Many of the brightest and hardest-working marketing and advertising people in the country are obsessed with getting you to spend money and, if necessary, to go into debt to do so. Absolutely all the media that reach you every day are designed to get you to spend money. In order to save money in this environment, you will need determination to withstand the constant pressures to spend now.

What is it that separates those who are successful from those who are not?

Successful individuals have a strong personal vision of what they want and why they want it. That vision gives them the strength to stick to their strategies even when doing so is uncomfortable. It gives them the determination to persist when they are discouraged. This is the same characteristic of women entrepreneurs and is the reason their new, small businesses are successful.

The 401k Plan

Today, the 401(k) plan has become the main investment vehicle for working women to save for retirement. But many don’t take full advantage of their plan, and this could leave them with a lot less at retirement. Here are some steps we believe you can take to improve and eliminate any retirement worries about whether or not your retirement will be pleasurable or public charity; or whether you will have all the free time to spend with your family or friends.

1. Increase your contributions to the maximum that you can manage. Many women contribute just enough to take advantage of their employer’s matching contributions, and then they stop. By adding more to your account, beyond the matching contributions, you’ll end up with more in retirement.

2. Invest at the start of each year instead of taking a little bit out of each paycheck. Nothing in the law says you have to invest in a 401(k) plan a little at a time, from each paycheck. By investing early, you’ll put your money to work sooner for your benefit.

3. A few years ago it was reported that more than 30 percent of the money in 401(k) plans was invested in money-market funds or similar accounts. For investors nearing retirement, that may be appropriate. But most workers in their 40’s and 50’s need growth in their retirement investments. Put more of your investment fund in equities and less in money-market funds.

4. Research indicates that over long periods of time, small-company stocks outperform large-company stocks. Since 1926, In the equity part of your portfolio, shift some of your money into funds that invest in small companies. Don’t put your entire equity portfolio in small-company stocks. But consider investing at least 25 percent of your U.S. equity investments in that fund.

5. Numerous studies have shown that value stocks outperform growth stocks. According to data going back to 1964, large U.S. value companies had a compound rate of return of 15.1 percent vs. only 11.4 percent for large U.S. growth companies. Among small U.S. companies, the difference was even more striking: a compound return of 17.4 percent for the value stocks vs. 12.1 percent for the growth stocks. Don’t put your entire equity portfolio into value stocks. But if there’s a value fund available to you, consider investing at least 25 percent of your U.S. equity investments in that fund.

6.Rebalance your portfolio once a year. Your asset allocation plan calls for a certain percentage to be invested in each of several kinds of assets. Rebalancing restores your asset balance and allows for the possibility that last year’s losers may be this year’s gainers. Diluting your diversification actually increases risk in your portfolio over time, which is a result that’s just the opposite of what most investors want.

7.Without compromising proper asset allocation– use the funds in your plan that have the lowest operating expenses. Choose funds with low turnover in their portfolios.

8. Don’t borrow or make early withdrawals from your 401(k) unless that is the only way to respond to a life-threatening emergency. Furthermore, if you take an early withdrawal before you are 59.5 years old, your withdrawals will be subject to a 10 percent tax penalty (in addition to regular taxes) unless you are disabled. Just don’t do it.

9. If you leave your job, you’ll get a chance to roll over your 401(k) into an IRA. Take that chance. In an IRA, you have the same tax deferral as a 401(k), and you’ll have the flexibility to invest in virtually everything you can get in a 401(k), plus much more.

10. Here’s the most important thing you can do to maximize your 401(k): Keep your contributions automatically payroll deducted, and make them no matter what. It’s simple, but it’s not easy. Half of the households in the United States have net worth of $25,000 or less. In a typical year, about two-thirds of U.S. households do not save money.

Remember, to be successful, first, imagine your early retirement; the Caribbean condo, the yacht, the new Lexus. Luxury and pleasure as far as your eyes can see. Create a strong vision, and then don’t let go. The power of a clear, strong vision applies to more than just your retirement savings. Let your vision shape your life, instead of the other way around, and all of the time in the world can be yours. You won’t be spending your Golden Years working at the Golden Arches.

This morning I heard Joe and Katie talking about how they were looking forward to going away for the week down to Cornwall for a spot of windsurfing. When they saw me looking at them, they started talking in that human code that they seem to think that I don’t I understand.

“How do you think you know who will be staying at you know where?”

What they mean is how do they think I will be staying at Dog Boarding Surrey venue https://nestledownboardingkennels.co.uk They always worry so much when they go away and leave me at the boarding kennels. Fretting about whether I will miss them, and will I forgive them for leaving me when they come back, and will I be a good boy for the owners?

Well I can tell you exactly how I am going to be … ecstatic!! Now don’t get me wrong I do miss them both when they are away, but the kennels is amazing. I finally get some time to myself where I can ponder on what I am going to have written in my memoirs – now all I have to do is perfect holding a pen in my mouth and learn to write. Oh, and spell. Anyway, back to the kennels. The place is sheer luxury a room all to myself, no more having to listen to Joe snoring at night. He really should get that looked into, he sounds like some sort of pneumatic drill and it is really hard to dream about chasing my tail when all I can hear is him. Also, the lady at the kennels gives the best tummy rubs. Not that I would ever tell Katie that.

All this excitement thinking about my impeding stay in the kennels has got my tail waging furiously. I mustn’t let them see me being too happy about it. I don’t want to spoil the illusion that I am going to be devastated when they leave and pine away for them for a week. I wonder if my good friend Bertie will be staying there this time. He has been there the last two occasions I have stayed Bertie is hilarious he likes to think that he is some sort of detective, always trying to work out where the dogs in the other kennels have come from and what their families are like and he has such long fur over his eyes that can often be heard crashing into his food bowl in the middle of the night.

Well, I’m off to start packing my favourite toys to take with me. I will fill you in on all the kennel gossip when I get back.

If you’re at all worried about visiting a clinic because you think you might have a sexually transmitted infection (STI) – don’t be. There’s nothing to worry about, the whole service is completely confidential and the staff at the clinic are not there to judge anyone – just to make sure your sexual health is looked after.

Male or female, LGBTQ+, old or young, the service is for everyone. Under 16s sometimes worry that the clinic will tell their parents – absolutely not. The service is for you, not your parents!

Expect discretion and confidentiality

As at any clinic, you’ll be asked for your name and contact details. The fact you’ve visited the clinic won’t be passed onto your GP unless you give permission. But if you still don’t want to give your real name, that’s OK. Just make sure you leave a valid contact point if you’re having tests where the results aren’t available immediately. This is just so that you can get the results. If you opt for a letter, there’ll be nothing on the outside of the letter to show where it’s from or what it’s about.

Try and remember dates and symptoms

When it comes to an STI test London has lots of clinics, and you can also do your own test, www.checkurself.org.uk/plus/ for some STIs before deciding to go to a clinic.

When you get to the clinic, you can request a male or female doctor or nurse. You’ll be asked when you last had sex, and whether you’ve had unprotected sex (without a condom). The medic will want to know what symptoms you have, and what has made you think you might have an infection. There’s a good NHS guide to symptoms here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sexual-health/#symptoms.

Tests and results

The next step is the tests. For some infections, test results, and even treatment, are available the same day. For others, you’ll need to be contacted later. A positive result means you’ll be asked to go back to the clinic, to discuss treatment. You should tell your sexual partner but if you can’t bear to – don’t worry – if you agree, the clinic can do it anonymously, without revealing your identity.

Don’t worry about visiting the STI clinic – it’s there to help you manage your sexual health, not to judge you.

Banking online can be a fantastic way to save you time and even money.  Most large banks now offer online banking or online account access, and for the most daring: some banks are only available online.  With the latest in web safety, these sites are heavily encrypted and designed to be hack-proof.  The largest cause of accounts being hacked into actually falls upon the account holders.  There are several simple steps that can be taken to avoid your account, money, and personal information being put at risk.  Some may seem simple, but it is better to be safe!

1) Never give out your username or password.  Your bank will not ask you for your password or even username.  They already have it.  They will not lose it, and only a very select group of employees can even access it.  If you think you need to address this issue, call them at the number your normally call, do not take the phone number off an email or a website, look in the phone book or just stop in at your local branch.

2) If you access your accounts from more than one computer, be sure that computers used by others have up-to-date antivirus software.  You should also make sure that the machine is running an up to date browser that can support the standard 128-bit encryption used by most secure websites.  When you are done, always be sure to log off and even clear the Auto complete bar also, it can make it too easy for someone to log in and guess your password.

3) A good password in very important, also, using more than one password can be just as valuable.  If a hacker, worm, or virus is to get into your computer and find a password, they will try that same password in all of your cached login areas.  It also helps drastically to use letters and numbers.  Birthdays, pet names, and nicknames also tend to be easiest to guess.

4) Never trust any email sent to you that links directly to your login page.  This is the number one trick for hackers to “cloak” or “phish” you out of your own private information.  Even though the site looks like the site you are familiar with, it may not be.  These thieves have become experts at copying the look of real sites with their own copies designed to extrapolate victim’s bank numbers and more!

By following these steps, you can be confident that your identity and information is still yours and still protected.  There are thousands of people and programs trying to steal your information, but you have plenty of tools, people and strategies on your side also!  Go ahead save yourself some time and gas money!