How To Stay In Contact With Your Overseas Family and Friends

In this day and age, we often have friends spread all the way across the world. Whether your old best friend from high school moved to the other side of the country or your internet friend’s always lived five thousand miles away, it can be hard to stay in contact when you all have your own families and busy lives to get on with.

It’s not only friends that are spread around the world, but family as well.

My older sister lives in Canada and with the 8 hour time difference it can be hard to keep in touch. But we love to Facetime and text as often as we can.

Here are some tips to help you stay in contact with the people you care about the most…

Use Social Media

How to stay on contact with friends overseas

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Tips for Eco-Living and Recycling at Home

I’m always on the look out for tips on recycling at home. We have the normal bags and boxes for sorting out the household waste, but I’ve always wanted to go one step further. I suppose you could say that we do have our eco-living ways.

I think it boils down to growing up in a house with not a lot of money. My dad is a mastermind of inventions. He will find a use for anything and everything. It was great fun growing up watching him at work with his ideas. He used everybit of spare wood or metal he could find. Making gates, chicken houses, building sheds… the list is endless!

My mum loves to browse charity shops. She always used to find hidden gems for us as kids. Hardly worn clothes, bags and books, toys. They really did make every penny count. Nowadays as people struggle to keep their heads above water, these eco-living ways are hugely popular. I’m a frugal person who saves everything. I have this thing that I know it could come in useful one day, or as my husband calls it hoarding!

Tips on how to live a frugal lifestyle by recycling and eco-living tips

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Why Should You Have A Dash Camera In Your Car?

When I trawl through my Facebook feed there is usually some story that grabs my attention. I love easy reading trashy stories. They are normally from online news sites such as the Metro. At the moment it’s the Trump stories that keep cropping up. The latest one is that Trump is considering plans that will affect us all if we travel to the US. He is thinking about making all foreign visitors hand over their mobile phone contacts. What and earth is the world coming to? Were people in their right minds to vote for someone like him?

I know I seem to be getting off track, I suppose Trump does that to you! but going back to the Metro, I recently read a story on there that got me thinking about staged car accidents. A totally different subject to Trump I know!

Staged car accidents are carried out by fraudsters, that’s people with no conscience, are very selfish people and have no care for the innocent people that get accidentally mixed up in this. Fraudsters are in it for money. Plain and simple. They don’t care for the consequences. They don’t care that our car insurance premiums rise each year. They don’t care for the emotional distress that they have caused.

Vehicle accident cameras - dash camera

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Throwback Thursday: Memories of Buying My First Car

I didn’t learn to drive at 17. I waited a few years. Thinking back now I have no idea why. When I started learning to drive I was a scaredy cat. I honestly thought I would never pass my test let alone go out and buy my first car.

I remember that first lesson. My driving instructor was called Chris, a nice bloke who was very patient. I suppose all driving instructors need to have some sort of patience and calmness about them. So that first lesson he picked me up from my mum and dads and drove me to our local leisure centre car park. I just hoped no one saw me as it was across the road from where I worked!

First Car memories and driving lessons

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8 Factors That Affect Your Car’s Resale Value

I have had my current car for 9 years at the end of the year. It’s got fairly high mileage on it so will be on the lookout for another in the near future. But what’s got me thinking is how much mine is worth?

When it comes to selling your car, it’s important to consider its resale value. Many factors can affect the resale value, but if you are informed and prepared, you should be able to get top dollar for your vehicle.

factors affecting your car's resale value - car

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How to Add a Sense of Excitement Back Into Your Marriage

If your long-term relationship feels a bit stale and lacklustre, you aren’t alone – it’s normal in relationships that have matured past the initial stages. Nonetheless, many strategies exist designed to keep those sparks alive.

The following are four suggestions for those seeking positive ways to create their own customized intimacy-rejuvenation project. 

Keeping your marriage alive

Travel 

Many modern couples tell themselves they’ll take that romantic vacation once the kids are finished with school, once they get their mortgage paid off, or once they finally get that work promotion they’ve been striving for all these years. However, you don’t need to take a full-blown vacation to enjoy the benefits of getting away from your daily routine. Weekend getaways, however, are available options for almost all couples and can be enjoyed even by those with limited funds. If you can’t afford that romantic little bed-and-breakfast by the sea that’s been beckoning, book a camping spot in that same area instead. You’ll get the same environmental ambiance at a slim fraction of the cost, and sharing a meal and wine beside a campfire earns a higher rating on the romance meter than a candlelit dinner in a fine dining establishment any day.

Traveling outside the lines of the usual tourist season also results in significant savings – you might be able to get that little bed-and-breakfast booked for as much as half off the regular price if you visit when the maddening crowds aren’t part of the picture. If you can afford to splurge on deluxe accommodations from time to time, however, consider it a well-spent investment in your relationship. Few things recharge the senses and the spirit like a weekend spent with the one you love in luxurious surroundings. 

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