The Benefits of Steaming Vegetables
Vegetables are essential to our diet. The latest recommendation from nutritionists is a minimum of five serves of vegetables per day. The truth is we can get a great deal of our daily vitamin requirements from vegetables.
We need to ensure that how we cook them does not extract vitamin contents and benefits of consumption.
Cooking vegetables can be complicated. Over cooking can make vegetables tasteless and sodden. My belief is that vegetables should not be boiled. Boling not only robs us of vitamin content, it is the main culprit in turning vegetables to a lifeless, tasteless mass.
If we cannot boil, what do we do?
Steaming vegetables is always a good choice. This will leave vegetables full of life and colour. They will be crisp and colorful. It will also not deplete the vegetables of their vitamin content.
It is a fast way of cooking also. By rule of thumb, vegetables will only need a few minutes in the steam. In some cases you may be able to steam your vegetables on the table and immediately serve them up.
For those who do not have commercial vegetable steamers, an easy steamer can be fashioned out a of pot, a metal colander, and a pot lid.
Place a small amount of water in the bottom of the pot. Fit the metal colander into the pot. Start to boil the water. You will begin the see the steam rise. Place your vegetables into the metal colander and place the pot lid over the metal colander and pot. This collection of kitchen items will allow you to steam vegetables as good as any fancy store bought steamer.
Another good option is to cook your vegetables in a wok. The secret to the wok is that it cooks quickly at a very high temperature. Vegetables retain their flavors, textures, and colors with very small amount of vitamin loss.
My favorite wok recipe for vegetables is to cook broccoli, carrots, bok choy, and snow peas in a very light chilli sauce. The vegetables remain crisp and the herb adds just the right amount of flavour. This combination can be served with any cut of meat including chicken, beef, pork, lamb or fish.
I hope you will see that secret to cooking vegetables is not to over cook. Vegetables need to remain crisp and retain their texture. As you learn different tricks to bringing your vegetables to life, these will become the most requested dishes on your dinner table.
Looking for a food safety supervisor course? A food safety course is available through Southbank Institute of Technology. Search for food safety online on the SBIT web site.
Basic Food Safety
Here is a quick reference guide to refreshing your awareness of safe food preparation. Pointers and information to always keep in mind when preparing food or storing it away for future use.
Most conscientious cooks use common sense when preparing or storing food. But common sense in food preparation doesn’t just happen, it is learned. This learning happens and when we forget where we learned it, we call it common sense.
Here are just a few pointers to refresh and reinforce your common sense as you are preparing your current meal or storing it for future use.
Food safety actually starts with your visit to the supermarket. Pick up the packaged or canned foods. Do the tins have dents? Don’t buy them. Is the jar cracked? Leave it. Does the lid seem loose or bulging? Pick up another. Look for any expiration dates on the labels, they are there for a reason. Never buy outdated food, even if it is on special. Check the “use by” or “sell by” date on dairy products and pick the ones that will stay fresh the longest. Sometimes they may be at the back of the shelves.
After food shopping shopping, put food into the refrigerator or freezer right away. Better yet, put your refrigerator foods straight into one of those insulated freezer bags in the shopping cart and in your car.
Make sure to set the refrigerator temperature is set to 40 deg F and the freezer is set to 0 F. Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours. Raw meat, poultry, and seafood should be placed in containers to prevent their juices from dripping on other foods. Raw juices could possibly harbor harmful bacteria. Eggs always go in the refrigerator.
Always cook food thoroughly until it is done. Red meat should turn brown inside. Chicken, when poked with a fork, should have clear juices. Fish, on the other hand, when poked with a fork, should flake. Cooked egg whites and yolks should be firm and not runny. Be sure to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperatures of your poultry, meat, and other foods. Leave it in long enough to ensure an accurate reading.
Wash your hands and cooking surfaces frequently. Germs can be spread quickly so this will ensure that it will not take hold and grow onto your food. A solution of one teaspoon of bleach in one quart of water is all that is needed to sanitise washed surfaces and utensils.
Cooked foods should definitely not be left standing in the kitchen counter or table for more than two hours. And if you must leave them out of the fridge, cover the food so insects can’t rest on it. Bacteria tends to grow in temperatures between 40 and 140 deg F.
Foods that have been cooked ahead and cooled should be reheated to at least 165 deg F. (This just so happens to be one of the most overlooked areas in food prep).
Chill Leftover Food Promptly. Place food in the refrigerator and leave room for ventilation. The cold air needs to circulate freely to keep food safe. Divide the food and place in shallow containers. Think about date labeling some of these containers so you don’t lose track of how long they’ve been refrigerating.
These are just a few pointers that you already know, but need to keep remembering. If you follow these basics you will avoid most food spoilage problems.
Food safety training is available through Southbank Institute of Technology. Search for food safety online on the SBIT web site.
Can You Grow Your Wealth with Home Based Businesses?
The answer to this question is a definite YES! I have lots of business associates in the USA, Europe, Australasia and New Zealand who are working in home based businesses and making good money each month. In fact the lady who introduced me to my new business is only 25 years of age and she made over $500,000 in her first 12 months of her business.
I am now replicating her results, but please read on and you will learn about what I have actually done and experienced in three very different situations and how in the end I succeeded in taking control of my future.
My Traditional Business Experience
I used to own and manage a very profitable and high profile restaurant and bar in Brisbane, Australia for a period of over 12 years. I started it from scratch and like most traditional businesses it was really expensive to set up and the running costs were enormous.
Although I earned a lot of money with this venture, I finally decided to offload it when I came to realise that the long hours and constant stress of managing over 30 staff, dealing with various government officials, endless paper work and hundreds of customers per week was ruining destroying my life.
You can become rick with a standard business but you will need to be extremely committed as you won’t be able to walk out and close the door anytime you want. There will be lots of work to do and deadlines to meet, customers to please and more than likely, staff to hire and mentor unless you want to do all the work yourself. The hours are generally very long and in most cases the business can end up being your life. Another point to consider is that you’ll be on your own to work things out and solve any problems as they arise.
My Job Experience
After selling the business, I decided that a job would be a better alternative to being in business so I set about finding one and little did I know what I was in for! I spent 8 hours a day scouring the employment classifieds, networking, perfecting my resume and attending interviews for jobs I didn’t even want. I felt undervalued and demoralised and almost gave up hope before I finally won a job with a company as an Events Manager.
All good you might well think, but unfortunately this was not the case as now I was into something that would cost me 12 hours of my time, 5 days a week as I got dressed up for work, traveled to and from work and actually did the work. I was working under considerable stress and was totally stressed out by having to answer to a boss and co-ordinate every single element of each event from travel and accommodation arrangements, key note speakers, entertainment and right down to sorting out what type of lettuce should go on the dinner plates of the attendees. What a nightmare! But the thing that irked me the most was that I was doing all of this to make my boss richer while I had to settle for a small pay packet at the end of each week. JOB = Just over broke.
My Home Business Experience
As you might have guessed, I didn’t stay in my job as an Event Manager for long. I had spent 7 months of my life trying to find the right career and after only 1 month I resigned.
I had no idea what to try next but I was determined to find something that would tick ALL the boxes for me and knew that I first needed to get very clear about what I really wanted.
I did not want to:
Own and manage a stressful, traditional type of business
Outlay a lot of money to get started in a new business
Answer to a boss and have to beg for time off work
* I did want to
* Earn a lot of money
* Work from home
* Take control of my future
With the above in mind, I spent the next couple of months researching my options until I was eventually attracted to an advertisement (placed by a 25 year old lady) about a home based business opportunity. I must admit that I was pretty hesitant to begin with but I decided I had nothing to lose by finding out more so I answered the ad and within 1 week I was up and running with my very own home based business.
On my best day so far, I earned five thousand dollars but what I really love about my home business most is that I actually took back control of my own life. I now work the hours I choose, from the comfort of home or anywhere I like really with my laptop and phone. I don’t have to juggle and manage staff anymore and gone is all the stress. I fit my work around my life, generally about 25 hours per week and I absolutely love what I do.
It’s not for everyone however and if you are considering getting started in a home business you should ask yourself the following important questions:
1. Is the business aligned with your income and lifestyle goals?
2. Do you have some money and time to invest into the business?
3. Can you work diligently as your own boss and without supervision?
4. Will there be anyone to help or guide you if you get stuck along the way?
Yes! You can make money with home based businesses. Lots of money!
Christine Hamilton is currently making money in with home based businesses. For more information about what she is actually doing, click work at home BSCH110509
Fundraising Using Direct Mail
A direct mail campaign is often the most cost effective way to reach many donors. Sending letters also is a simple way to raise money. There is no need to recruit, train, manage and motivate a large group of volunteers. A few talented individuals can run the entire operation. And you will find you will get a lot more volunteers to fold and stuff envelopes than to cold-call potential contributors. That’s not to say all one must do is write a letter, post or e-mail it, and wait for the returns.
What makes mail solicitations difficult is that they are one-sided. No allowance exists for a campaign worker to personally motivate prospects. The most enthusiastic letter simply cannot match the conversation between a skilled fundraiser and an open-minded potential donor. Lacking aggressive salesmanship, only minimum gifts can be expected, no matter how well written the solicitation letter and enclosures may be.
Here’s another angle to think about. Assume that I’m a small-donation prospect with some interest in your charity. There’s a good chance that I’ll donate generously to your appeal if you knock on my door or phone because your enthusiasm and presentation will be hard to resist. And how many other organisations will solicit me in these ways? Very few. But send me a solicitation letter and you place your request in the midst of enormous competition for my same gift dollar. And because it’s a letter, I have little problem withstanding its impersonal nature. If your organisation is not among my very favorites, you won’t receive a contribution of any consequence.
You see, although I think highly of your cause, I have a table covered with fundraising letters, from the best known national charities to all sorts of noteworthy regional and local groups. I am saturated with mail appeals. After sorting through them and making my top-ranked selections, I find my charitable budget is about depleted. But I still care about your cause, so here’s two dollars to show you my heart’s in the right place.
With these factors as a downside, letter solicitations produce highly profitable income derived from small-gifts for organizations that plan and carry out meticulous programs. However, first-class mailing programs get extremely involved, both creatively and from a marketing standpoint. There are six elements to understand before considering a direct mail campaign:
1. Mail solicitation is an ongoing component of annual fundraising programs. In capital campaigning, letter writing is a tool for wrapping up an appeal and giving thanks.
2. Ongoing mail appeals focus equally on retaining and upgrading present contributors while discovering and cultivating new prospects to make up for donors lost to attrition and to enlarge the donor pool. Present givers won’t always be an available source of funding.
3. Donors via mail don’t come free. Depending on the package, to obtain a new contributor, you can spend from $1.30 to $1.60 (or more) for each initial dollar raised from that person.
4. Mail programs are long-term propositions and instant financial rewards are very rare.
5. Be clear who you designate as a donor and who you label a prospect. Donors are people currently contributing to your charity. Someone who gave you a gift two years ago or a person who once contributed a painting to your auction are prospects, not donors. Get used to thinking of three distinct groups: current donors, past donor prospects, and new prospects.
6. Some prospects have more interest in and knowledge about your organisation than others. Cultivated potential donors are first approached because they represent the highest rate of return. For instance, a past donor prospect is a better bet to send you a new donation than someone who once came to a special event that you held. The person who came to the special event is more likely to fund you than someone who never heard of your group.
In planning a full scale mail campaign, don’t lose sight of the fundamental fundraising requirements. Make sure your project has compelling goals, high visibility, specific, attractive, and timely needs.
Additionally, make sure your group has start-up funds on hand for what can become a relatively large investment to get the program rolling. For example, depending on the scale of your operation, you might want to engage a letter shop or mail house to provide the many functions necessary to get your direct mail package to recipients. This is an expensive proposition.
Or you might opt to subscribe to an online software provider to help drive your mail program. Since the highest percentage of return comes from current contributors, they are the first group to target. If a goal is reachable by only contacting these people, expenses will be minimal and your problems will be solved. If that’s not realistic, additional prospects who might fund your project would need to be reached. That’s fine so long as you realize that their percentage of return will be far less than supporters.
If your group, school or club is looking for fundraising ideas and easy fundraisers, have a look at Goldstar Gifts and Stationary’s easy to manage ideas for fundraising.
Direct Mail - One Way to Raise Donations
A mailing is often the most cost effective way to reach many potential donors. Sending letters also is a simple way to raise money. There is no need to recruit, train, manage and motivate a large workforce. A handful of people can run the entire operation. And you will find you will get a lot more volunteers to fold and stuff envelopes than to cold-call potential contributors. That’s not to say all one must do is write a letter, post or e-mail it, and wait for the returns.
What makes mail solicitations difficult is that they are one-sided. No allowance exists for a campaign worker to personally motivate prospects. The most enthusiastic letter simply cannot match the conversation between a skilled advocate and an open-minded potential donor. Lacking aggressive salesmanship, only minimum gifts can be expected, no matter how well written the solicitation letter and enclosures may be.
Here’s another angle to ponder. Assume that I’m a small-donation prospect with some interest in your endeavors. There’s a good chance that I’ll donate generously to your appeal if you knock on my door or phone because your enthusiasm and presentation will be hard to resist. And how many other organisations will solicit me in these ways? Very few. But send me a solicitation letter and you place your request in the midst of enormous competition for my same gift dollar. And because it’s a letter, I have little problem withstanding its impersonal nature. If your organisation is not among my very favorites, you won’t receive a contribution of any consequence.
You see, although I think highly of your charity, I have a table piled high with fundraising letters, from the best known national charities to all sorts of noteworthy sporting and local groups. I am saturated with mail appeals. After sorting through them and making my top-ranked selections, I find my charitable budget is about depleted. But I still care about your cause, so here’s five dollars to show you my heart’s in the right place.
With these factors as a downside, mail solicitations produce highly profitable income derived from small-gifts for organizations that plan and carry out meticulous programs. However, first-class mailing programs get extremely involved, both creatively and from a marketing standpoint. There are six elements to understand before considering a direct mail campaign:
1. Mail solicitation is an ongoing component of annual giving programs. In capital campaigning, letter writing is a tool for wrapping up an appeal and giving thanks.
2. Ongoing mail appeals focus equally on retaining and upgrading present contributors while discovering and cultivating new prospects to make up for donors lost to attrition and to enlarge the donor pool. Present givers won’t always be an available source of funding.
3. Donors via mail don’t come free. Depending on the package, to obtain a new contributor, you can spend from $1.30 to $1.60 (or more) for each initial dollar raised from that person.
4. Mail programs are long-term propositions and instant financial rewards are very rare.
5. Be clear who you designate as a donor and who you label a prospect. Donors are people currently contributing to your cause. Someone who gave you a gift two years ago or a person who once contributed a painting to your auction are prospects, not donors. Get used to thinking of three distinct groups: current donors, past donor prospects, and new prospects.
6. Some prospects have more interest in and knowledge about an organisation than others. Cultivated potential donors are first approached because they represent the highest rate of return. For instance, a past donor prospect is a better bet to send you a new donation than someone who once came to a special event that you held. The person who came to the special event is more likely to fund you than someone who never heard of your group.
In planning a full scale mail campaign, don’t lose sight of the fundamental fundraising requirements. Make sure your project has compelling goals, high visibility, specific, attractive, and timely needs.
Additionally, make sure your group has start-up funds on hand for what can become a relatively large investment to get the program rolling. For example, depending on the scale of your operation, you might want to engage a letter shop or mail house to provide the many functions necessary to get your direct mail package to recipients. This is an expensive proposition.
Or you might opt to subscribe to an online software provider to help drive your mail program. Since the highest percentage of return comes from current contributors, they are the first group to target. If a goal is reachable by only contacting these people, expenses will be minimal and your problems will be solved. If that’s not realistic, additional prospects who might fund your project would need to be reached. That’s fine so long as you realize that their percentage of return will be far less than supporters.
For instance, you send a letter to current donors and perhaps {30|40|50} percent of them respond with {donations|gifts}. A letter sent to brand-new {potential donors|prospects} typically yields responses of around 0.5 percent to 2 percent. Until you’ve won over a new potential {donor|giver}, don’t expect relatively large {donations|contributions}. A return of 5 percent to 12 percent can be expected from present donors.
If your group, school or {sports club|club} is looking for fundraising ideas and easy fundraisers, have a look at Goldstar Gifts and Stationery’s easy to manage ideas for fundraising.
Manila History
Manila is the political and economic centre of the Philippines, and it serves as a drawcard for residents from all over the Philippines. For most visitors from North America or Australia, this mega-city does not seem to merit more than a few days’ visit, after which the tranquility of the provinces may seem all that much more attractive. Although a visit to Manila can be draining, it nevertheless gives the tourist important insights into the culture, history and current state of this island republic, insights that stem from its very wealth of contradictions.
In the sights of foreign conquerors
Natives who settled at the mouth of the Pasig River in Manila have seen a great many rulers come and go. The first to come were the Malaysians, who arrived in the Philippines during the pre-Christian era. Hindu and Buddhist leaders from Indonesia followed. Islam got to Manila at the end of the fifteenth century. The Muslim sultanate established in the mid-sixteenth century had been in existence for barely a decade when Spanish Catholic sailors appeared on the horizon.
Colonial Manila
Miguel de Legaspi conquered Manila in 1571, declaring it to be the capital of the Spanish colony of the Philippines. Despite the ravages of World War Two, when Manila was heavily bombed, traces of the city’s colonial past are still in evidence, particularly in the Intramuros district. Intramuros, literally “within the walls”, meaning within the wall enclosure of the city/fortress. The city centre, with its partially restored wall , is the site of a number of sixteenth-century buildings including Fort Santiago, Manila Cathedral and the church of San Augustin, the oldest in the city.
At the centre of power
The heart of Manila is now elsewhere, in Makati, the modern commercial and banking quarter. Elegant high rises, gorgeous residential groves, super-modern shopping centres and numerous international hotels can be found there. The modern development of this quarter began in the mid-twentieth century. Like much of the growth in Manila, Makati is closely connected to the politically powerful Zobel de Ayala family. The family name is found throughout the city, on streets, buildings and public monuments.
They come here not only to pray
Pasay City is located in the south-west of Manila across the superhighway from high-class Makati. On Wednesdays, Pasay is overrun with people. In Baclaran, the faithful crowd into Redemption Church, where weekly services are held in honour of the Virgin Mary. But one suspects that even more Manilans make their way to Pasay in order to patronize the neighbourhood’s famous lech6n stands, known to be the best source of that quintessential Philippine specialty, roast suckling pig.
A bit of folk culture
Throughout Manila, a light rail station is never far away. If your stomach is complaining after a feast of suckling pig, a gentle ride on this elevated railway is highly recommended. The trip back to town can also be made by Jeepney, of course, though it will be slower and more crowded.
Jeepneys were originally former US-Army jeeps that had been converted into passenger vehicles with as many as fourteen covered seats. These days, however, most Jeepneys come fresh from the production line. Skillful painting and decoration are a prerequisite for genuine Jeepney status. Most have Catholic religious icons as their central theme, but they may include lighthearted comic strip images.
Many Jeepneys are so thoroughly covered in advertising that they resemble moving billboards, while others looks like temples on wheels. What’s important for visitors to remember, however, is that Jeepneys follow specific routes, just like buses. It is always best to inquire about the route before getting on board.
For unbeatable deals on Jetstar, Virgin Blue and Singapore Airlines contact Flight Centre.
Work from Home
Working from home is becoming more and more fashionable. I work from home and I adore it. I don’t think I could ever work at a factory again, but I must face the possibility that I may have to transfer my business into business premises if it keeps growing like it has in the last few months. Even if parts of my business get relocated, I’ll try to stay at home myself as much as I can.
Times are changing and working from home, particularly for the self-employed or contract employees is becoming more common. It is pointless paying rent for commercial premises if it isn’t necessary. Working from home has many pluses.
You can work back late without getting into strife with your family. You can “drop into the office” anytime you like. You can get up really early if the mood takes you and put in a few hours work then go back to bed. But as an accountant, there is one feature I really like, all the tax benefits!
You can claim some of your household expenses on your tax return. Based on the floor area used for business purposes, you can claim a portion of your mortgage interest, insurance, rates, water, electricity, maintenance and the bulk of your telephone bill as well as depreciation on the carpets, curtains, computer equipment and so on. At the end of the financial year you will be surprised by the list of deductions.
You will also save on travel costs, wear and tear on your car and more importantly wear and tear on you, having not to deal with peak hour or public transport. Not to mention picking up approximately an extra one to two hours per day of work when you don’t have to travel.
There is a downside to working from home. The first problem is family distractions. Kids home from school at three o’clock, a friend at the front door, phone calls for other members of the family.
You also may not have the perfect workspace, or space may be limited. Work space is vitally important, you must have an area set aside purely for business, nothing else, just business. I have found that it’s best also if you can close the door on the weekends and at the end of the day so you can “leave work”.
I think many of the perceptions of people that working from home is “unprofessional” have lapsed into history. The number of major companies that allow their workers to work from home via the internet has increased dramatically in recent years. “Outsourcing” has become a commonly used term and this has brought about a spate of self-employed former employees, most of them working from home.
The other problem that many people working from home suffer is motivation and discipline. You must start work everyday just as you would if you were employed by someone else.
Want to work from home in your own home based business? You can learn more about starting your own profitable and flexible home business.
The History of Hong Kong
Hong Kong welcomes visitors from all over the world with a wide smile. The urban embodiment of the compromise between Chinese and European cultures, Hong Kong has long been one of the most vibrant business centres on the planet.
Few travel to Hong Kong for the sights; they come for business and excitement. Hong Kong is so lively it sizzles like the oil in the woks of its ubiquitous street food vendors. Little has changed since the 1997 return of the British colony of Hong Kong to China. The city that flourished through co-operation between the Chinese and British societies is, if anything, more fascinating and colourful than ever before.
Opium highs and wars.
In the early eighteenth century, the first British traders to arrive at what would be Hong Kong, found only a few fishing villages. Hong Kong had no significance at all within the Chinese Empire and had been ignored for centuries.
The British built a trade port here in 1711, and it thrived during the early nineteenth century when goods from China were in great demand in Europe.
As the fashion for Chinese goods declined the British began to deal in opium instead, harvesting it in India and importing it illegally into China, where the Qing dynasty emperor had banned its sale. When the Chinese tried to halt the imports, the British responded with military force.
The resulting Opium Wars (1838-1856) were disastrous for China. In 1842, the British took control of the city of Hong Kong and it became a British colony. A 1898 pact with China made Hong Kong and 234 nearby islands a British protectorate for ninety-nine years. The treaty expired in 1997.
Negotiations took place in 1982 to modify the original agreement in order to protect Hong Kong’s special status. China had originally demanded control not only of the so-called “New Territories” around the city, but also of Hong Kong itself. Through a series of agreements and negotiations, the UK was able to prevent Hong Kong from being directly absorbed into mainland China. Instead, on 1 July 1997, Hong Kong was declared a Chinese Special Administrative Region.
Skyscrapers and feng shui.
Hong Kong’s special status has allowed it to remain a modern economic city. Despite its visible modernity, traditional ways of life are never far beneath the surface. The ancient Chinese art of feng shui is still used with new constructions, where measurements are configured according to lucky numbers and windows positioned so as to let good luck in and bad luck out.
Skyscrapers loom where splendid colonial buildings once stood, only a few of which have survived. In the central district, the Cathedral of St. John, the former French Residence and the Legislative Council Building are among the few traditional buildings that remain.
Omnipresent Buddha.
Traditional life has a strong influence in the New Territories than in the city itself. Superb temple complexes abound, built in traditional style in tranquil settings. 10,000 Buddhas Monastery is one of the most frequented. This number represents “very many” or “countless” in Chinese, rather than a specific number of Buddhas.
In fact, there are more than 10,000, perhaps as many as 13,000. The enormous bronze Buddha towering above Lo Pin Monastery on the island of Lantau is the largest Buddha in the world, measuring 26 metres tall. Visitors can climb a steep path of 260 steps to reach it. The panoramic view from the top definitely rewards the effort, as does the spiritual enlightenment achieved along the way.
Seeking cheap airfares and cheap flights? Point your browser at Flight Centre. Flight Centre has a selection of great deals on major airlines including tiger airlines. BSFC1605-3
How to Sell Your Car
Unless you are thinking about keeping your old vehicle and giving it to someone else, you will eventually need to sell it. There’s many ways to sell your vehicle, but first let’s discuss the preparation of your vehicle prior to advertising or trading.
Presentation is the major factor
The first thing one should consider when selling an old vehicle is how you can sell it for more money. The technique, which most people seem to overlook, is to simply make it look absolutely beautiful!
This does not mean just washing and vacuuming it, although that’s a good start. It is the overall preparation and detailing that counts. This is a well-known secret of most used motor dealers.
You would be surprised to see the condition of some of the vehicles they purchase, but after a few hours in the detailing shop you wouldn’t think it was the same vehicle! The best advice to anyone selling his or her car, is to have a professional car detail carried out. This will cost you around the $200 mark and it will be money well spent.
It will, in effect, save you hours of hard work trying to do it yourself with nowhere near the same result. This alone will add hundreds of dollars to your vehicle, particularly when selling via the newspaper.
I know of people who have had their car detailed and fallen back in love with their car deciding not to go ahead with the sale.
Once the detailing has been carried out you should make sure any small defects are fixed. It is also important that you have the service books and any relative mechanical history at the ready, as this is now becoming a critical factor when buying or selling a used car. If a service is due or near due, make sure you have it done prior to selling. This will give a prospective buyer a good idea of how well you have kept your car.
What is your car going to sell for?
Before you start selling your vehicle, either privately or to a dealer, you must know its market value. There is nothing worse than advertising your vehicle with a highly inflated price tag.
One way to find out the approximate price of your vehicle is by studying the used car section of your local newspapers, which will give you a reasonable guide. Another way is to look in dealership yards to see what price similar vehicles are being sold for, but you must remember these vehicles have margins built into them to cover the dealer’s operating costs and over-stock.
Alternatively, the internet can provide a wealth of information on vehicle valuations. This is only web-based information and is generalised, so it does not give you accurate pricing on your own vehicle because of the specific condition and accessories fitted.
Sites where you can gather this type of guidance are the individual dealership web sites and vehicle pricing-guide sites such as www.redbook.com.au and www.glassguide.com.au
This information is only to assist you in making a qualified and rational decision when buying or selling your vehicle. Remember, these sites are to be used only as a guideline, they are not entirely accurate as they do not take into consideration the individual buying or selling parameters within the different states.
There are always variations to the rules about pricing, so you should follow your intuition when setting a price and be sure to leave room for negotiating in your asking price. Your starting price should be higher than the price for which you really want to sell your vehicle.
For classic car rental and vintage car rental, check out http://egocars.com.au
Beautiful Brussels - Heart of the EU
Often featured in the media as the seat of government of the European Union (EU), Brussels is much more than a city of bureaucrats. It is a meeting point all the diverse cultures in Europe, and exudes a unique multicultural energy.
Brussels is not only the home of the European Union. The Belgian capital is a diverse and stunning city in its own right, a town rich in history and full of places to see. Designated the cultural capital of Europe in 2000, Brussels is no mere town of faceless bureaucrats. It has its own story to tell.
A fortress in the middle of a river.
The name Brussels (Bruocsella) is first written about in the year 966. It means “chapel in a swamp”, and likely refers to its location on the banks of the Senne River. The settlement itself had probably been founded between three and four hundred years previously. The earliest stronghold on Brussels Island dates back to around the end of the tenth century.
Central Brussels.
The story of Grand Place (in French, or Grote Markt in Dutch), the town square located at the centre of Brussels, leads us on a journey through the city’s history. Grand Place was created as a market and business square, but soon attracted the trade guilds and city officials.
They erected magnificent guildhalls and government buildings as proof of their power and affluence, Brussels became one of Europe’s most important trading and banking centres during the High Middle Ages and would remain so until 1695, when French cannons bombarded the city for three days, levelling Grand Place and reducing much of the city to rubble and ashes. It was rebuilt at speed, and the guildhalls that currently stand on Grand Place bear witness to the city’s renewal.
Grand Place remains a favoured gathering point for residents and tourists alike. Many of its countless restaurants, cafes and hotels are open around the clock.
Brussels city hall.
The Hotel de Ville (Brussels city hall), completed in 1450, is an architectural jewel even among the grandiose guildhalls and buildings surrounding it. Its facade was one of the few structures to survive the French bombing of 1695. With its 96-metre-tall tower topped by a golden statue of St. Michael and the dragon, the Hotel de Ville is Brussels’ most recognisable landmark, visible from every part of the historic old city.
A different kind of city emblem.
Most tourists consider the statue called Manneken Pis (literally, “the boy peeing”) at the corner of the Rue de l’Etuve and Rue des Grands Charmes to be the symbol of Brussels. Just who the little boy in this work by sculptor Heironimus Dusquesnoy is supposed to represent remains an unsolved mystery. In any case, the cheeky lad is certainly one of the city’s main visitor attractions. Meanwhile, his girl version, the Jeanneken Pis, can be discovered at the end of a cul-de-sac called Impasse de la Fidelite near La Grand Place. The habitants of [the city~Brussels} have always been in favour of equal rights, and if that meant commissioning a statue of a similarly naughty little girl, so be it. The statue was dedicated in 1987.
The giant molecule.
The 102-metre-high Atomium is another symbol of Brussels. It began its existence as an exhibition hall built for the 1958 World Fair. It represents an iron molecule, magnified 165 thousand million times. The tubes connecting the nine atomic particles are actually conduits containing escalators and walkways.
Due to its use of futuristic materials and radical design, it has long been considered both an architectural icon and an impressive piece of civic monumental sculpture.
Within, the Atomium still houses the occasional exhibition on topics related to nuclear technology, aeronautics, astronomy and meteorology. Inside the uppermost sphere is a restaurant that affords a beautiful view of the entire city.
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