Black Friday – Go or Stay Home?

We all like to save money- it seems to be how Americans do things; this year is especially challenging with COVID-19. Black Friday has always been the hallmark of savings, where each store has their fantastic deals with only a certain number of them. In 2020 the big obstacle is safety, so many stores have turned to virtual, online events.  However, some ardent shoppers want to pursue store deals, even in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Why Black Friday is Intense According to the International Business Times (IBT), there are three reasons that Black Friday is so intense:...

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Is There a Link Between Domestic Violence and Financial Stress? [Updated]

Can Financial Stress Lead to Domestic Violence? As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, families are seeing their financial situation worsening. Unemployment rates are high, evictions are occurring, and businesses are permanently closing. At the same time, domestic violence (DV) agencies were reporting an increase in calls from women in need. The Facts This increase, unfortunately, should not have been a surprise. According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, domestic violence is actually three times more likely to occur when a couple is experiencing high financial stresses versus low financial stresses. Women whose male partners experienced two or more...

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road rage, Timothy Dimoff, Life Rage

Road Rage: 5 Tried and Tested Ways to Avoid It [Updated]

In Florida, two men exchanged words in at an intersection, pull into a nearby parking lot, get out of their cars, and start beating on each other. One man has a knife. He stabs the other man in the face several times, and the knife victim is rushed to the hospital. In Wisconsin, a woman is teaching her teenage son to drive. They have a minor car crash. The driver of the other vehicle shoots her to death. In Georgia, a man runs over another person he thought was throwing golf balls at his car. Unfortunately, incidents like this...

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Tomorrow is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day – Do you Know the Signs?

Every January 11th, we are tasked to learn more about human trafficking. Please take everything you think you know about it and throw it in the preverbal trash can. Human trafficking doesn’t happen exclusively in big cities, near international borders, or in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. It happens everywhere. Ohio has the fourth largest incidents of trafficking behind Florida, California, and Texas. In 2019, Ohio received a “C” grade by Shared Hope International regarding our state’s sex trafficking laws and prevention tactics. We are the only state that requires 16- or 17-year-olds to prove they were sex trafficking victims. However, the...

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