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Month: January 2019

  • Best Changes to Make for Healthy Finances in 2019

    Best Changes to Make for Healthy Finances in 2019

    No one wants to be broke, whether it’s the start of the year or the end of the year. You’re probably making a ton of resolutions this time of year about how you’re going to have healthy finances in 2019. There’s good news on that front: it’s not hard to get into better habits when it comes to your personal finances. In fact, we’re going to show you some of the best changes you can make this year to help your finances become that much healthier!

    Best Changes to Make for Healthy Finances in 2019

    Make one Extra Mortgage Payment This Year

    It might sound difficult, but if you save towards it, you can make an extra mortgage payment once each year. If you do this every year you could shorten your mortgage’s length by as much as four or five years! When you have your house paid off half a decade ahead of schedule you’ll be rather pleased with your finances. There’s no time like the present to start saving towards this goal!

    If you start now, you can save a bit here and there towards this goal. Alternatively, if you have a sudden burst of money, such as a bonus, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go ahead and pay towards your mortgage with it.

    Save $1,000

    Odds are pretty good that you don’t even have a thousand bucks stashed away. If you do, that’s awesome! If not, don’t feel bad: three out of four Americans don’t have $1,000 in their savings. This is something you can fix if you start saving now! When it comes to saving, the first thing you need is a $1,000 emergency fund. You never know when you might need money for something like your car breaking down or an appliance going belly-up.

    Set a Personal Shopping Ban

    Go ahead and get out your calendar and mark off two weeks out of the upcoming year. These are now Shopping Ban days. During these two weeks, don’t spend a single dollar on anything that isn’t a literal necessity. Groceries, gas and lodging are all fair game, but everything else is off-limits. No going to the movies or out for dinner, no buying video games or makeup. No new clothes, new shoes or new toys.

    This will give you insight into just how much money you spend that you don’t have to. After the two weeks are up, take all the money you didn’t spend and invest it into your savings or retirement.

    Start a Retirement Fund or Continue Your Current One

    If you haven’t started saving for retirement yet, now is the time. The sooner you start saving, the better! Every dollar you put into a retirement savings account begins accruing interest. The dollars that those dollars generate also accrue interest. This compounding, snowballing effect is awesome when it’s working in your favor. Get on the right side of compounding interest and start saving today with your retirement account!

    If you already have a retirement account, awesome! Check on it and see how much it’s grown for you. Then, start thinking about how much you can comfortably contribute to it each paycheck. The more you save now, the more you’ll have back when you retire.

    Make a Budget

    Stop putting this off! You know you need a budget, and there’s no better time than right now to make one. When you get your paycheck, you need to know ahead of time where that money is going. There’s no excuse for frivolous spending when you have a budget set up. Make sure every dollar has a job: whether it’s going into savings, retirement, towards bills or to your small “fun money” pile, you need to take control of your finances.

    Remember: you control your money, it doesn’t control you. Don’t have a negative relationship with your wants and neglect your needs. A budget is a great way to get in control of the money you’re trying to save.

    Declutter

    Speaking of taking control, sell your old stuff. Take a bunch of the old junk you have lying around that you don’t need anymore and have a yard sale. Not only will this help you to clean out your space and make more room for healthy living, it’ll also line your pockets! This way, you can cultivate a healthier relationship with your possessions. Remember: you own these things. Don’t let them own you. If they’ve outlived their usefulness, sell them and pocket the profits!

  • Best 2019 Resolutions for Women’s Health

    Best 2019 Resolutions for Women’s Health

    If you’ve ever made a list of overly ambitious and ridiculous New Year’s resolutions, you’re probably familiar with the cold feeling you get when you abandon them in February. However, there’s good news: there are more reasonable resolutions you can make and stick to. Today we’re going to look at some of the best 2019 resolutions for women’s health. These are the resolutions you’re finally going to keep. Just don’t forget: you do these things because you want to, not because you have to!

    Best 2019 Resolutions for Women’s Health

    Walk 1,000 Steps More

    Every day you should be adding another 1,000 steps to your current step amount. If you don’t have a fitness tracker yet, it’s time to get one. They’re a great way to keep track of your workouts, steps and calories burned. Once you have one you can keep a close track of how much you walk on a given day. Now that you have that information, you should now be adding 1,000 steps to each day’s walk.

    If you normally take a short drive to the corner store after work, walk it instead. If you don’t already, start taking walks around your neighborhood. Stand at your desk, take a walk around the office. Just walk. Steps are great for you! They get your blood pumping and help you stay in an active mindset for when it’s time to really work out.

    Take it Week by Week

    Bust out your calendar and start planning your workouts. You’re going to want to take things day by day. It’s much easier to plan as little as two or three weeks ahead and take things at your own pace. Make a habit of opening your planner, adding workouts to the weeks ahead, and then executing what’s on your calendar. This will help you not only manage your time but also stay motivated to keep hitting your fitness goals.

    It’s often good to execute this resolution with a workout buddy. Find someone who already has a fitness routine or is trying to start one. Then, working with them, plan out workouts the two of you can do together. It’s way harder to give up on your fitness goals if you’ve got a buddy keeping you accountable!

    Target Your Core

    Rather than vaguely resolving to get in shape, make a real plan. Target your core, as it’s a great place to start. Many women loath their bellies, so this is a good place to begin your focus. Your core is your center in more ways than one: it’s also the center of your movements. You should start by really locking in your workouts that focus on the center of your body and musculature.

    You can do this by focusing on exercises like crunches, curls and planks. Get used to doing these exercises at home every day before work. If you get in the habit of forcing yourself to wake up and do core workouts, you’ll find more fitness goals coming into clear focus. It’s not hard to get a handle on your fitness, you just need to focus.

    Morning Workouts

    When you first wake up, do you lay in bed for a few minutes waking up? Or do you begin your day with a workout? While we’re not saying you need to run a marathon before work, waking up and getting physical is a surefire way to get in the right mindset for the day. Wake up and do a few home workouts, like incline pushups or squats. We already mentioned core exercises, and those apply here too.

    If you live in an area that’s safe to jog in, consider getting a morning jog in before work. A brisk, ten-minute run around your street can be a great way to wake your body up and set you up for fitness success!

    Eat One Meatless Meal per Day

    Try eating one meal with only plant-based foods every day. This might sound tough at first, but make it fun! You can make tons of delicious meals with plant-based ingredients. No only will you save money on food but you’ll also increase your personal fitness. Not to mention, plant-based diets are more sustainable for the planet in the long-term, and they’re largely more ethical.

    It’s not easy to dive head-first into a new lifestyle. Take these resolutions a day at a time and make your health a top priority throughout your day. Remember, you’ve got to start somewhere. So, start here. You’ve got this! Just take your fitness and health seriously and make it a priority.

  • Top Ways You Can Push Yourself In 2019

    Top Ways You Can Push Yourself In 2019

    A New Year is once again upon us. This quote by Melody Beattie comes to mind; “The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.”

    Yes, 2019 is going to be a great year for us all, and this year’s resolutions will be more than just a wish.

    Making an annual list of New Year’s resolutions is a venerable tradition. By some accounts, it dates back to the ancient Romans, who customarily made a show of promising the god Janus that they would behave better over the next 12 months than they had in the past year. But while Janus was the patron deity of new beginnings, hence why January starts off our year, he also provided a convenient excuse. If a citizen of Rome didn’t actually follow through with his various self-improvement vows, he could always shrug it off by explaining that it was Janus’ will. Then, presumably, he could just go on gorging himself at banquets or betting excessively on gladiator fights.

    Sounds familiar? Have you been shrugging off your new year’s resolutions too? Throwing away each years clean slate and prime opportunity for personal growth?  Me too. Lets talk about some ways we can push ourselves to achieve the goals we set for ourselves in 2019.

    Make Your Bed Every Morning

    Excuses are easy, but when it comes right down to it, it’s also easy to make your bed each morning. If you make your bed in the morning, that means you’re telling yourself that you won’t be getting back into it for the rest of the day. The day has begun and you will conquer any and all tasks before you, starting with making that bed. It might be a small accomplishment, but making the bed sets the tone for the entire day.

    In a 2014 commencement speech at University of Texas at Austin, Admiral McRaven said: “If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. “By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.”

    Sometimes being an adult is hard. Sometimes going into work every day is hard. Sometimes, I come home from the office and question if I accomplished anything at all. But at least I made my bed! Starting every day off with a mini victory can do a tremendous amount for your psyche.

    Start a Morning Run Streak

    Running in the mornings helps you to remove yourself from the daily challenges of life and gives you time to focus on the bigger picture. Running is great, but streak running is a whole different animal. Streak running creates a psychological bond to the act of running and ‘maintaining the streak.’ Once you cross 50, 100 or 1,000 days straight of any activity, you are much less likely to decide that today is the day you are going to quit. But what happens when you do end the streak? Start over and try to beat the last streak.

    Plan to Prepare

    We often miss opportunities to be our best and make the most of our time with others because we didn’t find time to prepare. Granted, most of us  are pretty good at winging it, but we can be much more effective when we deliberately set aside time to prepare for our next goal, accomplishment or achievement. It’s not easy to find extra time in the day, so rather than hoping you’ll find the time you need when you need it, block in the time you want for prep on your calendar.

    Schedule 15 minutes to review objectives. Block an hour immediately when the motivation to grow hits you just to clear your mind and rehearse. Carve out as many hours as you need to create and practice the plan.

    Stop Making Excuses

    If you are looking for a reason not to do the thing you should do, you will surely find it. Part of taking ownership of your life and reflecting how you got to an unhappy state is to understand how you are enabling your poor decisions. It is usually with excuses, like you’re tired, or you don’t have time when you’re not making time, you will do it tomorrow, etc. Stop making excuses, and start owning your life and pushing yourself to do the work.

    Happiness doesn’t fall into your lap, it takes work like everything else. So get out of your own way and stop making excuses.

    You Are Not a Victim

    You are not a victim of every whim and circumstance, and you do have some control over your life at any given time. It is about how you wield that control that determines whether you can change your life. Stop resisting responsibility for your life, because the sooner you take ownership of it and stop blaming others, you will have more autonomy and you will start making progress.

    At the end of the day we are accountable to ourselves , our success and failures is a result of what we do. Blaming, whining, deflecting accountability, risk aversion, and resistance to change are symptoms of the adversity-beaten individual. Uncontrollably bad things happen to all of us all the time, but we can control how we react to them.  When we fully commit to having responsibility in any process, we begin to integrate external tactical support and our own internal capabilities, and develop a sense of control for the results.

  • Simple Home Workouts to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

    Simple Home Workouts to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

    The holidays are over and it’s time to shed that winter fat. You’ve probably resolved to live a healthier, more active life for your New Year’s resolution. If so, you’re probably eyeballing a gym membership or some home workout equipment. Before you make any big purchases, though, take it slow. Check out some of these simple home workouts that don’t require any equipment or gym membership. These are some of the easiest ways to keep those New Year’s resolutions!

    Simple Home Workouts

    Before you Start

    Before you start any of these workouts, here’s a few quick words of advice. Make sure you drink plenty of water and don’t overdo it. You should also stretch thoroughly before any strenuous physical activity. If you’re not very used to working out, make sure you don’t throw yourself in too haphazardly. You don’t get good results if you over-exert yourself! Take two minute breaks between each rep and catch your breath.

    Incline Push-Ups

    Get a surface like a bench or box that is sturdy enough to hold up your body’s weight. Brace your arms in a push-up position against the raised surface. Keep your body as straight as you can from your feet up to your head. Keeping this straight profile lower your body with your arms until it dips beneath your elbows. After a brief pause, return to your neutral position as rapidly as your arms can safely manage.

    If you find this exercise difficult, you can increase the incline. The greater the incline, the easier it will be for you. Likewise, if you find this too easy, you can instead do a traditional push-up, with your hands on the floor. In either event, 12 to 15 repetitions is a good number for a session.

    Side Plank

    Start by lying on the side of your body your non-dominant arm is on. Prop your body up on your elbow and forearm and make sure your arm is right under your shoulder. Place your other hand on your hip and tighten your core. Using your core, raise your hips from the floor and keep your arm locked in place. Keep your core tight and hold there for half a minute. Then, flip over and repeat this process for your other side.

    If you find it difficult to hold this for a full thirty seconds, you can try a modified version of the side plank. The modified version involves the same motions, but instead of holding it for a full thirty seconds you can drop back and then restart the movement. Do this until you get thirty full seconds across whichever number of repetitions you need to do.

    Squats

    Square your shoulders and stand as up as straight as you can. Set your feet a little further out than your shoulder-width and hold your arms out in front of you, parallel to the floor. Flexing your ab muscles, keeping your back straight and arms out, slowly squat by bending your knees and keeping your hips back. Once you get as low as you can, pause briefly before slowly returning to a standing position. Repeat this motion 15 to 20 times for a full session.

    Hip Raise

    While lying on the floor on your back, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Put your arms out at an angle from your body and face your palms up towards the ceiling. Tighten your core and breath normally as you squeeze your leg muscles and push your hips off the floor. Keep you body in as straight a line as you can while pushing your hips up off the floor. Pause when high in the air for about five seconds and then and then lower back to the floor slowly. 10 reps make for a full set!

    Jogging

    After doing reps of each of the body-weight exercises, you can round out your exercise with a light jog. Make sure you stretch your legs well and get hydrated before heading out. Stay safe when you’re out jogging, watch out for cars and make sure you don’t trespass. Jog for a few miles every morning or every other day and get in the habit of exercising regularly. If you make it a habit, it’s much easier to get up and get your workout in before work!

    If you stick to these easy exercises and make sure you do them consistently then you may find you have better luck with your resolutions. Happy New Year, and we hope your resolutions go well!

  • Do You Need a Sleep Apnea Mouthpiece?

    Do You Need a Sleep Apnea Mouthpiece?

    Many Americans suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or OSA. For a lot of people, the best way to deal with their sleep apnea is through the use of a CPAP machine. However, not everyone can sleep comfortable with a CPAP machine. If this applies to you, then maybe a sleep apnea mouthpiece is right for you!

    Today, we’re going to get into the pros and cons of sleep apnea mouthpieces and CPAP machines and how they can each help someone with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea mouthpieces are often recommended due to how small, convenient and portable they are.

    Sleep Apnea Mouthpiece

    What is a Sleep Apnea Mouthpiece?

    Not many people are familiar with sleep apnea mouthpieces. Primarily, they look like sports mouth guards. They are small plastic implements that are commonly used to keep your airway open while you sleep. Generally, these mouthpieces are specially constructed in order to mold to the mouth of the patient perfectly.

    Generally, the sleep apnea mouthpiece is molded and overseen by a dentist who specializes in sleep-related dentistry. This is referred to as dental sleep medicine, and it encompasses things like CPAP machines and sleep apnea mouthpieces. At the time of writing, roughly 3,000 dentists are qualified to fit patients for sleep apnea mouthpieces.

    It is worth noting that sleep apnea mouthpieces are only effective for patients with obstructive sleep apnea, not central sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea is caused by issues in the nervous system that cause irregular breathing. By contrast, obstructive sleep apnea is caused by physical obstructions to your breathing path while sleeping.

    Getting Your Own

    If your doctor thinks a sleep apnea mouthpiece is right for you then you’ll undergo the fitting process to get a specially-fitted mouthpiece. It’s important that your sleep doctor, together with your sleep medicine dentist, work in concert to get you the solution you need. There are many different types of mouthpieces that you could use, so getting the right one is important!

    Once your dentist starts fitting you, it will take a few visits to get all the measurements and molds ready. The fit is molded exactly to the shape and contours of your mouth and teeth. This makes for a comfortable fit that also helps keep your airways from becoming blocked while you’re sleeping.

    The mouthpiece works by keeping your lower jaw slightly pushed out so that it makes a little bit of space at the back of your throat. Your airway will be opened just enough to allow a proper amount of breath through. Snoring and sleep apnea can both be addressed rather definitively with these simple devices!

    Why Sleep Apnea Mouthpieces over CPAP?

    CPAP machines are great for some patients. However, there are a number of ways that mouthpieces can be a better fit for others. For one thing, mouthpieces are incredibly simple, easy and portable. You need only pop it in before you sleep to get the benefits of the device. CPAP machines, in contrast, involve a large facemask and a loud machine that has to be plugged into the wall.

    A number of snorers who haven’t been diagnosed with OSA aren’t even able to apply for CPAP therapy. This is because CPAP machines require diagnosis of sleep apnea before they can be recommended by a doctor. Mouthpieces, however, require no such diagnosis. They can often help in much the same way as a CPAP machine for those with minor obstruction causing loud snoring.

    Other Pros

    Even among people who have been diagnosed with OSA, if it’s mild enough, they may want to have a mouthpiece. A lot of people who start CPAP therapy stop it themselves after a few weeks, even though they’re not supposed to. The mask is just so unwieldy! It’s much easier to stick with the program when you’re just using the simple mouthpiece.

    It’s also a lot easier to simply pop in a mouthpiece and sleep normally than it is to fuss with the CPAP’s mask and machine. The CPAP machine blows air all night, making it a bit noisy. Many people and their sleep partners prefer the silence of the mouthpiece!

    It’s much easier to travel with a mouthpiece as well. When you’ve got a lot of machinery to cart about, it can be difficult to want to travel. When all you need is a mouthpiece, though, you’ve only got to pop it in your bag and you’re good to go! Finally, many patients prefer mouthpieces to CPAP machines because they’re just so much more affordable.

  • Best Horse Barn Kits: Take Care of your Equine Friends

    Best Horse Barn Kits: Take Care of your Equine Friends

    When it comes to your horses, you want to make sure they get all the best. The best food, the best saddles, the best grooming and especially the best lodging. If you’ve been looking for a great way to get your horse shelter from the elements, we’ve got you covered. Today we’re going over horse barn kits, one of the most efficient ways to house your horse on the market. Make sure you treat your equine friends with love!

    Horse Barn Kits

    Why Horse Barn Kits?

    You might be asking why you’d want to go with a prefab horse barn over simply hiring a contractor for the work. Well, as you might know, contractors can tend to make for very expensive work. For a quality barn, you might pay as much as $100,000 or more after materials and labor are all factored in. That’s where horse barn kits come in.

    Prefab horse barns are perfect for people on smaller budgets who have just one or two horses. You’re just looking for a good, high-quality barn for your horse to stay in, nothing custom or over-the-top. If that describes you, then a prefab barn is exactly what you need. Not only does it keep the cost way down, it also makes it much easier to build in a short time span. Usually you can get a prefab barn together in as little as a few days of work.

    The thing with prefab barns is that they’re shipped in a mostly-completed state. There are usually only a few parts that you need to snap together in order to have a finished product. This means that you can spend a few days assembling the barn instead of a contractor assembling it in a few months. As such, your horse can be in a comfortable barn in no time!

    The Prefab Difference

    What’s the main difference between a custom barn and a prefab, though? Well, generally speaking, prefabs are only really for people with one or two horses. Custom barns can be much more varied and accommodate more specific needs. Prefabs, in general, are made for more generic use cases.

    That said, prefab barns are nearly indistinguishable from normal barns when viewed. Most casual onlookers won’t be able to tell the difference. Your horse will be just as comfortable in a prefab barn as in a custom job, and it won’t cause you to break the bank!

    Types of Prefab Barn

    There are three main types of horse barn kits. There are run-in sheds, modular barns and shed row barns. The most affordable and simple of these types are run-in sheds. Run-in sheds are simple barns that are horizontal and comprised of two bays separated by a shoulder-height wall. These make a great storage space for tack, hay and other horse-related sundries you may have.

    Modular barns, by contrast, are more traditional-looking, with large doors and a more barn-like appearance. These tend to have loft space for your tack and other tools so that you can keep them high up and away from the horse or horses. These are often the higher end of prefab kits, making them a great pick for enthusiasts with two or so horses.

    The midway point between those two extremes is the shed row barn. Like run-in sheds, they are horizontal barns with very open designs. Like modular barns, though, they have sliding doors that shut and windows as well. This makes them ideal for people with one horse but a lot of tools they want to keep from the elements. Generally speaking, any of these options tends to be as much as 30 percent cheaper than going with traditional contractors for the work.

    Options for Prefabs

    Prefab horse barn kits don’t lack for options for both stylistic and functional add-ons. You can typically add these types of options piece-by-piece when shopping for a prefab kit. These options can include things like extra storage space for tools, hay and the like, or even stylistic add-ons. Extra stall partitions, window coverings, kickboards and the like can all be added on, too.

    For those with a love for rustic appearances, flower beds and flower boxes can often be added. Skylights, high, decorative windows and even different colors for you barn so it matches the aesthetic of your property.

    In conclusion, if you’re looking for a great structure to house your equine friends without spending a pretty penny, horse barn kits can be the best option for you. Treat your horses with love!

  • Tips to Grow Your Savings for Your New Year’s Resolution

    Tips to Grow Your Savings for Your New Year’s Resolution

    If it’s one of your resolutions this year to grow your savings account, then you’re going to need a few tips on saving money. It can be difficult to go from spending frivolously to learning to actually save and grow your money. However, there are some simple steps you can take to help grow your savings and get in better habits when it comes to money. Today we’re going to help you keep your New Year’s resolution by showing you some ways to save like a pro!

    Tips to Grow Your Savings

    Make a Budget

    One of the first things you can do to make sure you keep your savings topped off is making a budget. A good budget is one that spends no dollars frivolously. Sit down and look at your income and make a detailed plan for each dollar you make. Typically, you want to use a 50/30/20 savings plan or something along those lines.

    The 50/30/20 plan holds that you should spend 50 percent of your income on necessities, like housing and gas and groceries. Then, you should allocate 30 percent of your finances for wants, frivolous or fun things like movies, going out to eat or going to shows. Finally, twenty percent of your finances should be allocated for your financial goals, like saving money for retirement or a vacation.

    Make sure your entire paycheck is allocated before you get it. If every dollar has a place, that makes it much harder for you to spend more money than you should. This means that you’ll find it much easier to save money and grow your savings.

    Spend Less on Food

    Another way to save money is to spend less when going out to eat food. If you consistently go out to restaurants to eat, you may be spending a lot more on food than you should be. If you instead opt to buy less expensive and more reasonable groceries and eat more at home you can save a lot of money. Then, take the money you saved on eating out and put that in your savings account again!

    Another way to help save on food is buy purchasing more fresh food and less junk food. Not only does this mean you’ll eat less garbage and be healthier, but it will help you save a ton of money. Making meals from scratch might take more energy but it helps you save a lot more money..

    Investments for Savings

    Investments are a great way to grow your savings. If you consistently put money back to save, then you’ll have an ample amount to put towards investments. Investing in the stock market can be easy through online sites that offer advice to new investors. Investments aren’t exactly guaranteed money, but they can be a safe way to grow your money if you use managed portfolios or conservative investments.

    Other investments that people commonly use to grow their savings are 401 (K) accounts or Roth accounts. These retirement accounts are taxed differently than normal savings accounts and are thus often much better for long-term savings. They tend to grow at a slow but steady rate and are very dependable for long-term money growth. The sooner you begin investing in these kinds of account, the better! The longer you have interest compounding in these accounts, the more money you’ll have when you go to retire.

    Savings Accounts

    There are many different types of savings accounts, and some are better than others for growing your savings. Generally speaking, when you put investments into a savings account, the size of the investment influences the interest rates. Interest rates and fees can all change based on what type of savings account and how much money you’re looking to put in it.

    A great way to make sure your savings grow over time is through scheduled regular deposits. Depending on how much you want to save, you can set a regular amount of money to be drafted from your checking to your savings. This ensures that your money consistently goes into your savings and that any interest you could accrue is consistently being applied.

    Conclusion

    The most important thing about saving is consistency. If you’re always keeping a close eye on your savings, depositing money into your account and sticking to your budget, it will become like second nature to you. The best thing about saving is that it is a life-long habit that will ensure you have as much money saved back as you need, no matter what happens!

  • Bored? Find The Top Tourist Attractions in Your State

    Bored? Find The Top Tourist Attractions in Your State

    America, one of the world’s greatest attractions from sea to shining sea, offers non stop excitement, wonder, and jaw dropping astonishment. From natural wonders to man-made works of art, to the epitaph of human accomplishments. There is something to see everywhere you go. There may be seven established natural wonders of the world, but each state in North America is home to it’s own extraordinary tourist attractions.

    This country has something for everyone, and one of these magnificent sights is right around every corner. As one of the largest and most diverse countries in the world, The United States boasts an amazing amount of tourist destinations ranging from the skyscrapers of New York and Chicago, the natural wonders of Yellowstone and Alaska to the sunny beaches of California, Florida and Hawaii.

    Every day, 10,000 people enter New York’s Grand Central Terminal alone, with no intention of actually catching a train. Just to gawk. Yet for every traveler drawn to the big city, there are others who embrace the great outdoors. People love to see something new and amazing! But you don’t have to travel to NYC to see something grand.

    Every state has their house of mud or giant ball of twine to check out. But let’s be honest, sometimes you want more than a selfie in front of a giant ball of string. And since every state has at least one wonderful attraction that draws visitors from far and wide, we decided to find out what it was, based on a delicate balance of local pride, iconic drawing power, and whether or not it actually sounds like something you’d willingly travel to do. So here they are: 50 states, 50 tourist attractions.

    Alabama – US Space and Rocket Center
    Alaska – Denali National Park and Preserve
    Arizona – Grand Canyon
    Arkansas – Hot Springs National Park
    California – The Golden Gate Bridge
    Colorado – Rocky Mountain National Park
    Connecticut – Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
    Delaware – Yay… I’m in Delaware…
    Florida – Ponce De Leon Springs Fountain of Youth
    Georgia – Stone Mountain Park
    Hawaii – Punaluu Black Sand Beach
    Idaho – Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
    Illinois – Wrigley Field… because baseball is awesome.
    Indiana – Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
    Iowa – The Field of Dreams Filming Locale
    Kansas – Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
    Kentucky – The Kentucky Derby
    Louisiana – Bourbon Street/French Quarter
    Maine – Since Castle Rock isn’t a real place, Acadia National Park
    Maryland – Annapolis/U.S. Naval Academy
    Massachusetts – USS Constitution
    Michigan – Henry Ford Museum
    Minnesota – Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox
    Mississippi – Natchez Trace Parkway
    Missouri – Gateway Arch
    Montana – Wild Goose Island in St. Mary Lake
    Nebraska – Chimney Rock
    Nevada – The Strip, there is no other reason to be in Nevada
    New Hampshire – Mount Washington
    New Jersey – Atlantic City Boardwalk
    New Mexico – Chimney Rock
    New York – Statue of Liberty
    North Carolina – Wright Brothers Memorial
    North Dakota – Theodore Roosevelt National Park
    Ohio – Rock & Roll, NFL Hall of Fame, and Cedar Point
    Oklahoma – Oklahoma City National Memorial
    Oregon – Multnomah Falls
    Pennsylvania – Liberty Bell and Independence Hall
    Rhode Island – Roger Williams Park Zoo
    South Carolina – USS Yorktown
    South Dakota – Mount Rushmore
    Tennessee – Great Smoky Mountains National Park
    Texas – The Alamo
    Utah – Zion National Park
    Vermont – Ben & Jerry’s Factory
    Virginia – Colonial Williamsburg
    Washington – Museum of Flight
    West Virginia – New River Gorge Bridge
    Wisconsin – Lambeau Field Atrium
    Wyoming – Upper Geyser Basin

    The Final Thought

    Every state in this fine union is a marvel unto itself. While we highlighted some of the top attractions in each state, there is so much more to see and do. I didn’t even get to mention Venice beach, Niagara Falls, Kilauea, Kennedy Space Center, Ellis Island, Disney, Denali or the Florida Keys. It would take a life time to take in all that America has to show you. Start with your  own state, and take it from there.

    From National Parks and monuments, museums, thrills and theme parks, I can promise you there is so much more to see in your backyard than you ever thought. Try being a tourist in your own state, check out the local tourist attractions, and you may just find a new appreciation for the place you call home.