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4 Places to Get Liposuction Overseas

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Having a good body today seems not a difficulty anymore. Thanks to the development of plastic surgery, any change of appearance you dream of is possible to become a reality. One of the most popular procedures in the world is liposuction. As ISAPS reports, over 1,700,000 operations were carried out in 2019. Just imagine for a second, this is like the all citizens of Philadelphia did the surgery!  

Liposuction is a unique procedure allowing people to get rid of excess fat fast, without expending much effort on physical exercises and diets. Liposuction can be performed as a separate procedure or be a part of other surgeries like breast augmentation or breast lift.

However, patients often postpone their makeover due to the high prices of lipo, a lack of experienced doctors or the absence of specialized clinics in their places of residence. If any of these issues bother you, we have listed 4 best places for liposuction, where you can find affordable prices and board-certified doctors for sure. 

Turkey

Turkey is among the leading providers of plastic surgery in the world. More than 750,000 men and women go here to improve their appearance, and liposuction is among the most frequently performed procedures. Patients from the UK and the UAE prefer this destination the most.

The Turkish clinics for liposuction offer:

– affordable prices: 3-4 times lower than in the USA.

– All-inclusive service: accommodation, transfer, and language assistance are already included in the lipo price.

– Board-certified plastic surgeons: local doctors have decades of practice and international experience under their belt.

Turkish medical centers take care of their reputation and provide the best conditions for patients.

Mexico

Mexico is one more best place for patients to have liposuction. The country takes 3rd place in the world regarding the number of performed plastic interventions — 1,200,000 operations annually. 

The Mexican lipo medical centers are mostly popular with American patients, as prices for liposuction here are several times lower than in the neighboring United States. For instance, the cost of lipo in Mexico is about $3,000, while in the USA it is about $6,000. Even with the travel charges, Americans save money choosing Mexican clinics for liposuction.

South Korea

South Korea is ranked as the best place to do liposuction for Japanese. The country is frequently named as a global capital of plastic surgery. Esthetic operations for Korean men and women are so common that they can present lipo or facelift as a gift for a birthday.

Due to such prevalence of plastic surgery, local doctors have vast experience in this field. The success rate of cosmetic surgeries in South Korean clinics is one of the highest in the world. However, the prices for liposuction here remain at medium level. So, the Korean clinics for lipo are not a suitable option for patients looking for a cheap operation.

Poland

Poland is one more best place to do liposuction for Europeans who want to save money. This country is a great option for those who want to save money but to do plastic surgery in Europe. 

The cost of fat removal surgery in Poland starts from $1,350, and the price may vary depending on the complexity of liposuction. One more advantage of Poland is its location and well-developed Infrastructure: you can reach the country from any corner of Europe within 1-3 hours. The flight tickets are also cheap — just $15-25.

You can compare prices in the Polish clinics for liposuction and choose the best option for you.

How to Arrange Liposuction Abroad?

People often refuse to go abroad even if they know all the benefits. This happens because of fears, a lack of information and medical tourism experience.

The solution is to request medical tourism providers. Bookimed.com is one of the biggest facilitators in the world. It cooperates with 140+ plastic surgery centers across the world.

All you need is to submit a request on the Bookimed website. Then, a coordinator will contact you to know all details about your preferences. You will receive all info about the country and a clinic where you can do liposuction according to your medical case and financial capacity. Bookimed has already assisted over 450,000 patients.

Summary

Liposuction is an effective option to improve your body contouring in the shortest term. Today, you have an endless set of opportunities to have surgery done at a reasonable price in any place in the world. You just need to pick a place for liposuction (look for some info on patient communities) and schedule the date of your arrival or turn for help to medical tourism providers.

What areas of business have changed in 2021?

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After there was a coronavirus epidemic around the world in 2020, what type of business to start will have to be discussed, taking into account the new realities. And if before it was possible to take into account only the latest technologies and ideas that were in demand in other parts of the world, now we need to take into account the new directions that suddenly turned out to be very noticeable. This can be observed, for example, in the Vulcan casino and many others.

Strategies for selecting a business idea in 2020 – 2021

The main principle of starting a business will not soon be different. You need an idea behind your business. However, what to do if you want not just to create for yourself not just a profitable and relevant idea, but to see what will happen in the future. How do you find out which ideas might work and which ones might be forgotten among potential clients like a fleeting zip? And we will give you the answers.

  1. First, the basic principles have not changed. People will also love food, need clothes and shoes, and wait for the opportunity to go to some entertainment place. For this reason, you only need to think about your own in these areas. Catering, clothing retail, as well as various types of entertainment.
  2. Secondly, the principle of selection will not change, which says that you need to do what you like. Do you like organizing parties for people? Or run a cafe? Think about it. This is essential. It is impossible to expect a normal income from a business where you do not want to work.
  3. Thirdly, comparing with previous years, new trends have to be taken into account now. They are actually outdated. It is just that until 2020 we found ourselves in a peaceful state and not so visible. And thanks to self-isolation, they got a boost. Now the business must be in order to successfully develop and take into account the digital version. That is, being online was indispensable. As well as the possibility of supplies for many areas.

However, you shouldn’t forget about new technologies and ideas either. For this reason, we provide you with the opportunity to plunge into the world of the latest technologies and bright people who have slowly been able to conquer the whole world.

Wall Printer

Remember that not so long ago a 3D printer was something completely new and at a price limit available only to corporations? Look what is happening today. Thanks to 3D printing technologies, they create everything – food, cars and much more, and quite simple types of vehicles are affordable for ordinary people. The potential in this area is huge. We are sure that we will never again be impressed by the news in the creation of 3D devices that can build their own lives. However, today we are interested in how you can use devices in an ordinary business and what may be in demand in the near future. 3D games are in great demand in non uk casinos today.

The essence of the device is simple. The device is connected to a special manipulator, which squeezes out special plastic thanks to the reinforced fibers. As a result, at the exit, we have a frame that has high strength. All that remains to be done for readiness is to fill in some of the voids with construction foam and then fill in with external trim.

This technology can open up a new field for the implementation of design solutions. Since you can practically create walls according to individual designs, choose not only the appearance of the decoration but even the appearance of the walls.

We know for sure that this is far from the last option and the technology will be developed in the future. For this reason, we will be watching the news.

Smart Film

Society has become accustomed to the smart prefix. Smartphones, smart TVs, and everything else that has long been associated with technological innovation.

So smart film is a technological solution that will soon find use in various fields. It is such material as self-adhesive digital film, the transparency of which you can adjust, and also used as a rear-projection display capable of showing video material.

You can find a huge number of uses for such “miracle material”. Starting from the fact that the smart film makes it possible to create a smart tint of car glass, when with one click you can change the intensity, ending with the fact that glasses, mirrors, windows can be used as a screen to transfer data. A smart film, trivially glued to a storefront, can display advertising video material when needed, and when not needed – just be excellent protection from dust and light.

10 Most Profitable Investment Funds

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The turbulent year of the pandemic has not prevented Spanish investment funds from closing the year with a positive average return of 0.7% and many of them have offered double-digit returns to their participants in 2020.

These gains are higher than 30% in the case of the ten most profitable Spanish products, which mainly include funds that invest in technology trends and the digital economy, especially the US Stock Market.

According to Vdos data , the ranking is led by the ‘ Alcalá Multigestión Oricalco ‘ fund , which has gained 157%. The fund managed by Creand Asset Management – until now Gesalcalá – of the Credit Andorrá group has been the absolute winner, by far.

It is mainly invested in equities focused on megatrends, category is flexible mixed and has the advice of Driemut SL of Diego Bernabéu Ugarte.

“We have taken advantage of different aspects as raw materials, especially in gold and silver and mining of raw materials; the rise of the electric vehicle; the ‘cloud computing’ focused on the ‘blockchain’ sector and investments in ‘e-commerce’ companies, very benefited by the global situation “, explains the director of investments in Spain of Creand AM, Luis Buceta, who leads the management team.

In second place by profitability appears the ‘ Bankinter USA Nasdaq 100 ‘, with an annual profit of 44.73%. This fund of the Bankinter manager is a passive management vehicle that follows the American index of technology companies, which has obtained a similar return in the year, and has an exposure of almost 100% to equities.

The ‘top 3’ is completed by the ‘ Sabadell Economía Digital ‘ fund , from the manager Sabadell AM – of the Amundi group – with a 40.04% return in 2020, according to Vdos.

The vehicle invests through other investment funds in various topics such as artificial intelligence and ‘big data’, digital health or global technology. In addition, it makes direct investment in companies such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google, known as ‘FAANG’, which account for 25% of the portfolio.

“The outlook for 2021 remains positive, probably with revaluations that will remain below the extraordinary result of 2020, but with a scenario of global economic recovery expected for next year, we consider that an expected return of between 15% and 20% could be perfectly achievable “, Sabadell AM’s client investment director, José Antonio Pérez, told Europa Press.

In fourth position is the ‘Dux Umbrella Trimming USA technology’, which gained 40.03% in 2020, with a strategy that has also benefited from the performance of US international equities and high exposure to the technology sector. It is a fund of the Spanish ’boutique’ Dux Inversores, of the Altegui group, chaired by Alberto Erhardt.

It is followed in profitability with 36.31% last year by the fund ‘Renta 4 Multigestión Andromeda Value Capital’, from the manager of the Renta 4 Banco group, which is advised by Andromeda Value, led by Flavio Muñoz.

The fund usually invests in sectors such as technology and the media and has also benefited from its commitment to sectors such as cybersecurity, video games or cloud companies.

Andromeda attributes the good results to the general portfolio and not to specific companies. “In 2021 the fund will not match the progress of 2020 simply because the environment is very different.

This year there is much more a correlation between the underlying economy and monetary policy,” Andromeda sources explain to Europa Press, although they trust that the “good companies at the right prices” in which the fund invests allow it to deliver a “positive” result at the end of the year.

The sixth and seventh position in the 2020 ranking by profitability among funds domiciled in the country correspond to two compartments advised by the fund ‘Gestión Boutique III’, which is managed by the Andbank group, which has managed to include three funds on this list in 2020.

It deals with the ‘PFA Global Mixed Flexible’ compartments, with 33.36% in the year, and the ‘R3 Global Balanced’, which gained 33.28% throughout 2020. The ‘PFA Global Mixed Flexible’ has its portfolio fully invested in equity mutual funds, mainly in the United States and Europe.

How to Entertain Yourself Online in 2021

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They say that online slots, also known as slots or slot machines, are among the most random casino games out there. But that does not mean that there are no tips, tricks, and recommendations for betting money responsibly and with higher profits (or lower losses).

That is to say, and to be clear: there are no safe strategies to win at online slots. The reason is that they are programmed so that only between 3% and 8% of the slot games or bets are winners. The probability of winning something in a game with a slot machine is 18.3% of the time it is played.

But don’t be discouraged! What there are the tricks to minimize losses and play responsibly to obtain the highest profits? Next, we are going to teach you 6 slot strategies to be successful at online slots.

1. Take advantage of the slot with bonuses and free spins

To inspire their customers to keep playing, most of the best online casinos provide welcome incentives to draw new players and reward schemes. They usually send newsletters by email or publish their promotions in some section of their website.

These promotions can be, for example, that they give you a bonus without an initial deposit so that you can try their slot games in a real way but without investing money, that they double what you enter as a deposit to play, or even that they return a percentage of the losses during a certain time; so they are an excellent option to minimize losses and to obtain a greater amount to play with.

Of course, it is important to consider the characteristics, rules and restrictions of these promotions, since the most common is that you have to meet certain conditions to be able to collect later the benefits (such as betting X times the amount of the bonus received ).

2. Choose the right slot

An important variable to take into account to make money playing online slots is the machine to choose. There has been a lot of talk about false myths and legends about choosing a slot machine of dubious reliability. However, there are some recommendations to keep in mind when choosing the arcade machine that benefits you more than others:

  • Choose online slots with the highest payout percentage. We will explain this point to you in the next section.
  • Choose slot games that have good pay tables. We will explain this point below.
  • Play casino slots, not bars (if you’re playing physical slots).
  • The reason is one: the payback (payment rate) of the online slots of this type of premises is usually much lower than in physical and online casinos.
  • In casinos, the percentage of return goes from 95% to 99%, while in other types of premises it can go from 50% to 75%
  • Avoid progressive machines.

Playing a progressive machine to win the jackpot can be very tempting. And if it occurs regularly, the probability of winning in this method is the same as that of winning the lottery. In addition, most have a requirement that you bet with the maximum bet, so you have to have a huge budget to support the game.

3. Choose online slots with the highest payout percentage

As we have said previously, slot machines (or most machines in general) are designed to not extend 92-97 percent of the bets as “truly” winning bets. In a casino, pub, or game room with an electronic device, the odds of winning with each spin are poor. However, the chances will decrease if you do not pick the game very well on which system you play (it’s doesn’t matter if it is online or traditional in a casino, bar, or game room) and win.

Now the issue is this: If I go to a 188bet casino, what percentage of my total money will I get for each slot machine?

  • Online slots: you can switch to the reviews written by the casino platforms themselves. You can also find out about casino communities where people discuss their information and expertise.
  • Certain physical locations (e.g., casinos, pubs, gaming halls) have slots where you can put coins or coupons in order to play. It is also useful to look at a particular slot machine to see if it pays a lot of prizes per day or not.

4. Choose the slot games with the best Pay Tables

Many casino websites have a paytable, where they display the payouts which have been earned over the last few hours in the various sports, going along with the sums received in those games. You would also realize how much the individual who won wagered in order to be allowed to do that.

Using this knowledge to your benefit! Take a glance back at your favorite slot games and affirm which earn you the most money and offer the best value.

5. Take into account the different types of online slots

Instead of utilizing sophisticated cryptographic schemes in these, they depend on the same dice roll as most slot machines. In other terms, they are games of luck and probabilities or statistics cannot forecast their action at all because all the numbers or symbols have the same likelihood of occurring in any of the new spins.

While I would accept that the possible variations in the odds of earning rely primarily on the form of slots you play. Nonetheless, I think it is interesting to note that there are various styles of slot machines because the different types have varying features, meaning players have a better probability of winning money in their chosen play (or lower).

An example is a potential sum of pay lines (between 1 and 5) during the spin of the slot machine, the number of numbers or labels on the reels of the slot machine (between 1 and 6) or whether or not there are any bonus rounds during the free spins of the slot machine. These factors affect the way your game is, so it’s crucial to hold these in mind and not forget them.

6. If you win a progressive jackpot, change the game

If you’ve won a lot of money in a purely gambling casino game, switch over and try another one because the casino game you won will probably not return you a big pot.

It may even happen if the slot machines have no initial wagers. If you have earned the jackpot, it can be reset. You will choose to pick from the same probability of winning. Because in the case of the progressive jackpot, in the rare chance that you won this number, that it wouldn’t be anything for you is great because the odds of winning a progressive jackpot is very slim, but the outcome is fantastic.

If you win a radical jackpot, our advice will be to quit playing and go out to enjoy your good fortune.

7 Wellness Benefits of Sage

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In the culinary world, sage is used to season meats and flavor soups. It is one of the essential herbs everyone should have in their kitchen, along with basil, rosemary, and thyme. Others use sage for alternative medicine and spiritual and superstitious purposes. Many also use the herb to clear their workspace of any negativity and to attract positivity and productivity.

However, the benefits of sage go beyond taste, fragrance, aesthetics, and supposedly magical properties. If you are curious about the benefits of sage for your wellbeing, here are seven of them.

Helps Fight Diseases

Sage is famous not just for the flavor profile it adds to your dishes. Did you know you can also add it in plain water to get a healthy dose of nutrients? Adding a teaspoon of ground sage into your dishes or infused water already gives you these compounds: iron, vitamin B6, vitamin K, manganese, and calcium. These compounds help decrease inflammation risks, blood sugar levels, and diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.

Sage is also rich in antioxidants that help flush out toxins and eliminate free radicals that may induce various illnesses. Your sage-seasoned steak or soup may also help you have better blood flow and lower risks of allergies.

Helps Purify the Air

While sage is often used as a food ingredient, many prefer to use its dried bunches and burn it as an incense. Due to its health-beneficial properties, burning dried sage in your home may help purify the air and eliminate allergens, pollutants, and infectious microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. People living in condominiums in Quezon City or Manila should consider burning sage to cleanse the air in the homes and reduce the risks of spreading the coronavirus with each other. Doing so may also help eliminate traces of COVID-19 and its new strains.

Aids in Meditation

Besides cleansing the air, people burn sage for meditation purposes. Many believe that the smoke also dispels negative energy and spirits that may disrupt their wellbeing. Burning sage, also known as smudging, is also said to drive away evil spirits that may haunt your home or workplace.

If you are looking for a spiritual remedy, smudging might be a great alternative. Traditional healers believe that the fragrant smoke may help you connect with your spirituality, inner being, and the universe. Meditating with sage may get you started on a stress-free and more productive work week.

Improves Oral Health

The antimicrobial properties of sage also help neutralize microorganisms in your mouth that cause bad breath. Drinking or eating sage may also help target bacteria that promote plaque formation. If you have kids, you may introduce sage into their gargle water to reduce cavities and promote healthier and stronger teeth.

A study in 2015 shows that drinking sage tea or gargling with it soothes throat infections, mouth ulcers, canker sores, inflamed gums, and burnt spots in your mouth. With sage, not only will you have fresh breath, but you will also have a healthier and cleaner mouth.

Boosts Skin Healing

The healing characteristic of sage also makes the herb an ingredient in topical creams, ointments, and skincare products. Research shows that camphor, an essential compound in sage, promotes healthy skin-cell growth and decreases wrinkle and crease formations. Two other properties in sage are carnosol and carnosic acid. These two compounds help heal sunburn damage, sores, wounds, and skin peeling.

You might want to consider getting skincare products with sage as an ingredient to gain more youthful-looking skin and heal swelling pimples. A sage-infused sunscreen may also help protect your skin from aging faster due to sun exposure.

Boosts Brain Health

Sage is widely used as an alternative medicine to promote brain health. The antioxidants in sage are also helpful in reducing the risks of dementia. One study in 2003 shows that the compounds in sage halt the breakdown of acetylcholine (ACH). This chemical messenger plays an integral role in memory. Alzheimer’s patients are found to have low levels of ACH. Taking food supplements with sage, adapting healthy diets, and engaging in regular brain activities may help counter Alzheimer’s disease among elderly people.

The same antioxidants in sage also help in improving memory and cognitive function. According to a study in 2008, twenty volunteers aged 65 and up were given four doses of sage extracts for seven days. Results show that the volunteers had a significant enhancement of their memory performance during the testing period. Perhaps drinking sage tea may help you focus and have a better memory of the tasks that you need to do for work.

Enhances Cardiovascular Health

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are some of the world’s most common lifestyle diseases. A research journal by Stanford University reveals that cardiovascular diseases account for 20% of deaths in the Philippines. The study also shows that 1 in 6 Filipinos and 1 in 3 Filipino-Americans is affected by CVD. 

Suppose you want to reduce your risks of getting heart-related diseases. In that case, adding sage to your diet may help you counter risks for CVD. One study shows that drinking sage tea in four weeks resulted in a 16% decrease in bad cholesterol levels among six women aged 40 to 50. The same survey also revealed that the participants had a 38% increase in their good cholesterol levels.

Another study in 2016 involving 105 Type 2 Diabetes patients on cholesterol-lowering medication found that those who took 500 mg of sage extract thrice a day had healthier triglyceride levels than those who didn’t. Triglycerides are a type of fat in your body stored in fat cells, later released by hormones for energy. While triglycerides are good, having too much in your blood can increase your risk for heart-related diseases.

As a whole, sage isn’t just a flavorful herb or a tool for spirituality and meditation. This powerful herb offers health benefits, with these seven being the most well-known. For you and your household, assess which form of sage works well for your health plans and get started with your wellness path.

Bitcoin Era Review

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The application directly discusses the importance of Algo trading and gives a short examination of the bitcoin era. Before we share our Bitcoin Era Review, we have some key points of introduction in regards to automated trading. This is because we want you to keep an open mind while going through the topic and take this with a grain of salt and make your mind about it

whatAlgo trading is? You may already be well acquainted with this concept if you have done some research, but it is a short overview for those who are new to the subject. Algorithmic trading or Algo Trading for short is also called automated trading.

It is an innovative trading technique that uses a pc application that follows a described set of instructions known as rules to place a trade.

In theory, the trade can generate profits at a speed and frequency; this is not possible for a human dealer because it runs those algorithms or commands to acquire a specific output. It can purchase and promote indicators acquired via means of this system and primarily based totally on those indicators; the orders are located and executed.

So What Does All The Trading Adds To The Game

Some of the trading’s key pros are high speed, more accuracy, less human intervention, improved order entry and exit speed diversification, and more discipline and consistency.

You get from all this because another trading is an effective trading method used by many who want to up their game. It has various advantages over other traditional methods of manual trading.

This is due to the elimination of emotions usually involved with manual trading. Haste and nervousness are all human factors that could easily manifest during a moment of split-second decision making. They can make incorrect decisions affected by creed,such as fear of losing or missing out.

Of course, computers don’t feel they only execute orders predefined and given to them by the programmers, so their decisions are much more accurate and decisive.

The Bitcoin era is an excellent case example of these programs, also known as trading robots. Not long after its new services launch, it earned many users and enthusiasts’ support and approval.

That’s why in this article, we give you an insight into this trading robot, and you make your own decision whether or not it is worth an investment.

Whether it’s a scam or a legitimate business, first of all, it must clarify that in the case of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, these are generally referred to as complex high volatility investments.

This means that their rates rise in full sharply over time, which is a major plus if you know how to analyze them to turn them to your benefit or result in you losing a lot of money if you are not well informed on the topic.

The Bitcoin era also had its due share of scepticism. This is risky business; it gives you that you have to do your own research before deciding to go on with this endeavour patience is a victory, they say, and the people certainly didn’t have what it takes to make money trading cryptocurrencies robots are here to assist us but not unless we can help them do their job effectively ourselves.

They Can Start In The Market In A Matter Of Minutes While It Could Take Us Several Days.

How To Get Started With Bitcoin Era

·         Signing Up

The first step is signing up and getting started; registering is easy. You have to enter basic information such as name, email, and password. Please choose a password that is both strong and different and write it down somewhere safe, so you don’t forget it. Once registered, you can move on to the next step.

·        Trading

The first thing you will have to do, of course,loads your account with funds. A minimum amount of 250 dollars is recommended to start with to take full advantage of the bot. Click on deposit, and you’ll be redirected to a regulator broker where you can deposit using Visa,MasterCard, etc.

Once your account is loaded, you can start auto trading. There are many cryptocurrencies you can choose. You have the total freedom to choose how many trades you want.

Conclusion

Just remember to trade with caution and not to be hasty. Take your time to get familiar with the platform if you’re still unsure and afraid to put your money yet use a bitcoin era review.

How To Stay On Top Of Your Game As A Single Working Mum

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Mothers, probably more than any other people in the world, are the ones who seem to demand almost unfairly of themselves, the ones who reach for superhuman heights in the many roles they play as the hours swiftly whoosh by and one day simply melts into another. Only to begin it all over again.

So how do you, especially a single working mum, stay on top of your game? We’re here to help.

Get some rest

This may be an obvious answer, and not one that you may want to hear at all (because rest is almost impossible, right?), but unless you really are some kind of otherworldly superhuman, you absolutely need to rest to function at your best.

And by rest, we mean sleep. A good night’s rest allows both your body and your mind to recharge. When you’re well rested you’re the one who can think on her feet with brilliant clarity, the one who can seemingly snatch ideas out of thin air, and who can be the calm of the storm with all the energy in the world.

So instead of staying up late with a glass of wine and a movie for some much needed ‘me time’, book yourself straight into bed and under the duvet for the much more healing and nurturing gift of sleep.

And if that feels like a far-off dream, do whatever it takes to get your sleep wherever you can. Outsource your laundry if you have to and get in a power nap instead. You’ll quickly find that the benefits of even just a snatch of rest can be amazing.

Find a virtual assistant

There’s nothing that can change your life quite so much as a virtual assistant. For this we love AVirtual. An award-winning virtual assistant service, they can connect you with an assistant who matches the way you work … not just in your business role, but in your home environment too. 

As a mother you may be hesitant to delegate at first, but as soon as you discover the wonders of time freed by another equally competent individual, you’ll never look back. 

From calendar management to social media management and even managing household bills and all those heaps of admin activities that devour your precious time, you’ll be surprised at how those tasks can so easily be delegated. More than that, a virtual assistant worth their salt will have a whole new set of skills for you to tap into, making you the one who shines at the end of the day.

Perhaps, in the 21st century, behind every successful woman there is a virtual assistant.

Be present

This one may take a little practice. By now you’re quite adept at wearing all the different hats that a single working mom finds she has to wear, but all those hats inevitably create a breeding ground for an unproductively busy mind. 

You might be playing with your children while you’re silently brainstorming the next session with your clients, or find yourself stressing about what to cook for your young and fussy eaters while you’re missing the answer to the question you just asked your boss. It’s a habit that doesn’t serve you or anyone else in your life.

There is an amazing power in utterly dedicating yourself to the moment. When there is only you and the person in front of you, the ‘million other things’ you have to do melt away, and you give yourself the space to bring every wonderful part of your best self into that moment.

So when you’re with your children, really be with your children. When you’re attending a conference, listen with every fibre of your being. Be completely there. You’ll notice the benefits immediately! And the more your practice, the more natural it will become. Zen Habits is a wonderful place to start your journey into being more present.

Forgive yourself for not being perfect

We’ll start where we began: you’re not really a superhero. And that’s okay. You’re a single working mother doing her best, and whether or not you may judge this day or that day as a failure or a success, be kind and gentle towards yourself and forgive yourself for not being perfect.

When you’re not actively forgiving yourself for not hitting your (probably unrealistically high) self-imposed daily targets, you’re filling your personal space with emotions that only serve to muddy the waters and ultimately hold you back from shining as your truest self.

Bestselling author (and mother) Brené Brown says perfectionism is in fact a 20-ton shield and she breaks it down for us in this blissfully short snippet from Oprah’s Lifeclass.

So instead, give yourself a little hug for striving for excellence today, no matter how the day turned out, and reward yourself with a well-deserved early night to bed!

How Open Banking is helping to make better lending decisions

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Oakbrook Finance, parent company of Likely Loans, has become the first UK lender to offer a fully automated Open Banking lending decision via a third-party aggregator. Teaming up with a leading data analytics provider, Oakbrook Finance is using open banking data to improve lending decisions through a better understanding of a customer’s financial circumstances.

What’s Open Banking?

Open Banking is a secure way for authorised providers like Likely Loans to access your bank transaction data including spending habits, regular payments and income, all with your permission. This cutting-edge technology is designed to encourage and allow competition and innovation to financial services leading to more accurate lending decisions. Many budgeting apps and spending trackers already use Open Banking. 

What Are the Benefits?

When applying for a Likely Loan, applicants can consent to share their up-to-date bank transaction data using Open Banking. In addition to regular credit bureau data, Likely Loans use this data to create a richer, more detailed profile of consumers and their application.

There are many reasons why someone might not have a perfect credit history, this could include those on zero-hour contracts, and the young, straight out of education. Sometimes these applicants may find it more difficult to get accepted for credit if the lender is looking at historical credit bureau data in isolation. Open Banking means that lenders can access a more accurate view of your personal circumstances.

What Is Oakbrook Finance Doing?

Open Banking means Oakbrook Finance can offer personalised loans that wouldn’t have been possible previously.Oakbrook CEO Luke Enock explains: “Our vision is to change lending for the better, and a key component of that is going to come through the accelerated adoption of Open Banking solutions across different channels.

You can read more about Likely Loans and Open Banking here. 

Conclusion

Open Banking may just be the future of the financial industry, and the world can expect more and more innovative products to use this technology going forward.

Changing how we Work from Home by Changing Home

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2020, and most likely 2021, will be a fascinating period to study in the not too distant future. I’m not talking about the news or what history will say about this last year and change, but for those who study sociology, the housing market, and human behaviour, it is going to be incredibly interesting. With most of us are now cooped up indoors to work, rest and play, our view of work is changing. My thoughts stem from one small but mighty shift that you may be experiencing right now while reading this; working from home.

To say that the regular working environment is gone forever may feel like grasping at straws. Still, the truth is that with so many businesses now settled into a system of remote working, even when things have passed and the majority of people are vaccinated, I am struggling to see a complete return to the norm in how we collectively approach the average working day. For those now working from their kitchen table or spare room reading this, can you even imagine getting up every weekday morning for a lengthy commute when the alternative is a bit of yoga, brewing a good cup of coffee, and listening to your favourite music before clocking in?

With The Guardian reporting that the percentage of people in the UK exclusively working from home is sitting around 25%, and the figure holding steady for the time being, there are going to be some unique knock-on effects for how we live and work. I want to take a quick look through some of those ideas, and how the ways we live are going to shift without anyone really taking notice.

How many bedrooms? No! How many offices!

The property market has been fascinating to watch this last year, with the Stamp Duty holiday and mortgage rates making things more competitive than they should for a market which was supposed to be quite dormant. One can only assume that many first-time buyers making the decision couldn’t hack living with their parents under one roof anymore.

One of the immediate effects of home working is now cropping up more frequently on property sites. It used to be that you would be looking for a home with the right number of bedrooms and working backwards from there. Now though, many estate agents are ditching the idyllic three-bed for a one or two bed with one room now acting as dedicated office space. Those looking to move into new homes are looking to free themselves from hunching over the dining room table or have to use a bunch of books as a makeshift laptop holder in the spare room.

You only have to look at Google Trends to see that the popularity in “home office furniture” didn’t just peak when the first lockdown was announced and then flatten out. It has increased in popularity over time. People now want to live somewhere where they have dedicated working space instead of carving out a corner of the room. It highlights a changing attitude, which gets even more interesting when looking at how big cities are handling the shift.

Living it up with all the mod-cons

I don’t know about you, but I had a love/hate relationship with commuting. I was in the lucky position of being close enough to the office that I could leisurely walk while listening to podcasts on dry days, and quickly nip on any passing bus on those miserable mornings where the sky is as grey as can be.  For the vast majority of people, commuting has been something akin to a necessary evil. With the TUC discovering last year that the average commute to work in the UK was 59 minutes each way every day, when you get your calculator out and start totting it up, you’re looking at either a generous amount of time to listen to podcasts, or hours wasted.

So what are some cities like London doing in the absence of commuters to make people want to stick around? Well, it requires a little out the box thinking and understanding that people want something more while everything else is closed.

There’s a very unique example of this happening right in the middle of London’s Canary Wharf, which I feel may soon become a common theme in letting. Take a look here at this two-bedroom apartment from Vertus. It looks like a lovely place to live in an area of London which is becoming more residential. But what makes it so special? It is already fully equipped with mod-cons but goes way beyond that to offer tenants a roof terrace, private bar, screening room, garden and private dining room.

For those who are clocking out at 5 pm from the kitchen table, and can only go as far as the back gate to move around, additional services like these will make people want to live there. I miss the cinema just as much as anyone else, so imagine what it must feel like to say “ok, work is done, I may as well just book a slot in the cinema downstairs or do a quick workout up on the roof terrace”.

The desirability of access to services when renting will only get more desirable when you remember what I said earlier; people spend too long commuting. Apartments like these could see people opt to live in the city closer to work, and why would they do that…

Flexibility above all else

Even though your part of the world may be in “lockdown”, people still want some control over how their day can go. Examples like I’ve mentioned above are only going to shift how we look at buying, selling, and renting accommodation in the near future. After the stamp duty holiday is over, and businesses start to lean on asking staff whether they think remote life is working for them (expect office downsizing, which is another story for another day), the average person will look to changing their home and living space to suit their needs.

I’m not saying it will happen overnight, but when you’re looking at a house or flat in the future, don’t be surprised if the agent declares that “the home office is ideally suited for peace and quiet”.

Then again, I am writing this from my kitchen table, so what do I know?

Five Most Common Types of Insurance Fraud

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The insurance industry is enormous. It consists of over 7,000 individual companies, and around $1 trillion premiums are cumulatively accumulated each year. Nevertheless, whenever such great streams of money are involved, there is almost always plenty of fraudulent activity.

Most regular consumers might not be aware of insurance fraud. However, insurance fraud is the second biggest target for fraudsters after banking fraud, costing over $40 billion annually. You might be thinking that insurance fraud does not concern you directly, unless, of course, if it happens to you one day. But here’s where you’re wrong, as insurance fraud is predicted to cost American families around $400 to $700 each year in increased premiums.

With that in mind, here are the five most frequent types of insurance fraud to keep you informed:

  1. Insurance company fraud

Insurance fraud can be committed by both policy holders and insurance companies. In the instance of insurance company fraud, policyholders become the victim of fraudulent activities, such as premium diversion and fee churning.

Premium diversion occurs when insurance agents secretly pocket premiums instead of declaring them to the agency. All’s good when nothing happens to the policyholder. But if an accident occurs, there will be no funds for reimbursement. So, the victim will not only be in an accident but will also have to pay out of their own pocket for any damages. Imagine paying monthly premiums to find out that you don’t even have an insurance policy! 

The key takeaway is:

Always vet your insurance agents before agreeing to anything or making any payments.

  1. Falsifying claims

Falsifying claims is the most common type of insurance fraud. In order to receive an early payout, dishonest policyholders take to creating false claims, such as slip and fall claims. In fact, some policyholders go to great lengths to make the whole scenario look believable.

  1. Disaster fraud

When a disaster strikes, all hell breaks loose, and insurance companies become extremely busy processing claims. For fraudsters, this is the perfect opportunity to falsify a payout, as policyholders can submit claims that will be approved and paid without further investigation. Take Hurricane Katrina, for instance, where an estimated $6 billion of government funding was said to have actually gone towards insurance fraud.

  1. Faking death

In the most extreme of extremes, some fraudsters become even more creative and fake their own death. As we all know, life insurance policies, in most cases, offer a substantial payout. Seeing the dollar signs invokes the green-eyed monster to come up with the ultimate scenario.

  1. Forgery and identity theft

This type of insurance fraud is more commonly seen with health insurance. It involves individuals using other people’s sensitive information to make false insurance claims for legitimate treatments. The remainder is pocketed as cash.

One common method is by stealing elderly citizens’ identities to purchase pricey medical equipment. The victim’s insurance pays for it. In turn, the scammers re-sell this equipment for a quick buck. Victims of this usually face increased premiums with no idea why.

Preventing insurance fraud for consumers

Unfortunately, there is no one victim of insurance fraud. From policyholders to insurance companies and even the government, fraudulent activities can affect everyone. Thus, it is also our collective responsibility to take insurance fraud seriously and take careful measures when it comes to tackling this problem.

To avoid becoming a victim of insurance fraud, first, you should stay informed so that you remain one step ahead of trouble at all times. Insurance has become a necessity for us. However, you have the ability to customize your insurance plans according to your needs. Avoid dishonest agents who might upsell complicated policies.

Second, know your policy. You will receive a set of documents, including a copy of your policy. Go through it, get to know it, and ask around if you have any questions or notice any discrepancies.

Third, know your insurance agents. Spend some time to research potential insurance agencies and get to know the agents who will be assigned to you. Agents are the ones who will be there should anything happen, and you want to find out how to go about filing your claim. At the very least, you want someone who is communicative and is there for you when you need them.

If we let insurance fraud continuously get out of hand, imagine just how high premiums might become in a few years’ time!

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