Assisting Dummies

By Roberto Garabell

 The toys of my childhood seemed far more interesting then the dirge of modern remakes the kids of this era are forced to play with. I remember He-man, GI Joe, and Smurfs even My Little Pony seemed cooler than a skinny plastic Iron Man toy which shoots weak plastic darts. I see my childhood with rose-tinted glasses and the toys I used to play with were hardy, fun to play with and kept me amused for hours on end. Toy Shops were massive and a hidden secret lurked inside each one. When I look at the modern remakes or classic interpretations of my favourite toys, I little piece of me dies inside. As a child from the 80s, I did not have to suffer the same barrage of media branding which kids today have to accept. It seemed much simpler back then.

Where did it all begin, my earliest toy-related memory that is. I vaguely remember a toy robot that ran across my bedroom floor, shooting sparks from its mouth as I ran away crying like a baby (I may have very well still been a baby). My first real obsessions were the He-man, GI Joe and Transformer toys. Between me, my brother and my cousins, we had every toy and add-on these collections could offer. Hours were wasted creating elaborate setups and episode re-enactments. One should note that these cartoons that our toys were based on where not merely cheap knockoffs, designed to sell more toys to unsuspecting children. No sir, elaborate storylines and quality animation played a huge part in creating an authentic universe which breathed life into our toys. I do not even want to start with my Thundercats obsession, a craze which due to my constant nagging almost drove my parents into a permanent state of dementia.

It was also considerably easier to collect toys back then. The price of an average action figure hovered around R20, 00 but it was chiefly because of our parents who would purchase toys for us. If I was to attempt to build my own collection of toys, it would be considerably smaller due to the insane prices of even the smallest action figure or Lego collection. Ah, Lego. Lego was a wonderful construction set. Whole cities could be built from scratch with a little bit of imagination and patience. I was entered into many Lego competitions as a kid, yet won no prizes despite having the most incredible time. The Dutch giants will never be as big as they were in the 80s, yet they are still capitalising on our childhood dreams by releasing special Lego Star Wars or Indiana Jones playsets. I believe their star began to drop shortly after kids began choking on blocks of Lego, yet funnily enough this type of ordeal never happened back in the 80s.

Its weird how time alters your memory of childhood fascinations. These fantasy toys of yesteryear become little more than dusty dolls without curious little hands to breathe life into them. I know that as the children of 2008 grow into adults, they too will share the same idle fascination I do with toys and games. Or more likely they will play video games for hours on end. Yet they may share my same view as well, that of melancholy and distain for whatever modern generation of toys dare crowd the toy shelves of modern toy stores. I worry what next-generation batch of toys will attract my childs attention and empty my wallet.

Allan has been looking for an online toy shop and came across some interesting gaming console websites which may have the toys that he is looking for.

Getting Out Of Debt Through Debt Management
By Alexander West

 It is possible that you are in need of a debt management company. There are several wonderful companies that cater to the needs of individuals that are drowning in debt. Not only can these companies help you get out of debt, they will teach you effective methods to keep you out of debt.

Every year more and more individuals are seeking the assistance of a debt management company to help them out of their debt circumstances. When looking for the right company to help you get back on your feet, you should first look into the organizations that are not going to charge you for the service. However, it is common to have to pay a small fee. Although, you should not be burdened financially by seeking help.

The next step you have to take in order to achieve financial freedom is getting all of those debts that are unsecured together. Such as credit cards and utility bills. The debt management company will work with these creditors to reduce your monthly payments. The debt management company is not able to work with any tax liabilities, such as the IRS, nor will they be able to help you with child support.

These bills will need to be given to the debt management company. You can hand deliver them or you can mail them to the company. From here they will contact the creditors and inform them of a financial hardship. Then they will negotiate the terms for repayment. It is common for a debt management to be able to eliminate your interest charges on these debts.

Typically, when the management company has completed all negotiations with your creditors you will be notified of the new amount of money you will be paying on a monthly basis. They will then give you a total amount of money to send in to them. They will then make your monthly payments for you.

It is unfortunate that in all the years we spend at school no-one teaches us financial education. One reason for this may be that the people who decide what is and is not included in the school syllabus are not themselves financially educated either. However, if you have read this article then you have an interest in the subject of debt. If you know someone who is in debt or you are someone who is in debt then please contact an organization that can counsel you for debt and if you live in the UK, the Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to help

Alexander West holds the Financial Planning Certificate. One of his passions is learning and teaching people about finances. You can read the rest of this article, and join others getting on top of their finances at Click Here

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