YOU THINKING OF RETIRING EARLY AND STILL FINANCIALLY COMFORTABLE??? TIPS

Many of us want to retire early. That early retirement age might be 35, 40, or 50, but the idea is to retire sometime before the age of 65 and start enjoying life — before age and infirmity catch up with you.

The reality, though, is that the dream of early retirement will remain a dream unless you take action.

Here are 5 steps to take that will help you reach your goals of early retirement:•

Make early retirement a priority

 You say you want to retire early, but have you made the necessary commitment? Look at the way you use your financial resources. What do your actions say about your financial priorities? If you really want to retire early, you have to make it a priority — and you’ll have to make tradeoffs.

 That means that you have to give up less important things in the present in order to achieve your long-term priority of early retirement.•

Be Realistic in your expectations

 Next, you need to look at your financial situation realistically. If you’re 35, have no savings plan, and $10,000 in your retirement account, you’re going to have to make some very big changes in order to retire by age 50. Look at realistic investment returns (not the 10% predictions that many tout for stocks), and plan for conservative returns. Any plans you make must be based in reality.•

Create a plan

 Armed with the willingness to commit and realistic expectations, it’s time to create a plan. Your early retirement plan should help you save enough money each month to reach your retirement goals. This means that you have to consider cutting your expenses, and changing what you do with your money, in order to meet the requirements of your plan. And don’t forget about having an investment strategy, as well. Investing is the only way to build up enough wealth to retire early and comfortably.•

Make your plan work

 You need to put effort into making your plan work. This might mean cutting unnecessary expenses from your budget. It might mean spending less and hoarding your money until you reach your goals. It’s true: trying to retire early can mean sacrifice now.Another way to make your plan work is to increase the amount of money you make. If you know you won’t make your goal of early retirement in 20 years and you just can’t cut it anymore, try to earn more money. Improve your marketability so that you qualify for a pay raise.

Start a side hustle.

 Look for ways to increase your income so that you can put more money towards making your early retirement plan work.•

Don’t forget diversity

 Don’t forget diversity as you invest and adhere to your plan. You need the right asset allocation to see retirement portfolio success. It can also help to build diverse sources of income that can help you weather various storms before and during the retirement years. With the right income sources and asset allocation, you can get through setbacks without putting your early retirement goal at risk.

THE LEAF INSECTS !!!

Leaf insects use camouflage to take on the appearance of a leaf. They do this so accurately that predators often aren’t able to distinguish them from real leaves. In some species the edge of the leaf insect’s body even has the appearance of bite marks. To further confuse predators, when the leaf insect walks, it rocks back and forth, to mimic a real leaf being blown by the wind.

FIFTH GRADERS CHARGED WITH MURDER CONSPIRACY ARE 'DANGER TO OTHERS'

A Washington prosecutor who is charging two boys aged 10 and 11 with conspiracy to commit murder concedes that it is "very rare" to try someone so young, but said the felony charges were necessary because the boys' crime was premeditated and experts determined they were "a danger to others."
The fifth graders from Colville, Wash., were arrested in February and Steven County Superior Court judge ruled recently that the boys are competent to stand trial on murder conspiracy charges, witness tampering and juvenile possession of a firearm.
The boys allegedly plotted to shoot and stab a girl in their class because she was "really annoying," according to court documents.
Police noted in their report that the boys "did not display any emotion or remorse during the interview." When asked if he knew what he was going to do was dangerous, wrong and unlawful, the 10-year-old replied, "Yes, I just want her dead."
The boys said there were other students they were targeting, even providing officials with six additional names.
"I was a defense attorney for about 14 years in North Carolina and have been a prosecutor for about 12 years here in the state of Washington and I'm not aware of other cases like this," Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen told ABCNews.com. "I don't know that it's absolutely unique, but it's certainly very rare."
Rasmussen also has no qualms about the prosecution.
Referring to psychologists who examined the boys, Rasmussen said, "Both of these professionals believed that the boys presented a danger to other people and that was an important feature for the judge's decision."
The judge found that both boys had capacity to understand right from wrong and cleared the way for juvenile court. They remain in custody with a bond of $100,000 for each boy.
"We are very thankful that nobody was harmed," Rasmussen said. "But for the courage of a fourth grader to tell a teacher that he had seen a knife, this plot would have been carried out."
"As to why children do this, I wish I knew. It is very troubling. It's very scary," he said. "I don't have an explanation and the explanation that the boys gave for why they had planned to do this is entirely inadequate."
Defense attorneys Dee Hokom and Don Richter did not respond to requests for comment.
On Feb. 7, a Colville police officer responded to Colville Elementary School where a fourth grader had alerted a school employee that another student had a knife.
School officials searched the backpacks of the student and his friend who was with him and they found a knife, an ammunition clip and a "functioning" .45 caliber Remington 1911 semi-automatic handgun in 10-year-old's bag, according to court documents.
When a staff member asked the boy why he brought a gun to school, the said that he and his friend were going to "get" a female student identified as "S.L.T." in court documents. When the staffer asked what he meant, he said they "were going to get S.L.T. away from the school and do her in."
The 11-year-old stated that he was going to be the "knifer" and his friend was going to be the "shooter." A third friend was aware of the plot, but they planned to give him $80 to keep it a secret.
The 11-year-old told the administrator that they were planning on killing the girl "because she was really annoying," according to court documents.
"[The 11-year-old] stated that he had been friends with her [S.L.T.] for several months but that he hated her now," the filing said. "He also indicated that S.L.T. had recently become rude and would pick on him."
The younger boy said that he had been in a short "dating relationship" with the girl they were targeting, but would not go into any details, according to the court filing.
The younger boy told police that the had taken the gun from his older brother's room and that his brother had taken it from their dead grandfather's home a few months before.
While the boys were waiting to be taken to a juvenile detention center, the older boy allegedly said to the younger, "If I find out who told them about our weapons I'm going to kill them. I don't care, when I get out of jail I'm going to come back and kill them."
The boys' names are not being used because of their young ages.

Why Fifth Graders Were Charged With Murder Conspiracy

In the state of Washington, a child under the age of 8 is not capable of being charged with a crime because they don't have the capacity to comprehend things and have criminal intent. From ages 8 to 11, that presumption of no capacity exists but can be overcome if the state can provide evidence that proves otherwise.
In this case, the court looked at whether the boys understood the consequences of the act and determined they understood the consequences of what they planned and tried to keep it secret.
If convicted, the boys face a maximum guideline sentence time of about two-and-a-half years, Rasmussen said. However, if the judge finds that the guideline sentence is unjust he can potentially decrease or increase it. Confinement until the age of 21 is the maximum

How do you motivate children to do their homework?

The best "punishment" for not doing the work is their grade. You need to make it very obvious that they are the ones who are in control of their own studying, and that if they don't work hard enough to pass, you are going to be sad when they fail, but you are not going to step in and do any of the work for them.

Be careful about threats and punishments to get your child to do homework. They may be less motivated to do it. It is almost better to not make them do it, let them fail for a brief period, and let them learn the lesson by themsevles. Then, if after say, five weeks, they still haven't learned a lesson, it's time to intervene.

• Have a set time each day when they must sit down and do schoolwork. This means no tv, no internet, no cellphones, no loud music (soft music is OK but no iPods or earphones because they do turn those up too loud and distract themselves). If they do not have homework that day (or if they claim that they don't), they still have to spend that time studying - have them read over their textbook and write down an outline of what they read into their notebook, or have them write out the important terms and definitions from the chapter, or have them recite what they have learned out loud to you. So long as they are spending that time studying, they'll learn something.
• Get a big family calendar. Write down every assignment's due date on this calendar - also include things like extracurricular activities, important events, and whatever else they need to plan ahead for! With a big visual cue in the kitchen or family room, they cannot say they didn't know something was due, or they forgot to study for a test.
• Bribe them! It's not as bad as it sounds - just as you work for a paycheck, kids need something to work for. If your kids are not motivated by the desire to get a good grade, then you have to come up with something else as a motivation. The only thing to watch out for here is the temptation to use "negative motivation" and take away something fun whenever they don't do well - that's not what I'm talking about, and it doesn't really work well anyhow. Psychological studies have proven that rewards help you change your bad habits faster and more permanently than the fear of punishment. Come up with some sort of reward with your kids - it could be a special movie night, or a small monitary reward for each good result, or a family trip - whatever they would want badly enough to work at their homework and "earn."

(2) - Don't think 'bribe', think 'positive reinforcement'. For most kids today computer, TV, X-box or Ipad time are major motivators so agree with your child that for each hour of completed homework time theycan have 30 minutes of 'media' time. But of course you have to monitor their performance - both in achieving the homework tasks and not over-running their reward time. If they've only earned 30 minutes 'media' time and the programme they are watching is 40 minutes then you have to turn it off (or record the rest) and get them back on task.


Rewards don't have to be this fancy though - studies have shown that even acknowledging someone works effectively as positive reinforcement, so a comments like, 'Well done! I'm really proud of you. That looks really good. Was it hard? Aren't you clever! Which part of it did you find hardest?' will motivate your child and strengthen their relationship with you

14-Year-Old Girl Ordered Boyfriend To Stab Schoolboy To Death

A 14-year-old girl "set up" a schoolboy to be stabbed to death by her boyfriend after a row over football.She called her 16-year-old boyfriend to a housing estate in Brixton, south London, where he killed keen footballer Junior Nkwelle, 15. The court heard Junior and his friends had been playing football on a grassy area when an argument broke out.

Murdered: Junior Nkwelle was stabbed to death by a 16-year-old boy, called to a housing estate in Brixton, by his 14-year-old girlfriend, a court has heard. Floral tributes were left near the scene where Junior died

The youngster was stabbed in the chest after the older boy arrived on a bus and started fighting with him. He died on the makeshift pitch on the Loughborough estate in September, last year, after the knife cut his heart and a lung. The girl and her boyfriend, who is now 17, deny murder. They cannot be named for legal reasons.

Prosecutor Jonathan Turner told jurors it was likely Junior and his alleged killer did not know each other and there was no quarrel between them. Mr Turner said: "He (the defendant) had been telephoned by his girlfriend and told to come to the estate to teach Junior Nkwelle a lesson. There had been an argument between her friends and Junior’s friends whilst the football was going on. She thought that Junior had insulted her or been less than respectful to her. She was very angry and determined that he should be punished - indeed stabbed - to put things right. The defendant was encouraged and requested by her to come and do this. Indeed, to use  an old-fashioned phrase, was "set up" by her to do this."

Mr Turner said the children had been arguing earlier in the evening. It might have been because the boys were thought to be playing too close to flats or that the girls were walking over the pitch. "Whatever it was, it seems to have been stupid and trivial and completely unnecessary," he added. The trial continues.

P. S. I LOVE YOU XOXOXOXO

No matter whatever the festival is, kids tend to enjoy on every occasion and Valentine's Day is no an exception. Valentine’s decoration for kids includes gifts, pictures, cartoons and man more things to make our kid happy. In fact for children, Valentine’s Day craft idea is he making of a Valentine’s Day heart crown. There are many such ideas for Valentine's Day which children would definitely like.

Valentine’s Day is not only for lovers and young people. On this day children also enjoy a lot now a days. Children celebrate Valentine’s Day by decorating the home. And they share chocolates and cake. This chocolates and cakes are shared with his/her loved one.

The main thing about children on Valentine’s Day is Decorations. These Decorations are called as Valentine's Day Decorations for Kids. This includes decorating the home as per his/her interest or liking. On that day children’s buy some decorations item then decorate the home.

Encourage the children’s to make the crafts, decorate the home, making the greeting cards. Because it will effect on children’s mentality and his/her mind to develop the children’s skills. This is the part of the Valentine's Decorations for Kids.

Decorating for Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to mean a tacky display of cupid cutouts, hearts and glitter. Tasteful interior design ideas for the holidays are more subtle, but still create the festive holiday mood. Opt for accessories and interior design strategies that incorporate the color scheme and romanticism of the holiday without going over the top.

Sophisticated Accessories

Rather than filling a room with heart-covered picture frames, vases and wall decor, consider elegant items in the proper color palette for the holiday. For example, choose a simple pink vase filled with white roses as a classy centerpiece.

Candles

Candles create the romantic mood of the holiday. The trick is to avoid gaudy, glitzy options that are purely designed for February 14th. Instead, a simple set of silver candle sticks with red, white or cream tapers will create an elegance that still fits the style and mood of the occasion.

Serving Trays

This time of year typically calls for a lot of sweet treats. Have them sever two purposes: food and decor. Invest in a classic white three-tier dessert server or a white, wired cupcake stand to display decorative Valentine’s confections.

Fabrics

Adding easily changeable fabrics is a simple way to decorate any room in the house for a special holiday. Inexpensive ways to incorporate holiday fabrics is with removable throw pillow covers or table runners or tablecloths. Opt for classic designs that aren’t filled with images of arrows piercing hearts. Floral prints are Valentine’s appropriate.

Small Touches of Whimsy

If you are set on traditional holiday items, use them in small doses. A set of white napkins that say, “Happy Valentine’s Day” in red or have embroidered heart accents will make a fun statement to an otherwise understated table setting.

Following these simple guidelines will make your space holiday-chic in no time.

Your Turn: How do you decorate and celebrate Valentine’s Day? Do you have any family traditions that you celebrate with your spouse, your kids or even your pets? Tell us about it in the comments section. We’d love to hear how you prep for the holiday.