Benjamin Franklin wrote the first known American book on the subject of personal finance titled The Way To Wealth.
Benjamin Franklin wrote the first known American book on the subject of personal finance titled The Way To Wealth.
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Beware of being lulled into a dangerous security. -- Ben Franklin
Protect yourself and protect assets that you own against loss. When all is going well we don't think too much about what could go wrong, but the unexpected happens quite frequently in life and it's much easier to deal with if we've prepared for the situation beforehand. In the information age, it's equally important to protect our identity from being compromised. Putting adequate protection into place requires action. Here are some ways to protect yourself and your assets:
Have an Emergency Fund with 3-6 months of living expenses.
Get disability insurance that will pay at least 60% of your current monthly salary in the event you become disabled. If you already have disability insurance with your employer, obtain a disability policy outside of work so if you lose your job you're still insured.
Use the best antivirus protection that's available. Check your PC for vulnerability for free by going to Gibson Research Associates and running Shields Up! against your PC to see if it is vulnerable.
Password protect your PC. Use complex passwords with a mix of upper-case letters, lower-case letters and numbers. Don't use anything obvious like people's names, birth dates, street addresses, etc.
Protect yourself from phishing by installing and keeping an anti-virus software program up-to-date. Don’t download files or click on hyperlinks sent to you by people you don’t know.
Only enter account information and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) on secure web pages (begins with https://).
Avoid storing PII and financial information on your laptop, as laptops are a target for thieves.
Create a "public" email account on a free email site like Hotmail or Yahoo, and use this email address on public sites when you want to register for something but don't want to provide your private, personal email address. Odds are that junk email and maybe even spam will be coming to whatever email you provide, so make sure it goes to your public "junk" email address.
Protect your data by making regular backups (once a week or once a month). Store them in a safe place away from your home to protect against fire. We use the Roxio.com
Creator software to make easy, automated system backups.
Get enough insurance to cover the replacement of your home and personal belongings. Get flood insurance if needed (25% of flood damage happens in what are deemed non-risk areas).
Make a list of all your belongings, or make a video, to capture a physical record of what you own. File it in a safe place outside your home in case you ever need proof to substantiate losses incurred for insurance claims.
Get on the "no junk mail" list by calling 888-567-8688. This will reduce the pre-approved credit offers you get that people can intercept, fill out, and secure credit in your name using your identity.
Never give out personal information over the phone to someone you didn't call. If they called you and are asking for it, beware.
Don't conduct financial transactions or give out your social security number over a cell phone or cordless phone--the communication can be intercepted. Use a regular land line telephone instead.
Never provide sensitive information by email including your social security number, passwords, birth date, etc. Keep in mind that any information sent via normal email is not secure and not encrypted and can be intercepted. Similarly, any time you receive a password reminder via email, change your password right away so if anyone intercepts the email communication the password they just got is no longer valid.
Shred old statements using a cross-cut shredder, or opt for electronic statements.
Get your free credit report once per year and review it for accuracy. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com, which was created by the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Get your credit report 100% FREE once a year without signing up for anything.
Get Term Life Insurance for 10 times your annual salary.
Make an estate plan. Write a will, or the courts will decide who gets what when you die. Draw up a living trust if you care about what will happen to you if you're incapacitated and unable to communicate your wishes regarding medical care.
Take action to protect yourself and protect your assets today!