While you may not want to feel like a cheapskate on Valentine’s Day, there are other things to consider – such as sticking to your budget and not adding to personal debt . It is important to make your spouse or partner feel special on this day, but sometimes personal spending limitations can put a damper on the best of intentions.
Fortunately, the Internet makes it easy to research inexpensive (and even free) entertainment options in your area, as well as low-cost, high-quality restaurants. With some planning, you should be able to enjoy a memorable evening that won’t leave you in the red until payday.
Inexpensive Valentine’s Day Date Options
1. Dine In Before Going Out
When planning an evening that incorporates a meal and other activities, such as a concert or a movie, think about eating at home before going out. Not only will you save a substantial amount of money, but you get to control the atmosphere, allowing you and your date to relax and dine without having to worry about crowds, lost reservations, or overworked waiters.
2. Avoid Fixed Price Meals
Many restaurants promote special fixed price, multi-course meals to Valentine’s Day couples. While it’s understandable that a restaurant would want to reduce the workload of its kitchen staff by encouraging customers to order the same meal, it doesn’t hold that these meals are a better value than ordering à la carte, particularly if you and your date aren’t big eaters.
Have a look at the restaurant’s regular menu and compare costs and offerings – you may not be saving much by going with the fixed price. Be sure to also pay attention to the portions offered in the special fixed price meal, as sometimes these meals “for two” only include one appetizer or dessert for you and your date to share.
3. Consider Using Coupons
Using restaurant coupons on a first date or at the beginning of a relationship can be awkward, but couples in long- and medium-term relationships are usually comfortable enough with one another to acknowledge that they’d like to save a little money. If you have coupons for restaurants, bars, or various attractions (such as movies, plays, or concerts), don’t be afraid to use them. Just be sure that they are valid on Valentine’s Day, as some businesses restrict coupon use on holidays.
4. Splurge on Cocktails or Desser
If you choose to eat a light main course or dine at home, you can free up your budget so that you can enjoy some special craft cocktails, champagne, or scrumptious desserts as part of your evening. Many restaurants will be happy to seat you and your date at the bar so that you can enjoy a bit of luxury on Valentine’s Day, particularly if you show up later in the evening (after 9pm or so). Bar seating is also a great way to get a seat at a popular restaurant that’s otherwise completely booked.
5. Enjoy Some Budget Entertainment
If you can’t afford pricy theater or concert tickets, don’t despair. Quality entertainment for a few bucks (or nothing at all) can be found in most areas. What you choose to do depends on both your budget and your interests.
In some places, museums and cultural centers may be open late, offering exhibits and performances either for free or at very reasonable ticket prices. Coffeehouses, improv clubs, fringe theater companies, and local bars may also be running their normal program of entertainment that you can enjoy for a minimal cover charge and the price of a drink or two.
Other options include art galleries, libraries showing classic films, and wine, beer, or food tastings offered at gourmet markets. Follow it up with a long walk through a nice part of town and your frugal, but thoughtful, evening will end on a beautifully high note.
Source: Money crashers
While you may not want to feel like a cheapskate on Valentine’s Day, there are other things to consider – such as sticking to your budget an...
Soft skills are a combination of interpersonal people skills, social skills, communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes and emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) among others that enable people to effectively navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals with complementing hard skills. The Collins English Dictionary defines the term “soft skills” as “desirable qualities for certain forms of employment that do not depend on acquired knowledge: they include common sense , the ability to deal with people, and a positive flexible attitude.” (Source: Wikipedia)
If you’ve heard a lot about “soft skills” lately, it’s at least partly because employers want you to develop them. According to Global Recruiting Trends study at LinkedIn, more employers are rolling out “soft skills assessments” to test job candidates on the cognitive and personality qualities you don’t go to school to learn: critical thinking, adaptability, learning agility, communication, etc. By all indications, these factors are trading at a higher value in 2017 than they have in the past.
But since they seem to be in high demand and comparatively short supply, companies are investing in new technologies meant to zoom in on the right folks faster. Here’s what it takes to earn high marks in the job market for your soft skills, whether you face one of those new assessment tools or a flesh-and-blood hiring manager on a job interview.
While some employers still use traditional interview questions to assess soft skills, others are turning to predictive hiring software. Berke, for instance, is a hiring tool that evaluates job applications according to a position’s job description and tries to determine which personality traits would boost their performance in the role. Another tool, Koru, looks at companies’ current teams and aims to gauge the soft-skills makeup of their star players.
The companies that are already experimenting with this kind of tech aren’t doing so behind closed doors—they want candidates to know about it, and prep accordingly. Many of these platforms and programs post tips and advice to their websites to help job seekers get a better idea of how to succeed. Koru outlines seven key traits it’s built to look for in most new hires. The first one is “grit, the ability to stick with it when things get hard.”
So to prepare, don’t hesitate to ask an HR contact inside the company whether they’re using any predictive tools to help them evaluate job candidates. If you learn that they are, do a little research on the technology you may have to face, so you can show yourself off in the best light.
If you handle change well, companies are likely to prefer you to someone who has a PhD or 10 years of experience but isn’t as adaptable.
Have you been on board during a time when your company switched from a hardware model to a software model? From a product to a service? How did you respond? Maybe you transitioned off a team led by your favorite manager and joined an unfamiliar group. What was that like? You should plan to come to each interview armed with anecdotes about how you reacted to a major change, how you came to make a big decision, and how your coworkers might describe your team interactions.
At LinkedIn, people who are the best at their craft have been interviewed, but if they lack the adaptability to work through change, they don’t hire them. There’s no debate.
As more companies recognize the importance of soft skills, they’re becoming more interested in figuring out how candidates will respond to certain scenarios. That means your job interviews over the next few years may hold more surprises than they used to. A company might even stage a miniature crisis in order to observe how candidates respond in the moment. Short of that, employers are already retooling their go-to set of interview questions in order to shift toward soft skills.
This means candidates need to rethink how they prepare for interviews. Canned answers may work even worse than they did in the past—it’s all about rolling with the punches. For now, check out the most common interview questions employers are using these days to tease out soft skills, and start working on your answers.
Be honest with yourself: What would happen if you went into work tomorrow and your manager said, “We’re shutting down XYZ project and we don’t know what’s next”? This happens all the time.
Finding yourself in a situation like this can take a toll on your health and happiness—that is, if you aren’t comfortable adapting to unforeseen changes. On the other hand, if you’re someone with what recruiters think of as high “change agility,” make sure to find a place on the bleeding edge of it. At all events, just be honest with yourself.
If adapting quickly to upheavals is hard for you, that’s okay too, as long as you’re aware of it and don’t try to become someone you’re not (interviewers—and their growing set of tech tools—will be able to tell). Chances are you have other soft skills employers are looking for; double down on those and look for roles that are more suited to your abilities.
Employers still want to hear about your achievements, of course, but you’ll also need to be ready to share experiences that demonstrate how you’ve been able to adapt, persevere, and manage change. That’s the kind of candidate companies will be looking to hire in the months and years ahead.
Source: Fastcompany.com
Soft skills are a combination of interpersonal people skills, social skills, communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attri...
Upcoming Nollywood actress Jewel Infinity was hospitalized following a beating she received from an army officer in Rivers State. The actress who was on her way to Onitsha when the vehicle she boarded was stopped by soldiers.
Jewel Infinity cried out for help in a post on her page, she said:
“Please my good people, I’m sincerely calling out for justice against violence. I am hospitalized right now. I’m in serious pain and agony; in between life and death.I boarded a siena vehicle leaving PortHarcourt for Onitsha. We were pulled over by some soldiers.
One of them, SULAIMAN OLAMILEKAN, began to molest me. He accused me of discussing him, where I was only having a friendly debate with the lady beside me. I explained to him, but he ignored me and demanded I disembark, kneel down and apologise to him.
I told him I did nothing wrong to apologise. He started hitting me with a stick. The other soldiers confiscated and broke my phone, to prevent me from taking pictures. When I told them that I’d no longer proceed with the journey, they refused.
The driver drove off to some distance away from there, and I alighted and returned to Portharcourt and went straight to the Barracks to report him. His superiors pleaded that I shouldn’t take the case any further; that he’d be remanded for one month, which i feel is not enough justice.
He was summoned and he confessed that i didn’t do anything to have warranted his cruel action, that he was in a very bad mood. He begged me to forgive him and not take things seriously. Right now i am bedridden.
The doctor said I’m running temperature due to my high blood pressure. I am in serious pain and rendered partially immoveable. His facebook I.D is Sulaiman Olamilekan.
Please help me reach out to anybody in authority, who can fight this violence. Violence is indeed a cankerworm that has eaten us deep into every fabric of the Nigerian Army Force. Soldiers fight and protect their own, not to destroy the innocent civilians.”
Upcoming Nollywood actress Jewel Infinity was hospitalized following a beating she received from an army officer in Rivers State. The actre...
According to a report by PMNEWS, Investigations on Monday revealed a former Akwa Ibom State Governor as the chief sponsor of the planned massive nationwide protest being orchestrated by 2face, against the Buhari-led administration.
The protest, planned to hold on Sunday, February 5, had in the last two weeks generated much hue and cry with some Nigerian celebrities queuing behind the move, while others had kicked against the intention.
But on Monday, a source revealed to PMNEWS, that 2face was being used as a stooge to drive the protest aimed at smearing the Buhari-led FG.
This said former governor, now a Senator, has never hidden his love for the ‘African Queen’ crooner and had in the past said to have showered award winning musician with cash and gifts worth several millions of naira.
PMNEWS recalls that 2face and his wife, Annie Macaulay, in 2013, were gifted two brand new Prado SUVs by this former governor as their wedding gift which they graciously accepted. .
2face has however, come under severe criticism by some fans who feel he was silent during the previous administration where massive corruption, lawlessness and poverty were the order of the day, with some concluding that there was more behind the protest.
According to a report by PMNEWS, Investigations on Monday revealed a former Akwa Ibom State Governor as the chief sponsor of the planned mas...
“You are a bloody illiterate,” Nigerian professor, Akindele Adetoye, blasts 2face for planning to lead protest against the FG.
“You are a bloody illiterate,” Nigerian professor, Akindele Adetoye, blasts 2face for planning to lead protest against the FG.
Nollywood churned out plenty of movies worth seeing at the theatres. It was also a great year for thrillers, historic movies, and biopics. The year also saw a handful of Nollywood films debut at international festival amidst rave reviews. But, some lucky films shattered box office records. Here are the top 5 Nollywood movies that ruled the box office in 2016.
1.A Trip to Jamaica
Standing tall at the number one spot on our list is top comedian, Ayo Makun’s money spinning movie, A Trip to Jamaica. Starring Funke Akindele, Chris Attoh, Patoranking, Olamide and many others, the film broke the record previously held by its prequel, 30 days in Atlanta, to become highest grossing Nollywood/Hollywood movie in Nigerian cinemas.
The movie beat the box office revenues of the entire big budget Hollywood Titles released in 2016 in Nigeria like Batman Vs. Superman ,
Captain America, Suicide Squad and London Has Fallen .
According to the Executive Director of Filmone Distribution, Moses Babatope, the movie raked about N168m in revenue at the box office and also set a new benchmark in Nollywood as the first film to hit N35 million in its first weekend and the first film to hit N62 million in its first week. A film of many firsts, it is also the fastest film to generate N100 million in 17 days, and the fastest film to generate N150 million in six weeks.
2.Wedding Party
Starring star artiste, Banky W, and fast rising actress, Adesua Etomi, playing the lead roles, Elfike Collective’s box office hit, The Wedding Party, grossed N36 million in its opening weekend in cinemas across Nigeria. The tally placed The Wedding Party as the biggest opening weekend film of the year, ahead of A Trip to Jamaica and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Following the feat, the much-talked about story of Dunni Coker (Adesua Etomi), a 24-year-old gallery owner and only daughter of her parents about to marry the love of her life, IT entrepreneur Dozie (Banky W) redefined box office records in the Nigerian Film Industry.
3. The CEO
Yet another sold-out movie, Kunle Afolayan’s 2016 release, The CEO, is set in Lagos and other African cities. The CEO brings out the intrigues in the course of electing a CEO for a company; top executives who come for a business trip start to die one after the other. The movie also starred Angelique Kidjo, Fatym Layachi, Nico Panagio, Peter King, Hilda Dokubo and others. In June 2015, it made history when it became the first Nollywood film to have an in-flight premiere and screening aboard Air-France trip to Paris. The film was also the headliner at the prestigious NollywoodWeek Paris. The CEO made N60 million (includes figures from Ghana) at the cinemas.
4.Wives On Strike
Omoni Oboli’s latest movie, Wives on Strike, grossed N67 million from cinema viewings. It sold N15m in three days in its first weekend at the cinema, making it the first ever Nollywood movie to do so in the history of box-office records in Nigeria. A hilarious comedy, it tells the story of a group of market women who take a stand against their husbands in a bid to protect a young girl from underage marriage. It stars Uche Jumbo, Kenneth Okonkwo, Julius Agu, Chioma Akpotha and Ufuoma McDermott.
Oboli, in time past, had garnered commendations for her two earlier movies, Being Mrs Elliot and The First Lady as executive producer. The two movies made best box office movies of 2014 and 2015 respectively with excellent showing at the cinemas.
5.FIFTY
Mo Abudu‘s FIFTY, the new age drama chronicling the lives of four fifty year old women living in Lagos, broke Nigerian Box Office records by making N20m in a holiday weekend.
Despite competition from about 8 films at the time it premiered at the cinemas, FIFTY triumphed at the box office, consistently selling out dates in Ikeja, Abuja, Surulere, Lekki, Ibadan, Akure and other locations across the country. FIFTY, which earlier on premiered before a global audience in London at the prestigious BFI London Film Festival, will be remembered as one of the most high-profile Nollywood movies of 2016.
Source: Premiumtimesng.com
Nollywood churned out plenty of movies worth seeing at the theatres. It was also a great year for thrillers, historic movies, and biopics. T...
What is menopause?
Menopause is a stage in life when a woman stops having her monthly period. It is a normal part of aging and marks the end of a woman’s reproductive years. Menopause typically occurs in a woman’s late 40s to early 50s. However, women who have their ovaries surgically removed undergo “sudden” menopause.
How does natural menopause occur?
Natural menopause is the permanent ending of menstruation that is not brought on by any type of medical treatment. For women undergoing natural menopause, the process is gradual and is described in three stages:
Perimenopause or “menopause transition.” Perimenopause can begin 8 to 10 years before menopause, when the ovaries gradually produce less estrogen. It usually starts in a woman’s 40s, but can start in the 30s as well. Perimenopause lasts up until menopause, the point when the ovaries stop releasing eggs. In the last 1-2 years of perimenopause, the drop in estrogen accelerates. At this stage, many women can experience menopause symptoms. Women are still having menstrual cycles during this time, and can get pregnant.
There are effective, natural remedies for perimenopause and menopause. And that they work. These five steps can put that knowledge to work for you and help you get some relief, fast:
1. Avoid the five biggest sources of hormone disrupters.
Avoid pesticides and GMO foods by eating organic, especially for the dirty dozen. Choose grass-fed and organic for meat and dairy. Use makeup, fragrance, self-care, and cleaning products that have minimal (if any) hormone-disrupting chemicals like parabens, phthalates, and triclosan.Avoid BPA by avoiding food or drink packaged in plastic.Avoid PFCs by avoiding nonstick cookware coated with Teflon.
2. Eat a hormone-balancing, menopause-friendly diet.
50 percent fruits and vegetables 25 percent protein25 percent healthy fats, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes
Include superfoods like flaxseeds, black beans, walnuts, sesame seeds, cinnamon, leafy greens, eggs, pear, cucumber, seaweed, burdock, ginger, anchovies, yogurt and raw dairy, goji berries, longan berries, and pine nuts.
Don’t eat too much of these foods that tend to flare up hot flashes: alcoholspicy foodsprocessed foods (including refined sugar)
3. Practice stress management.
Find a relaxation technique you like. Try meditation, taiji, qigong, breathing exercises, acupressure, or reflexology. Practice it five days a week—even if it’s only for three minutes a day at first. If you’re not sure where to start with stress management, try this:
Sit in a comfortable position.Grab the top of your ear, right where it meets your head, between your thumb and pointer finger.Squeeze gently while making little circles as you take a deep breath in, then exhale for as long as you can.Move your finger and thumb halfway down your ear and repeat—squeezing gently while making little circles and taking a deep breath in and then all the way out.Move your finger and thumb to your earlobe and repeat—squeeze gently while making little circles while taking a deep breath in and then all the way out. Yes, it can really be that quick!
4. Get some exercise.
Gentle exercise, like walking, yoga, exercise bicycles, and Pilates are incredibly helpful for lowering stress levels, releasing helpful hormones and neurotransmitters, and for heart health. Try for 15 to 20 minutes five times per week.
5. Take a Chinese herbal formula.
As an herbalist, I recommend taking a Chinese herbal formula designed to help the body during menopause. Many of the most effective formulas use herbs like Rehmannia, Dendrobium, Chinese White Peony root, Aged Tangerine Rind, Phellodendron Bark, and Anemarrhena Rhizome.
Of course, before beginning any new regimen, please talk to an herbalist for help finding a high-quality formulation and to make sure they’re compatible with any health issues or medications you might be taking. Always tell your doctor when your herbal supplements change too.
This five-step plan can help relieve menopausal symptoms, reduce signs of aging, and protect your health well into the future.
Source: Mind Body Green, Myclevelandclinic.org
What is menopause? Menopause is a stage in life when a woman stops having her monthly period. It is a normal part of aging and marks the en...
Georgina Onuoha, a Nollywood actress and
the mother of two who was called out by controversial journalist and media personality, Kemi Olunloyo about a $10m bailout funds scandal has reacted to the allegations.
The US based actress replied again when Kemi threatened to hack her account.
She said:
Mami or Aunty agbaya mi is taking a victory lap
Egba mi
Bullies and frauds can’t stand it when you stand up to them and give them a taste of their own medicine 
@hnnafrica … so you can’t stand the heat yet you know how to dish false news.. pele ooo
Pick your victims very well next time.. Not this chick.. so troll along
And hey!! Missy you can report this as well
Aunty investigative pussy journalist from Ibadan
Olori buruku
Odale eniyan
Agbaya oshi
Oponu so we nu
Olodo anty iya
Ma se shege metala fun e..
Iwo dan mi wo
Oluya
Oribu, omo oshi
Ele won..
Omo kati kati
Omo jati jati
Omo oshi tinfi owo osi toka ile baba re’.
Prisoner to pain and anguish
Sorry guys just calling her some juicy names in youruba
@hnnafrica run along .. you threaten to hack my account??
go report this post as well
That’s what babies do
Please hack my account as promised, that’s what criminals do and you have eventually answered to the names all have been calling you..
Sorry Aunty agbaya mi
Pathological liar
Sociopath/psychopath
You American?? And deported? Oh I see crime and jail and illegal stay you mean 
Pharmacists?? Name of school and last place of work before deportation?
Journalist?? Please name of school of journalism and year of graduation
Oniro oshi
Olodo
Junky
Georgina Onuoha, a Nollywood actress and the mother of two who was called out by controversial journalist and media personality, Kemi Olunl...