A Modest First Year Budget For A New Immigrant

People often ask me what someone should expect to put aside for their expenses in the first year they are in the US. This is a tough question mainly because the cost of living varies widely depending on your city.

Here is a sample budget for monthly expenses in Houston. You can use this cost of living calculator to calculate the cost in the city you will be moving to. To use the cost of living calculator, use the annual totals as your salary to find out how much you need in other cities.

Simple budget based on a simple lifestyle that has mainly the essentials for someone living in Houston, TX.

	Range-Family of 4	Range-Individual	Comments
Housing	$800-$1200	$650-$900	This is based on renting a one-three bed roomed apartment
Food	$200-$400	$150-$250	This can be managed by using coupons and cooking at home and not eating out.
Light	$80-$150	$50-$80
Water	$0-$50	$0-$50	Some apartments pay for water
Phone	$75-$100	$40-$70
Gas	$200-$300	$150-$200	Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. It has longer commutes than other smaller cities
Entertainment/Clothing	$100-$200	$50-$100
Miscellaneous	$200	$100
Monthly Total	$1655-$2600	$1190-$1750
Annual Totals	$19860-$31200	$14280-$21000

One time costs Car $4000-$6000 $2500-$5000 Furniture $500-$1000 $500 This hugely varies depending on preference. Some people spend close to nothing by shopping at resale stores.  Kitchen Items $200 $100 Total $4700-$7200 $3,100-$5,600

Reinventing Yourself in 2012

At the end of 2011 I read Reinventing yourself by Mark Chandler. It was a great book to jump start my new year. Some of the key highlights in the book were

Use of Language: What kind of language do you use to describe your situation. Is it self-defeating and depreciating? Watching your language will help you figure out what you really think about a situation. Perspective is everything and it is birthed by thoughts. This year pay attention to what you are thinking and watch how it makes a world of difference.

Victim vs. Owner: Do you own your life or do you feel like there are always external factors that are contributing to it. Some of us let life just happen and then complain when it does not happen like we would have wanted it to. Do you have a plan? Do you have some means to achieve your goals this year? Work on those goals and watch how it changes the outcome. We will not always have everything we want but we can work hard and see great results.

Action vs Intention: Do you find yourself in the renown valley of intentions? It is a depressing place to be. Sooner or later it gets tiring thinking about all the things you wish for or could have or should have. A different approach is action. Set realistic goals and reach them one step at a time. If you need to stay more connected, set up a calling schedule or coffee date schedule. We live in a busy world and your friends will be grateful for your effort as opposed to hearing excuses.

There is so much more useful material in this book. It is a very easy read and I highly recommend it. You can get it from Amazon and start your adventure of learning and growing. 

Setting New Year Resolutions (Part 1)

Getting ready for the New Year? Started making New Year resolutions? Great! Now for some sobering news.  92% of New Year’s resolutions won’t be kept. Failure usually comes fast and furious with about half of those resolutions being abandoned within the first month of the year. As a result many give up setting goals altogether which is always a worse resolution than setting one and failing at it (more on that in a future post).

But it leads all of us to ask “Where’s our resolve?” I can understand and accept a certain percentage of failure but 92% is ridiculous. With the year coming to an end, how do you set New Year Resolutions (NYRs) that you can keep with you over a life time?

Success starts with a willingness to spend more time planning for life in general. There’s a general rule that “Failing to plan is planning to fail”. The bottom line is NYRs or no NYRs you are still planning. Then if that’s the case there’s no better time than doing this now at the end of the year and almost at the beginning of a new one. From a life and business coaching conference I took a while back (review notes below), I learned to call such a time “reflection time”.

And so a few years back I started taking a day before thanksgiving to be alone, reflect and plan. And because year to year I should be placing a high value on seeing different aspects of my life improve, I look at where and why I succeeded or failed. Immediately after I come back I set out to implement the changes I want to see happen going into the new year. I combine this with monthly review times where I spend about half a day to tweak  or at times overhaul the process.

So here are the three questions to consider in the first part and next week I’ll point out the  five critical things you want to consider as you make your new year resolutions.

1    WHY? Why have the resolution in the first place? The 8% of those who keep their NYRs, have a very strong why they need to make and keep the resolution. I always start by asking myself what’s the point of the resolution I intend on keeping. Why do I need to change and where does the intention for change come from? i.e Am I changing because of a conviction I have or is it because my friends, tv ads or some outside pressure that is making me feel like I need to change? In most of the NYRs I have failed at, I was influenced by an outside presence and not because of a conviction I had. I can tell you that the NYR looked good and exciting at the time but when the proverbial rubber met the road, it came crushing down and I ended up wasted plenty of time, energy and money.

      

      What will it cost me? No resolution that is made and kept that is free. It will cost you precious time, money, relationships. I always make sure I understand that cost and if I’m willing to live with paying that cost. It’s not just the cost to me personally but there are others who are dear in my life that will pay a price for my NYRs. Is this a fair cost for them to incur? Then there’s the cost that few people pay attention to. The activities that need to be stopped so as to allow for a new resolution to take hold. Remember that time restrictions is the second reason why most resolutions fail. Nowadays, in my reflection time I take time to decide what I need to stop doing. I found there are always plenty of those that need stopping.

   

      What’s the benefit? So if I succeed what do I have to gain. This has to go far beyond feeling good about myself. A few years back I made a resolution to change my diet. Sure there are obvious health benefits but far more important to me was setting an example for my kids and doing what I can to be healthy during the years my kids will be adults. I dream of the day that God-willing  I will be fortunate to run a marathon with my kids. With that dream in the back of my head, the sacrifice of giving up read meat, drastically cutting down on sugar, salt and white flour became a very small price to pay.

At the end of the day, we have this one life to live. Live it on purpose and be proactive with it even at the cost of failing on some plans. Don’t just decide to take up something in the new year without taking through the filter of the above questions. And if you deem it’s worth doing then do it without any reservations since you get to do it in this one and only life.

How do you make sure you live up to the filtered NYRs? That’s a question I’ll answer in next week’s post.

So what have you tried that worked that we can all learn from?
I’d love to hear from you. To learn more about what we do and how we can help, please visit us at http://lantelsystems.com or 
email me at bernard@lantelsystems.com
We provide affordable and secure cloud computing solutions to many entrepreneurs, businesses in different industries and government agencies. Our data centers are independently audited not just for availability but for security and most of all we have the references and the clients to prove it.




Bernard Wambugu

Notes:
The life and business coaching conference is hosted yearly by Building Champions http://buildingchampions.com/

We are on Holiday!

Lessons from Invictus

Watching the movie "Invictus" last night, I was struck again by the power of forgiveness and the strength of character that Mandela exhibits.

If Mandela can forgive the people who put him behind bars for 27 years for fighting for democracy, who are we not to forgive the petty differences that come between us and our family and friends?

Here is the poem that Mandela said saw him through that dark, tough period in his life. May you also draw strength from it and reach out to everyone around you in a spirit of love and forgiveness.

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

Does School Kill Creativity?

Be the judge after watching this video by Ken Robinson. A must see for all parents!

By Ken Robinson

Great Reflective Questions For The New Year!

If you are anything like me, you may feel like you have lost yourself in the midst of the activities of the year. Here are some great questions to ask to reconnect with yourself and your passions this coming year. 

• What did like to play with as a child and why? What games interested you the most? 
• What sorts of success stories create a lump in your throat or really impress you and almost make you feel envious? 
• What is it that you are drawn to do with your time when you have no distractions?
• What was your most exciting job task in the past six months?
• What traits do you possess that are most unique, most you, most important, most likely to make a difference? What traits do most people point out about you? 
• What is your favorite song? What is your favorite movie? What sorts of jokes do you like? why?
• What was the first job you looked into when you finished school (regardless of whether you obtained the position or not)?
• If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you do with your time and money?
• What sorts of articles do read first when you pick up a newspaper or magazine?
• What nicknames have friends used to refer to you by? Why did they choose the ones they did over the hundreds of other possibilities?

The answers to these questions will help you focus your energy to what matters the most to you. Set some time aside to reflect and answer them and rediscover what makes you really tick.  

2011 CNN Heroes - Vote Now!

CNN heroes are people who are making a difference either in their communities or in communities far away from their own. These are people who have dedicated their lives to improving the lives of others.

Now is the time to vote for your favorite hero who will win the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year Award, plus a cool $250,000. The deadline for voting is December 7th.

In alphabetical order, below is the list of this year's nominees. Click on each name to learn more about each nominee and how they are making the world a better place.

1. Eddie Canales, Gridiron Heroes
2. Taryn Davis, American Widow Project
3. Sal Dimiceli, The Time Is Now To Help
4. Derreck Kayongo, Global Soap Project
5. Diane Latiker, Kids Off The Block
6. Robin Lim, Bumi Sehat Foundation International
7. Patrice Millet, FONDAPS
8. Bruno Serato, Caterina's Club
9. Richard St. Dennis, World Access Project
10. Amy Stokes, Infinite Family

Click here to vote now for the Hero who inspires you the most.

Age Old Wisdom from Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Source: http://www.fleurdelis.com/desidera.htm
            http://www.home-life-online.com/be-gentle-with-yourself.html

5 Tips for the Office Party

Now that the holiday season is in full swing, this is the time to remember that an office party is not really a party i.e. it is not the time and place to let loose and go crazy!

Most office party disasters happen because people drink too much. I know the free booze is tempting but it's not worth it. Treat the office party as an occasion that calls for your best behavior. Here are a few tips:

1. Do not get drunk.
2. Eat a snack before you go to the party. This will ensure that when you take your first alcoholic drink that you are not hungry. Drinking on an empty stomach is the first step to ending up drunk.
3. Dress appropriately. Clubbing attire or casual attire is not appropriate for the office party. In most cases cocktail attire is appropriate for women and suit and tie for men. If in doubt, ask the organizer to explain the dress code.
   
4. Do not flirt with your co-workers and definitely not with the boss. Again, if you stay sober this will not happen.
5. It's the holidays so be polite and cordial to everyone and save the whining and venting for another day. It is a party after all.
   

Happy Holidays!

Gilgamesh and the Restless Desires of Your Heart

I have a couple of goals/projects that I would like to tackle. Stuff I have been thinking about for a long time, but have not done anything about yet. I often find that I am second guessing myself . . . it’s too difficult . . . where do I start . . . it’s a crazy idea . . . you get the drift. And yet, deep in my soul, I have always felt that God would not have given me these ideas if I was not capable of executing them. Call me crazy but I really feel that conceiving the idea in your head is the first step to success. That you can think it means you are capable of doing it.

Last night, I was reading the “Epic of Gilgamesh” (for the first time) and I have to admit that I felt validated that the great hero Gilgamesh felt the same way too. When Gilgamesh feels very strongly that he has to conquer Humbaba, he calls out to the god Shamash for blessings. Shamash asks him why he feels the need to take up this challenge. Gilgamesh responds, “If this enterprise is not to be accomplished, why did you move me, Shamash, with the restless desire to perform it?”.

And so it is with all of us. If you have goals that are swirling around in your head and filling your dreams at night, if you have a restless desire to do something then listen to your mind and soul and take the first step. That you thought about it means that the hard work is already done. The rest you will figure out along the way, one step at a time.

Are You At Risk For Heart Attack or Stroke?

Heart attacks and strokes kill more people than all cancers and auto accidents combined. According to the American heart Association, most sudden heart attacks and strokes occur in people with normal cholesterol and blood pressure levels. 

Eating right, exercising, watching your weight, controlling your cholesterol are important, but more can be done to reduce the risk for a debilitating or deadly heart attack or stroke. 

It is important to have an annual physical every year to check the following

• Blood pressure
• Cholesterol 
• Glucose

If you are in any of the following categories apply to you, consider additional screening

• All males 45 or older (regardless of health)
• All females 55 or older (regardless of health)
• Anyone with one or more of the following risk factors for cvd:
• Family History of Heart Attacks or Strokes 
• Diabetes 
• Periodontitis (Gum Disease) 
• High Blood Pressure
• Overweight  
• Sedentary Lifestyle  
• Poor Diet  
• Smoker 
• High Stress 
• Cholesterol Problems

Some of the screenings that identify the earliest signs of cardiovascular disease are Carotid IMT screening. This is a non-invasive procedure that used ultrasound technology to measure the thickness of the vascular lining. 

To find out more about the screening, talk to your doctor. If you are in the US, check out Life Line Screening if you are interested in learning more about health screening.