Celebrate Women’s History Month in the Workplace

Since 1987, March has been designated as Women’s History Month in an effort to recognize the achievements and contributions of women throughout the course of American history. Bring the recognition and celebration into your workplace using these four avenues.

Public recognition: Recognize the efforts and contributions of women from every level of your company during business meetings or through written newsletters. Highlight their expertise and unique accomplishments that have helped to propel the company forward.

Inspirational education: On a weekly basis, email your team an inspiring TED talk, podcast or workshop given by women. Consider providing each employee with a biography of a woman in your industry or a book about female business leaders.

Company resources: Organize a time to volunteer for a nonprofit that supports women in your community, or set up a program to match employee donations toward causes that help women around the world.

Internal practices: If you are in a position to do so, evaluate your company’s hiring, promotion and compensation policies, and make any needed adjustments to ensure equal opportunities.

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3 Credit Card Myths Debunked

Trying to maximize the benefits of credit cards while avoiding pitfalls that could hurt your credit score can easily get confusing. You can become a wiser credit card user by eliminating these myths from your mindset.

Myth #1 – You should close any credit cards you don’t use regularly.
Canceling a credit card can actually cause your credit score to drop lower. This happens because having fewer lines of credit increases your credit utilization percentage (the ratio of outstanding balances to your total credit limit), which makes up 30% of your FICO credit score. It’s often smarter to keep a card with a zero balance open in order to maintain its available credit and account history.

Myth #2 – Using multiple credit cards will damage your credit.
While your score could be decreased if you open multiple new accounts within a short period of time, simply using more than one credit card won’t dock your score. Payment history, credit utilization and age of the account are all important, but the actual number of credit cards isn’t a red flag in calculating your score.

Myth #3 – Always avoid cards with high annual fees.
In some cases, cards that have annual fees also have valuable reward systems. Do the math to determine if the perks you gain from using the card will outweigh the fee. If so, there’s no reason to avoid opening an account and capitalizing on the incentives offered.

Suggested Ways To Improve Your Credit Score
A low credit score can prevent you from qualifying for a loan or a lower interest rate. Consider these four tips to boost your score.

• Always pay your bills on time.
• Keep credit card balances low and pay off the full amount each month.
• Pay down debt rather than shuffling it around to different accounts.
• Regularly check your credit report and dispute any inaccuracies.

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How To Save on the Big Day

Planning a wedding can be a major cause of stress – both emotionally and financially. To keep the big day joyous and calm, consider these tips for simple savings.

Limit in-person attendees. The pandemic has already forced many wedding venues to limit their capacity, so trim your guest list accordingly. Consider livestreaming the ceremony to include friends and loved ones who can’t attend in person. In addition to reducing health risks, a smaller guest list will help you make the most of your budget.

Make your own invitations. With a variety of free design websites and affordable printing options available, it’s more practical than ever to skip pricey professional services. With a smaller guest list, you can add handcrafted, creative touches to the invitations and address the envelopes yourself relatively quickly.

Choose nontraditional options. You can save big by avoiding hosting your wedding in a premium event space during the peak wedding season. Opt for an alternative venue, such as a park, museum or even your backyard for an intimate gathering. Consider choosing a day of the week other than Saturday, and explore the idea of a morning or afternoon ceremony to avoid serving a full dinner.

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Active vs. Passive Investing

The best investment strategy varies based on your goals. Active investing requires a hands-on portfolio manager to regularly trade stocks and bonds as the market fluctuates. Passive investing is a longer-term approach of holding onto stocks and only making occasional changes to your portfolio.

Active investing may be right for you when:

• You’re comfortable with more risk and higher management fees.
• You have the time and desire to research investments, monitor market activity and adjust your portfolio.
• You’re seeking a diversified portfolio with multiple types of investments that yield higher returns.

You may be better suited to passive investing when:

• You want to minimize your risk from losses and avoid high transaction and management fees.
• You don’t have the time or interest to personally manage your portfolio on a frequent basis.
• You’re satisfied with average gains that are in line with the broader market performance.

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How To Be a Better Public Speaker

Are you preparing for a presentation at work? The following tips can help you engage with your audience, whether in person or virtually.

• Embrace your nerves. It’s natural to be nervous before a big presentation. Use any anxiety you are feeling as motivation to perfect your presentation. The better prepared you are, the less nervous you will be.
• Practice, practice, practice. Be familiar with your talking points, but avoid sounding scripted by memorizing every line. Practice your presentation in front of friends or colleagues and incorporate their honest feedback.
• Present a strong presence. Make eye contact, stand (or sit) up tall and speak in a clear, confident voice. Passion is contagious, so share your information with enthusiasm by varying your voice inflection and accentuating your points with purposeful hand gestures.
• Use visuals. Giving your audience something to look at can keep them engaged, but make sure visuals are simple and clear so they don’t become distracting.

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