Five Tips To Keep Your Pet Cool In The Summer Heat

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As people emerge from lock down into summer weather across most of the nation it can be very tempting to immediately pull out the leash and take Fido for a walk. The problem with that is this is a hot country – June has been insane in some parts of the Midwest – and going from the air conditioned breeze of lock down to a walk in the blazing sun is just not ideal for your pet.

It is vital to give your pet the help it needs to stay cool in the summer sun and here are five tips that will help your pets – both large and small – beat the heat as the temperatures rise:

Avoid the heat of the day

This one sounds simple, but it is a tip that many people still need to be reminded about. The best strategy with a dog is to go for walks either early in the morning before work or later in the evening after work. Avoiding the sun at its hottest is the key here, while also remembering that the sidewalk will have been heating up for as long as the sun has been out to the point where it can burn your puppy’s paws. Know when the heat of the day hits in your region and do everything you can to avoid that time period.

Groom your pets

Having a thick, heavy, insulating coat is ideal for pets in the winter. In the summer, however, it is like a human going for a walk with a thick layer of blankets that you can’t take off without assistance. Be sure to keep your pet neatly trimmed during the summer months, giving them vital help in beating the heat. This isn’t just important for dogs, but also for backyard critters like angora rabbits that can easily overheat because of their fur.

Hydration is paramount

Pets need their water and they need it to be cold. Just as you wouldn’t be refreshed by water that has been sitting in the 90 degree sun for hours, neither will your pet. Make sure that any water bowls, troughs, or bottles are in the shade as much as possible. It’s also a good idea to throw an ice cube or two into a water bowl to really keep your pet’s water as cool as it can be.

Watch for signs of distress

You can take many steps to prevent your pet from overheating, but sometimes that might not be enough. That’s why it’s important to quickly notice if your pet is too hot so you can find ways to immediately cool them down. Some early signs of overheating include excessive panting, disorientation, excessive drooling, and overall weakness. If you see any combination of these symptoms then take precautions such as getting into the shade and getting your dog water as soon as possible.

Don’t take your pet in the car

There is a small window during the year when it is safe to take your pet in the car when you go shopping or out for lunch. The summer is not the time for this. Leaving your pet in the car – even with cracked windows – is simply a no-no. Researchers at Live Science ran tests and found that in just one hour at 95 Fahrenheit temperatures the average temperature inside the car was 116 F. The dashboard – a favorite place for some dogs to rest – reached a staggering 157 F in that hour. The hot car is no place for a pet to stay and it’s vital you make the correct decision to leave them at home for their own safety.

 

Article by Vital Guidance

Cycling Helps Your Body In Many Ways

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Cycling has become the new normal for many around the world with the Covid-19 pandemic continuing to wreak havoc on exercise and transport routines. Bike sales in the US were up 50% in March according to market research firm The NPD Group.   Overall bike sales – including stationary bikes – grew 31% in the first quarter according to the same firm year-over- year from 2019. Market experts expect that trend to continue through the second quarter as people look to bikes to replace their scaled down exercise regimes.

It makes sense that bikes have become such a big deal. Even as public transport begins to reopen, consumers have found that they prefer the open spaces and fresh air of a bike ride to work or to a local pub over the same trip in a packed bus or subway car. Biking has become so popular during the crisis that some major cities – including London in the United Kingdom – have shut off entire areas to cars with no plans to reopen them post-pandemic.

Cycling helps the body in many ways. Some of these are obvious and some a little more obscure, but your overall health will be helped by adding some cycling to your routine as lockdowns allow. The most obvious way that cycling helps is because it’s an aerobic exercise that increases your metabolism and burns calories at the same time, which is why cycling is so good for those looking to achieve weight loss goals.

According to a Harvard University study, 30 minutes of mountain biking will burn around 316 calories for someone weighing 155 pounds. This is a number that will be higher if you way more and lower if you weigh less. If mountain biking is a little too extreme – or if there are no trails around to ride – then don’t worry. Outside biking will burn around 298 for a 155 pound person, while stationary biking will burn around 260 calories assuming you are going at what is considered a moderate pace (around 12 miles per hour).

Biking is especially useful for exercise if you are rehabbing from an injury or if you are someone with joint issues. It’s a low-impact recreational activity and one that doesn’t involve high impact to the joints. This is very different to running on the road or the majority of team sports, all of which put far more wear and tear on the body.

Cycling is also an exercise activity where it’s easy to scale up or down depending on your fitness needs and goals. Sometimes it can be hard to push the pace while running, but on a bike you can work in sprints and hills to make your session as challenging as you like. On another day you can just take a leisurely ride to another activity or event. Cycling can help our health in any way you want.

Perhaps the best reason to cycle in this new normal, however, is because biking is a great form of stress relief and a study in Mental Health and Physical Activity showing that people who exercised slept better.  Other factors show that a healthy, stress free way of thinking is boosted by exercise. Cycling helps lower the levels of stress hormones (cortisol) in the body, allowing for a more peaceful night and a more productive life.

Cycling – and outdoor cycling in particular – is amazing at pushing away stress. There is something about the air whipping past your ears as you fall into a pedaling cadence that allows you to focus on nothing other than the sights and smells you are passing through. Getting out into the country and getting on a bike is one of the simple pleasures in life, perfect for socially isolating with your family while having a picnic lunch in the middle of a field or for training on your own for a return to your regular sporting routine when things return to a more normal level.

Article By Vital Guidance

Top 10 Family Fun Ideas For Summer 2020

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Some parts of the country are already done with school for the year. Others will follow suit in short order. Memorial Day marks the start of the summer in much of the country – especially in the Midwest – so families are now working on the changeover from a Covid-19 interrupted school year into a Covid-19 interrupted summer vacation.

This is a summer that is going to require a lot of vital guidance and help both from parents to kids and kids to parents. Many summer vacations – especially those that would have taken families out of the country – have had to be postponed or cancelled because there are no flights. This summer is going to be one where it is what you make of it.

To help with the boredom – and the problems of finding things to do – here are 10 ideas that could be the start (or the entirety) of a Summer 2020 bucket list to give you the vital help you need in finding things to do (mostly) at home:

  1. Backyard Camping:  A classic for a reason. This is a great way to bond with your children outdoors, yet in the comfort of your own backyard. Modify to an indoor tent if you don’t have any yard space.
  1. Cook Together:  Teaching kids how to cook is an essential life skill. This summer, show them how to cook fresh ingredients and have them pick out recipes they want to try to get them eating new things.
  1. A Sidewalk Chalk Gallery:  Have kids on the same street or in a neighborhood draw their very best pieces of sidewalk chalk art. Then – while distancing – walk with the kids around the neighborhood and find out what they like about each piece of art.
  1. Fly a kite:  There is a reason that it feels a little bit like the 1950s right now. Jump into that nostalgia run and teach your kid the simple joys of flying a kite. The bonus here is that there are huge kite festivals in the US every year, so in 2021 aim to visit one of those if you both develop a passion for catching the wind.
  1. Backyard Movie Night:  Drive-in theatres are always fun, so recreate that magic in your own backyard. All you really need is a projector, a white sheet/wall, and a DVD player/speakers. Add in popcorn and some old fashioned sodas for a throwback evening of entertainment.
  1. Make S’mores:  S’mores are an American classic, but you would be shocked how many kids don’t even know what they are. Get a fire pit going in the backyard and show them with vital guidance what they have been missing out on with the gooey marshmallow treats.
  1. Create a nature garden:  This can be as simple as planting a few flowers that are known to attract butterflies or as technical as buying (or even making) a birdbath or squirrel feeders. Make sure to go to the nature garden at various times of day – and look under the rocks – to see what the kids can find.
  1. A Virtual Summer Camp:  Sure. It is not the same as going to an actual camp, but there are many programs out there setting up virtual camps to entertain and educate kids this summer. DIY Summer Camp and Camp Wonderopolis are just two examples of this trend.
  1. Water Games:  Be it a Slip ‘N Slide, an above ground pool, a water balloon fight, or running through the sprinklers, the summer demands water. As having friends over might not be an option, dial back the years and become a kid again by joining in with the fun.
  1. Bike Ride and Picnic:  This is going to be the best summer yet to spend time doing nothing while exploring the outdoors. Pack up a picnic lunch and burn the energy for your meal by biking to and from a park or other socially distant space to eat.

 

Article by Vital Guidance

Four Things To Know About Your Insurance & Covid 19

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Life insurance has never seems as important as it does in 2020. A pandemic taking over the world and altering the very fabric of what people once considered normal life will do that. It is now more important than ever to know what your insurance product options are, what your current policy covers, and what you can do to increase your coverage if you are not happy with what you learn about your policy or the company that holds it.

This Covid-19 pandemic is going to reshape our culture for the foreseeable future. This may be a season virus with peaks and troughs, it may slow down for periods before resurfacing, and it will certainly impact communities around the globe at different times and with different levels of severity. Knowing where you stand is vital since it’s now to the point in some areas that those looking for insurance policies are being turned away at numbers never seen before.  So here are four important things to know about life insurance options with where the world currently stands:

Am I covered if I die from the Coronavirus?
The short answer here is most likely yes. As long as your initial policy application was complete and without error – and assuming you have been paying your premiums on time – then the likelihood is that your policy will pay out for a pandemic death. The major exception here is that anyone who bought and maintained an accidental death only policy would not be covered. This type of insurance product option covers you for car accidents and other such unexpected events and does not cover deaths from disease or illness.

Can I still apply for life insurance?
Yes you can. The key here is to be honest on your application, especially regarding questions surrounding your overall health and your travel history. Insurers aren’t looking to deny claims for people who it benefits them to cover, so people under the age of 45 with a clean medical history are far less likely to be turned away – or have a jacked up policy rate – than people who are older with preexisting medical conditions. If you are looking to pick up a life insurance policy then you are advised to do so sooner rather than later by experts in the field.

Are my rates going to spike?
No.  One of the benefits of life insurance as compared to other insurance policies that we carry – such as car or home auto – is that the rates are locked in place for the entirety of the policy. That means that this global pandemic can be taking over the world – or theoretically the zombie apocalypse could be upon us – and your rate would maintain the same level as before. Any company trying to push your rate higher should be reported.

Where are the best deals?
Compare insurance product options and shop around to make sure you are getting the best deal. There are plenty of websites out there that will show you options after completing a short questionnaire and the process has been refined online to the point that it is very simple and effective. Be aware that some insurers may want you to complete a standard medical while others will not. If this is a problem during this period where the doctor’s office can seem like a scary place then count that in as part of your personal decision making process.

Be aware that this is an ever-changing situation. Some states have implemented grace periods into their insurance policies while others are carrying on with business as usual.

Article by Vital Guidance

Help Pets Prepare For Another New Normal Before You Return To Work

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The vital relationship nurtured between you and your pet during the COVID-19 crisis is likely one that neither of you ever expected to happen. With the number of people working from home, or suddenly not working at all, there has been so much more time than ever before for an owner and a pet to form a bond of reliance. This is just natural and is something that should have been pursued, especially if you were in any state of serious lockdown.

As more businesses are starting to reopen, and as more employees are finding their way back to work, a change will soon be occurring in your life and daily routine. Lockdown was hard. Staying home was difficult and you had to completely change your mind set in order to make the most out of a tough situation. While things aren’t going to be normal any time soon, the return to work and to aspects of a normal life will also require an adjustment, both for you and for the pet that has come to rely on your company for the last two months.

Separation anxiety is a problem for both humans and pets. If what was there for more 60 days in some cases suddenly goes away five days a week, then your pet is going to be sad, bored, and lonely. This is obviously not a good situation, and it’s vital to start putting in some time to get your pet’s expectations in the right place for when this happens.

Allow Kim Steffes, owner of a dog training center in Indianapolis to explain:

“Just before school starts, parents start a couple weeks beforehand, putting the kids to bed a little bit earlier. They kind of get back into that routine, so it’s not a shock when school actually starts and they have to get up early and go to bed early; That’s what people should be doing for their dogs,” Steffes explains.

Dr. Roger Mugford , a well-respected animal psychologist who has been used by the British royal family to work with the corgis of Queen Elizabeth II, agrees with this statement. “With such an overload of quality time with their families, dogs are building up a huge reservoir of over-dependency which could see them suffer when moms and dads suddenly return to work and the children go back to school,” he says.

He further adds that “When left alone, dogs can chew the house, annoy the neighbors by constantly barking, urinate and defecate inside, and sometimes even self-harm. Put a webcam on your dog and you’ll see howling and pacing and other distress signs.”

This is obviously a nightmare scenario for any dog lover to think about. Just the concept that it has been possible to love your dog too much during quarantine that it would then affect the dog’s state of wellbeing over the next few months is something that is difficult to wrap your head around, and painful to think about. Adequately preparing for this moment is vital to make any pain be minimal.

Preparation could include something as simple as crating your dog for a few hours each day while you are home working to get your pet used to the routine. It could mean taking your dog for walks only at times when you would usually be home to do so. Doing this now and stretching it out over a period of a couple of weeks, will help avoid the cold-turkey affect and maintain that vital relationship that you have forged during the crisis.

 

Article by Vital Guidance

 

Help Pets Prepare For Another New Normal Before You Return To Work

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The vital relationship nurtured between you and your pet during the COVID-19 crisis is likely one that neither of you ever expected to happen. With the number of people working from home, or suddenly not working at all, there has been so much more time than ever before for an owner and a pet to form a bond of reliance. This is just natural and is something that should have been pursued, especially if you were in any state of serious lockdown.

As more businesses are starting to reopen, and as more employees are finding their way back to work, a change will soon be occurring in your life and daily routine. Lockdown was hard. Staying home was difficult and you had to completely change your mind set in order to make the most out of a tough situation. While things aren’t going to be normal any time soon, the return to work and to aspects of a normal life will also require an adjustment, both for you and for the pet that has come to rely on your company for the last two months.

Separation anxiety is a problem for both humans and pets. If what was there for more 60 days in some cases suddenly goes away five days a week, then your pet is going to be sad, bored, and lonely. This is obviously not a good situation, and it’s vital to start putting in some time to get your pet’s expectations in the right place for when this happens.

Allow Kim Steffes, owner of a dog training center in Indianapolis to explain:

“Just before school starts, parents start a couple weeks beforehand, putting the kids to bed a little bit earlier. They kind of get back into that routine, so it’s not a shock when school actually starts and they have to get up early and go to bed early; That’s what people should be doing for their dogs,” Steffes explains.

Dr. Roger Mugford , a well-respected animal psychologist who has been used by the British royal family to work with the corgis of Queen Elizabeth II, agrees with this statement. “With such an overload of quality time with their families, dogs are building up a huge reservoir of over-dependency which could see them suffer when moms and dads suddenly return to work and the children go back to school,” he says.

He further adds that “When left alone, dogs can chew the house, annoy the neighbors by constantly barking, urinate and defecate inside, and sometimes even self-harm. Put a webcam on your dog and you’ll see howling and pacing and other distress signs.”

This is obviously a nightmare scenario for any dog lover to think about. Just the concept that it has been possible to love your dog too much during quarantine that it would then affect the dog’s state of wellbeing over the next few months is something that is difficult to wrap your head around, and painful to think about. Adequately preparing for this moment is vital to make any pain be minimal.

Preparation could include something as simple as crating your dog for a few hours each day while you are home working to get your pet used to the routine. It could mean taking your dog for walks only at times when you would usually be home to do so. Doing this now and stretching it out over a period of a couple of weeks, will help avoid the cold-turkey affect and maintain that vital relationship that you have forged during the crisis.

 

Article by Vital Guidance

 

Spring Is A Time To Be Ready For Real Estate Options

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Real estate buying and selling options were way down in March 2020 as a direct result of the Coronavirus outbreak. As potential buyers and sellers watched the economy fall apart across the country, real estate suffered as people who may have been in the market to buy or sell a newly built or existing home, decided to shelter in place versus splashing out their money on a mortgage.

There is no doubt it was the right thing to do at the time. Research on Zillow shows that signed contracts on houses are about one-third lower right now than they were at this time last year with people protecting their cash and other investments. There is – though – a glimmer of hope.

Spring always feels like the perfect time to explore your real estate buying and selling options as the weather gets warmer. This year the threat of Corona is still real, but there is an added feeling of hope that comes with spring.  Retail sales for housing picked up as we moved through April.  This may be a sign the worst part of the crisis – at least from the perspective of the housing market – could be over.

Web traffic – another great indicator of housing interest – also picked up during the last two weeks of April, though the numbers are still lower than average in major metros like New York City and Boston where the virus is a bigger problem. How much of this is people being bored sitting at home versus people actually looking to buy a house is up for debate, but on the back end of this it’s entirely possible that people who were happy with their living condition pre-Corona will be looking for something a little different – a move to space in the suburbs perhaps – that they wouldn’t have considered before.

The whole real estate market has turned virtual in the last month and this is important to consider if you are looking to buy or sell. Housing values have remained steady – impressive given some of our economic markets have gone into free fall.  So if you are someone considering your real estate buying and selling options you should be using this time to get your house prepared and learning about the new methods to be on top of the situation when you decide to make the move.

Article by Vital Guidance

Spring Is A Time To Be Ready For Real Estate Options

/in , /by

Real estate buying and selling options were way down in March 2020 as a direct result of the Coronavirus outbreak. As potential buyers and sellers watched the economy fall apart across the country, real estate suffered as people who may have been in the market to buy or sell a newly built or existing home, decided to shelter in place versus splashing out their money on a mortgage.

There is no doubt it was the right thing to do at the time. Research on Zillow shows that signed contracts on houses are about one-third lower right now than they were at this time last year with people protecting their cash and other investments. There is – though – a glimmer of hope.

Spring always feels like the perfect time to explore your real estate buying and selling options as the weather gets warmer. This year the threat of Corona is still real, but there is an added feeling of hope that comes with spring.  Retail sales for housing picked up as we moved through April.  This may be a sign the worst part of the crisis – at least from the perspective of the housing market – could be over.

Web traffic – another great indicator of housing interest – also picked up during the last two weeks of April, though the numbers are still lower than average in major metros like New York City and Boston where the virus is a bigger problem. How much of this is people being bored sitting at home versus people actually looking to buy a house is up for debate, but on the back end of this it’s entirely possible that people who were happy with their living condition pre-Corona will be looking for something a little different – a move to space in the suburbs perhaps – that they wouldn’t have considered before.

The whole real estate market has turned virtual in the last month and this is important to consider if you are looking to buy or sell. Housing values have remained steady – impressive given some of our economic markets have gone into free fall.  So if you are someone considering your real estate buying and selling options you should be using this time to get your house prepared and learning about the new methods to be on top of the situation when you decide to make the move.

Article by Vital Guidance

Kids Need Your Vital Guidance During & After Pandemic

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Good mental health is a struggle for all of us during the Covid-19 lock down. We have all lost things we love to do – be that simply going for a drink with friends or playing sports competitively – and that disruption to the norm is taking its toll on how people are able to get through their days. While this is an issue for people of all ages, it is children that really need the best vital guidance that you can give at this point as we continue to navigate through uncharted waters in life.

While adults are – for the most part – fully emotionally and mentally developed, the same cannot be said for your children. Overnight our kids were expected to be able to adjust from thinking about the next sporting event they would play in or the next play date they would go on, to being in a lock down situation with no idea when they would be able to see their friends again.

While this is mitigated somewhat by technology, just imagine where we would be as a global society if this had happened 20 years ago. Face-timing a friend isn’t the same as being able to go to the mall or the movies. This pandemic is stripping kids – specifically tweens and teenagers – of emotional development that they will need to be able to grow in a post-pandemic world.

The good news is that with the right vital guidance most kids will turn out alright. This is the view of most economists and psychologists on the subject – despite their data sets being limited at this point. The best thing you can do as a parent during this time is to give your child a safe, stress free, and stable environment to live in. Young kids will bounce back quicker – they will feel less pressure and stress from the situation – and encouraging interaction without being pushy is a really important parenting technique to master if your child starts to seem withdrawn.

Tighter finances, food shortages, and job losses are all stressful. Those vulnerable families are the ones that are likely to see their children become more withdrawn – for any number of reasons – and as such they are the families that will rely on vital guidance both now and after the pandemic,

Kids are resilient by nature and most will find a way to adapt and roll with the punches. Just try to be a little extra aware at the moment – even with the pressures put on you as a parent during this time – of exactly how your kids are doing and what state their mental health is in.

Article By Vital Guidance

Technology Expands The Way Estate Planning Is Done

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We have written before on this website that estate planning shouldn’t be something that is ranked as optional. That has been true for decades, but with a pandemic on our hands worldwide – and specifically in the United States – it should come as no surprise that there has been an uptick in people looking for estate planning services to be prepared if the worst comes to the worst in this new normal of social distancing.

While each state has different rules and regulations when it comes to estate planning.  It is interesting to see some of the changes in a process that can be antiquated at best – and out of touch to the point of cumbersome at worst – that have been bought about by the Coronavirus crisis.

One obvious change is that the ability to create important documents in the estate planning process are now accessed and completed online in many states. While there are still very strict rules and guidance on how this must be done – such as what legal services to go through to have these documents be valid – it is a huge step in a country where many are locked down and the vulnerable are often frightened to leave their houses.

One vital tip here is to be careful about what you do and who you go through to get it done.  If you are going to use online estate planning services be prepared to ask questions about credentials and experience. Scammers love a crisis and the number of Covid-19 related scam artists and schemes will likely increase over the next few months. If you are unsure about the authenticity of a firm or company that is offering estate planning, talk to a family member that you trust as a second pair of eyes and ears on the situation. Be sure to do your research and only go through law firms, banks and trust companies that have your best interests at heart as you make big decisions for your estate.

Creating an estate plan is not fun at the best of times, and these are not the best of times. It is, though, a task that you will feel accomplished and it might just give you one less thing to worry about in a time when anxiety and stress are higher than ever.  Call your advisor and take advantage of these new and improved ways of getting your estate plan completed as soon as possible.

Article By Vital Guidance