Keep the Holidays Merry With Our Safe Shopping Tips

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To keep your holidays the most wonderful time of the year, try some safe shopping tips that really work. By following a few simple guidelines, shoppers can avoid losing their money, their identity or even their lives this year.

  • Shop during daylight hours. Try to avoid shopping later at night, when it’s dark. If you must go out at night, choose shopping centers with well-lit parking lots or garages, and keep your keys out while you walk.
  • Don’t open car doors from far away. The remote that activates your car locks might seem like a useful tool – especially when you have lots of packages or bags – but if you open your doors too soon before you get to the car, you’re allowing potential predators to jump into your car.
  • Report “lurkers.” One of the most useful safe shopping tips comes from your gut: if it looks “wrong,” or if you feel uncomfortable, let a security guard or law enforcement officer know. Runaway teenagers may consider turning to theft if they’re hungry or cold during the holiday season, so report anyone who makes you feel unsafe, regardless of their age.
  • Avoid carrying a purse/wallet in your back pocket. Keep your driver’s license, cash and credit cards in your front pocket, for easy access and easy reach. It’s more difficult for someone to pick your front pocket, and purses and pocketbooks can attract thieves. Identity theft protection tips such as this may help you keep more than just your belongings safe, too.

Identity Theft Protection Tips that Work

For people who shop both in stores and online, we offer identity theft protection tips to keep your holidays from turning into your nightmares. Being alert may help you avoid losing your identity to hackers or thieves this year.

  • Don’t save your information online. It’s so much simpler to save your banking information on the sites you use often – but it makes it much easier for internet predators to steal that information. Take the few extra moments to fill in your credit card information every time you shop – and only use sites designated as “safe” by your online protection services.
  • Don’t carry unnecessary information with you. One of the best identity theft protection tips law enforcement or investigators can offer involves keeping your identification papers at home, where they belong. Carry only what you need, such as a driver’s license, and leave what you don’t, such as passports.
  • Get credit cards with your picture on them. If your bank card has your picture on it, it’ll be harder to use it in person for a thief who looks nothing like you. There are pro’s and con’s to this idea, so discuss with your credit card company as to what is the best option is for you.
  • Changes your passwords. Our safe shopping tips for online shoppers involve changing passwords and security questions and answers. If you use the same passwords for all of your social media and online shopping accounts, create new passwords for each site.

Prevent Kidnapping and Runaway Teenagers this Year

Tensions run high at the holidays. People are distracted, and sometimes we lose sight of what’s important. But by talking to your teens and children, you can keep your loved ones safe and prevent kidnapping attempts. As soon as possible, do the following:

  • Leave kids at home with a trusted babysitter during shopping trips, which can help you prevent kidnapping from a crowded place.
  • Don’t allow children to shop in the store without you.
  • Teach your children their full name and address, as well as their phone number, in case they become separated.
  • Teach children to wait for you at a register in the store. Store clerks and security officers can page you over the intercom.
  • Talk to your kids. Runaway teenagers are often under a lot of pressure, from themselves or someone else. Encourage them to discuss their problems with you in a stress-free environment, and really listen to their concerns.

3 Tips On How To Be Safe When Shopping Online

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Isn’t it fun and easy to shop online? To avoid losing money or giving away your personal information you should be very careful when undertaking online shopping. To help you out here are tips on how to be safe online:

Shop From A Reputable Store

There are many online stores with a recognizable brand name. There are other reputable offline stores that have an online retail arm. While it’s always recommended that you buy from these well-known stores, they might not be having what you are interested in. In such a case you should consider buying from the lesser-known stores.

Since you know very little about these stores, you should be very careful. As rule of thumb you should do thorough research before you part with your money. You should research the store and find its registration details, contact details that include email address, postal address and telephone number.

Find Out More About Billing, Guarantee And Delivery

It’s a trend for many online stores to have hidden costs. To have an easy time making your budget you should ensure that you understand all the costs involved. If you are buying from a reputable store you should be able to tell the packaging and delivery costs up front. You should also be able to tell whether you will be billed before or after the products have been delivered.

If you will be shipping the product from a different state or country it’s wise that you ensure that the product has a guarantee so that you can return it in the event that it develops defects.

Go Through The Privacy Policy

Your privacy is of great importance; therefore, you shouldn’t ignore the privacy policy section like many people do-you should read it thoroughly.

Reputable online companies are very clear on how they collect data and what they do with it. Before you make the purchase you should read the policy and understand whether the company uses your information to email you with updates or deals. You should also know whether the company gives/sells the information to third party merchants.

To be on the safe side you should avoid a company giving away your private information to third parties.

Conclusion

These are tips on how to be safe when shopping online. Remember that while you should give the first priority to the well-known companies, you should also consider the less-known companies. All you need to do is to ensure that they are reputable.

Enjoy a Debt Free Lifestyle With Credit Card Debt Relief Non Profit

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Individuals should not feel alone when it comes to debt and things related to it. According to one national survey, more than fifty-four percent of American households have unpaid debts that amounts over fifteen-thousand dollars. Bailouts and grants have been offered by the federal government, but not everyone qualifies for them. Individuals should check in with a credit card debt relief non-profit company for assistance in getting rid of debt.

Most non-profit companies deal with debt consolidation to assist individuals with controlling out of control credit card debt. They receive money from their work with creditors. Some charge a small fee to those, using their services, but can be waived if the individual proves it to be a hardship. The first job of any non-profit is to assess the current financial situation of the individual. They examine current debt as compared to their monthly income and other obligations. They attempt to consolidate the debt as most as possible by negotiating with the creditors to lower rates of interest, extend the repayment plan, and drop excess charges including late fees and other penalties.

If the individual is eligible for consolidation, the counselor at the non-profit gets a loan from a lender and the individual only then has to send one monthly payment instead of numerous. The counselor is put in charge of dispersing the monthly payment to the various creditors.

Even though credit card debt relief non-profit agencies handle mainly consolidation services, they do offer advice on how to budget properly. They will educate their clients on budget preparation, checkbook balancing, and how to use credit properly. By understanding these lessons, individuals are more likely to not fall into debt again. To find out if someone is eligible for debt consolidation, visit http://www.mydebtsolvers.com.

Tanzanite – The Magnificent Gemstone

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The cheapest stones are nice but you wonder what all the fuss is about until you see the violet/blue at its best. It is then you know what a magnificent stone this tanzanite is. It is simply superb and you want to just turn it around and gaze into it.

Discovered in 1967, tanzanite is a variety of zoisite and it looks a lot like sapphire and in fact when it was first found it was thought to be sapphire. In gem speak 1967 is yesterday! How could such a wonderful gemstone be found so recently?

The stone is a natural crystal which is yellow through to reddish brown in its natural state. But it needs heat and lots of it to make it a fantastic blue colour. Story has it that after a lightning strike some Massai herdsmen found this beautiful blue crystal stone in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro in Northern Tanzania.

True or not the fact is it isn’t found anywhere else on earth and since it was only found recently it is in short supply, or at least the best quality stones are.

Two years after it was discovered the New York jeweller Tiffany decided to put it on the world gem map. They promoted it heavily and now it is recognized as a prized gem.

Some gems around the world are involved in what is termed Conflict Gems or Blood Diamonds is another term. This is where the gems are mined under duress by the local population or slaves and often the money is used to promote terrorism. Tanzanite seems to be clear of any such problems.

Tanzanite is mostly mined by small mining operations and the sellers of the stone are mostly registered traders who have their markets in Europe and the USA. This is a good thing and gives the buyer comfort. Tanzanite has had its share of control. The Tanzanian government interfered with its cutting at one stage and other large companies have attempted to control its trade in some ways. There was also a flood through the mining area which killed about one hundred miners and halted production. So it is a rare stone.

There is an abundance of the light coloured stone and it is quite cheap and doesn’t look anything special. The larger and better coloured stones are rare and naturally are expensive. The better colours are the mid to dark blues with shifts of purple in them.

Tanzanite is a soft stone and this has some downside. It will scratch and chip easier than other top gemstones so it is wise to think about the type of jewellery that you have it set in and the way you treat it. For instance it is best worn in earrings where it is out of harm’s way. If you wear it in a ring then be careful as it may not last if it is constantly being knocked against furniture and other things. So as a wedding ring worn all the time it is almost certainly going to get damaged.

Tanzanite is an absolutely magnificent gemstone. It is right up there in quality and price at its highest level. It is stunning and rare. It is enhanced when alongside other gems such as opals and diamonds and it is breathtaking when set in platinum.