Practical Advice, Part 4: Miscellaneous

Use sunscreen liberally, and make sure your children do the same.
Computer passwords should contain numbers, letters, and symbols. Remember there are only 10 numbers but 26 letters in the English language.
Use an address book to keep up with passwords and PINs.
Salt on a restaurant coaster prevents the bottom of a glass from sticking.
In public restrooms, use elbows or feet rather than hands for opening doors and flushing commodes.
Carry hand sanitizer in your car or purse.
Walk a minimum of 7,000 steps a day. If in doubt, wear a pedometer.
Learn to touch type—regardless of age. Keyboards provide a portal into the electronic world. However, never forget that virtual reality is a poor excuse for reality.
Add a working day to your week by eliminating an hour of television or the Internet each day.
Use words liberally like “Please,” “Thank you,” “I’m sorry,” and “I forgive you.”
Say “I love you” to family and friends daily. Say it especially when you don’t feel like it.
Wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident. Actually, wear clean underwear on general principles.
Practice moderation in all things—including moderation.
Only one person in the history of the world was perfect, and neither of us is him. Be eager to forgive and seek forgiveness.
Listen to other people’s advice, but make up your own mind.

Practical Advice, Part 3: Home

Run hot water in the kitchen sink before turning on the dish washer.
“Burp” Tupperware for a better seal.
Clothes pins make great “chip clips” along with sealing cereal, flour, and more.
Preheat a mug with hot water to keep coffee warm longer.
Baking soda and vinegar followed by boiling water will dissolve most plumbing clogs.
Fitted sheets can be folded by tucking the elastic corners under one another.
Put pillows in a freezer for twenty-four hours to kill microscopic mites and other critters. (And, yes, your pillow has them).
Rubbing your hands on stainless steel (a sink works) removes an onion’s odor.
Clean the lint trap in a dryer often. Built up lint is a fire hazard.
Kitty litter soaks up oil spills in garages.
Replace fire detector batteries when Daylight Saving Time begins and ends.
Plug the two ends of an electrical cord together before looping the doubled line.
Rub a stubborn key with pencil lead. The graphite serves as a dry lubricant.
NEVER mix bleach and ammonia. The resulting fumes are toxic.
Never mess with electricity, natural gas, strange dogs, or snakes.
Don’t take a shower during a thunder storm. Lighting and water don’t mix.
Replace a toothbrush after recovering from a cold or the flu.
Dry a razor thoroughly between uses—it will stay sharp longer.
Make baked goods for the pastor.

Check your cars oil and air pressure regularly.
Don’t let the fuel gauge go below a quarter of a tank.
Don’t drink and drive. Don’t text and drive. Don’t eat and drive.
Just drive!
Touch the car before handling a gas pump. Static electricity can ignite petroleum fumes.
Lock the doors while pumping gas.
NEVER leave a child or pet in the car alone—even if it’s “just for a minute.”
Look both ways after the light turns green for someone running a “yellow” light. Sooner or later this simple habit will save your life.
Where there’s a ball, there’s a boy. Hit the brakes immediately.
Don’t swerve off the road to avoid an animal. Brake quickly but safely.
Over 80 mph, you are aiming rather than steering a car.
When backing a trailer, put one hand at the bottom of the steering wheel. Whichever way your hand goes, the trailer will follow.
Have car keys in hand when approaching your vehicle in a parking lot. If accosted by a stranger, toss the keys under a car.
When possible, keep one car length distance from the vehicle in front of you for every 10 mph of speed
When road rage threatens, BREATHE. Deep breath in. Hold. Deep breath out. Hold. Let it go.
Let Jesus take the wheel.

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Bill Burch

Spend less that you make.
Give 10%. Save 10%. Live on 80%.
“Finances are a crock pot reality in a microwave world.” (Dave Ramsey)
If you can live without it today, then you can live without it.
Even the baby Jesus only received three Christmas gifts. Sometimes we give our children too much.
Shred loan and credit applications.
Use cash whenever possible. A study by bankrate.com discovered that consumers spend 30% MORE at restaurants when using credit rather than cash.
Credit cards should be a convenience and not a necessity. Don’t charge more than can be paid off at month’s end.
The power of compounding interest works for us with savings and against us with loans.
Insurance is a balancing act between benefit and cost. Insure the things you cannot afford to lose.
Consider higher deductibles on insurance policies for premium savings.
Make a current will—especially if you have children. Do NOT put it in a safety deposit box.
Tithe, if you love Jesus. Anyone can HONK.
“Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” (John Wesley)