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Archives for 2013

Preparing for Baby: The Hospital Bag

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hospital bagA friend of mine recently called to ask for some advice about what exactly to pack for her hospital bag as she and her husband are prepping for the arrival of their first baby. The hospital bag can save your sanity. I honestly don’t think you can ever be prepared enough. I’d rather have too much of something than not enough, especially if you’re a long way from home. Here is a list of things that you should remember to pack in your hospital bag.

 

Prepping the Hospital Bag for Mom

I forgot a lot of stuff for myself, I was so concentrated on making sure everything for baby was packed I didn’t remember everything for myself. Lesson learned. Things that a mom will need include:

  • Comfortable, loose, clothes of your own. I was hospitalized for a week due to c/section complications, after a few days I was more than ready to get out of a hospital gown and put my own clothes on. Especially if you have a c/section, make sure they’ve very loose-fitting. If you’re breastfeeding, make sure your clothes are easily accessible since in the early days you will be nursing often and need easy access. I bought two t-shirts at Old Navy that were light, loose and had button snaps to open and close it at the neckline. I wasn’t concerned about fashion but more functionality and comfort. I opted to wear PJ pants that I could get on and off easily.
  • Nursing Bra
  • Toiletries
  • Snacks for you and spouse. Though I had access to yummy food of my own at the push of a button, my husband, who stayed with me, did not. I also didn’t want to call for small snacks or a drink so we brought a bag of our own snacks and it was very helpful! {This is also a great gift idea for expecting moms. Find out what their favorite snacks and drinks are and put a little bag together for their hospital!}
  • Nursing pillow. Not everyone uses a nursing pillow, I personally found it helpful, especially when first learning.
  • Camera/cell phone plus all required chargers.

 

What You Need for Baby

  • Warm clothes. Though there are a ton of cute newborn clothes, stick with practicality. Newborn sleepers that button or zip work well and most have feet and hand covers. Remember a small hat too, regardless of season (our daughter was born in June) since babies are used to a very warm environment.
  • Diapers/wipes. Our hospital had a full stash of newborn diapers in our room for use but it’s always nice to have your own and not all hospitals provide them. If you’re cloth diapering, you may want to wait until you get home to start since you likely won’t have access to laundry.
  • Swaddling blankets. Again, the hospital provided blankets for us but not to take home and we wanted to get comfortable using the ones we would be using at home.
  • Car seat. We were not allowed to leave the hospital until the nurse signed off on her placement within a car seat. This is for both her and our safety.

Though we forgot our camera, I was glad we had our phones to snap her first pictures. You can never be too prepared for baby’s arrival if you think you’ll need it, bring it!

Money Saving Tips For First Year College Students

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first year college studentsAll over the world high school students are preparing to graduate and embark on their post secondary adventures. I know all too well how expensive post secondary can be after completing two degrees and accumulating over $90,000 in debt. In my six years of university I have made many financial mistakes but learned something from all of them.

 

Textbooks

Don’t buy new textbooks. If you are absolutely required to even buy a book at all, buy used textbooks. In my first year I went to the book store and dropped hundreds of dollars on my brand spankin’ new books for my accountancy and finance degree course . What a total waste of money. I could have managed just fine with used or nowadays, digital copies. Always check online at stores like Amazon or Better World Books before succumbing to the campus bookstore. Even better, borrow the book from the library. By year three or so I figured this out and did quite well without books. I went to the library almost everyday, took good notes, photocopied pages I may have needed and went home. This forced me to study and saved money.

 

Living Arrangements

Obviously living at home would be an ideal situation but if it’s not an option, find roommates and share costs. While you may think you’ll need a nice big apartment for yourself you’ll end up spending 90% of your time out socializing, in your room pulling all nighters sleeping or somewhere like the library. As long as you have a room of your own to retire to at the end of the day for some Z’s and a little privacy, shared accommodation should work just fine. If you’ve been accepted into a specific program try to reach out to fellow students via Facebook, Craigslist or other social media outlets and see if anyone else is seeking roommates. Living with someone else within your program means live-in study-buddy!

 

Paying Tuition

If you’re responsible for funding your own way through post secondary, getting an early start with a part-time job is a must. If getting loans is inevitable, borrow only what you need! Depending on the program you get accepted to you may have an opportunity to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even with these funds being offered to you, if you don’t need them don’t borrow.

If you’re able to, make the most of your long summers off and work to save as much as possible. There are many summer job options to college students from working at resorts to manual labour jobs. It isn’t impossible to find a summer-only position. Capitalize on your summers to get a job somewhere you would like to travel to. Children’s summer camps are around the world and always looking for university students to work for them. See the world while getting paid, why not?  Plus, it helps you avoid college budget woes!

Though the primary focus of post secondary should always be academics, if you’re able to maintain a part-time job while in school, even better. Anything you can do to offset your monthly costs will help.

 

Budget

If you aren’t already, the most important thing you can do regarding your finances in post secondary is budget. This is especially important if you’re borrowing to pay for school, but even if your expenses are being taken care of by someone else, the monies still need to be accounted for and budgeted appropriately. Learning how to budget now will make the rest of your life much easier, trust me!

Graduating high school and embarking on a post secondary education is an exciting time. It is expensive but there are ways to help off set the costs. Enjoy your new adventures but watch your expenses!

What money saving tips do you have for college students?

Planning for a Baby

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planning for a babyWhether it’s your first or fifth, babies take planning. Even in the event of an unexpected pregnancy there are still nine months leading up to baby’s arrival that will require plans of some sort! A lot of couples plan everything from baby’s conception to nursery color. A lot of these plans require spending money everything from pregnancy tests to diapers. Being prepared will ease some financial pains when it comes time to have a baby.

 

Conception

You don’t necessarily think of conception requiring money per se but for millions of couples worldwide, conception can be the most expensive part of having a child. We were fortunate in only requiring the purchase of pregnancy tests, which only set us back $20-$30 total but have had friends spend hundreds on fertility drugs and tens of thousands on IVF. Though I wish any couple who wanted a baby could easily have one, it’s just not that simple. There are hundreds of reasons why it doesn’t just happen for some and my heart hurts for them. Conception costs can range from a few dollars on pregnancy and, or, ovulation tests to tens of thousands for IVF. If you think getting pregnant may be difficult for you, bring you concerns up with your doctor and see if you can make plans before hand.

 

Pregnancy

Now that you’ve had that “My Wife’s Pregnant!” moment, it will probably hit you that pregnancy itself can be very expensive. Though I live in Canada and don’t pay for any medical appointments, a huge proportion of the world has to pay for prenatal, pregnancy and post natal care. Make sure when you’re planning for a baby that you factor in any medical appointments, medications (even pre-natals), ultrasounds or medical tests such as bloodwork.

You will also have to clothe your growing body. While you don’t necessarily have to buy maternity clothes you will likely need to invest in a few pieces of larger or maternity items to get you through the last few months of pregnancy (and possibly first few months postpartum). I shopped around at local thrift stores, borrowed from friends and only ended up buying three or four items of my own throughout my entire pregnancy. I couldn’t justify spending hundreds of dollars on seasonal clothes I may only wear once, for three to six months. This will obviously depend on your lifestyle too. I wear scrubs all day and was able to wear them throughout my pregnancy only buying two pairs of bigger pants so really only needed clothes for the weekend. I also recommend checking online and larger department stores as well. Old Navy, Walmart and Target all have decently sized maternity sections now at affordable prices.

 

Postnatal

After baby is born you will need stuff. Babies require a lot and again this will vary depending on choices you and your family make (such as to breastfeed or formula feed or cloth vs. disposable diapers). Shop around before you have your baby and price stuff out. Ask friends, research certain things and get an idea of how much you will need ‘extra’ per month for baby. Also factor in any maternity leaves or loss in income.

The more prepared you are financially the better off you and your family will be. You can never be too prepared for a baby. If you end up saving more than needed, reallocate the funds to something else for kids such as post secondary savings or child activities. We weren’t prepared for our daughter’s arrival and spent the first six months after she was born scrambling to get our footings. I know if we choose to have a second child we will be in a much better spot financially.

Did you plan for your baby?  What steps did you take?

Raising Polite, Responsible Kids

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polite childrenThis past weekend, my daughter and I headed over to a friend’s house so our two little ones could play while we got caught up on the details of our lives. We started talking about a friend of ours and how her daughter, now six, had developed quite an attitude. Her mom and our friend, lets this little girl run her life. There is nothing this little girl doesn’t get. If she wants a chocolate bar for breakfast, she’ll eventually get it. If she wants to stay up until 11pm watching cartoons, she will.

Obviously I feel like this is an extreme case of bad parenting but I see aspects of this in many kids. I don’t know what or when it happened but sometime during my generation (30ish years) parents totally lost control. Please note that I am by no means trying to seem like I’m some sort of perfect parent, but one thing I will do is enforce and demand a few things of my child such as structure, rules and politeness, none of which this little girl has.

 

The Pleases and Thank You’s

My daughter is only 17 months and some of the first words I’m demanding she learn, are ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. I see kids everyday at my job (dentistry) and rarely do the children say please or thank you even if I give them a treat such a sticker or small toy. I’ve become so used to it I almost expect to not hear it. It’s such a simple thing but teaching simple manners like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ can go a long way.

Children learn from exposure. Anytime my daughter does something I ask of her (”please pass something to mommy”, ”could you pick up your toy, please?”) I always include ”please” and end with a ”thank you”. Even though she is just learning to talk she is beginning to understand what the two mean.

 

Chores

I have so many friends and family with kids who don’t enforce chores. I feel like chores are a huge part of development. The children help with the maintenance of the family home, while learning that there are expectations of them within this life.

My daughter may be young but she already has ”chores”. She helps me unload the dishwasher by me allowing her to take out the silverware and pass them to me one-by-one and I place them in the drawer. It takes about five times longer this way, but I appreciate her helping me and her learning that she is helping me. She also helps me feed the cat. I measure out the cat’s food, pass her the scoop and she dumps it in the bowl. She loves helping mommy. Again I always make sure to  thank her when she helps.

If you start young, and implement guidelines and responsibilities for your kids, your life will be much easier. Start with the basics and the more difficult tasks will be much easier. There’s nothing nicer than a young child knowing to say please and thank you without their parents needing to encourage them (though I like an encouraged please and thank you over none any day). Being polite and nice will go a long way in this world. Setting a strong foundation in childhood will be a life long help.

Do you encourage your children with manners and please/thank you?

Saving Money By Throwing Themed Parties, Showers and Events

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Camping Wedding ShowerFirst comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby…

At least in my case this is how it went. I started dating my husband when we were just kids in high school. We got engaged and started planning our wedding seven years after we started dating. Since we had already lived together in a small one bedroom apartment, there wasn’t much that we needed in terms of wedding gifts nor did we have much room to store anything for our future home.

If you’re a parent planning a party, shower or event for you kids, or are helping a parent plan an event like this, you need to read this post!

 

Planning a Shower

I didn’t think having a wedding shower was necessary, but being the first wedding on both sides of the family in many years we attending a lot of events because other people insisted. I made it quite clear that I did not need  a shower. It was unnecessary and in my mind, a whole lot of wasted money on, what I pictured to be, kitchen gadgets and pre-baby ”nesting”  supplies. I thought everyone was on board with saving money and not throwing me, or us, a shower.

One summer evening after the summer of our wedding we decided to meet up with the rest of the family for a weekend of camping. Hubby-to-be picked me up after work and we drove the hour to the campground where the rest of the family had been since the day before. We went right to our site to set camp up before dark and proceeded to head on over to the main site where everyone was getting ready to have dinner.

 

Decorating a Fun Event

When we arrived we realized that t he site had been decorated with balloons and signs saying ”Happy Camping Shower”. Our family was throwing us a camping shower instead of a wedding shower! They got the message loud and clear that we didn’t need anything for our home, so instead had a camping shower where under the open sky of the camp site, we opened gifts, all related to camping, our favorite past time. It was amazing.

Having a themed shower, especially if you’re planning an event for your child’s wedding, can be a great way to save money.

A themed shower limits what people buy. In our case, camping stuff, but if you wanted to have a ”kitchen shower” people would likely understand that buying a large picture frame for wedding pictures is not an appropriate gift. Having a themed event is also a great way to make sure you get what you want. Though we didn’t ask for this event, I’m so glad my mother-in-law thought of it.

 

Other Ideas

When my sister-in-law moved out, instead of having a housewarming party we threw her a ”fill their pantry” party where, instead of plants and homey stuff, people brought non perishables for their pantry. Everything from spices to baking supplies. They really did fill their pantry!

Parties, showers and events alike can get quite expensive but with a little planning and creativity, it is possible to save money. Coming up with a theme is just one of many ways!

College Student Debt in America

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As the economy started to decline, two things were on the rise that continues to escalate today: the cost of going to college and the prevalence of student debt. The cost of tuition, residence, and books has been rising at a rate that has never been seen before. As the current generation’s debt piles up, it becomes even harder to send the next generation to get an education.

In order to figure out where we are headed, Consolidated Credit has looked at where we have been. They’ve created this informative infographic to show a generational look at college tuition and debt, from our grandparents in the 1940s to the future generation. Unfortunately, the numbers are very alarming, especially for current and recent college grads.

College Debt in America

The Improving Lives of Expat Families in the UAE

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Dubai FamiliesIt’s never been easier for expat families in the United Arab Emirates to get settled into their new home and begin to thrive. With around 88% of the country’s population comprised of foreign-born residents, the UAE has quickly become one of the most expat-friendly places on earth. Families are drawn to cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where opportunities for success come far quicker and easier.

Combine the sunny weather with high salaries and a vibrant community of like-minded, adventure-seeking families, and it’s easy to see what makes Dubai such an attractive proposition. If you’re not quite convinced, here’s a brief breakdown of the growing opportunities for expat families in the UAE:

 

Homes

Accommodation for expats is often provided by their employers, as part of an enticing salary package. For those who must find a home on their own, however, the market is increasingly expat-friendly. New laws allow expats to buy property in the country, whereas previously expats could only rent.

For families that do choose to rent, most one-year leases are paid in full in the first month, rather than being broken down into monthly payments. Although this upfront cost can cause some initial stress, it reduces all month-to-month anxiety regarding rent and often improves a family’s cash flow.

 

Schools

Expats in the UAE have the choice of sending their children to a state-run school, all of which are free up to the university level, or a paid private school. Thanks to the growing community of Western expats, the education infrastructure for English-speaking children continues to improve.

There are a number of international schools in Dubai where the curriculum is taught in English and where international programmes, such as the International Baccalaureate programme, are available.

 

Finances

Of course, for most expats, the most alluring aspect of living in the UAE is the higher disposable income, which comes as a result of more attractive salary packages. Businesses in the UAE are so keen to attract qualified professionals, they are willing to offer employees higher salaries.

High incomes, however, have also led to a culture of high personal debt in the UAE – particularly in Dubai. According to a recent study, 97% of Western expats in the UAE admit to spending on ‘luxury lifestyle choices’. That’s quite a staggering figure, particularly when compared to other expat hubs like Singapore, where only 49% of expats spend on luxury, and Hong Kong, where only 51% do. The key for families to live the expat dream in Dubai is to not get sucked into the fast-paced, glitzy lifestyle.

Those who choose savings accounts over fancy cars have much to gain from the bustling desert metropolis.

Would you ever move to Dubai?

Prepping Your High School Grad’s Finances for College

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HS Grad FinancesWithin the next few weeks, high school kids around the world will be prepping to embark on one of the biggest adventures in their life. They will be leaving the comforts of what they know and preparing to attend college.

 

Start Early

College, is an experience that far too many kids are not prepared for. It is an exciting time full of many emotions. Graduation is not the time to start preparing your child for financial independence.With other concerns at the forefront of their teenage brains, such as prom and ironing out frosh-week plans, your child will likely not be in the best mindset to absorb all the important information you have to share. For this reason, it is important that you start financial lessons early in their life. The earlier you start, the better equipped they will be.

For example, even before thinking about college, you should encourage your child to get an internship or apprenticeship so that they can learn the tools of the trade they are interested in.  Places like City & Guilds has lots of information that can help you start early.

 

Start With Basics

If you accomplish nothing else, make sure you don’t send you child off until they know the financial basics. Ideally these foundations are laid throughout their upbringing but make sure the absolutely understand the basics before leaving home. The financial basics include:

  • Budgeting
  • Borrowing and implications of borrowing (loans, credit cards, lines of credit etc)
  • Debt and all responsibilities associated

If they don’t understand these simple basics, they will be starting their life, in a financial turmoil. A child needs to understand how to manage money before leaving home since the ”real world” will completely overwhelm them with opportunities to make bad decisions.

 

Opportunities

Opportunities to make bad financial decisions are everywhere. Most of these decisions are due to lack of education but totally avoidable.

It was lack of education that was the catalyst of my bad financial decision-making. I started university, knowing nothing about budgeting or borrowing money. I knew that credit cards eventually needed to be paid back but, like so many, thought as long as I was making  the minimum payment I was fine. I thought a credit card was a great invention; instead of using my hard-earned paycheque to pay for gas/clothes/textbooks, I could charge it onto my credit card only be required to make a much lower minimum payment. It wasn’t until many years later that I truly understood the implications of my actions.

 

Smart Doesn’t Mean Knowledgable

Though I would consider myself well-educated, understanding my personal finances was totally foreign to me. I wish I had been educated prior to getting my first credit card but I didn’t, and subsequently ended up borrowing much more than I needed for university. Just because someone is smart academically, doesn’t mean they know anything about simple life basics. Too many parents assume that their bright children work hard in school, get scholarships and have life totally figured out. This is completely untrue.

Knowledge is based on a lifetime of experiences, something most young high school grads lack. Given their age, it is impossible for them to have had much opportunity to become well knowledgeable on real-world finances. It if for this reason that we as parents need to teach them from what we have learned.

What financial lessons have you learned, the hard way, which you’ll now be able to teach your children?

Saving Money on Halloween

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saving money on HalloweenI recently read that Halloween was the holiday that people spend the second most amount of money on, with Christmas coming in first. Between the candy, treats, parties, costumes and decorations it’s easy to get carried away with money. It’s still possible to have fun with Halloween while not breaking the bank though.

 

Make Your Own Costume

I feel like this is a way of the past. In the past few years, kids who come to my door are all wearing pre-made, store-bought costumes. Where is the imagination!? I used to love planning my costume out months in advance and having my mom pick up supplies as our ideas came together. With dollar stores and thrift stores it’s quite easy to put together a great costume for cheap if you’re willing to put in the effort and imagination.

Websites like Pinterest and Google are great sites to gain ideas and direct you to helpful resources. The kid with the homemade costume, no matter how bad, always gets extra treats at my house!

 

Save the Decorations

Last year after my friend hosted her daughters Halloween party I helped clean up. She got out large black garbage bags and threw everything in it. Other than some streamers that had been ripped, there is no reason why 90% of the stuff needed to be thrown out. She said she only paid ”like $20” for then at the local dollar store and Halloween shop,  so wasn’t worth keeping and storing. My mom also used to buy what she called ”disposable” decorations. Ones she would use once,not take care of and throw away. Take care of decorations you do buy, and stretch your dollar!

 

Shop Around…and Wait

My sister-in-law, a self-confessed Halloween addict, knows how to shop for the holiday. Recently she found a gruesome garland of bloody scissors and knives at a Halloween specialty shop that she had to have, but at $10 for a three-foot length of glorified paper cut-outs, she couldn’t justify it. It wasn’t two weeks later that a local discount store had the exact same garland for $2.99. Especially with holidays like Halloween and Christmas, where stores put the merchandise out super early, it can pay off to wait and shop around.

 

Buy in Bulk

Depending on where you live, you may have a bulk purchasing store. The chain around here sells spices, dry goods, and candy. They bring in seasonal candy as well so buying in bulk from one of these stores can often be a much cheaper option than buying from a retail store.

 

Shop the Sales

This sort of goes without saying but if you have the option of buying something on sale, do so! So many people I know walk into the closest or first store they see and buy everything I need when, with a little planning, could save substantial money going to a different, or a few different, stores. Recently two competing retail stores around here were advertising Halloween stuff on sale. One store had a pretty ad that was intriguing and actually made me want to go into their store to see what they had but in all honesty they weren’t advertising a ”sale” just that they had Halloween merchandise in the store. The other flyer was much less pretty to look at but actually advertised a 40% off sale over a two-day weekend. Read the fine print and don’t get sucked in by a fancy ad alone!

Halloween is meant to draw out fun and creativity, make your own costumes and have fun with it! Shop the sales and don’t get sucked in by too many ”must have’s”.

Do you have a costume picked out? Will you be making it to save money on Halloween?

Are Your Children Ready to Handle Adult Finances?

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adult moneyNow is the time that high school seniors take their college entrance exams and send out their application packages to the colleges of their choice.  In so many ways, these kids are on the brink of adulthood.  Yet, because very few high schools now have personal finance classes, many of these students are not ready to handle their own finances.  However, in just one short year, they’ll be in college and financially independent.

Before your child leaves the nest, make sure you cover the personal finance basics with him or her.

 

Have the Student Loan Chat

Many students see the price tag for college and then see the financial aid package.  If they get approved for enough loans, they think they’re okay and they can afford the particular college of their choice even though they’ll be buried in student loan debt.

Make sure that your child understands the repercussions or student loan debt completely.  Show her how much she will be paying over the life of the loan.  Let her know what her monthly payment will be and how much of that monthly payment will be interest alone.  Show her how much she will likely take home from her job and how much of her salary those loans will eat into.

 

Teach Him to Save for Retirement

The earlier your child can save for retirement, the better.  Again, give him hard numbers and show how much his money will grow the sooner he begins investing.  Even investing 10 years earlier can make a big difference in the amount of money he has for retirement.  In addition, show him some resources such as reading up on retirement on Suncorp’s website.

 

Teach Him to Live Like a Pauper in College

Sure, living in the best apartment on campus, hitting the bars and restaurants every night and taking great spring break trips are fun, but they’re also likely the activities that will land your child in deep credit card debt.  Teach her to live like a pauper in college so she can begin her career and her adult life unencumbered by debt repayments.

 

Just Say No to Debt

This point links in with point three.  The earlier you can teach your child the he can only afford what he can pay  cash for, the better.  If he can stay out of credit card debt as well as substantial student loan debt while in college, he’ll have greater freedom when he graduates.  If he wants to take a job for a year or two working for a non-profit or joining the Peace Corp, he’ll have a much smoother path if he doesn’t have debt weighing him down.

Ideally, your child has learned many of these lessons, but if not, don’t despair.  Many American teens haven’t yet learned these.  Just make sure to teach them to your child before she heads off to college, a place where she can make–or break–her financial future.

How do you help your children become ready to handle adult finances?

The Choose Your Gadget Giveaway

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Choose Your Gadget GiveawayIt’s almost the holidays – can you believe it?  That’s why we’ve been covering things from Black Friday to holiday shopping.  But what better way to make things easier for you, than giving away the gadget of your choice (up to $800)!

That’s why I’m joining this amazing group of bloggers to give away this to our readers.  Make sure that you sign up and enter below!

 

Welcome To The Choose Your Gadget Giveaway

Organized by: Mom Powered Media. Co-hosted by the following amazing MPM Network Bloggers: Bay Area Mommy, My Dairy Free Gluten Free Life, A Medic’s World and Barefoot In Bluejeans.

Emperola.com is the easiest way to create giveaways on any Facebook page. Just simply create new giveaway here and Get thousands of new fans NOW! All giveaways are strongly promoted at Emperola.com

Do You Think Electronic Device Insurance Is Really Necessary?

Some analysts suggest that insurance such as for your smartphone is expensive and unnecessary. While consumer research strongly indicates that the popularity of such phones, and the ease of breaking them, makes insurance on the devices extremely important to consumers. In fact it indicates that 80 million cell phones of all varieties will be lost, stolen or damaged this year. Now that is a lot of money lost on your favorite electronic device.

Asurion Saves You from Mobile Mishaps. In fact a complete Asurion protection package, available through most wireless carriers, provides consumers with (1) Software that protects mobile data against the growing number of cell phone/smartphone threats and helps them locate a lost or stolen phone and (2) A replacement device, usually overnight, in the event a phone is lost, damaged (even water damaged) or stolen. Even better this piece of mind insurance costs a few dollars a month.

What device will you protect?

One lucky reader will receive the Smartphone or Tablet of their choice {up to $800 value}!

Giveaway ends November 21st at 11:59pm, open to US, ages 18+. To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Kids Ain’t Cheap is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. Please contact teri@mompoweredmedia.com with questions or to see your business or blog featured on the next big event!

Can Laser Eye Surgery Improve Your General Fitness?

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eye surgeryThere are many reported benefits of laser eye surgery. From vastly improved or perfect vision, to reduced costs (owing to the fact you no longer need to pay for expensive lenses) laser eye surgery could improve your quality of life in many ways – but could it improve your general fitness too?

 

Correlation Between Sight and Fitness

According to a story in The Daily Mail, this is exactly what happened to 30-year old Michael McCarthy. Shedding a total of seven stone, equivalent to 34 inches from around his waistline, McCarthy claimed that it was his ability to see clearly which help to visualise his skinnier, fitter self.

He claimed that poor eyesight was responsible for his lack of participation in activities or sports, leading to his weight gain. Even sports like football were said to be off the cards, with McCarthy explaining that he had a fear of his glasses being broken, rendering him unable to see clearly, meaning he sat on the sidelines instead of playing an active role in the game.

 

Getting Your Eyes Fixed

Undertaking LASIK eye surgery, one of the most popular forms of the procedure, McCarthy found his vision considerably improved once he had fully recovered. Prior to the operation, his prescription was -13 and -12.75 – figures which improved to -0.25 in both eyes to give him near perfect vision.

With McCarthy claiming it opened a world of sport to him, allowing to go swimming and undertake mixed martial arts classes with workouts consisting of cardiovascular exercises and even weightlifting, this is strong evidence that eye surgery could help you become fitter.

There are plenty of reputable firms who offer these surgeries for those interested in undergoing the procedure themselves.

 

Finding Help

Optimax laser eye surgery is a perfect example. As one of the industry leaders, they can help you determine whether the surgery is right for you and provide detailed information on the results you can expect to see if you choose to undergo the procedure.

It is worth noting there are risks with any surgery, so you need to make sure you’re making the right decision, but for further evidence of how your confidence and general fitness could be improved by the surgery, just take a look at some parting words from McCarthy:

“It was as if all of a sudden I was seeing everything in widescreen. By the evening my vision was in HD.”

Have you ever had eye surgery?  Do you think there is a connection between sight and fitness?

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