Financial and Lifestyle Resources for Vermont

How many times have you sat in a meeting and made a suggestion or a statement that gets you a few nonchalant head nods; then a man in the room makes the same suggestion and receives a round of applause and support? How many times have you been engaged in conversation with a group of men and realized nobody is making eye contact with you anymore and the men have created a bond that you just can’t infiltrate, so you sit quietly, shrink, and settle for observing after several attempts to engage? How many times have you been asked a question by a man, which you answer, and then the questioner bypasses your gaze to check in with another man for the “real answer”? How many times have you heard, “just get to the point”? If you’re a woman, I am confident you can relate.  

Extreme weather events are causing increasing numbers of power outages, and power outages can impact your life and your livelihood—maybe you have to throw out a freezer full of spoiled food, or you are cut off from loved ones during a storm, or can’t shower before work. It’s important to have energy alternatives that can help you meet your essential needs and keep your home habitable, maybe for an extended period, during power outages. Most people say water, food, warmth, and communication rank as essential needs. To help meet those needs, people are increasingly looking for new uses of solar energy that can help them protect their homes during outages. Here’s why.

A Guide for the Gift Procrastinator The holiday season is in full swing and it truly is the most wonderful time of the year. That is, until you realize it’s almost December and you have not yet tackled your rapidly growing list of gift recipients. If you’re a last-minute shopper, like many of us are, you know that holiday gift-giving can be stressful and costly when you’re rushing to buy presents days, or even weeks, before the first gift exchange. So, before you start mass-purchasing Amazon gift cards (which, by the way, is not a bad gift seeing as how you can get pretty much anything on Amazon), follow these seven tips to help reduce stress, save you time and money, and simplify last-minute shopping without sacrificing thoughtful gift-giving.

Over the course of my career, I’ve worked in the finance, travel and tourism, resort, athletic footwear and apparel, and snowboarding industries. As a result, I’ve learned quite a lot about branding and marketing at for-profit and non-profit organizations of every level from global brands to regional brands all the way down to niche brands.

So here's a fun fact, which also happens to be the reason I’m writing this blog: International Credit Union (ICU) Day comes every year on the third Thursday of October (October 18 in 2018). It’s a big day for credit unions and this year (2018), the theme is “Find Your Platinum Lining.” If you’re wondering why they're messing with your silver lining, they have a good reason. This is the platinum (70th) anniversary of ICU day, which started in 1948 and has been celebrated on the third Thursday of October since then.

If your house were a human, the attic and roof would be its head—that part of the human anatomy that loses the most heat. Just as you would wear a hat in the winter, you want to make sure your attic and roof are protected against the elements.

In a time when cyber-attacks and identity theft are becoming all too common, you can (and should) take some steps to ensure that your information stays safe. Of those steps, keeping your electronic devices up to date is one of the most important.

When you first start bike commuting, a big question you are going to have is what kind of bike do you need? There are a ton of different bikes out there, and I am not even talking about brands. It can be very confusing. When it comes to buying your bike, the most important thing you can do is ask yourself these questions.