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If you’ve got a great idea but need some financial help getting it off the ground then read below for some basic steps that will help you land the money you need. Capitalizing on venture capital firms can sometimes be the only way to fund a project you’ve been working on but since everyone is looking for what they’ve got (money) then you’ve got to be different than the rest. Here’s how:

• Stick to what you know! Trying to present a plan to a venture capital firm about something you have little or no idea about is going to be very obvious and won’t really get you anywhere.
• Your business plans “Executive Summary” should be perfect. Spend a LOT of time making it so.
• Find the right VC firm for what you’re trying to do. Look for firms that have recently funded or are looking to fund a project similar to what you are proposing.
• Once you’ve found the right firm and are invited to present your business plan don’t run on and on forever. Keep it concise yet informative. Your Powerpoint presentation should be 30-40 slides and less than an hour.
• The biggest thing you should know when going into a business presentation is exactly how much money you will need to raise. If you give a “Ohhh about 1 million” answer they’re going to think you haven’t done enough research to know exactly what you’ll need.

Identity theft is easily one of the fastest growing crimes in the U.S. and worldwide. As a matter of fact, over 10 million people’s identity’s are stolen each year. My sister was a victim of minor identity theft and it took her countless hours to rectify the problem. The sad but true fact is that nobody seems to worry about it much until it happens to them. This is true about many things in life and I’m as guilty of it as the next guy but after hearing my sister’s horror stories about her relative minor problems with identity theft I’m seriously considering signing up with LifeLock.
Here are some very scary stats about identity theft followed by a few simple ways you can protect yourself.

Discovery of Victimization

• 9-18% of victims can take 4 years or even longer to discover that they are actually victims of identity theft.
• 38-50% of victims will find out about the identity theft within 3 months of the theft starting.

Time Involved in Being a Victim

• Typically victims will spend anywhere from just 3 hours to over 5,000 hours repairing the damage done by identity theft. This massive difference is another scary aspect of the crime. It all depends on the severity of the theft. A simple stolen credit card will take less time to rectify than someone that has used your social security card to completely become you!
• 25-35% of identity theft victims will spend a period of 4-6 months dealing with their case before fixing the problem and 10-23% report dealing with their case for 7 months up to a year.

Monetary Costs of Identity Theft

• Victims will lose on average somewhere betwen $1,800 and $14,000 in wages dealing with their cases.
• Victims will spend an average of $850 to $1,375 in expenses.
• An estimated 40% of business costs for individual cases of identity theft exceed $15,000. According to the Aberdeen Group, about $221 billion a year is lost by businesses worldwide due to identity theft.

Practical and Emotional Costs of Identity Theft

• 47% of victims have trouble getting credit or a loan as a result of identity theft.
• 19% of victims have higher credit rates and 16% have higher insurance rates because of identity theft.
• 11% of victims say identity theft has a negative impact on their abilities to get jobs.
• 70% of victims have trouble getting rid of (or never get rid of) negative information in their records.
• 40% of victims experience stress in their family lives as a result of displaced anger and frustration over the identity theft.
• 45% of victims feel denial or disbelief.
• 85% of victims anger and rage.
• 45% of victims feel defiled by the identity thief.
• 42% of victims feel an inability to trust people because of the identity theft.
• 60% of victims feel unprotected by the police.

Uses of Victim Information

• More than one third of victims report that identity thieves committed cheque account fraud.
• 66% of victims’ personal information is used to open a new credit account in their name.
• 28% of victims’ personal information is used to purchase cell phone service
• 12% of victims end up having warrants issued in their name for financial crimes committed by the identity thief.

Imposter Characteristics and Relationships to the Victim

• 43% of victims believe they know the person who stole their identity
• 14-25% of victims believe the imposter is someone who is in a business that holds their personally identifying information.
• The most common reported perpetrator in cases where a child’s identity is stolen is the child’s parent.
• 16% of identity theft victims are also victims of domestic harassment/abuse by the same perpetrator. These victims believe that the identity theft is used as another way for the abuser to continue and demonstrate his harassment and control.

Responsiveness to victims

• Overall, police departments seem to be the most responsive to victims of identity theft, with 58% taking down a report on the victim’s first request.
• 1/3 of victims have to send dispute information repeatedly to credit reporting agencies.
• Only 1/5 of victims find it easy to reach someone in a credit reporting agency after receiving their credit report.
• 20% of victims will have the misinformation and errors removed from their credit report after their first request for the credit reporting agency to do so.

Click Here to read about the Important Ways to Protect Yourself From Identity Theft.

Please share this information with family or friends to help educate people on this horrific crime. Click the green “Share This” button below to email the article.

Protecting yourself against identity theft involves nothing more than protecting personal information such as: Your full name, date of birth, birthplace, phone number, address, mothers maiden name, social security number, bank account number, credit card number, and your pin number. Anyone with knowledge of just one of your high sensitivity items can do a lot of damage. Part of the battle of preventing identity theft is recognizing how this personal information is stolen and from where.

Where your Identity can be Stolen From:

YOUR MAIL:

• Don’t leave outgoing mail in an unsecured location. Deposit mail in USPS collection boxes.
• Don’t leave mail in your mailbox overnight or on weekends.
• Have your mail held at the post office while you’re out of town.
• Get a mailbox that locks.

YOUR COMPUTER:

• Use anti-spyware and anti-virus software.
• Be wary of online shopping sites. Only shop at sites that you trust and are secure. See FTC - Online Shopping for more information.
• Don’t get baited by phishers.
• Encrypt your wireless internet connection.
• Erase your hard drive if you ever sell or give away your computer.

YOUR TRASH:

• Bank statements.
• Credit card statements.
• Pre-approved credit card offers. (Read this to see why.)
• ATM receipts.
• Canceled or voided checks.
• Expired passports, visas, and credit cards.
• Tax forms.
• Bills.
• Paystubs.

Ways to Safeguard your Personal Information:

• Don’t keep your social security card in your wallet.
• If you’ve lost your credit card(s) be sure to IMMEDIATELY report them as lost or stolen.
• Never provide your personal information to someone who contacts you through an unsolicited phone call.
• Check all bills and bank statements as soon as they arrive.
• Check your credit reports for free. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to do so.
• Opt-OUT of “pre-screened” credit card offers. To do so call 1-888-5OPT-OUT.
• Don’t ever list both your date of birth AND your social security number on a resume / application. There’s no need, initially, that they have both and it’s doubtful they’ll be as careful with your information as you would.
• Guard your checkbook. It has your name, address and bank account number all in one place.
• Know who else has your personal information.

What to do if your Identity is Stolen:

• Should you ever become a victim, contact your banks and credit card issuers, the three major credit bureaus, file a police report, and file a complaint with the FTC.
• If all this seems overwhelming and even if you are able to follow all of the above advice and you’re still worried about having your identity stolen, which no matter how much you protect yourself is still possible, then I would recommend looking into the services of a company such as LifeLock.
  

Click Here to See the Scary Stats of Identity Theft.

Here’s a simple trick that will both conserve water and take care of watering your plants. After a long hot day I started noticing that every night I was finding at least a few half drank cups of water sitting around. Rather than throwing them down the sink every night I started pouring the two or three cups of water on one plant and then the next night I would water the next plant and so on and so on. I was able this way to both conserve water and make sure my plants were getting the water they needed. Super simple.

Much like most other people living in this digital age I’ve got a million DVD’s and twice as many CD’s. Unfortunately it’s pretty damn likely that at least a few of these disc’s are going to get scratched and/or get “gunk” on ‘em. Nothing is more frustrating than getting three-quarter’s the way through a DVD and then having it freeze on you. Checking a CD or DVD for scratches before putting it into your player is a good habit to get into, especially if it’s an older disc. If you notice any scratches and/or “gunk” on the CD simply do this to clean it up and ensure you’ll get the whole way through your CD or DVD without any problems.

THIS IS ALL YOU NEED TO CLEAN MINOR SCRATCHED/SMUDGED DISC’S:

• Bottle of Windex
• Paper-Towel

Give the paper-towel a good squirt or two with the Windex. Now gently wipe the paper-towel over the surface of the disc starting from the center hole and moving outwards. Continue this process until all smudges are gone and any scratches are minimized. That’s it. Done and done. You’ll be amazed at how this simple process can really make a difference.

Jet lag is rough! I’m sure if you’ve traveled before you’ve felt the effects of jet lag! Sadly, the more time zones you cross during your flight means not only the greater the adventure, but also the more jet lag you’re likely to experience. The negative effects of jet lag will leave travelers with the following effects:

• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Disorientation
• Swollen hands and feet
• Headaches
• Digestive problems
• Lightheadedness

Strangely enough jet lag effects women more than men. Obviously not in all cases but in most cases it’s true. Scientists believe estrogen to be the culprit. According to scientists estrogen is also behind chronic nagging but let’s leave that to another post. Just kidding ladies!

Another strange but true aspect of jet lag is that most people are more affected when traveling from west to east. This may be because flights from west to east are counter to the circadian rhythm. Most people have a circadian period which is a bit longer than 24 hours, making it easier to stay up later than to get up earlier. So how to combat Jet Lag you ask? Well there’s a million “tips” out there and lot’s of good advice but here’s something new you haven’t heard. First though, let’s cover the basics on how to help reduce jet lag.

• Drink Plenty of Water Before Your Trip
• Avoid Caffeine and Alcohol on Your Flight
• Sleep on the Plane if it’s Nighttime at Your Destination
• Stay Awake on the Plane if it’s Daytime at Your Destination
• Relax on Your First Day!
• Take Supplements! There’s a Ton Available and Should be Listed Below

Now the one thing that’s been recently suggested by scientists is that travelers should abstain from eating! You’re body is at a loss, totally confused as to what time it is, what meal it is, and when it’s time to sleep when you’re crossing time zones. Scientists have found that by “resetting” your body’s clock by not eating you can greatly reduce the effects of jet lag. To “reset” your body’s clock you can avoid food for approximately fifteen hours. By doing so your body will go into a basic “start over” mode. Abstain from eating during your flight! Once you touch down, eat whatever meal is appropriate to the time zone you’re in and proceed from there. You’re body will naturally “reset” once it’s gotten it’s first meal of the day!

Happy Traveling!

Buying a car is a huge decision to make for most people and can be very confusing. In fact, for many people, other than buying a home, buying a car is the biggest purchase they will ever make. I bought my first car at the age of twenty four and I’m pretty sure I got taken. Actually, I KNOW I got taken. I’ve recently been thinking of buying a new car and this time around I decided to do it right! So to make sure I got the best deal possible I spoke to my friend Marc who has been in the vehicle sales industry for more than 8 years. Marc was a car sales consultant at a Lithia motors for two years and has been working ever since as a finance director. He then worked at Mercedes-Benz for another 6 months. He offered me some fantastic advice and I thought I would pass it along to you.

• Check for “Incentives” Before Going to the Dealership

Check the manufacturer’s website for “incentives”. Car manufacturer incentives will give you money towards a down payment and/or will give you the opportunity to take advantage of very low finance rates directly through the car manufacturer. The manufacterer, for the most part, will let you know what rates, based off your credit, that you qualify for.
If the car you’re looking at has no special incentives, you’ll want to make sure that you’re pre-approved for a loan prior to going into any dealership.

• Get Pre-Approved for a Loan Before Going to a Dealership

A bank or credit union will typically be able to offer you much better interest rates than a dealership. Say for example you get a loan through a dealership at 8.99%. As soon as you walk out the door he’s going to shop your loan around to other banks and try to get a rate at say 6.99%. The 2% difference is called “reserve” and is how the dealership makes money off your loan. Finding out if you qualify for a car loan through a bank or credit union is accomplished very simply. Go down to your bank or credit union or look around online (credit unions typically have slightly cheaper rates than banks) and tell them what type of car you’re looking into buying and they’ll take it from there. Once pre-approved for a car loan, you can use the rate the bank offered you as leverage with the dealership. Take which ever offer is in your best interest.

• Never Let a Dealership Run Your Credit Until You’ve Secured an Offer

Don’t EVER let a dealership run your credit until they’ve approved your offer. Otherwise, especially if
you’re shopping around, you’ll have a ton of credit inquiries that will lower your credit score which will affect
the rate of the loan you get. (You can read more on improving your credit score by clicking here.)

• Ask to See the Invoice *Very Important*
  

Regardless of how intimidated you may feel or what type of car you’re buying, always ask the salesman to see the invoice. The invoice is the true cost the dealership paid to get the car you’re trying to buy. If you ask they shouldn’t say no but if they do, walk away. You don’t want to be doing business with them. Built into the invoice price is money for the dealership. Say the invoice price is 30k, depending on the type of car you’re buying the dealership will get a certain percentage of that. On average, the sticker price you see on the car is a full 12% over what the invoice price is and often times more. This varies from car to car and brand to brand. Starting the bidding at invoice price or a few hundred dollars over invoice price, depending on the type of car, is a fair deal to the dealership and a very good deal to you. Don’t let a salesman tell you differently.

• Price Bidding with the Dealership / Salesman
  

Being the informed buyer that you now are, starting the bidding at “invoice price” is wise. It will depend on the type of car you’re buying, the dealership you’re at, and what type of car you’re buying. If it’s more expensive/luxurious you may want to start the bidding a little bit over “invoice price”. At the time that this post was written, in this economy, you as the buyer have total control over the situation and that fact isn’t something you should forget. This may change slightly over time but regardless you should always keep in mind that you’re the buyer and they’re the seller. That means you’re making the decisions and should never be pushed into ANYTHING! In any event, by asking for the invoice you know what price to START the bidding at despite whatever number they’ve got posted on the car’s window. It’s smart buying to make an initial bid at or close to the invoice price. Don’t ever jump at the price the salesman comes back with. Once you’ve made your first bid, let the salesman come back with an offer and at that point make one final offer allowing the salesman to gain your business. If he won’t meet your second offer, thank him for his time, get up and walk out. One of two things will happen. One: he’ll let you walk, or two: he’ll jump up and stop you. The latter, especially in this market, is very likely. In this case, if the bid he offers is what you’ve offered or is something close…. something you can handle, take the offer. Congrats. You’ve got your new car and saved a bundle.

• Follow Your Gut Feeling

Marc told me, “As a customer, do yourself a favor. Generally speaking, your gut instinct will bring you to the right dealership and the right car, the first time around! Sometimes while shopping you can look at so many vehicles that you confuse yourself in the process! In turn, you can’t really make an intelligent decision and you may buy the wrong car for your needs simply because you ran into a salesman pushing you in the wrong direction! Get it???? That’s what makes the internet so powerful! Getting your info is much quicker,
and cuts the risk of having a bad experience buying a car!!! Use the internet to help yourself shop around for the cheapest car loan, look into online car websites, and find your perfect car!

First of all, having a first aid kit around in case you ever need it is wise. Having a first aid kit with you while camping is very wise. Now, as far as basic first aid to know while camping remember the acronym R.I.C.E. If you can remember that you’re golden.

I just got back from a two day camping trip in the back country of the high Sierra Nevada mountains. Josh, a friend on the trip and a registered nurse working in the emergency room in nearby Fresno, California told me, “While camping there are a variety of injuries you can sustain. The following acronym R-est, I-ce, C-ompression, E-levate (R.I.C.E.) can drastically help manage injuries until you can get to a hospital.” From a professional in the medical field this simple acronym can seriously help manage a emergency situation until professional help is available.

• Rest

Keep the victim rested and calm. An injured person can easy become scared and irrational. Movement can exacerbate the injury drastically and make the situation worse.

• Ice

Sprained joints or broken bones will require immediate icing to limit swelling within the first 24 hours of sustaining the injury. If you don’t have a “cooling pack” in a first aid kit you can always use ice from your cooler. Be sure to remove any restrictive clothing or jewelery around the injured area. You can start with ice directly on the injury and then wrap the ice in a towel to keep the injured person comfortable. This will not only decrease the swelling around the injured area but it will also help minimize the pain.

• Compression

For cuts you’ll want to apply immediate pressure to the wound that will help limit bleeding. Hopefully you have a first aid kit with clean bandages. Find the cleanest material possible if no sterile bandages are available. Applying direct pressure to the actual cut or wound is necessary but try to avoid applying excessive pressure to the point that you’ve completely stopped circulation to the surrounding areas. Doing so can increase damage to tissue and can inhibit the body’s natural response to help stop the bleeding.

For sprained joints or broken bones immediately immobilizing the injured body part is crucial to prevent further injury and pain.

• Elevate

For bleeding wounds you want to elevate the injury above the heart as high as possible. For sprains and fractured bones, elevating the wound will decrease the pressure on the wound, limiting swelling and pain.

This advice is provided “As is” but coming from an E.R. nurse who’s “Been there, Done that” it can seriously help minimize the problems associated with injuring yourself anytime, but certainly is something to know when far from professional medical assistance.

The following article is written by Linda, a registered nurse working for a dentist / anesthesiologist in central California.

Tooth decay in primary teeth is a frequently seen problem these days. We are so busy and with our fragmented lives we look for quick solutions to everything, including fussy babies. Stick a bottle in their mouths, or a sucker and they settle down causing us less distraction and maybe more sleep at night. Since primary teeth have thinner enamel they break down faster. They are only meant to last 6-10 years. But they are important for many reasons. They help with speech development, they look nice, of course they are for eating and they hold the position for the next set of teeth. For these reasons it is important to repair them and besides it hurts just like an adult tooth when it is diseased.

When a bottle is in the mouth all night, or the breast for that matter, the milk or food puddles around those teeth. It may appear as if they came in rotten but sadly they were decaying before they had the chance to come in. The pattern will continue throughout the mouth if changes are not made. These changes are not just brushing and brushing which becomes burdensome. It is important to start the baby on an eating and drinking schedule early on. That means bottles, cups, whatever it takes to put food or drink in our mouths should be spaced by 3 hours. This magical time frame seems to give the teeth a chance to rest by normalizing the digestive process that starts in the mouth. When we put food in our mouths saliva rushes in to begin the process of breaking down food chemically. Over time what we call decay is also the teeth being digested. They are not meant to withstand constant stress just as our bodies need uninterrupted rest at night our teeth need periods of rest during the day and a clean mouth all night.

There are certain foods that make it harder for your teeth too. Soda and Gatorade have acid in them that seems to practically melt teeth. Even sugarless soda will do this. Next time one of your children loses a tooth put it in a jar with soda in it and observe how long it takes to break down. Worse than your teeth soda also de-mineralizes your bones. That means it takes the calcium out which is what makes them strong. This is particularly hard on females of all ages. Baby girls are storing calcium for reproduction and older women store it for old age. Broken hips and osteoporosis could be friends with soda drinkers. It just doesn’t make sense nutritionally to drink much soda. It has many other bad effects.

One of the best health habits you can pass on to baby is to drink water between meals. This habit keeps the mouth “juices” moving and keeps us hydrated. So often what we interpret as hunger is really thirst. It is best to drink just plain water. Not watered juice, not cool-aide or any other fake drink. Another good habit is to eat the fruit itself instead of drinking the juice. The fiber in the fruit will send a message to your brain that your stomach is full and satisfied. Kids of course would usually only eat maybe 1/2 an apple or orange and yet the juice we pour down them would be the equivalent of 4-6 whole apples or oranges several times a day. Thats not only a lot of sugar for the teeth but also a lot for the waistline. We see many obese children who have now got what used to be adult onset diabetes or type II diabetes. Bad teeth in a child indicate that all is not well with a child’s nutrition. Over time this may evolve into other more serious problems like obesity and diabetes. You can also keep it simple with the other beverages. Drink plain milk, not chocolate or strawberry. Eat the whole grain breads and cereals. Eat some fruit and some vegetables daily. Your baby may not like them at first but just keep offering it. Keep the kitchen closed between meals and eventually baby will learn to eat enough to make it until the next feeding. You may find an improvement in behavior after making new habits. Caffeine is a drug and tea and sodas have them in abundance. Do you really want to chase a faster baby? Let them rest when they are tired instead of letting this drug run through their delicate systems.

Babies are resilient and adaptable beings mostly blessed with perfect health. It is a wonderful thing to give them great eating habits for life. To feel picture perfect health is a blessing that parents can enhance making their lives more wonderful longer. Since tooth decay is a preventable disease even for adults we can benefit from the regime described above. In fact if we model it for our children they are more likely to be successful too. Of course flossing and brushing become more important as the child ages so its a good idea to begin running a wet washcloth over their gums to get them ready for later brushing as the teeth erupt. They need to learn that some things have to be done and you are their teacher and model.

We all know there’s a million different companies that you can insure your car through. After a TON of resarch I found Geico to be the absolute best. Progressive, AAA, State Farm, 21st Century, Geico, AIG, etc etc. There are far too many. Some even claim to give you quotes from other companies. Take this advice with a grain of salt. As tired as you are from looking into the matter, or if you’re just getting started, finding the best / cheapest car insurance will seriously save you a ton of money. I know saving money isn’t the same as making money but …. Well, saving a grand over 12 months is still an extra $1,000 in your pocket no matter how you slice it.

I’ve had my car insured through three different companies and done a lot of shopping around throughout the years. I’ve seen far too many commercials for car insurance, as I’m sure you have too, claiming this and that but pretty much, “We’re the cheapest and best.” Who to believe and how do you know? Well this is going to be a very short post because there’s really not much to say. Take this advice, “As is” and as my own experience but certainly something to consider. After alllll the research and previous companies I’ve been insured through, one of which offered a highly discounted rate because of various “memberships”, I was able to find nothing even close to the rate I was offered by …. Geico. The amount I saved through Geico wasn’t even something small like 15%, it was closer to 40% from the previous company I insured my car through. In addition to the pricing they offer complimentary roadside assistance and are quite helpful when it comes to a claim. Again, take this info “As is” and keep in mind it was my experience but I would certainly recommend Geico as a starting point to hold any other car insurance quotes up to.