I felt it would be helpful to share with you a very special Christmas message as a result of many difficult events that have happened recently. My brother's 41-year-old wife and 6-month old daughter were killed in a plane crash November 29th. It has been a tragic shocking experience but I've been impressed by the strong faith and support my brother has to get through this with his 2 ½-year old daughter. We also have clients who are struggling with cancer treatment, dialysis, and other health issues. We have a client who has experienced the sudden loss of a healthy spouse that was totally unexpected. A very well known attorney and Judge in our community died of a heart attack suddenly while snorkeling in Hawaii.
This will be a more somber Christmas for some of us but what I have learned from this is to enjoy and appreciate the wonders of life in the moment and to try not to get caught up in the mad rush of our lives. We need to not only smell the roses but spread our love to all the people we touch in our lives. This makes our lives much more rich if we appreciate the gifts of all the people we come in contact with. A Christmas message I heard recently from a pastor in Vancouver BC really resonated with me. He asked what would the world be like if we spent less money on Christmas gifts and donated more money to worthy causes. How would your Christmas be if instead of feeling pressured and rushed, you decide to not go to all those Christmas parties and functions and instead appreciate what the real purpose of Christmas is: to spread good will to all. What a great plan for a special Christmas.
Don't forget to tell your loved ones you love them often. You never know when they will be taken away from you. Appreciate your lives and the awe and wonder of the world daily and be thankful for the blessings in your life. Make a habit of spreading your Christmas cheer and love year-round rather than just during the season. May you all have a very special wonderful Christmas season with your family and loved ones.
Warm regards,
William T. Morrissey, CFP
____________________________________________
Friends or family need a little extra help? To refer a client, call us and we will help you get your friends and family members on-board with our services. To learn more about the types of clients we serve, visit our website at www.SoundFinancialPlanning.net .
____________________________________________
Sound Financial Planning, Inc.
www.SoundFinancialPlanning.net
Primary Office
321 West Washington St., Suite 329
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Phone: (360) 336-6527
Secondary Office
650 Mullis St., Suite 101
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
(360) 378-3022
PLEASE READ THIS WARNING: All e-mail sent to or from this address will be received or otherwise recorded by the Sound Financial Planning, Inc. corporate e-mail system and is subject to archival, monitoring and/or review, by and/or disclosure to, someone other than the recipient. This message is intended only for the use of the person(s) ("intended recipient") to whom it is addressed. It may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible and delete the message without reading it or making a copy. Any dissemination, distribution, copying, or other use of this message or any of its content by any person other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. Sound Financial Planning, Inc. has taken precautions to screen this message for viruses, but we cannot guarantee that it is virus free nor are we responsible for any damage that may be caused by this message. Sound Financial Planning, Inc. only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or notice filed, or excluded or exempted from registration requirements. Follow-up and individualized responses that involve either the effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, as the case may be, will not be made absent compliance with state investment adviser and investment adviser representative registration requirements, or an applicable exemption or exclusion.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Safety Tips for Online Shopping: How to avoid getting ripped off.
Whether you shop online routinely or infrequently, it will help to follow some precautions this holiday season as you hunt for bargains. The risk of identity theft rises as you offer more and more information about yourself online, so the holiday season is a time to be careful as well as resourceful. Here are some dos and don’ts.
Don’t use a debit card, and use only one credit card. If you use but one credit card for all your online shopping, you’ll just have to cancel one card if your card number is stolen and have just a single credit card firm to deal with. It would be wise to keep a low credit limit on that particular card. If your debit card gets hacked, the thieves can go straight to your bank account and drain it. You know that $50 limited liability common to credit cards? You have to report identity theft within two days to get that $50 limited liability with a debit card.1 Some credit card firms give you a really nice option – the choice of creating a unique, protected online transaction number for each purchase you make over the Web. So in other words, the retailer you’re buying from doesn’t actually see your credit card number – just this unique purchase number. In this case, should your credit card information be stolen, you don’t have to cancel your card, and the credit card issuer has records of specific transactions that may help catch the bad guy.2
Do look for the "https://" when you enter personal information. When you see that, it means you are transmitting data within a secure site. (You’ll see a padlock symbol at the bottom of the browser window.) Look for the VeriSign or CyberTrust mark of security.
Do watch what you click – and watch out for fake sites. Pop-ups, attachments from mysterious sources, dubious links – don’t be tempted to explore where they lead. Hackers have created all manner of “phishing” sites and online surveys – seemingly legitimate, but set up to siphon your information. It is better to be skeptical than to visit a fake PayPal site or to download spyware that is allegedly Norton Utilities or Panda AntiVirus. If anything seems weird, Google or Bing or Yahoo the merchant name and see what comes up.
Do protect your PC. When did you install the security and firewall programs on your computer? Have you updated them recently? Think about buying the latest and greatest from a credible retailer before you shop online this season as a present to yourself.
Don’t shop on the job – or if you do, do it after five. If you tell your boss “But I only have dial-up at home,” how sympathetic is he or she really going to be? (Of course, if you own a business or work for yourself, no one’s stopping you.) If for some weird reason you just can’t shop from your PC or Mac at home, at least make it quick - bookmark the sites you need to visit at lunch and go there after 5:00pm or during your lunch hour the next day.
Do update stored passwords – and make them really obscure. If you visit a site a lot, it is a good idea to change your password once in a while. Mix letters/words and numbers.
Don’t shop using wi-fi. You are really leaving yourself open to identity theft when you use a public wi-fi connection. Put away the laptop and wait until you leave that coffee emporium or airport terminal. Yes, hackers can tap into your Blackberry, iPhone or Smartphone via the same tactics by which they can invade your PC.
____________________________________________
Friends or family need a little extra help? To refer a client, call us and we will help you get your friends and family members on-board with our services. To learn more about the types of clients we serve, visit our website at www.SoundFinancialPlanning.net .
____________________________________________
Sound Financial Planning, Inc.
www.SoundFinancialPlanning.net
Primary Office
321 West Washington St., Suite 329
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Phone: (360) 336-6527
Secondary Office
650 Mullis St., Suite 101
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
(360) 378-3022
PLEASE READ THIS WARNING: All e-mail sent to or from this address will be received or otherwise recorded by the Sound Financial Planning, Inc. corporate e-mail system and is subject to archival, monitoring and/or review, by and/or disclosure to, someone other than the recipient. This message is intended only for the use of the person(s) ("intended recipient") to whom it is addressed. It may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible and delete the message without reading it or making a copy. Any dissemination, distribution, copying, or other use of this message or any of its content by any person other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. Sound Financial Planning, Inc. has taken precautions to screen this message for viruses, but we cannot guarantee that it is virus free nor are we responsible for any damage that may be caused by this message. Sound Financial Planning, Inc. only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or notice filed, or excluded or exempted from registration requirements. Follow-up and individualized responses that involve either the effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, as the case may be, will not be made absent compliance with state investment adviser and investment adviser representative registration requirements, or an applicable exemption or exclusion. This information should not be construed as investment advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.
Don’t use a debit card, and use only one credit card. If you use but one credit card for all your online shopping, you’ll just have to cancel one card if your card number is stolen and have just a single credit card firm to deal with. It would be wise to keep a low credit limit on that particular card. If your debit card gets hacked, the thieves can go straight to your bank account and drain it. You know that $50 limited liability common to credit cards? You have to report identity theft within two days to get that $50 limited liability with a debit card.1 Some credit card firms give you a really nice option – the choice of creating a unique, protected online transaction number for each purchase you make over the Web. So in other words, the retailer you’re buying from doesn’t actually see your credit card number – just this unique purchase number. In this case, should your credit card information be stolen, you don’t have to cancel your card, and the credit card issuer has records of specific transactions that may help catch the bad guy.2
Do look for the "https://" when you enter personal information. When you see that, it means you are transmitting data within a secure site. (You’ll see a padlock symbol at the bottom of the browser window.) Look for the VeriSign or CyberTrust mark of security.
Do watch what you click – and watch out for fake sites. Pop-ups, attachments from mysterious sources, dubious links – don’t be tempted to explore where they lead. Hackers have created all manner of “phishing” sites and online surveys – seemingly legitimate, but set up to siphon your information. It is better to be skeptical than to visit a fake PayPal site or to download spyware that is allegedly Norton Utilities or Panda AntiVirus. If anything seems weird, Google or Bing or Yahoo the merchant name and see what comes up.
Do protect your PC. When did you install the security and firewall programs on your computer? Have you updated them recently? Think about buying the latest and greatest from a credible retailer before you shop online this season as a present to yourself.
Don’t shop on the job – or if you do, do it after five. If you tell your boss “But I only have dial-up at home,” how sympathetic is he or she really going to be? (Of course, if you own a business or work for yourself, no one’s stopping you.) If for some weird reason you just can’t shop from your PC or Mac at home, at least make it quick - bookmark the sites you need to visit at lunch and go there after 5:00pm or during your lunch hour the next day.
Do update stored passwords – and make them really obscure. If you visit a site a lot, it is a good idea to change your password once in a while. Mix letters/words and numbers.
Don’t shop using wi-fi. You are really leaving yourself open to identity theft when you use a public wi-fi connection. Put away the laptop and wait until you leave that coffee emporium or airport terminal. Yes, hackers can tap into your Blackberry, iPhone or Smartphone via the same tactics by which they can invade your PC.
____________________________________________
Citations.
1 tallahassee.com/article/20091127/BUSINESS/911270320/1003 [11/27/09]
2 dailyfinance.com/2009/11/25/a-flurry-of-scams-accompany-black-friday-shopping/ [11/25/09]
____________________________________________
Friends or family need a little extra help? To refer a client, call us and we will help you get your friends and family members on-board with our services. To learn more about the types of clients we serve, visit our website at www.SoundFinancialPlanning.net .
____________________________________________
Sound Financial Planning, Inc.
www.SoundFinancialPlanning.net
Primary Office
321 West Washington St., Suite 329
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Phone: (360) 336-6527
Secondary Office
650 Mullis St., Suite 101
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
(360) 378-3022
PLEASE READ THIS WARNING: All e-mail sent to or from this address will be received or otherwise recorded by the Sound Financial Planning, Inc. corporate e-mail system and is subject to archival, monitoring and/or review, by and/or disclosure to, someone other than the recipient. This message is intended only for the use of the person(s) ("intended recipient") to whom it is addressed. It may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible and delete the message without reading it or making a copy. Any dissemination, distribution, copying, or other use of this message or any of its content by any person other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. Sound Financial Planning, Inc. has taken precautions to screen this message for viruses, but we cannot guarantee that it is virus free nor are we responsible for any damage that may be caused by this message. Sound Financial Planning, Inc. only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or notice filed, or excluded or exempted from registration requirements. Follow-up and individualized responses that involve either the effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, as the case may be, will not be made absent compliance with state investment adviser and investment adviser representative registration requirements, or an applicable exemption or exclusion. This information should not be construed as investment advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.
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