Where to Get Dinner for Four for $12

Don't miss any Bottom Line Secrets. Add our address, bottomlinesecrets@news.bottomlinepublishing.com, to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. March 2, 2011 Send Your Profits Through the Roof... Don't Let a Health Problem Take Over Your Life Get a Household Magic Tip-of-the Day... Free Travel Bargains Prescription Drugs to Avoid Like the Plague Dear healthwellness82@gmail.com, Having a chronic disease can derail or dominate your life, but it doesn’t have to. Case in point -- award-winning journalist Richard M. Cohen, author of Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope, shares his struggles with multiple sclerosis and colon cancer, offering eight pieces of advice to help anyone be in control of their life and health. There’s something to be gained from a tough economy, too -- great travel bargains for many desirable destinations. Travel guru Pauline Frommer tells about the six best vacation deals here and abroad -- including one where a family of four can enjoy a dinner for $12! All the best, Jessica Kent Editor BottomLineSecrets.com PS: Don’t forget to check out Bottom Line President Marjory Abrams’ latest blog posting: Insider Tips for Dog Owners and Wannabes. And don’t forget to share your thoughts on the blog with Margie. Send Your Profits Through the Roof... If you knew that you could tap into the collective insight of the world’s best-informed business experts for less than $100, wouldn’t you? If you knew that the difference between making a profit -- or not -- was less than $100, wouldn’t you leap at the chance? If you’re serious about making greater profits, for your company and your investments, it’s time to "hire" the most authoritative source in business. For more than 86 years, The Kiplinger Letter has been the "go-to" publication for successful business professionals and profitable investors. You’ll get accurate business forecasts, the economic outlook, trustworthy advice and guidance on financial markets and your investments, analyses of business trends, government policies and programs, employment, wages, prices, interest rates, inflation, foreign affairs and more -- all the issues that can send your profits through the roof... Now it’s your turn . Don't Let a Health Problem Take Over Your Life Richard M. Cohen If you have been diagnosed with a chronic health problem, your first instinct may be to put all of your energy into fighting it. This can work for some -- but there’s an alternative that is worth considering. When Richard M. Cohen, now an award-winning journalist and television producer, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis more than 30 years ago at age 25, he refused to let the disease define him. Now a father of three and husband of television host Meredith Vieira, Cohen made a decision when he was told that he had multiple sclerosis to "not react." For him, this meant that he would, of course, treat his condition as aggressively as possible but not allow it to take over his life. His resolve was tested when he also was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999, but he emphatically states that he has a "great life" despite the effects of his MS, including being legally blind and unable to walk without the help of a cane. Bottom Line/Health recently spoke to Cohen to learn how he has used his illnesses as "tools of personal growth" -- while also coping with the realities of declining physical health. His advice... Live the life you had planned for as long as you can. You don’t have to deny that you have a disease, but you don’t have to become a victim to it, either. If you like to travel, continue to do so even if it’s harder. If you like gardening, keep at it. Remember: You’re still the same person. Too many people trade in their dreams when they find out they have a chronic illness. Even if you’re confined to a wheelchair, don’t withdraw from society. It will be more difficult, but staying involved is what keeps us going. Don’t be shy about asking for help. Once, I was on the train, and since I can’t see well at all, I asked a man near me what the next stop was. The man ignored me, so I asked again but still got no response. I then carefully stood up with the help of my cane and walked over to another passenger, asking the same question. This passenger politely gave me the help I needed. Remember: For every person who won’t help you, there are two who will! Don’t let negative thinking convince you that no one wants to help if you get one rejection. Avoid shutting out others. Sadly, many people who are diagnosed with an illness feel that they are a burden to their families and start to withdraw from their loved ones. Isolating from others is the easy way out -- you become self-absorbed, which is unfair to those who surround you. Remember: In most cases, family members are there to support you because they want to be there. Beware of self-pity. When you start feeling sorry for yourself, look around. It doesn’t take long to see someone who is worse off than you are. Say to yourself, Things could be worse. Sometimes, you must say it to yourself over and over again. Remember: Self-pity is poison. It lets you off the hook and makes you a victim. Find your community. Many find that joining a support group related to their illness can be very rewarding. They not only can learn from others but also share their own experiences and concerns. To find a group: There are affinity groups for most health problems. Check with your doctor/specialist or online. Remember: Even if you aren’t open to joining a support group, you can seek out other people who share a common bond -- be it bridge, politics or reading. Don’t feel obligated to tell everyone about your condition. Unfortunately, people can be narrow-minded or just plain ignorant about other people’s health challenges. You don’t need to tell your boss that you are ill... or if you just met someone, you don’t need to tell him about your personal health issues up front. If you want to let friends and family know about your illness, do so only when you’re ready. Then tell them as unemotionally and casually as you can. They will take cues from you. By being calm, you give them permission to be calm as well. Remember: It’s your decision who to tell and how much to tell. Appreciate yourself for who you are. Wishing desperately for something that cannot come to fruition is futile -- and keeps you living in the past. Remember: Focus on what you can do in the here and now instead of what you can’t do. Know that you can be happy! Coping with an illness is an art that must be relearned every single day. There is no magic. Coping evolves. Remember: You can be happy. Disease adds dimension to a person and depth to a soul. In the end, that’s not so bad. Bottom Line/Health interviewed Richard M. Cohen, a journalist and writer. The winner of numerous journalism awards, including three Emmys and a George Foster Peabody Award, he is the author of Blindsided: Lifting a Life Above Illness (HarperCollins) and Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope (Harper). Cohen is also the author of "Chronically Upbeat," a twice-monthly column published by AARP The Magazine Online (www.AARPMagazine.com) and maintains a blog, www.StrongAtTheBrokenPlaces.com. Get a Household Magic Tip-of-the Day... Free There’s nothing more fun than being a "smarty pants" -- fixing things and solving problems by making do with the materials that you have available rather than with what you might think is the perfect product that you may or may not have on hand. Joan and Lydia Wilen, are the queens of solving all sorts of household challenges with products you DO have in your house... like using tea to clean hardwood floors, bread to take stains off of wallpaper, dish soap to unclog a toilet and kitty litter to take away all sorts of odors, even if you don’t have a cat. The Wilen Sisters have published numerous books on the subject, and now, in partnership with Bottom Line Publications, are launching a household magical tip of the day e-letter... FREE. You can sign up now to learn all their secrets... Travel Bargains Gretchen Rubin TThe tough economy has resulted in some great travel bargains here and abroad... Las Vegas. Thousands of new hotel rooms mean cut-rate prices on accommodations. Cancun and the Mayan Riviera. Bargain-priced travel packages abound because of publicity about violence elsewhere in Mexico, far from Cancun. Also: The US dollar is very strong now in Mexico. Caribbean cruises. Competition among the many new cruise ships has lowered prices significantly. Guatemala. A family of four can eat out for $12, and airfares from the US are low. Costa Rica and Panama are good deals as well. Iceland. The exchange rate is favorable to US visitors. Icelandair also offers great deals on air/hotel packages. Ireland. Hit hard by the financial crisis, Ireland is the greatest travel value in western Europe now. Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Pauline Frommer, award-winning creator of Pauline Frommer Guides (Wiley), Hoboken, New Jersey, and daughter of the legendary travel bargain expert Arthur Frommer. www.Frommers.com/pauline Prescription Drugs to Avoid Like the Plague Some drugs are just so bad that you should avoid them at all costs. If your physician won't prescribe a safer alternative -- or let you use a natural remedy -- then run (do not walk) to one who will. What kinds of drugs? Widely used antibiotic so dangerous to your kidneys that up to 28% of people who use it develop some impairment. This former rat poison is now touted as a cure-all for everything from dental problems to bone loss. Banned in Japan and Europe, it's unavoidable here in the US -- unless the proper precautions are taken. Widely prescribed drug for high blood pressure that is so dangerous, it should be used only as a last-ditch effort if nothing else works for you. Popular osteoporosis drug is just a rehashed version of an older one that built bone of such poor quality, the number of breaks actually increased, not to mention side effects, such as permanent damage to the esophagus and kidneys, stress, diarrhea, constipation, fever, calcium and vitamin D deficiencies, rashes, headaches and muscle pain. Read on... Important: Help your friends get much more out of life -- forward this E-letter to them. Better: Send it to many friends and your whole family. This is a free weekly e-mail service of BottomLineSecrets.com and Boardroom Inc. Boardroom Inc. 281 Tresser Boulevard Stamford, CT 06901-3229 ATTN: Web Team You received this e-mail because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Disclaimer: Bottom Line Secrets publishes the opinions of expert authorities in many fields. But the use of these opinions is no substitute for legal, accounting, investment, medical and other professional services to suit your specific personal needs. Always consult a competent professional for answers to your specific questions. Bottom Line Secrets is a registered trademark of Boardroom Inc. Subscribe |  Unsubscribe | Update My E-mail Preferences Change My E-mail Address | Contact Us | Privacy Policy Copyright (c) 2011 by Boardroom Inc.