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These tips were provided by my wife, Laura Irwin, who gleaned them from many years of homemaking and learning from others. Homemakers face a myriad of challenges; not the least of them is managing family finances on only one income. This is just a short list of issues. Self education regarding family finances is crucial for homemakers because of reduced income, lack of retirement accounts, increased need for self-discipline (possibly more time to shop), and the fact that if the finances become an issue, homemakers may have to return to work. We wish you the best and hope that these tips are helpful.

1. Accountability – You must plan finances together with your spouse. This way, no one gets to play the ‘blame game’ when things go wrong. When both spouses work on finances on a weekly basis, overspending by either spouse will become apparent. You will also get the chance to congratulate each other on your successes. You are in this together. We all know that money is a huge cause for stress in relationships, and working together will help prevent years of financial stress. This may also help you both learn self-discipline and how to live on less. Accountability helps you not be that guy in the commercial where he says, “How did I do it? I am in debt up to my eyeballs!”

2. Keep depositing money in your IRA – Even though you may not be earning an income. Women are poorer in retirement than men are because they earn less, live longer, take time out for child rearing without contributing to retirement accounts, and receive less in Social Security benefits because of the time-out for child rearing. This is statistically even more important for women in minority groups.

3. Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Saving – Proper budgeting and debt reduction will help you meet your goals of being able to live on one income. Some women are naturals at budgeting, but if you are not one of them, a budget is simply a spending plan that helps you keep track of regular monthly expenses and savings for planned purchases and the future. If you have never created a budget, you may consider using software, an Excel spreadsheet, or simply paper and pencil. You will be spending a lot of time with it, so use whatever makes you comfortable. Put your debt reduction plan into your budget. For great information on reducing your debt, see www.debtproofliving.com.

4. Fifty Dollar Limit – Or any amount you both decide on together. This tip has saved us many unnecessary purchases because spouses must communicate about a purchase before spending over the limit. (This does not apply to the weekly bills like grocery or utilities.) At times, this rule may seem too restrictive, but we have found it to be a huge budget saver. It also helps to get a second opinion. Recently, my wife called me from the check out line about purchasing an item, and I was able to remind her that we already own one! Judge the long-term benefit of purchases. Our children are teenagers, so we have had a chance to learn from our mistakes and wish we had done some things differently. One of our regrets is overspending on toys, and watching the toys be neglected, eventually ending up in a garage sale. Since we have begun paying for our oldest child’s college tuition, it is painful to think of how much money we could have put into a college savings account had we not purchased those toys. Other examples of this include purchasing children’s furniture, which will have to be replaced as the child grows. An inexpensive bed rail can make an adult-sized bed usable from toddler age to adulthood.

5. Understand marital financial mindsets – What happens when opposites attract? They get married, then begin to fight about money! Consider the following ways people view their finances: There are optimists, pessimists, spenders, savers, planners, procrastinators, and any combination of these. Perhaps his parents were well off financially and she was raised in poverty. On the other hand, perhaps her parents taught her sound financial principles and his parents kept their finances a secret, or worse, he has copied their example of bad financial habits. Open and honest communication about both of your mindsets may help you work through any pre-conceived views or bad financial habits. Remember that this must be done without finger pointing and with the goal of financial harmony. Perhaps reading a good book together about marriage and money would be helpful.

6. Houses and Cars – These are the biggest expenses for most marriage partners. Ideally, if you can plan to have your mortgage paid off before your first child goes to college, you will feel less stressed about paying tuition. Another great way to save money is to buy great low-maintenance cars and drive them for a long time. There is no freedom like driving a car that is ‘paid for’. Many experts recommend that you put the amount of your payment into savings after you have paid the car off to save for the next one. From personal experience, we also recommend planning for what kind of car you will need several years from now. In other words, do not buy a two-seater if you plan on having children in two years. Hold off saving for the family vehicle. Also, do not sell the minivan after middle school because the kids are not in sports anymore. You may need it to haul your child’s belongings to college.

7. Get Organized – Buy a file cabinet for financial and other important papers. This central location will allow you both to understand where anything important belongs. You can avoid many financial mistakes by keeping papers and bills well organized.

8. Understand your Health Insurance – Health insurance costs have risen for everyone. If you have employer-provided health insurance, take the extra time to understand your coverage, especially during enrollment time. Understanding your coverage may help you save a lot of money. Figure out which policy is best for your family. For instance, if you have a high monthly prescription expense you may research which plan pays the most for prescriptions. If your medical and/or dental expenses are very high, you may be able to deduct them (7.5) of your adjusted gross income. Keep track of your mileage to doctor appointments (20 cents per mile). See your tax advisor regarding your specific situation and see irs.gov Publication 502.

9. Set long and short-term goals together – Creating goals together is a wonderful marital exercise. You will learn what each partner finds most important both now and in the future. It is amazing how current wants can be dismissed when they are compared with a written plan.

10. Determine areas of overspending – Each month as you both check your budgeting progress, watch for recurring overspending in any categories. You will probably find one or two areas that go over each month. If you are within your overall budget, you may want to raise your budget amount in those areas or find ways to lower your spending. Many busy families find that eating out regularly exceeds their budgeted amount. This one requires extra self-discipline to plan ahead and create freezer meals that you can fix in a matter of minutes. Tired moms will hate this suggestion at first, but it really can save hundreds of dollars.

11. Do not let grocery shopping be a budget buster – A penny saved really is a penny earned when it comes to grocery shopping. For decades, women have come up with creative ways to save on groceries. I remember my mother saying that any money she saved from groceries went toward birthday and Christmas gifts. Somehow, through hard work she was able to feed three growing boys and still have money left over! My wife’s family preserved produce from their large garden and from local fruit growers. Others use coupons, shop for sales at multiple stores, or plan meals around sale items. All of these ways are wonderful – do whatever works for you. My wife recently read a huge stack of books from the library about saving money and discovered one recurring theme about grocery shopping. Most books recommended keeping a book of regular prices for each item you usually purchase. That way you can see if it is really a great sale price, or if they simply put it in the grocery flyer at the regular price. If that sounds like a lot of work to you, visit www.Thegrocerygame.com. After entering your zip code and your local grocery store, you will be able to access a computerized list of best deals at your store that week. After only three weeks, we have saved about $200, and we have begun a stockpile of groceries in the pantry.

Jon learns the only ways to erase debt is to get a job and pay your bills on time. Ugh, what a buzz kill. See more crucial tips at www.collegehumor.com

The first decade of the new century – 2000 to 2009 – has been horrendous in terms of natural and the economic tsunamis, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, political debacles and the environmental disasters.

Here is a list of major events or developments that make stark reading but have had a tremendous impact on all of us. No doubt most of these are negative but equally some positive progress has been achieved in science and technology, culture and entertainment. For a look at some major events of the past ten years and for our way forward in the new decade, let us review the disastrous decade and what insights the enlightened master Osho has for us in the new decade. As we tiptoe into the new decade, Osho’s positive outlook remains our bedrock.

Politics 2000 – 2009

2000 – In USA George W Bush elected President. 2004 – Re-elected as ‘war president’.

2003 – Wen Jibao elected China’ Premier and Hu Jintao as President.

2004 – Indian elections surprise victory for Congress, Manmohan Singh becomes Prime Minister.

2007 – UK Gordon Brown replaces Tony Blair as Prime Minister.

2009 – Barrack Obama elected as first African American President.

2009 – Indian elections resounding victory for Congress, Manmohan Singh becomes Prime Minister.

2000 – 2009: Iran, Iraq, Israel, Afghanistan and North Korea remain political tinderboxes.

Politics is basically ambition. Politics is basically wrong because ambition is wrong. You are not to become somebody, says religion, you are already. You are not to become powerful — you are already. You are extensions of God. You need not be worried about being powerful and being somebody on a throne; those are all stupid games, childish, very juvenile, immature. And you cannot find more immature people than politicians. In fact, in a better world, politicians will be kept in madhouses, and mad people will be allowed to move into the world. Those mad people have not done anything wrong. They may be a little off the track but they have not been harmful. Politicians are dangerously mad people, tremendously dangerous- Osho.

Wars 2000 – 2009

2001 – US attacks Afghanistan to fight terrorism.

2003 – US attacks Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein.

2008 – War between Russia and Georgia in South Ossetia.

2008 – 2009 – War between Israel and Palestine in Gaza.

2000+ War in Somalia spawns pirates attacking ships in Indian Ocean.

Man has been fighting and fighting and fighting continuously. Historians say that within the last three thousand years there have been wars almost continuously somewhere or other on the earth. In three thousand years, we have fought at least fourteen thousand wars. Why so much fighting? It is because of possession. If you possess you have started a war with the whole – Osho.

Terrorism 2000 – 2009

2001, 9/11 – Planes crash into and destroy Twin Towers, New York, and a part of Pentagon, Washington, killing almost 3,000.

2001 – Indian Parliament attacked.

2002 – Bali bombings kill 200+.

2004 – Madrid bombings kill 100+.

2005 – London bombings kill 56.

2008 – Mumbai bombings kill 300+

Terror attacks continue in many parts of India, Pakistan and many other countries.

Terrorism is going to become bigger and bigger, because the third world war is almost impossible. And the stupid politicians have no other alternative. Terrorism simply means that what was being done on a social scale now has to be done individually. It will grow. It can only be prevented if we change the very base of human understanding — which is a Himalayan task; more so because these same people whom you want to change will fight you; they won’t allow you to change them easily – Osho.

Environment 2000 – 2009

2000 – Over 300 million gallons of thick, black coal slurry sludge is released in Mississippi River destroying 100 miles of streams and killing millions of fish.

2001 -National Science Foundation report on Global Warming supports previous warnings.

2002 – World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

2003 — Bush Administration compiles the most anti-environmental record of any US president.

2004 – Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

2005 – With a majority of the world’s nations ratifying, the Kyoto Protocol officially goes into force – without the U.S.

2006 – India’s Centre for Science and Environment claims that U.S. soft-drink giants Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. contained, on average, 24 times the maximum level of four pesticides allowed under government standards.

2007 – Al Gore and R Pachauri win the Nobel Peace Prize for “their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change.”

2009 – UN Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen ends without a major breakthrough.

Perhaps twenty, thirty years more, and this earth will be dead, because man has behaved so wrongly with himself, with others, with nature, with the environment. For the whole of his history he has been preparing for an ultimate war — only one preparation, one goal. And now he has come very close to the goal; he has everything that is needed to destroy this whole earth – Osho.

Natural Disasters 2000 – 2009

2001 – Earthquake in Kutch, Gujarat, India kills 30,000+ and injures 167,000+.

2003 – Europe hit by a 40 degree C heatwave killing hundreds.

2004 – Indian Ocean Tsunami, most destructive earthquake and natural disaster, kills 300,000+.

2005 – Kashmir earthquake killing 80,000+.

2005 – Hurricane Katrina destroys New Orleans, USA killing 1800+.

2009 – HINI epidemic worldwide kills thousands.

Unless human consciousness changes totally, man cannot survive. As he is right now, he is already outdated. There will be floods which have never been known since the time of Noah, along with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and everything else that is possible through nature. There will be wars which are bound to end in nuclear explosions, hence no ordinary Noah’s Arks are going to save humanity. (Here) we are creating a Noah’s Ark of consciousness, remaining centered exactly in the middle of the cyclone. I say to you that except this there is no other way – Osho.

Economics 2000 – 2009

2000 – 2007 – Easy credit, surplus money, increased incomes, stock markets boom.

2008 – Bernie Madoff cheats investors of $ 65 billion in ‘the largest investment fraud in Wall Street history’.

2008 – Financial meltdown in USA, UK and Europe triggers depression. Banks major companies fail, thousands lose jobs and homes. Cause – the greed of the bankers.

Love is sharing; greed is hoarding. Greed only wants and never gives, and love knows only giving and never asks for anything in return; it is unconditional sharing. There may be some alchemical reason that LOBHA has become ‘love’ in the English language. LOBHA becomes love as far as inner alchemy is concerned – Osho.

Science and Technology 2000 – 2009

Science: 2000 – Human Gnome project completed.

2001 – Space tourism starts with week long stay by American Dennis Tito.

2004 – Mars Exploration Mission reaches Mars.

2009 – CERN’s Large Hadron Collider started.

Technology: Mobile phones, digital cameras, digital audio players, E Mail, broadband, Internet for information, commerce and social networking.

In the West, they have destroyed poverty, they have destroyed much disease, they have made man’s life longer. They have made man’s body more beautiful, they have made man’s existence more comfortable, but the man himself — for whom all these comforts, all these conquests of science and technology have been done — is missing. They have completely forgotten for whom it was done. The inside is hollow. Everything is there, all around, and in the middle there is a retarded consciousness, almost non-existential. So both have succeeded in what they were doing, and both have failed — because they have chosen only half of man’s life. My attitude is that of accepting man in his totality, in his wholeness – Osho.

New Dawn 2010 – 2020

The world is tired, it is utterly tired of wars. The whole of history hitherto has been violent, insane. No more of it! We have to turn a new leaf, we have to start humanity as if from ABC – Osho.

Man is entering into a new phase; a new consciousness is to dawn. For at least ten thousand years, as far as consciousness is concerned, nothing new has happened. There have been Buddhas and there have been Albert Einsteins, but we are still waiting for a Buddha who is also an Albert Einstein or an Albert Einstein who is also a Buddha. The day is coming closer and closer. Albert Einstein in his last days was very much interested in meditation, in religion. His last days were full of wonder. He said in his old age, “I used to think when I was young that sooner or later all the mysteries of existence would be solved, and I worked hard. But now I can say that the more we know, the more existence turns out to be mysterious. The more we know, the less we know and the more we become aware of the vastness…” – Osho.

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