pets, a hobby, volunteering, holidays? Get creative people, I challenge you to write a list of all the things that you would do if you knew you wouldn’t fail.
I would love to hear how you exchanged Busyness for Effectiveness in your life and what you have achieved as a result. Start being true to yourself and what you really need to do now to live the life you have always wanted.
Have fun being Effective,
Rachael 🙂
source: Thanks to Bishop T.D.Jakes and Oprah
Interactive Marketing for your PropertyHave you seen those black-and-white, futuristic-looking squares a lot lately? Not sure what they are?
They are called QR Codes, short for Quick Response, and are really just a sophisticated barcode that can store virtually any type of data. When scanned (usually through a smart phone), they can link to a webpage, an email message, a map, contact details, a Buy Now link, and more. You can even brand any kind of physical object. This is nicknamed ‘hardlinking’.
While they come from Toyota’s manufacturing ingenuity, Quick Response codes are now popular everywhere because they suit “the new consumer” and our modern buyer behaviour. We are time-poor and experience seeking. We live in a culture where digital communication is the order of the day. We want information to be immediate.
This makes QR codes perfect tool for property marketing.
Imagine. You’re walking your dog along a pretty street in your neighbourhood. You see a house for sale. It looks great from the outside, but what’s it really like.
There is a QR code on the bottom of the For Sale sign, so you pull out your phone, scan it, and automatically begin experiencing a virtual tour. By the time you get home, you’ve decided it’s just what you want and you’ve emailed or texted the agent to inspect it in person. Essentially, that two-dimensional For Sale sign has become an interactive billboard.
It isn’t just property buyers who benefit, it is also the vendors. It takes time and emotional energy to continually open your home to potential buyers, only to have them dismiss the property over something basic.
QR codes provide prospective buyers easy access to information, floor plans, photos and video, even when they are not at home on their computer. Your buyer may be walking or driving past, or in a coffee shop reading a local guide. There’s no more need to try to remember the website address or the agent’s name. This convenience gives you a wider net and means that those coming through your house are more likely to be ‘qualified’ prospects.
If you’re a very motivated seller, you could even get a T-shirt made up with the QR code to your property! You will see these codes more and more.
Rachael has been using QR codes since the beginning of 2012 on all marketing communications for property.
Looking for something to do this weekend? For more information click the link below.
Autumn Feast at Mt Tomah Food and Wine Festival – TomahROMA
Locally grown produce, craft stalls, wine tasting, international cuisines and a freshly brewed tea or coffee on the offer.
For more information visit www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au
See you there, don’t forget your warm clothes, it is about 10 degrees cooler up the mountain.
Rachael 🙂
I have been asked lots of questions over the years as to what is the best way to save a deposit to purchase a home. Whilst I am not a financial adviser and am not providing any financial advice to you, I am happy to share the methods I have utilised to save deposits to purchase property over the last two decades. You may not agree with everything I say however perhaps if you can take the concept and mould that idea into something that you feel you could see working for you, that is great.
Like anything there are many ways to achieve goals however you must first succinctly identify as to what it is you want to achieve. Put your goal in writing and then break that goal down to a step by step process as to how you will achieve this goal.
For example let’s say, you want to buy a house worth $350,000. Therefore you will need 10% of $350,000 which equals $35,000.
Next question is when do you want to buy the house, let’s say you said two years. You then divide the $35,000 by by 104 weeks = $336.54 per week savings required.
At this point you can either say I earn enough money to be able to save this amount above and beyond my weekly expenses or say, gee that is a bit much I might have to revisit my goals and perhaps take three or four years to complete your goal. You might even consider purchasing a more affordable home to reduce the amount you need to save and time as to which it will take to achieve this goal.
If you are like a considerably high proportion of the population and are not disciplined to be able to save money on a regular basis you may need a little help with technology. There are some great Apps and Software Programs that make it easier to become more accountable to achieve savings and can even make it fun.
Whilst I am not endorsing the product some friends of mine are using one App in particular called “You Need a Budget™”. They say they find it really helpful to keep them on track with their savings and daily expenditure and it is apparently simple to use for even the most technologically challenged 🙂 You can download on your Mac or PC …but wait there is more, no free steak knives however there is a free 34 day trial http://youneedabudget.com
Another handy option available through your financial institution is that you are able to set up direct debits from your nominated bank accounts, on whatever payment cycle and whatever amount you prefer. Therefore your savings are always deducted from your account first and what you have left in your pay is what you have to live off, rather than spending your pay and saying I have nothing left to save this week.
I find that once you get started on a savings regime, the less you have the less you need.
What have you got to lose other than a little time and an opportunity to accelerate your savings to buy your first home, pay off your credit card, go on that family holiday, or whatever that goal is for you.
I would love to hear your best saving tips, so please feel free to post a comment and I will publish for the readers.
Happy saving.
Rachael 🙂
