Why buy a paper shredder?

According to the Federal Trade Association (FTA), an estimated 9 million Americans have their identities stolen every year. With the holidays around the corner, it's more important than ever to protect your personal and financial information. Identity thieves still rely on the most common and cheapest way to steal your information - digging through your trash and grabbing papers such as old credit card statements, expired credit cards, bills, check stubs, pay stubs, and even something as innocuous as a birthday card. Even with today's threat of fraud happening at an alarming rate, many people still throw away their old documents without thinking twice. 

Credit card offers increase dramatically around the holidays, as these institutions hope to gain more profit by tempting people with preapproved credit limits. Such applications are rampant at this time, and thieves know this. If your identity and information gets stolen, the thief can use it to make an exorbitant amount of orders online, and have them shipped to their address instead of theirs. 

Take the proper steps to protect yourself, your identity and your finances - not just around the holidays, but all year around. What is the easiest way to do so? Simply invest in a quality paper shredder. Not enough consumers do the proper research to find the best paper shredder for their needs. While it's common for businesses and corporations to use shredders, every home should have one. A small investment now will pay off in huge dividends when you realize you've cut the easiest rope thieves can climb to find out who you are. 

First, you'll need to determine what a thief would need to steal your identity. Here's a condensed list:

•    Your name
•    Mailing/billing address
•    Date of birth
•    Mother's maiden name
•    Social security number
•    Account numbers (bank, credit card, etc)
•    PIN numbers and passwords

As you may have guessed, your social security number is target number one - the skeleton key to your identity and who you are on paper. You'll want to make absolutely sure any document that reveals your social security number, even partly, is completely destroyed. 

How do you find the best shredder for the highest security possible?

Paper shredders come in three shred types - strip-cut, cross-cut and micro-cut. Strip-cut shredders do just that - they cut paper into strips, and are the most commonly found because of their economic value. However, leaving your documents in even sized s...

Profect against identity theft with a paper shredder while doing your 2012 taxes

It’s almost time to file your taxes! In the United States, tax return season runs from January 1 – April 15 in 2013. Be prepared and protect your identity during this crucial time by shredding sensitive documents while filing your tax returns. Even if you believe your past paperwork is too old, outdated or insignificant, any personal information that ties back to your identity can be used by thieves. W2 forms, specific tax related forms such as 1040 or 1040A, and any other receipts, statements, and invoices have your personal information and should be eliminated after filing.

Your name, address, social security number and income numbers are plainly displayed and should only be viewed by authorized personnel, such as the IRS. Identity thieves know that this is a prime time to collect your information and up their efforts to rummage trash for old forms, receipts and invoices. This is the best time to shred all of your financial or personal information and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

You were probably saving your pay stubs, receipts and statements all year in preparation for your taxes. While you’re collecting the previous year’s paperwork, why not use the time to shred older papers and documents you may have stored away? You will likely bring up your storage of old documents, statements, invoices and forms from past filing seasons.

There are many benefits to shredding your old documents while doing your taxes:

• •  Save time as you sift through outdated documents and keep your important files up-to-date
• •  Free up current space and save storage space
• •  Easier organization and even easier to find what you need
• •  Unclutter cabinets for a head start on your spring cleaning 

The IRS suggests keeping documents that support your tax returns for at least three years in the event of an unexpected audit. However, if you’re absolutely sure the threat of an audit has passed, or you’re confident that you’ve done your taxes accurately and reported all income, keep a copy of that year’s tax return and shred everything you used to reference the return.

ATM receipts, credit card statements, business invoices, write-offs, paycheck stubs, bank statements, investment records, insurance policies and big purchase warranties can all be safely shredded after you no longer need the information for that year’s filing.

These days, you do not need paper versions of your receipts and forms. The IRS ...

Why Buy a Portable Speaker?

You own an iPod, a mobile device equipped with audio, a laptop and a PSP. You can listen to music and other audio files on each and everyone of these things. Why would you possibly want to purchase a portable speaker? The fact is each of these pieces of equipment do broadcast audio, but they do not play it loud and clear without the use of headphones. In fact, most laptops, phones and handheld video games can only be heard if you are holding them closely. Also, most MP3 players can only be heard with the use of headphones. The restriction of audio does not allow you to hear the music loud or clear.

Portable speakers can fix this for you. Not only can you listen to you music without the use of headphones, but you can also broadcast it throughout the room. Others can listen to your music with you and the quality will be like nothing you've ever heard before.

If you look for a portable speaker that is compatible with all of your audio devices, your audio selections will be endless. There are many different portable speakers on the market, but to get the most for your money you should get one that has dual USB technology. This will give you the opportunity to use your portable speaker on both PCs and Macs.

One positive attribute to having a handheld speaker is listening to music with other people. If you have a portable speaker you can hook it up to your MP3 player or laptop and broadcast the music for the entire room to hear. This is a great idea for parties and casual get-togethers.

Handheld speakers are also good if you are a fitness fanatic that likes to work out with friends, having a compact speaker will allow you to listen to music together. There are some portable speakers on the market that are designed for the fitness gurus. They are small in size and weigh less than ½ pound. They also come with a fitness armband that will fit your MP3 player as well.

No matter what you use to listen to audio files, having a portable speaker will be beneficial. It will allow you to listen to your music louder, more clearly and without interference. It will also give you the ability to share your music with friends and most importantly, you won't have to use those dreaded headphones anymore.

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