2009 December | Parenting Teens Blog

December 31, 2009

Lost or Stolen Wallet – What To Do

Filed under: Money — Tags: account, bank, care, credit card, criminal, document, identity theft, important, insurance, necessary, prevent, report, stolen, take care, teens, wallet, wallet stolen — admin @ 8:01 am

Every one of us has lost his wallet or had it stolen at some point, if you haven’t you are lucky and you should take necessary precautions for that not to happen, because in today’s society lost wallet can bring you a lot of trouble. First and the most common case today is the identity theft and of course credit card abuse. Every other document you had in your wallet may be used for some kind of scam or several others criminal uses, like finding out all about you in order to steal everything from you. There are few things you need to do in order to prevent that from happening. First you need to take more care about your wallet or purse and if you still somehow get your wallet stolen or lost you should know what to do next.

First some prevention tips to avoid losing or getting your wallet stolen, or in case it gets stolen for you to be prepared. You need to have all of your documents copied, something like a backup, that helps you deal with the situation if your belongings get stolen. Always avoid putting your wallet or documents in your backpack, it is an easy target because it is not in your line of sight. That is especially important if you are going to be in large crowds, and the most important thing, carry just the necessary things with you. If you don’t need a credit card leave it at home, the same goes for any other documents, you have to be careful.

In case you do get your wallet stolen or lost here is what you should do. First of all make a list of items that were in your wallet, from credit card to birth certificate, every possible document that has important information on it. With that information go straight to the police department and file a report, but that doesn’t end there. The next step is to contact credit card fraud agencies and report your cards stolen, also report to the state agency if your driver’s license and registration are missing. Any information containing your bank account should leave straight to the bank to block that account and notify them of the theft. You need to take care of all that in order to prevent identity theft and other criminal possibilities. After that you also need to notify your health insurance, you don’t want anyone else using your information for medical purposes. Notify your auto insurance agency and ask for a policy replacement. Also notify any other organization with which you might have some sort of a card that has your information on it.

Once you know all this you can successfully deal with losing your wallet and your documents. But it would be much smarter to keep an eye for your wallet so you wouldn’t end up in that situation, but if you do, this will help you get started and you can find any other information on what to do when you lose your document online.

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December 30, 2009

Consumer Tips for Teens

Filed under: Money — Tags: consumer tips, Driving, finances, future, health, know, legal rights, need, order manage, parenting teens, plan ahead, product, rights, safe, security, tips — admin @ 6:44 am

Believe it or not probably the biggest consumer body is made of teenagers. That’s why this is called consumer tips for teens, because as the largest consumer body you are most likely to be a victim of a scam or breach of rights due to little or no knowledge of your legal rights. So you need to know your rights, you need to plan ahead for the future and you need some advice on how to become a responsible young person in order for you to manage in the world around you. The basic steps you need to pay attention to are buying goods or services, your health and safety, rights and responsibilities, finances, privacy issues, transportation, living on your own and recreation.

When purchasing something be sure you know what you are paying for, if you want to buy a food product make sure to check all the information’s like expiration date and ingredients, you don’t want to buy an old product or a product that is bad for you. And if you need to file a complaint make sure you do it straight away as it raises the chances of a successful complaint.
The biggest part of health and safety can be related to the use of cosmetic products. Most of cosmetic products offer a healthy benefit like aloe vera effect which helps your skin. But some of those products do not have the benefits that are stated, some even have negative effect, so always keep a lookout for new products and suspicious ingredients.
Law and legal rights may be your weapon of defense, but they are also a great responsibility to beer. But knowing the legal rights you insure yourself a safe life. If you are a person under 21 it is illegal to have any form of alcohol or drugs in your vehicle and that may cause you to pay fines or even get your license suspended. That means not only that you can’t drink and drive, you are not allowed to have a can of beer in your vehicle when you are driving. So be careful about those things.
When thinking about your future and you finances you need to keep one thing in mind in order to manage your finances to an affordable level. You need to keep track of all your incomes and all your expenses. Calculating the difference may provide you with an insight in future savings.
Every teenager has some online account which requires a password. You need to make that password totally random. Something like hG3y4Tsv will be much harder password to break than your birthday. And make sure you keep all your information’s confidential and change your password on a regular basis.
One of the most often problem with transportation when driving your own vehicle is inexperience. Whatever you do you need to do it calmly and according to the law. If by any chance you are stopped by a police officer be sure to do everything according to regulations, and never give the officer reason to suspect you.
When the time comes for you to go to college you will have to live on your own or with a roommate. First thing you need to do is make sure that your new apartment is safe. Check the neighborhood, is the location safe, who are your neighbors, what is the security level in that part and is there any security equipment in your building.

There are many ways to be safe and to plan ahead. But in order to do that we need to educate ourselves. And we can do that in many ways. The easiest way today is using internet, as it provides us with all the answers we need.

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December 29, 2009

Consumer Action and Advice

Filed under: Money — Tags: abilities, change, community, consumer action advice, contribute, guidance, help, important, Internet, know, need, offer help, organizations, people, people need, power, right, right direction, service, teens — admin @ 6:26 am

Every one of us either needs some kind of help or has some help to offer. Whichever group you belong there are ways to receive help and offer help. Whatever your goal is for offering help you may find out more on internet and sites as “points of light” and “do something”. Every one of us can contribute in some way and if you don’t know in which way you may contribute you can easily ask around or look up on internet for any kind of talents you have that may benefit someone.

Now there are many reasons for any one of us to volunteer and do some community service. We all know that the planet is getting polluted every day, there are also many people with disabilities that need us and many people without shelter that just need a warm meal. You can pick any of those and find a way in which you may help somebody.

The way in which you can help others may vary on your abilities but it may also be a way for you to experience something new, a new friendship, and a future job experience, something that may lead you to the right direction in choosing your future carrier. Just think about it, there are many people in need of help and if you can give them that help you will make a big difference. And it will not be as small as you may think, like what can one man change? You can change a lot, and if every person contributed just a small amount you can just imagine the power of that change, the power of that contribution to the whole world. The idea is joining hands to help the people in need.

The exactly same thing goes for every person in need of help or guidance. You can find any information’s necessary using search engines, asking at your school or calling organizations that may offer public services. You can also find that information’s in your local newspaper, radio and television. When you find many of those organizations you can find exactly in which way you may contribute or how can you enroll in a program that will offer you help, or guidance in choosing the right carrier. The options are many, and you need to find the right one for you, whichever that may be. Over 90% of the US student body feels that it is important to be a part of a voluntary community service. That statistic means something, and it may point you in the right direction.

Whatever the reason you may have, it is important to try and help people around you that can use the help. The best way to find out about organizations that help people is by browsing internet and using search engines like Google. You can start from here, this will give you an insight into what you may do to contribute. And if you choose to help, you will know where to start and how to start.

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December 28, 2009

66 Ways to Save Money

Filed under: Money — Tags: bank, cost, credit card, effective, housing, important, insurance, Money, need, responsible, save, save money, savings account, transportation, transportation insurance banking, ways — admin @ 6:08 am

With the financial crisis in the world and without it we all have a need to save money, either to survive until the next month, or to save money for our kids to go to college. There are numerous reasons for saving money, and here is some insight on how to save money in at least 66 ways. But keep in mind that there are much more ways to save money and you can use these for starters and for a guideline in finding more ways to save money.

You can save money on various things from utility bills to simple home budgeting. Mostly you can save money on transportation, insurance and banking services. I will list a whole lot of ways to save money, most effective for each of the following groups: Transportation, Insurance, Banking/Credit, Housing, Utilities etc…. For everything that is missed out here you can find out on www.usa.gov.

As for transportation the most effective way to save money when buying a car consist of several steps. First step is finding low cost vehicle that has all the necessities needed but has low gasoline consumption, easy to find parts and low maintenance cost. Once you have done that the next step is to find an appropriate insurance. The right insurance has to have everything you need, but it has to be affordable. So there are multiple ways to save on car insurance and they can go from clean driving record to the line of work and place of residence. But the most important thing is finding the best quotes, and you can compare quotes using online search engines like Google or Yahoo.

The third step is banking and credit options and they are many, from regular savings accounts to mutual funds and credit card responsibility. Well you can deposit an amount of money in a savings account and wait for the interest rate to go up and you can do all sorts of other things, but the most important thing is responsible debt keeping. We are all credit card happy in this day of age, but not all of us are credit card responsible. What you need to do in order to avoid your interest piling up is paying your rate at least a week before the statement due date. Or at least pay as much as you can each month in order to lower the interest rate for the bank.

As for utilities and housing you need to keep in mind like with everything else that it is very important to understand what you are paying for. For example if you want your house redecorated you first want to find the appropriate firm to do the redecorating and once you do you want to make sure they do exactly what you need before paying. Never pay up front, as that may leave you with empty pockets and a lousy work that you paid for.

There are many other ways to save money and you can find most of them on educational sites like government websites and Wikipedia. You need to know that there is always another way to save money without denying yourself anything necessary.

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December 25, 2009

Adolescent Medicine

Filed under: Legal Issues, Rights and Privileges — Tags: adolescent, adolescent medicine, disease, disorder, exam, health, high prevalence, mental, parenting, physical exam, screening, sexually active, teens, vaccination — admin @ 9:50 am

Adolescent medicine is a medical subspecialty that deals primarily with the care and treatment of patients who are in the adolescent stage of development. This period typically starts between the ages of nine to 11 for females and 11 to 14 for males. Considered as a primary care subspecialty, adolescent medicine integrates various iatrical aspects including dermatology, endocrinology, gynecology, nutrition, psychology and sports medicine. It is likewise an integral component of internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics, and youth health.

Medical practitioners who delve in the practice of adolescent medicine often address issues and disorders with a high prevalence during adolescence. These include the following:

§ Unintended pregnancy

§ STDs or sexually transmitted diseases

§ Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia

§ Menstrual disorders like amenorrhea, dysfunctional uterine bleeding and dysmenorrhea

§ Mental illnesses, particularly anxiety disorders, personality disorders, bipolar disorder, major depression, suicidal ideation and certain types of schizophrenia

Healthcare providers who deal with adolescents normally take a holistic approach as they try to gather information relevant to the patient’s well-being. The approach closely resembles the biophysical model which is epitomized in the HEADSS assessment. It is a screening acronym for adolescent patients and stands for Home, Education, Activities, Drugs, Sex, and Suicidality.

Aside from a comprehensive medical history, adolescents ought to undergo a thorough physical examination as well as a mental health status exam at least once a year. The physical exam should include sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing, a neurological assessment, and a reproductive system exam. In addition, developmental progression should be documented on an annual basis, and endocrinological tests should be considered especially among patients who fail to develop in a normal manner.

Young women must be properly educated on how to examine their breast for signs of breast cancer, and young men should know how to examine their penis and testicles for STDs and cancer. Laboratory tests, including a CBC to screen for anemia, and a fasting lipid profile or a spot cholesterol check to screen for hyperlipidemia should be undertaken at least once during the adolescent period.

For those who are sexually active, especially patients who are living in areas of high prevalence, screening tests for STDs should be done, including rapid plasma reagin (RPR) or venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) test for syphilis, screening for HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea. Females who are sexually active must have a pelvic exam, including a Pap smear to screen for cervical cancer.

In terms of immunizations, the following are deemed imperative: a meningitis vaccination, a tetanus vaccination or booster shot, the Gardasil vaccine against HPV particularly for sexually active young women, and an annual influenza inoculation.

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