One of the major reasons why students are a target is because they are naiveté, I don’t say this in a mean way, but many students don’t know or realize the dangers of giving out their personal information unless they have already been through it or they are older. Majority of the time students get sucked into gimmicks like getting free stuff just for applying for a credit card. If you are a student and didn’t think you would need to worry about identity theft until you were in the real world, sorry, but think again. Students are one of the easiest targets for scammers. In order to protect yourself from having your identity stolen, you need to understand what the basic ways scammers use to get your personal information.

For students, being cheap, ok, being frugal is just about a must. One of the costs they may skimp on is paying for their own internet. Instead they will log on to someone else’s WiFi or an unsecured network. While yes this may cut down on costs while you are in college, there is a chance that someone will be able to get your personal information. These unsecured networks may be full of people who are simply sitting and waiting for you to log on to your bank account, shop online, apply for a job online, or apply for a credit card online. Once you have submitted the information, the people who are monitoring that network will quickly use that information to steal your identity. Always be careful when you are on an unsecured network or someone’s WiFi that may not have good privacy settings. If you are going to shop online or do any of the previous mentioned, make sure you are on a secured network that does have the proper privacy settings.

Something that students may not think about is shredding their documents. It is very easy for anyone to have their identity stolen if they don’t shred important documents, bills, or even credit card offers. You should always shred anything that has any type of personal information, especially those with account numbers, your social security number, even your birthday. If you get a credit card offer saying you are pre-approved, so on and so forth, you need to shred it before throwing it away. Some people do go through others trash and take the preapproved cards. They can then use it to open a credit card under your name, stealing your identity.

While you have many things to think about while in college, you should always think about the information you are giving out. Remember never to give out your bank account information and/or PIN, even to a friend. Also, watch out for scams like signing up for a credit card to get a free shirt or swag, your identity may not be stolen right away, but that information could be used in the future. Shred any and all personal documentation before throwing it away. However, when you do shred your documents, make sure it can’t be put back together, some people are that desperate.

Shop the Sales – When I make my round through the grocery aisles, I don’t shop for what I need. I shop for what’s on sale and I adjust my needs accordingly. So if spaghetti sauce is buy one get one free (BOGO), then my kids have spaghetti that week instead of tacos.

Know the BOGOs – Grocery stores like Publix, Winn Dixie and BiLo offer Buy One Get One (BOGO) free specials on a weekly basis. But who wants to visit each store website to determine what BOGOs are the best? Couponing sites like SouthernSavers.com research all of these specials for you, so you don’t have to waste time determining what to buy each week.

Collect Coupons from Your Sunday Paper – I usually get two Sunday papers so I can have double the amount of coupons. You have to be careful though because every once in a while, there are NO coupons in the Sunday paper. So if possible, pilfer through it before buying two.

Save big with BOGO Coupons – The real savings come when you can use a coupon for the BOGOs. Many grocery stores double coupons up to $.50. So if you have two coupons for a BOGO item, then you can use one coupon for the item you’re paying for and another coupon for the item you’re getting for free. If it’s a $.50 coupon, then the store will automatically double it. Which means you’re getting two items, but only paying for one and you’re saving $2.00 on the only item you’re paying for. It’s a sweet deal!

Save big with Manufacturer Coupons AND Store Coupons – Some stores offer their own coupons for various products. So collect the store coupon and then collect the manufacturer coupon (available in the Sunday paper and online) and use them BOTH for the same item. You have to be sure your grocery store accepts both, but most do. This can really compound your savings.

Save money with Competitor Coupons – Know your grocery store’s competitors. I shop at Publix and their main competitor is Winn Dixie. Sometimes, I shop at Winn Dixie (they have great meat specials) and when I do, I collect any available Winn Dixie coupons, because I can use them at Publix!! Publix will treat a Winn Dixie coupon as a store coupon, meaning I can use it AND a manufacturer coupon for the same item.

Couponing can be time-consuming, and honestly, I used to just go to discount stores to buy everything. It’s less hassle and they do have “Low Prices.” But when I compare the two stores, I save more and I get more for my money when I coupon at Publix. So if you have the time, try couponing. It provides huge savings and allows you to spend your money on other things…like going out to eat!

Sending money overseas to family used to be exclusively the preserve of banks and a very few money transfer companies with offices in major countries. Since the advent of internet banking, sending money home or sending emergency funds to your kids has become a lot easier but there are real pitfalls you need to be aware of.

The first thing you need to consider is the security of your money, if you pick a major bank or use one of the well known money transfer companies then you can be fairly sure that at least your money will actually arrive but this can be an expensive and often slow method to send money. Fees can easily come to $40 or more at each end and the currency exchange rates they give you can be very poor indeed.

So what other choices are there?

a. Foreign exchange brokers are useful for transferring large amounts and generally fairly safe, however make sure the broker you pick is fully accredited by a financial services agency because your money moves through their accounts and can therefore be at risk. Fees and exchange rates are normally fairly reasonable but transfers can take a few days depending on the banks used and the receiving bank may also lever a charge to clear the funds.

b. Sending a credit or debit card is becoming a popular choice. It seems easy and there are plenty of ATM machines around the world to access the money, however cards can be lost or stolen in transit. Perhaps not so likely if the cards are couriered but that’s going to cost you plenty. Cards can also have substantial fees attached to their use so make sure you read the fine print and the fee structure which should be supplied by any reputable card provider. Currency exchange rates used by these companies can be prohibitive, make sure you know how much you are going to end up sending and how much it’s going to cost you first.

c. You can send a check issued by a bank or Post Office, either in local funds or in the currency you need to send if you have that facility. Using this method you will at least know what it’s going to cost you before you obtain the check but again, checks get lost in the mail and it takes time to mail them.

d. Using one of the new online money transfer organizations such as Ezybonds, Xoom or Paypal is the simplest option if you want to send the money quickly. There are many other similar companies but with this kind of organization it is imperative that you ensure their data security is good enough to prevent hacking. With these organizations you need to open an account meaning you will need to provide identification, so check that the company has either been around long enough to be well established or is backed by a substantial parent company to ensure that your private data is secure. Once again check the fees and currency rates. Be aware that sometimes while they say there are no fees, there may well be a charge of up to 4% of the money you want to send and that can be very expensive.

Honesty is always the best policy but this doesn’t mean that you can’t accentuate those aspects of your business that you want customers to focus on and skip over some aspects of your business that may not prove quite as favorable in the public eye. At this point in time there are definitely certain things that you should do when it comes to financial marketing. Focusing on certain aspects of your business such as ways in which your financial institution can save your customers money or the ways of doing business that make your business more earth friendly such as e-mail statements and online banking. By far these are two of the most marketable aspects of any product or service in the current state of the economy.

There aren’t many don’ts when it comes to financial marketing, except don’t do what everyone else is doing. When you look around and see free checking signs in front of all financial institutions this is no longer a selling point. Whenever something becomes as commonplace as free checking it really no longer holds any meaning to the general public. Also, avoid false or misleading claims at all costs as this will not help you build up your customer base but will instead work to diminish your credibility in the public eye.

Things that you should do with your marketing is stick with one message. One solid message that promotes one aspect of your business will be much more widely received then a bunch of different messages promoting differing aspects of your business. Consistency is key and therefore you will most definitely want to be sure that you keep to one clear and concise advertising message with all of your advertising tools. Whether you are choosing print advertising, media advertising, promotional product advertising, or all of the above the message you use throughout should be the same.

Clear, concise, truthful advertising is what you should use to promote your financial institution. Anything less than this will likely not produce the results you are looking for.

Many banks have had the “bill pay” systems in place for some time and they have been a success from the standpoint of mechanized transfers of funds without people or paper intercession.

One of the modern net banking systems is the PayPal system where every transfer is done by the net unless a cash withdrawal is required. A person is paid by a deposit into their PayPal account and from there bills can be paid, money can be sent to friends, and goods and services can be purchased. All without using any other medium.

The objective of banking should be to expand on this system within the law, and develop an instantaneous payroll system. The fear arises from the insecurity of not knowing if a street hacker can access the account, or if the device that operates the system goes missing.

Many people are using net banking to one degree or another without realizing it. However, banking could be utilized more effectively by enabling instant transfers of money from a credit card to the banking account or transferring money from banking to the credit card when the balance isn’t sufficient to rent the car or secure a hotel room that has a high reserve fee.

Many people who are on extended trips often run into an embarrassing cash shortage and need to pay for something by accessing a bank. It would seem appropriate to market this type of banking as your bank that is always securely with you.

Banking can perform any function that it is programmed to do. One excellent use that is often needed is instantaneous access to the cash balance or the credit card balance. Talk with the young man who has taken a woman on a first date and he is just excited as he can be enjoying that last glass of wine. He can see she is impressed with his arrangements for the evening until the server returns his credit card and says loudly there are not enough funds to pay for this. Dating experts will tell us that this is the death of the relationship.

Non-Revolving Credit Lines Increasing In Popularity

The type of loans that are being given out are non-revolving lines of credit. A non-revolving line of credit is issued for a purchase such as a bed set or to pay for student loans. The line of credit is closed once the account has been paid off. This is actually a good sign for the economy as it shows that Americans are feeling more confident about making big-ticket purchases. Consumer spending is a major driver of the United States economy.

Revolving Debts Declining for the Second Straight Month

While purchases made on credit have increased, the overall credit card debt has declined in America. A drop of 4.1 percent was recorded in the month of February in 2011. This marked a second consecutive month in which credit card debt dropped. This means that Americans are making more purchases overall but are not using revolving lines of credit. Declining credit card usage is another factor that perhaps American consumers are ready to spend again.

Americans Starting To Feel More Stable Financially

This all points to Americans feeling confident in their financial stability. When Americans feel more secure about their finances, they tend to spend more overall. This spending will continue to drive the economy higher and allow for even more spending by the American public. Constant spending will allow businesses to accumulate the revenues they need to hire more workers. This upward cycle is what will sustain a prolonged upward swing for the economy.

The picture might seem bleak when you point out that consumer debt in America is going up. However, it is easy to see that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Use of non-revolving credit lines indicates better financial strength and consumer confidence. Less dependence on credit cards means that the average American has more cash to spend in the marketplace. Overall, this is very good news for folks that are hoping to finally see the light at the end of the recession tunnel.

Financial management can be broken down into short term and long term decision making rationale and techniques. The decisions made in Capital Investment can be equated as long term decisions as they are used to project investments; in many methods as to use equity or debt for financing the investment or imbursement of dividends to shareholders in a corporation. On the opposite side, short term decision processes involved incumbent balance of acquired assets and updated liability; focusing on how to manage the liquidity of the company and inventory. Short term loans and lending such as credit extension to customers is part of this.

Financial management is also related to investment banking by way of corporate financing. The basic function of an investment bank is to review the corporations fiscal requirements and deliver the necessary capital that will address the identified necessities. This is why financial management sectors are referred to corporate finance and is associated with transactions that involve capital generation for the development, acquisition and expansion of business.

Financial Management and Capital budget

Financial management has where to appropriate financial resources and balance out emerging prospects (potential investment) in a methodology called capital budgeting. Generating the investment and allocating the necessary capital necessitates making the conclusion to estimate a long term value of the prospective and agree on its function, future cash flow, size and if it is the right time to act on a project.

Generally speaking each perspective’s value is estimated by employing a DCF valuation or a discount cash flow valuation process and the plan that generates the peak worth, as measured by the subsequent net present value or NPV will be nominated for financing. This creates a liberal prerequisite to estimate the extent and control of the entire incremental money stream that will be created once the project is financed.

Online person-to-person or P2P payments will increase using mobile devices or social network sites as the initiation point. In the early days of this transition, bank account details will need to be known but accessing and using cleared funds (as the way customers want to interact will each) will see more new players emerging outside of the traditional banking community.

While banks are competing with each other for market share, new players entirely are likely to be able to capture payment market share away from their base, by better satisfying the needs of market. PayPal, Google & Apple are good examples of this or it may be entirely new companies that are yet to become well-known.

The cultural shift to perform everyday functions on-line is still in its infancy. While on-line shopping is growing exponentially, other behaviour will move more towards online. For example, full digital bill presentment and payment services.

So, if that’s the general scene, let’s look at what might happen under a few specific headings

TIMELINESS & CHOICE

Customers want to choose when they pay, day or night, 24/7, 365 days of the year and whether to pay ‘just in time’ or in real time. Customers want very wide payment type options and the ability to choose which option best suits each payment activity.

In many cases, recipients of funds prefer real-time or same-day settlement. Surety of settlement in real time will be critical in most cases.

ACCESSIBILITY

Customers want to access the same payment options regardless of the channel by which they pay. For example, this may be the same payment choice regardless of whether they are in a store, at an on-line store or paying a bill.

Merchants will increasingly prefer to receive funds from the same payment options, regardless of channel, to reduce vendor management and improve internal efficiencies.

EASE OF USE

Customer like payment types that are easy to use and one they understand and trust. Mobile, PC tablet & social network usage is making the introduction of new payment processes easier to manage and educate the market, but present other challenges for the payment industry as a whole.

EASE OF INTEGRATION WITH OTHER PROCESSES

Online payments will grow steadily and will ultimately dominate the payment landscape. However, capability and capacity to integrate with internal computer systems will be a barrier that will need to be overcome. Seamless integration with Point-of-Sale systems, on-line store, ERP, inventory systems and billing engines will be a critical factor.

Cloud-based technology will assist in keeping capital outlay lower and at manageable levels while providing high speed access to the payment instruments and associated internal systems.

RELIABILITY

The new payment instruments and channels that arise will need to be ever more reliable. Traditional payment providers can still play a huge role in ensuring that high quality standards and suitable interoperability is maintained ensure the instrument can be trusted.

Convenience can sometimes trump reliability, but both having both is likely to be a winning combination.

PRICING

New payment instruments will have to be cost effective is all cases and this will start to happen slowly.

What is blurring the price aspect is merchants will try to demand low transactional costs even when real demonstrable value is being added. For example, instant bank transfer provides significantly more benefits to both a consumer and a merchant and yet the expectation would be that this should be priced the same as, or even lower than, the transactional cost to write a paper-based cheque.

Another example is that presenting an electronic invoice with a wide range of payment options would be significantly more cost effective than a biller managing their own bill collection, even though individual transaction pricing by payment type may be more expensive in that particular silo.

SECURITY AND ROBUSTNESS

Similar to the reliability heading, secure and robust payment instruments will be increasingly essential, although convenience and ease-of-use are considerations that will often dilute how secure and robust the new instrument has to be in practice.

INTEROPERABILITY

All online digital Payment systems will have a much higher degree of interoperability with other systems than they do now. This will apply to the movement of money (where necessary) and more particularly to data transmission. The intelligent design of this data transition process (nationally and internationally) will be done by at least one large player outside current financial services sector or by a new market entrant.

RISK MANAGEMENT

Much richer risk management tools will be available and these will have sophisticated algorithms that track all payment patterns and provide risk attenuation or control options at every level. This is likely to be a new software-based market entrant.

Summary

No-one has a “crystal-ball” to predict the future, but the online payments space is changing rapidly around us. It will be interesting to see whether, we are still heading in the general direction that this article suggests in 12 months time and whether some of the forecasts are starting to come true or not.

We often think that fraud is committed by people we don’t know who gain access to our personal information. While that can be true, for seniors the probability is greater that a family member or caregiver is the one who takes advantage of them financially. A survey by the Adult Protective Services agencies found that the most common financial abuser was a son or daughter, accounting for 33% of the reported cases of fiscal exploitation of seniors age 60 or over.

Red flags for financial abuse to seniors, as reported by the National Association for Professional Geriatric Care Managers, include:

Someone who is responsible for paying bills for the senior, but the bills have not been paid and there are not adequate resources to pay them;
Unexplained money missing from the senior’s accounts;
Family member/caregiver withdrawing large amounts of money from accounts;
Someone taking money under false pretenses;
Forgery;
Seniors who are forced to make property transfers or transfers that are completed through lies or deceit.

Fraudulent bank account activity occurs both through standard accounts and online, so a variety of safeguards are necessary to defend against fraud. Begin by confirming that your bank is financially sound and your bank deposits are fully covered by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). The FDIC is an independent agency of the federal government that was set up in the 1930s to preserve and promote public confidence in the U.S. financial system by insuring deposits in banks. All reputable banks will have FDIC coverage.

Once you find a bank you are comfortable with, a bank officer can help you determine a good plan for your specific circumstances and help put safety measures in place. There are many different precautions available to ensure the safety of a senior’s bank account.

Standard bank accounts rely heavily on a paper trail, such as checks, deposit slips, and bank account statements. With this much information readily available through the mail and filed within the home, seniors need to create a secure method for receiving and storing bank account documents.

To protect standard bank accounts:

Read statements as soon as you receive them. Review each withdrawal and deposit for accuracy. Report any inaccuracies to your bank immediately.
Never leave bank statements or checkbooks in open view around the house, especially if there is an outside caregiver coming into the home.
Take precautions with your ATM card. Never lend it to someone or give another person your password or personal identification number (PIN). When using your ATM card, shield your transactions from others around you who may be trying to watch what you are doing.
Shred old and unused checks and old bank account statements. Check with your bank or accountant regarding how long to keep bank records. Store statements in a secure location and away from visitors to the home.
Never give anyone a signed blank check.
Always initiate contact with your bank yourself. If you receive a phone call from someone saying they are with your bank, hang up and call the bank back.
If necessary, get a joint checking account so two signatures are required for withdrawals.
Consider setting up a custodial account. The bank collects the senior’s income and pays the senior’s bills. If the senior needs money, the bank will issue a check or debit card so the senior has access to cash.

Online banking has become a common and accepted way to manage bank accounts. It gives consumers immediate access to bank information and the ability to check that all transactions are accurate. However, fraud can occur online as well.

Precautions to take for online banking include:

Log onto your account regularly to check accuracy of transactions. Report any inaccuracies to your bank immediately.
Never do online banking in a public place such as the library or at a coffee shop. Others may be able to access your information.
Always initiate contact with your bank yourself. If you receive an email from your bank requesting that you log in or provide personal information, do not.
Check for secure connections. One way to do this is to see if the bank’s site starts with “https.” The “s” means that the URL address is on a secure server.
Change your password regularly. A few times a year is recommended.
Install software barriers such as firewalls, spyware blocking, and anti-virus.

If multiple people are involved in the care of a loved one, a plan for managing the money and putting safeguards in place is even more important. If each person providing care for the senior has access to the bank account for his or her part of the care, spotting fraud in the account would be challenging. If possible, designate one person to oversee the account, pay bills and provide money or reimbursements to the people involved in the senior’s care. That way, all money goes through one place and can be tracked easily.

Consistently monitor bank accounts and immediately report any suspicious activity to your financial institution for their help in remedying the situation. A good bank will respond quickly to any questionable transactions and help you recover lost funds. Protecting your finances by setting up a sound bank account and banking system for yourself or a loved one is a proven way to avoid fraud by family members, caregivers, or strangers.

Ease of Administration

Vet wellness plans that are created at the local level are much easier to manage. There is no need for plan administrators to deal with issues like sudden changes in benefits or an unanticipated rejection of a claim submitted to the provider. If the wellness plan is owned and managed by the local vet, all information about the plan is readily available and there is no need to consult with anyone outside the office. This will consolidate the already numerous responsibilities that accompany the management of this type of care facility, and make it easier for staff members to remain on the same page.

Additional Revenue Stream

Since vet wellness plans usually include a monthly installment payment in return for providing selected health services to pets, the plan helps to create an additional revenue stream. More importantly, that revenue stream is easier to project over the course of the year. This makes it easier to develop an operating budget for the vet’s clinic and make sure that all the bills are paid on time, which will certainly facilitate more efficient management.

Generate Customer Loyalty

Assuming the wellness plan is simple and easy for clients to use, they have an incentive to keep bringing their pets in for treatments. By creating this type of value-added situation for customers, vets can worry less about the competition around town slowly pecking away at his or her client base. Customers who feel respected and feel they are paying reasonable rates for the plan coverage and are getting “patient-first” treatment are highly unlikely to consider changing vets.

Veterinarians who want to not only maintain but grow their businesses would do well to develop a workable wellness plan and offer it to their customers. While the effort may call for some investment of time and money on the front end, the benefits of the strategy will easily offset those expenses and make a positive difference in new patient numbers.