Getting a pet is a great way to reduce stress. Many studies have shown that pet owners live longer and live more stress free lives. Pet owners have lower blood pressure and lead happier lives. Even if you don’t have a pet, go to a friends house or neighbors and pet their animal for a few minutes, research has shown that even just a few minutes of petting an animal will reduce stress.

Keep a stress journal. By writing down the events and thoughts that led to stress, you will be able to identify patterns and learn to avoid them. When something similar occurs again, you can look back at previous patterns and identify what you need to do, in order to avoid a stressful thought pattern.

Spend time in nature. Watching animals and looking at natural sights like trees and the ocean can be a great way to stop feeling stressful. People have known for years that natural sounds calm people, and the more opportunity you take to enjoy nature the better you will generally feel.

Learn to say no sometimes. Saying yes to everyone, every time is a serious ticket to big time stress in your life. Learn when you can handle a particular task, and when saying no is to your benefit. When you say no, don’t feel guilty about it. Just know that you are doing what is best for you, and that is important.

Debt

A great tip that can help you fight stress is to make sure you’re not spending more money than you have. There’s nothing more stressful than being in debt and having to repay a lot of money. Being responsible with your money will help you keep your stress in check. Start today at keeping careful track of where your money is going – you could be surprised when you see how much of it is really just wasted.

As you can see, you don’t have to live with all of life’s stresses. Yes, some things are inevitable, but some things you can live without by making simple changes. Try our helpful tips and see how your life can go from stressed to calm, peaceful and more laid back.

Frugal Living Guide Savvy Advice When Attempting To Reduce Stress

Live Nation hopes to sell higher-priced tickets

Frugal Living Guide Live Nation hopes to sell higher-priced tickets

The final battle for Champions League football was won on Wednesday, as Spurs beat Manchester City at Eastlands to book their place in Europe’s premier cup competition next season.

Peter Crouch headed home the winner late on in the match, and the result mathematically guaranteed Spurs at least fourth place. Arsenal’s loss against Blackburn last weekend means that if Tottenham win their last Premier League match against Burnley and the Gunners lose to Fulham, it will be Spurs who get the automatic spot in the main draw.

Third place would be sweet enough, but to beat your most bitter rivals to it? Spurs fans must be licking their chops at that prospect. For now, though, the thought of playing alongside the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, and Lyon is plenty to cheer about.

“It’s fantastic. It’s been a terrific season for us, and we’ve played some great football on the way, and we deserved it,” Spurs manager Harry Redknapp told Sky Sports. The interview was cut short, however, when a group of Spurs players, including one David Bentley running around in his underpants, ambushed their manager with a good old-fashioned ice bath.

Meanwhile, speculation had been rife over whether City manager Roberto Mancini would stay on at Eastlands after failing to lead the club to a fourth place finish, but the Italian swiftly brushed aside any exit rumors after the match.

“I think I stay here. Why not?” he said.

“I work here four or five months and I think when you build a house you don’t start from the roof but the basement. We work very well but we are near the roof.”

City representatives also told the BBC that they would not be firing Mancini despite the loss.

Foster Ponders United Exit

Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has admitted that he may be leaving Old Trafford this summer in search of first-team football.

The England international had the chance to take the number one shirt this season after injuries and family issues put Edwin van der Sar out of the team. However, when Foster was given the opportunity to step up, he failed to make a solid impression and found himself quickly out of the spotlight. Foster was most notably fragile during the thrilling Manchester derby early in the season, which United won in the dying seconds thanks to a Michael Owen goal.

And after being out of the first-team picture since the middle of the season, Foster has admitted he may have to leave United to further his development.

“The season started off well but since I came out of the team it has just been low-lights really. I have had nothing to cheer about,” he told the Manchester Evening News.

“If things don’t work out for me at United I will go somewhere else and, hopefully, I will play first-team football and be happy and that is the most important thing for me. You never want to leave Man United. If you leave this club you are only ever going to go down. But I want to be playing football. I am not interested in just hanging about.”

“I would go if the club wanted to sell me. If they are happy to accept a bid then you have to read between the lines and realize you are not really needed and move on. It would not be the end of the world for me.”

Birmingham are being rumored as a possible destination for Foster, either as a loan move or a permanent deal. Sir Alex Ferguson has hinted that he may let some players go over the summer, and Foster is thought to be one of them.

In terms of United’s goalkeeping situation, veteran keeper Edwin van der Sar signed a year-long extension in February which will keep him at the club until the end of next season, and Tomasz Kuszczack occupies the number two spot.

Hull’s Relegation Confirmed

Hull’s brief two-year stint in the Premier League will come to an end this weekend. Monday’s draw against Wigan confirmed that they will be playing in the Championship next season.

Hull were up 2-1 against Wigan until Steve Gohouri scored an equalizer in injury-time to send the Tigers down. Stand-in boss Ian Dowie, who was appointed after the club fired Phil Brown, hopes to stay on at the KC Stadium on a long-term basis. His contract currently runs out at the end of this season.

“My record in the Championship is decent and I feel you can always build something but my future is something for the powers that be to discuss,” he said.

Unfortunately, relegation will be a big hit not only for Hull supporters but also for the financial state of the club. Hull have amassed a reported £35 million in debt, and without the high stream of revenue that comes with playing in the Premier League, administration is a stark but very real possibility.

Hull joined Burnley and Portsmouth as the three teams heading down next season.

Assou-Ekotto Admits His Drive Is Money, Not Football

Tottenham defender Benoît Assou-Ekotto sparked a lot of discussion among football fans this week after admitting that he considers the game more his job than his passsion.

In an era where players constantly talk about playing for the shirt, but all too often abandon that shirt for a new one with a better contract (see: Carlos Tevez, Figo), Assou-Ekotto’s remarks are not all too surprising, and his honesty is at least refreshing.

“If I play football with my friends back in France, I can love football,” he told The Guardian.

“But if I come to England, where I knew nobody and I didn’t speak English … why did I come here? For a job. A career is only 10, 15 years. It’s only a job. Yes, it’s a good, good job and I don’t say that I hate football but it’s not my passion. When I am at work, I do my job 100%. But after, I am like a tourist in London. I have my Oyster card and I take the tube. I eat.”

Of course, one could always argue that the best players in the world have that fire to constantly work overtime to reach the plateau of the sport, but it is no secret that not every player has that motivation. Football, at the end of the day, is a career like any other. Well, maybe not exactly like any other, but it’s still a career. And in the business world, when people see a bigger paycheck somewhere else, they usually take it. Football fans too often assume that the players on the pitch care as much about the club as they do, and unfortunately that is usually not the case.

“[Lens president] Martel said I go to England for the money but why do players come to his club? Because they look nice? All people, everyone, when they go to a job, it’s for the money. So I don’t understand why, when I said I play for the money, people were shocked. Oh, he’s a mercenary. Every player is like that.”

Assou-Ekotto’s comments have gotten a whole spectrum of responses, some like his honesty, some brandish his attitude as greedy. What do you think?

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EPL Weekly News Roundup: Spurs Grab Champions League Spot

Frugal Living Guide EPL Weekly News Roundup: Spurs Grab Champions League Spot

We are victims of a world gone mad. Think about it. We chase around hour after hour every day and we end up without any time. Money, success, careers and family are what drives us to keep going day in and day out and as a result we have become ‘stressed out’; ticking time bombs ready to blow at any minute.

The symptoms of stress can be fatal leading to disease, chronic illness, hypertension and even heart attack. Many people don’t realize the stress they put themselves under on a daily basis. We have built in mechanisms in our bodies that help us when we are confronted with stressful situations. We were not however supposed deal with stress all the time.

So, what do you do to relieve stress and the effect it can have on your body? Before we get to the 5 tips for effective stress relief there are two things you should be doing, if you are not already, on a daily basis to free yourself from stress.

The first thing is to get off adrenaline. One of the best tips on how to relieve stress is to plan better. Life is always going to throw you a curve ball you don’t expect but this should not be happening to you all of the time. A little planning can be the best thing you can do to keep your stress levels down. Your health and well-being could be at stake.

The second thing is to drink less caffeine and if you are a smoker to cut back, or better yet, quit smoking. Caffeine and Nicotine put a lot of stress on your body. Do your best to cut back on these.

Now we can work through the 5 tips to avoid stress on your mind and body.

1. Exercise regularly
It doesn’t really matter what you consider exercise. You could go out for a jog or a brisk walk in the park or go to the gym and exercise there. Relaxing while you exercise is what is important as well as exercising on a regular basis. There really no point to an exercise if you are not enjoying it.

2. Relaxation and meditation
I know it sounds easy to say just relax or chill out but most people don’t know how to. There is no need to know how to meditate or anything like that, you should just be able to get some time by yourself without being disturbed.

3. Spoil yourself
This isn’t an invitation to go out and shop. It does mean doing something for yourself. What you could do is go to a spa and enjoy a relaxing massage or you could sit down to a good book and a little alone time.

4. Video and board games
Games can be a great way to relieve stress. Just be sure to avoid playing with competitive people as your game could end up being very tense and not enjoyable at all. There are some great free software games you can download off the internet that are great to help relieve stress

5. Sleep it off
Rest properly. Disruptions to your sleeping patterns can cause tremendous stress on your body. To rest properly your mind needs to be at rest. It may sound impossible but you can stop yourself from reacting to the thoughts that cause you to stress.

The best thing to do is to get started on just one of these ideas and then move on to the next when you feel you are ready. Remember that whatever you choose to do should help you to relax. There is no reason to wait any longer.

Frugal Living Guide How to Relieve Daily Stress: 7 Easy Steps

Frugality is a lifestyle choice. It is in the eye of the beholder. It is about saving the most amount of money over the long term. Frugality , as I understand it, is to make wise choices when it comes to your expenses; it is the art of efficiently using your resources; it is the art of making the best of your life by staying within the limits of what you can afford. It is spending wisely and avoiding unnecessary expenses.

Frugality is usually applied to matters of consumption, and commonly points to simplicity of style; miserliness is frugality carried to an extreme, involving meanness of spirit, and a sordid mode of living. Economy is a virtue and parsimony a vice.

Frugality is living with less of what money can buy. It is the attempt to save money when you can, rather than spending it. Frugality is a great way to save money, especially if you don’t have a great deal of money coming in. It doesn’t mean I’m cheap, it means I have priorities, and avoid impulse buying. Frugality is very freeing and fulfilling. I have gained everything worthwhile and lost nothing of true value.

Personally I think frugality is a means to an end. For me I am frugal in order to save money so I can spend it on what I really care about most. I don’t think anyone can judge another as being “not frugal”. It’s not about a contest to see who can spend the least.

Rather than aiming for absolutes and risk failing miserably, incorporate frugality in your life in small doses. The change in your mindset will help you a lot in the long run, as opposed to small prizes by taking drastic steps.

Spending money on something unnecessary is wrong, but not spending money on something necessary is equally wrong. Spend less than you make. Don’t spend more than you can afford.

Material wealth does bring some happiness, but we generally overestimate how happy it actually makes us. Material purchases are about what you have. Experiential purchases are about who you are.

Frugal Living Guide Living Cheaply is Not the Same as Living Frugally