Tips on Saving Money

Want to stop living from paycheck to paycheck? Read on and start saving today.

Steps:

1. Figure out what you need to save for and how much you need to save. For short-term goals, this is easy. If you want to buy a video game, find out how much it costs; if you want to buy a house, determine how much of a down payment you’ll need. For long-term goals, such as retirement, you’ll need to do a lot more planning (figuring out how much money you’ll need to live comfortably for 20 or 30 years after you stop working), and you’ll also need to figure out how investments will help you achieve your goals.

2. Set savings goals. Once you determine how much you need to save, establish a timeframe (i.e. “I want to be able to buy a house two years from today.”) Set a particular date for accomplishing shorter-term goals, and make sure the goal is attainable within that time period. If it’s not attainable, you’ll just get discouraged.

3. Figure out how much you’ll have to save per week, per month, or per paycheck to attain each of your savings goals. Take each thing you want to save for and figure out how much you need to start saving now. For most savings goals, it’s best to save the same amount each period. For example, if you want to put a $20,000 down payment on a home in 36 months (three years), you’ll need to save about $550 per month every month.

4. Add together the installment amounts (monthly, weekly, or per paycheck) for all your savings goals. Can you afford to save this total each period? If so, great; if not, proceed to the next step.
Keep a record of your expenses. Write down everything you spend your money on for a couple weeks or a month. Be as detailed as possible, and try not to leave out small purchases.
See where you can trim your expenses. You’ll probably be surprised when you look back at your record of expenses: $300 on ice cream, $100 on parking tickets? You’ll likely see some obvious cuts you can make. Depending on how much you need to save, however, you may need to make some difficult decisions. Think about your priorities, and make cuts you can live with.

5. Reassess your savings goals. If there’s absolutely no way you can fit all your savings goals into your budget, take a look at what you’re saving for and cut the less important things or adjust the timeframe. Maybe you need to put off buying a new car for another year, or maybe you don’t really need a big-screen TV that bad.

6. Make a budget. Once you’ve managed to balance your earnings with your savings goals and spending, write down a budget so you’ll know each month or each paycheck how much you can spend on any given thing or category of things. Try to leave a little room for minor unexpected expenses.

7. Stick to your budget. A budget won’t do you any good if you don’t follow it religiously. Build some self-discipline, and remember why you’re on a budget in the first place.
Pay yourself first. Savings should be your priority, so don’t just say that you’ll save whatever’s left over at the end of the month. Deposit savings into an account (or your piggybank) as soon as you get paid.

8. Open an interest-bearing savings account. It’s a lot easier to keep track of your savings if you have them separate from your spending money. You can also usually get better interest on savings accounts than on checking accounts (if you get interest on your checking account at all). Consider higher-interest options such as CDs or money-market accounts for longer savings goals. Shop around for the best interest rates on an account that fits your budget and liquidity (how quickly you need the money) needs. For very long-term goals, such as retirement, you’ll need to develop an investment strategy, not just a savings plan.

9. Consider automatic deductions from your paycheck. Many employers allow you to deduct savings from your paycheck. The money is directly deposited in your savings account so you never even see it on your paycheck. You can also have investments for retirement taken directly out of your pay, and the taxes may be deferred with this option.

Tips


a. If your savings timeframe is very long, such as that for retirement, you may want to structure your monthly savings so that they grow larger later in life when you will (hopefully) have more income coming in.

b. If unexpected expenses cause you to deviate from your budget from time to time, cut unnecessary expenses before you cut money from your savings goals. Other than the bare necessities, your savings goals should be your top priority.

c. In this day and age, many of us have cars, so saving money on gas can contribute to your effort considerably. Consider getting rid of the car altogether if you can. See the related wikiHows for more information.

d. If unexpected circumstances render you unable to meet your savings goals, reassess them and figure out which ones you can delay or cut out. Get back on your program as soon as you can.

e. For very important or very large savings goals (such as a down payment on a house or saving for your kids’ college tuition), consider opening up a separate account. You’ll be able to keep better track of that particular goal, and you’ll be less tempted to dip into it.

f. If you receive unexpected cash, put all or most of it into your savings, but continue to set aside your regularly scheduled amount as well. You’ll simply reach your savings goals sooner.

g. If you no longer have a regular expense, such as when you pay off your car or home, set aside that money into savings. You’ll be paying yourself instead of somebody else.

h. Make paying off high-interest credit card and loan balances a top priority. You can’t really save money when you’re needlessly wasting it on finance charges.

i. Buy a piggy bank for your coins. Coins and change may look insignificant but when accumulted overtime they can help you save.

Warnings

• Never loan cash to others that you cannot afford not to get back.
• Never borrow money that you cannot repay.
• Do not go out "window shopping" with any money on you. You will only be tempted to spend money you cannot afford to lose.
• Be sure to keep track of automatic deductions from your paycheck. Sometimes mistakes happen, and if you’re not paying attention, you might not get all your money.

Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Save-Money

Duck Raising Guide

We have another(earlier) post about duck raising. This post is just a variation or a continuation of our previous post on duck raising.

Duck raising is a lucrative livestock industry in the Philippines because of its egg. Its most important product, the balut (boiled incubated duck’s egg), is sold daily throughout the archipelago for its delicious flavor and nutritive value.

Duck raising is especially recommended in baytowns like those bordering the shores of Laguna de Bay, where there are abundant supplies of fresh water snails which make good for the duck food.

Ducks are generally raised for eggs but when snail food gets scarce, they are sold for meat.

Kinds of Ducks

Native Pateros Duck

The native pateros duck commonly called itik, is the most popularly raised locally. Although smaller than imported breeds, they are good layers and non-sitters. Their eggs are large.

Its predominant colors are black and gray. Some are barred (bulek) others are brown or have white feathers mixed with black/green. Males have coarser heads and heavier bodies than females. Males emit shrill high pitch sounds. They have curly feathers on top of their tails.

Females emit low pitch quacking sounds. Their tails feathers lie flat or close to the bodies.

In all commercial ducks hatcheries, determining the sex of duckling is done at the age of 2 to 3 days.

Khaki Campbell Duck

Khaki Campbell ducks have characteristic brown color, have extremely active habits, do well in good range and show a little desire for swimming.

These ducks are good layers, they lay as many as 300 or more eggs a year which are fairly large, thick-shelled and weigh 70 to 75 grams each.

Commercial Hybrid Duck

The world’s first hybrid egg-type duck known as cv2000 was developed at cherry valley farms, England. It has white plumage and lays its egg at about 20 weeks of age. The body weight at point of lay is about 1.5kg. On the average this duck could lay 285 eggs up to 72 weeks of age with a mean egg weight of 75 kg. This duck can be distinguished by their pure white feathers. Their eggs are either white or greenish.

Indian Runner

This breed originated from the east indies but its egg production capability was developed in western Europe.

This duck assumes very erect normal postures which are almost straight neck. The back is long, straight and narrow. An adult weighs about 2.10kg while an adult duck weigh about 1.8 kg. The egg production characteristics of this breed resemble that of the Khaki Campbell.

Tsaiya

This breed is developed in Taiwan. The original color ranges from black neck to pure white. Due to farmers preference, the brown breed was selected and raised as major variety, while the white variety was developed for the production of mule ducks

Muscovy Duck

Muscovy duck (pato) is easily identified by its carunculated face or red, knobby nodules along the eyes and above the base of the bill.

Muscovy duck is a heavy breed. It has plump body and yellow skin. It has three varieties: the white, the colored and the blue Muscovy duck.

Unlike other breeds, Muscovy duck prefer to stay on land. They are good forgers, so they require less care and can subsist on what they can pick up in the field supplemented on with palay and corn.

Muscovy duck has low egg production but is more self-sustaining than Pateros duck. It hatches her eggs in 33 to 35 days.

The objection to this breed (Muscovy duck) is its tendency to fly far away from home and get lost. It is therefore necessary to clip their flight feathers regularly. Clip only those of one wings to remove the birds balance in flying.

Pekin Duck

Pekin duck is native in China belonging to the meat type of ducks. Sometimes it is mistaken for a goose because it carries its body rather upright. It is docile and well-adapted to Philippine climate.

Pekin ducks are good layers, and duckling are ready for market at 2 to 3 months old.

Duck Housing

Build your duck housing in a quiet, cool place and near as possible to stream or pond. Local materials like bamboo, nipa and cogon are cool.

Prepare each duck with atleast 3 to 4 square feet floor space. Cover the floor with rice hull, corn cobs, peanut hulls or similar materials to keep it dry and clean and help prevent spread of pests and diseases. A house of 100 ducks measures 4 x 4 meters high or high enough to let a man stand inside.

You may provide a swimming pond 10 ft wide and 20 ft long for 50 birds. However the pond is not necessary in duck raising as they lay just as many eggs without it.

House ducks are grouped according to size or age to facilitate management and to avoid quarrels which is common among ducks of different ages. Older ducks tend to push out younger ones from feeding troughs.

Separate duck houses from one another by bamboo fences low enough to go over them from one pen to another. Fence should extend down to the shallow edge of the water to prevent ducks from straying away to far.

Selection and Mating

Select vigorous breeding stock. Select breeders when birds are about 8 weeks old, and again at 4 to 5 months old before they are placed in breeding pens.

Eggs for hatching purposes should come from ducks not less than 7 months old to ensure better fertility, hatchability and livability of baby ducks offspring.

Drakes (male ducks) should have the same age as ducks or even a month older. They should be raised separately from ducks. They are put together only when ready for mating.

One drake may be mated to 6 to 10 ducks. Heavier breeds however should have a closer ratio of males to females than light breeds.

Pateros ducks start laying when they are 4 to 6 months old. Muscovy and Peking ducks start laying at 6 to 7 months old.

Hatching

The period of incubation for duck eggs is 28 days, except Muscovy which is 30-35 days. Breeds of ducks that have high degree of laying are non-sitters and their eggs are hatch through artificial incubation.

The Muscovy is a natural mother. She hatches and breeds her own baby ducks/duckling with none or little assistance from man. Native or pateros duck is a non sitter, so her eggs are incubated under the native method of incubation called balutan.

Feeding Practices

Feed duckling (baby ducks) with wet starter mash for 8 weeks. Native ducklings raised the native way are fed moistened boiled rice for the first 33 weeks, 4 to 5 times a day. During the first few days, give feed at night. Start giving water in drinking trough or drinking fountains on the 2nd day. On the fifth day, add finely chopped small shrimps to boiled rice. Increase their feed as duckling (baby ducks) grows.

At the age of one month, feed ducklings with tiny fresh water snails and boiled unhulled rice or palay. Give only enough feed to be consumed as they tend to spoil when left long in the troughs.

Mash feed for ducklings is composed of corn, soybean meal fish meal dried whey rice bran with oyster shell and bone meal with vitamin mineral supplements. Feed one day to six (6) weeks old ducklings with starter mash with 21% crude protein for six (60) to four (4) month old duckling with grower mash with 16% crude protein and four (4) months old ducks and above with layer mash or ratio with 16% crude protein.

If mash feed is preferred give only enough to be consumed quickly at one time to ten (10) to 15 minutes. Wet mash tends to spoil when left long in hoppers. If feeds is given at intervals, ducklings learn to eat more readily and their appetites are developed to stuff themselves in between drinks, digest food quickly and be ready to eat their fill for the next feeding time.

Four to five feeding a day are sufficient for ducklings over 2 weeks old. Provide plenty of clean fresh water as ducks drink after every mouthful of food.

Ducks are wasteful and slovenly while feeding. Provide proper and adequate feeding hoopers to prevent much waste of food.

Fine gravel of grit is necessary to growing ducks to help them grind their feed. After the 5th week give green feed such as chopped leaves of kangkong camote ipil ipil and legumes at least three (3) times a day 10grams of chopped green leaves per duck per day.
Health and Diseases

Ducks are more resistant to diseases than chicken and other fowls. Losses from various causes can be minimized through proper management adequate appropriate feeding and housing strict sanitary practices and effective prevention medication and vaccination program. However even with all precautionary measures substantial losses are incurred in duck farming operation due to various causes. Duck diseases are those caused by pathogenic viruses bacteria fungi and parasites while non-infectious types are due to chemical poisons toxins inferior feed or ration and environmental factors.
References: Livestock Development Council (LDC)