I’ve been looking for an Andriod-based personal finance app that suits me, but alas, EasyMoney is still not it.  Don’t get me wrong, the app is good, better than most even…  The layout and user-interface is clean and relatively easy to use, but my gripe is with the budgeting portion of the app.

EasyMoney budgeting leaves something to be desired for me.  I do not like the fact that the budget total on the budgeting screen does not seem to properly take income into account.  The budget values for expenses and incomes simply get added together.  For example, if I have $100 in expenses and bring in $100 in income, I would expect that my available budget total would now be $0.  However, in EasyMoney, the two values (income and expense) get added together, so my total budget amount is now $200; that doesn’t seem like the right way of doing things by me.

The app has some great reports, options, and features, but I really don’t see myself spending the $9.99 on a mobile personal finance app that doesn’t really do what I want it to.

Read more about EasyMoney:  EasyMoney for Andriod Smartphones

No normal person wants to be disliked by someone else. However, I’ve known many people in my life, myself included, who have compromised themselves just to be looked upon favorably by others.

I’ve come to believe that a man with no enemies is a spineless man plagued with low self-esteem, a man who bends (and eventually breaks). Believing in ourselves and what we value may not always be congruent with the values of others; people are going to disagree with us in life. People may even get miffed, or dislike us for what we believe, but that is okay.

Compromising who we are, our individual beliefs and values, is a long-term debt that our self-esteem will have to pay eventually. What we believe in our core, is a part of who we are. You cannot go against what you believe in your heart and maintain the same level of self-respect you had before doing so. Each line in the sand that is kicked away and re-drawn, brings us closer to losing who we know ourselves to be. How many politicians start-out with the best of intentions, only to compromise their values and pander to their constituents to win votes?

Our values and beliefs are the cornerstones of who we are. They support us, helping us to maintain a stable self-image of ourselves. You can only chisel-away at these cornerstones for so long before the entire structure collapses. Without our values and beliefs firmly in place, immovable, we begin to lose sight of who we are.

Yes, it is necessary to compromise or reevaluate maintaining values and beliefs that do not serve us well. However, what we believe and value at our core, what we know to be right, should never be compromised, not for money, not for politics, not for social acceptance, and not for love.

Below is a list of 35 dating tips for men over 40.  I have compiled this list of dating tips over the past two years of dating.

This post is intended to help the middle-aged, 40+ year-old guy who is just getting reacquainted with the dating scene (though any guy could probably benefit from these dating tips). If you are starting out again, fresh on the dating scene after being married and subsequently divorced, these will help you. I have compiled this list of tips from my past year-and-a-half of experience back on the dating scene.  The order these are listed in is no indication of rank or importance.

1. Resorting to online-dating sites like Match.com or eHarmony.com does not indicate failure on your part.  These sites are a great way to meet like-minded women with equally busy lifestyles.
2. Start an exercise regiment – getting toned and healthy will improve your self-confidence and overall health.
3. Quit smoking.  The vast majority of women I have encountered highly-disapprove of smoking.  It can flat out kill your chances with many women.
4. Keep your bachelor-pad clean.
5. If you’re losing your hair, don’t try to hide it.  Keep your hair short and neat or shave it all off – embrace it, don’t try to replace it.
6. Trim your damned nose-hair… often.
7. Trim or pluck out ear-hair… very often.
8. Always wear deodorant.
9. Wear a masculine cologne, but do not bathe in it…
10. If you are wearing shorts, lose the tube-socks.  White socks (when worn with shorts) should not extend above your ankles.
11. Wear clean, decent-looking (not all-white) gym shoes when wearing shorts.  The ankle socks with clean gym shoes will give you a more sporty, youthful appearance.
12. Wear clothes that fit you.  I personally prefer athletic-fitting shirts.  I used to wear XL-sized shirts because they were more comfortable and made my small/thin frame appear larger…  A good fit,  will get you more mileage than expensive clothing.  I now wear only L-sized shirts that are the right size for me and accentuate my newly-toned arms.
13. A study has indicated that women find a man’s arms to be his most sexy, attractive feature.  Thank goodness, because I hate working out my abs.
14. Eat right… Cut down on fat and increase your fruit and vegetable intake.
15. Stay tuned-in to topics that interest women…  You don’t have to become an emasculated, metro-sexual, but women enjoy conversation.
16. Be confident.  Know who you are and be comfortable with that.  Women are drawn to confidence.
17. Be a leader.  You can lead with women without being a chauvinistic, arrogant asshole.
18. Do not compromise your beliefs for anyone (unless your beliefs are totally screwed up of course).
19. Be organized.
20. Keep your car clean inside and out.  If you know you are going to have a woman in your car, you’ll want to get rid of the McDonald’s bags, and vacuum it out.
21. Be consistent, but not predictable.  Women like stability as well as variety and mystery – act accordingly.  Mix it up, but do not freak them out.
22. Treat women with respect, but be sexual with them (not creepy).  You will build their attraction towards you.
23. Many women on the dating scene at this age are divorced, single-mothers.  Understand that her kids SHOULD be priority over you.  If they aren’t, there’s something wrong with her.
24. NEVER ignore RED FLAGS!  Some women are no good at all…   Be familiar with personality disorders such as Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder.  Learn what to watch out for and what to avoid.
25. Deodorant can be used on and around other areas of your body – use your imagination as to why this may be helpful to you.
26. Grooming can be done in areas aside from your head – use your imagination as to why this may be helpful to you.
27. Shave.  The odds are in your favor if you do.
28. Learn to iron and use your iron.
29. Learn to listen…  Pay attention to details and remember them.  If you want to really light her up, bring up a small detail she mentioned on a prior date.  You will be reinforcing the idea that you listen and care (even if you really could care less).
30. Do not use or take advantage of anyone.  Karma IS a real bitch…
31. Keep tight-lipped about prior relationships and their details.  She make act like she wants to know, but she really doesn’t want to know.  Trust me.
32. Be chivalrous, but don’t kiss her ass.  Hold doors, let her order first, etc…
33. DO NOT PAY FOR EVERYTHING.  Make her INVEST in you too.  She is not a queen, and you are not her subject.
34. Keep your options open and do not spend every moment you’re available with her.  Remember your interests and friends.  Be sure to value time to yourself.
35. Have firm boundaries.  Stand up for yourself.  You will be tested from time-to-time.  Always be willing to walk away from a bad or unfair deal.

Guys (and gals), if you have more tips, I’d love to hear them.  Please post yours in the comments section below…

A bad breakup can be avoided.  Is there really a ‘right’ way to break up? I believe there is, without a doubt, a right way to break up with someone. Telling your soon-to-be-ex-significant-other that you ‘need space’ or ‘a break’ from the relationship to avoid the truth is lame.
Relationships can bring out the best and worst in people and when they are ending, it is usually the worst that takes over. Breaking up IS hard to do (as the song says it is). It should not, however, compromise your integrity.

When your significant other tells you ‘I need space,’ or ‘I need a break,’ or any other weak dirivitive of these expressions, you should take it for what it REALLY is; they do not care about you enough to want to stay in the relationship. Do not be mistaken, 99.9999% of the time this is true. In fact, I cannot think of even one other valid reason for being told such a thing.

Now, to tell someone you’ve had even a semi-serious relationship with, something as stupid as ‘I need some space,’ is pathetic. Trying to let someone down easy or limit their hurt and confusion in this way is COMPLETELY counterproductive. You will only create more pain and confusion by NOT making your intentions clear, no matter how hard it is to say.

If you do not want to be with someone anymore, say so. If you are interested in someone else and want to persue that, say so. If you do not see the long-term relationship potential, say so. Do not sneak your break up message in a neat ribbon-wrapped package. Be honest with yourself and the other person and keep your integrity intact. It’s the least you can do, and you do owe someone you once loved some honesty.

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.” – Thich Nhat Hanh