Beware of Back-to-School Credit Card Fraud

With the school season starting again, education is job number one for students and parents alike. A proper education includes an education in personal finance, and one of the best ways to start is to learn how to protect yourself against scams.

You can and should learn fast, too, because scams can become more common during the back-to-school buying season. Here are some practical suggestions on how to avoid credit and debit card fraudsters:

• • Only patronize known retailers.
  • Avoid jackpot online deals that offer items like $3,000 laptops for $400. These are often scams.

• • “Good PC hygiene” cannot be overstated for every handheld device, laptop, and phone. Anti-virus and anti-malware programs are key to staying safer online.

• • Avoid pooling or sharing credit card information in a dorm setting. There is no reason for students to share credit or share their logins and access to their online accounts with each other.

• • Watch out for “card cracking,” or “card popping,” which targets younger people in particular via their frequent port of call – a social media site. It may be a post announcing a contest, but soon you’re being asked for your banking information. That’s it – run away, it’s a scam.

• • Make sure to monitor each of your credit card accounts for unfamiliar transactions, and report any suspicious account activity to your card issuer directly.

• Check with your financial institution: Many credit card companies now offer online fraud alerts that warn the card issuer of any unusual activity, and several card issuers also provide credit card controls that enable you to literally turn your payment cards on and off at will.

In all cases, the key thing is for the student to be paying attention and proactive – qualities known to be helpful in other areas of study!

This article was provided by our partners at MoneyTips.com.

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• Saving Money With Back to School Shopping
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• 5 Smart Ways to Save on Back to School Supplies

For most travelers, waiting for your vacation is almost as exciting as taking it. You’re always wondering about the beautiful places you’ll going to visit and all the significant memories you’ll make. In your head, you’re thinking that nothing will go wrong. But usually, we always end up with clenched fists and raised voices at least once during our trips. Follow these tips to make your vacation enjoyable and stress-free:

Let Loose

If you only have limited vacation days on top of a busy work schedule, a planned trip can usually become the only thing you will look forward to for the coming months. The pressure of wanting to make that vacation as perfect as possible can end up backfiring on you. The best memories you make during your vacation are those that unusually good conversations, the tasty local means and the people you make memories around you.

Make A Flexible Itinerary

It is essential to always remember that those unplanned travel moments can take a lot of your time. You would want to avoid having a delayed flight or cancelled event to ruin your whole itinerary. Consider scheduling activities on a particular day then leave some days completely free. When you have a flexible schedule, you can avoid rushing to complete your travel itinerary. Make sure that your budget fits all the places you have written in your itinerary. You have to learn how to enjoy the down time which is the exact reason you wanted to take that vacation in the first place.

Call Before Making Plans

Museums, parks and restaurants usually have updated websites but once in a while, unwanted situations happen. It will be better to call the place you want to visit and check if there will be closures or confirm that the event you wanted to attend is still happening. Book your tickets and reservations as soon as possible.

Set a goal

Traveling with others may become stressful at times because your companions have different kinds of preferences. Your friend might want to go to the beach while you may want to explore the old ruins in the city. When planning a vacation that involves your friends, discuss with the group about your upcoming vacation trip and set a collective goal. Doing this will help you avoid awkward situations when you all realize that your preferences are different from each other. This is also the time to talk about the budget of the trip or activities.

Pack light

All of us have been experienced overpacking. Heavy luggage makes travel a lot of a struggle than making it enjoyable. Make your clothing options a lot simpler and only pack the necessary things you will need. It is easier said than done but we all know that there are some things we can leave behind. Try air-drying your hair and just leave your blow-dryer back at home. Consider getting your most comfortable sandal and leave behind those heels you will never wear. Avoid baggage claims by packing everything into your carry-on luggage. It is better to be under-packed and be relaxed rather than be overpacked and be exhausted while travelling.

Avoid your Gadgets

Having a vacation does not mean you trade your desk for a sofa chair and remotely working at the beach. Temporarily disconnecting from your productive working environment while on your vacation makes it a lot less stressful. But there are some people who cannot stay away from their work. If you are one of them, it is recommended that you set limitations on how much time you will have to work while you are still on your vacation trip. You can try checking in once a day for at least 15 to 30 minutes. After this, avoid all your gadgets by leaving them inside your hotel room or putting them in silent mode.

School is back in session and that means less recreation, more education. Children are already dreading the piles of homework on the horizon. You, the parent, are probably concerned about parent-teacher conferences. If there is one common thread you share with your child, it’s that you both want to move on from school to do great things.

In order to get to better times, you and your child have to work towards them. Many school administrators acknowledge how important the parent’s influence can be. The main objective is to supervise your child’s lessons, but give them enough room to grow and discover ideas for themselves. Here are four tips that can help your child succeed in elementary and pre-school.

A Balanced Meal

Mornings can be hectic so simplify breakfast with easy to prepare items like oatmeal or half a bagel with peanut butter. Toaster pastries and sugary cereals are also easy, but they’re not very nutritious.

Any meal you make for your child should be rich in carbohydrates (whole-grains), protein (lean meats and dairy products), and fiber (fruits and vegetables). Explain to your children why certain foods are healthy and others aren’t. This will help them when they begin buying food on their own.

Organize

It’s important to let your children relax and play after school. But, there must be a point where you have to be the buzzkill and demand they focus on their work.

Give your child a daily planner to write down homework assignments in. Make sure they carry a folder for every subject. Before they go out the door the next day, make sure they have all the supplies they need.

Encourage them to keep their backpacks and desk spaces well maintained. They don’t need to carry every book or paper with them, just the right ones.

Rein in Media

With smart phones and devices becoming more common, it’s going to be harder to fight distractions.

Spend time with your child when they watch TV, play video games, or browse the internet. Familiarize yourself with current child friendly content. Don’t just set parental controls on your firewall, be them.

You should also take note of any underlying themes in the media your child enjoys. Take trips to the library to find books and DVDs related their favorite subjects. Find a way to tie their interests in with class projects. You could be introducing them to a fun, productive hobby.

Get Involved

Sending your children to school means you’re going with them in spirit. It starts simply enough by meeting the faculty and staff before the beginning of the school year.

Finding time to volunteer at your child’s school can be all about opportunity. Reliable adults are needed for chaperoning, event planning, and trade specific needs. A dad who’s in construction lend a hand towards renovating the playground area. If the school is considering an annex building, then a realtor could spring that for them.

At the very least, always ask your child: “How was school today?”

Being unemployed can take a toll on your mental health. It does not matter whether you were fired or you decided to quit the job voluntarily. You may constantly worry about how you are going to make ends meet. You may also feel guilt and shame if you have a family to support.

Your future may be uncertain if you are unemployed. This can trigger anxiety and depression. Fortunately, you can protect your mental health while you are unemployed.

Make a List of Daily Tasks

You should make a list of things that you can do in order to secure employment. This includes things such as contacting recruiters, browsing job listings and working on your resume. You should set a certain amount of time to look for a job each day.

Do Things That You Like

You do not want to spend all of your time looking for a job. You should make a list of all of the things that you could not do before you lost your job. You can use this time to pick up a new hobby.

Practice Self-Care

Self-care is one of the keys to a healthy body and mind. Keep in mind that you do not have to spend a lot of money on self-care. Taking walks and bubble bath are some of the way that you can practice self-care. You may also want to organize your home. Additionally, you have to remind yourself to breathe.

Seek Support

You do not want to go through this ordeal alone. You should keep going to therapy if possible. You should also get help from the people around you.

This is a difficult time for you. However, it is important to remember that everything will work out for you eventually. You may not feel as though you can do anything right now. However, you can take steps to secure your job. You can also take the steps necessary for protecting your mental health.

Unemployment can give you time to reinvent yourself. You will be able to return to the workplace a better employee than you were before.

About Talkspace

Talkspace is an online therapy service. It is an affordable way to connect with a therapist. You can select a plan that works best for you. The therapist will typically check in with the clients one or two times per day. Talkspace has been around since 2012. All of the therapists have been verified. They can help with a variety of issues including anxiety, depression, eating disorders and relationship issues.

The Talkspace reviews have been positive. Studies have shown that 92 percent of people notice an improvement in their symptoms within two months of starting therapy. Researchers have also found that online therapy is just as effective as face-to-face therapy.

People have given positive Talkspace reviews because they like the fact that they can easily fit therapy into their busy lifestyle. They also like the fact that they are matched with therapists who are trained to help with their specific issues.

Rocketship Education is a public charter school with nearly 20 locations across the United States. Since the nonprofit organization was founded by John Danner and Preston Smith – Mr. Smith is currently President; under his responsibility is the entire line of Rocketship schools across the nation – in 2007, its locations have collectively served more than 15,000 kids. Its facilities are spread across the San Francisco Bay Area, Milwaukee, Nashville, and the capital of the United States – Washington, D.C.

Rocketship does such a good job for several reasons; the primary reason, however, is because of students’ parents being so involved in the process of learning

The San Francisco Bay Area in central California is home to tons of people. Even though the area is particularly wealthy, it does have its low-income areas just outside of the true Bay Area region.

Rocketship’s locations are all planned out to be in some of the poorest neighborhoods in each of its four target markets. Preston Smith purposefully designed the school like this because he remembered as a child that the school he attended was in such an area. As most low-income-area schools are, Smith’s childhood school system was terrible.

He always wanted to change that for future generations of children who grew up in low-income areas. Just earlier this year, Smith’s dream truly came to fruition – the San Francisco Bay Area’s very own Rocketship Mateo Sheedy Elementary was named the only elementary facility to provide education of such a high quality to black students in the study of English Language Arts that their skills closed the achievement gap between themselves and their better-off white counterparts.

It’s time to learn about Aned Sanchez and her parent story

Just a few years after Rocketship Mateo Sheedy Elementary school was founded, Aned Sanchez was brought onboard as an office manager; although Ms. Sanchez wasn’t a teacher and was hired to be primarily involved with the administrative aspects of Rocketship Education’s very own Rocketship Mateo Sheedy Elementary school facility.

Sanchez was the only child of a married couple who immigrated into the United States from Mexico. They didn’t know any English whatsoever, leaving Aned at a disadvantage when it came time to ask her parents for help on homework she didn’t quite understand.

During Ms. Aned Sanchez’s interview for the spot of office manager, she was asked by Preston Smith, “Why do you want to work at this school?”

Sanchez replied, “Because I am one of these families. This is my story, too.”

As most of the kids who go to Rocketship’s schools hail from low-income backgrounds – most of its schools are in California, too, which is home to more Latino people than white people, something that doesn’t often happen anywhere else in the United States – and have parents who can’t speak great English, Sanchez felt this job was right up her proverbial alley.

Teachers and administrators go so very far out of their way to get on the same page as familiaes outside of school

A fifth-grade STEM teacher who works at Rocketship Education – it’s the hottest public charter school across the nation – named Vishal Patel remembers from his past years of serving Rocketship as a whole and Mateo Sheedy Elementary individually that getting together with parents, their kids, and other family members outside of school was incredibly beneficial to all of them.

Being able to bond as a unit helped kids try harder in class – that’s one of many manifestations of parents getting involved with their Rocketeer children.

No matter how much debt you have, you need to manage it properly. Even small amounts need to be handled sensibly so they don’t spiral out of control and you improve your credit rating by paying them off promptly. For larger debts, then it may be an idea to speak to a debt management counsellor so that you can formulate a workable plan that pays down the amount you owe without making daily life difficult.

Whatever you owe, here are some great tips for resolving your debt problems.

Know how much you owe and to whom

You need to create a spreadsheet or list of all your debts, including details of the creditors, the amounts, how much you pay each month and on which dates. Having this information at hand means you can see the entire situation and see the numbers reducing.

Keep the list up-to-date. It’s encouraging to see the amounts reduce month by month and, periodically, to see some debts dropping off the list as they’re paid. Update once a month after you’ve made all the payments for that month.

Pay the amounts on time

This seems like a no-brainer, but so many people either forget or hold the payment back so they can pay for something else (which may not even be an essential). Late payments often incur fees, so don’t be late unless you really can’t avoid it, in which case you need to call the creditor to explain and ask for the fee to be waived.

Use your smartphone to send alerts a few days in advance of each payment’s due date so you have lots of notice to either make the payment or speak to the creditor if there’s a problem. If you miss a payment, don’t plan to pay double the next month as you will incur interest as well as a late fee and the default may be reported to the credit agencies.

See your minimum payments as just that

You need to make the minimum payments to stop your debt growing any further, but this won’t help you to make any serious progress. Of course, if you know it’s all you can afford most months, then make the minimum payment, but if you can afford a bit more some months, pay a bit more.

Prioritise your debts

Credit card debt is often the first priority because it usually has the highest interest rates, so once these debts are reduced or settled, you’ll have more money free to concentrate on your other, less expensive debts.

Keep your other bills in good order

You aren’t expected to pay more than you can afford on your debts, which means you should have enough to meet your other bills. You have this leeway, so don’t be tempted to miss accounts and bills that aren’t in arrears to pay down the ones that are. All you’ll do is worsen your credit rating and incur more late charges.

Create and maintain an emergency fund

If you have a small stash of savings – £1,000 or less – then keep this back to cover emergency expenses. Sure, it’d be great to spend it on clearing some or all of a debt, but if you can’t pay for unexpected car repairs then you might have difficulty getting to work or have to rely on expensive public transport.

When it comes to your personal financial situation, you are completely unique from everyone else. We all have different bills to pay, different bank accounts, different incomes, different outgoings and the rest, which can make managing our finances difficult.

If you find yourself short one month, or you need to make a larger purchase, you may be interested in acquiring a loan, or a little bit of extra cash to help get you where you need to be. However, searching for a loan can prove difficult, especially when there are different types of different people.

One of the two main categories you’ll come across are secured and unsecured loans. Today, we’re going to detail the main differences of each, so you can find which one best works for you. For this, we will break each one down in an easy-to-understand way.

What is a Secured Loan?

A secured loan is typically a larger loan that you’ll ‘secure’ with an asset. This means that when you take out the loan, the asset you attach to it will be used as collateral and protects the lender in case you’re unable to remake your payments.

In the event that you’re unable to pay the loan back or make the necessary repayments, the lender, such as the bank, will withhold that asset. You may give them the deed of your house or the ownership of your car, or another similarly priced item to the loan you’re using.

In that example, if you were unable to make repayments on the loan which is attached to your property, you would end up losing your house.

However, since you’re securing an asset to your loan and the lender is protected in case you’re unable to pay it back, the rates are typically much cheaper and more affordable than any kind of loan and allow you to enjoy higher borrowing limits as well as longer repayment terms.

What is an Unsecured Loan?

By nature, an unsecured loan is quite literally the opposite of a secured loan. With one of these, you won’t need to connect or attach an asset to your loan, such as your house or car, but you can still receive the money.

For example, this might be like taking out a credit card from your bank, a loan from lenders like www.KingOfKash.com or entering your overdraft. As you may know, you don’t need to hand over anything for these loans; you just get the money in your possession.

However, these loans then become riskier for the lenders because they have no collateral. This means the rates tend to be higher, the duration of the loans is shorter, and the upper credit limit is much lower than your typical secured loan.

Taking out an unsecured loan will tend to be based on your credit history and your financial abilities in the past which will determine your risk factor, and ultimately your personal rates.

Summary

As you can see, there are some key differences when it comes to secured and unsecured loans. Making sure you take the time to choose which one is best for you is key to achieving financial success, so be sure to research what works best for you.