Safety is also a word often used to imply security. And many times we feel secure because there is no information to tell us otherwise. That doesn’t mean that we can’t be more secure. Lately, I’ve been thinking about steps and actions that might improve my security, or my safety when it comes to finances. Some are the ones I have been using myself, and others are only more recently coming to mind.

1. Account security. Online banking is great. But how secure is your account? Do you change passwords regularly? Do you use easy to determine passwords? Do you use a common password for most of your accounts or logins? I have had some sort of palm or smartphone device for years, and when I lost one in an airport, I had to set about changing all my passwords, because there was an outside chance someone could crack my password file, and thus get all my passwords. I realized then how weak my plan was. Now I still keep a file on my phone, but it has a password that you couldn’t guess before the file auto-destructs. And all my financial accounts not only have tough passwords, but they have different user names.  Overall, I feel pretty secure.
2. Auto financing. Most people understand that they typical new car loses value when you drive it off the lot. Depending on how much you put down on a car, you may owe more on the car than its re-sale value for the first  two to three years of ownership.  I have a Ford Focus philosophy about cars. What is the least I can spend on a car that is sufficient for my commuting and traveling needs? Keep it maintained, and plan to drive it for 10 years (or longer), and you end of with a pretty good value. I can afford a much nicer car, at least in terms of current cash flow, but every extra dollar I spend now is one I am not saving for retirement.
3. Every extra dollar I spend now is one I am not saving for retirement. Yeah, I know I just said that, but when I consider the implications on my various monthly services – internet, cable, phone, wireless, lawn care, heat, electricity, water, trash removal – I am sure that I could pare those down a bit, and maybe work one or two months less than if I spend at the level I do today.  Spending less now equals more financial security – if I do the right thing with my saved money.
4. Consider the size of your house and mortgage. For me, these two have been increasing through 6 moves over many years. Thirty years of home ownership, and I currently have 24 years left on my mortgage. It doesn’t have to be that way. Its an old paradigm. My wife hit me with this one last week with one question: Why did we buy the house we live in today? I knew the answers, and every one of those answers no longer matter. We have fewer people in the house, we have no interest in the schools, and we have more rooms than we need. Yes, I can continue to live here and pay the mortgage and build equity, or we can find a smaller house that fits our current need, go to a mortgage that is half the size of the current one, and be paid off in 7 years. Not as much equity, but now I can save the money I was paying each month, and not one dollar of that goes to someone’s interest earnings on the money they loaned me.
5. Diversify. We all hear this, and it makes sense, but you need to pay attention to it carefully. Not all savings in one bank, not all investments in one stock. Life expectancy is increasing, spending power of dollars weakens over time, and social security just might not be accurately named – at least the “security” part.
6. Prepare for college, or raise your children to know exactly how they can get college paid for. Here in Georgia, my youngest is benefiting from the lottery in the form of a college scholarship. That means he can use what he and we saved for graduate school, which he will likely consider. There are all kinds of approaches today from 529 plans to pre-paid tuition. Understand the options, and don’t wait too long to decide what your approach as a parent will be.
7. Kick the gadget habit. “I don’t need an iPad, I don’t need an iPad…..”

There are many other important purchases and income opportunities that help define our financial safety. You are in control, every day. Do you have a particularly smart strategy for improving your financial security and safety?

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

It became such an important issue for me that later in my career, when I had a team of about 80 people, I didn’t let a meeting go by without some discussion about safety and the importance of challenging each other over potentially unsafe behavior. One day I began talking about the cost of an accident and one of my people told me he thought that maybe that’s what I was concerned about, saving money. I replied that regardless of what you think of my intent, I offer every employee the opportunity to stop doing work they consider unsafe until we can mutually resolve the issue. How can that be a bad thing?

So at the risk of being all about the money, I recognize that sometimes saving a few bucks is a good motivator for folks. Here are a few ways in which safety can save you money!

1. Practicing good methods around the house with knives, ladders, electricity and stairs can almost guarantee a much smaller chance of heading to the emergency room for a related accident. And under no current or emerging health plan would that be an economical chance to take.
2. Keeping things clean and clutter free not only enhances the value of your home, but reduces the chance of injury and again, those same ER visits.
3. Speaking of clutter, those partially used gallons of paint from all the projects you’ve done over the years could be a problem waiting to happen. Every year or so, someone in your area is having a free disposal day for items just like that. No cost to get rid of them, and no extra fuel for fire or explosion.
4. You know that wobbly old step ladder you got from your grandparents’ house when your father helped them move to a smaller place? It might be the most expensive free thing you have in your house. Throw it away and buy a new one. Yes, this is going to cost you, but think of it as cost avoidance.
5. Have a pest problem in your home? Hire a professional to take care of it. Again, this may sound like a cost, but when you start trying to handle this yourself you are starting by treating the symptom. You may not know where the nest or hive or burrow is. I watched a neighbor go after a hornet’s nest with a power washer one summer evening. It was hanging from a second story eave, just out of reach of the stream, so he imrpovised methods of positioning himself higher. He didn’t get stung at all, but he came so close to falling from the fence he was perched on and it would not have been a minor injury. He was lucky.
6. I know you’ve heard this before, but check tire wear and inflation on all your vehicles regularly. Change those tires before they fail. Don’t wait until the day after the big rain storm when you lost control of the vehicle, do it now.

Safety, like quality, is free. Every dollar spent, along with the right discipline, will save you much more in the long run.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there!

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

Here are the tools I have seen mis-used the most in my life.

1. Screwdrivers – This simple tool is designed to translate force to rotate screws into and out of materials. there are several types, the most common being the phillips head and the slotted or regular. We use them as a pry bar, especially to open paint cans or put a bike tire on its rim. Not a good idea. At times we use them for the right thing, but we hold the object we are working on in a way that when the screwdriver slips, we could get a cut or even a puncture wound. Ouch!
2. Hammers – One person I know calls a hammer a “16 ounce wrench” because he uses a hammer to adjust things – to beat them into submission. Again, we use this tool mostly for what it was designed for, but many people don’t take the time to don even an inexpensive pair of safety glasses to provide protection from flying nails or materials that chip when they are hit.
3. Pliers, Channel-lock pliers, and any adjustable wrench. These tools are great, but their misuse can lead to aggravation. The biggest problem is using these tools for working with nuts and bolts. Anything other than socket wrenches, open-end wrenches or box wrenches used on a bolt head will compromise the geometry, making it harder to ever use the correct tool and creating sharp burrs. They also are prone to slipping, which leads to knuckle injuries.
4. Kitchen knives – When used to open that UPS package or as a pry bar to get those AA batteries loose from the remote, you are damaging the integrity of the blade, and making it less reliable when called upon to do the work you have it for. And that is when the knife slips off the green pepper and into your finger.
5. Scissors – Do you have one of those drawers in your house that is the repository for miscellaneous tools? I’ll bet the scissors in there are the most mis-used tool in the drawer. Mostly because they are used so frequently that they end up becoming the easiest thing to grab. Generally mis-used the same way a knife is. Here, the danger is in how we handle them when we start using them for alternative purposes.

Getting the right tool for the job is critical. Using it correctly is just as important. Do you have an experience where you didn’t think about the misuse of a tool until an accident happened? Let us all know about it, you might save us from injury.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

When there are special events in your home, work patterns change. In particular, there is more time spent in the kitchen preparing, serving, eating and cleaning. The kitchen is full of opportunities for injury, mostly from heat. And those hazards are not just near the stove and the oven. We carry hot pans across a room, or hot soups or teas are carried. The potential for burns is much higher.

Then there are the knives that find their way into a soapy sink. If someone isn’t careful reaching in, they could easily get cut.

This advice seems a little bit late, right?

This is also the time of year when many of us make promises to do things differently. Eat better, exercise more, save more diligently, and to get things into better order. These kinds of resolutions present changes in our day-to-day workflow. The process of how we go about moving through our daily lives. And while change is good, it is also good to look for any potential hazards related to your new plans.

For example, if you are going to rise early to exercise every morning, make sure you are starting with a glass of water and a light snack. Even a small amount of yogurt or a slice of peanut butter toast can effectively help you get through a workout better. Sounds simple, but it is important.

Also related to exercise – if you haven’t been good about it recently, then ease back in. Take time to warm up, stretch, and cool down to minimize the liklihood of injury.

Plan your food intake. If you plan on eating better, don’t just go to the grocery store and buy only fresh produce and things you think are healthy. If you are not already including them in your diet, then it may take you time to get used to bringing them back, and some could easily spoil before you have a chance to consume them all.

Will you be driving at a different time because you will be heading to the gym before or after work? There may be different traffic patterns at that time of day that will require a change in how you drive. It may require more patience, or you may be driving in darker conditions than you are used to.

And don’t forget – lots of other people make decisions to exercise more, and so there will be more runners on the road. They may not be wearing adequate reflective clothing, so watch out for them!

Whatever changes you are planning, I wish you luck in achieving your new goals.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

1. Check your tires for wear and proper inflation. Whether you have snow near you or not, this should be done a couple times a year anyway. If you are starting to notice the tread wear bars, you should be thinking about taking the car to the tire shop.
2. If you park outside and there is ice or frost on the windshield or rear window, scrape it off! Don’t just clear a little view area that you think will be enough until the defroster kicks in. Put a good scraper in your car so it is there when you need it.
3. Keep plenty of gas in your tank. If you ever get stranded (and I have been!) you do not want to be hiking for gas or risk running out while you are waiting for a storm to blow by.
4. If you are anything like me (bald) or even close, you need a hat. A large percentage of body heat is lost from your head. The longer you might be outside, the more important this becomes. And on the subject of protective clothing, get some gloves and use them. Not just when it is below freezing, when there is the greatest danger to you physically, but anytime the temperature is cold enough to keep your hands in your pockets.
5. If you have a gas furnace, have it inspected annually by a professional. I had a problem with no heat a few years ago and when the technician came to check it out, he had to lock out the gas line until I replaced the burner. It was so badly corroded it was a potential explosion problem.
6. Check that all your windows are closed tight, and door seals are intact. Heat loss in these areas is greatest, and when the cold winds blow, problems in this area suck money (heat) right out of your house.
7. If you have gas logs, make sure they are properly vented or are approved for non-ventilated spaces. Heat is good, asphyxiation is bad.
8. If you live where there is danger of hard frost, turn off the water supply to outdoor faucets. Remove all hoses that might be attached. If there is water in the line when the deep freeze comes, pipes will crack or break.

There are so many more things to consider, but this list will probably trigger other ideas for you. Got any more? Share them below if you please.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

But what insurance should you carry? How much and for what incidents? There are all kinds of sites that will help you understand the ins and outs, and why you should or should not have a particular insurance. And they don’t all agree on very much. There are some that will tell you that for life insurance, only choose term insurance. Whole life policies are a bad investment.  That may be true, depending on your particular circumstances, how you are saving, and how much monthly cash you have available for this purpose.

Just as important is to routinely look at your insurance in light of changes to your pay, your lifestyle, the economy, and even your outlook.  Here are some situations where you might want to consider re-evaluating your insurance purchases.

1. You have established a good emergency fund. Whether or not you are a Dave Ramsey fan, you have tried to save into a rainy day fund. You have likely encountered need for extra cash from time to time. A household emergency fund is for addressing some of the real life things that happen. Your refrigerator fails and you need to buy a new one. You have an accident and have to pay the deductible on your auto insurance. If your emergency fund is getting rich enough, you should consider raising the deductibles on your auto and homeowners policies. You can use the reduction in premiums to increase what you are putting in the fund!
2. A change in any family member’s life status. Sometimes a change means they are no longer covered on your employer-supplied health care plan. My son is only covered until age 23, and only if he remains a full time student in the meantime. We will go off family coverage at that point, but he will have to have his own coverage (or not – but that’s just crazy as he is diabetic).
3. Your cars are getting older. If you carry collision insurance, there comes a time when the cost of the insurance is just not worth it. The insurance company will total the car in a situation like this. Cancel the collision and put the money saved in the new car fund.
4. Age. As my family grows older, I need less life insurance. It’s time to reduce my term coverage as my youngest becomes self-sufficient.
5. Real estate values. Do you have replacement coverage? Does the replacement value automatically escalate each year? Is it enough or are you possibly over-insured? This might be worth looking at.
6. Accumulation of “stuff”. Have you documented the valuables in the house, including jewelry and electronics? Laptops, plasma screen TVs, and high value electronics may all be in the house when the fire hits. Is your coverage good enough?
7. Because you have choices. Why do you think Geico has those creepy eyes looking at you? And when your friendly HR rep reminds you that it is time for annual enrollment, do you look at the new choices or just the bottom line difference for same coverage? Change is hard sometimes, but there may be a value in considering a move from the PPO to the HMO. Of course YMMV.

What other reasons have you had to reconsider your insurance purchase? Please feel free to share you wisdom in the comments.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

So here are a few everyday situations that you might think about – or maybe you don’t!

1. Driving. Most of the time, we take this for granted. But staying off the cell phone, keeping basic systems in good order – and even replacing your wipers once in a while   – can make a big difference.
2. Food preparation. Keep surfaces clean, avoid transfer of bacteria from uncooked food to your hands, countertops, and utensils. Also, when you are using sharp knives, pay attention and avoid distractions.
3. Stairways. Simple, I know, but using the handrail can significantly reduce the likelihood of a fall.
4. Non-routine tasks. Changing a light bulb in a ceiling fan? Get a good ladder or stepstool, not a chair. Using harsh chemicals to clean? Protect your hands.
5. Yardwork. Substantial shoes are important in operating any power equipment. Good leather gloves for handling brush are a big plus.

From your own experience, what other risks do we face on a regular basis?

As always, let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists are more clever. Lots.

My company offers a generous policy, and as a long-term employee I get plenty of time off. Some I use to get things done around the house, some to visit family, but this last week was a combination of working around the house, just taking it easy and reading or watching movies a couple of rainy days, and getting away with my wife of 22 years to celebrate our anniversary.

I used to cash-in some vacation, but now I plan to use it all. Here are the big reasons why.

1. To be my best at work, I need to get work out of my thinking space once in a while.
2. To be my best for my family, I need to dedicate time to them. No work email. No phone calls.
3. To be my best for me, I need to keep my exercise routine, and time off gives me a great opportunity to get to my routine back.
4. Getting completely away from my normal environment is very freeing.
5. It’s great to get paid without even thinking about work!

All things considered, a well-rested and clearer thinking employee is likely to make better decisions regarding his personal safety as well.

Is vacation just time away from work for you? Or do you use it as a way to re-boot and start fresh?

Let’s be careful out there!

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists are more clever. Lots.

In fact, for the second half, you need to be more attentive to your state of mind and your attention level. Fatigue and boredom frequently take over on a long drive, and it is important to recognize when it might be affecting your performance. I have pulled over for a short nap a couple of times over the years, because I just didn’t feel safe continuing on.

Most people know the basics of making sure the car is in a good state of operation before a trip, but what about the operator? When taking a long trip, try and pay attention to how you feel, and utilize a simple strategy like the one outlined below to assure safe driving.

1. Take frequent stops, not just for fill-ups.
2. Keep hydrated – it may lead to more frequent stops for the restroom, but it also helps keep you comfortable.
3. Consider caffeine in limited quantities. Too much can agitate you, which is not a good state for many driving conditions.
4. Have the appropriate planning of driving through cities to know when the bypass is a better option than the highway through town. Enough information is available by Internet that you can identify construction zones and problem areas. Know your options!

I hope you enjoy your summer travel this year, whatever your destination.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Technology keeps coming at us so fast, and we seem so anxious to learn how to use it to enhance our lives and potentially make us more “productive”. But it’s also distracting, and sometimes too convenient. It’s easy to grab the cell phone and put it in your pocket so it is with you wherever you go.

I went to the grocery store the other day and didn’t take my cell phone with me. For me, that’s like not having a list because usually I get a call while I’m there to get one or two more items. But it didn’t matter. No one tried to call me, and I didn’t have to go back to the store for something else. Most importantly, I was not tempted to answer the phone or make a call while driving.

As new technologies and tools enter our lives, we are eager to see how they can be put to the best use. Unfortunately, we don’t always look at how the use of the technology may interfere with other tasks, and may introduce a hazard we don’t immediately recognize.

Please consider how a simple device can represent a hazard when used at the wrong time, when it diverts your attention from something more important – like driving. Are you taking any unnecessary risks when using technology? Do you know people who are increasing their risk of injury by inappropriate attention to gadgets?

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.