Month: April 2019

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Blog Business Personal

Exercise Makes You Happier Than Money (Really!)

Want to be happier? Exercise! A recent study by Oxford and Yale researchers demonstrated that exercise makes you happier than money!

Group Exercise

 

But too much exercise can have a negative effect. The optimum prescription for happiness calls for 30 – 60 minutes of activity three to five times per week. 

1.2 million Americans participated in the study. Both their physical behaviors and their mental states were observed and recorded. Participants had 75 types of physical activity to choose from ranging from lawn-mowing and housework to running and cycling.

The results? Those who were physically active 3 – 5 times per week were happier overall. In fact, non-active participants felt poorly for 18 days more on average than active participants.

The real eye-opening findings had to do with income. If you think those who earn more money are automatically happier, think again! You’re more likely to be happier if you are physically active than if you aren’t active by making more money. So, if your goal in life is to be happier, consider exercising more rather than making more money.

And if you want to ramp up your happiness even more, join a team sport or take a group class with friends. Exercise that has a social aspect to it such as team sports or cycling with a friend was shown to be most beneficial to increasing happiness.

Interested in learning more? You can read the entire study here. 

Categories
Blog Business Personal

Moving Countdown Tips and Tricks

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Did you know that along with loss of a loved one, divorce, and loss of a job, moving is counted as a top stressor that someone can experience over a lifetime? Here are some tips and tricks to help you if you are planning a move.

2 – 3 Months Before You Move

First things first, make a plan unique to you! We’re going to give you some great general tips, but everyone’s situation is different. Combine our tips with this ‘epic’ moving checklist and make a template that is right for you.

6 to 8 Weeks Before You Move

  • Get estimates from moving companies and look at their online reviews.
  • Take measurements at your new home to make sure all of your current furniture will fit. No point in packing a couch if it won’t fit in your new space!
  • Look at your things. What do you want to keep, donate, and throw away?
  • Buy moving supplies.
  • Moving out of your child’s school zone? Collect necessary information like transcripts or have them sent to the new school.

4 Weeks Before You Move

  • Hire a mover. Get all details in writing and take pictures of all paperwork and save it to your phone. It’s easy to misplace paperwork while moving.
  • Get packing!
  • Change your address with the post office and contact other relevant entities about your move: credit card and utility companies, banks, etc.
  • Transfer medical records.
  • Create an ‘important’ box or two that you will take yourself when moving.
  • If you’re getting rid of a lot of things, have a garage sale.

2 Weeks Before You Move

  • Call your moving company to reconfirm the day and time of your move. Tie up any loose ends.
  • Speak to your boss about taking a Friday and/or Monday off. A long weekend is a blessing when moving!
  • Arrange for a babysitter for your children on the day of the move if needed.
  • Continue packing!

1 Week Before You Move

  • Finish packing, but don’t get discouraged! Chances are, you will still be finding things to pack or purge up to moving day.
  • Pack a suitcase full of comfortable clothes and toiletries.
  • Look for local restaurants, sandwich shops, and grocery stores close to your new home. You will need quick options like pizza and cereal while moving. 
  • Defrost the fridge.
  • Do a final cleaning and inspection of your house. Too busy to clean? Hire a service.
  • Arrange for a last trash and recycling pickup.
  • Arrange payment for the mover and be sure to have cash on hand for tips and emergencies that may arrive.

Finally, accept that moving is stressful! Don’t be too hard on yourself, and definitely don’t try to move into your new home and have everything perfectly arranged in a few days. Once your first and most important things are put where they belong, assign a little-used room in your new home to house unpacked boxes and scattered items. That way, your living space is clear of clutter while you finish up unpacking. Best of luck!

Categories
Blog Business Managing Your Business

Small Businesses: Planning and Preparing for a Recession

Many financial experts are predicting a recession in 2019. While it’s impossible to predict with 100% certainty that there will be an economic downturn, small business owners can still be prepared.

Steps to Recession-proof Your Small Business 

Should a recession happen in 2019, there are some steps you can take to make your business less susceptible. It’s like a seat belt on a plane – a safeguard in case of an unlikely event.

Press Pause on Large Investments

Now is not the time to spend money on luxuries. Identify the things that help your business thrive and grow and spend your money there. Be conservative in your spending now, and if a recession doesn’t happen, you will have more to invest later. 

Utilize the Team You Have

Wages are expected to rise in 2019, and there is a potential recession on the horizon – not a great time to make lots of new hires. Find ways to maximize your current team’s work capacity and reward them in creative ways for their contribution. If you must hire new people, consider hiring contract workers or freelancers.

Apply for Working Capital

Don’t currently need extra money for your business? That’s great! The best time to get funding is when you aren’t desperate for the money. Apply for a line of credit and draw on funds if needed. This way, you have money available to you if required, and you aren’t applying for working capital when things are in a downturn.

An impending recession can be frightening, but with a little planning, you can be better prepared to weather a slower economy.

Categories
Blog Personal

Tips on Charitable Giving

It feels great to support charities and know that your contribution makes a real difference. Would you like to be a more informed giver? Great! The following tips are sure to help you out.

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What causes are close to your heart and how do you want to help? For example, do you want to donate to support scientists who are searching for a cure for a particular disease, or do you want to give to a local charity which helps people who are suffering from that disease? Get clear on who and how you want to help, and it will be easier to make a list of charities that match your interests.   

Do Your Research

Do some basic research to avoid giving to fraudulent charities.

  • Request written information such as name, address, and telephone number. Most charities now have websites. Check the charity out online.
  • Make sure the charity is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity. Request their EIN (Employer Identification Number) and check it online. 

After doing your research, do you feel that the charity is transparent and accountable? If so, give them your support!

Get Specific – Or Don’t

Many charities allow you to designate where you would like your contribution to go. If the organization you’re giving to enables you to earmark your gift, then you may want to take advantage of the opportunity. However, if you give an unrestricted donation, it allows the charity to respond to changing needs and emergencies quickly. Think about how you would like your money to be utilized.

Give Your Time

If you really want to get involved with a charity, become a volunteer! You can make a huge difference in the impact a charity makes by donating your time. From answering phones and stuffing envelopes to feeding homeless pets and tutoring children, there is a volunteer opportunity for everyone.

Save Your Receipts

Finally, if you do give to a charity, keep track of your contributions by saving receipts. Even though a tax deduction isn’t your primary motivation for donating, you don’t want to miss out on the benefits of a charitable contribution.

Categories
Blog Business Fraud & Security Personal Safety & Security

How to Spot an Online Dating Scam

How to Spot an Online Dating Scam

People looking for love have all the typical concerns: will he/she like me? Do we have the same interests, etc.? As if finding a partner isn’t hard enough, now, those who use online dating services also have to worry about being scammed out of money. 

There are hundreds of thousands of profiles on dating sites. How can you tell who is the real person also looking for love, and the fake profile looking to deplete your bank account?

2- Newsletter ImagesHow to Quickly Spot an Online Dating Scam

They Ask You For Money

This one is simple. If someone on an online dating service asks you for money, it’s a scam.

They Ask You to Leave the Site

Online dating websites can spot and dismiss members who are scammers or those who demonstrate other problematic behaviors. So, it is in the con artist’s best interest to get you to text or email with them, or even speak to them on the phone rather than communicate via the website. The most common excuse that a scammer will use is that their membership is almost up. It’s best to stay on the original site to communicate with other members. It’s an added layer of protection for you, and if the person you are speaking to does turn out to be a troll, you can report them to the dating site for abuse.

They Won’t Meet You In Person

It’s a big red flag if the person you’re speaking to online says that they live in the same city as you, but they are working orstationed overseas, have an emergency far away, are always traveling, etc. Of course, it is possible that someone you are speaking to online travels a lot, but if they always have an excuse for why they can’t meet you in person, beware.

They Show Off How Wealthy They Are

Why would they need money from you when they are so wealthy? Their photographs show off fancy cars, mansions, etc. Why would a scammer do this? This illusion of wealth means that initially, you’re not worried that they are going to ask you for money. After earning your trust, they will ask you to ‘loan’ them money and give you a contrived excuse as to why they don’t currently have access to their own funds. To repeat the first warning in this list: if someone asks you for money in connection with an online dating site, it is a scam.

They Don’t Have a Grasp of Common Grammar

Be suspicious if someone online claims to be college educated and live in your town, but they can’t write coherently. Weird word choices, lousy grammar, and sentences that don’t make any sense are all indicators that the person you’re speaking to is not who they seem to be.

Their Life is One Calamity After Another

Your online friend contacts you in a panic. He’s lost his wallet, his son is in the hospital in another country, and he is desperate for help. He needs money for a hotel, airfare, etc. This is just one of the many stories that scammers tell. They may even resort to sending you heartbreaking photos of young children ill in a hospital. This scam is widespread, and you should never send money.

How to Avoid Being Scammed

It’s easy to read the above with a clear head and think, “I would never be taken in by an online dating scam.” But when emotions are involved, and when a scammer has worked very hard to gain your trust, it’s not easy. So how can you protect yourself?

  • Don’t send money. Don’t wire money, send a gift card, or use an app to send money. You will never see the money again.
  • Talk to a trusted friend. Your friend is not emotionally involved in the online relationship. They will be able to spot that something isn’t right more quickly than you will.
  • Already sent money? Contact your bank and tell them you believe you have given money to a con artist.
  • Report the scammer! You can help others from being taken in by reporting your experience to the dating site you were on as well as the Federal Trade Commission (link https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov) and the FBI (link: https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx)
Categories
Blog Personal Safety & Security

Protect Yourself from Tech Support Scams

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Tech support scams are common, and even computer savvy people can be taken in. Do you know how to identify and protect yourself from a tech support scam?

How Tech Support Scams Work

A tech support scammer wants you to believe that there is a severe issue with your computer, and if you don’t address it now something terrible will happen. They create urgency and anxiety about a nonexistent problem.

Typically, you will get a phone call or a popup on your computer screen from someone claiming to be in tech support with a well-known company (think Apple, Microsoft, Dell, etc.) They will inform 

you that they’ve detected a virus on your computer, that your computer is sending error messages, or something similar. Once they’ve got you worried, they inform you that only they can fix the problem and it must be done quickly before your computer crashes and you lose all your data. They ask for access to your computer, and once you give it to them, they run a ‘scan’ and find a bunch of scary ‘viruses.’ Then you are asked to pay a fee so that they can remove the viruses.

The scam usually doesn’t end here. Once the scammer has access to your computer, they can install malware which can then be used to commit identity theft. So not only did you pay someone to fix a non-existent problem, they then continue to steal from you. Infuriating!

Ways to Spot Tech Support Scams

  • Don’t trust the scammer just because caller ID shows that they are from a legitimate company. Many scammers spoof caller ID so that it displays a legitimate support number.
  • Real tech companies don’t contact you by phone, email, or text to tell you there’s an issue with your computer. And error messages/security popups from legitimate tech companies won’t ask you to call a phone number.
  • They want money NOW. They will usually request that you use a money transfer app, a gift or prepaid card, or wire money. These types of payment can be a challenge to reverse ensuring that they get your money.
  • Don’t give access to your computer to a third party unless you are 100% certain that the person assisting you is from a real tech company.
  • Beware of warning screens and sponsored links. If you get a popup alert paired with a phone number, immediately close all windows and restart your computer. And if you are searching online for tech support stay away from sponsored ads – many of these ads lead you directly to scammers.
  • Never click on links from an unfamiliar email; it’s just a good rule to follow. Clicking on strange links may not always result in falling prey to a scam, but other negative things can happen. If you click on the link, the scammer or bot who sent it knows that the email is a ‘live’ email. You can then be added to email lists and receive even more useless and potentially dangerous spam email. No one needs that headache!

Beware of a particularly insidious scam. Once again, you receive a phone call from a tech support company, but this time they ask you if you were happy with the tech support services you received. If you respond that you weren’t, they will then offer you a refund – but you have to give them your credit card or bank account number for them to give your money back. Scam! Once they have your information, they will take more money from your accounts.

What to do if You Think You Have been a Victim of a Tech Support Scam

  1. Contact your bank and credit/debit card company immediately. You may be able to stop the payment.
  2. Change all passwords on your computer, beginning with your most sensitive information such as your bank and tax preparation logins.
  3. If you are comfortable doing so, uninstall any applications that the scammer asked you to install. Update your computer’s security software,run a scan, and delete anything that is flagged as a problem.
  4. To truly be safe, go local! Take your computer to a local business and have them determine if your computer has been compromised.

Finally, if you are feeling pressured by someone online or on the phone to give out your sensitive information, don’t do it. Your banking information, personal information such as your social security number, and your passwords are protected for a reason, and representatives of authentic companies will not bully you into giving it over.