Uncategorized

Identity theft is continuing to skyrocket thanks to the proliferation of online shopping and the sharing of personal information with companies and financial institutions alike. In fact, hundreds of millions of people have had their data stolen. This can occur through massive breaches of banks, stores and other businesses, or a dishonest person can misuse data that was disclosed on medical forms, employment records or other documents.

Identity theft can be devastating. Thieves can open fraudulent accounts, make purchases with existing accounts, or empty bank accounts altogether. Victims often dont realize there’s a problem until criminals have been misusing their accounts for weeks or longer.

Call Your Creditors
If you notice an unauthorized charge on a credit card, contact the bank immediately to dispute it. Its possible that someone made a mistake, but there’s also a good chance that your identity has been stolen. Check your other accounts for fraudulent activity, as well.

If you think your identity has been stolen, close the compromised account and all others (even if you dont have any specific reason to think they were compromised), and open new accounts with different account numbers. It will be a hassle, but it will prevent any other fraudulent transactions and damage to your credit score.

Check and Monitor Your Credit Reports
An identity thief may have used your information to open new accounts in your name. Request copies of your credit reports from all three bureaus and look for any accounts you dont recognize.

Notify the credit bureaus of the suspected identity theft and place a fraud alert on your report. If someone tries to open a new account in your name, the application will be flagged and the creditor will contact you to verify that you made the request. Another option is to freeze your credit, which would stop credit bureaus from sharing your information at all. Keep in mind that this would make it harder for you to open credit cards and to obtain loans if you need them.

If your identity was stolen as a result of a data breach, the company whose records were compromised may offer you free credit monitoring, which can help you spot any suspicious activity and provide you with peace of mind. If you haven’t been offered free credit monitoring, you can sign up online for a monthly fee.

Notify the Authorities
Contact the Federal Trade Commission to file a report and receive helpful advice. Your local police department might be able to help if your identity was stolen in your town. If you think it was stolen somewhere else, you can file a police report in that jurisdiction. Unfortunately, identity thieves operate all over the world and are often not caught.

Be Vigilant
If you suspect that your identity has been stolen, act immediately. Contact your creditors, check your credit reports and report the crime to the authorities. You should also check your credit report at least once a year and monitor monthly financial statements to catch any suspicious activity as quickly as possible.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Raising a family means dealing with laundry, cooking, cleaning and other chores. Parents often feel overwhelmed and struggle to get their kids to help out, but it doesn’t need to be that way.

Start Early
Young kids have a natural desire to spend time with their family members and to participate in activities. If your children want to help, find things they can do to contribute in a meaningful way. Letting kids dry dishes or put clothes in the washer can make them feel important, provide a sense of accomplishment and promote teamwork. Allowing a toddler to help might require more time or might initially lead to more of a mess, but that is how kids learn.

Set a Positive Example
Let your children see you doing chores. Kids learn a lot by observing others. You might think that your child has no idea how to sweep the floor, but after watching you do it several times, he or she might do a surprisingly good job if given the chance.

Encourage collaboration as much as possible. If you need to vacuum, ask your children to help you pick up any toys from the floor first. If laundry needs to be folded, get your kids to help fold everyone’s clothes, not just their own.

Create a Routine, but Make It Interesting
Set aside a time every day for all family members to do chores. One child will be less likely to complain about vacuuming if his or her siblings are folding laundry or taking out the trash. Having a designated time for chores can also help children accept them as a regular part of everyday family life. Remind your kids that they can watch TV or play video games after they have finished their tasks.

Make chore time fun. Play upbeat music and sing and dance while working. Let your kids choose the playlist and take turns serving as “DJ.”

Trying a variety of chores can help your kids take on more responsibility and understand how the household operates. If a child enjoys washing dishes, let him or her wipe the counters or sweep the floor. If a child likes to feed the dog and is strong enough, let him or her help walk the pet. A child who likes to put laundry in the washer and dryer can learn to fold clothes.

Treat Kids as Valuable Contributors
Allow your children to help with chores in whatever way they can as early as possible. If your kids feel that they are contributing and appreciated, and chores are treated as a normal part of life, the entire family can work together and avoid conflict.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

If youve checked your credit reports lately for errors, congratulations! Thats a smart first step to improving your credit score, which can make getting approved for home loans and credit cards, along with getting the best interest rates, a lot easier.

Errors can be as simple as a misspelled name, wrong phone number or address, or as serious as an account wrongly reported as delinquent.

The next step is to fix them. Here are some ways to resolve errors on your credit reports:

Write the Credit Bureaus
Write a letter to the credit reporting bureau where you found the mistake. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three major credit bureaus, and you can write to them online or by mail.

Include your contact information, and explain the error you found and why its wrong. Include supporting documentation, such as a copy of an email verifying the status of an account that has been reported incorrectly.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sample letters on its website for disputing credit reports. Be sure to keep copies of any letters or documents you send, and if sending anything by mail, use certified mail with a return receipt.

Alert Creditors
Banks and credit card issuers that provide information about you should also be notified of errors, unless its an identity-related mistake made by the credit bureau”those should be sent directly to the credit bureau.

Also known as furnishers, companies that provide information to credit bureaus will often have their address listed on your credit report so you can contact the company directly.

Allow 45 Days
After reporting errors, allow up to 45 days for them to be fixed. The credit bureau generally has 30 days after receiving your dispute to investigate and verify the information with the furnisher. The credit bureau must report the results back to you within five days of completing its investigation.

If you dispute an error with the furnisher, it typically takes 30 days to investigate and they must report their findings to you.

If youve submitted incorrect or incomplete information, or have tried to contest the same item multiple times without any new information, then the bureau or furnisher may decide your dispute is frivolous. They must tell you this within five days, along with providing their reasoning. Once this is done, they don’t need to investigate further. You can resubmit a dispute with updated materials if your original dispute was labeled frivolous.

Even if the furnisher insists the dispute information is accurate, you can ask the credit bureau to include a statement in your credit file explaining the dispute.

Check Back
Credit report updates may take a while to appear, depending on when new information is sent and a bureaus update cycle. If you dont see a change in a few months, contact them again to verify that your account information is being reported and updated.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Looking to add some of your own personal chicness to your bathroom? Below are a few ways you can add a little oomph to your powder room.

Climbing plants. Climbing vines indoors can add a jungly, naturalistic element to your space. Some of the coolest vines for interiors are ivy, heartleaf philodendron, jasmine and betel leaf plant.

Art. Don’t be afraid to add some unique art to your bathroom! A cool painting or sculpture can make a great focus piece.

Lighting options. From an interesting lighting fixture to a colored bulb or recessed lighting beneath, don’t be afraid to get funky with your lights.

Mirroring. Add an expressive picture frame to the edge of your vanity mirror, or create an entire mirrored wall to open up the space and add light.

Playful patterns. If you’re a fan of patterns, consider placing a bold pattern on your ceiling, floor or on one wall to make the space more interesting.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Unless youre living in a custom designed home, you probably wish your bathroom”or your guest bath”was bigger.

Short of pushing out the walls or totally remodeling, home editors at TheSpruce.com offer eight good tips for making the most of your bathroom space:

Pick the right colors. Save the bright hues for accessories if you like, but paint the walls and choose the flooring to create an illusion of space and serenity. Pale, soft pastel shades are best.

Up the lighting. Adding recessed lighting in the ceiling or opera lights above the vanity are good ways to increase the brightness and create a more spacious feeling.

Try a pedestal sink. A vanity cabinet provides storage under the sink, but it takes up lots of floor space. If you can find storage space in a nearby linen closet, trade the vanity for a low-profile pedestal sink. (Note, however, that if you remove the vanity, you will likely have to repair or change the flooring.)

Cut back what sticks out. Anything that sticks out into the room can make your room seem to shrink. Remove as many hanging shelves, racks, or decorative accessories as you can because they cut into the room and make it look smaller.

Use mirror reflection. Use the largest mirror you can over the bathroom sink. It will reflect all the light in the room, including the pale colors youve chosen.

Get rid of visual obstructions. Trade a frosted-glass bath or shower door for a clear glass one. Or, better yet, eliminate the door and install a shower curtain that can be pushed back to one side when not in use. You’ll be able to see all the way to the back wall to maximize the illusion of spaciousness.

Expand the ceiling. You can create the illusion of a raisedceilingif you install crown molding and paint it the same color as the ceiling.

Ditch the clutter. Keep only essentials on the bathroom counter. The less clutter, the more spacious the look and feel.

Published with permission from RISMedia.