Dancing: An Alternative To The Gym

Take The Floor and Take Control

Everyone knows that exercise is good for you; it’s basically impossible not to be aware of the fact. We’re all constantly told how exercise helps keep us not just healthy in body, but also in mind. There is seemingly nothing that exercise cannot do for us. Yet there is one drawback; for the vast majority of the population, exercise is boring. Endorphins created by exercise may make us happy, but few are happy at the prospect of exercise and are positively bored throughout almost any exercise routine or gym class.

 Yet the benefits of staying fit and active are clear for all to see, so the problem presents itself in that we should all be exercising – but we don’t really want to. Gyms and the like have tried incredibly hard to keep their exercise areas entertaining and stimulating, but unfortunately it still always feels like uncomfortable work.

 Thankfully, there are ways that one can get that ever essential exercise without being bored or frustrated. The answer is surprisingly simple: dancing. With television programs such as Dancing With The Stars, and the UK version Strictly Come Dancing, populating television screens – dancing has been receiving something of a boost to its public image. Rather than being seen as passe and full of overly made up women, it is now genuinely being treated as a real sport which requires time and dedication to perfect.

 What’s more, dancing is absolutely fabulous for burning calories. Obviously, to get the maximum effect from dancing, learning to dance fast and energetic dances is the best way to go about it. Dances such as the salsa, with fancy footwork and complicate arm movements, are ideal, as are old classic favourites such as the jitterbug and lindyhop. Salsa lessons in particular are a real favourite, and ironically classes are frequently held at gyms – the very industry they are taking customers from.

 Slow dances, such as romantic waltzes and sultry foxtrots, are also wonderful exercise – particularly for the older generation. Performing and rehearsing these more sedate dances is wonderful exercise, though without the intensity – and immediate calorie burn – of dances like the salsa. However, they have plenty of benefits themselves and if done for longer than one would traditionally have a salsa class, are just as beneficial.

 The wonderful thing about learning either slow or fast dances is that boredom is unlikely. Firstly, you are engaging your mind and instructing it to learn – usually following the steps of an instructor, and then constructing routines of your own. Also, unlike the gym, when dancing you are unlikely to be focusing on the idea of keeping fit and in shape; your mind is distracted by the steps and the fun of the dance itself.

 Dancing is the perfect alternative for those who find the gym dull. You can learn to dance at numerous registered classes, or even if your own living room – try copying the routines from Dancing With The Stars, or from your favourite pop videos. The important bit is the activity and raising your heartbeat for maximum physical benefit; how you do that is up to you, so dance away.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Simplepersonaldevelopment.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Ahmed Dawn Dot Com site. This article originally published on the above website on April 19, 2009.

Are There Any Personal Finance Software Programs That Are Particularly Good For Canadians?

Are You Aware of Any Internet Based Personal Finance programs?

First Published: November 6, 2008 ADawnJournal.com

I always get emails from ADJ readers asking questions on a variety of topics. I try to reply those as soon as I can. Take the email snapshot on the top left, for example. A Canadian couple wants to know which personal finance software programs to use. Today, in this post, I will let you read my answer. I haven’t changed their questions, or my answers, except one thing – their names are being withheld for privacy.

On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 11.14 AM, A Canadian Couple XXXXXX@sasktel.net wrote:

Do you recommend any software programs such as Money or Quicken?  Are there any that are particularly good for Canadians? Are you aware of any Internet based personal financial programs?
Thanks.

Here Is My Answer:

Hello There,

Thank you for reading my site. Your questions can be answered in two parts.

Part 1

If you are looking for a software to bring all your accounts such as bank accounts, mutual fund accounts, credit card accounts under one platform, there are two options. You can use either MS Money or Quicken. These two have Canadian versions and you can budget, track your expenses, and see all your accounts and transactions on one screen. Quicken would cost about $100 and MS Money would cost about $50. Many computers have MS Money installed on it. So check first to see if you already have MS Money. Which one is better? Quicken is my choice but it costs more. If you can get free MS Money, do not spend money on Quicken. One point I would like to mention is probably you will get notifications every year asking you to update (meaning spend more money). Do not upgrade. It is unnecessary and a waste.

Part 2

If you do not need to see all your accounts and transactions under one software,  go with an online program.  There are the two I would like to mention: www.Expensr.com and https://www.moneytrackin.com/. I use Expensr. With these you can track your spending, make budgets, set goals etc. Check both and pick the one you like.

Cebu, Jewel of the Philippines

Travel Cebu

Although tourism as an industry suffered from a significant drop in the twelve months from June 2008 to June 2009, it should be noted that there were countries and cities which actually increased the number of visitors during that time – no small achievement in a period when belt-tightening was the order of the day in many people’s estimation. One of the areas to increase its visitor numbers was the Philippine city and larger metropolitan area of Cebu. The Philippines is one of Asia’s largest and most diverse countries, and this makes it attractive to tourists. It hosted the ASEAN Tourism Forum in 1998 and the East Asian Tourism Forum four years later.

Tourists to Cebu can be guaranteed of seeing a city and larger province that has a varied landscape – one moment you can be in the excellent shopping district and the next you are out among leafy parks and public gardens. It is this type of easy, natural variety that makes the city and the province so attractive to so many people. This is not a place that will only appeal to a certain kind of visitor. Shopping is definitely an option for visitors to Cebu, with some wonderful malls neighbouring smaller more specialised stores and providing everything the visitor could wish for. Unlike  many other cities, Cebu does this without looking or being terribly congested or built-up. At the same time it is historic without being anachronistic.

Strange though it may seem Cebu has something in common with Los Angeles – an area going by the name Beverley Hills. While the LA version is home to a great many of the world’s most famous people, Cebu’s version is known more for its Taoist Temple. Set 300 meters above sea level and built as recently as 1972, the Cebu Taoist Temple is an attraction which really should be seen. It is a towering center of worship that is accessible by any one of three meandering routes that take the visitor through trees and other greenery. It is visited by every school student in the area as part of their education, and is a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours. It is the centerpiece of the city’s tourist industry, but by no means the full extent of it.

There is always plenty to see and do in Cebu city and neighbouring cities and towns and although the journey to get there can take some time from a Western starting point – over a day by air from New York, for example – it is worth it for some of the finest buildings, best shopping and finest dining in Asia. There are numerous five star hotels and resorts to stay in, and beyond the Taoist Temple there are a few national parks as well as excellent beaches. The Basilica Minore del Santo Nino is also worth seeing, as it is home to the oldest religious relic in all of the Philippines. Frankly, there are so many reasons to go to Cebu for a break, it is no wonder the tourist numbers visiting have increased.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Travelnowsimply.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Ahmed Dawn Dot Com site. This article originally published on the above website on July 24, 2009.

CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Credit Card Adding More Benefits

New CIBC Aventura Credit Card Benefits

As travel credit card competition is heating up, CIBC has refreshed its Aventura proprietary travel rewards points credit cards. These new benefits will kick in starting Oct 15, 2018. Although most of these benefits apply to both CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite and CIBC Aventura Visa Gold credit cards, the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite is the better one as Aventura Gold is missing some insurance benefits. Both have a $120 annual fee.

New benefits that will apply:

- Priority Pass lounge membership with 4 free passes per year

- NEXUS application fee rebate every 5 years

- Enhanced trip cancellation insurance, hotel burglary insurance

- Mobile Device Insurance

I haven’t seen a feature like the NEXUS border entry application fee rebate in Canada before. You will get free lounge entrances with many other Canadian travel credit cards, but not for only a $120 annual fee. CIBC Aventura premium credit cards are definitely miles ahead, giving more benefits for only a $120 annual fee.

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Credit Card could have been a perfect travel credit card, but it has its shortcomings. It does not offer zero foreign currency transaction fee (it charges 2.5% on foreign currency transactions) and its rewards structure is very poor.

The earn rate is proprietary 1.5 points at gas, grocery, and pharmacy and 1 point at everything else. So basically you are earning 1 to 1.5 percent, which is a very low earn rate.

CIBC Aventura Visa Credit Cards should not be your primary credit cards for everyday spending, but they’re definitely worth adding to your credit card portfolio for the features and benefits they’re offering.

I talk more about CIBC Aventura credit cards in the following video.

Refreshed CIBC Aventura Credit Card Benefits Dwarf Other Travel Credit Cards

Why Are Poor Countries Poor and Stay Poor?

Why Are Poor Countries Poor?

First Published: ADawnJournal.com : July 9, 2013

Although it sounds like an easy question to answer, in reality this is not something so simple. There could be hundreds of bizarre reasons why some countries are poor and stay that way. Also, this is one of the most controversial and debated topics on earth, and everyone can come up with their own arguments. Today, I will discuss my own three reasons to touch base on this.

1. Lack of Specialization

If you look at majority of the poor countries on earth, you will see that most of them are agricultural or are a raw material-based society where the majority of the population make a living based on agriculture or raw material production. If they want to produce these more to make money, it simply won’t happen due to the diminishing returns to scale. It simply means that if poor countries will produce more to make more money, they will actually make less money. This is because when you produce something that does not require any specialization or innovation, producing more without increased productivity will lower its prices – and each additional worker assigned to produce without productivity and innovation will produce less than the person before. Thus, producing more will decrease prices – making things even worse.

2. Corruption

Regardless where you look at, from Bangladesh to Burundi or Philippines to Paraguay, one thing all these countries have in common is corruption. There is corruption everywhere on most of the world’s poor countries, including in all levels of government, police, and the very anti-corruption departments that are supposed to look after corruption. When the government can not guarantee the basic rule of law, everything falls apart in the society. Think of this: Why would be a police officer interested in catching a robber who just killed a businessman for $100? He won’t – because he knows if he tries to prosecute the robber, he would lose his job as the robber looks after interests for one of the ministers. So it makes more sense for the police officer to grab $20 (of the $100 the criminal robbed) and let him go. It’s a win-win situation for all, except the businessman who just lost his life for such a small amount. Find it hard to believe? If you are from one of the top least corrupt countries on the Corruption Perception Index list, you will have a hard time believing it. But if you are one of the worst corrupt countries on the same list, you already know that this is very common in your country.

3. Poverty Itself

This may sound little a bit bizarre, but poverty itself may be the reason that prevents countries from getting out of poverty. Populations in poor countries are engaged in securing enough income to feed their families. It’s not an option for lots of them to enhance their knowledge in education, science & technology, arts, specialized skills, etc. to go beyond their boundaries to earn more income. If you look at it on a larger scale, the same applies to the government level. Government does not have enough money to invest in research and development to secure a better future and higher standard of living for their citizens. Even though if there was enough money, government would not spend it for the benefits of its citizens because politicians are occupied stealing money from every possible resource to buy properties, increase their bank balances, and securing higher education for their kids in 1st world countries. If you look at the high-ranking government officials in any of the poor countries, you will find out that their families and children are going to the universities in countries such as Canada, America, Australia, and so on. These families and children do not rent to live in those 1st world countries – they own their properties and drive high-end cars that even impossible to afford for many people in the first world countries.

What I have discussed so far are just some of the highlights from many reasons why some countries are poor and will remain poor. Actually, this topic can be neverending, as there are so many other factors that can come into play. However, my belief is that corruption is one of the most important factors (if not the most important) that makes countries poor and keep them poor for good. If you think deeply, you will see that most of the obstacles poor countries have (that keep them poor) can be easily avoided if bad people stop stealing money, which will stop the leakage that drains out the money. You can not fill up a tank, regardless how much water you pour in, if there are holes in the tank. It does not matter if you buy new tanks, color the tanks, use better material to build better tanks – because you are ignoring the basic fact, which is you have to close the leaks in those tanks first.