Saturday, March 20, 2010

Are Marriage Retreats The Way To Stop Your Divorce?

Marriage retreats are a good way to help give your marriage a tune up, but most people don’t even know they exist. They may be just the thing to give your marriage a tune up, or to help save a foundering marriage.

So what are marriage retreats? Well, it’s basically where you take a weekend or even a week to get away from it all somewhere away from your home, staying with other couples and trained marriage counselors.

While you’re there, you’ll be spending time working intensely on your marriage with your spouse. What this does is give you a chance to get away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life and get down to the business of your relationship.

This beneficial effect of marriage retreats should not be underestimated. The sad fact is that most people are far too busy to give their relationship the separate attention that it needs. Indeed, most of us only start thinking about our marriage in that way when we are already having problems.

After you are already having problems is probably the worst time to try and fix problems. Emotions are flaring, life is getting in the way, and you will find it very hard to do the work. The best time to solve problems is before the problems ever start happening.

This is where marriage retreats can really help. There are two big benefits to the retreat. One of them is that being away from all the distractions of life can give you a breather, time to think and time to just be together with each other. This alone can help your relationship.

The second benefit is that you’re in a situation where the whole point is to talk about your relationship. This is actually a lot harder to accomplish in real life than it sounds. Most of us are hesitant to have these kinds of discussions, because they can be awkward and painful.

But at marriage retreats, there are counselors and other couples there to speak with, and they will help guide and shelter you. This makes having those conversations easier and it gives you the benefit of having other points of views to help you see what is really going on in your relationship.

If you are already having problems with your relationship, then these marriage retreats can be an excellent way to stop your divorce. The time away from everything can be an excellent way to defuse the emotions that are preventing you from having the breakthrough you need, and having the help of professionals is always going to better than trying to just feel your way through it.

There are any number of varieties of retreats. The Christian retreats are probably the most common, but there are also plenty of retreats that focus on the secular side of things. All you need to do is find the right one for your relationship.

Marriage retreats are one of the best ways to help keep relationship going strong, but they are far from being the only option available to you. You can also find many guides and systems to help keep your marriage going strong.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Buying Diamonds Online

With all of the potential for scams concerning diamonds, buying diamonds online almost seems unthinkable! However, you actually can purchase diamonds online, without any problems – as long as you are careful.

First, think about your reasons for wanting to purchase the diamond online, as opposed to making a purchase from a local jewelry store. The most common reason is price. Due to low overhead costs, online jewelers and wholesalers are able to offer lower prices. However, you must be careful – sometimes a price that is too low is a sure indication of a scam.

One of the best things about purchasing online is the unlimited selection. When shopping offline, you are limited to the selection in the stores in your general area. Online, there are no limits. But again, you must use a great deal of care and consideration before handing your money over to someone that you cannot see and have never met!

Before shopping, learn as much as you can about diamonds – especially cut, color, clarity and carat weights. When you are knowledgeable about diamonds, it will be harder for a con artist to rip you off. Once you know more about diamonds, you will be ready to start shopping.

Take your time. Don’t purchase the first diamond that you see that interests you. Instead, look for similar diamonds for sale. Do some comparison shopping to find the lowest prices. Once you have found the lowest price, start doing your investigation. You know about diamonds, you’ve found a diamond that you love, and you’ve found the lowest price – but you are still quite a ways away from actually purchasing that diamond!

Ask about the seller’s credentials, such as professional jewelry associations that they belong to. View and print the seller’s return, refund, and upgrade policies. Also inquire about additional services, such as settings and mountings, sizing, and free shipping. Do a search for customer reviews on this particular company around the Internet. Also check with the BBB Online to see if there have been any complaints.

Ask for a diamond grading report from an independent laboratory such as GIA, HRD, EGL or AGS. You should see this before making a purchase. Finally, use a reputable escrow service for high dollar diamonds – preferably one that will have the diamond appraised while it is in their possession. The seller sends the diamond to the escrow service, and you send the money to pay for the diamond to the escrow service. The escrow service has the diamond appraised, sends the diamond to you, and sends the money to the seller. This is the surest way to protect yourself…again, make sure that you use a reputable escrow service!