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As individuals, especially workers we sometimes get windfall incomes in forms of bonuses, profit shares, etc. However, a lot of the time the temptation is to spend the money on acquiring a new car, new clothes, shoes, new phones, among other things. While acquiring these things in themselves is not a bad idea, it is wiser to use windfall incomes for things that will have long term positive impart on our lives especially because we do not have a full grabs of what tomorrow will bring.

For workers just starting off or in mid level careers, it is really important not to squander windfall incomes on non-essentials.

Many years ago during the mid 2000s, when the banking and telecommunication really became big industries, many banks and telecommunication companies paid bonuses and profit shares to their staff on a yearly basis. Most new staff and mid level staff squandered their money on buying cars, renting new apartments in high brow areas and changing their wardrobes almost every 3 months. Nite clubs were packed every Friday night with each person almost trying to out do the other in terms money spent.

Today, the story is different. The global economy is almost comatose. Banks are no longer giving huge bonuses, neither are telecommunication companies doing any better. The oil industry is in shambles. Every industry is operating lean.

Windfall incomes will not come all the time as the economic realities have now shown us. So if you are fortunate to get a bonus or profit share that amounts to something reasonable, here are a few tips on how to spend wisely:

1) Invest in real estate: As much as this sounds like really over flogged, it is a wise counsel. A businessman once said, “the only Estate that is Real is Real Estate”. Real estate is big business. There is a huge demand for rental apartments especially mini flats and 2 bedroom flats. There are several real estate companies offering instalments payment options for those interested in buying land. You can invest your windfall income in buying a half plot or full plot of land. I will advice you buy from a real estate company rather than directly from the community especially if you do not have funds for immediate development.

The simple reason is that the real estate company usually would have sorted out community settlement issues with the land owners and so you can be rest assured that you land is at least secure from land grabbers. Also, by buying from a real estate company, you will benefit from quick capital appreciation of your investment and rapid development of the locations since there will be several people also buying and developing their property in that location. Another advantage of investing in real estate is that after developing the property, you can put it up for rent if you do not wish to reside in that location and use the rental income to pay for your rent in your desired location.

2) Invest in a part-time business: If you already have a business that you can run part- time alongside your full-time job, you should invest your windfall income in that business. You can buy the needed equipments or register for a training programme that will increase your expertise in that business area. If you do not already have business idea, you may want to consider doing some research to see what part-time business to invest in.

3) Invest in education: You can invest your windfall income in further education that will boost your profile and give you a better chance at a higher paying role in your industry or another industry entirely. You an also invest in the education of your loved ones like your spouse, children or siblings (if you have this responsibility thrust on you)

4) Invest in Marriage: Yes! you read me right.

This is for those who believe in marriage. If you have a partner and your really desire to spend the rest of your life with the person, then invest your windfall income towards settling down. You can start making down payments for some critical items on your list. Marriage is an investment in your lifetime happiness.

The study of human behaviour, which has traditionally come under the umbrella of psychology, would seem to have little relationship with economics.

But, as we learn more about how the brain works through the dual disciplines of neuroscience and psychology, there is an increasing marriage with the field of economics, in order to better understand how people make financial decisions.

This has evolved considerably in recent years and is an emergent field that deserves a little introduction and explanation.

The traditional view of economics and financial decision-making

It is sometimes forgotten in economics that the field is meant to be about the behaviour of people when making financial decisions.

The traditional economist’s view is that the world is populated by unemotional, logical, decision makers, who always think rationally in drawing their conclusions. This view is underpinned by the understanding that human behaviour displays three key traits: unbounded rationality, unbounded willpower, and unbounded selfishness.

This has always flown in the face of the findings of cognitive and social psychologists, who questioned these assumptions as far back as the 1950s.

With the rise of behavioural neuroscience since the 1980s (especially Kahneman’s work) providing more insight into the workings of the brain, we are now more sure than ever about the role that emotion and bias plays in all decision-making: from simple day-to-day decisions like which dress to wear, through to larger decisions that may affect many people.

Overconfidence and optimism are two examples of behavioural traits that may lead to sub-optimal financial decision-making, and divert from the traditional model used. People have also been shown to make poor decisions, even when they know it’s not for the best, due to a lack of self-control.

So this is where behavioural economics has been able to step in and modify many of the beliefs of the traditional economic views.

What is behavioural economics – and how can it help?

Behavioral economics and behavioral finance study the effects of psychological, social, cognitive, and emotional factors on economic decisions.

This may apply to individuals or institutions, and involves looking at the consequences for market prices, dividends, and resource allocation.

Of the three traits of human behaviour included in the traditional model outlined above, unbounded rationality has received special focus, with new understandings in the field resulting from neuroscience.

Understanding better how people arrive at financial decisions can help in many areas: from personal finance to organisations shaping products and trying to get more customer sign-ups; and from the vagaries of stock market trading through to governments and how they formulate financial legislation.

Perhaps behavioural economics can, in future, help people to make better decisions to safeguard their financial futures; it may even have helped if more attention had been paid to it in the lead up to the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.

Information is both beautiful and deadly! Today, the online marketplace runs on analytics and data but in the wrong hands, it could turn into the worst of disasters. According to a new study, cybercriminals are costing more than $575 billion every year and this could include your financial data! As the world is speeding into a world of internet and our future infrastructure depending on virtual intelligence, we are more in the risk of exposing our personal information. Cyber terrorists and hacktivists have become regular topics of discussion and the breaches they have been able to make are worth getting concerned of. It’s not just that our bank accounts are at risk but hackers could create a global crisis. We have already seen the power when hackers reveal how all of Manhattan’s traffic signals can be turned green or a US military drone be rerouted for an unidentified target!

Online crimes are estimated to be about 0.8% of the world’s total GDP and this isn’t a small number. In January 2016, hackers stole approximately $54.5 million from FACC’s (US Aerospace manufacturer) accounts. Given that such a large corporation was compromised, you can never be sure enough if your bank account is safe enough. The crisis becomes more serious when James Lewis from the CSIS says that “We don’t catch most cybercriminals and we don’t catch the most successful ones. So far, there has been impunity for these hackers”.

So, in what ways can the hacker rob you?

The case of frequent flyer miles

In December, 2015, more than 10,000 American users were hacked and cybercriminals were able to book free flights and other upgrades using the stolen perks! The hackers accessed the login information of users (frequent flyers) and flew several miles for free. While these customers got back their free miles in due time, the event reasons why we should be changing our login information (passwords) more frequently.

Even your health insurance!

Today, when medical costs are on the rise and we are depending on fast food for our daily living, it’s medical insurance that’s kept as a backup plan! However, you can be surprised that even this insurance can be hacked and you are actually paying the premiums for someone else. These identity thieves will obtain all medical benefits you have paid for and you will not know unless you are actually in need for emergency attention.

You can be apprehended for the crime you didn’t commit

In the worst case scenario, you could be getting a surprise visit from the police and be arrested for a crime you didn’t commit! While, these cases have been rare, identity thieves always have the option of making you the face of a crime. All of it is by using your personal details from different online sources. The lawyers will cost you a wholesome!

Chat override

Cases have happened in the past when hackers override a company’s chat dashboard and talk and make business with your clients and customers. In February 2015, HipChat announced that hackers stole encrypted passwords and other user details for 2% of their customers. After the event, several chat platforms switched to a two-factor authentication apart from asking their users to change their passwords frequently. Though, it doesn’t make your credentials completely immune to hacks, it does minimize the risks.

Your tax refunds

Generally, you would have filed your returns by 15th of April but the IRS won’t be checking it until late in June-July. This gives hackers a lot of window to steal your social security number and name and file a fake tax return and get the refund on their accounts. When you notice that your return application has been rejected, the money would be long gone.

Credit cards in your name

The most feared act of identity theft is when someone else is issued a credit card in your name. Using your bank login details, social security and email, criminals will be happily running debts in your name until your credit reaches it limit. It is therefore necessary that you review your credit reports more frequently and report transactions that you don’t recognize.

Social hacks

Most of us will not think twice when a friend in needs asks for some emergency money. However, there have been cases when you have actually transferred the money to a stranger’s account after he has hacked your friend’s social account and asked help via the chat box. Referred to as “social engineering”, these scammers will ride on your reputation and trick you into sending money.

Your data at ransom

This is among the scariest of scams that has been running on the internet. Hackers will be using a “Ransomware virus” and encrypt all your files on your personal PC. You won’t be able to retrieve these files until you transfer a substantial amount to the hacker’s account! Well, in this age of information, you don’t have a choice.

The key to maximum security lies in the basics. Change your passwords, keep your antivirus software updated, don’t visit suspicious links, don’t store confidential details on your email or phone and double-check whenever you are dealing with your financial details on the internet.

In 2015, half of all American citizens had their personal information (including banking details) exposed to cybercriminals. The internet was built for openness, speed but not for complete security. As we keep on adding more and more services to make our life more convenient, we are easily becoming the target for hackers. That being said, we don hint about switching back to the traditional means of doing transactions. Breaches have become regular and there is no way to completely avoid them. However, you can make things harder for the criminals and hope that they choose an easier alternative to earn money – someone else’s account! It is necessary that we begin to fully understand the scope of the problem and treat hacking as a nuisance. The thieves at the other end are smart. You need to be smarter.

Over the past few years, SEO has evolved faster than the previous decade. And this has made it harder for users to keep up with most recent updates. The launch of Penguin and Panda changed the way things worked in the past. In short, the way Google used to rank website has changed a lot. But if you want to reach your objectives, make sure you avoid some common SEO mistakes.

1. Avoiding RELEVANT CONTENT

In the start, Google said that it would rank websites that have the most relevant content on its first page. This statement is still valid. What has happened is that the search engine has become a lot better at achieving the objectives. In other words, now, Google is in better position to know what is relevant and what is not.

So, what you need to do is offer content that is relevant and avoid content is not relevant to your niche. Of course, the content should be informative and unique.

2. Following Tricks

People have been using many illegal ways of cheating the search engine algorithms for traffic, exposure and backlinks. Some of these tactics can still give you a temporary edge, but they are bad for your blog or website for the long-term.

So, you should avoid using low-quality, duplicate content, keyword stuffing, questionable redirects or cloaking for traffic. It may be tempting to go for these short-cuts, but they will just hurt your ranking, and may even get you banned for good.

3. Overloading your site

It has been a common perception that photos, videos and other graphics make a website more appealing for the viewers. To some extent, this perception is true; however, there should not be too much of it or your website will take ages to load. Your viewers don’t have all day to wait for your site to load. If your blog takes longer to load than other websites, the viewers will just click away. You will not only lose viewers, you will also lose ranking against other websites.

4. Making navigation difficult

Navigation is one of the most important factors for any website. It’s important for both viewers and search engines. Ideally, your viewers should be able to get the desired information from your website in one or two clicks. This may not be an easy task for you. So, what you can do is put important content on the main page of your site. This the users will be able to get what they want more easily.

5. Misunderstanding THE BACKLINK PROCESS

You may not want to be obsessed with obtaining a lot of backlinks. Although you don’t have to have backlinks from authority websites to establish your credibility, it helps a lot. However, what you need to do is try to get backclinks in a nature fashion. But it’s not a good idea to buy backlinks. This is one of the worst mistakes that you can make.

Quality content is the key to SEO success. Content doesn’t just mean your text contents. Images must be an integral part of your content strategy. At times, single images can be far more effective than your 1000 word blog post. It also helps you improve blog post quality and performance.

Images, Infographics, Videos and all other multimedia contents on your web page will help you in increasing the user engagement on your site and makes the visitors stay on your site for longer duration which helps in reducing the bounce rate.

Not just adding images to your contents, you should also optimize those images for better SEO performance. Optimization of images must be the one important aspect of your on-page SEO process.

If you are using images in your content, there are many aspects to be considered related to SEO.

Relevancy

Using images doesn’t mean that you should fill up your content with loads of pictures. You should use it only when it is required and also you should use images that are more relevant to your content.

Placement of your images is an another important aspect. It should be placed at a relevant location in your content according to your text content.

Use original images

Originality always helps in improving your user experience and your authority. Usage of original images will be helpful in improving your SEO performance. You can create original images with a graphic designer or you can take your own photographs with a quality camera. It is the reason top White hat SEO companies employ talented graphic designers for creating quality images.

If you are not able to employ an in-house graphic designer or if you are running out of time, you can always use high quality images from the web. But the important factor to be considered is it should be copyright free.

There are many tools available for getting copyright free images without any cost. The most popular ones are Unsplash, Flicker, Freeimages.

Image Size

Images are the main source for damping your site’s speed. And site speed is a crucial factor in your SEO performance. So, you should be extra cautious in using images without compromising your page speed.

It should not also affect your image quality, you should have a correct balance between. You can achieve this by reducing the file size by compression. You can use tools like Photoshop for compression.

File name

Search engine crawlers are visually impaired, it can even interrupt a 5000 word text content, but it cannot interrupt a single image and what the image is about. It is the reason using a keyword rich file names for your images is an important aspect in image optimization.

Google bots and other search engine crawlers can read your image’s file name and if it is named with your target keyword, it gives a signal to search engines about the image topic and thus helps your SEO performance.

For example, if your image is related to selling sports shoes, rather than using the file name as “IMG_89868″ you can use it as “Black_Tennis_Shoes”.

Alt text

Similar to the file name, search engines can read Alt text of the images. Alt text is known as “Aleternative Text”, is an HTML attribute used to describe the content of images.

You should use Alt text which is relevant to your images and it should be clear and descriptive. You can use your target keywords in the Alt text but be cautious about Keyword stuffing.

If you are not focusing on Image optimization, you are missing a huge opportunity in improving your SEO performance. You can use above mentioned best practices in your on-page optimization process.

American youth currently face challenging realities along their way to adulthood. With parents working longer hours and the absence of grandparents and other community adults who used to make up support systems, the intergenerational fabric of community has been frayed. Youth development strategies aim to reweave community fabric in a new way – one that takes the supports and opportunities young people should have, and re-institutes them in the context of young people’s realities today. While many of these realities are harsh ones, we know that young people themselves want to be involved in their communities. The importance of building positive youth/adult partnerships in this process cannot be stressed enough.

The mobilization effort is based on influencing three critical elements: information, attitudes, involvement. The transformation of each of these areas, both in the public and private domains, is a necessary condition for change. For example, in the area of information, the country is currently focused on collecting primarily negative youth information, e.g., teenage births, dropouts, and juvenile arrest rate. Inspiring a 180 degree shift, we need to collect information such as: average number of hours youth participate in after-school activities, computer to youth ratio in non-school hours, and the percentage of youth who hold part-time jobs. The three elements are intertwined, for how information is gathered and communicated impacts attitudes as well as how and if people choose to become involved.

Only through broad community commitment, strong public will, and diverse partnerships can youth development take root, go to scale, and be sustained over time. Ultimately, the mobilization must be supported by partnerships among all of the systems in a community that affect young people (i.e., education, corporations, health care, juvenile justice, religious groups, and recreation). To build these relationships and establish youth development infrastructures to improve developmental paths of adolescents will take at least 10 years.

Localities currently spending their resources on efforts to “fix youth” will need to pool, redirect, and increase their financial commitment to youth development. These additional dollars will ensure all youth equal access to supports and opportunities, especially youth living in economically distressed areas.

Our information on the services young people need, and use, is still hit or miss. Communities do not know what they have or what they need. They usually have no way to tell how well services are being used and what services need to be improved.

Good information is important for youth services for exactly the same reasons it is important for everything else. Accurate, accessible standardized information lets people find the services they need and use them effectively. It lets communities manage, evaluate and improve their services and determine the need for changing them, eliminating them, or developing new ones.

Many national efforts to measure outcomes presently use deficit-driven indicators to assess young people’s condition in society, such as teen pregnancy rates, juvenile crime numbers, and percentages of high school dropouts. Although these measures are important, they do not tell the whole story about young people’s experiences. Measures that reflect positive conditions and experiences of young people are also important.

The accelerated trend of the past decade toward empowering our nation’s young people to succeed has fostered a new awareness and commitment to this most valuable resource. Some basic questions are:

- How much do we currently spend?

- How much should we spend?

Some progress has been made through new initiatives in education finance reform and services integration, providing more effective delivery of social, health and educational services for children and youth from the classroom up to the government. This document establishes an initial framework and formula for assessing the financial resources and mechanisms necessary to move American society closer to this ideal. The following were found to be potential root causes of these trends in spending:

- Devaluation of adolescents.

- Lack of consensus on youth development.

- Lack of adequate and protected funding. Funds are not protected and dedicated in the manner necessary to sustain the long-term, comprehensive process that is youth development.

We can support the move toward the ideal by:

- Seeking new types of information.

- Building on the after-school momentum.

- Making a sustainable public investment.

Youth development is an investment that must be made by each sector of the wider community – public and private. Examination of the federal-state matching, local dedicated taxes an incentives for business and philanthropy could lead to models for providing adequate and sustainable funding for youth development. National intermediaries must work to cultivate this leadership at all levels of government, and at the grassroots, by creating constituencies.

Several states are taking the lead from California, Oregon and Illinois by offering state-sponsored retirement plans that encourage or require private sector employers to participate.

The plans are referred to as auto-IRAs because eligible workers are automatically enrolled, generally within 30 days of employment. The default contribution rate is typically 3-5% of a paycheck and the employee can stop, restart or transfer plan assets depending on their needs. Referred to as “public-private partnerships” by the Pew Charitable Trust, there is no cost to the employer. Proceeds are managed by a private financial firm management for a pre-determined fee. The plans are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) like other sponsored pension and benefit plans.

This article provides an overview of the states that currently offer savings programs, as well as those that plan to do so in the future.

OregonSaves

Oregon was one of the first states to implement a savings program for employees of small businesses who are not otherwise eligible for a workplace sponsored pension plan. Titled OregonSaves, it is a state retirement program that is available to an employer or an individual planning for the future.

OregonSaves had almost $57 million in assets as of mid-2020. Employee contributions averaged $127 to $135 per month as of that time.

Enrollment is automatic for employees, with contributions being made through payroll deductions. Each employee account is portable and can be moved from one job to another.

All Oregon employers, regardless of employee size, must facilitate the State’s program for their employees if they do not offer an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The plan is working with small employers to make the process as simple as possible.

CalSavers

CalSavers is available to California workers whose employers do not offer a workplace retirement plan, self-employed individuals, and others who want to increase their savings. Plan participants contribute to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) that belongs to them.

California employers with more than 50 employees must register with CalSavers by June 30, 2021 if they do not already sponsor a retirement plan. Registration is available to all California employers with at least five employees.

The CalSavers program opened statewide in July 2019 and had $4.3 million in assets as of mid-2020. On average, participating employees contribute $105 to $120 monthly. Like the Oregon plan, the default savings rate is 5% of the employee’s pay and employees are automatically enrolled after 30 days of employment. They can stop, restart or transfer plan participation at any time if they change employers.

CalSavers Retirement Savings Program is designed to simplify employer participation with no employer fees, no fiduciary responsibility, and minimal ongoing responsibilities. Employers that fail to offer participation in the plan as required are subject to fines.

In May 2021, a federal appeals court in San Francisco dismissed a legal challenge to the CalSavers plan.

Illinois Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program

Illinois launched its Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program in 2018. It is a state-facilitated retirement program that is open to employees who work for an eligible employer as well as other employees who want to enroll independent of their employer. Approximately 32,000 Illinois employees saved $8.5 million in the first year of the Illinois Secure Choice program, according to state reports.

The Illinois Secure Choice account is a Roth IRA for the employee. The default savings rate is 5% of gross pay. Employees are automatically enrolled through payroll contributions after 30 days of employment. An employee can opt out at any time. Plan participants are charged a fee of 0.75% of assets per year ($0.75 for every $100 saved), which pays for program administration and operating expenses.

The Illinois Secure Choice had 5,544 registered employers as of May 2020. There are no fees for employers to facilitate the program and employers cannot make contributions to their employee accounts. Employers serve a limited role as a facilitator. As of November, 2019, employers with 25 or more employees that have been in business for two years or more are required to participate in the program. Employers that already offer an employer-sponsored retirement plan are exempt from this legislation.

New Jersey Secure Choice Savings

The “New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Act,” was signed into law in March 2019, with a two-year time frame scheduled to take effect in March 2021.

The Act requires employers that have been in business for two years and have 25 or more employees to participate in a retirement savings program administered through automatic payroll deductions. Private sector employees of businesses of any size are able to participate in the retirement savings program. Smaller or newer employers could join voluntarily. Failure to comply will result in fines to the employer.

Employees will be automatically enrolled at the leve of a 3% paycheck contribution. The annual contribution maximum is $6,000 for those under 50 years old, and $7,000 for those 50 or older.

Connecticut Secure Choice Savings Plan

Connecticut employers with five or more employees must offer a retirement plan to employees, and private employers with four or fewer employees may choose to do so. Employees are auto-enrolled within 120 days of employment, and employees must be notified of their rights within 30 days. Employers are not permitted to make contributions to the program.

The Connecticut Retirement Security Authority, a quasi-public agency, was formed in 2016 to oversee the program. The state estimates that as many as 600,000 employees may benefit from the plan.