Famous Names

30 Famous Names You Thought Were Real Celebrity Names

 

Quite often the famous names we’ve grown to know and love are not the celebrity’s real names at all. The reasons for using a stage name instead of their real names are, in most cases, more mundane than you may think.

In the world of entertainment and business, perception matters and your name can have a large impact on first impressions.

In our companion article, we looked at 30 Celebrity Real Names You’d Swear Was A Stage Name. Having an ordinary name does you no favors and the lucky people on that list can thank their parents for being born with awesome real names.

But using a stage name has become common place among celebrities and they may do this to either hide their heritage, have some element of privacy or simply to create a more punchy name for publicity’s sake. For actors though, their reason may simply be due to rules governing the Screen Actors Guild that dictates there can be no two members with the exact same name.

Let’s take a look at some famous names you may have thought were their real birth names.

Bear Grylls

beargrylls.com

1. Bear Grylls (born Edward Grylls)

Master survivalist and all round nice guy, Bear Grylls wouldn’t hurt a fly. Well, that’s not quite true. He’d eat the fly and all the maggots he could find. No, I’m not being nasty. Bear would eat just about anything that wriggles, squirms and squishes between his teeth.

Bear joined the UK’s Territorial Army and served part-time with the SAS. In 1996, Bear was “within a whisker” of being paralyzed in a parachuting accident in Zambia.

His TV show, Man vs. Wild, features Grylls dropped into inhospitable places as he shows viewers how to survive. That includes drinking his own pee.

Stevie Wonder

steviewonder.net

2. Stevie Wonder (born Stevland Judkins)

Blind since shortly after birth, Stevie signed with Motown’s Tamla label at age 11 and was considered to be a child prodigy, hence his stage name Little Stevie Wonder.

Some of his best known singles are “Superstition”, “Sir Duke”, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” and “I Just Called to Say I Love You”.

eartha kitt

earthakitt.com

3. Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Keith)

With a unique, unmistakable voice and a purr that will send a tingle up your spine, Eartha Kitt was an American singer, actress and cabaret star.

She played the role of Catwoman in the third and final season of the 1960s Batman television series.

freddie mercury

Freddie on IMDB

4. Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara)

Arguably one of the greatest rock singer of all time and the biggest Queen of them all, Freddie Mercury was lead vocalist of the rock band Queen.

Written by Freddie Mercury and reportedly the most expensive single ever made at the time, Bohemian Rhapsody shot to the top of the charts around the world first upon release in 1975, and then again after Mercury’s death in 1991. Once again, the song’s appearance in the 1992 film Wayne’s World revived Queen’s American popularity.

Greta Garbo

Greta on IMDB

5. Greta Garbo (born Greta Gustafsson)

Slang for the word garbage, Garbo was anything but. Cinematic legend Greta Gustafsson is considered to be one of greatest female stars of all time.

She starred in black and white films Anna Christie, Romance, Grand Hotel, Ninotchka amongst many others. Once voted the most beautiful woman who ever lived, she never married but came close, after leaving John Gilbert standing at the altar in 1927 when she got cold feet.

Garbo had helped Britain during Word World II by identifying influential Nazi sympathizers in Stockholm and by providing introductions and carrying messages for British agents.

fred astaire

Fred on Wikipedia

6. Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz)

An American film and Broadway stage dancer who could swiftly tap his way down a flight of stairs with ease, Frederick Austerlitz’s first screen test famously had evaluated him thusly: “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Balding. Can dance a little.”

Fred appears on the sleeve of The Beatles’ “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album and made a cameo appearance in John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Imagine”.

He’s quoted discussing John Travolta’s performance in Saturday Night Fever, “He’s not a dancer. What he did in those dance scenes was very attractive but he is basically not a dancer. I was dancing like that years ago, you know. Disco is just jitterbug.”

dick sargent

Dick on IMDB

7. Dick Sargent (born Richard Cox)

Star of 60s TV show Bewitch and I Dream of Jeannie, tricky Dick Cox prefers to use his stage name Dick Sargent to command the attention of fans.

An advocate for gay rights, Dick also appeared in Three’s Company, The Waltons, Charlie’s Angels, Knots Landing, Family Ties and two episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard.

jean-claude van damme

Jean-Claude on Facebook

8. Jean-Claude Van Damme (born Jean-Claude Van Varenberg)

The muscles from Brussels, actor, professional beefcake and martial artist, Jean-Claude Van Damme once told journalists that he experienced a period of homelessness “sleeping on the street and starving in L.A.”

He’s been honored with a life-size statue of himself in his hometown of Brussels.

In the early 90s two game designers were working on a fighting game centered around Jean-Claude Van Damme. When the project fell through, they reworked the concept into what became known as Mortal Kombat.

Although a martial artist, he’s not experienced a hit at the box office.

rip torn

Rip on IMDB

9. Rip Torn (born Elmore Torn)

Before gaining the reputation as an actor’s actor, Rip majored in animal husbandry. He’s also first cousins with Sissy Spacek.

Torn wom a defamation lawsuit against Dennis Hopper over a story Hopper told on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Hopper claimed that Torn pulled a knife on him during pre-production of the film Easy Rider (1969), but according to Torn’s suit, it was actually Hopper who pulled the knife on him, and Torn demanded a retraction from Hopper.

A trial court judge ruled in Torn’s favor and Hopper was ordered to pay $475,000 in compensatory damages plus another $475,000 for punitive damages.

sissy spacek

Sissy on IMDB

10. Sissy Spacek (born Mary Elizabeth Spacek)

As a kid, she climbed trees, rode horses, swam, and played in the woods making Sissy Spacek no sissy at all. She initially aspired to be a singer but became interested in acting through her cousin Rip Torn.

Starring in the the lead role of horror film Carrie, she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in 1976.

She’s been quoted as saying “My cousin, Rip Torn, persuaded me not to change my name. You shouldn’t change what you are in the search for success.”
Both “Sissy” and “Rip” are not their birth names though, rather they are nicknames given during their childhoods.

slim pickens

Slim on IMDB

11. Slim Pickens (born Louis Lindley, Jr.)

I can hear farmers across the country lamenting their low-yield crops by screaming at the heavens “Argh! Not another season of slim pickin’s!” Slim Pickens’ brother has acted under the name Easy Pickens.

Slim was a real cowboy, inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame and standing tall at 6 foot 3 inches. He starred in Stanley Kubrick’s great black comedy Dr. Strangelove. Slim has said he had no desire to work for Kubrick again because of his directing style of multiple retakes was over the top.

He often acted in Westerns such as Blazing Saddles but didn’t need to “Method” act since he was frequently dressed in cowboy attire and had a thick Southern accent.

vin diesel

Vin on IMDB

12. Vin Diesel (born Mark Vincent)

Get your motor running and head out on the highway, Vin Diesel stars in several car movies such as The Fast and the Furious franchise and xXx and plays off his stage name being the founder of production companies One Race Films and Racetrack Records.

During his teens, Vin Diesel performed breakdancing in an instructional video on the subject.

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi on Facebook

13. Whoopi Goldberg (born Caryn Johnson)

With a brilliantly comedic name, it’s no surprise Whoopi Goldberg rose to fame as a comedian but made her film debut and won a Golden Globe Award for her role in The Color Purple in 1985 alongside Oprah Winfrey.

Whoopi also won a second Golden Globe for her performance as a wacky psychic in Ghost, going on to star in Sister Act, Made in America, and in Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series as the bartender Guinan, a role she actually asked Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek creator) to give her.

A far cry from her early career working in a mortuary where her job was applying makeup to corpses.

zsa zsa gabor

Zsa Zsa on Wikipedia

14. Zsa Zsa Gabor (born Sári Gábor)

At the age of 15 crowned Miss Hungary, Zsa Zsa Gabor became a sought-after actress with “European flair and style” with a personality that “exuded charm and grace”.

Her 9th and final husband, Frédéric von Anhalt is the adopted son of German royalty, giving Zsa Zsa the title Princess Von Anhalt, Duchess of Saxony.

She has starred in the original film Moulin Rouge, Death of a Scoundrel, The Girl in the Kremlin and many others along with cameo appearances in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and The Naked Gun 2½.

Charlie Sheen

Charlie on Wikipedia

15. Charlie Sheen (born Carlos Estévez)

Notorious party boy, son of Martin Sheen (born Ramón Estévez), brother of Emilio Estévez, Charlie Sheen has appeared in films such as Platoon, Wall Street, Major League, Hot Shots and his TV roles in Spin City, Two and a Half Men, and Anger Management.

He was fired from Two and a Half Men after undergoing a substance rehabilitation program and took to Twitter to vent his rage at the show’s creator, Chuck Lorre, gaining even more followers and fans due to his bizarre behavior.

We still have 15 more famous names that may surprise you to find out are not the celebrity’s real names.

Some may surprise you.

beau bridges

Beau on IMDB

16. Beau Bridges (born Lloyd Vernet Bridges III)

Like his actor father Lloyd Bridges and brother Jeff Bridges, Beau also has a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame and was a very promising basketball player in his youth.

Beau wouldn’t have been able to act using his birth name Lloyd because of rules of the Screen Actors Guild dictating there can be no two members with the exact same name – his father already being the first member.

Beau was nicknamed by his parents after Ashley Wilkes’ son in Gone with the Wind.

engelbert humperdinck

engelbert.com

17. Engelbert Humperdinck (born Arnold Dorsey)

With possibly the greatest comical names in history, Engelbert Humperdinck, not to be confused with an 1800s German composer of the same (real) name, is a more modern pop singer best known for his number one hits “Release Me” and “The Last Waltz”, as well as “After the Lovin’” and “A Man Without Love”.

Arnold Dorsey, one of the wealthiest musicians in the business worth around $100 million dollars, co-opted his stage name after admiring the German composer.

ringo starr

ringostarr.com

18. Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey)

Inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame, the English musician who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the Beatles certainly lived up to his stage name and become one of the biggest stars of the 1960s.

Starr famously narrated the first two series of the children’s television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. As a kid himself at the age of 15, Ringo dreamed of becoming a professional actor, but could barely read or write.

Before Ringo, The Beatles tried several other drummers. He’s said “I never studied anything, really. I didn’t study the drums. I joined bands and made all the mistakes onstage”.

Bobcat goldthwait

Bobcat on IMDB

19. Bobcat Goldthwait (born Robert Goldthwait)

Widely known for his high pitch loud trembling voice during comedy acts and in films Police Academy 2,3 & 4, Bobcat Goldthwait did stand-up material as an opening act for Nirvana.

He’s been quoted as saying “I retired from acting the same time they stopped hiring me”.

Michael J Fox

michaeljfox.org

20. Michael “J” Fox (born Michael A Fox)

What’s the difference between an ‘A’ and a ‘J’? Due to rules governing the Screen Actor’s Guild, Michael Fox was already an established actor who played several roles in a show called Science Fiction Theatre in 1955, so our Michael A Fox used the microscopic change to his name so he could enroll.

The writers of Back To The Future, which stars Fox playing Marty McFly traveling back in time to 1955, where his father George McFly mentions he’s a huge fan of a show called Science Fiction Theatre. That show, an actual episode aired in 1955, featured a suburban couple finding out that their neighbors are time travelers from the future.

Michael J Fox has been championing the cause for Parkinson’s disease research since his own diagnosis in 1991.

judge reinhold

Judge on IMDB

21. Judge Reinhold (born Edward Reinhold)

Known for co-starring in movies such as Beverly Hills Cop, Gremlins and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Judge Reinhold also played himself in an episode of Arrested Development where he had his own reality courtroom show, playing off his childhood nickname of “Judge”.

Reinhold was nominated for an Emmy for a role on Seinfeld in which he played the infamous “close talker” who developed an obsession with Jerry’s parents.

carmen electra

carmenelectra.com

22. Carmen Electra (born Tara Patrick)

Electrifying the eyeballs of men since the early 1990s showing lots of skin in Playboy magazine and on the TV series Baywatch, Carmen Electra only chose a stage name at the behest of mentor and singer Prince.

Carmen has also appeared in several horror movies such as American Vampire, Scary Movie, Disaster Movie and married basketball star Dennis Rodman for 5 months before filing for divorce in 1999.

American scientist, Neal Evenhuis, named an extinct genus of fly after her. The species is called Carmenelectra.

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas on IMDB

23. Nicolas Cage (born Nicolas Coppola)

Nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola and an avid comic cook collector, Nicolas Cage wanted to make a name for himself instead of trading off his famous family. He got his stage name from Marvel comic book character Luke Cage.

Nicolas reportedly got Johnny Depp his first acting job and also married Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley (now divorced).

His films include Raising Arizona, Face/Off, Con Air, Gone in 60 Seconds, National Treasure and Ghost Rider and was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Leaving Las Vegas.

winona ryder

Winona on IMDB

24. Winona Ryder (born Winona Laura Horowitz)

Riding her way to success in the 1980s, Winona Ryder’s first significant role came in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice followed with the cult film Heathers. She also starred in Burton’s Edward Scissorhands and Francis Ford Coppola’s gothic romance Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and also in Little Women, Reality Bites, Girl Interrupted and Black Swan.

Ryder’s personal life has attracted significant media attention through her relationship with Johnny Depp, who tattooed her name on his arm, and a 2001 arrest for shoplifting where Beverly Hills police described her as “very friendly, polite, and cooperative” and “a nice lady.”

Rodney Dangerfield

Rodney on Wikipedia

25. Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Cohen)

He gets no respect at all, and it’s no wonder with his comedic roles in 1980s films Easy Money, Caddyshack, and Back to School. At the age of 15, he began to write for standup comedians but at age 20 began to perform comedy himself as Jack Roy, only later to be known as Rodney Dangerfield.

Dangerfield played an important role in comedian Jim Carrey’s rise to stardom in the 1980s. Rodney signed Carrey to open for his Las Vegas show and they would tour together for two years.

tom cruise

tomcruise.com

26. Tom Cruise (born Thomas Mapother IV)

With a career cruising along at altitude from his first leading role in Risky Business, Tom Cruise became a full-fledged movie star after starring in Top Gun, Rain Man, A Few Good Men and Jerry Maguire.

Cruise is actually Tom’s middle name, not his surname. He is known for his support of the Church of Scientology, being in the top echelons of the faith.

Tom famously (and bizarrely) jumped on Oprah’s couch during an interview professing his love for girlfriend Katie Holmes, who he would go on to marry, have daughter Suri and later divorce due to reported conflicts about his faith.

marilyn monroe

marilynmonroe.com

27. Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Mortenson)

One of the most celebrated and enduring icons of all time who had a pretty tough childhood, Marilyn Monroe became a model, singer and movie star in the 1950s who allegedly had affairs with both John and Robert Kennedy.

She starred in movies including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch, Some Like It Hot. Monroe made her last significant public appearance in 1962 singing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” at a birthday party for President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden.

Her cause of death was recorded as “acute barbiturate poisoning”, resulting from a “probable suicide” although conspiracy theories involve President Kennedy, who apparently, was the last person Monroe called.

alice cooper

alicecooper.com

28. Alice Cooper (born Vincent Furnier)

With a career spanning six decades and a stage show that featuring guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood and snakes, Alice Cooper became a hit with “School’s Out” in 1972 followed by Welcome To My Nightmare, Poison and Only Women Bleed.

Cooper made a famous cameo appearance in the 1992 hit comedy film Wayne’s World. The phrase uttered by characters Wayne and Garth in his presence, “We’re not worthy!”, became one of the most popular movie catchphrases of the decade.

gene wilder

Gene on IMDB

29. Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman)

Choosing the first part of his stage name in honor of his sick mother Jeanne, Gene Wilder’s performance as Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor and also an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as Leo Bloom in The Producers (original).

Starring with Richard Pryor in four movies: Silver Streak, Stir Crazy, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and Another You, Wilder later admitted “We were never good friends, contrary to popular belief. We turned it on for the camera, then turned it off. He was a pretty unpleasant person to be around during the time we worked together. He was going through his drug problems then and didn’t want a friendship outside of what we did on the screen.”

queen latifah

Queen on Twitter

30. Queen Latifah (born Dana Owens)

Fans may be disappointed to learn, she ain’t a real queen, Queen Latifah is a rapper, model, comedienne and actress who has won a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, and a Grammy Award for U.N.I.T.Y.

Queen Latifah has starred in Chicago, Bringing Down the House, Beauty Shop (paid $10 million for her role), Hairspray along with several TV gigs and her own talk show.

If you enjoyed reading this list of famous names that were not real, you’ll also enjoy reading about famous names that are indeed the celebrity’s birth name.

Take a look at 30 Celebrity Real Names You’d Swear Was A Stage Name

Let us know your favorite famous names that you know aren’t real.

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Tags:  Alice CooperBear GryllsBeau BridgesBobcat GoldthwaitCarmen ElectraCharlie SheenDick SargentEartha KittEngelbert Humperdinckfamous namesFred AstaireFreddie MercuryGene WilderGreta GarboJean-Claude Van DammeJudge ReinholdMarilyn MonroeMichael J FoxNicolas CageQueen Latifahreal namesRingo StarrRip TornRodney DangerfieldSissy SpacekSlim Pickensstage nameStevie WonderTom CruiseVin DieselWhoopi GoldbergWinona RyderZsa Zsa Gabor

10 Auction Sites Other Than Ebay To Buy And Sell Stuff

eBay is a fantastic marketplace for both buyers and sellers, but there are several reasons you may want to look for auction sites other than ebay.

To the seller, eBay’s fees can become a heavy burden to your bottomline, effectively pushing up the price of your goods to keep a healthy profit margin, or forcing you to absorbing those fees resulting in a loss of profit.

To the buyer, eBay is a hodge-podge of millions of disparate products where you really need to know exactly what you’re looking for.

Auction Sites Other Than eBay

1. eBid

auction sites

eBid is one of the best eBay alternatives bringing in buyers and sellers from all over the world.

With over 3.5 million auctions in more than 13,000 categories, you should have no problems finding just about anything to buy on eBid.

Sellers also have the advantage of lower fees compared to eBay with 3% final value fee for casual sellers, or 0% for Seller+ who pay a flat rate membership fee.

2. Flippa

auction sites other than ebay

With over 200,000 registered users, Flippa is a marketplace for buying and selling websites and domain names ranging from just a few dollars up to 6-figure sales.

I covered one such sales in Warning! Websites For Sale On Flippa Fail To Get Return On Investment.

Website sellers can do very well on Flippa (named for “flipping” – create, grow traffic, sell) due to the large audience and willing buyers.

Website buyers should always be cautious when making investment decisions and to thoroughly research potential purchases.

3. Triple Clicks

Triple Clicks is a daily deals site offering heavily discounted products through live “penny auctions.”

Prices start at just one cent, where each bid received increases the price by one cent. The final bidder may then buy the item for the ending price, which tends to be a fraction of the normal retail price for the product.

You will need TripleClicks “TCredits” to buy or sell on the site, which comes in packs of 1, 10, 20, 50, and 200 starting from 29 cents each.

4. uBid

 

Boasting more than six million members, uBid

is an online marketplace for new, overstock, closeout and recertified products.

Many items from 25 categories are discounted including Fine Art, Collectibles, Jewelry, Travel and Electronics with daily deals, auctions and fixed-price ‘buy now’ options.

Registered merchants can sell products with no listing fees with a success fee of 5%.

5. CQout

 

CQout, or “Seek You Out”, is a world-wide online market place and auction community, based in the UK.

While the website design is a bit old-fashioned, CQout continues to list over 2 million items for sale rivaling it’s closest competitors.

Items successfully auctioned at CQout.com are subject to a 1.5% final value fee, which is significantly lower than most other online auction sites that charge final value fees.

6. Webstore

 

While most other online auction sites charge fees for listing or final-value fees, there are no fees what-so-ever at Webstore, whether you’re a buyer, occasional seller or online storeowner.

The free service is subsidized by advertising, so if you don’t mind a few ads and an old-fashioned site design, this is a great place to buy and sell online.

7. Bidz

 

Bidz is the largest 100% authentic brand name & jewelry auction marketplace offering jewelry, watches, sunglasses, and other accessories.

Bidz is a part of a small group of auction sites other than ebay that specialize in jewelry and couture. Brands listed on the website include Gucci, Chanel, Roberto Coin, Autore, Disney, Chrome Hearts, and many more.

Bidz promises a 100% moneyback guarantee if any item received was not authentic or not as described, making it a safe place to shop.

8. Liquidation.com

 

Liquidation.com is a marketplace where professional buyers can source commercial and government surplus.

Bulk lots are sold by the truckload, pallet, or small package and the condition of items range from brand new to used and damaged including clothing, computers, electronics, housewares, industrial equipment, vehicles, and much more.

Buying in bulk reduces the cost of acquisition with heavily discounted items, many of which are in perfect condition.

9. Government Liquidation

 

If you’re in the market for military or government equipment, check Liquidation.com’s sister site Government Liquidation which is the exclusive contractor of the DLA Disposition Services for the sale of surplus and scrap assets of the United States Department of Defense (DOD).

You are able to purchase vehicles, aircraft, boats, electronics, machinery, scrap metal and clothing.

10. Tao Bao

 

Tao Bao is *the* eBay equivalent in China, serving millions more people and billions of dollars/yuan more than eBay does itself.

Tao Bao is bigger than eBay in both userbase and revenue. Products are often far cheaper on auction sites other than ebay and any Western-world competitor and merchant are just as reliable as their American counterparts.

There’s a catch though… it’s all in Chinese!

Chrome browser does a reasonable job translating the text into English, however this may not help when it’s time to communicate with the seller or make payments.

Celebrity Real Names

30 Celebrity Real Names You’d Swear Was A Stage Name



Using real names in the business world is essential to maintain trust and honesty. Unfortunately, having an ordinary real name does you no favors. Printing your ordinary name on an ordinary business card looks like you’re handing out a sample from the printing company.

To those of you born with interesting names, be sure to thank your parents because names make a big impression on people. Celebrities generally don’t change their names to flee from the law or for more mundane privacy reasons.

When actors are forced to change their real names, sometimes it’s because of rules governing the Screen Actors Guild that says no two members can have the exact same name. For example, this rule forced Michael Douglas (not the one who played Gordon Gecko) to become Michael Keaton (the one who played Batman).

In our companion article 30 Famous Names You Thought Were Real Names, you’ll find out which celebrities use a sneaky stage name rather than their real birth name. Some may surprise you!

But continue reading as you may be gobsmacked to learn of some celebrities with real names you’d swear they made up, but are in fact their birth names!

elon musk

elonmusk.com

1. Elon Musk

A serial entrepreneur who could easily release a scented perfume in his own name, Elon Musk is the co-founder of Paypal, the online payments processor. Paypal was bought by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion giving Elon an enormous windfall of cash.

Elon shot for the stars (literally) and created Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX which was the first private company to successfully launch and dock a spacecraft with the international space station

Back down on Earth, Elon also started an all-electric American car company called Tesla Motors that manufactures affordable electric vehicles.

Wolf Blitzer

Wolf on Twitter

2. Wolf Blitzer

Sounding like he can slay wild animals with his bare hands, Wolf Blitzer is an American journalist and CNN news anchor known for his in-depth reporting on international news.

Blitzer has won many personal awards for journalism as well as being on the team reporting during 1991 Gulf War. He has also been awarded several honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.

Over the decades, Blitzer has reported on a wide range of major breaking stories around the world that have shaped the international political landscape.

jude law

Jude Law on IMDB

3. Jude Law

The Beatles weren’t singing about him, but many women certainly do. British heart-throb Jude Law started acting at the age of 12.

He learned ballet dancing for the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Talented Mr. Ripley. He’s also appeared as Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes alongside Robert Downey, Jr.

He’s quoted as saying, “Face it, I didn’t become famous until I took my clothes off.”

quentin tarantino

Quentin on Facebook

4. Quentin Tarantino

Director of Django Unchained, Inglorious Basterds, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Vol.1 & 2 with his film debut in 1992 of Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino has made a series of cult classics amassing a huge following.

In 1996, Quentin was planning to direct an episode of “The X Files” at the height of it’s popularity, however he refused to join the Director’s Guild of America and subsequently could not direct.

His movies often feature violence mixed with subtle humor and favors working with actors Uma Thurman and Samuel L Jackson.

Muhammad Ali

ali.com

5. Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali)

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., Muhammad Ali changed his name after converting to Islam in 1964.

At the age of 22, he won the world heavyweight boxing championship and was nicknamed “The Greatest”.

Ali’s title would be stripped after his refusal to be drafted to Army service, only to return years later facing off against heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman in 1974 in a bout nicknamed “The Rumble in the Jungle”. Against the odds, Ali regained the title.

Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984, possibly brought on by head trauma suffered during his career in boxing.

val kilmer

Val on Twitter

6. Val Kilmer

First becoming popular in the mid-1980s appearing in Top Gun, Val Kilmer received critical acclaim for his performance as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors. The real members of the band said they had difficulty distinguishing Kilmer’s voice from that of Morrison’s.

Following his rise to stardom, Kilmer acted his way into Bruce Wayne’s shoes in Batman Forever – the only blonde actor to have played Batman.

Val apparently turned down Patrick Swayze’s role in Dirty Dancing because he didn’t want to be perceived as a “hunk.”

channing tatum

Channing on Twitter

7. Channing Tatum

His name sounding like a Gregorian chant to be repeated with a fulfilling ‘ohmmm’, Channing Tatum’s career began as a fashion model and cast as a dancer in Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” music video.

He has starred in films She’s The Man, Step Up, 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike.

Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey on Wikipedia

8. Humphrey Bogart

Widely regarded as a cultural icon and amazingly born in the 1800s (Christmas Day, 1899 to be exact), Humphrey Bogart shot to stardom as an actor in the 1930s rising to the peak of his profession with his performance in Casablanca.

Bogart was a founding member and the original leader of the Rat Pack, consisting of other icons of film Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. The “Rat Pack” was named by Bogart’s 4th wife, and another Hollywood icon, Lauren Bacall.

He appeared in 75 feature films.

Powers Boothe

Powers on IMDB

9. Powers Boothe

Faster than a speeding bullet, Powers Boothe sounds like he could beat superman in a race around a department store.

Boothe appears mostly in TV (24, Deadwood) and also cinema such as Sin City and The Avengers.

He’s been quoted as saying “I’ve done love scenes with Jessica Lange and Jennifer Lopez, and I won’t kid you, they’re fun.”

charlize theron

Charlize on Facebook

10. Charlize Theron

This beautiful bird was born in South Africa with a name that sounds just like… well… a beautiful bird, Charlize Theron is an actress and fashion model who’s won the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress amongst many others.

Early in life, she has danced ballet in “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker” but a knee injury put a stop to her dancing career.

Charlize has starred in Prometheus, The Italian Job, Mighty Joe Young and Monster for which film critic Roger Ebert called her acting “one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema”.

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Mary on IMDB

11. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Sounding like a descendant of royalty, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is an actress who has starred alongside Al Pacino in Scarface and in The Color of Money, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

She’s also worked in television starring in Without a Trace, Grimm and playing Captain Zoe Callas in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

James van der Beek

James on Twitter

12. James Van Der Beek

Perhaps best known for his portrayal of lead character Dawson Leery alongside Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson in Dawson’s Creek, Beek sounds like he’d be right at home on the waterfront.

In 2002, he played Sean Bateman in The Rules of Attraction, which was initially a box office flop, but found a cult following on DVD.

James also featured in Kesha’s music video for “Blow”.

soleil moon frye

Soleil on Twitter

13. Soleil Moon Frye

With a name that could tame planets, Soleil Moon Frye shot to stardom as a child actor playing Punky Brewster and also joined the cast of Sabrina The Teenage Witch.

punky brewster

She frequently lends her voice to animated characters for TV.Keira Knightley

Keira on IMDB

14. Keira Knightley

As her name suggests, like defending the crown of the realm, Keira Knightley’s role as the decoy queen in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was kept secret throughout the film’s promotion, maintaining that Natalie Portman played both the Queen and the decoy.

The similarity between Knightley and Portman meant that during the filming, their own mothers could not tell them apart once in makeup.

Her filmography also includes Bend It Like Beckham, Pirates of the Caribbean, Love Actually and Pride & Prejudice.

forest whitaker

Forest on Twitter

15. Forest Whitaker

Smarter than the average bear, vegetarian Forest Whitaker ran with films Platoon, Stakeout and Good Morning Vietnam.

Forest was originally cast in the role of “Sawyer” on “Lost”, but later opted out.

He has said his droopy eye condition is genetic, passed down from his father.

We still have 15 more celebrities to take a look at. You may be surprised to find some of your favorite famous names were not made up, but are in fact their birth names!jennifer love hewitt

Jen on Twitter

16. Jennifer Love Hewitt

What’s not to love about Jennifer Love Hewitt? Right, guys? Jen rose to fame starring in Party of Five and a lead role in the horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Jennifer had mixed success in music with her song How Do I Deal charting thanks to featuring in the movie soundtrack.

Antonio Banderas

Antonio on Wikipedia

17. Antonio Banderas

He’s a Puss. And he’s in Boots. Although his tough guy name doesn’t lend well to his singing and dancing, voice of Puss In Boots from the movie Shrek, Antonio Banderas can also slice a mean ‘Z’ right into your shirt.

Also know for his role as Zorro The Mask of Zorro, he’s also starred in Assassins, Evita, Interview with the Vampire, Philadelphia, Desperado and Spy Kids.

He has his own cologne brand for men and has been quoted as saying “There is nothing in the world that cannot be cured by love.” Aww. You old Spanish romantic, you!

Boutros Boutros Ghali

Boutros on Wikipedia

18. Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Got to love the double name. Boutros, the Arabic version of Peter, is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).

His grandfather had been Prime Minister of Egypt for 2 year before being assassinated in 1910.

His unique name is frequently mentioned in comedy TV shows, such as Seinfeld, King of The Hill, Friends and was interviewed by Ali G in a comedy sketch.

Yo-Yo Ma

yo-yoma.com

19. Yo-Yo Ma

Grammy Award winning, French-born American cellist and virtuoso, Yo-Yo Ma is another unique name frequently cited in comedy TV shows. Here is a double whammy from Seinfeld.

Ma was also seen with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, often invited to perform on stage during event keynote presentations, as well as appearing in a commercial for the Macintosh computer.

edward woodward

Edward on IMDB

20. Edward Woodward

How much wood could an Edward chuck if Edward Woodward chucked wood?

This British actor and singer was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) and rose to stardom in the mid-80s thanks to the The Equalizer, earning him the 1986 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Drama Actor.

He’s landed lead roles in TV and also made a brilliant performance in the original version of The Wicker Man and also in Breaker Morant.

leonardo di caprio

leonardodicaprio.com

21. Leonardo DiCaprio

With a similar name to the famous artist Da Vinci, Leonardo DiCaprio has risen to become the “king of the world” of entertainment.

Leo got his start in the TV show Growing Pains and became truly recognised for his acting prowess in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Romeo + Juliet.

Not even icebergs could crash this rising star after stellar performances in Titanic, The Beach, Catch Me If You Can, The Aviator, Shutter Island, Inception, Django Unchained and many other great films.

dick van dyke

Dick on Wikipedia

22. Dick Van Dyke

With a lengthy span of 7 decades – his career, that is, Richard “Dick” Van Dyke is an American actor and comedian starred in the films Bye Bye Birdie, Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and in the TV series The Dick Van Dyke Show and Diagnosis: Murder.

Ambidextrous, Dick dabbled in computer animation since the 1980s. Using Newtek’s Lightwave 3D from home, he created and animated a CG version of himself that he danced along with as seen in The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited (skip to 6:50 min).

“Van Dyke” on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was misspelled as “VANDYKE”. At the revealing, he laughed, took a pen and drew a slash between “VAN” and “DYKE”. The star was corrected soon after.

billy bob thornton

billybobthornton.net

23. Billy Bob Thornton

With such a pointy name, William Robert (Billy Bob) Thornton drew blood from Wife #5 in Angelina Jolie, most famously wearing one another’s blood in vials around their necks.

Jolie once had a tattoo in the name of her 2nd husband “Billy Bob”, which she has since lasered off her skin.

He has starred in The Man Who Wasn’t There, Sling Blade and Bad Santa.

Danny Elfman

Danny on Wikipedia

24. Danny Elfman

It’s no surprise that with such a cartoony name, Danny Elfman, American composer and musician created The Simpsons main title theme.

He’s also well known as the lead singer and songwriter for the rock band Oingo Boingo as well as providing the musical scores for most of Tim Burton’s movies.

Elfman has worked on Terminator Salvation, Spider-Man 1 & 2, Men in Black trilogy and dozens of other movies.

leonard nimoy

Leonard on Twitter

25. Leonard Nimoy

“Live long and prosper” as the aliens would put it. Well, only if they were half human, half alien. Leonard Nimoy is best known for his role as Spock in the original Star Trek series.

Nimoy wrote two autobiographies, the first in 1975 titled I Am Not Spock. Later, relenting with the second in 1995 titled I Am Spock.

He was best man at co-star and good friend William Shatner’s third marriage, and still has the last pair of Spock’s ears he wore on the series, as a memento.

yoko ono

Yoko on Twitter

26. Yoko Ono

Imagine all the people angry with this woman, whose name translates to “ocean child” she caused quite a storm during her marriage to John Lennon. Both the public and media blamed for the breakup of The Beatles.

During Lennon’s last two years in The Beatles, he and Ono began public protests against the Vietnam War.

She is a Japanese artist norn in Tokyo and an avid peace activist with her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking.

David Hasselhoff

davidhasselhoff.com

27. David Hasselhoff

To the surprise of some American’s from his home country, ‘The Hoff’ (as he calls himself) is not just an actor, but also a singer who’s very big in Germany and Eastern Europe, selling millions of records.

He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch, running in slow-motion down the beach alongside Pamela Anderson.

Uma Thurman

Uma on IMDB

28. Uma Thurman

Former model who was 5 foot 10 by age 13 and named after the goddess of light and beauty in Indian Mythology, Uma Thurman earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Quentin Tarantino classic Pulp Fiction.

Director Quentin Tarantino (also on this list – see page 1) considers Uma to be his muse. Along with Pulp Fiction, she starred in his films Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2.

Uma describes herself as ‘Tall, sandy blonde, with sort of blue eyes, skinny in places, fat in others. An average gal’.

Shaquille ONeal

Shaq on Twitter

29. Shaquille O’Neal

One of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA standing at 7 foot 1 inches, Shaquille O’Neal overpowered his opponents on the court with the ‘Shaq Attaq’.

In addition to his basketball career playing in 6 teams, Shaq has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum.

gwyneth paltrow

goop.com

30. Gwyneth Paltrow

Not too fond of paltry poultry, wife to Chris Martin from Coldplay and daughter of Hollywood star Blythe Danner, Gwyneth Paltrow has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Gwyneth once dated Ben Affleck, reportedly is good friends with Madonna, and also became engaged to actor Brad Pitt but the two did not marry.

She speaks French and did her own singing in the movie Duets. Her godfather Steven Spielberg had her play Wendy in flashbacks for his film Hook.

Having an interesting name can certainly get you places and celebrities are the perfect example of this. Luckily for the folks in this list, they were born with fantastic names.

But what about those celebrities born with boring names? That’s what stage names are for!

Read our next article 30 Famous Names You Thought Were Real Names to discover which of your favourite celebrities have been deceiving you with fake names.

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How To Write A Press Release - 5 Do's And 5 Don'ts

Published on Wednesday, 03 April 2013 11:31

There’s a good way how to write a press release and then there’s a bad way. We want our press release to stand out, but only for the right reasons.

Anyone can submit a press release that is sent to major search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing, as well as 30,000+ journalists and bloggers around the world for just a few hundred dollars.

The publicity that can be generated has the potential to bring in more business than you can imagine. Companies like the #1 press release agency PRWeb offer 25% off your first news release as well as a free expert guide.

PRWeb also deliver your press release to 250,000+ PRWeb subscribers and keep your news release on PRWeb.com forever, serving over 3 million visitors each month.

Visit PRWeb.com

If you go to the trouble of learning how to write a press release, there are some things to keep in mind. Let’s start with things not to write in a news release. Commit any of these errors and your efforts will go to waste.

How To Write A Press Release – The Don’ts

1. Don’t Be Demanding

No-one likes being told what to do, especially journalists and bloggers. Remember, when writing a press release, your target audience are primarily journalists.

Journalists are very busy people who see hundreds of press releases each week, so always be courteous, polite and don’t ask straight out to be given free promotion. Obviously, that’s the goal and journalists know it, but give them something to write about, so show some thought and appreciation.

2. Don’t Render Press Release Text Into An Image

Presentation goes a long way to make a good impression, but press releases are usually found in a specific format. When using images, don’t render a chunk of small font text. Sending a press release as an image (jpeg, gif, etc) makes it unusable because text is likely to become distorted when resized or printed. You can’t include clickable links in the image and the text is unsearchable by the search engines.

3. Don’t Blast A Press Release To Unwilling Recipients

Don’t spam people! If you have an existing mailing list, make sure they are your target audience and not just random people. If you have collected email addresses of journalists, bloggers and news agencies, blasting spam through the wrong channels could just get you into their bad books – forever. If someone asks you to stop sending them emails – don’t send them emails!

People working in the media industry subscribe to services like PRWeb to find news stories so they are already a willing audience.

4. Don’t Be Self-Centered

Don’t write your press release in the first person using words like “me” and “I” unless you are using a direct quote. Journalists would have to change everything to the third person because they need to generalize the story to not have it written from your perspective. Write in the third person.

5. Don’t Be Boring

Why would a journalist want to write about a boring story? Press releases don’t have to be boring. What makes your business interesting? What is interesting about you, the business owner. What makes your product better than your competitors?

Think about why it’s interesting and be sure to make a point of it. Don’t make the press release all about how great you are.

How To Write A Press Release – The Do’s

1. Do Introduce Yourself

Write a very brief, factual statement about who you are and what your business does. If you want someone to promote you, your business or your product, the least you could do is introduce yourself.

2. Do Include Your Website Address

This should be a no-brainer. Get your website in order prior to sending out a press release. Make sure to include either a ‘media’ section for journalists to gather more information about your services or products and also write a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).

Include a link to your website within the main text portion of the press release. This allows journalists and general readers to easily click through. Press releases are also great for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes when linking your website to your target keyword. eg. “John offers a comprehensive service of mufflers in Chicago.”

3. Do Include Images or Video

Give readers a face to your name and include an image of yourself or your product or business. If you have the resources, also record a video specifically for the press release which will make a great impression on journalists.

4. Do Give Great Consideration To The Headline

A great headline is all you need to ensure a journalist or blogger will read your press release. But writing a great headline can be tough and it’s recommended to spend at least 50% of the time it takes to write the press release on the headline itself. If it takes an hour to write the press release, spend at least 30 minutes working on a great headline.

Read our article How To Write Great Headlines

5. Do Follow Up

If a journalist or blogger has written an article based on your press release, follow it up with a thank you email.

By doing so, it’ll establish a positive connection between yourselves and open the opportunity for further publicity down the track.

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most-dangerous-bacteria.jpg

The Most Dangerous Bacteria You Touch Everyday

Which of these three things harbors the most dangerous bacteria; keyboard, toilet or phone? Well, it’s not the toilet. Believe it or not, the toilet is the cleanest of these objects!

Studies have found that the toilet can be up to 150 times cleaner than a phone or the keyboard. They are the two main objects in your office that are most likely to cause sickness after touching. That’s because they contain millions of tiny little dangerous bacteria that range from the common cold, to MRSA and the Qwerty tummy bug, named after first six letters on the keyboard.

But hey, don’t panic. There is no need to run screaming out of the office never to return!

All you need to do is reach over to your hand sanitizer dispenser, squirt that magic germ killing liquid on your hands and hey presto, the most dangerous bugs are dead. Now that we can all breathe easy again knowing there is a quick fix for this bug problem, let’s take a closer look at what bacteria live on our phones and keyboards.

 

Most Dangerous Bacteria Up Your Nose

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that is commonly found on our skin and in our noses. Normally it does not cause any problems, unless we have a low immunity, an open wound or touch something that has high concentrations of this bug on it.

Staphylococcus aureus can cause boils, toxic shock syndrome, cellulitis, folliculitis, impetigo, MRSA, MSSA, Scalded Skin Syndrome and even Staph food poisoning.

It gets worse though, if S. aureus gets into your bloodstream it can cause pneumonia and heart infections that can lead to heart attacks or blood poisoning. It is helpful to know that exposure to UV light will help kill S. aureus, but are you willing to take the chance of some of the most dangerous bacteria still crawling on your hands?

It’s better to be safe than sorry and get yourself a hand dispenser sanitizer to kill those germs on hand. Use hand sanitizer regularly and also anti bacterial wipes on your keyboard and phone.

 

most dangerous bacteria

Image courtesy of the Lewis Lab at Northeastern University. Image created by Anthony D’Onofrio, William H. Fowle, Eric J. Stewart and Kim Lewis.

 

 

Most Dangerous Bugs Swimming In Your Intestines

Escherichia coli or E. coli as it is commonly known, is yet another bacteria that occurs naturally within most of us. Unfortunately it is also commonly found on our phones and keyboards too.

It lives in our intestines and usually does not have any side effects, but some strains of it can make us very sick. E.coli can cause bloody diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, severe anemia, kidney failure and even death.

That is pretty gross really, especially when you think that it comes from our intestines, meaning that microscopic traces of fecal matter containing E.coli are on our desks!

You can stop this disgusting invasion by using a hand soap dispenser with anti bacterial gel after going to the toilet, as well as our friend the hand sanitizer.

 

Most Dangerous Animal Bacteria Inside Of Us

Enterobacteria are another type of bacteria that are also found in our intestines, as well as carried by cows, chickens and reptiles. So unless a bunch of farm animals have visited your office recently, fecal matter has made its wicked way onto your desk via somebody’s dirty hands.

Salmonella is one of the germs that makes up the enterobacteria group and it is spread by poor hygene. The symptoms are vomiting, nausea, fever, diarrhea, headache, abdominal cramps, enlarged spleen and a spotty rash.

Infection is easily preventable though; just use some antibacterial cleaner after going to the toilet and before eating.

 

most dangerous bugs

Source

 

 

Using Hand Sanitizer Can Prevent Catching The Flu

But wait, there’s more! Did you know you can catch the flu or the common cold from talking on your phone? They are both spread via microscopic virus droplets which come from our colleague’s mouth and that cafe worker’s nose that swirl around in the air and also settle onto your phone sat on the table.

Because your phone is traditionally held up close to your face, you are most likely going to breathe them in and become infected yourself.

If like many of us, you are smiling away now thinking you are safe because you use a hand free kit, stop smiling. You are just as vulnerable because at some stage you would have had to touch your phone and those little sneaky virus’ are now on your hands.

Did you just look at your phone? Stop what you are doing and find the hand sanitizer dispenser right now!

 

Hand Sanitizer To The Rescue

Okay, so how exactly does hand sanitizer help us?

It is an antibacterial solution usually containing isopropanol or ethanol alcohol which can kill up to 99 percent of bacteria. It works by stripping off the outer layer of oil on our skin on which the most dangerous bugs are found.

The three main forms that hand sanitizer comes in are foam hand soap, antibacterial liquid and anti bacterial gel and there are many different forms of packaging. It is easily available and simple to use.

We all should have a hand sanitizer dispenser on our desks and use it regularly. And please, wash your hands after visiting the toilet. Feces on our keyboards and phones is so unattractive.

Personal Budget

Save Money. Get Your Personal Budget In Order - Inscribd

Published on Tuesday, 16 April 2013 12:32

Sometimes just hearing the word ‘Personal Budget’ is enough to make us shudder. Budgets have been given a dull reputation by overzealous financial fanatics, yet they are nothing to be scared of and neither should they be avoided. In fact, a personal budget is something all of us should have.

In fact the great entrepreneurRobert Kiyosaki even said,

“It is important to create a budget and stay faithful to it. Keeping track of what you spend is the best way to avoid buying things you cannot afford.”

A personal budget is an accurate plan of how much money we have coming in and going out each week, fortnight or month, depending on the timeframe we choose to set. It lays out in black and white all income, fixed expenses and discretionary spending money we may have.

A budget is a great way of keeping track of where we are spending money. Once we know where our money is going, we are able to tweak our spending habits to gain more control over our money.

In order to create a workable budget, we first need to know and do these four things:

1. What is our income?

Generally our income is our wages, but this can also include any interest from savings accounts and any social welfare benefits.

The figure that is important to note is our net income, this is the amount we have left in our hands, so to speak, after any taxes are paid.

It would be helpful to record your budget on a excel spreadsheet or notepad to make it easier to read. When doing so, place your net income dollar figure at the top of the page, as this is the amount we need to start with to create a working budget.

2. What are our fixed expenses?

Fixed expenses include payments like rent or mortgages, insurance and rates, utilities such as power, phone, internet and gas, transportation expenses such as petrol, insurances, registration or train and bus ticket costs and finally any other debts or loans like student loans, car payments or hire purchases.

Other possible fixed expenses will change depending on your circumstances, such as needing to pay for childcare or any gym or club memberships you might have.

These fixed expenses do not vary much, if any, each week/fortnight/month. This makes is easy to budget for them, or in the case of petrol, to make an accurate estimation.

Simply subtract each expense from your net income and you are left with your discretionary income.

You can create a column for each of these areas under your total income figure and this makes it easier to see the amounts of money that each area spends.

3. What is our discretionary income?

Our discretionary income is a nice name given to the money we have left after we have paid all our bills.

However, our discretionary income is not just for buying clothes, entertainment or shopping money, but also the more fundamental things such as groceries and pay for doctor appointments, for example.

So, record the dollar amount of your discretionary income underneath the fixed income expenses columns and then we move onto identifying our variable expenses.

4. What are our variable expenses?

Variable expenses include everything else we might use our money for such as groceries, entertainment, regular saving deposits, clothing, medical appointments, haircuts, vet bills, lawn mowing and any little shopping spree splurges we might have.

Everybody’s variable expenses are different, so take the time to record each item in its own column underneath the dollar figure of your discretionary income.

Then, it is time to allocate a fixed amount to each area and make an educated guess of how much you usually spend.

Now comes the fun bit, you get to add up all your estimated variable expenses and see if you have enough discretionary spending money to buy the things you want!

The goal is to have your fixed and variable expenses equal your net income. If you have spent too much, simply reduce the dollar figures you have allocated for your variable expenses. While if you have surplus money, add it to your saving deposits.

A personal budget should be seen as our friend. Yes that does sound weird, but a budget allows us to see where we are spending money and gives us the chance to change our spending behaviors.

Don’t worry if your budget does not work the first time you use it, instead tweak it until it fits. After all, one size does not fit all.

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List of Quotes Inspiring You to Be Better and Gain Skills

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