Accept The Reuse Challenge

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Aladdin. All opinions are 100% mine.

Two of my three kids eat the lunch provided by the school everyday.  My youngest, however, insists on bringing a lunch from home.  A couple of years ago, I invested in a plastic sandwich holder and a reuseable drink bottle.  I did it because I thought it would save me money by my not having to buy juice boxes and baggies.  I didn't even realize at that time that I was doing my part to save the environment.

Aladdin has a great selection of reuseable containers.  I especially love their Artist Series Bowls.  These would be perfect for the snacks that Brandi takes in her lunchbox.  While I was browsing their site, I read about this thing they are doing called Do The Reuse Challenge.  They want people to make a 30 day commitment to give up disposable paper cups, water bottle, or food containers.

You can stop buying coffe on your way to work, and instead, make some at home and bring it with you in a reuseable insulated cup.  This will not only help the environment; it will also save you money.  Those specialty coffees are expensive!  It can cost about $636 to buy drip coffee at a specialty shop.  If you make your own at home, you will spend about $165.  That is a big difference.

You can also choose to use a refillable water bottle instead of drinking bottled water.  I don't think I even have to tell you how ridiculas it is to spend so much money on bottled water.  In fact, in the United States, 50 billion disposable water bottles are consumed each year.  That's 137,000 per day, or 1,585 per second.

You can also learn from me and use plastic sandwich containers.  Bringing a lunch from home can save you so much money every year.  In fact, if you average that lunch costs you $9 a day, you can save over $2,000 a year by bringing lunch from home.

If these reasons haven't convinced you to make a change, how about this one.  If you accept the Challenge, you will get discounts and free shipping on select Aladin products on their website.  You can also find Aladdin on Facebook.  I know I am going to be accepting this challenge, and I think you should, too.

Do You Need Assistance?

How many of you wake up in the morning, wishing you had a personal assistant to help you get everything done that needs to be done in one single day? I know students can get overwhelmed with research and parents can use a little help keeping up with their kids busy schedules.

Luckily, there is a new and upcoming site called Ibunah.com that can make having an assistant a reality.   (You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook)  You can hand over the mundane tasks that take up so much time, and then not worry about getting them done.  You can let them send you reminders and even manage your email.  The best part, I think, is that they have plans that start at just $15 a month.  There are no hourly fees or contracts, either. 

If you think you could use an assistant, this might be the site for you.

In The Rooms

When I met my husband, he was a borderline alcoholic. As most of you know, his home life was less than perfect, and he found that if he drank, he didn't have to deal with it. We were dating about a week the first time I saw him really drunk, and I didn't like it. I told him that next morning that if he continued to drink, that he couldn't be with me. Now, don't get me wrong, I was a social drinker, at parties and such. I wasn't opposed to alcohol, but I was, and still am, against getting totally sloshed that you can't remember anything. I gave Junior the option of continuing to drink without me, or to stop drinking, and we could still date.

Obviously he chose me, and he hasn't had a drink since.

I know for some people it is a lot harder than that to stop drinking. I was prepared to have Junior go to AA meetings. This was almost fifteen years ago, and back then, you couldn't look things up online like you can today. If I had been able to find a site like InTheRooms back then, I would have insisted Junior go to a few meetings, just to make sure he stayed on the right track. InTheRooms Meetings has a listing of local meetings in your area, from Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Gamblers Anonymous (GA). and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Finding the right meeting for you has never been easier.

Finding The Support You Need

Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, or so I have heard. After you admit to having a problem, finding the help you need can be a difficult. InTheRooms Meetings is a website designed to make finding help a little easier. You can find a list of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, and Gamblers Anonymous meetings that take place in your area. When you click on one of the groups, you then choose your country, then state, then county. I found out that there are OA meetings every Monday at 7pm at our local YMCA. If you know of meetings in your area that aren't listed, they can be added. The purpose of this website is to be the most accurate meetings database online.

I hope that this site can help people find the support they need. I know it's important to be surrounded by people who know what you are going through, and can understand the struggle you are facing. It's impossible for me to know how hard it is for an alcoholic not to drink, or an addict to walk away from drugs. I have never been in their shoes, and can only do so much. These meetings allow people to share their experiences, and hopefully inspire someone to choose a different path.

Stop Gambling

Have you ever heard of poker machines? They are big versions of the little hand held poker games you can buy at any electronics store. These poker machines used to be legal in South Carolina. You could find them in convenience stores all over the state. A few years ago, they became illegal, because people thought they were having a negative impact on our community, and that people were wasting their money by gambling on these machines.

I can see how some people can become addicted to these types of machines. But making a particular form of gambling illegal doesn't solve the problem. The people who became addicted will find other ways to gamble. You can just as easily play poker online for real money, too. I wouldn't be surprised at all to find out that these same people are gambling online. Gambling is like any addiction. People are going to find a way to do it.

If you know someone in your home that is addicted to online gambling, you should get BetFilter. This program blocks access to online gambling. It is one hundred percent discrete, and can not be un-installed within the license period. This is a great way to prevent the ones you care about from gambling away all their money. Just make sure you get them outside help, as well. Like any addiction, gambling needs to be treated like an illness. There is help available.