Financial Planning for Prospective Retirees – A Brief Guide

Jen Lambert on April 17, 2018

Worryingly, a rising number of Brits are failing to prioritise saving for their retirement in the current economic climate. In fact, just 29% consider saving for their pension as a major priority at present, and 26% continue to stash cash away in preparation for their summer holidays instead.

Given the growing pension deficit being experienced by UK firms and the impact that high inflation is continuing to have on the cost of living, it’s arguably never been more important that people  plan their finances in time for retirement.

In this post, we’ll offer a brief guide to financial planning for prospective retirees, while asking how expert advice can help to inform your decisions.

 

  • Decide What you Want out of Retirement

 

In many ways, retirement is a stage of your life like any other. As such, it requires careful planning and management, in the same way that you would plot your career growth or personal development.

With this in mind, the first step when planning your retirement should be to determine precisely what you want to gain from it. Whether you want to travel, spend time with your grandchildren or even continue working in a freelance capacity, you’ll need to prioritise these objectives while considering their financial implications.

This not only creates a broad outline for your retirement, but it also helps to start the process of planning your finances and building a fund that can  help you have the retirement you want.

 

  • Perform an Audit of your Assets

 

The next step is to perform a full audit of your assets so that you can begin to determine their value and the contribution that they’ll make to your pension fund.

This should include everything from cash savings to real estate holdings and investment portfolios, along with any existing workplace and private pension schemes.

We’d recommend that you deal in pence rather than pounds when auditing your assets, as this will give you a clear insight into your existing wealth and how far it’s likely to stretch into your retirement.

 

  • Employ the Services of a Financial Planning Firm

 

At this stage, you should have an outline for your retirement and an understanding of the assets that will help to support your state pension in retirement.

However, optimising these funds can be challenging, particularly without experience or knowledge of the financial markets. This is where service providers such as Tilney can help, as they can assist with everything from wealth management and estate planning on behalf of their clients, helping them to make the most of their capital, benefit from greater tax efficiencies and ensure that their assets are distributed fairly in the event of their death.

Sure, this requires an initial financial investment, but it can deliver significant savings and greater returns over time.

The Future of AI Censorship

Jen Lambert on April 16, 2018

Artificial intelligence is among the emerging technologies that are rapidly changing the world. Now the largest internet companies, including Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube which is owned by Google, are adopting AI methods to censor certain types of content. Where is all this leading?

AI is already widely used by these platforms to proactively detect, suppress or remove terrorism-related content, or anything related to violent extremism, even without human intervention. On YouTube’s official blog, they claimed in October of 2017, “over 83 percent of the videos we removed for violent extremism in the last month were taken down before receiving a single human flag, up 8 percentage points since August.” Similarly, Facebook has said that its AI technology can take down 99 percent of ISIS and Al Qaeda terrorist content even before any users flag it.

In his testimony to Rep. Brooks during the recent personal data hearings to Congress, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that their AI censorship technology can be used as a model for other types of content besides terrorist activity. But when Rep. Richard Hudson asked how Facebook could discern things like hate speech from merely contentious speech, Zuckerberg said, “That is something that we struggle with continuously. It’s nuanced.”

Twitter is addressing this nuanced subject by putting IBM’s Watson to work. “Watson is really good at understanding nuances in language and intention,” a Twitter VP said. “What we want to do is be able to identify abuse patterns early and stop this behavior before it starts.” They’re using Watson’s Tone Analyzer to flag “abusive language,” but it’s unclear what that actually means.

Both sides of the political divide are already feeling the effects of overzealous or biased censorship. On the left, liberals have complained about Google’s suppression of sites like Alternet, Democracy Now!, Truth-Out and Counterpunch.

Conservative critics have also complained about censorship. Sen. Ted Cruz, demanded an answer from Zuckerberg about suspected liberal censors at Facebook suppressing content “including stories about CPAC, including stories about Mitt Romney, including stories about the Lois Lerner IRS scandal, including stories about Glenn Beck,” blocking posts from a Fox News reporter and taking down over two dozen Catholic pages.

Censorship on these platforms, whether done by humans or AI, can take the subtle form of deprioritizing or hiding certain content. More severe censorship measures include account suspensions and content takedowns, often without an explanation beyond form letters describing “community standards” using generic language.

Can these companies be held liable for implementing overzealous, unmonitored or biased AI censors? That’s an open question, and in the past, they’ve attempted to blame the algorithm.

AI is very far from understanding the subtleties of human discourse and resolving conflicts equitably, so keeping humans in the loop in this area will be crucial to maintaining balance and control. If people and their expressions are to be treated fairly, this is a process that must continue to involve employing lots of people to evaluate those expressions.

How to Make Your Tech Company More Efficient

Jen Lambert on April 12, 2018

For a tech business, innovation is essential. Only by providing the latest, forward-thinking products and services, can they hope to compete. This means securing the best talent and embracing new ideas.

There is one other area that could benefit tech companies: implementing new processes. This can make everyday tasks more efficient, boosting overall performance. As such, here are ways to make your tech business more efficient.

Review Processes

Firstly, improvements cannot be made without understanding the efficiency of current processes. Conducting a review will highlight any areas that require improvement, which in turn, will allow tech businesses to make changes where necessary.

Online Database

If employees regularly need to access information, build an online database. This will allow data to be accessed easily, from any location, whether in the office or in a meeting with clients. This has the potential to make tech business more efficient by saving time.

Utilise Automation

There are many processes that can be completed with little to no input from employees, through the use of automation. Consider which tasks can be automated as this could save valuable business hours, allowing employees to focus on core tasks.  

Meeting Times

Meetings are important for tech business – they are a chance to impress clients and offer potential for growth. However, they can also be time consuming. Make them more effective by utilising video conferencing. This will reduce travel time and increase working hours.

Logistics Provider

Delivery is an important consideration for most tech businesses. Handling the process in-house can be expensive, both in terms of financial cost and business hours. Instead, a provider like InXpress offers quick invoicing, fast booking and convenient collection services.

Outsourcing

Every company has its strengths and weaknesses. For tech businesses, admin may be a struggle. As such, outsource to increase efficiency. Areas to consider may include accounting, data entry, customer service, marketing and HR.

Reduce Overheads

Efficiency means more than time. It also refers to money. To make your tech business more financial efficient, cut back where possible. You could hire instead of purchasing, go green by turning off equipment when not in use, or encourage telecommuting to reduce office size.

Increase Morale

A happier workforce is often a more productive one. There are many ways to increase morale in your tech business. This could include training so employees feel confident, reconfiguring office layout for better collaboration, or arranging socials to encourage better relationships.

Being efficient is vital for a tech business, as it can increase productivity, boost cash flow and ultimately, encourage growth. As such, try these tips to help your tech company.

Benefits of installing Solar on your house

Jen Lambert on April 3, 2018

Scientists have bee warning the population that global warming is starting to become is very serious problem for the entire plant.

The effects include rising temperature levels which is bringing very serious implications to the planet including rising sea levels, more constant droughts and even natural species of animals to die of redapt to the heating climate.

This all sounds very negative and it’s easy to just want to switch off to the facts and pretend that it doesn’t exist and to just keep living with our heads in the sand but the problem with this is if we keep travelling down this path the world and most of the animals on it including humans are going to face possible instruction.

So what can we I do?

Firstly realizing that this is a serious problem and it’s not going to go away just be ignoring it is the first step. The second major steps is to start living more sustainably and taking immediate action.

Most people know that doing things such as recycling and minimising the amount of plastics we both buy and use on a day to day basis is a great start. But what are some of the major changes we can make to lessen our carbon footprint?
One of the biggest ways we can help the planet is use less energy. We spend most of the hours in the day in our homes and they are using energy twenty four hours seven days a week. Think about appliances that are running all day everyday like fridges and freezers or even smaller appliances that are constantly on charge like shavers or electric toothbrushes.

Why is Solar such a good option

Solar is sure way to lessen the amount of harmful pollutants that are pumped out into the atmosphere. Most energy companies burn either coal or natural gases to produce energy which has a great impact on the environment in a very negative way.

Solar power is derived from the sun straight to your power board. Solar uses less than one tenth of the C02 emissions that natural gas uses and produces less than one fiftieth of emissions than coal does. This is an absolutely huge metric and will undoubtedly have a great impact on the planet if most people, or even everyone switched to solar energy.

So what are the steps to getting solar installed on your roof. If you have tradesman skills such as roofing you could install the panels yourself, make sure you sure to be safe and use the right roofer equipment.  This will save you a considerable amount of money if you shop around and buy the panels yourself. If you are not comfortable with trade skills we recommend that you call professionals and have them deal with the job.

You don’t have to own the property to have solar installed on the house you live in. Adding solar actually ads value to your house so if you approach the landlord and tell them you would be interested in extending the lease for the house if you could both make an agreement to have solar installed they may well be open to suggestion. After All both parties, the tenant and the landlord, are benefiting from this.

If you also own a rental properties or several rental properties this is a great way to have a positive impact on the environment. Installing solar on these houses will give the tenants a lower energy bill and overall uses less carbon emissions on the environment.

Sexual Harassment: On the Rise or Just Into the Light?

Jen Lambert on March 15, 2018

From politics and Hollywood, to teachers and students, to the NFL and more, sex scandals are all around us. They’ve even taken over our social media news feeds with the recent #MeToo movement. But with accusations flying, fingers pointing, and signs a-waving, it bears the question, what’s really going on here?!

Sexual Harassment v. Sexual Assault

First, let’s get our definitions straight. Sexual harassment paints a broad stroke and can be anything from an unwanted invitation to an unwelcome comment. Harassment, in fact, doesn’t even necessarily have to be of a sexual nature. Making a comment about a woman’s height or a man’s thinning hair can be considered harassment, if it’s taken as an insult or delivered in a certain way. In the workplace, in particular, harassment must be frequent or severe enough to create a ‘hostile work environment.’ Outside of the workplace, there’s no such rule.

Sexual assault, on the other hand, is strictly physical in nature. An assault is unwanted, unsolicited sexual contact that usually involves force. Attempted rape, forcible sodomy, and similar acts are all considered sexual assault.

One of the current issues, though, is whether or not the definitions have changed. Some experts suggest that harassment is defined and perceived differently based on your age and generation. Millennials, for example, are less likely to tolerate an uninvited touch than a Generation X’er while Baby Boomers rarely use the term ‘sexual harassment’ at all.

Sexual Harassment by the Numbers

We know that sexual harassment is really nothing new (even if the terms have changed) but what do the numbers say?

According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incent National Network), sexual violence has actually dropped by almost half since 1993.

But, at the same time, the EEOC is estimating that nearly 75% of all workplace sexual harassment incidents are going unreported. In other words, according to the EEOC, it’s a bigger problem than we think.

With such conflicting numbers, again, it begs the question, what is really going on? It’s hard to get the full picture when definitions won’t line up and statistics don’t add up.

Is This a Political Thing?

One proposed explanation for all this noise and confusion is that politics play too big a role in the conversations.

It’s been noted, for example, that the #MeToo movement is mostly dominated by progressive and liberal females. The Hollywood actresses at the forefront of the movement are notably all liberal in their political ideologies.

Similarly, it’s been mentioned that nearly half of all white females voted for Trump in 2016, despite the sexual harassment allegations that surfaced during his campaign. And of these conservative females, few are participating in the #MeToo movement or coming forward with sexual harassment allegations themselves. In other words, conservative women, it’s been suggested, don’t seem to have an issue with harassment.

So, is this all just about politics?

There are no conclusions being drawn here but clearly there are some interesting discrepancies at the center of this sexual harassment epidemic. For everybody’s sake, hopefully things start to become clearer.  

New Ad Blocker by Google Improved the Internet Prior to Launch

Jen Lambert on March 14, 2018

Google Chrome has launched a new feature that may cause consumers to see less ads than they do now, however this also may not occur despite the preemptive buildup.

 

Chrome is by far the most widely used Internet browser and recently released an ad-blocker that will block certain particularly annoying ads. The targeted ads are any that play noises or music automatically and ads that do not allow the viewer to dismiss them until a countdown has ended. Google is excluding websites from search results that breach particular guidelines, and then will attempt to filter every ad from those sites, not only the ads that are especially annoying.

 

While there was hype in advance regarding Google’s new ad-blocking maneuvers, the actual number of websites that Chrome will end up blocking ads on is not expected to be a lot. Less than 1% of the 100,000 most visited websites in Europe and North America will actually be impacted due to violation of ad guidelines.

 

Surprisingly, the Chrome ad blocker was able to make beneficial change on the web prior to the technology even being instated. Websites that would be impacted by the ad filtering were alerted prior to the technology updates, and 42% of websites complied with the changes, including Chicago Tribune, Forbes, In Touch Weekly, and Los Angeles Times.

 

It is startling that Google is open to blocking ads of all kinds that violate the restrictions, because the company has a massive ad network of its own. Google made it known that it will be blocking advertisements by the Google ad network, as well. The reason for these changes is to hopefully discourage users from installing forceful software for blocking ads that could drastically lower revenue industry-wide. The Interactive Advertising Bureau discovered in 2016 that 26% of Internet users have ad-blocking software installed on their computers, and 15% of smartphone users have ad-blocking software on their phones. Users provided many reasons for why they decided to block advertisements, including visual clutter, long loading times, and privacy fears.

 

“Ads are a feasible way for smaller businesses to get their products or services into the same marketing spaces as big box stores such as Amazon or Best Buy. As long as viewers are being respected with advertisements, businesses should not be impacted much,” remarked Paul Michaels, founder and CEO of National Bartender, a bartending school.

 

Guidelines have been released for the types of ads that are permissible and that businesses should aim for. The Coalition for Better Advertising is a forward-thinking group of tech businesses, publishers, and advertisers that reached these standards after surveying 25,000 Internet users in Europe and North America to discover which ads were the most irritating. Four kinds of desktop ads and eight kinds of mobile advertisements were selected that were identified as obnoxious. The main ads that should be avoided are those that play audio automatically and those that hide content the user wants to see.

Impacts of Herbicide Toxicity on our Health

Jen Lambert on March 13, 2018

It is alarming how few studies have been conducted regarding potential impacts of herbicide toxicity on both
human health and the environment. “Herbicides typically receive less criticism and publicity than pesticides do” says Rose Burberry-Martin from Chisholm, Chisholm, and Kilpatrick LTD.  Possibly because of the incorrect perception that herbicides have less of an opportunity to come into contact with our families and food. While herbicides are intended to kill undesired plants to give nutritional crops the chance to grow, herbicides can unfortunately have inadvertent consequences of damaging living organisms that are not plants. The unfortunate facts are that herbicides impact humans and wildlife negatively as well as natural habitats and plants.

 

A main concern regarding herbicide safety that has not been emphasized much previously is the insufficient
testing procedures. While the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) mandates that while the active ingredient
must be tested, the inactive ingredients do not necessarily have to be. The EPA does not typically test chemical
mixtures (for example, a herbicide and pesticide or more than one herbicide), which are actually more
dangerous than one type of chemical used alone.

 

Herbicides mirror the hormones of the plant, and have many negative effects on the natural environment. These
chemicals harm freshwater crustaceans and the fish that rely on their nutrition; it is not unlikely that the human
body could be impacted similarly. Chemical farming, specifically the use of herbicides, has noticeably distorted
the habitats across America and Europe.

 

Studies have proven how exposure to herbicides can cause the risk of lymphoma to be increased. Swedish
research has demonstrated that there is a correlation with phenoxy herbicides and an increased chance of soft-
tissue tumors taking place. Kentucky counties were studied ecologically and found that the production of corn
crops, water contamination, pesticide use, and triazine herbicides have been linked to an increased risk of breast
cancer for women who were exposed to triazine herbicide.

 

The toxicity of herbicides could even be associated with the causation of birth defects. Geological areas that
grow great quantities of wheat were shown to cause a 60-90% increased risk of birth defects. Herbicides could
even have a negative effect on female fertility. Even simply applying or mixing herbicides to a garden two years
prior to trying to conceive was a commonality among women who were infertile.

 

Clearly, contact with these herbicides is a risk to our health and should be avoided when at all possible. As
consumers, we are being exposed to herbicide chemicals that may or may not have been tested, and to what
extent of testing these chemicals go through may not have been congruent with consumer safety. While there
are of course alternative purchasing options for people wishing to eat cleaner, organic food typically has higher
price points, which may not always make the switch from herbicides possible for all consumers. As consumers, it
is possible to commit to natural alternatives to avoid herbicide toxicity by supporting natural farmer’s markets,
organic produce in health food stores, and by growing vegetables at home.

What Do You need to Know About RapidBot, an Instagram Bot?

Jen Lambert on March 12, 2018

Many people are using Instagram nowadays as a way to post their selfies or just any photos to share with everyone. They want to many followers, get many likes and get good feedbacks or comments. But the main point of these people is to get a large number of followers. They will ask friends or just go straight to Google to ask for tips and tricks so they can get many followers that will lead to the good options and the bad options like spamming. What you may not know is that there is automation of Instagram, according to ingramer.

The Instagram Bots

Many people are using a bot, an automation tool, so that they can boost the numbers of their followers. But how this Instagram bot really works? This tool bot helps a user in performing actions liking, following and commenting on other accounts automatically. Performing these actions are done on a daily basis and these really take a big amount of time. Through the Instagram Bot, you just have to specify your hashtag and the target users and the bot will do the work for you.

The RapidBot

Rapidbot is a popular computer application that works similar to a normal person. It performs a task like sending other users thousands of like, comment, follows and even unfollows, that leads to attracting many users to your page. The actions are performed based on the parameters like hashtags that you have set. Many programmers are working on creating the bots because of the large demands. Anyone can create a bot which they can personalize which fits their needs, although you need to have advanced programming skills.

Understanding Bots More

Two decades ago, one of the first bots created that is still working this day is Google. Search engines really help us in finding and giving us the websites that contain the content that fits our interest. There are also the so-called chatbots. Chatbots is a program that is used to allow a conversation between a user which is a human and a specific software and device or the assistant of the website. Alexa of Amazon and Siri of Apple are the two examples of the Chatbots.

Conclusion

Instagram is really a well-known social media nowadays. It makes one happy that there are people who like their photos and follows them. New Instagram user means having a zero to one follower and many wants to have more. Everyone wants to be into the moment that they will seize everything, like ask someone to follow them, like their posts, or leave good comments on their page. Sounds like desperation to me but that’s how it really works. Many complain because of the time needed to consume just to post the caption and the hashtag. That is why an Instagram bot is created for your convenience. Remember that it will depend on you if you want to have these so-called bots or do all the work yourself.

Rounding Up the Chance of Cancer

Jen Lambert on March 7, 2018

Glyphosate is the main ingredient in Roundup, the best-selling herbicide in the world. It is used in over 90 countries and on approximately 150 crops. Every year, farmers spray almost a pound of glyphosate upon their harvests, hoping to dissuade weeds from growing and spreading. These herbicides make their way into runoff and groundwater, polluting it. A 2002 survey conducted by the US Geological Survey (USGS) found that glyphosate was present in 36 percent of its water samples from nine Midwestern states. Aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), the degradation ingredient found in Roundup, was identified in 69 percent of the samples.

In recent years, speculation about Roundup’s ability to cause cancer has risen, with most of the focus narrowing to glyphosate itself. According to the EPA, the herbicide is non-carcinogenic. Californian officials and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) disagree. In a 2015 report of its findings, IARC claimed there is “sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals” and that glyphosate “caused DNA and chromosomal damage in human cells.”

The findings make sense. After all, workers in the agricultural sector experience higher numbers of Hodgkin’s disease, leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and cancers of the lip, stomach, prostate, skin, brain, and connective tissues compared to average members of society.

While the feud continues, new evidence is causing many to think twice about the EPA’s assessment. In 1985, the EPA originally classified glyphosate as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” That phrase was changed in 1991 to “evidence of non-carcinogenicity in humans.”

Adding to the many raised eyebrows is the not-sketchy fact that Monsanto Co., Roundup’s manufacturer, is responsible for the creation of Roundup Ready crops, which are resistant to glyphosate. In fact, these genetically modified seeds have led to glyphosate use tripling in agriculture since 1997. This is where that eyebrow might just fly off your forehead; the Office of Pesticide Programs, the very organization in the EPA responsible for regulating and maintaining safety among pesticides, received almost 30 percent of its operating budget from Monsanto in 2016. Furthermore, the studies used to review and permit pesticides rely on data provided by the manufacturers themselves.

The fight continues. At the start of the year, talk spread of eliminating funding to the IARC’s research center in response to its 2015 evaluation. Just last month, a federal judge in California barred officials from requiring cancer warnings on products. Meanwhile, lawsuits concerning Roundup are continuing to rise. “There are many allegations that Monsanto has known and disguised Roundup’s harmful effects for years,” says Edward Lake, attorney and co-founder of the law firm Gacovino Lake & Associates. “We’re one of many trying to get to the bottom of it.”

But time is not a friend for people like Christine Sheppard, one of 800 cancer patients with proceedings against Monsanto. “They didn’t take away my life, thank goodness,” said Sheppard in an interview with CNN, “but they took away our dreams, our savings.”

Unfortunately, Sheppard’s story is only one of many.

Many Lyft and Rideshare Drivers Underinsured

Jen Lambert on March 6, 2018

Source: ride.guru

Source: ride.guru

According to a recent survey by nerdwallet.com, many drivers do not have enough auto insurance coverage to fully protect themselves, and they don’t fully understand the risks involved in what they are doing.

The area of rideshare insurance has been in a state of constant evolution over the past few years, as companies such as Lyft and Uber have become more and more popular.  What most drivers need is a combination of personal and business insurance in order to fully cover all of the aspects of the job.

Depending on the insurance carrier, many don’t cover vehicles being used to transport passengers for a fee, and getting in an accident while transporting said passengers can result in cancelation of the insurance altogether.

What Rideshare Companies Provide

Rideshare companies provide limited coverage for drivers who are logged into the app waiting for a call. These limits are typically $50,000 per person for injuries, capped at $100,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage per accident. No coverage is provided for rideshare vehicles.

Uber and Lyft have at least $1 million per accident in liability, uninsured, and underinsured motorist coverage when the driver is responding to a call or transporting passengers. Limited collision and comprehensive coverage is provided to drivers who already have personal coverage on their vehicle. Rideshare insurance will only pay what the driver’s primary insurance will not.

Both Uber and Lyft have $1 million in coverage for passengers who are injured in an accident while riding in a rideshare car. If the damages exceed $1 million, the passenger must resort to taking either the rideshare driver or the rideshare company to court.

Additional Insurance

For rideshare drivers, there are typically three options that can be added to their policies:

  • Rideshare-friendly policies, which do not add additional coverage but the insurer won’t cancel coverage for being a rideshare driver.
  • Period 1 policies, which cover drivers when they aren’t on a call but are logged into the app waiting for one.
  • Commercial rideshare policies, which provide coverage at all times and provide extra coverage in case an accident exceeds the limits of the rideshare company’s policy limits.

Fluid Coverage and Laws

According to Jason Hennessey, marketing director for Atlanta Car Accident Lawyer, “costs and coverage can vary greatly by driver, policy selected, carrier, and location of services. It is important for rideshare drivers to know what their policy covers and to stay current with the laws that apply within their city and state.”

Passenger Risks

As a consumer, it’s important to know what a particular rideshare company will and will not cover. For example, Uber has an arbitration agreement, requiring that all claims be handled on an individual basis. This prevents individuals from bringing any legal action against them. They also deny liability if a passenger is injured. Other rideshare companies are sure to have similar policies in place, so it’s important to be aware of these and to know your options should an accident arise.