Football season will be here in a matter of weeks, so to help fantasy football enthusiasts keep tabs on their rosters, ESPN has updated its suite of apps dedicated to the task. In addition to a fresh coat of paint for the UI, you’ll be able to create…
If you’ve ever had to break in a new baseball glove, you know that the process take time — usually a few months at best. It can take all of Spring Training for pro players to get the leather worked out, but even then, fielders are left with hauling…
Project Ara was always thought of as a product we’d not see for many years. to their credit, Google has scaled it quickly, even having a (sort of) working model at Google I/O. Now, those interested in making modules for Ara can sign up for the development board. The boards, which Google showed off at their Developer conference for Ara … Continue reading
If you’ve made the transition from iOS or Android to Windows Phone, you might have noticed something annoying, depending on which phone you have: the inability to set Google as the default search engine. Such is the case for some of the newest Lumia handsets. Both the Lumia 630 and the Lumia 930 have been heading out to consumers’ hands … Continue reading
So, you happen to have picked up a brand new Samsung Galaxy S5, and cannot wait to show it off to the rest of your mates? It goes without saying that a brand new smartphone ought to be accompanied by a protective case of sorts in order to make sure that any kind of damage will be minimized should it happen to suffer from an accidental drop or knock. Moshi, a long time accessories provider for various mobile devices, is back again with the announcement of the custom-tailored SenseCover for the Samsung Galaxy S5. The SenseCover happens to be a touch-sensitive flip-cover case which is capable of offering 360-degree protection for the flagship smartphone, while giving you the opportunity to answer or reject calls, as well as turn off alarms even when the cover is closed.
Apart from that, there is also the free Moshi SenseCover app that will pair with the case so as to enable additional features and functionality, as you can then check on notifications, play or pause audio, and snap Instagram-ready pictures as your device remains protected within the slim case.
The SenseCover will also boast of a shock-absorbing inner shell, where it comes with complete back- and front-side protection, including a flip cover with a magnetic clasp that ensures that the cover remains neatly in place or folded back out of the way whenever the case is open. This happens to make it one of the slimmest Samsung Galaxy S5 cases with 360-degree protection, and thanks to its soft hybrid interior, your device will be well cradled thanks to the refined metallic leatherette cover which helps it stay far away from unwanted shocks and scratches.
If you are interested in the Moshi SenseCover for Samsung Galaxy S5, it can be picked up for $44.95 a pop as it arrives in black or pink. Up the protection ante with the iVisor’s advanced anti-glare screen protection, where it saves your screen from scratches and smudges.
[ Moshi delivers SenseCover for the Samsung Galaxy S5 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
While the detention of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, undocumented immigrant and activist Jose Antonio Vargas in Texas on Tuesday is a personal setback for him, the way the media has handled the story shows how effective Vargas and other advocates have been in changing the terms of the debate surrounding immigration in the United States.
One of the main media battles immigrant-rights activists have fought over the years is the push for journalists to stop using the term “illegal immigrant.”
In a 2012 speech, Vargas—a former HuffPost editor—described why people found the label so offensive.
“The term dehumanizes and marginalizes the people it seeks to describe,” he said. “Think of it this way, in what other context do we call someone illegal?”
Multiple outlets eventually pledged to curb or drop their use of “illegal immigrant.” The fruits of that fight could be seen in how Vargas was described in the press coverage of his detention.
The New York Times called Vargas “an undocumented Filipino immigrant who is arguably the most high-profile leader of the immigrants’ rights movement.”
The Los Angeles Times called him an “undocumented immigrant.” So did the Washington Post, and Newsweek, and CNN, and Politico, and USA Today, and the Dallas Morning News, and McAllen’s local paper, The Monitor.
It’s no wonder so many Americans consider saving money their number-one financial struggle: Saving money consistently takes discipline and hard work.
In fact, a survey last year revealed that more than a quarter of Americans have no emergency savings whatsoever, and half have less than three months’ worth of expenses socked away.
So if you’re part of the minority and are putting money away regularly, congratulations — it’s an important part of laying the groundwork for a more secure financial future. But just because your balance is growing doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement in the way you save. At LearnVest, our financial planners recommend that most everyone have at least six months of net income saved up in an emergency fund, when possible.
Want to know some of the best practices for maximizing your savings account? We asked LearnVest Planning Services Certified Financial Planner™ David Blaylock to analyze five common savings strategies — and offer advice on how to work on adopting even better habits.
Strategy #1: “I Save What’s Left Over”
The risk with this: So you pay your bills, maybe make a few “fun” purchases too, then you transfer whatever is left over in your checking account to savings. The good news? You’re diligently trying to save.
The problem with this strategy is that when you leave money that’s earmarked for savings lying in your checking account, you may start thinking you have more money to spend than you actually should! “Because you feel more confident about your balance, you won’t mind going out and spending more,” Blaylock says.
It also may be harder to set savings goals for yourself because you probably never know how much money you’ll be able to sock away.
Try this instead: Pay yourself first. “The first bill you should pay every month is your savings bill,” Blaylock says. Of course, only take the “pay yourself first” approach if you still have funds available to cover your regular monthly bills.
How do you put this system in place? Simply create an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings, either from every paycheck or at the beginning of the month. If you “set it and forget it,” you just might be shocked by how quickly your nest egg can grow.
RELATED: Checklist: I Want to Build Up Savings
Strategy #2: “I Transfer Money Into a Savings Account Linked to My Checking”
The risk with this: You’re flexing your savings muscle on a regular basis, which is great! And having your savings account linked to your checking definitely is convenient, but you risk dipping into your savings to make ends meet — or even to fund an impulse purchase — because that money can be so easy to get to.
Try this instead: While it’s advisable to keep a portion of your savings in an easily accessible account in the event of emergencies, it can be smart to keep the rest at a distance, in a separate “untouchable” account, says Blaylock.
“If you have to go somewhere to get that money or it takes a few days to get access, that’s usually enough to deter us from spending on a whim,” he says. “It’s a powerful tool, especially for impulse buyers.”
Opening a separate account is often as simple as finding a savings account with a bank other than where you do your main banking. But Blaylock also recommends exploring online banks, which may offer high-yield savings accounts. Usually, you can still easily access your money in online accounts, but it might take 24 to 48 hours to transfer funds once you request them.
Strategy #3: “All My Savings Go Into One Pot”
The risk with this: You’re socking money away at an impressive rate — and pooling it in one account, since it’s so much fun to see that balance grow, but, with this approach, it can be hard to know how much you’ve saved for different goals.
For example, if your emergency fund is commingled with your down-payment savings for a future house, you could easily deplete your emergency fund when it comes time to buy property. Similarly, if your baby savings are in there too, it can lead to false confidence about how much you’ve actually saved, because mentally you’ve earmarked that money twice!
Try this instead: Give yourself a more visual overview of your savings progress by creating separate sub-accounts for different objectives, like your emergency savings, a down payment on a house, or a future vacation. Many online banks make this super easy, and you can even nickname your accounts so you know exactly what each one is earmarked for.
RELATED: Dreaming Big: How 4 Real People Reached Their Ultimate Money Goals
There’s a tendency to go crazy with this idea and parse your savings into 50 different categories, Blaylock says — but, for clarity and sanity’s sake, resist. Keep your accounts limited to your top three to four objectives, and revisit them on a regular basis as your finances and objectives change.
Strategy #4: “I Save Big Chunks of Money When I Can”
The risk with this: If you only save big chunks of money whenever you get a windfall or feel like you can afford it, you may be an all-or-nothing saver who gets a thrill when you move the needle in a big way, or someone who tends to “borrow back” that savings from themselves. Meanwhile, one way to savings happiness is saving a manageable amount on a regular basis.
Try this instead: Come up with a real budget for how much you have to save each month instead of guessing. And the same goes for windfalls: Decide on a specific percentage of the money you’ll transfer to savings.
“We all lead busy lives, and the last thing we need to do is keep moving money around all the time because that causes stress,” says Blaylock. For instance, if you get disappointed in yourself for having to take the money out of savings, it might derail you from saving in the future.
The solution? Pick a savings goal that is sustainable — and stick to it. You can always revisit the amount if you think you can consistently start saving more.
RELATED: Are Your Financial Goals Realistic? We’ll Tell You
Sticking to a set monthly figure can also help get you off the emotional rollercoaster that can come with saving and unsaving. A lot of clients experience “feelings of exuberance when they save and then feelings of guilt when they have to take the money back,” Blaylock says. “Steady is better.”
Strategy #5: “I Save as Much Cash as I Possibly Can”
The risk with this: Saving is your top priority, and you can get borderline obsessive about it. You may be so intent on seeing your savings balance climb that you ignore other financial priorities — and deprive yourself of the occasional treat that would keep you happy and sane.
On the other side of the coin, there’s the type who may love having cash on hand a little too much. Instead of investing your money, you prefer to keep all of your savings liquid — but you may be missing out on the opportunity to let compound interest work its magic.
Try this instead: Make sure you’re not saving at the expense of other goals, like paying off your student loans or paying down credit card debt. “These things have to be worked on in tandem,” says Blaylock. “Anyone who thinks they should focus on just one area of their financial lives … it’s generally not the right approach.”
RELATED: Retirement, Savings or Debt? How to Prioritize Your Financial Goals
Though there is one exception to that maxim, Blaylock says: “If you don’t have one month of net income saved up in your emergency fund, you should consider forgoing all other goals until you get that saved,” he says. After that, you can work on putting some money into savings, some toward debt, and some toward any other financial goals, like your house down payment or a vacation fund. And don’t forget to treat yourself now and then. A new handbag or a fancy dinner on the town can be all the more enjoyable knowing you can afford it.
Once you top off your six-month emergency fund? Blaylock says it’s time to shift your strategy. Since “cash pays too little,” he recommends putting long-term savings you won’t need for at least five years (money earmarked for retirement or college, for instance) into an investment account in order to potentially grow your money.
This post originally appeared on LearnVest.
More From LearnVest
How Much of My Paycheck Should I Save Each Month?
The One-Number Strategy: A New Approach to Budgeting
The Secret Behind How I’m Saving 40% of My Pay
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LearnVest Planning Services is a registered investment adviser and subsidiary of LearnVest, Inc. that provides financial plans for its clients. Information shown is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended as investment, legal or tax planning advice. Please consult a financial adviser, attorney or tax specialist for advice specific to your financial situation. LearnVest Planning Services and any third parties listed in this message are separate and unaffiliated and are not responsible for each other’s products, services or policies.
So cool to see Jessica Seinfeld and her new blonde “do” in our TV studios shooting a satellite media tour with us on Veggie Blend Ins.
Yes, this foodie, who is married to a comedian we all love, is now partnering with Green Giant to help us sneak some extra veggies into our families meals — I seriously wish this was invented when I was raising my girls. This is how she tells her story.
The day before we shot, she came in for a short time to go over basics for the shoot and our plan for the following day. She had a great fashion sense — of course that was what I was paying attention to while my team was actually working.
She was wearing this great accordion pleated black and white maxi skirt with a simple black tank. It was effortless and simple but so fab.
The next morning it was show time! Jessica and her team were in the studio no later than 7:30 am to start the day’s shoots. Even at such an early hour of the day she was on her game, and yes, she was wearing another great outfit. Because she was going to be in front of the camera, she wore brighter hues. She wore a poppy red blazer with an adorable teal flower t-shirt underneath. She paired the top and blazer with a denim skirt.
If you had told me she was going to be wearing a denim skirt I would have been skeptical, but boy, did she pull it off.
The finishing touch to both outfits was her gorgeous do. Jessica, who is originally a brunette, recently died her hair platinum blonde and gave herself a pixie cut. The drastic change in cut and color is super cute, especially for these hot summer months ahead.
Diane Kruger does not like to lose.
On Monday, July 14, “The Bridge” star joined Jimmy Fallon, Michael Strahan and Steve Higgins for a lighthearted game of “Catchphrase” (sans any lightheartedness whatsoever).
During the game, Kruger said she wasn’t a good loser, and she definitely proved it. After dropping the first round, the German actress gave a stink eye so intense that Strahan said she was even scarier than NFL players.
Kruger did go on to laugh off the game, but it might be best for Strahan to just sleep with the light on for a little while.
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.
School-aged children are in the midst of summer vacation, a time to play outside and take a break from homework; or is it? Some youth will go off to summer camps, or spend their free time exploring museums and nature; however, others will find themselves without important learning opportunities. Inevitably, a lack of exposure to learning opportunities from one school year to the next leads to summer learning loss.
Research from the National Summer Learning Association shows students can lose two to three months of learning over the summer break, requiring teachers to spend more time at the beginning of the new school year revisiting topics, instead of moving ahead. This summer, learning loss, or “summer slide,” is an even bigger problem for families that can’t afford summer camps or other informal educational experiences during the summer. Every fall, elementary school teachers are faced with the impossible task of balancing the two ends of the summer learning spectrum between low-income and affluent students. By middle school, affluent students simply enter advanced classes, further exacerbating a rich-poor divide in educational attainment that has little to do with innate intelligence and everything to do with educational opportunity.
The hardest hit curriculum area for summer learning loss is mathematics. Researchers have also seen a backward slide in reading and spelling abilities from those students who come from low-income households. Whereas their middle class counterparts either maintain their abilities or show slight gains in these subject areas. Reading and spelling skills are more likely to be maintained over summer break because parents and families know which activities their children should be doing. Often, they are able to do these activities, such as reading, with their kids. Knowing which activities are best to engage youngsters in math can be more difficult. However, more options are becoming available to help parents and families.
Having access to quality summer programming plays a role in minimizing the achievement gap to set all children on the path to college and career success. For example, Wheelock College and Massachusetts General Hospital’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Summer Camp offered each June for rising 10th grade public school students from the Greater Boston area introduces students to STEM concepts through a combination of classroom experiments and field experiences at Boston-area companies. During the camp’s culminating celebration, students networked with Wheelock faculty and staff. They successfully articulated their future career goals and how they planned to achieve these goals.
The first step to combating summer learning loss is to shift our thinking from the idealistic view of what a summer vacation is supposed to be–rest and relaxation–to what it could be–an opportunity for growth. Exposing children, especially in their elementary years, to a multitude of activities that give them the opportunity to experience something new such as visiting a museum, sporting lessons, and regular visits to the library enhances brainpower. To be even more effective, these activities can be paired with structured programs. Individualized programs, parent engagement, and the freedom to explore new areas have all shown to be an effective way to maintain the knowledge developed over the school year.
Summer learning doesn’t have to be costly; there is a plethora of free activities to use in the home. For example, this year, educators at Wheelock College are hoping to combat summer learning loss with a first-of-its-kind web application to engage families with elementary-age students in STEM activities. Families have limited time to search online for these types of activities and even when they are able to find it, the information is not structured for parent/child engagement. This app makes STEM activities for families and students readily accessible. The web application has shown very positive results in pilot tests, including increasing a child’s interest in engineering, as well as parents’ comfort level discussing the topic. The application is available here.
Kids deserve time off, but that doesn’t mean learning should fall by the wayside. Parents today have more options than ever to keep kids learning and having fun throughout the summer months.
Here are several more of my favorite, free resources to help families lessen the summer slide:
Science Buddies Science Fair Project Ideas
Reading Tips to Go
Khan Academy
National Summer Learning Association
National Science Teachers Association
For younger kids: TRUCE – Play guides by season
Complacence with summer slide is the status quo, and it’s dangerous. Why not confront a problem that disproportionately disadvantages poor families and is so easily fixed. These young students’ brain development shouldn’t stop every summer–and their summer learning shouldn’t be boring, difficult or expensive. Families armed with these creative ideas and engaging programs can see their children enjoying educational progress this summer, instead of falling behind.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
