Wealth Building Tips

Make Plans To Succeed

Sherry Tingley

Manage Stress To Help Manage Your Budget

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Stressed? Depressed? Here’s How To Cope

If you’re feeling Grinch-y, Scrooge-y and a bit more than bah hum-bugged, overwhelmed by the array of demands the holidays bring, there are ways to make things better, according to a Mayo Clinic release.

Among the stressors are too many – sometimes unwelcome – guests, selecting and then paying for gifts, shopping, baking, cleaning and entertaining. And the list goes on, depending on your own circumstances. Plenty to make for a no-good, no-fun, no-happy Noel.

The trick, if possible, is to recognize the potential and stop it at the pass. Especially if you’ve had problems in the past, anticipate an emotional toll and don’t let it happen.

The Clinic’s suggestions include:

  • 1. Acknowledge your feelings. If you’ve had particular challenges recently, don’t expect them to be less emotionally draining just because it’s the holidays. It’s all right to cry or otherwise express your feelings.
  • 2. Reach out to others. If loneliness or isolation get too big to bear alone, seek out community, religious or other opportunities to be with others. Volunteer to help others as a way to put your troubles into perspective and broaden friendships.
  • Be realistic. Nobody’s holidays are perfect. If things are different from last year, if your family structure has changed, traditions and rituals altered, don’t expect things to be the same. Hold onto some of your personal traditions and be open to new ones. For example, if your adult children can’t make it home, find new ways to share long-distance, through emails, pictures, chats or videos.
  • 4. Set aside differences. Looking for the ideal in any normal family is an exercise in futility. Accept each other as is. If there are grievances, wait for a more opportune time to discuss them. If others get upset or distressed, be understanding. Avoid confrontation.
  • 5. Stick to a budget. If your stress and depression are triggered by money matters, make them matter less. Plan a realistic holiday budget and then stick to it. Buying an avalanche of gifts that you can’t afford will only extend the pain beyond the holidays. Give homemade gifts, donate to a charity in another’s name, promote a family gift exchange.
  • 6. Plan your time. Divide up the chores into manageable bits: a time for shopping, baking, parties and other activities. Avoid last-minute scrambling. Be sure you have the ingredients you need for cooking. Line up help for preparation and cleanup.
  • 7. Learn to say No. If you overextend yourself, you end up feeling resentful and overwhelmed. If you can’t involve yourself in every possibility that comes your way, don’t feel the need to apologize. If you can’t avoid the added demands, for instance, if the boss says he needs you overtime, drop something else from your schedule if you can. The days during the holiday season are just 24 hours long, as usual. Don’t try to pack them too tightly.
  • 8. Retain healthy habits. Have a snack before a party to avoid overeating. Get enough sleep. Make exercise part of every day.
  • 9. Take a breather. Make time to relax and be by yourself. Just 15 minutes maky be enough to refresh and help you handle what’s on the agenda. Take a nighttime walk. Listen to music, read a book, get a massage. Whatever it takes to relieve the tension and prepare you to jump back into the maelstrom.
  • 10. Get professional help if you need it. If you persistently feel sad or anxious, have recurring physical symptoms, can’t sleep, are irritable and feel hopeless and unable to face routine expectations, see a doctor or mental health professional.

Coping With Holiday Stress

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Coping with Holiday Stress
The trick, if possible, is to recognize the potential and stop it at the pass.
Stressed? Depressed? Here’s How To Cope

If you’re feeling Grinch-y, Scrooge-y and a bit more than bah hum-bugged, overwhelmed by the array of demands the holidays bring, there are ways to make things better, according to a Mayo Clinic release.

Among the stressors are too many – sometimes unwelcome – guests, selecting and then paying for gifts, shopping, baking, cleaning and entertaining. And the list goes on, depending on your own circumstances. Plenty to make for a no-good, no-fun, no-happy Noel.

The trick, if possible, is to recognize the potential and stop it at the pass. Especially if you’ve had problems in the past, anticipate an emotional toll and don’t let it happen.

The Clinic’s suggestions include:

1. Acknowledge your feelings. If you’ve had particular challenges recently, don’t expect them to be less emotionally draining just because it’s the holidays. It’s all right to cry or otherwise express your feelings.

2. Reach out to others. If loneliness or isolation get too big to bear alone, seek out community, religious or other opportunities to be with others. Volunteer to help others as a way to put your troubles into perspective and broaden friendships.

3. Be realistic. Nobody’s holidays are perfect. If things are different from last year, if your family structure has changed, traditions and rituals altered, don’t expect things to be the same. Hold onto some of your personal traditions and be open to new ones. For example, if your adult children can’t make it home, find new ways to share long-distance, through emails, pictures, chats or videos.

4. Set aside differences. Looking for the ideal in any normal family is an exercise in futility. Accept each other as is. If there are grievances, wait for a more opportune time to discuss them. If others get upset or distressed, be understanding. Avoid confrontation.

5. Stick to a budget. If your stress and depression are triggered by money matters, make them matter less. Plan a realistic holiday budget and then stick to it. Buying an avalanche of gifts that you can’t afford will only extend the pain beyond the holidays. Give homemade gifts, donate to a charity in another’s name, promote a family gift exchange.

6. Plan your time. Divide up the chores into manageable bits: a time for shopping, baking, parties and other activities. Avoid last-minute scrambling. Be sure you have the ingredients you need for cooking. Line up help for preparation and cleanup.

7. Learn to say No. If you overextend yourself, you end up feeling resentful and overwhelmed. If you can’t involve yourself in every possibility that comes your way, don’t feel the need to apologize. If you can’t avoid the added demands, for instance, if the boss says he needs you overtime, drop something else from your schedule if you can. The days during the holiday season are just 24 hours long, as usual. Don’t try to pack them too tightly.

8. Retain healthy habits. Have a snack before a party to avoid overeating. Get enough sleep. Make exercise part of every day.

9. Take a breather. Make time to relax and be by yourself. Just 15 minutes may be enough to refresh and help you handle what’s on the agenda. Take a nighttime walk. Listen to music, read a book, get a massage. Whatever it takes to relieve the tension and prepare you to jump back into the maelstrom.
Laugh out loud.

10. Get professional help if you need it. If you persistently feel sad or anxious, have recurring physical symptoms, can’t sleep, are irritable and feel hopeless and unable to face routine expectations, see a doctor or mental health professional.

When To Quit Your Day Job?

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Constantly challenge yourself to distinguish between needs versus wants.
Constantly challenge yourself to distinguish between needs versus wants.
Many people have successfully started new businesses from their homes and have done so while still working a 40 hour work week. Although this may be time consuming, it is well worth the effort. So when does that second stream of income make it possible for you to quit your day job?

In a recent interview with the co-founder of MoneyCrashers.com, Andrew Schrage gives us some suggestions.

Tip #1 – Get Out Of Debt First

The most important debt to get to zero is your credit card debt. You don’t want to be making payments on past expenditures as well as unnecessary interests charges. This is a good rule of thumb to follow even if you aren’t considering quitting your day job. For other types of debt like auto loans, school loans and home loans, try to reduce those debts as much as possible. The least amount of any kind of debt is desirable.

The psychological pressures that debt causes will take away from your optimal performance in your work towards building your new business. There are so many challenges that come with starting a new business that you want to clear your slate of debt as much as you can. Stress can lead to making bad decisions that can cripple your company’s future.

Tip #2 – Reduce Your Monthly Expenses

Your focus needs to be on needs as opposed to wants. Self deception regarding differentiating between these two categories gets many people further into debt and hence further into stress. Getting back to basics really helps you build self confidence and your bank account at the same time. If you want to make a new year’s resolution out of this, your goal could look something like this: “Lose Weight. Gain Wealth.”

Tip #3 – Set A Goal

Your main goal should be creating a financial cushion for yourself. Have enough set aside to cover 3 to 6 months worth of living expenses. When your business is bringing in enough money to cover your monthly expenses and give yourself a little breathing space, you can consider quitting your day job. It’s all about minimizing your risks.

There are situations that will make following all these best practices difficult. You may have been laid off your job in which case you will have to rely on whatever resources you do have.

Tip #4 – Outsource As Much As Possible

One of the biggest mistakes new business owners make is thinking that they have to do all the work themselves because it saves money. Letting go of some of the jobs that other people can do may be a strategic move. Freeing up your time can to focus on overall business growth can be profitable in the long run.

Tip #5 – Have A Working Business Model

When you decide to quit your day job, you have to have a working business model that is bringing in money. Never jump ship before this is in place if you have any say in the situation at all. Future investment partners will be attracted to your business if you can show this model to them.

Any changes you make that affect your monthly income need to be taken seriously. Although you can’t plan for everything, sticking to these basic five tips, will at least help guide you in making better decisions for yourself and your new business.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuIs-nt7zds

10 Tips To Protect Against Identity Theft

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"Identity theft leads the Federal Trade Commission's list of top consumer complaints, accounting for 14 percent of all complaints recorded by the government body in 2013." FTC
“Identity theft leads the Federal Trade Commission’s list of top consumer complaints, accounting for 14 percent of all complaints recorded by the government body in 2013.” FTC

Forget the bogey man, dragons and things that go bump in the night. Save the fear factor for the unscrupulous among us who steal our identities and leave us floundering, financially fractured and caught in a web of never-ending effort to prove who we are.

The stories are rampant. Every year, more than 16 million Americans are victimized by computer hackers, mailbox thieves and others who have made a science of cheating their fellowmen. The number probably is higher, because not all incidents are reported. The ill-gotten loot adds up to some $24.7 billion, topping all other property crime losses combined by $10 million.

It seems that everyone you talk to knows someone in their circle of family and friends that has suffered from the ill effects of this crime.

The crooks prefer older persons as targets. They have better credit and more accounts and they tend to be somewhat less tech savvy than today’s perpetrators. They are not as apt to monitor their financial resources as those who have grown up in a digital world.

The AARP conducted a poll among 2,250 older Americans and found that more than 12 percent had had unauthorized items purchased in their name in the past year. Law enforcement is overwhelmed, and few of the fraudulent cases are resolved. Among police agencies, the saying goes that “only the dumb ones get caught.”

How to protect yourself? Here are 10 hints:

1. Locking Mailbox

Get a locking mailbox or use a post office box. Almost 60 percent of Americans report they do not have a locked box, making them prime for the snoops who are looking for identify information.

2. Online Accounts

Get online accounts for all bank and credit cards so information does not go
by post. If you haven’t already gone online, you are part of the 50 percent of Americans who are vulnerable through this route.

3. Clean Car

Never leave personal information in your car. Some 20 percent of Americans in the age group 18 to 49 say they have left a wallet or purse in a locked car over the past week. Those over that age are more prone to be careful, with only 8 percent reporting having left personal items in a car.

4. Shred Documents

Shred documents that contain personal information, such as bank and credit card statements, tax forms and medical bills. Forty-one percent of those over age 50 shred at least once a week.

5. Lock Electronics

Lock devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets with pass codes to prevent unauthorized use. Some 44 percent of those over 50 say they haven’t set up pass codes on their smartphones.

6. Close Old Credit Accounts

Close out old credit card accounts if you no longer use them. They are tempting come-ons for thieves.

7. Leave Your Social Security Card At Home

Don’t carry your Social Security card. Even the last four digits can give a fraudster enough information to damage your security.

8. Check On Your Bank Account Activity

Regularly check bank account and credit card statements. About 75 percent of Americans who bank online take this precaution.

9. Open Online Accounts With Credit Bureaus

Establish online accounts with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the three credit reporting agencies. They may help you spot any irregularities in your accounts early. Sixty percent of the country’s citizens haven’t taken this precaution.

10. Set Fraud Alerts

Put fraud alerts on your accounts with the credit agencies and consider a credit freeze. Too many who receive a fraud alert, 84 percent, failed to follow through with fraud alerts on their credit files; fewer than 6 percent considered freezing credit.

Singles Day Sales Already At $9 Billion Dollars

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November 11 is designated as Singles Day.
November 11 is designated as Singles Day.
If you thought Black Friday and Cyber Monday were the greatest shopping days on the planet, think again. In China, they have Singles Day, and it tops either of the U.S. shopping sprees by a long shot. Novemeber 11 – written as 11/11 is officially Singles Day.

This year sales have already hit the $9 billion dollar mark in sales from Alibaba, which puts it’s growth from 2013 at over $3 billion. Singles Day has now become the most profitable shopping holiday of the year. Over 43% of the sales came from mobile purchases.

In 2009, Alibaba founder Jack Ma chose Nov. 11 for the big day – 11-11 to celebrate being single. Kind of the opposite of Valentine’s day. Last year, Singles Day sales racked up $5.7 billion in sales on Alibaba’s shopping platforms, counted in U.S. dollars. Pre-orders for this big shopping day have been placed since mid-October. Even though only 25% of Chinese citizens shop online, this event could become bigger in the coming years. It is predicted that within 5 years, this will become a global holiday.

If you don't give up, you still have a chance. And when you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength.
“If you don’t give up, you still have a chance. And when you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength.”
On Monday, Alibaba stock was given an outperform rating by Oppenheimer. Stock prices have reflected the recent news.

The number of sellers has jumped from about 10,000 last year to more than 27,000 this year. Two merchants that are new on the Tmall website (owned by Alibaba) are Costco and Telsa Motors.

So what does Jack Ma, owner of Alibaba worry about these days? Besides being the richest man in China, he worries that all the packages ordered on Singles Day – a staggering 260 million plus – will be delivered on time.

The introduction of Alibaba to the American stock market opened the door to the mega company’s cooperative agreements with other nations such as France, Italy, Germany and others. Providing a platform to market products made all over the world has changed the retail landscape forever. With the largest global IPO in history, this company has topped analysts expectations and is currently our favorite company to follow.