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In a world full of visible dangers, the last thing anyone in North Carolina wants to think about is the invisible ones. But they're there and, believe it or not, many of them may be lurking inside your home. According to the CDC, each year, approximately 430 people in the U.S. die from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning and more than 50,000 are treated for it. Mold is prevalent in an estimated 70 percent of American homes. And the EPA and Surgeon General attribute more than 21,000 annual deaths from lung cancer in the U.S. to radon exposure.
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Successful small businesses are often the result of the proverbial blood, sweat, and tears of the owner. They require no small measure of risk, sacrifice, and commitment. Long hours, unpredictability, increased responsibility, financial insecurity, and a host of other factors all make running a small business a challenging and taxing endeavor.
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Nobody likes to go to the doctor, especially when they aren't sick. But preventative healthcare is a huge piece of the long, healthy, and happy life puzzle. Annual wellness exams often include a general screening, vitals check, labs, and maintenance for chronic health conditions. In fact, it isn't uncommon that these annual exams identify early-stage diseases like cancer, concerning blood pressure and cholesterol levels, thyroid dysfunction, and a host of other common deficiencies and abnormalities. And, since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandated 100 percent coverage for preventative care, there's no excuse for missing your annual physical.
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Anymore, it's an expectation: New Year's Day rolls around and a laundry list of resolutions lies before us. Gym membership and self-help book sales skyrocket. The revelry of the holidays gives way to Dry January, "clean" meal planning, and the next best diet. Entrepreneurs recommit to the hustle. A growth mindset is on the tip of everyone's tongue. It seems that everyone is looking to fix, improve, and ascend the latter of some self-determined actualization or another.
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Roadside breakdowns can be more than a mere inconvenience, emergencies of this nature, if not prepared for and handled correctly, can be dangerous for all involved, including other drivers. Following a few basic steps can ensure that you and your vehicle make it through the breakdown as easily and safely as possible.
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Winter is coming, whether we're ready or not. Every year, despite all of fall's colorful warning signs, shorter days, and brisk mornings, the first blanket of white always seems to come as an abrupt surprise, dusting all that summer gear you never made it around to storing with regret. This year, no regrets! You're going to clean up, check, and double-check your way to being properly prepared. And here's how you're going to do it.
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Over the last decade, there's been a shift in the workplace, one that prioritizes the health and happiness of employees. For large corporations, like Facebook and Google, that might include time allotted to working out each week in an on-site facility, and for most, it's meant a shift in work schedules from in-person office time to hybrid models. This new "business as usual" allows increased personal freedom and an improved work-life balance for many. However, for managers, it has necessitated an overhaul of procedures to ensure traditionally effective business standards are met.
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After watching gas prices skyrocket, savvy buyers in North Carolina are thinking twice about big purchases like vacations, automobiles, and homes. While speculation seems to be vacillating between optimistic and decidedly less than, consumers are left with questions and not many answers. Does it make more sense to drain your savings to pay for a new vehicle or to finance with any number of loan options?
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There's no getting around the fact that many jobs require desk time, and for many people, that means eight-plus hours a day just sitting. In an ideal world, a life complete with regular yoga practice, chiropractic adjustments, strength training, constitutionals, ideal nutrition, and relaxing massages might be the obvious solution. But few can support such luxuries. Still, adjustments must be made to the sedentary necessities of the grind if it's to continue, well, grinding. Here are a few simple solutions to the desk debacle:
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Considering the barrage of daily concerns, your homeowner's insurance policy may be the last thing on your mind. And yet, examining and reevaluating home insurance policies on an annual basis is a critical facet of homeownership, ensuring adequate coverage and protection for the most valuable asset and source of equity for many people in North Carolina and beyond. Premiums, like much else in the current economic climate, are forecasted to see some big increases in the coming year, with some expected to exceed $1,000 a year and many slated for rate hikes in the double digits.
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