What Are Document Shredding Services?

Paper shredding service is a service used by businesses to destroys sensitive information that can otherwise lead to identity theft and fraud. Many businesses today are using shredding services to protect the personal integrity of their company.



Banks, financial institutions, as well as medical facilities collect thousands of consumer information on a daily basis. To safeguard the identity of consumers, several laws have taken place that prevents these institutions from sharing information to the public. Aside for the financial loss, businesses can also be subjected to corporate espionage that can severely reduce their competitive edge if corporate information where to land on the hands of their rivals.



To keep information private, businesses are choosing to purchase shredders for their companies. However, for businesses that work with high volumes of documents on a regular basis, purchasing a shredder may be cost inefficient since they tend to break down more often and would require a replacement. For such businesses, paper shredding services are their best solution.



Additionally, document shredding services Dayton also provide companies several options when it comes to the use of their services. For one, these shredding companies can come directly to the company and do the disposal of the documents themselves. Another alternative is for the company to box and ship all the documents that needs to be shredded to the shredding company who will then shred it and dispose of it accordingly. Which option a business will choose depends on a number of factors. If a company for instance works closely with highly sensitive documents then the first option would be their best solution.



Some shredding companies such as New York shredding services give customers the option to rent their shredding equipments. For document-sensitive businesses, this is a great option since it would prevent outsiders from getting their hands on corporate information.



Investing on shredding services can be the difference between information confidentiality and identity theft or fraud. Make sure you consider shredding services for you company and know your business is secure.

The Different Types of Paper Shredding

There are many different types of shredders available in the market. There are those that are capable of shredding down DVDs and others than can reduce the size of a tree trunk. Paper shredders were once considered as an office tool but today, many people use them in their homes as well. What are the different types of paper shredders?



One of the least expensive shredders available in the market is the strip-cut shredders. These shredders contain a series of rotational blades that shreds paper into long narrow strips. Because they produce strips of paper, they can be easily reassembled by a determined individual. As so, strip-cut shredders are the least secure form of paper shredder and are not considered a good option for businesses wanting to destroy sensitive information.



Another type is the cross-cut paper shredder. They shred documents into tiny rectangle or diamond shaped pieces that are almost impossible to be reconstructed. The smaller models of cross-cut document shredder can process up to six sheets at a time, making them not only secure but very efficient as well for home use.



Granulator document shredders works in the same vein as cross-cut shredders. In that they produce tiny shreds of paper. However, unlike cross-cut shredders, shreds of paper are constantly processed until they are small enough to fall through a filter. Document shredding through Granulators will produce Manchester confidential waste made up of particle size pieces of shredded material. They are therefore the most secure paper shredding option that businesses and government offices use.



Document shredders are available in any office supply stores. If you are thinking of buying one for personal use then smaller models will be just right for you. Businesses on the other hand, who shred hundreds of documents everyday may want to opt into purchasing heavy duty shredders.

Technology, Business and the Importance of Location

How do businesses make it today? Well the answer is technology. Corporations are able to increase both markets and profits by relying in the technologies offered today. Data management and location intelligence are one of the ways they increase their competitive edge and give better service to consumers.

Location intelligence is the technology that utilizes data to make more sensible decisions in regards to consumer market and the services. This data includes most importantly factors about geography. Companies use analysts to compile, decode and organize the data to be able to apply it in daily work functions. They want to increase the odds of better services to consumers. This is what makes a true difference and allows them to be more successful. For instance, a telecommunications company may choose to use geographical data to know how to better service phone or cable clients. Further away clients may need a different kind of service in order to maintain the minimum quality.

Locations and Gis Data are extremely relevant to yield certain services. Companies need to be dynamic and flexible as they adjust their strategies. In this case, locations allow them to make these kinds of decisions with more of a foundation. This in turn helps the company’s profitability and their competitive edge in the market. With better assistance, they can improve customer service. They can also optimize their resources by using them were they are most needed. Conclusively, location data helps greatly for businesses who want to make a difference in their industry.

What Buying a Boat Really Entails

It is not uncommon for people to be enticed to get a boat. From the most daring adventurer to the sportiest of fans, boats seem to be the ticket for those in search for a good time and great memories. Nonetheless, there are many factors to take into account when going through this purchase. From a boat exam to boating safety, owners need to make sure they take all the precautions to make the experience as best as possible.

Most of what boats entail has to do with costs. First of all are the costs of attaining ownership of one of these. The prospective owner should shop around to get as many options of stores and brands as possible. The more information, the better founded the decision will be. A way of saving up is to get a used boat. Nevertheless, people need to be very careful that cheap doesn’t mean broken. Get an engineer to check the engine and the other aspects to ensure a great purchase. If the boat needs external financing, allocate this in the cost. Shop around for several interest rates that will suit your needs and will fit in the total budget as you acquire this device. Once purchased, the boat is now ready to be put to the test!

Now that you own a boat you are going to need a boating license. To get a license a person would usually need to take a boat course and then go through a boat exam. This is a procedure that is at times required in certain countries. Now, for the boat to operate other costs are needed. An example is fuel expenses. The boat won’t move until it is prepared with all of these. As time goes by, the boat will also need maintenance. It is a machine and it definitely depreciates. The more you use it the more it will need a technician to oversee it. Overall, these will be the most important things to consider when having a boat.

Ten questions and things to know about financial literacy

While on vacation under the Italian sun, I was asked a lot of questions about financial literacy. Rather than writing a blog post about a single topic, I thought it might be useful to answer some of the questions I’ve been asked in order to hit on a lot of general information about financial literacy. So, here is my list of the top ten questions and things to know about financial literacy:



1) What is financial literacy?

Financial literacy is like reading and writing. It is the knowledge of basic but essential concepts that are needed to be able to operate in today’s society.



2) How do I know whether I am financially literate?

You can take a test here:

http://www.rand.org/labor/centers/financial-literacy/widgets/financial-knowledge-test.html



3) How do I compare with respect to others?

The above test will tell you how the average American responded to five financial literacy questions. If you live in the U.S. and you want to know how financially literate people in your state are, check here:

http://www.usfinancialcapability.org/



4) How does financial literacy in the United States (or Italy) compare with respect to other countries?

We have done a comparison of financial literacy across eight countries (the U.S., Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Russia, Japan, and New Zealand). In a nutshell, the world is flat in terms of financial literacy! You can read about this work here (warning: these are long papers but still fun to read)

http://www.financialliteracyfocus.org/academics/FLatW.html



5) Why should I become financially literate? Can’t I be happily ignorant?

There are costs of being financially illiterate. Studies show that those who have low financial literacy are less likely to take advantage of the opportunities offered by financial markets (for example, refinancing mortgages when interest rates go down or getting higher returns by investing in stocks and bonds), are less likely to invest in mutual funds with low fees, and are more likely to have problems with debt and to pay higher borrowing costs. Overall, ignorance is not bliss.

An overview of these studies is provided in this paper:

http://www.financialliteracyfocus.org/files/FLatDocs/Lusardi_Mitchell_Overview.pdf



6) Where do I go for information if I want to improve my financial literacy?

For readers in the United States, a reliable and independent source of information is www.mymoney.gov. One of the best web sites for financial literacy is New Zealand’s national site. Here is the link (after all, we are going global!):

http://www.sorted.org.nz/



7) What if I want to have fun while I’m learning?

Excellent idea! Doorways to Dreams has designed financial literacy games, so you can become financially literate while having fun. Here is their financial entertainment website:

http://financialentertainment.org/



8) What do I do to promote financial literacy and to become financially literate?

Ask for financial literacy programs in your school, your workplace, and your local library. Become an ambassador for financial literacy.

Three examples of initiatives or tools to use are here:



http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~mqed/FinancialLiteracyProject/



http://nyse.nyx.com/financial-fitness-kit



http://www.finra.org/Newsroom/NewsReleases/2011/P122886



9) Who is promoting financial literacy? Just academic nerds like you?

Are you kidding me? Here is a list of people (and one puppet) who are promoting financial literacy.

(i) Elmo, puppet and TV celebrity (for you younger readers):

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/04/15/business/100000000776361/talking-money-with-elmo.html?hp



(ii) Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve. You can read one of his recent speeches here:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/testimony/bernanke20110420a.htm



(iii) Ray Lewis, football star. You can read about one of his talks here:

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-04-29/sports/29510296_1_ray-lewis-uaf-financial-literacy



(iv) Both President Bush and President Obama have been supporters of financial literacy, via, for example, the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financial-education/Pages/Advisory.aspx



10) Are there any big initiatives happening on financial literacy?

Yes, there are many. One important initiative is that of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). Starting in 2012, the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) will measure financial literacy among 15-year-olds in 19 countries. You can read more about this important initiative here:

http://www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/8/43/46962580.pdf

Choosing a Mortgage Broker

Are you thinking of buying a house or a condo perhaps? Such investments are expensive. For many, buying an estate property is the most lucrative purchase that they will ever make in a lifetime. Finding the right broker is therefore crucial in ensuring that new homeowners will not get stuck in a financial mess.



The recent financial crisis has illustrated the need to find reliable and trustworthy mortgage brokers to help prospective buyers find the right mortgage loan. These experts represent the borrower and are not the lender themselves. Their expertise and know-how of the mortgage market allows them to find the best rates that fit the prospective homeowner’s financial situation. It pays to work with a professional mortgage broker Toronto to assist you obtain the best mortgage financing possible.





When looking for a reliable mortgage broker, make sure to keep these points in mind:

• Referrals are important. The best way to learn about the credibility of a broker is through someone who has done a successful business with that person. If they had a good experience with the individual, chances are, you will have one too.

• Sometimes, finding a referral may be difficult. Therefore, prepare to do some intensive research on the individual. Your real estate agent may also provide you with at least one recommendation. If all these are futile, the newspaper, phone book or the internet can help you find a mortgage broker. Of course, extra caution is necessary when checking on the reliability of these individuals.

• Make an appointment with your prospective brokers. This will give you a feel of how this business transaction will go. As well as allow you to question him about his or her past experiences and even obtain a list of references.

Finding the best mortgage broker Richmond Hill can be extremely difficult. But with a lot of diligence and commitment on your part, you will be able to find the best broker that fits your needs.

No Roman Holidays

I am in Italy where, it has been said, even the statues go on vacation in August. While this is the feeling one normally gets in the summer, the Italian government, under pressure from the European Central Bank, has just—in a short period of time—put together a series of decisive reforms. Little was left untouched, from cuts that reached into the pockets of politicians, from whom many privileges have been taken, to the abolition of small provinces to reduce the costs of local governments to tax increases —including a new “solidarity fund” which will require temporary tax increases for those whose income is above 90,000 Euros—to increases in the pension age for women (a gradual move from age 60 to age 65).



This was no Roman holiday (for those of you who have seen the wonderful movie with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck) for the Italian politicians, who have used all of the tools at their disposal to rein in the deficit and tackle a public debt as high as 120% of GDP. And for those who think these are the reforms that Socialist Europe makes, I want to remind readers that Italy, in fact, has a right-wing government. For those who wonder why this was not done before, I would argue that this is a good way to use a severe crisis (no crisis should be wasted) to convince both citizens and politicians that changes are necessary.



The reason I have chosen this topic for this blog posting is that in many countries around the world the crisis has profound consequences, with or without changes in government policies. In the newspapers, the first pages are now dedicated to economic news. Long articles are written about the reactions of the financial markets, about the spreads in the government bonds of different countries, and about the economic measures that countries have taken in reaction to a severe crisis.



This is another reason why we need financial literacy. Every day we read and hear economic news. This news is not only affecting or reflecting the macro economy but has an effect on our lives. The behavior of financial markets is affecting our savings, our cost of traveling abroad, our capacity to retire or to donate to the initiatives we deem important. Similarly, the changes in economic policies are affecting the services that we get from the government, our income, our capacity to find a job or to get a good education. We need to be able to understand what this news means, we need to be able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the financial markets, we need to be able to understand the causes and consequences of the economic reforms that governments are proposing to us. And it is perhaps in a time of economic crisis that we need financial knowledge the most.



So, while Italy pauses during this national holiday, I am writing a new blog post about financial literacy because it is a regular Monday in other countries, because many stock markets are closing with moderate gains today, and because economic crises may even bring good things, for example new and much-needed economic reforms.



If some of you are wondering what I will do with my non-Roman holiday, I will do three things: bask in the sun, go to the opera, and of course write more blogs.

Financial literacy for politicians

I have argued in my blog postings that individuals need financial literacy because we are increasingly asked to make financial decisions that have important consequences. But there is a group for whom financial literacy is even more important, since their decisions are going to affect the whole population. These are our politicians.



As a case in point, the consequences of the standoff about the debt ceiling are severe. For the first time in history, the US debt has been downgraded from AAA to AA. This could mean higher interest rates, for example, on mortgages or car loans, and thus higher costs for many consumers. The stock market gyrated last week, dropping sharply, and it dropped more than 600 points on Monday, destroying in less than a week most of the gains that had been made slowly over many months. These are serious problems that affect real people!



When politicians make decisions with such consequential economic implications, they must be financially literate. Consumers learned about the costs of financial illiteracy during the financial crisis; politicians will likely get their lessons soon, if what they want to see is what happens to an economy in which basic economic principles are ignored.



There have been a number of statements by politicians that reveal their financial illiteracy. One example: the argument that it does not matter (or we should not care) if the world is watching or what the world thinks of how the US handles the debt ceiling. This is unfortunately wrong. A large portion of US debt is held by the Chinese, and so it does matter what other countries think of the discussion about the debt ceiling, and politicians should care—in fact, they should care a lot. Another example: the suggestion that we should let the government default to demonstrate how important it is to reign in the deficit. This is strange financial decision-making. It is the equivalent of a household wanting to burn down the house to discipline its members. I would recommend trying that strategy on a desert island but not in a country inhabited by 300 million people.



I doubt financial illiteracy is concentrated in one political party only. We have witnessed poor economic decisions a lot in the past few years. Having public debt on an unsustainable path is not only problematic, but it provides a bad example to citizens as well. Not just the federal government but also state and local governments have done a poor job in keeping their finances in order.



The decisions that politicians make have enormous implications for the economy and for all of us. We are the ones paying the cost of the decisions that are made. We should demand that the politicians we sent to represent us and who are bound to make these important decisions be financially literate and explain their decisions to us in economic terms. A fragile economy that has survived a very severe crisis and is trying to recover from a great recession needs politicians who understand basic economic principles, now more than ever.