Passwords can be a pain. Since we have so many of them and they’re easy to forget, we tend to find one we like (and can remember!) and use it for multiple accounts. While that’s good for our forgetfulness, it’s bad for our security.

The most obvious tip is to give each account its own password. Some not-so-obvious tips will further improve your security and help protect you from hackers.

Avoid names and birthdays

Since we’re not likely to forget that information, it’s often our first choice. I can’t tell you how long I used susan0810 as a password, but that information is easily found online and is one of the first things a hacker tries.

Beware of using numbers as letters

5u5an5ti1w311 would be easy for me to remember, but hackers have honed their software to try those options. Consider a “pass phrase” such as, 5u5anlovesthebeach#08. It’s a good mix of letters and numbers and includes a special character. Remember: the longer the password, the harder it is to hack.

Change your password often

Every 90 days is a good rule of thumb, and you might use the change of seasons as a reminder.

I’ve found it helpful to keep a notebook with my passwords. It’s tempting to store them in a document on your computer, but the safest place is on a piece of paper stored somewhere in your house.

Just don’t forget where you keep it.

When Susan left her job as a computer analyst to stay home with her two toddlers, she figured she’d used her technical knowledge for the last time. Twenty years later, she’s pairing that knowledge with wit and humor as she explains technical concepts in easy-to-understand terms. She also has experience with a variety of social media platforms, which makes her a welcome contributor to the LivingBetterat50+ team. A seasoned Bible teacher, speaker, and devotional writer, Susan shares her insights on her inspirational site, www.susanstilwell.com.

A friend of mine travels fifty miles a day to a job she doesn’t like. She’s waiting for the day she can collect her pension and social security. This woman is an artist and a great home stager, yet she spends her days gritting her teeth at a job she can’t wait to leave. Life is too short to spend time waiting for tomorrow.

Many people are realizing they aren’t guaranteed the luxury of a lifetime job anymore so it makes sense not to rely on one stream of income. Now is the time to consider the possibilities of creating multiple streams of income.

I left corporate America in 2008 to start a virtual trademark paralegal service. The first day I opened my “virtual doors” I thought my phone would ring off the hook. When it didn’t, I needed to find additional ways to make money. I remembered the term “multiple streams of income” and decided to put that concept into action.

Multiple streams of income are ideal for anyone who has the talent, energy and ideas to put them into action. When one profit center fails to generate the income you require, you can take the energy you were spending on that profit center and put it into the ones that are still working. Once you know how to develop multiple streams of income, the time you put into them is minimal. The advantage of having multiple streams of income is you don’t need to devote all your time and energy to each and every profit center. And it enables you to enjoy life and try new opportunities while income is still coming in from different avenues.

One of my friends puts this principal nicely to work by having a part time job at a fabric store, teaching sewing workshops, creating and selling beautiful jewelry and doing clothing alterations.

The magazine business is a good example of how multiple streams of income work in traditional business. They sell magazines in stores and by subscription, may sell subscriptions to online magazines, and sell advertising space.

If you believe the concept of multiple streams of income may be for you, there are many ways to decide on your profit centers. Starting with an open mind and paper and pencil, make a list of all the things you like to do. From that list, choose those that fit your interests and personality. You may have certain skills and training that will guide you in certain directions. From the remaining list, pick the top three that would bring you the most joy. Those are the profit centers you should begin with, adding more when you are able.

Since you may not generate sufficient income at first, you will need to devise a plan to meet your expenses. The most obvious is to save as much money as you can before you start your profit centers. Also, a second income, such as a spouse’s income, a part time job, a temporary assignment with an agency or, if you are 62 or older, collecting social security, are additional options for you. It may take some time for the income to start flowing from your profit centers, but once it starts, it should continue. You will need to be focused and have patience during this time.

Following are various streams of income for you to consider. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination!

1. Services: Ideas in the area of services include babysitting, assisting elders, pet sitting, house sitting, house cleaning, snow removal, lawn mowing, a wake up service, a clipping service, typing resumes or papers for college students.

2. Internet: Websites can make their money from more than one product or service. Also pay per lead or pay per clicks can be profitable — you will need to have a blog or website for this. One of the best sources for pay for action is Google Adsense (https://www.google.com/adsense/).

3. Virtual Assistant: As a Virtual Assistant you can assist clients all over the world from your computer.

4. Photos: You can sell your photos to a website. After you take the photo you can sell it as many times as you wish. You can also do this with DVD, eBooks or podcasts. Your photos will make money for you while you are sleeping.

5. Real Estate: Investing in real estate requires money, however, the potential is great, especially now when it’s an ideal time to buy property.

6. eBay Store: You can purchase products to resell on an online Ebay store or you can have an online store to sell products on eBay (or on your own website) and earn a commission.

7. Website Designing: There are many options online to learn how to be a Website Designer — and you can earn a good income.

8. Freelance Writing: If you are a writer, you can write for magazines, write a book, create text for a website, or teach writing classes.

9. Investing: Retirement plans can benefit from multiple income streams. Great investments will continue to gather rewards for many years to come. It can be fun and profitable to research and buy stocks, especially those that have dividends. Start with inexpensive and safe investments and the returns become a profit center. A valuable suggestion is to put all of your multiple income streams into a high interest account to make even more money.

10. Mail Order: You can sell many things by mail order, such as recipes, booklets, kits, handmade jewelry. The sky’s the limit. Just get a post office box and a PayPal account, put an ad in a newspaper or magazine, ship the merchandise, and wait for the money to appear.

11. Miscellaneous: some other ideas to consider are: entering sweepstakes, especially those online, raffles, contests, lottery tickets, winning TV call in prizes and using coupons. And don’t forget to go to the grocery store that gives you gas perks and/or food perks for shopping. When you win or save money on a continuing basis, it can be considered your “lucky” profit center.

Hopefully some of the above ideas will resonate with you and you can begin to live the life you love. I have never met a person who said they didn’t enjoy working on multiple streams of income and would rather go back to working for “the man.”

The rewards of having profit centers are endless! One is that you can go for a daily walk or to the health club whenever you feel like it, go to a movie, shop, or make an appointment during the normal work day. You can always work on your profit centers when you want – early, late, or in between — not just 8 to 5!

Melodee Currier lives in Dublin, Ohio with her husband, Doug and two Siamese cats, Suki and Seiko.  She left corporate America in 2008 where she worked as an intellectual property paralegal.  Since then she has devoted her time to writing and has had articles published on a wide variety of topics.  Her Website: http://www.melodeecurrier.com/.

You may or may not believe that we’re in for a financial disaster if we don’t figure out how to fix our debt problem and resolve the funding issues with Social Security as well as the many other Federal programs that we enjoy as Americans. Whether you do or not, or sense a wave of change coming, it’s wise to consider how you might respond to a serious financial crises should we face one in the United States like we’ve seen in so many other countries around the world.

I’m not a “doom and gloomer” who focuses on negative aspects of life, politics, and finances, but I recently had a friend send me a link to the article below that was published in 2011 that offers good advice for difficult times as well sound financial practices that can be applied any time. 

You may find the title of the article a bit far fetched, but again, better to error on the side of caution then to be caught off-guard and find yourself in dire straits.  Many people have been caught off-guard in disastrous situations that have left them devastated. A serious financial crises can have the same affect as a natural disaster, changing the quality of life, wiping out assets, and leaving a wake of devastation for years to come.

10 Ways To Survive The Coming Economic Tsunami!!!!

by Kirk Elliott, Ph.D.

1. Pray for Wisdom | James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” We need wisdom more than anything to make the right decisions in protecting our families, freedoms, and finances during these turbulent times.
2. Give Extravagantly | Malachi 3:10-11 says, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,’ says the LORD Almighty.” God’s Word doesn’t return void, and when you give with a joyful heart and learn to give out of your need rather than out of your abundance, God will supernaturally intervene in your life and pour out so many blessings that you will not be able to contain them. And the second half of the promise mentioned here is that He WILL make you more productive.
3. Read and meditate on God’s Word | Joshua 1:8-9 says, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Yet another promise from God, whose Word does not return void! This is a conditional phrase. When you meditate on God’s Word and are careful to do what it says, THEN you will be prosperous and successful. The Bible is our blueprint for a successful life.
4. Get out of Debt | Interest rates are at the lowest point in the history of our nation. This means they can’t go too much lower; they will rise and rise rapidly as the U.S. Dollar continues to deteriorate. If you carry any variable debt, you will find it increasingly more difficult to service your debt payments as those payments rise.
5. Grow your roots in a local church | How could this help you navigate through this harsh economy? Well, when your roots grow deep, you will be able to withstand the storms of life as they arrive. Remember, storms ALWAYS happen and sometimes Jesus calmed the storm, sometimes he was the peace in the midst of the storm. Regardless, the end result was PEACE. Having a support group of like-minded, God-fearing friends and family of the local church will make the storms of life easier to navigate.
6. Be politically active | Make your voice heard! We still live in a country where our voices can be heard and we can make a difference. We need to hold our elected officials’ feet to the fire and encourage them to make wise decisions. After all, it is their policies of excessive taxation, excessive spending, and a continuous elimination of God from the policies and principles of our nation that have produced the mess we are in. Make a difference while you still can!
7. Become self-sufficient | In reading accounts of other countries throughout history that have gone through hyperinflations, the people that have survived the best are the ones who were able to produce their own food, had supplies of fresh water, and had acquired barter type items prior to the economic tsunami hitting them. It is sad that we are about at the point where we look at long-term food storage as part of a solid investment portfolio, but our goal is to protect, preserve, survive, and thrive, and these types of items should be sought after.
8. Diligently study the fundamentals of the markets | Knowing what fundamentally causes markets to move is ESSENTIAL to safeguarding your assets from erosion due to bad public policy. For example: The value of bonds will come down when interest rates rise. Financial metals like gold/silver do very well during times of political and geo-political turbulence, economic uncertainty, chaos, and change. Industrial and agricultural commodities tend to do very well during times of inflation. The stock market will ultimately come crashing down as revenues continue to decline and taxes rise.
9. Reallocate your assets | You need to analyze your current investment mix and get out of the downward trending asset classes (stock market and allocate into positive trending asset classes like gold/silver). Precious metals in this economy will act as a hedge against your paper assets as they are in the midst of a HUGE bull market. Gold has increased over 400% since 2002, and silver has increased over 700% during the same time period. A proper allocation of metals and cash in your portfolio will help to insulate you against some of the turbulent market activity that will wipe out a lifetime of savings in a short period of time.
10. Contact a financial advisor who understands the times we are living in | 1 Chronicles 12:32 says that the sons of Issachar understood the times and knew what to do. We need to be modern-day sons and daughters of Issachar and understand the times we are living in and know what to do about it. Also, make sure your investment advisor is the same. Many well-meaning people just don’t grasp the seriousness of the economic downturn in which we are living, nor do they grasp the magnitude and scope of the implications of not allocating wisely. Our window of opportunity to protect us, our families, and future generations will not be open forever. In fact, it may not be open for very long at all. ACT NOW to preserve and protect everything you have worked your entire life to accumulate.

Originally posted on: http://kirkelliottphd.com/10-ways-to-survive-the-coming-economic-tsunami/

So where have you ended up financially at the end of 2012? Where you hoped? In a bit of debt?  In lots of debt? Feeling good or not so good about your finances?

The most frequent money concern and priority for 2013 people share with me is: “I want to make ends meet; survive economically; worry less about my money situation.”   Everyone is clearly feeling vulnerable and with the overall economic situation it is not surprising.  So what can you do? Whateer your financial situation today, you can be in control of your money starting NOW.

Here are seven tips to put you IN CHARGE of your money.

1. Do a money in and out self- assessment – Create a clear, honest, fact-based summary of what went on during 2012 and where you are now.  Start with writing down what money came in and went out during 2012. What were you total earnings, and what did you have left after taxes, social security, etc.  What did you spend your money on? If you don’t have good records try your best to figure it out, or most of it out, starting with the big items using your bank statement and credit cards as the basis. How much did you save – and where did you put it.

Document your current financial position and focus on the debts – List your assets and their values (e.g. property, bank accounts, pensions) and your debts (credit cards, storecards, mortgage, money owed to others), making sure you list everything. Now consider the interest rates on the debts. Prioritise the paying off the amounts with the highest rates first. Consider moving the debt to a new card that attracts a low interest rate at transfer and then figure out how to pay it off. 

Doing these two will mean you know where you are at any time and can help you  figure out where want to go, or adjust where you are heading.  Top tips for moving forward:

1. Keep Detailed Records and Review the Results – Use the money tools on http://www.yourmoneyuk.com/ or a similar website to help you capture and analyse your money movements. Knowing what is happening with your money, and thinking every time you decide to spend money is the best way to control your money in small and big ways! Set yourself targets for each money in and out category, and savings if you can.
2. Spend Less Money – The spend side of money is the easiest to control. If you need to, be really draconian – spend the very minimum you need to. This means NO luxury items – so store brand food, shampoo, cooking in, only essential clothing etc.  People find it easier to be really tough than to do this by half measures. If credit cards are your downfall, stop using them. Give yourself the cash you need for the week and use only that to pay for things. Everytime you think of spending, think to yourself “Do I really NEED this?”
3. Find Ways to Make More Money – This may sound impossible but it isn’t. Do you own things you can do without? Kids toys, clothes, etc? How can you put your skills to work for you? Work in a local store? Offer proofreading, gardening, clothes fixing services? Consider advertising locally, on Craigslist, or similar places. Be courageous about offering services even if you haven’t worked for awhile.  Just getting out and meeting people may open a whole new range of possibilities for you.
4. Start Small and Think Big When Saving – If you can, start saving now. Putting money in a jar that you can watch grow, or putting a set amount from your pay are good places to start.  If you are able to, set a monthly saving target and find ways to meet it. If you can’t do it yet, pick a date when you intend to be able to.
5. Set an Example for Your Children and Grandchildren – This is about your lasting legacy. Young people follow the example of the adults around them.  Be open with family about money, including money concerns you may have so they learn from you.   Talk about the choices you have made about earning, spending and saving money; talk about what you are happy and unhappy about regarding those choices.  Encourage them to track their money movements and do annual reviews of their financial situation, including target setting. Those are great habits to start early in life.

As I write this I am thinking about how challenging these may sound. You may be thinking for example “I am in such a muddle I can’t sort this out.”  Let me tell you, I have met people in all sorts of situations and there is NO reason you cannot control your money. Just jump in and start – you will love the feeling of figuring out being on top of this part of your life! Trust me – and more importantly, have confidence and trust in yourself! 

Jeannette Lichner has over twenty five years experience in financial services, across a variety of roles in Finance, Operations, Investment Banking, HR and COO Roles with leading firms such as Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Promontory Financial Group. Having built a rock-solid reputation in the City, Jeannette is now focused on helping young people understand their personal finances through her recently published book: #yourmoney – Everything You Need to Know About Earning, Spending and Saving Money http://yourmoneyuk.com/, in addition to writing, Jeannette provides independent consulting services across a range of business and regulatory areas, advises/mentors senior executives, and coaches young people just beginning their careers. Jeannette is a member of the CISI Editorial Panel and the CISI Education Committee. She is also a coach, accredited by the Academy of Executive Coaches. Jeannette attended the University of Virginia, graduating with a B.S in Commerce in 1979 and a M.S. in Accounting in 1980