Tips on What You May Need When Travelling – Travel Bags and Accessories
Many people enjoy travelling and will always do so at any available opportunity. Some people travel often because it is part of their job requirements. There are those who rarely travel but will gladly do so once in awhile especially during vacations. When leaving your home for a night or more, it is always very important to take along with you everything you need to make yourself as comfortable as possible for the period you are away from home. Also take with you everything you need to fulfill the purpose of your travel, such as things you may need if you are on official/ business trips. If you forget something you would have taken for your travel, it may not only frustrate you but also sour your spirit, You may even incur extra expenses because you may be forced to buy something you would otherwise not have bought. So it is important you plan ahead and decide what you need for your journey and what kind of suitcase or luggage bag will be most suitable for your journey. What you may need for your journey and the type of travel bag you will need depends on the length of time you will be away from home and also the mode of your travel. What you may need for a business trip will be different from your needs when going for a vacation. When you have made a good mental recollection of what you need for your travel and your mode of travel (travel by air or drive yourself to your destination), you then have to decide on the type of travel bag to pack your things in. You have to choose the type of suitcase or travel/ luggage bag that will give you the greatest flexibility and allows you to travel light.Traveling With Luggage Bags /Garment Bags for Official/ Business TripsMost people prefer to fly if they are travelling for official or business purposes such as attending business meetings or going for conferences. In this case you may be spending a night or two away from home, then your best choice of travel bag may be a carry-on bag with wheels or a messenger bag. The messenger bags and rolling bags are available in many sizes ranging from 13″ to 21″. Each of these travel bags lets you travel light because you can fit your computer into your travel bag. The unique design of each bag allows you to comfortably store your notebook/iPad in addition to clothing and personal accessories in the same bag. Each bag has special overnight luggage section that provides enough room for the clothes you need while on your journey. Each bag is perfect for short official/business trips. Each type of carry-on case has all necessary notebook case features including a zip-down workstation with storage for your mobile accessories, pen loops, key clip and business card holder. The rolling carry-on bags have smooth-rolling wheels and telescoping handle that makes the rolling case a perfect companion for the businessperson on the go.Some people may prefer to travel with a garment bag, computer /notebook carrying case or a multipurpose handbag (for women). The garment bag is great for protecting clothes while traveling. The clothes stay neat and wrinkle free. The garment bag has multiple pockets and can hold up to 4 garments. It has four interior pockets that provide enough room for shoes and accessories like cosmetic/makeup bags, toiletry bags and curling hot iron cases. It also has one exterior pocket where you can put the book you want to read on the plane or any other thing you want to be handy while you are on the plane. This garment bag is very stylish, lightweight and durable. It has full-length center zipper that gives you easy access to the inside. It also has full exterior zipper closure that ensures that everything inside the bag is secured. When you have packed everything you want inside the bag, you can fold the garment bag into two. The bi-fold bag has two handles that makes it easy to carry. It also has a metal hanging hook that allows you to hang it on a wall. You can then use your multi-purpose handbag or computer/notebook carrying case to carry your computer/iPad.Some other travelers may prefer to travel with an overnight bag. The overnight bag has zippered main closure with three zippered side pockets and two Velcro end pockets. It has adjustable shoulder strap and carrying handle. It also has a black linen inside lining that makes it great for wiping out and keeping clean.Travel Accessories- Snoozer – Travel Neck Pillow / Blanket in VeluraBeside the travel/ luggage bags that you need to pack everything you need for your journey, you may consider other travel accessories such as a luxurious Velura covered neck rest that not only carries a soft, easy care Velura 40″ x 60″ blanket inside, but also has an inflatable pillow that allows you to enjoy a warm and comfortable trip. The PVC inflatable pillow is easy to inflate and deflate and the blanket is so soft that it easily folds back into the pillow cover. This snoozer-travel neck pillow/blanket in Velura is a compact, easy to carry travel item that you can use to provide comfort for yourself on any journey. This travel accessory is ideal for business or recreational travelers.What You May Need When going on Family VacationMany families choose to travel by road when on a family vacation; Travelling together in a car is part of the close family experience that every family cherishes and long for every year. Preparing for this long travelling experience for the families can be a sweet challenge for parents, especially when the journey involves very young kids. The thought of how to keep them engaged and entertained all through the long journey can also be daunting.It is no brainer to say that you need suitcases to pack the family’s clothing and needs while on vacation, The challenge is what type of suitcases do you need. Do you need a suitcase for everyone in the family or do you need to put everyone’s clothing in a common suitcase? Depending on the number in the family and the ages of the kids, you may have a common suitcase for clothing and another for other accessories. Alternatively, each kid can pack his/her accessories in his/her backpack, while you have a common suitcase for everyone. In another arrangement, you can let everyone in the family use a garment bag to pack both his/her clothing and accessories. This is one of the “sweet-bitter” choices parents have to make.Use A Thermal Cooler Bag to Pack Enough Cold Drinks For Everyone While On The JourneyDepending on the length of the journey you might want to travel with enough cold drinks packed in a thermal cooler bag. The thermal lining of the cooler bags prevents the drinks from absorbing heat as such the drinks will remain cold for a very long time. The idea is for you not to stop to buy cold drinks each time any member of the family wants something cold to drink. Having sufficient cold drinks handy when you need them gives you enough driving time and also lets you stop only when you need to break the journey for any other thing other than just buying some cold drinks.Make Your Kids Comfortable With Kids’ Travel AccessoriesBesides having enough drinks handy for anyone who needs it during the journey, it can also be a challenge to keep the kids comfortable during a very long journey. You can keep your kids comfortable all through the journey by allowing them to use kids’ travel accessories such as travel buddies. Kids’ travel buddies are ultra soft neck pillows that allow kids to snuggle with their buddy while “visiting the land of dreams!” These buddies that are available in different animal characters are perfect for strollers, cars and any other place kids drop off to sleep.Scosche backSTAGE pro II Vehicle Mount for Tablet PCApart from providing cold drinks for your kids when they need them and making them (kids) comfortable while they sleep during the journey, keeping the kids engaged during the course of the journey is another challenge. Some parents allow the children to read their books during the journey, and play their video games when they are tired of reading. These are good ways to keep your kids engaged. Another way is to have them watch videos/movies on iPad while you drive. In this instance, backSTAGE pro II is very suitable. Use the backSTAGE pro II to securely and rugged mount your iPad 2 to the back of any headrest so that your children can enjoy hands free viewing of movies, apps, games while you drive. This device is ideal to keep your family entertained with ease when you are on a long journey. The backstage pro II has a charger that plugs directly into the headrest mount and provides a continuous charge to your iPad 2. It has wireless IR headphones for private listening and a USB port that supports flash drive use for viewing images.These are some of the things you need to consider when preparing for a business trip or family vacation, to ensure that you have the most comfortable journey whether you travel by air or travel by road with your family on a vacation.
Health Care Reform Vs Health Insurance Reform
Health Care reform has been a hot item starting prior to the most recent Presidential Election. The Obama Administration, has now moved Health Care Reform to the forefront of their agenda. Regardless of your political affiliation, the obvious facts are that costs have continually increased over the last decade. How should the problem(s) be resolved?The average person who favors government intervention believes that the reform needed is with Health Insurance. Be careful not to confuse Health Care Reform with Health Insurance Reform. The two issues should be completely different, but it seems the Obama Administration has focused their energies in solving the Health Care Issue by focusing on Health Insurance.While there have been few specific plans for the administration’s reform, many experts believe that the reform will involve a major involvement from the government. While there are factions in this nation that favor a “Nationalized Health-care System”, there is equal opposition. Unfortunately, the public divide seems to rest within the “class system”. A majority of those families and businesses in the upper-middle to upper class oppose a nationalized system, while the lower-middle to lower class favor a Nationalized Plan.I say to those that favor a Nationalized Plan, be wary of what you wish for! The problem with the divide actually resides with education and communication. Too often, those in the lower portion of the class system have been conditioned to believe the Insurance Companies are the big, bad profit mongers that cause your premiums to increase. Let’s be frank, insurance companies are in business to make money. However, if you take a look the profit margins within most Health Insurance Carriers, you will see that most are lucky to achieve a 10% profit.If the problem with our the “System” is not with the Health Insurance Carriers, then where should the blame go? Unfortunately, there is no one cause for the skyrocketing costs. Rather, there are multitude of issues that have caused our Health Care System to become the inefficient beast you see today. There is no one “magic” pill that will fix our system.If you take a step back and analyze our system as whole, you have to concur that we have the BEST Health Care Services in the world. If this were not the case, then why would the world’s wealthiest people fly around the world just to have their medical needs taken care in the United States? The fact is, wealthy people who live in countries with Nationalized Health Care Systems do not trust those Health Care Providers with routine procedures, much less the more complex ones.So if we can agree that the Health Care Professionals and Facilities are the best in the world, then you should further assume that those individuals providing that care are deserving of whatever money they make. For my part, I want the guy who is about to open my chest up to perform heart surgery to be paid like a surgeon, and not a garbage man. So how do we fix our system?The first thing is to focus on the real problem. The real problem is with the inefficiencies present in the system, not with the Insurance Industry. There are cost savings available through the efficiencies that can be made through the use of technology. By gaining the cost savings within the system itself, Health Care Providers (not the actual Professionals) do not have to charge as much money. That means the Health Insurance Carriers do not have to pay as much to the Providers. Guess what! That means the Health Insurance Carriers do not have to charge as much in premium. Finally, Joe & Jackie Blow do not have to pay as much for Health Insurance!President Obama, focus on the real problem of fixing our system, and Health Insurance Premiums will become more affordable.
Purpose of Education
Education—like democracy, free markets, freedom of the press, and “universal human rights” — is one of those subjects whose virtue is considered self-evident. So is the superiority of the industrially advanced countries in attaining them. Consequently, any package that arrives with one of these magic labels on it, automatically qualifies for the “green channel” at our entry ports. No questions asked. This uncritical acceptance has severely crippled our discussion of all these vital topics. For example in education most of our discussion centers around literacy statistics and the need to have so many graduates, masters, Phd’s, and so many professionals — engineers, doctors, etc.— in a given country based on the standards in the industrially advanced countries. The central issue of curriculum, and even more fundamental issue of the purpose of education normally do not attract our attention; they have already been decided by the “advanced’ countries for us and our job is only to follow in their footsteps to achieve their level of progress.Indeed they have. In the “first” world, education has become an extension of the capitalist system. Its purpose is to provide qualified workforce for its machinery of production and eager consumers for its products. Stated in a more polished form, the purpose of education is to provide for the economic prosperity of a country. Similarly on a personal level today the purpose of education is to be able to earn a respectable living.While earning halal living and providing for the economic well being of a country are certainly important Islamic goals as well, the linking of education to financial goals is extremely unfortunate. It turns the centers of learning into mere vocational centers in their outlook and spirit. It degrades education and through it the society.To bring home the pivotal but forgotten role of education we need to recall that there is a fundamental difference between human beings and animals. Instincts and physical needs alone can bring ants, bees, or herds of beasts together to live in a perfectly functioning animal society. Human beings do not function that way. They are not constrained by nature to follow only those ways that are necessary for the harmonious operation of their society. If they are to form a viable, thriving society, they must chose to do so. What drives that choice is the sharing of common goals, beliefs, values and outlook on life. Without a common framework binding its members, a human society cannot continue to exist; it will disintegrate and be absorbed by other societies. Further, the society must ensure that the common ground will continue to hold from generation to generation. This is the real purpose of education. The education system of a society produces the citizens and leaders needed for the smooth operation of that society, now and into the future. Its state of health or sickness translates directly into the health or sickness of the society that it is meant to serve.Today we find many internal problems — corruption, injustice, oppression, crippling poverty — everywhere we turn in the Muslim world. If we think about it, we may realize that most of these problems are man-made. Which is another way of saying that they are largely traceable, directly or indirectly, to the education system that produced the people who perpetuate the problems. The rulers who sell out to foreign powers and subjugate their people; the bureaucrats who enforce laws based on injustice; the generals who wage war against their own people; the businessmen who exploit and cheat; the journalists who lie, sensationalize, and promote indecencies, they are all educated people, in many cases “highly” educated people. Their education was meant to prepare them for the roles they are playing in real life. And it has, although in a very unexpected way!The problem plagues all layers of society. Why are Muslim communities in the grip of so much materialism today? What should we expect when our entire education system is preaching the gospel of materialism? Why have we effectively relegated Islam to a small inconsequential quarter in our public life? Because that is precisely where our secular education system has put it. Why in our behavior toward each other we see so little display of Islamic manners and morals? Because our imported education system is devoid of all moral training. Why our societies are sick? Because our education system is sick.This is the real crisis of education. Before we got into this mess by importing from the Colonial powers what was current and popular, education in our societies was always the means of nurturing the human being. Moral training, tarbiya, was always an inalienable part of it. The ustaz,(teacher), was not just a lecturer or mere professional, but a mentor and moral guide. We remembered the hadith then, “No father has given a greater gift to his children than good moral training.” [Tirmidhi]. Our education system was informed by this hadith. Our darul-ulooms still maintain that tradition but the number of students who pass through their gates is minuscule compared to the secular schools.In the U.S. and Europe, the schools were started by the church. Later as forces of capitalism overtook them, they molded them into their image. Moral training was a casualty of that takeover. But capitalism and their political economy did need people trained to work under these systems. So citizenship training was retained as an important, though diminishing, component of the curriculum— a religion-free subset of the moral training it displaced. Whatever civility we see here is largely a result of that leftover component. The imported versions in the Muslim countries, though, had even that component filtered out. And the results are visible.We can solve our problem once we realize our mistakes. The first purpose of our education system must be to produce qualified citizens and leaders for the Islamic society. Tarbiya, real Islamic moral training, must be an integral part of it. This must be the soul of our education, not a ceremonial husk. All plans for improving our education will be totally useless unless they are based on a full understanding of this key fact. This requires revamping our curricula, rewriting our textbooks, retraining our teachers, and realizing that we must do all this ourselves. We do have a rich history of doing it. Are we finally willing to turn to our own in-house treasures to redo education the way it should always have been?
FHA Mortgage Loans are Back and Just in Time
When I first started in the mortgage business, at least one in four of all of my buyers got an FHA loan. The rates were fantastic, the down payment requirements minimal, and the credit requirements were close to meaningless. Most first – time home buyers got an FHA loan.In the last three years, over 600 families have trusted me with their home loan needs. Of those 600, I did a total of two FHA loans over that time. One in 300.I wasn’t alone. FHA guaranteed less than 5,000 loans in California last year. In 2003, they did over 100,000. A 95% decrease in demand. Nationally, FHA loans are down 50% from a few years ago.FHA loans lost their popularity in the past few years for numerous reasons. Loan limits were too low for the fast-appreciating real estate market, income documentation guidelines were too strict, and appraisal restrictions were very difficult.Subprime lenders, with looser guidelines, capitalized and met this demand.Home values increased more than FHA lending limits did. The average home in Las Vegas was around $300,000. The FHA loan limit was around $270,000. Subprime lenders would go over $1 million.FHA requires full documentation of your income and a 3% down payment. Subprime lenders were doing 100% loans with stated income with scores as low as 600.Although sometimes flexible, FHA guidelines limit your debt-to-income ratio to 41%. Many subprime banks were letting borrowers go to 55%.With rising sale prices, more borrowers went with stated income loans. FHA wouldn’t allow this. Subprime did.The FHA appraisal requirements were much more strict and this also turned off many sellers. Subprime lenders had no additional requirements.The FHA loan was, quite frankly, a last resort. Subprime had taken its place.Today, that has changed. With all of the recent guideline changes, the subprime loan is nearly dead with anything less than 5-20% down. Many subprime banks have gone out of business. Many more will.FHA is back!! Once again, borrowers are looking at this as a primary option, especially first time homebuyers.There are two types of mortgage loans; government loans like FHA and VA, and then there are the rest, which are called conventional loans.100% financing on conventional loans is not as readily available as it was, particularly for those with marginal credit. FHA has not changed. 97% financing was and is available regardless of credit score. In the last three months, I have closed five FHA loans.FHA recognized their business was getting hurt by increasing home values so they dramatically increased their loan limits.In Las Vegas today, the FHA loan limit is $304,000. This is right in line with our average sales price. The timing could not be better and, as a result, FHA loans are back as a very viable loan option.If you have very little or no money available for a down payment, bad-to-fair credit and feel like you have way too many bills, FHA may be your key to homeownership today.FHA does not loan money, they insure loans. You don’t go to the FHA to get a loan. You go to a mortgage company that has been approved with the FHA. These companies have special permission to underwrite and close the loan.You can buy a single family home, a duplex, triplex, or 4-plex. FHA will even insure loans on manufactured/mobile homes.As an approved FHA lender, when we do an FHA loan, it is insured by FHA. If the loan goes into default, they guarantee it. This means the loan has very little risk to the lender. As a result, the rates are nearly equal to that of a conventional loan, even though the credit scores may be way worse.Rates on conventional loans are usually based on credit score. The better your score, the better your rate. This is not so with FHA. Everyone, regardless of score, gets a great rate.FHA was started in the 1930′s to assist first-time homebuyers. The goal was to help families with lower and moderate income get home financing. The program was geared for minorities as well.Many lenders in today’s subprime mess are pointing the fingers at each other. They believe that countless numbers of the homes going into default today are because of high subprime rates. They believe these homes would not be in jeopardy with an FHA loan with a much lower rate.For example, last week I closed a borrower on an FHA loan. His credit score is 611 with limited trade lines and 3% down. His interest rate is 6.250% on a 30 year fixed, which he will never have to refinance if he doesn’t want to.Last year, because of the loan amount, this loan would have probably gone subprime with an interest rate of closer to 8.000% on a 2 year fixed rate, that would have likely forced a refinance in 24 months.And he doesn’t have a prepayment penalty!! FHA doesn’t have prepayment penalties. As you know, most subprime loans have prepayment penalties and if you want it waived plan on the rate going up by 1-2%.The program works and provides incredible options for borrowers whose only choices in the last few years have mostly been awful.There are many advantages to an FHA loan.You are only required to put down a 3% down payment and the lender can help you get it. It can also be gifted from a close friend, a relative or a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance.There are many private down payment assistance companies (DAPs) that can help you with the 3% down payment. The FHA allows this and works with these companies. You have likely heard of a Nehemiah. Nehemiah is a DAP. If you do a conventional loan, this is not allowed.You can have less than perfect credit. In fact, your credit can be pretty bad. FHA is far less concerned about your credit score than they are your history over the last two years in paying your bills on time. They will often ignore previous financial troubles and other blemishes on your credit report.There are no “set” guidelines about credit. There is much more flexibility at the underwriting level.For example, I recently had an FHA loan where the borrower was putting down his own 3% and not using a DAP, he was employed for over two years, and he has no late payments for the past two years. He also had four months reserves. His credit score was under 550, his debt to income ratio was 47%, and he only had one current trade line. The loan was approved. The FHA rate at the time was 6.125%.As opposed to most conventional lenders, which have strict guidelines, FHA underwriters have some discretion to look at the overall strength of the file and make a decision. For example, even though it is commonly thought your debt to income ratio must be 41% or less to qualify; I have seen FHA loans approved with debt to income ratios over 50%.Some of the FHA guidelines are more strict. You do have to be two years out of bankruptcy from the date of discharge and you must have some good re-established credit to get an FHA loan.If you had a foreclosure you likely need to wait at least three years for an FHA loan and your credit should be pretty clean after that date.If you can prove the foreclosure occurred because of extenuating circumstances like the death of a spouse or a serious illness that prevented you from working, they will sometimes make an exception to this as well.The FHA has many different choices of loan programs like 30-year fixed, 15-year fixed, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 year ARM’s too. Interest only is not available.The rates are excellent as I discussed above. The fees are controlled by FHA so you usually pay less for the mortgage too.In today’s market, there is a lot of bank-owned on the properties that are in need of pretty substantial repair. The FHA has a program that allows owner-occupied borrowers to finance up to $35,000 in the mortgage to make these repairs.In a conventional loan, these repairs need to be made before the close of escrow. In many cases, the seller doesn’t want to make these repairs and offers the property “as is.” The buyer can’t afford to make the repairs and certainly doesn’t want to make them before they own the house. This usually kills the deal after the home inspection or appraisal.The FHA has a plan for this. The program is called a 203(K) and it allows for the appraiser to consider the value of the home after all of the repairs and renovation is made. You get to buy the home, fix it up to be livable, and then you get to include all these costs in one easy loan. And you still only have to put 3% down. No other loan program allows for this.When the loan is closed, the repair/renovation money is withheld in escrow, as well as additional reserve funds of 10-20%, to pay for these improvements and any overages that may occur that weren’t factored at the time.The contractors go in, fix the house, and then they get paid through the withhold account and reserves. The biggest catch here is, once again, the home has to be owner-occupied. This program is not available for investors or second home buyers.In today’s market, the only negatives to an FHA are loan are loan limits, which are $304,000 and that unless you put down 20%, which most people don’t, your FHA loan will require mortgage insurance.Mortgage insurance (MI) is handled a little differently than you are used to with a conventional loan. For one, it’s usually a bit cheaper. FHA mortgage insurance is not based on credit score like conventional loan MI is. It runs 0.5% of the loan amount and is broken down over your monthly payments.FHA also has an upfront insurance premium that is 1.5% of the loan amount. That premium is due at the close of escrow and can either be paid in full at close or added to the loan amount. As most FHA borrowers have very little money to put down, this premium is usually financed into the loan.The good news here is that mortgage insurance, as of January 1, 2007, was made tax-deductible, so that helps as well.And how about this? FHA loans are assumable!! If you want to sell your home, you can simply transfer it over to your buyer and he doesn’t have to go out and get a new loan. The buyer does have to meet the FHA credit standards, but as I have already touched on, those are very reasonable.The bottom line is if you are a first-time homebuyer or you are a bit more credit-challenged and your lender suggests a subprime loan you should ask for FHA as an option.In addition, if you are being quoted more than the “going rate” for a loan, you believe you can support your income with paycheck stubs and W-2′s, and the loan amount is $304,000 or under in Las Vegas, you will also want to ask about an FHA option.If your preferred lender says FHA is not for you for any other reason other than loan amount or income documentation, and suggests a subprime loan, you may want to get information from a different lender. Not all lenders are permitted to do FHA loans. You want to make sure the reason why you are being steered away is not simply because they can’t do the loan.