Technology

How to play crazy eights

In truth, it is a popular card game where players try to get rid of or discard all their cards in order to win a round. The ease of the game has spawned many variations with different names. In Germany, the game is called Mau-Mau. In the Netherlands, it is Pesten. In Switzerland, it is Tschausepp. Regardless of the name, the standard way to play Crazy Eights is to use a deck of 52 cards for a two to five player game. If there are more than five players, another deck of 52 cards is added. Eight cards are dealt to each player and some cards remain in a center pile, so make sure there are enough cards for the full complement of cards in an initial hand. As stated, a dealer deals cards to each player in a circle until each player has eight cards. The remaining cards are placed face down in the center. When the top card is turned face up to form a discard pile, that signals the start of the game. Starting with the player to the dealer’s left and continuing clockwise, players can discard by matching the rank (numbers) or suit to the top card in the center pile. If a Jack of Hearts is played, any Heart card or any Jack may be placed on top. The exception is eights which are “wild” and can be played at any time. When someone leads an eight, he or she gets to decide which suit is played next (regardless of which suit was the discarded eight).

If a player cannot discard a card, they must draw from the face-down center pile until a playable card appears. If the face-down pile of cards runs out, play continues and players simply pass if a card cannot be discarded. The game ends when one player has successfully gotten rid of all of his cards. The other time the game ends is when all players can’t discard and there are no more stacks to draw, thus locking the game. At that point, the penalty point scoring system comes into play. Traditionally, an eight in hand is worth 50 points, face cards are worth 10 points, and a spot card is worth face value (example: a five card is worth five points). Ironically, the ace card is treated as a one and is only worth one point.

Due to the simple rules, other variations have been formed and stipulations have been added to make things even more entertaining. A stipulation has a card, usually the ace, played to the discard pile, causing it to skip the next player’s turn in the rotation. Another stipulation is when a card, sometimes the queen, forces the rotation to suddenly go in reverse. The player who placed the flipped card plays again, and play continues on the opposite rotation.

Technology

Virtual PBX phone system for small business

Efficient communication between customers and company representatives is the crux of any business. A dedicated communication tool is a prerequisite for any type of business. Virtual PBX for small business phone system, being largely seamless, is very useful in offices.

A small business virtual PBX phone system is a cost-effective alternative to expensive premise-based phone systems. It works just like corporate phone systems. You can receive multiple calls simultaneously and route them to individual lines or multiple departments without ever giving a busy tone.

Numerous state-of-the-art features are incorporated into a hosted PBX system, including: auto attendant, virtual receptionist, caller ID, call forwarding, call forwarding, changeable call menu, music on hold, voicemail, faxmail, and further. These functionalities are provided through dedicated telephone lines or high-bandwidth Internet connections.

In a thriving company, the phone system must be updated regularly and new connections must be made as the number of employees increases. The traditional PBX system easily becomes obsolete when the company that uses it exceeds the capacity of its telephone system. This is not the case with a virtual PBX phone system, which is highly scalable and any number of extensions can be added according to small business requirements. Additionally, businesses using the virtual PBX phone service are only required to pay as they are used.

The no need for on-site equipment for a hosted PBX system is what makes it quite different from the conventional one. A customer does not need to purchase or maintain any equipment on their business premises, as service providers maintain all hardware and software on their premises. Users also do not have to worry about the maintenance cost of PBX equipment. Service providers carry out maintenance and update services on their sites themselves. Additional features that are added by the service provider over time are instantly made available to all customers.

Considering all the benefits of a virtual PBX phone system, it can be concluded that it is an excellent option for small businesses.

Technology

3 Types of Emails to Automate to Increase Sales, Upsells, and Profits

Email is a powerful marketing tool for any business if you take advantage of it properly.

A customer’s inbox is a distraction-free zone to which they’ve been invited, giving you the opportunity to engage their attention with more targeted offers than any other digital channel.

So it’s no surprise that the effectiveness and ROI of email marketing is incredible. Email is 40 times more valuable in customer acquisition than Facebook and Twitter. And for every $1 spent on email marketing, it generates $44 in ROI.

But as valuable as email marketing is, it’s not enough on its own. Effective email marketing is all about automation. Send the right email at the right time to the right prospects, and you’ll have customers for life who will be the evangelists of your business.

Here are 3 emails you should automate to increase sales, upsells, and profits.

1. The welcome email

You will have a chance to make a good first impression. And if your introduction to a new subscriber isn’t impressive, your follow-up campaigns won’t be either.

Generating three times more transactions and revenue per email than other promotional emails, the welcome email is the boss of your email campaigns.

When a visitor takes the time to sign up for your email list, they’re not only opting in to future newsletters, they’re also giving them access to their inbox. Don’t take his trust lightly. Calculate your expectations for what is to come.

Celebrate new subscribers with fun and friendly welcome emails. For example, you can offer them unique discount codes. This will drive sales among prospects who have just made a conscious commitment to engage more with your business.

2. The cart abandonment email

Yes, people are distracted. They go online to make a purchase and something diverts their attention. For example, they get a notification from Facebook, their phone rings, they knock on the door… and they abandon their cart without a second thought.

According to a report from the Baymard Institute, 69% of ecommerce visitors abandon their shopping cart, with 61% citing high shipping cost as the reason.

Turn cart abandoners into customers by addressing shipping costs in follow-up emails.

Can you tell the lifetime value of your customers? Are most of them likely to become repeat customers after trying your services? If so, offer them a “risky” discount so they can afford to take a hit to the front end. But if your rates are too low to compete on shipping, ask for feedback.

It won’t always convert abandoned cart shoppers, but try to contact them to find out why they didn’t complete their purchase. Use your feedback to improve your checkout process.

3. New product preview

When you create engaging and compelling email campaigns that tease new products, you’ll build anticipation for your new product. This will build a lot of support and help you achieve your project goals.

Do you have a new product coming to market soon? Create a teaser campaign to get your subscribers excited about your next release. This way, they will stay tuned for more updates and are likely to buy the product once it is available.

Teaser emails are simple because they just need to arouse curiosity, which will keep your audience interested.

Technology

Add a Personal Touch to Your Emails With a Handwritten Signature

Add a Personal Touch to Your Emails With a Handwritten Signature

A signature should reflect your style and personality. Adding a handwritten signature to your emails can build trust with customers and add a personal touch.

Write your signature on a piece of paper and scan it to create an image file. You can also use a photo from your device.

Colors

In general, we recommend that you write your signature in black ink. It will show up much better on a check, and it will be easier to scan and add to your document.

If you are concerned that your handwritten signature will not scan well, we suggest you take a picture of the image and use an editing program to boost the contrast and brightness. This will make the signature solid and keep the background white.

You can also use a mouse or touchscreen to draw your signature on the document with our Pen tool (Tools/Markup/Pen). It will be converted into an image and inserted in the appropriate place in the signature line. This is a great option if you want the convenience of signing with your finger or stylus pen, but you are unsure that it will scan well.

It is important to remember that any color you choose for your signature may impact its legality. For example, if you use a trendy color such as green or purple and the company scanning your documents doesn’t recognize that shade, it can cause problems in some instances.

Styles

A handwritten signature is unique to you and can be a great way to convey that you’re genuine. That’s why it’s important to find a style that suits you and is consistent over time.

A good way to figure out which signature style is best for you is by practicing on a piece of paper. Write out your name a few times and pay attention to how each letter is written and its placement. Also, think about whether the signature is legible or not. Sometimes, creative license is better than focusing on a completely legible signature!

For example, if you’re an outgoing person, try writing with more energy and excitement. This will make your signature look more lively! The more you practice, the easier it will be to pick a style that feels natural. If you’re a more timid person, you may want to consider using a smaller font size. This can help you appear more professional and confident. Also, try experimenting with different cursive and block letters to find the one that’s right for you!

Fonts

Adding your signature to your email can help you build trust with your customers and evoke professionalism. Whether you’re looking for a handwritten font that’s bold and elegant or a more casual signature, there are plenty of options to choose from.

If you’re searching for a handwritten signature generator font that has a strong, classic feel, try Magneto. This font has thick forms and direct lines that connect the letters to create a smooth flow. It’s perfect for business cards, magazine covers, and even photo watermarks.

Another great option for a handwritten signature font is Smilysundays. This elegant signature font is monoline and features a full character set including uppers, lowers, numbers, punctuation, and gorgeous ligatures.

Proposal to Payment

For a more casual look, try Kristen ITC. This bold signature font replicates the rushed feeling of writing by hand, which is perfect for informal documents and presentations. It also makes a great choice for signatures on social media or other modern businesses that want to appear more personal.

Sizes

Signatures can be created in a variety of sizes. Whether you are signing a large contract or a small letter, the size of your handwritten signature should reflect the style and font used for your name.

It’s always a good idea to practice your signature with a pen and paper before deciding on what looks best. If possible, use a pen with a fine point so your signature is more legible. Also, avoid pens with thick points as these can make your signature appear sloppy.

You can also digitize your signature by scanning it and converting it into an image file or by using a mobile device to take a picture of it. If you want to include your digitized signature in an email, you can do so by using your email client’s image tools to crop the scanned or downloaded image and scale it down to size.

Another option is to use a free and easy-to-use online program like Artlogo to transform your digital signature into a polished logo. Artlogo allows you to experiment with a wide range of font styles, colors, and shapes until you find the one that suits your style.

Formatting

A handwritten signature is a great way to add a personal touch to your emails. It combines professionalism and personalization in a way that helps you stand out from the competition.

To create a handwritten signature, simply write your signature on a blank piece of paper with dark ink. Then, scan the signature using a scanner or smartphone camera and save it to your computer. Then, use an image editing program to crop and resize the signature so that it’s ready to be inserted into your document.

You can also create a handwritten signature by drawing it on your touchscreen device with your finger or stylus pen. To do this, select the “Signature” option from the Sign menu and then click the “Create Signature” button. You can then use the “Sign” and “Clear” buttons to adjust the appearance of your signature.

Once you’ve created a handwritten signature, you can apply it to multiple pages at once by selecting the page range that you want to sign. You can even choose whether or not you want to include the page numbers.

Technology

Free Business Apps For Expense Tracking and Financial Management

Expense Tracking and Financial Management

Whether you’re looking to improve your business’s financial management or simply streamline expense reporting and approvals, it’s important to invest in the right tools. The right software can save time, money and even improve employee satisfaction by eliminating the need for them to jump through hoops in order to get reimbursed.

Luckily, many modern business apps www.apkviet.com are designed to make expense tracking and financial management a breeze. These handy apps can help you and your employees track expenses, import receipts and create invoices. They also offer other features that will boost productivity.

These include time tracing, the ability to share receipts via email, and an easy-to-use interface. Some of them can also be used to manage multiple credit cards, and they offer a 30-day free trial. Others offer a one-time fee or a monthly subscription. The best ones for small businesses are those that allow you to customize your dashboard and have a variety of reports available at all times.

Nav is another expense management tool that makes it simple to manage spending and receipts. It provides users with personalized dashboards, which are based on individual company policies. This way, everyone has access to the most relevant information, which helps them make informed financial decisions. Its intuitive interface and mobile app make it an easy choice for small business owners.

Another good option for expense tracking is Concur. It is a comprehensive solution that integrates with various solutions to provide a seamless experience. It also helps small businesses manage travel expenses, which can be costly. The best part about this software is that it can be used on any device. It also allows users to manage policies and business credit cards, and the interface is user-friendly.

Free Business Apps For Expense Tracking and Financial Management

Zoho Expense is another expense tracking tool that offers several features, including the ability to sync credit and debit cards, as well as split expenses. It also supports multiple currencies and can be used by different users from a single account. It also has a mileage-tracking feature and an unlimited amount of storage space.

It is also possible to connect this software with your accounting program. This will automatically import transactions and receipts, and users can also set up per diem rates to calculate costs based on location. This app is also available in nine languages, which makes it ideal for global companies. However, it can be frustrating for some users because of its glitchy features and excessive data entry requirements.

The best part about this app is that it can be downloaded for free on iOS and Android devices. It is also a powerful tool for analyzing financial trends and forecasting business growth. It can also be used to track the profitability of individual products and services. It can also be used to compare sales data and identify revenue opportunities.

Divvy is a great expense tracker and financial management app that can help you keep your expenses in check. It uses your existing credit and debit cards to automatically upload receipts, so you don’t have to do any manual data entry. You can easily create an expense report and send it to the person responsible for reimbursements. The software is extremely easy to use and has several helpful tools, including a mileage tracker and the ability to scan multiple receipts at once.

Technology

Reasons to hire a graphic designer

Who is a graphic designer?

A graphic designer is a professional trained to create and assemble photographs or images, motion graphics, or typography, with the goal of enhancing and enhancing the aesthetic appeal of your business. They can find solutions to make your brand stand out in this highly competitive market by making it appear more professional, thus opening up your services and products to a whole new audience and market.

Here’s a quick look at everything a graphic designer can do for your business.

To better explain and understand the benefits of hiring a graphic designer, here are some points.

Gives your brand a much-needed boost

Who says every business has to stand out to prosper? For example, the locksmith is a small community and gains trade by being the sole proponent of a major service. However, for companies facing stiff competition, the high-quality brand is second to none.

A brand is about how your customers perceive you. It is made up of the elements of your company that are customer-oriented: your customer service policy, how you approach their queries, the tone of the writing, the name of your company and, above all, how it looks your brand.

Your company logo, website design and marketing materials, chosen colors and font, give visitors the first impression of what your business and company is like. A professional graphic designer knows how to manipulate these elements to ensure that they are perceived in a positive light by their clients. Remember, while a weak brand is instantly forgettable, a strong brand is hard to forget.

Prepare your business for the future

An image has the power to communicate a message in a better and more effective way. Also, it explains the complex message much faster than a paragraph. This is undoubtedly going to be the most important tactic for companies to grab the attention of the audience in the near future.

It is a known fact that Internet users have little patience and switch from one page to another in a few seconds. The best way to maintain your attention span is by creating graphics that are attractive and captivating. One of the best examples of image communication is the symbol-based language of emoji. In addition, the leading search engine stresses the importance of improving image searches.

Solve questions and problems creatively.

Modern companies can never have multiple creative thinkers, which is actually a good thing because graphic designers have the ability to creatively solve problems. This creative problem-solving ability puts them in high demand. Throughout a graphic designer course, students are bombarded with one problem after another and are motivated and encouraged to experiment and find their own unique visual solutions.

Consequently, such a professional can provide help in many ways, such as with your business decisions. The area may not be related to your experience, but they can show you how to look at it from a completely different perspective.

save time

The time is gold. If you are running a business, it is clear that you may not have enough time to deal with graphic design. A good and attractive design is not something you stumble upon. It’s the perfect combination of skills that require specialized training and a lot of practice. It will take you several years to master the software required to complete graphic design projects at a professional level. However, when you hire a graphic designer, you don’t have to worry about a thing.

What are you waiting for?

With so much to offer, it is worth considering investing in the services of a graphic designer. Take advantage of the benefits of their services and give your business the exposure it needs to thrive.

Technology

Is chess black or white?

Recently, a certain Board of Education voted to ban the playing of Chess in all of its elementary, middle, and high schools, claiming that “There is no place in our society for a monstrous game like Chess. Chess is dangerous. Chess is destructive. Chess teaches racial and sexual oppression. Chess has to go!”

Chess is claimed to have a negative influence on students due to the backward and outdated thinking that was responsible for creating the game. They claim that chess encourages racism by having a “war” between a white army and a black army and reinforces current racist tendencies by having the white army always move first. Chess is irrelevant to our society because it was created by dead white men and it glorifies war. The Board of Education in question also points out that chess destroys self-esteem. When children play, one always loses and makes the child feel foolish and inadequate.

So should chess really be seen as a dangerous game and banned in schools, discouraged in our societies, and perpetrators flogged for committing egregious acts of anti-social behaviour? Well, of course, there are always at least two sides to any argument and supporters of the game of chess may even suggest that chess should not only be allowed to be played in school, but also part of the school curriculum.

There is evidence to suggest that playing chess can have a positive impact on learning. Chess is likely to improve certain skills and characteristics of a person and is claimed to help improve thinking and problem solving skills in children. The American Foundation for Chess Studies believes that it can improve:

• visual memory,

• capacity of attention,

• spatial reasoning skills,

• ability to predict and anticipate the consequences,

• Ability to use criteria to drive decision making and evaluate alternatives.

According to the ‘Chess at the Olympic Games Campaign’, 605 million people worldwide know how to play chess, 285 million play via the Internet and 7.5 million are registered players. These staggering numbers make chess more popular than virtually any other Olympic sport!

I believe that Chess can be seen as a healthy hobby for people of all ages and that its benefits go beyond the game itself. Chess players tend to be good planners, people who accept responsibility for their actions, patient, respectful, and balanced in decision-making.

Chess is a unique and inspiring game that can unite religions and countries and help break down social and economic barriers. Players do not need expensive uniforms or equipment and chess can be played competitively or non-competitively between people of different abilities and backgrounds. Anyone can learn and play the game, which can be serious or fun, functional or imaginative. Chess is a real game that players must face alone, where weaknesses are sought and eliminated.

As an old Indian proverb says: “Chess is a sea in which a mosquito can drink and an elephant can bathe.” It’s not that bad right?

andy pitcher

Technology

How to Get Free YouTube Hosting

Accommodation can be expensive. And video hosting can be even more expensive. I have paid up to $75 per month for video hosting. It was worth it? Not precisely. Since then, I’ve always been interested in figuring out ways to reduce the cost, but still keep the high streaming quality of, say, an Amazon S3 account. It is not an easy task. But now I’ve figured out a way to make YouTube take care of that nasty hosting bill for me.

A while back, YouTube created a cool feature called Unlisted Videos. It gives you the ability to keep a video from the YouTube search engine and your channel, and share the video only with a certain group of people.

Isn’t that the same as a private video? You can ask.

No. Private videos are meant to be shared with only 25 other people on YouTube. Not only do you have to tell YouTube specifically who can see it by typing in all of the YouTube channel names, but you also have to be friends with all of them. Not to mention once you hit 25… that’s it.

So while private videos were great, it was frustrating to use because anyone viewing them HAD to have a YouTube account and HAD to be your friend. It was a clumsy system that no one used.

But now with the unlisted video feature, anyone who has the link to that specific YouTube video can watch it regardless of their friend status or even if they have a YouTube account. The same goes for embedded videos. If you embed an unlisted YouTube video on your site, that’s the only place it can be viewed.

Here’s how to make any video unlisted.

Before you begin, make sure you’re signed in.

Step 1) Click on your YouTube name on the home page and select my videos

This will open your videos in the back of your account.

Step 2) Choose a video you want to change from public to unlisted and click edit

This will open the editing function of your video.

Step 3) Scroll down to Streaming and Sharing Options section and click Not included in listing

This will also give you a new URL. Use it when you want to share the direct link with others via email or Twitter.

Step 4) Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes

Now that the video is not listed, it’s time to embed it.

Step 5) Click see video on the page

This will open your video where you can get the embed code.

Step 6) Copy the embed code and paste it on your blog or website

You now have a video that cannot be found on YouTube and can only be found on your website!

Technology

The evolution of technology – The history of computers

Although computers are now an important part of human life, there was a time when computers did not exist. Knowing the history of computers and how much progress has been made can help you understand how complicated and innovative the creation of computers really is.

Unlike most devices, the computer is one of the few inventions that does not have a specific inventor. Throughout the development of the computer, many people have added their creations to the list required for a computer to work. Some of the inventions have been different types of computers, and some of them were necessary parts to allow computers to develop further.

The beginning

Perhaps the most significant date in the history of computers is the year 1936. It was in this year that the first “computer” was developed. It was created by Konrad Zuse and called Z1 Computer. This computer is the first, as it was the first system to be completely programmable. There were devices before it, but none had the computing power that sets it apart from other electronic devices.

It wasn’t until 1942 that any business saw profit and opportunity in computers. This first company was called ABC Computers, owned and operated by John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry. Two years later, the Harvard Mark I computer was developed, furthering computer science.

Over the next few years, inventors from around the world began to dig deeper into the study of computers and how to improve them. Those next ten years say the introduction of the transistor, which would become a vital part of the inner workings of the computer, the ENIAC 1 computer, as well as many other types of systems. ENIAC 1 is perhaps one of the most interesting, as it required 20,000 vacuum tubes to run. It was a huge machine and it started the revolution to build smaller and faster computers.

The computer age was forever altered by the introduction of International Business Machines, or IBM, into the computer industry in 1953. This company, throughout the history of computing, has been a major player in the development of new systems and servers for public and private use. This introduction sparked the first real signs of competition in the history of computing, helping to fuel faster and better development of computers. His first contribution was the IBM 701 EDPM computer.

A programming language evolves

A year later, the first successful high-level programming language was created. This was a programming language not written in ‘assembly’ or binary, which are considered very low level languages. FORTRAN was written so that more people could easily start programming computers.

The year 1955, Bank of America, along with the Stanford Research Institute and General Electric, saw the creation of the first computers for use in banks. MICR, or Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, coupled with the actual computer, ERMA, was a breakthrough for the banking industry. It was not until 1959 that the two systems came into use in royal banks.

During 1958 one of the most important advances in the history of computing took place, the creation of the integrated circuit. This device, also known as a chip, is one of the basic requirements for modern computer systems. On every motherboard and card within a computer system, there are many chips that contain information about what the boards and cards do. Without these chips, systems as we know them today cannot function.

Games, mice and the Internet

For many computer users now, games are a vital part of the computing experience. 1962 saw the creation of the first computer game, which was created by Steve Russel and MIT, which was named Spacewar.

The mouse, one of the most basic components of modern computers, was created in 1964 by Douglass Engelbart. He got his name from the “tail” that comes out of the device.

One of the most important aspects of computers today was invented in 1969. The ARPA network was the original Internet, which laid the foundation for the Internet we know today. This development would result in the evolution of knowledge and business across the planet.

It wasn’t until 1970 that Intel entered the scene with the first dynamic RAM chip, resulting in an explosion of computing innovation.

Right after the RAM chip was the first microprocessor, which was also designed by Intel. These two components, plus the chip developed in 1958, would be among the core components of modern computers.

A year later, the floppy disk was created, which got its name from the flexibility of the storage unit. This was the first step in allowing most people to transfer bits of data between disconnected computers.

The first network card was created in 1973 and allowed data transfer between connected computers. This is similar to the Internet, but it allows computers to connect without using the Internet.

Rise of home PCs

The next three years were very important for computers. That’s when companies started developing systems for the average consumer. The Scelbi, Mark-8 Altair, IBM 5100, Apple I and II, TRS-80, and Commodore Pet computers were pioneers in this area. Although expensive, these machines started the trend of computers within ordinary homes.

One of the biggest advances in computer software came in 1978 with the release of the VisiCalc spreadsheet program. All development costs were paid for within a two-week period, making this program one of the most successful in computing history.

1979 was perhaps one of the most important years for the home computer user. This is the year that WordStar, the first word processing program, was released to the public for sale. This drastically altered the usefulness of computers for the everyday user.

The IBM Home Computer quickly helped revolutionize the consumer market in 1981 as it was affordable for homeowners and mainstream consumers alike. 1981 also saw the mega-giant Microsoft enter the scene with the MS-DOS operating system. This operating system completely changed computing forever as it was quite easy for everyone to learn.

The competition begins: Apple vs. Microsoft

Computers saw another vital change during the year of 1983. The Apple Lisa computer was the first with a graphical user interface, or GUI. Most modern programs contain a GUI, which makes them easy to use and easy on the eyes. This marked the beginning of the obsolescence of most text-only programs.

Beyond this point in the history of computing, many changes and alterations have occurred, from the wars between Apple and Microsoft, to the development of microcomputers, and a variety of computing advances that have become an accepted part of our lives. daily. Without the first initial steps in the history of computing, none of this would have been possible.

Technology

Pros and Cons of Joining a Gym – Details You Need to Know

Fitness clubs, fitness centers or gyms: they all mean the same thing: it’s a place you go to keep fit. From upscale fitness centers offering full spa-like services to simple neighborhood gyms with the most basic exercise equipment, fitness clubs fill that special calling for those who are conscious of staying fit.

If you’re thinking about joining a gym but you’re still not sure what’s in store for you, then you’re reading the right article. This article will help you make up your mind by giving you the pros and cons of joining fitness clubs. For in-depth information on gym memberships, read on and find out:

Advantages of joining fitness clubs:

1. Most gyms have a wide range of exercise equipment that you need for your workout. We all know that it is almost impossible to buy your own fitness equipment and that is why gyms are the best places to go, especially for weight training.

2. Gyms have certified instructors to guide you through your workout. These trainers are essential especially for beginners who need to be guided on the correct form and technique of using the exercise equipment to avoid overexertion and injury. Ask for the qualifications of the trainers in advance before joining any gym.

3. The gym is a place to exercise and psychologically prepares for exercise. No one goes to the gym to ogle bodies (okay, maybe there are some who do). Those serious about losing weight or building muscle know why they can withstand the rigors of a gym workout. Once you enter the hallowed halls of a gym, you’re psyched for nothing more than a workout.

Cons of joining fitness clubs:

1. Gyms require membership fees. If you’re working on a tight budget, this could be one of the most important things you’ll need to consider. While some clubs offer pay as needed, most operate on monthly or quarterly membership schedules. Others require members to sign long-term contracts of one year or more. Avoid this whenever possible, as you’ll never know if a gym is right for you until you’ve tried it out for a while.

2. You share equipment with other users. While most gyms have a complete or nearly complete collection of exercise equipment, they don’t have enough treadmills, ellipticals, or free weights for every user. Most likely you will have to wait your turn. And, if you squirm at the thought of using the same bench full of someone else’s sweat, you might have to think twice about a gym membership because this is a very real scenario you’ll have to deal with.

3. Your hectic schedule can make trips to the gym inconvenient and irregular. For a weight training program to achieve the desired results, it is necessary to adhere to a regular program. More often than not, the demands of work and family will always put the gym on the back burner, to the detriment of your exercise regimen and membership fee.

There you have it: the real deal on the pros and cons of being a gym member. If you’re ready, then sign up for one. Otherwise, you’ll be better off at home observing your own exercise regimen.