Segilola Salami's Blog, page 11

Mark O Piggot: The Ins and outs of self publishing

Mark O Piggot is today’s guest on The Segilola Salami Show podcast. Mark shares with us The Ins and outs of self publishing based on his own experiences. I assure you, you need to click play now to listen to this most intriguing conversation with Mark O Piggot.

If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please consider supporting it

 

About Mark O Piggot

Phillipsburg, N.J., enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1983, beginning a 23-year career.

He served on three aircraft carriers and various duty stations as a Navy Journalist before he attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer. He retired from active duty in 2006.

His first novel, Forever Avalon, was published in 2009, followed by his second novel, The Dark Tides, in 2014. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series from Austin Macauley Publishing was released in 2020.

You can connect with Mark on Twitter via his handle @Forever_Avalon or on Facebook @foreveravalon1

Mark O Piggot’s tips for aspiring authors on The Ins and outs of self publishing

Research any potential publisher to get the most for your investment
Be prepared to spend money to make money
You don’t do it for the fame, you do it for the love of writing
You have to know your audience, even with a 40+ year age difference. Be a kid at heart
Don’t copy what others write, be inspired by them

 

About The Segilola Salami Show

The Segilola Salami show is an audio podcast talk show hosted by the female Nigerian-British podcaster Segilola Salami who is also an author, freelance writer and blogger. Please click here to see the full list of Yoruba children’s books written by Segilola Salami.

The show is set in a virtual cafe and is a podcast on books and publishing. The aim of the show is to be both educative and informative but in an entertaining way. Guests from all works of life come on the show to talk about the books they have read or written and how books motivated or inspired them. Listeners of the show get to discover new authors and new books as well as learn something new. Also, as the show is set in a virtual cafe, it is a fun podcast to listen to at work, while running or even when driving.

The show is published weekly on Tuesdays at 9 am GMT London. Please click here to review the different ways to listen to or subscribe to this podcast to be notified when a new episode is released.

The Segilola Salami Show is a great audio podcast talk-show for writers and authors. If you would like to appear as a guest on this podcast, please click here for more info and to book your slot.
Please leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) by clicking here!

If you are an author, blogger or book lover, please subscribe to my authors and bloggers mailing list to find out about new self-published books that need reviews. I send out monthly newsletters with details of authors and their books that need honest feedback.

The podcast jingle used in this episode was provided by Chris Lament.

Please download a copy of Yetunde: An Ode To My Mother by Segilola Salami on Amazon

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I would love to know your thoughts on today’s episode “Mark O Piggot: The Ins and outs of self publishing“. Please leave a comment below.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Mark O Piggot: The Ins and outs of self publishing appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

Character Interview: My Dear Ellie by Aisha Urooj

Today’s blog post is a character interview from the Young Adult novel My Dear Ellie by Aisha Urooj.

Target age range of this book: 13-18+

Does this book contain adult themes? If yes, please state them: Drugs

Format, ISBN and date published: Ebook, B083JJK8TY, 6 Jan 2020

Format, ISBN and date published: Paperback, 1656295970, 7 Jan 2020

Book link on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083JJK8TY

Synopsis of My Dear Ellie by Aisha Urooj

My Dear Ellie is a coming of age story about two beautiful best friends Eleanor James and Cassandra Grace, or Ellie and Cassie. Cassie narrates their life story and talks about their friendship. Read about their triumphs, their struggles, adventures and misadventures as they grow from little girls to young ladies.

Ellie wants to be a superstar. She has natural beauty and talent but is super impatient in achieving her goals. She drops out of high school to pursue acting. She achieves greater success but at a cost. She dwells deeper into darkness as fame becomes a dangerous drug to her.

Cassie is sweet and loving. She is terribly indecisive about what she wants to do in life but will follow Ellie anywhere, including dropping out of high school. After a few years, she decides to go back to University and discovers her love for English literature. As her life gets more purposeful, she doesn’t realize how much her friend Ellie is drifting into despair. An incident involving Ellie deeply affects her life. She vows to be there for Ellie and to get her the life she deserves to have, even if it means challenging Fate…and costing herself a thousand lifetimes to fulfill that promise.

Name of character to be interviewed: Eleanor James
Why was this character chosen for this interview?

She is the character that the novel focuses on. She is bold, adventurous and wants to be a superstar.

Question 1: What is your name and who do you want to be?

Answer: I am Eleanor James. I am an aspiring actress and will be your next Oscar winning star.

Question 2: What do you love about acting?

Answer: I love that I can become anyone that I choose to be. I also get to meet cute guys and learn cool things, like riding a motorcycle.

Question 3: What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Answer: My strength is my confidence. I can conquer anything that I set my mind to. My best friend Cassie (Cassandra Grace) is also my strength. Her support means everything to me. Some say that I can be very impatient so that would be my weakness. I dropped out of High school because I couldn’t wait to start my career. I have no regrets! No guts, no glory.

Question 4: What do you want your fans to know?

Answer: I love their support and I listen to their comments and want to continually improve myself. I am always stuck to my phone and sometimes get depressed by the trolls or mean comments. My best friend tells me that if I ever want to smash my phone, she would do it for me lol

Question 5: What are your next goals?

Answer: I want to conquer the acting world. Be sure to look out for me. I am Eleanor James, rising Hollywood sensation.

***

If you enjoyed reading this blog post, please support the author by buying your own copy of My Dear Ellie by Aisha Urooj.

This book character interview was submitted by the author.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Character Interview: My Dear Ellie by Aisha Urooj appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

Sunday Snippet: Active X Backs – An Effective Long-Term Solution to Lower Back Pain

Today’s Sunday Snippet is from the health non-fiction Active X Backs – An Effective Long-Term Solution to Lower Back Pain.

Name of author: Gavin Routledge

Target audience age range: 30+

Does your book contain any explicit content: No

Format, ISBN and date published: Wire-bound paperback, 01.01.2017, ISBN 978-0-9956708-0-8

Name of publisher: Active X Backs

Book link on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/active-backs-effective-long-term-solution/dp/0995670803/

Synopsis of Active X Backs – An Effective Long-Term Solution to Lower Back Pain

This book is the ultimate guide to the relief and prevention of lower back pain. It s a work-book which you will use to create your own plan for recovery, drawing on the knowledge gained from the heavily illustrated, easy to read text. You will put together your own action plan and exercise program, monitoring your progress with the Backscore. Although easy to digest, the book is based on international clinical guidelines and has a strong focus on keeping your motivation front and centre.

Name of chapter: Welcome to The Cliff of Pain

Welcome to the Cliff of Pain

That’s my phrase to describe the journey into and out of pain. It really feels like a cliff sometimes, and the risk is that once we fall off, we never find our way back up to the top.

If this is your first episode of Lower Back Pain (LBP), there’s a 60% chance you’ll have another episode within a year. So, when the doctor told you that “Low back pain is self-limiting – you’ll be fine in a few weeks,” he didn’t give you the full story.

Many people experience the back pain yo-yo effect, with episodes coming and

going over a period of months or years. The unpleasant truth is that having had

one episode of back pain, your risk of having another one doubles!

In between episodes, you may like to think that you’re fine, but we need to step back a bit to take a broader view of the Cliff of Pain, to understand what’s really going on…

The reality is that when you feel fine, you really only have the illusion of being fine – you’re often still on the cliff edge, where a small puff of wind (or trigger) can push you over, to end up back in that sea of pain. Then after a while, your journey out of pain just takes you back up the cliff, to leave you back on the edge once again.

Maybe you use some Relievers to get you up the cliff, or maybe time is all it takes, but either way, you’re still left on the edge with a 60% chance you’ll fall off it again within the next year – and an even higher chance if you’ve had multiple episodes before.

Time for a bit of self awareness:

Take a look at the Cliff of Pain model. Where are you on it? How many times have you fallen off? What pushed you off the

edge? Can you work out what may have put you on the edge in the first place?

This model explains why lower back pain recurrs so very frequently. If you only

try to eliminate the triggers (e.g. avoid bending), something else will push you over the edge sooner or later. If you only use Relievers, you’re still on the edge, with another episode just waiting to happen.

If you want to change your life and stop the regular recurrence of pain, it is vital to adopt the Cliff of Pain model to help you understand why your back keeps going wrong – or fails to recover at all. Don’t get all wound up in the anatomy of what’s wrong with your back. Forget anatomy. We have to look at this bigger picture and stop worrying about the anatomical details. If you’re reading this book I would guess that worrying about the detail hasn’t got you very far as yet! And that is the same for all bad back sufferers!

In the pages that follow, we’ll explore each of the elements within the Cliff of Pain:

• the Risks that put you on the edge in the first place

• the Triggers that tend to push you off,

• the Aggravators, that prolong your pain

• the Relievers and Preventers that will help you.

***

This post was submitted by the author Gavin Routledge.

If you enjoyed reading this snippet from the health non-fiction Active X Backs – An Effective Long-Term Solution to Lower Back Pain, please support the author by purchasing your own copy of the book via your favourite book retailer

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Sunday Snippet: Active X Backs – An Effective Long-Term Solution to Lower Back Pain appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

1* Review of TEST CANDIDATES | Psychometric test provider

This is my honest review after enrolling in the free trial offered by the psychometric test provider TEST CANDIDATES.

Before the lock down due to the coronavirus, I was working towards starting a business school for children aged 6 to 14 in Nigeria called The Segilola Salami Preparatory School. I’d had a number of people apply to work at the school as a teacher or coach.

Apart from the initial information written on their application form, I needed a way to understand the applicants a bit better before shortlisting them for a face to face interview once the lock down was over.

After reviewing some of the search results I found, I opted to give TEST CANDIDATES a try as they offered a 14 day free trial.

My initial thoughts after creating my account

It was pretty much straight forward creating a job, creating a list of candidates then adding the job to the candidates’ profile.

I added myself as a candidate so that I could see what the questions where like.

I chose the 5 test options available is personality test, verbal reasoning, logical reasoning, situational judgement and numerical reasoning.

It was not very clear to me when setting up what the difficulty level was, so for the numeracy I opted for the foundation level. I didn’t need a maths genius.

When I undertook one of the tests, even though I’m good with maths, I felt the foundation questions were quite difficult for my needs.

Plus I could not find any information on how to assess the results when they came in.

Free trial was not really a free trial

When the results came in, I discovered that the dashboard only displayed 5 results and asked me to upgrade to see the remaining results.

This came as a shock to me because when I signed up, the offer was 14 day free trial with full access.

I had no choice but to write to them.

My conversation with Support at TEST CANDIDATES

Below are screenshots of my conversation with the support team at Test Candidates

Since my last email, I have received no further replies from this company.

Due to their false advertising, they have data that belongs to me and the only way I can access it is by paying for it. How can anyone trust a company that says one thing on their website but does something else in reality. Even if they recently changed their offer, as long as they had not changed the information on the website, then they have a duty to honour the terms written on their website.

I am disgusted by this company. They also conveniently ignored my question where I asked about understanding how to interpret the results as a whole.

My thoughts about their dashboard

You have three separate sections: Jobs, Candidates and Results

Jobs

When looking at the list of jobs on the dashboard, it only tells you the number of candidates you emailed. It does not tell you the number of people that completed the tests in full.

Candidates

When looking at the list of candidates on your dashboard, it only tells you what job you enrolled them for. It doesn’t tell you if they completed the tests in full. It only has a resend test option.

For my personal needs, this is where the platform lets me down completely.

I need to be able to click into each candidate to see their overall performance eg the date the test link was sent, the date the candidate completed each of the different tests and most importantly their results. Also, I need to be able to either print or save this information to store in the candidates file.

There’s no way to compare the candidates’ performance against each section of the test. I would have liked to be able to see at a glance the results in a table. This would have helped me see the best performing candidates.

Results

The results is reported as soon as a candidate completes a test segment. The result of each test segment per candidate I’ve been told equates to one credit.

According to the company, they offer five free credits. If you opt for all 5 segments of the test, then you can only see the results in full for one person.

In my opinion, this was intentional, so that you have to pay before noticing the flaw in their reporting (or not).

Slightly more results with the gesture of goodwill credits

Would I recommend TEST CANDIDATES | Psychometric test provider?

If you need a psychometric test provider that you can trust, then I do not recommend TEST CANDIDATES.

If you need a company with a dedicated customer service team, then I do not recommend them.

If you need a psychometric test provider dashboard that is built with the needs of the employer in mind, then I do not recommend them.

***

That’s the end of my Review of TEST CANDIDATES | Psychometric test provider. I’m still on the lookout for a suitable psychometric test provider, so please leave a comment below if you know one.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

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How do I turn a weak back into a strong back after child birth?

Today’s blog post is a guest post by osteopath Gavin Routledge where he answers the question How do I turn a weak back into a strong back after child birth?

Introduction to lower back pain after child birth

If you’ve given birth, you have probably had some lower back pain. Many lower back pains start during pregnancy. Some start immediately after labour. And unfortunately many persist for years. And they make everyday things difficult. Simple things, like getting the baby out of the cot. Picking up those toys from the floor. Turning over in bed.

In this article, I’m going to answer the burning question, “How do I turn a weak back into a strong back?” Let’s start with some rules..

Rule 1: Stop making it worse

The first thing is to stop making your back pain worse. Pain is a biological alarm system. You have to find ways of not ringing the bell. The more you ring the bell, the more sensitive the system can become. Then you end up with pains coming on for no obvious reason.

Also, if you’re doing things that bring on your pain, the chances are that you’re preventing healing from taking place.

Whatever is wrong with your lower back, it needs to right itself. That’s hard if you keep aggravating it. In fact it may be impossible. Think about it. If you had a headache, but you kept banging your head against the wall, would it get better?

Rule 2: Don’t be inactive

Physical inactivity is one of the strongest causes of lower back pain. I know it might hurt to do some things. But doing nothing is always a bad plan. When you are physically inactive your brain actually loses connections between different nerve cells. So, for instance, if you don’t use the muscles around your middle, the nerves that control them lose connection with one another. Your muscles are never going to recover then, are they? So doing something is always better than doing nothing. But don’t forget the 1st rule – stop making it worse.

How do you combine Rules 1 & 2 to turn a weak back into a strong back? Follow Rule 3….

Rule 3: Use it, but don’t abuse it

Rules 1 and 2 are most easily remembered by combining them into my Golden Rule – Use it, But Don’t Abuse it.

This simply is a combination of rules 1 & 2. But hopefully it’s more memorable. Because having memorable rules helps a lot. I know you’re busy. What responsible parent isn’t busy? There’s a lot to fit into life isn’t there? And it all seems to matter so much. But so do you. So does your back. Which brings me to Rule 4.

Rule 4: Prioritise yourself

Your back is not going to get better on its own. And any improvement you get from manual therapy, acupuncture, medication, injections, and even surgery (best avoided if at all possible) is not enough to prevent a relapse. You – and only you – can turn a weak back into a strong back.

But you have to make time for it. I often tell stories of people who have experienced substantial injuries, and gone on to make remarkable recoveries. What do they all have in common? Total focus on a SMART goal. Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic/Relevant. Timely.

To turn a weak back into a strong back, you have to do the work. This is the hardest bit, isn’t it. Putting yourself first just doesn’t seem possible. For many parents it also doesn’t seem right. But – take it from me – if your back “goes”, you are not going to be much use to your children. Having had (not born) 5 children, I know that they need you to be at your best. It’s like the guidance on the aeroplane in an emergency… Put your own oxygen mask on first.

You do not want your back to be the weakest link in the family chain. And it can be. There are so many future occasions that could be ruined by your back going into spasm. Or just being a background ache. Lower back pain is the single biggest cause of disability in the world. It won’t kill you, but it will have an enormous impact on your quality of life across your lifetime. It’s worth investing time in now. Don’t leave it. Don’t become someone who can’t lose weight because your back is too weak to exercise. Who can’t play with the kids. Who can’t sit for more than 15 minutes. Who can’t bend over in the morning until you’ve been up for an hour.

Rule 5: Firm up your Strategy before focusing on Tactics

You can waste a lot of time googling “exercises for back pain”. If you want exercises tailored specifically to your lower back pain / sciatica, I’ll give you them – for free. Just use the lower back pain and sciatica chatbot I programmed on our website. It will take you through a series of questions. At the end it’ll give you a label for your back problem, and send you an ebook with all the exercises that are relevant to your problem. No more guesswork.

Below are just 2 tactics. You’ll find many more in through the chatbot and ebook it will provide you with. And a lot more if you sign up to one of my webinars, online courses, or online consultations.

CONCLUSION on How do I turn a weak back into a strong back?

Turn a weak back into a strong back: Tactics 1-3

There are a whole load more tactics, but these will give you a starting point. As mentioned above, you can get a lot more guidance from the Active X Backs chatbot.

Tactic 1:

Sniff Sharply and Hold it

This is relevant for most people with persistent/recurring lower back pain. Do it if just before you’re about to do something that you know can trigger your pain. Whether it’s getting out of a chair, turning over in bed, lifting the baby.. Anything that sometimes gives you a twinge of pain. Just before you do that thing, sniff in sharply. Hold the contraction that happens in your tummy muscles. Maintain that tension while you do the activity. That will help to stabilise your lower back.

Tactic 2:

Daily “preventer exercises” tailored to you Remember Rule 4. You must prioritise this. It’s just 10 minutes. Do them while watching the telly if you must. Or turn the telly off earlier. Do them with your partner. Do them with your toddler. Just do them.

These exercises are not for relief. They are to make your front, back and side muscles stronger. If you don’t do them, you will never make a long-term, sustainable improvement. Never (unless you’re just plain lucky).

Tactic 3:

Don’t worry about your back.

Worrying increases your state of alarm. Increasing your state of alarm will increase your levels of pain. When you think about your back, try to reframe how you feel. Be more positive. Pleeease don’t call it your “dodgy back”, “weak back”, or some similar negative phrase. Unless you have sustained a very large trauma to your back, it’s going to be fine. Trust me. Just get a good plan and stick to it. Let your body do the rest.

When you put a negative focus on a body part, you will increase the pain.

So, to summarise, stick to the rules…

Use it or Lose it, But Don’t Abuse it

Prioritise yourself

Strategy before tactics

Sniff sharply

Daily preventer exercises

Don’t worry about your back

About Gavin Routledge

Gavin Routledge has a Masters Degree in Pain Management from the University of Edinburgh in the UK, and has been a practising osteopath for nearly 30 years. He’s written two books on lower back pain, and has developed an equation for pain, grounded in science. Having had 7 years of lower back pain and sciatica in his 20s, he eventually started taking his own advice. It worked. So he wrote his first book to help others. 20 years later, in 2017 – after completing his Masters Degree – he felt he needed to write another.

He now provides webinars and online courses to support others seeking relief AND prevention of lower back pain and sciatica.

Link to author website: https://www.active-x.co.uk

***

If you have enjoyed reading this guest post How do I turn a weak back into a strong back after child birth? please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post How do I turn a weak back into a strong back after child birth? appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

Character Interview: After You: A Demon is Always Lurking Nearby by Sunshine Rodgers

Today’s blog post features an interview with a character from After You: A Demon is Always Lurking Nearby by Sunshine Rodgers, a christian, suspense, thriller, fiction.

The target age range of this book is 18+

Does this book contain adult themes? If yes, please state them:

YES. The Story is set in Hades, so there a couple are somewhat disturbing scenes of the Underworld. On Earth, there are scenes of underage drinking and a mention of teenage pregnancy

Format, ISBN and date published: Paperback, 978-1980699439, 3.30.18

Format, ISBN and date published: Hardcover, 978-1087815336, 3.30.18

Format, ISBN and date published: EBook, B07BVQQ2W4, 3.30.18

Name of publisher: RWG Publishing

Link to After You: A Demon is Always Lurking Nearby on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/After-You-Always-Lurking-Nearby-ebook/dp/B07BVQQ2W4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1586119427&sr=8-3

Synopsis of After You: A Demon is Always Lurking Nearby

Oh, that’s right, we talk about your love life. We sit with you in class. We know all about that thing you did last night. How do we know? We watch you. We go to those dance clubs with you. We scheme hideous outcomes for you. We know exactly what it is that will get you to our side. We create those wrong friendships you wished you never had. We invite you into those relationships that break your heart. We give you the life you never wanted, but it came at such a sweet price. We promised you the world and you took it like a kid wanting candy. All. Too. Easy. All I can say is, please, don’t let me get in the way of the worst ending of your life. I’m right behind you. I’ll open that door to frustration, nonsense and destruction.

Please. After You.

Name of character to be interviewed:

Amon

Why was this character chosen for this interview?:

He’s a Demon who works under Lucifer in Hades. Amon works in the Possessions Department as a Field Minion. He’s the main character in the book “After You: A Demon is Always Lurking Nearby”

Question 1: Tell me about the different Codes working down in Hades.

Answer: A Code Blue means someone on Earth is praying. A Code Orange means that there are several prayers. And a Code Red means that the prayers from the humans on Earth are so consistent and powerful that Heavenly intervention is coming to ruin our plans. We do everything we can to avoid a Code Red.

Question 2: Are who is your Enemy?

Answer: God Himself and anyone who works for Him. He’s the one who cast out my boss, Lucifer and The Originals. I never truly understood the intense hatred the other demons have with Him. In fact, when I meet with Him at the end of the story…well, maybe it was Lucifer’s fault after all. Ssshh! I wouldn’t dare admit that. That’s treason to our cause.

Question 3: Tell me about your assignment on Earth.

Answer: I am in charge of posssessing a teenage girl, Jennifer. I take my assignment very seriously and often confide in the Hades Textbook for Field Minions. At first, she is just another name on the roster, but I grow to develop some unknown feelings of compassion for her as her personal life spins out of control.

Question 4: Who do you work with?

Answer: My Department Boss, Agag yells at me for any little thing I do wrong. My co-workers Confusion and Strife help me on my assignments. And one of THE Originals, Pride, makes sure my big assignment doesn’t get messed up.

Question 5: What’s the one thing you are afraid of?

Answer: Followers of Christ! They are a dangerous group to our kind! Their prayers can destroy our plans! So many of my fellow minions have been defeated through these Followers.

***

This character Interview was submitted by Sunshine Rodgers, The Author.

If you enjoyed reading today’s blog post and learning about one of the characters, please support the author by buying your own copy of After You: A Demon is Always Lurking Nearby from your favourite book retailer.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

The post Character Interview: After You: A Demon is Always Lurking Nearby by Sunshine Rodgers appeared first on Segilola Salami. Segilola Salami teaches a course on grief resolution https://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/memb...

How to teach your kids to manage money

Are you a parent looking to teach your children about money? Do you want action steps you can take to help your kids learn how to manage money? Then, today’s blog post, which is a guest post written by Will Rainey on How to teach your kids to manage money is just for you.

Are we doing enough when it comes to money management?

As parents we want to make sure our kids are ready for the real world when they become adults. This includes helping them with their schooling, making sure they stay healthy and getting them to work hard. However, there is one area that is so often overlooked …. making sure you teach your kids how to manage money.

Today there are so many young adults who are suffering from financial stress as they were thrown into the real world without being taught how to manage money. For our kids, the potential financial stresses are likely to be greater than any generation before them. I’ll go through why this is the case shortly. Before I do, I want to say that there is good news. If parents do spend a small amount of time to help their kids learn the basics of money management, it can make a real difference to their future financial wellbeing. It is well known that teaching kids about money improves their lives. It improves confidence, self-esteem, and life choices. It also reduces money worries and has a hugely positive impact on their mental health.

In this blog I’ll go through some of the simple things you as parents can do to help you teach your kids how to manage money. Before that, let me go back to why it is so important to teach them about money.

The NEED for you to teach your kids about money management
The NEED for parents to teach their kids about money

Teaching your kids about money isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ but is increasingly becoming a ‘need to have’ for your kids. Compared to generations before them, our kids need to learn about money for the following three reasons:

1. Our kids will have less money to spend

2. There is more pressure for our kids to spend

3. There is more need for our kids to spend

Let’s take a bit of time to go through these three points in turn.

1. Our kids will have less money to spend

As parents we are all probably a bit naive about what money we’ll have when we retire. Most of us have some money in our company pension scheme(s) and the option to ultimately downsize our house to release some capital. We’ll hopefully have some savings and possibly receive some inheritance money. This combined is hopefully enough to survive on despite the fact we are expected to live longer and medical costs are on the increase compared to our own parents. There remains the risk we don’t have quite enough money and will need to make some material changes to our lifestyle in our ‘golden years’. We may have to downgrade our supermarket of choice and opt for a staycation instead of a vacation.

What about our kids’ generation? Company pensions are getting worse, not better. Final salary pension schemes are becoming extinct. Our kids might not be able to get on the property ladder or, if they do, there might not be much scope to downsize if they had to buy small. As we as their parents are expected to live longer and will need to spend more there is unlikely to be much inheritance left to give them!

All in all, they really can’t rely on what we and our parents have to rely on. At least us as parents have a chance of a modest retirement pot. Our kids need to make sure they know about money asap!

2. There is more pressure for our kids to spend

Our kids will more exposed to social pressure and targeted advertising than any generation before them. Essentially companies and people are finding new ways to make us spend our money. With kids being so exposed to these pressures from a young age, combined with how easy it is to spend money, it is easy to see how our kids can end up spending more money they have, on things they don’t really need, to impress people they don’t really like when they become adults.

3. There is more need for our kids to spend

Our parents had it much easier than us. They had student grants where as we had student loans. They had affordable housing where as we are lucky to find an affordable house within an hour of our work. They didn’t even have university tuition fees in the UK (before 1998).

If you think we’ve got it bad – this is nothing compared to what our kids will have to deal with. They will need even more money.

Whilst we had student loans, the interest we paid on them was low. My student loan from the early 2000’s grew only by inflation. Today, depending on a student’s graduating salary, student loans can start to increase by inflation plus 3% per annum. They need to find this extra 3% per annum from somewhere. That’s the rate today and who knows what the rates could be in future.

I don’t think I need to say too much about housing but I struggle to see a world where housing in 15 years time is more affordable than it is today (relative to salaries). Given housing is crazy expensive already, I doubt our kids will be able to buy their own place until they are over 30 unless they start saving and investing now!

If your kids don’t know how to money money then they are likely to walk into this bleak financial world with their eyes closed.

Whilst there are some charities helping schools to teach your kids how to manage money, there is not enough being done. This means we as parents need to be the ones to help our kids learn to manage money. You might be thinking that this is too hard as we were never taught about money ourselves. Luckily, it only takes a few changes to make a real difference in order to get them to learn about money.

So what do you need to do to teach your kids how to manage money?

The future financial wellbeing of our kids is determined by the money habits that they form. The key is to make sure they form good habits.

Let’s think about that for a minute. It’s not how much money they will earn. It’s not how good they are with numbers. It’s not how much money their parents have. The key factor is what habits they form that makes the biggest difference.

I know people who earn a lot of money but are financially stressed as they have bad money habits. I know people from rich families that are financially stressed. On the other hand, I also know people who don’t earn much but don’t have any money worries because they have good money habits.

Therefore we need to help our kids form good habits and provide them with the knowledge as to why these habits are so important.

Here are my three essential money habits you should help your kids form:

1. Get them to save at least 10% of all the money they receive for the long-term.

This habit is to put money away, no matter how small away for the long term. This money isn’t to be spent but to be put away in a bank account or an investment account to grow. This habit helps them see that even putting small amount away means they see their money growing. One of the key pieces to help your kids learn is that you can save money to help make money. If they put a bit of money away, that money can grow and they will start to see that the interest will start generating them more money.

So compared to so many young adults that have no savings. Your kids will have some savings and this money will be making them money whilst they are sleeping.

2. Get them to save up for something they want

We live in a world where people expect to get what they want straight away (instant gratification). We need to teach our kids to wait (delay gratification). By getting our kids to plan out what they want and how they are going to save for it will really help them learn this skill. By delaying what they spend on they also end up spending less on things they don’t really want. How many of us have spent money on a whim and then regretted wasting that money as we didn’t really want or need it?

3. Get them to record how much money they have

One of the main reasons people end up in financial stress is that they spend more than they earn. Most of the time this is due to them not knowing what money they have. Therefore, by getting your kids in the habit of recording what money they have each month they will see over time whether this is growing or shrinking. Remember, “what gets monitored, gets managed”. This doesn’t have to be a full budgeting exercise. Just have a place for them to write down how much they have in cash and their bank account(s). It also helps open the conversation about money with you and therefore reduce the ‘taboo’ status that money has.

There you have it – three relatively simple but powerful money habits to help you teach your kids how to manage money and make a real positive impact to them in the future. Don’t underestimate the power of these habits.

Financial education and pocket money

The above habits are there to help you make a quick impact on your kids future financial wellbeing. To reinforce these habits parents should look for different opportunities to speak to their kids about money. There are also looks of financial education resources available for parents to help teach them about money at www.bluetreeblog.com/blog-finder. The blogs help you learn different topics and engaging ways to teach your kids these lessons.

For books and games to help you teach your kids how to manage money then here are some recommendations: www.bluetreeblog.com/resourceswww.bluetreeblog.com/resources.

Lastly, if you can, I would recommend you give your kids some pocket money, regardless how small the amount. This allows your kids to start handling money and making money decisions. It will really help them start forming the above money habits regardless how young or old your kids are.

CONCLUSION:

Don’t delay and start teaching your kids how to manage money today! They will thank you for it when they are older.

About Will Rainey

After 17 years working as an investment advisor to some of the largest asset owners in the world (retirement schemes, central banks, insurances), Will Rainey is now the Founder of Blue Tree Savings. Blue Tree Savings provide articles, guides and articles to help parents teach their kids about money. Blue Tree also provides a tool to help parents use their existing investment account to save for their kids, with their savings being shown as Blue Trees so they can watch their forest grow as they save.

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There you have it: How to teach your kids to manage money

If this article resonated with you, then I think you would be interested to know about the Segilola Salami Preparatory School.

Like this article, I do believe that children today need to learn about how to manage money. However, even more so, I think children today need to learn how to make money.

In addition to the reasons listed above, our children will be faced with more competition than we did in the past. With the growth in robotics and artificial intelligence, this becomes even more noticeable. Not only will our children compete with each other, they’ll be competing with technology too. Their ability to think outside the box is part of what will set them apart from their peers in the future.

And that’s what the Segilola Salami Preparatory School was founded to address. SSPS is a skills acquisition business school for children aged 6 to 14. The school’s curriculum is based on STEAM education but with an enrichment element that includes business management, sales and marketing. On graduation, students would not only have learned different skills in different fields but also be able to start up and run a successful business. You can find out more about the Segilola Salami Preparatory School on the school’s website  https://www.school.segilolasalami.co....https://www.school.segilolasalami.co.uk/child-centred/

What are your thoughts??

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Sunday Snippet: Uncrowned by Emily Rozen.

Today’s blog post is from the Paranormal Romance Uncrowned by Emily Rozen. This blog post was submitted by the author.

Target audience age range: 18+

Does your book contain any explicit content:

A small bit of nudity but no explicitly sexual content in this first installment. Some swear words.

Format, ISBN and date published: eBook, ASIN: B07RRG169V, Published: June 1, 2019

Book link on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Uncrowned-Emil...https://www.amazon.com/Uncrowned-Emily-Rozen-ebook/dp/B07RRG169V/

Synopsis of Uncrowned by Emily Rozen

Sometimes you can’t escape what destiny has planned…Alex couldn’t.

Alex had always known who she was and what her plans for the future were, until her only family member is brutally murdered. All her carefully laid out plans for the future went up in smoke with the fire that burned her life down. The moment she saw the smoldering remains of her home that morning, Alex knew she needed some answers.

Clues left behind by her late father lead her to the strange town of Ash Hollow, located in the middle of a picturesque nowhere. Determined to find out who murdered her father, she slowly untangles the town’s unique and mysterious history, learning more about herself than she ever expected. Juggling her new realizations and relationships with the eccentric townspeople, especially the painfully hot blue-eyed mayor, she finds herself sinking deeper into a volatile world she won’t ever be able to escape.

And so it begins…her journey as the Uncrowned.

Name of chapter: Chapter 9

A loud howl cut through the bar over the sound of breaking glass and fighting. Snarls filled the air, chilling Alex to the bone.

“What the f**k.” She felt around for her bag in the dark as Arsen yelled over the chaos.

“CAT. We need light, NOW.” His voice was deep and rougher than usual. Cat immediately began chanting in some language under her breath. A bright flash lit the area, and Alex squinted her eyes to adjust, but immediately regretted it.

The bar was full of oversized animals fighting off what looked like a pack of wolves. The wolves themselves were unlike anything she had seen before, each one the size of a small pony, their massive jaws full of sharp teeth. A couple of the audience members had been attacked in the darkness, as they lay unmoving in pools of blood. A massive grizzly bear was fighting two of the wolves near the bar, but they kept darting away from its deadly paws before lunging back in to take bites out of its flank. In another corner, a large leopard was facing off with another wolf, both of them circling the other. The rest of the wolves were forcing audience members towards the back near the walls.

“What the f**k am I seeing.” Alex muttered, clutching onto Sadie, who was shaking. Arsen had his fists clenched as he stared at the stage where a familiar man stood with his arm around Harmony’s delicate neck.

“ENOUGH.” Arsen boomed, the room effectively falling silent at the force behind his words. Alex’s brain just couldn’t handle everything happening, so she didn’t stop to wonder at why the animals all seemed to listen to him. “Marcus.” He growled at the man holding Harmony hostage who just whistled as he looked around.

“Arsen…I see your power hasn’t waned even if you aren’t the killer you used to be.”

Alex whipped her eyes towards Arsen. A killer? Arsen didn’t flinch at the accusation, but his eyes did glance briefly at Alex before returning to Marcus.

“Oh yes.” The man continued as he stroked Harmony’s throat as the singer trembled in his arms, ruby eyes wide. “I’ve met your newest addition to the town. Very…interesting…considering your history.”

“And what do you know about history, mutt.” Arsen spat. Marcus’ eyes narrowed as he gripped the singer’s throat.

“Don’t push me, prince.” He said the name mockingly. “I only came for the little songbird. You can keep the children. An even trade, yes?” His smile had sent a chill down Alex’s spine, but she couldn’t react. She didn’t understand a single thing going on, even though a small voice in the back of her head started whispering that the journal might have been onto something.

“We gave you sanctuary Marcus. You know the rules. Let Harmony go and you can leave with your pathetic life.” This was the first time Alex ever heard Tom speak so seriously. All the fun and joking was gone from his voice, and only cold anger remained.

“Ah yes, Tom…I see you’re still serving as his right hand man. You could have been stronger if you came with me. No matter though, I’ll just be taking this little bird and be on my way.” He smiled and started moving towards the door.

“Don’t even f**king think about it.” Arsen warned, taking a step towards Marcus, but the man just smiled.

“Don’t want to let me leave? Well, that’s a shame.” He looked over at Alex and smiled as his hand stretched and grew long sharp claws. “Guess I have no choice then.”

Arsen moved forward with a growl just as Marcus slashed the singer’s throat, blood spraying everywhere. Alex watched in horror as he flung the singer at Arsen who stopped his approach to catch the woman. With a wink at Alex, Marcus ran with inhuman speed out the door, his wolves following him into the darkness of the night. Tom and a few other men immediately ran out after them as Cat got up and rushed over to Arsen. She leaned down and immediately began ordering people around as she pulled vials out of her satchel and poured them over the singer’s shredded neck.

“What the f**k did I just see.” Alex whispered, her whole body shaking as she tried to make logical sense of what she just saw.

“What the f**k just happened.” She reiterated a little more loudly as Sadie tried to calm her down. Arsen turned his eyes to her, now glowing a familiar icy blue.

“The truth. Welcome to Ash Hollow Alexandria.” He growled in that rough voice of his just as a green glow emitted from Cat’s hands above the singer’s throat. The injured woman took a deep shuddering breath as Alex watched the wounds on her neck seal closed.

Yeah, she was done.

Grabbing her bag, she bolted out of the booth, ignoring everyone calling her name as she headed straight home. Her mind was made up, she needed to leave Ash Hollow tonight.

***

If you enjoyed reading this chapter from the Paranormal Romance Uncrowned by Emily Rozen please support the author and purchase your own copy of the book via your favourite book retailer.

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

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The Benefits of Personalised Gifts

Today’s blog post is a guest post written by Didier Penine that looks at the Benefits of Personalised Gifts. Happy reading!!!

Buying personalised gifts in general

If you are anything like me you will the buying of gifts tricky at the best of times. The biggest problem for me is finding something different that the individual you are trying to buy for numerous times for events/occasions in the year. If we take the example of a parent, you may need to buy a gift for an anniversary, birthday, Christmas, Mother’s Father’s day, retirement and many more. A close friend may have a baby boy/girl, engagement, graduation, and so on, we seem to have these occasions coming thick and fast throughout the year which means the problem is finding something different and unique from the previous year, or the previous occasion!

The Popularity of Personalised Gifts

The popularity of personalised products seems to have exploded in recent years, they have always been popular but with the dawn of new technologies and falling prices mean they have become more popular and widely available than ever before, and there are some very good reasons for this which I will discuss below:

1 – It is a great break from the norm, there’s only so much excitement you can receive from being given a pair of socks multiple times per year!

2 – Personalised gifts show to the recipient that you have given some time and thought into your choice. It is not possible to walk into a supermarket and buy a personalised item, a certain amount of planning and thought must go into such a purchase.

3 – Personalised goods by their very nature are unique and never been purchased before, they are a true one-off and have that extra special value for this very reason. This is a benefit to both the giver and the recipient, the giver knows that no-one else will have bought the same item and the recipient has a totally new gift!

4 – Such products have the wow factor, there is something very special about seeing a product with your name and a personal message on it, the joy you get is reminiscent of the feeling of joy and happiness we got as a child when we opened out Christmas and birthday presents.

5 – Such presents are ones the recipient will always remember and they will not simply be stored in a drawer. Personalised products will always have a story behind them and looking back at them 5 years down the line you will remember where and when you received it and not be puzzled as to how you have it.

6 – You show affection to the recipient by giving a personalised gift in that because it shows you have gone out of your way. It also means that the person who is receiving it holds a special place in your life.

7 – Suitable for everyone, regardless of the age of gender, think about it, whether you are a child who receives a personalised item of clothing, or a grandparent that receives a bottle of personalised Champagne, the joy they receive on opening it is just the same

Personalised Gift Shopping

Next time you venture out shopping for the perfect gift, give some thought about how you can make it relevant and personal to the recipient. Whether you are buying a piece of luxury jewellery for your partner or a key ring for a co-worker or, having the item personalised will make it all the more special to them.

So, when it comes to buying a personalised present, what makes the ideal gift? It all comes down to personal preferences of course, however some presents are clearly going to be more suitable than others. If we take for example a 50th wedding anniversary of your grandparents or parents, a bottle of personalised wedding Champagne is more likely to be more appreciated than a personalised mouse mat for example!

Alcohol Themed Personalised Gifts

Alcohol is usually well received, and we all love sparkling wine, so our pick of the best type of personalised gifts goes to Champagne and Prosecco! No drink shouts celebration in the way Champagne does, it is a premium feel good product which you will typically see associated with sporting successes. When you think of Man of the Match awards in football, Formula 1, tournament wins in golf, with these successes you will typically see a jubilant person spraying the masses who are cheering their great success.

So, when you take such a premium and prestigious product like Champagne, and then personalise it to suit the recipient, you have an all round perfect gift to suit any occasion. A personalised bottle of Champagne could be used for any event that is worth celebrating, or looking to provide a gift for, whether it be a graduation, anniversary, new home gift or to say thank you. Personalised gifts are very special products to receive whatever the item is, but when it is a personalised bottle of Champagne, there is something extra special about it. I guess combing personalised presents and alcohol is one of the safest gifts you can possibly buy!

CONCLUSION:

I hope you all agree that a personalised gift makes the best type of gift and individual can receive. We all love receiving gifts regardless of what it is, but it is all too easy to pick up any old bottle of spirits in the supermarket while we are doing our shopping and tick the box that way. If you go out of your way to choose a product, personalise it, and then surprise the recipient with your choice you can be sure that the result will always be better appreciated, It is a win/win, not only will the recipient enjoy the product more, but you will get more joy from the act of gift giving too!

About Didier Penine

Didier Penine is the director of Say It With Champers which is an online store that provides personalised Champagne and mini Prosecco. They also cater for businesses by designing a bespoke Champagne label around the company branding to make a unique corporate gift or staff reward.

 

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Press Release: New Business School for Young Children

Press Release: Children’s author Segilola Salami founds the first business school for young children in Nigeria
Summary

UK based children’s author, Segilola Salami, founds the first skills acquisition business school for children aged 6 to 14 in Abuja, Nigeria.

In a bid to support children from a disadvantaged background, the Segilola Salami Preparatory School (SSPS) offers a recycling program where the parents of SSPS students can opt to subsidise their school fees by up to 100% by recycling plastic bottles and cardboard boxes.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Abuja, Nigeria, Monday 30 March, 2020 – With a high rate of poverty that led to many children across Nigeria dropping out of school with no skills, UK based children’s author Segilola Salami founded the Segilola Salami Preparatory School (SSPS) to address both issues.

SSPS is a classroom-less skills acquisition business school for children aged 6 to 14 in Abuja. The school’s curriculum is based on STEAM education but with an enrichment element. The enrichment element focuses on subjects like business administration, sales and marketing, to name a few.

It is Segilola Salami’s vision that on graduation, students of SSPS would not just gain skills across different areas but be able to start up their own businesses and run them successfully in future.

Unlike a typical school that focuses primarily on a student’s academic success, Segilola Salami believes that we should not judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Thus, SSPS looks at the whole child and supports all aspects of their learning and development, not just their academic success.

Segilola Salami wants SSPS to be an inclusive school, not just one for children with wealthy parents. To ensure this, SSPS offers a recycling program where the parents of SSPS students can opt to pay for their child’s school fees by recycling plastic bottles and cardboard boxes.

Apart from helping to subsidise the school fees, the recycling program helps keep the local community clean and serves as a learning opportunity for the students as they get to learn about the environment and the importance of looking after our planet.

To register your child for admission this September, please visit the school’s website https://www.school.segilolasalami.co....https://www.school.segilolasalami.co.uk/register-your-child/

To register your child for the SSPS summer school in August, please visit the summer school booking page https://www.school.segilolasalami.co.uk/summer-school/

If you need further information about the recycling program, please send an email to (segilola@segilolasalami.co.uk).

If you have found this blog post useful, you can subscribe to Segilola Salami's blog via email by visiting http://www.segilolasalami.co.uk/blog/. You can also follow Segilola Salami on Twitter https://twitter.com/iyayetunde1

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