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When many of us think about estate planning, we think of things like wills and trusts. If we’re really serious, we think about powers of attorney. Digital assets, however, are often overlooked.
At first, you might think you don’t have any digital assets that matter. However, as Jean Gordon Carter, an estate planning attorney with Hunton & Williams points out, you probably do have digital assets that you care about.
Think about it: What happens with your social media accounts when you die? What about your digital music collection? Your images? The passwords for account access at all your financial institutions?
Did you see that new Foot Locker commercial? The timing was perfect, and watching Tyson hand Holyfield his ear was hilarious. So when I went to the mall and saw signs for the “Week of Greatness” sale, the commercial came to my mind — and I almost bought in.
The commercial did its job. Fortunately, I stopped before laying down the credit card.
The point of good marketing is to leave you with nothing.
OK, maybe that’s a cynical way of looking at it — but the fact is that millions of dollars are spent on marketing, so you can spend without thought on goods. This isn’t news: you know it. Still, you let them win your money.
The results are in: the latest Gallup poll shows that more Americans prefer saving money to spending it. This is no news to retailers, as many major chains have been experiencing unusually low sales for the holiday season. Sales through Thanksgiving and Black Friday were surprisingly lackluster — a warning sign that, for various reasons, shoppers aren’t feeling as spend-happy as they have before.
While reasons for spending less this Christmas are likely as unique as the individual, here are a few of the main motivators behind this spending trend. [ continue reading… ]
From a young age, I was taught to fear the check engine light. To me, that little icon meant to expect smoke, flames, and the imminent death of your vehicle if you didn’t pull over immediately. With that kind of perspective, you can imagine what was going through my head when an audible “ding” was followed by an illuminated engine light on the dashboard of my minivan.
I knew that my dealership charges $80 just to hook the van up and read the error code reported by the vehicle’s internal computer. On top of that, there would be the cost to repair whatever was wrong with the vehicle. But I wasn’t going that route.
I knew that a nearby auto parts store provided diagnostics for a check engine light for FREE. [ continue reading… ]
Home-based businesses are becoming more and more popular. Many people who have been laid off, or are unhappy with their current careers, have been looking to branch out on their own.
Working from home doesn’t have to be just a dream. With these five steps, it can become your reality.
1. Find an idea
Deciding what business you’re going to create is the most important part of the process. You want to do something you’re interested in — but that also has enough promise to pay the bills.
When you’re first weighing your home-based business options, start with your current hobbies. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself when choosing your idea: [ continue reading… ]
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”) was passed in 2010, and provisions of the law have been going into effect since then. One of the biggest changes resulting from the ACA goes into effect starting with the new year.
Beginning in 2014, everyone is required to have health insurance coverage or pay a fine. There are exceptions to this rule, and there are those who would rather pay the fine — at least for now — than get the coverage. For the first year, the fine is relatively small. As implementation progresses, though, the fine gets bigger, so it might not be worth it to skip the insurance in two or three years.
So, what does this mean for you as a consumer? Jacqueline Garry Lampert is the founder of Lake Street Strategies, a public policy strategy and consulting firm, and consultant to UPMC. She has many insights about the ACA’s impact, and here are the three groups she thinks will be most affected: [ continue reading… ]
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