Let’s get into practical and doable means by which we can manage our expenses to manage our budget and save some money. There are many options to invest money in tangible assets, but we need to do several things to control our monthly expenses as consumers. Some of these may not be practical for the city where you live, but most of these would apply to the four major cities of Pakistan. The budgeting and spending tips will apply to every place in Pakistan.

With global predictions for rising dollar rates and an IMF debt burden that is growing, we Pakistanis can expect rising inflation rates over the next two years, for the very least, as stated by the World Bank. Knowing these predictions for inflation means that we have an opportunity to lock in rates and offers for financing at present rates to avoid further increases.

1. Re-evaluate your expenses and go for a house loan

Building an asset is almost the same as having cash in hand. Property prices in Pakistan’s urban areas are rising. With the current measures for encouraging real estate and house building, many options can be explored. House loans are usually booked at fixed rates, which means that your payments will be locked at a fixed amount.

If you are living on rent, it is definite that rents will rise as inflation rises. Explore options of house loans if you have a stable source of income and look for places where your loan installment would match or be less than your current monthly rent. If you can own the property, it is better to pick a locality with lower prices than renting in a better location where you will always be on rent. Don’t be stuck on brands and appearances and think practically. That being said, please remember to focus on areas where the property will be in demand and where the basic amenities are available, like water, electricity, gas, and sewerage.

Compared to rentals that can be increased every year, house loans are a more practical option to manage rising living costs. They offer the additional incentive of letting you earn towards an asset as you pay off your loan.

2. Explore savings options

The returns on your savings account are never enough to plan a savings fund with. To manage your earnings to save for emergencies, you must explore savings plans offered by mutual funds, insurance, and investment companies.

Saving through a financial institution should yield better returns than a savings account. Returns on money placed in savings certificates and fixed deposit accounts are better than saving accounts.

Investing in a savings plan for each of your children would mean focused savings that would yield returns as and when you need it. Most insurance companies offer policies that let you save up for children’s education and marriage expenses.

Many companies also offer options to include emergency withdrawals or to get an additional policy to cover medical expenses.

3. Finance your assets with loans

As long as you manage your debt to earnings ratio (how much debt you take in proportion to your income), taking debt to finance a strong business idea is a good choice. Keeping your debt burden manageable is while borrowing some money and starting a second revenue stream. Personal debt has the additional advantage of being tax exempt.

This exemption means that if you borrow money to buy an asset to earn form, you will end up with tax savings while building another income source and having a manageable debt payment. Many options can be chosen. You can borrow enough to get a bike and source it for delivery work like in bykea or careem.

You can also invest some funds in small scale food kiosks or carts. Or start an online e-commerce business with minimal investment. Both can be run on your own or through hired staff.

If you can access a larger loan, lease a car and use it for carpooling services to cover the additional loan amount. By the end of a few years, you will have a car of your own and a source of alternate income as well.

4. Improve your spending habits

An essential element of saving is to have a saving tendency. Knowing that costs will rise, try to keep your lifestyle simple. Try to opt for greener and healthier life choices. Instead of going to expensive malls and play areas for family outings all the time, take your children to parks and let them enjoy the fresh air and healthy fruits as snacks.

Instead of gaming and gadgets, let your older children play physical sports like cricket, football, swimming, roller skating. These hobbies require one off expenses for memberships and equipment but will have the added perk of making your child and yourself physically active. Most neighborhoods have sports clubs and skating parks where children can join. Your child develops a healthy hobby, and you save money by avoiding packaged indoor fun that is not healthy.

The same goes for adults. Instead of going to cinemas or restaurants for every outing, you can go for early morning or evening walks or beach drives if you live in Karachi. Many people meet up at chai hotels for tea and snacks to share.

As an incentive, start to invest the specific amount you save from eating out into a health care or education saving policy for your children. Explore insurance companies for the best possible rates and pick one that offers the best rates for monthly premium payments.

5. Be energy conscious

Commuting to work is one of the significant expenses in Pakistani cities. Look for carpooling options or office vans traveling in your route to see what works out for you. If this doesn’t work out, ensure you get a fuel-efficient car since CNG is out of the picture.

Similarly, make sure that your house is energy efficient. Get LED lights and energy-efficient devices like inverter ACs and low consumption fridges and microwaves.

Doing this is a one time expense that would reward you with lower monthly electricity bills. Yet another thing is to save on gas expenses, get solar geysers, cook meals in quicker cook options and avoid slow cooking meals.

All of the above aside, it is also important to switch off unnecessary lights, fans, and devices to cut down on unnecessary energy use.

6. Manage your grocery spending

Making savings a priority is something that we have seen our parents and grandparents do all their lives. But living in urban cities with both or single spouses working can be challenging, and many couples end up losing track of their spending habits.

Buying groceries from the nearest supermarket is always convenient but would be adding to your surplus spending list. Making a list of essentials and buying from the neighborhood grocery store or one of the larger supermarket chains will help control expenses.

Most of the larger chains offer loyalty plans that can help reduce your grocery budget. Knowing what you need and keeping to it also helps control your budget. Similarly, manage your meals so that there is variety, and no one wants to pick an eat out option.

Plan out meals for the week with the entire family’s input to have consensus, and everyone owns the menu. Set days or limits for eating out so that everyone knows when and what they will eat out if needed.

7. Don’t buy trends

The latest sweater, the trending phone model, the latest burger in town are all gimmicks to make you spend money that you shouldn’t be spending. We all get caught up in these hot items, and many of us buy them and stay out of budget. The influencers and personalities promoting their use earn at our expense.

When you need to buy clothes, buy durable, classy clothes that will always remain fashionable. A simple black or white suit is always classy for men and women.

Controlling spending allows you to save money for genuine needs and emergencies.

A basic rule of thumb is to think about what the expensive item will be worth in 6 months or a year. This is particularly effective for female clothes. Clothes that are trending and all the rage in one month are considered ‘old’ or outdated by the mid of the season. To avoid getting trapped and spending unnecessarily, buy a few mix and match items and try to avoid getting trapped in the fashion trap.

8. Be friends with sales

Those of you angry with point no. 7 above, this one is for you. Avoiding trends and staying simple is all good, but for those that can’t resist the charm of a branded price tag. Make sale shopping your new hobby. Many parents I know buy their kids’ stuff from season end sales. Doing this allows them to buy quality products at affordable prices.

Many families shop from outlet malls. They get branded goods and at low prices.

9. Spend on quality products

When you buy a long term good, like a fridge or a washing machine, buy a sturdy product. For instance, instead of buying a local machine that you will need a maid to operate, spend some more and buy an automatic. This will let you save on ongoing maid expenses as well as energy expenses.

10. Make a budget and follow it

Having a budget is a definite plus at any time of life. During inflationary times, having a budget allows you to keep track of where your money is going and which heads will take up more money in the future. For instance, if you start a family, healthcare expenses will grow along with grocery expenses. If your employer doesn’t offer pregnancy or childcare coverage, you will need to put aside money for this.

Budgeting allows you to see where your money is being spent and if you need to control it. Budgeting all expenses will highlight where you spend too much money under a particular head. For instance, if your lunch expenses are over 10,000 a month, maybe you should reevaluate your options for lunch. You can opt for a lunchbox from home or have home cooked meals delivered. Or choose both, as and how it suits your needs.

Conclusion

The high inflation rates in our society at present and the high cost of living in Pakistani cities are making it difficult for people to manage their monthly expenses effectively. However, big cities have better earning opportunities and better growth potential for young families starting their savings and earnings journey.

Following any of the tips given here can help you manage your budget and build up an additional source of income to help with living expenses. These are all options that can apply to almost all of Pakistan’s urban towns and cities.

Like many other challenges in life, inflation can be met with some common sense, some financial planning, and by making sensible, researched financial decisions. Knowing that expenses will increase and planning for this would make it easier to manage them. At this stage of the economy, it is advisable to shop around for a savings scheme with any insurance company that allows you to save for any unexpected event like a sudden illness, unemployment period and plan for the rising costs of living.

Khurram Zahid

The post 10 Practical Ways to Fight Ever Increasing Inflation in Pakistan appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Well now is the time to take control of your life and live it on your conditions. Recently since the pandemic has finally started to slow and life is returning to some form of normal, some people also call it the “the NEW NORMAL” we all want to get out there and live our lives to the fullest! This year it might even be your New Year’s Resolution to live life to the fullest.

Whether you need more money, less stress, or just want to live without regrets, this article will give you everything you need from start to finish to live a happy, healthy and fulfilling life in 2022!
Winter holidays are just around the corner and many people are making plans to travel and enjoy the year-end and beginning of a new year somewhere nice and with their loved ones….

We need to remember after the pandemic is just slowing down that now is the time to improve your health! In 2022, many people are looking to set a new year’s resolution that will improve their health and wellness. But there are a lot of contemplations to make before you start. What should you do? How can you stay encouraged? And what is the best way to improve your diet while maintaining an active, hale and hearty lifestyle?

In this blog post we’ll discuss all these queries so that when 2022 comes around, you’re ready with a plan in place!

what is your New Year’s Resolution for your improved health?

Improving your health is a noble goal, but it’s also incredibly vague. Your health is comprised of many different functions in your body, including your metabolism, your digestion and elimination, your skin health, your muscles, your endocrine system, and much more.
What exactly about your health do you want to improve? Is the struggle about losing the baby weight after having a baby? It can be possible that you want to improve the quality of life for a chronic illness like diabetes or high blood pressure. Or maybe you’re aiming at improving emotional wellbeing by reducing stress levels through slight changes. You’ll find many benefits from improving your health!

In general, there are several things you can do to improve your health. Start with
1) Clean eating
2) Following a regular exercise routine
3) Practicing stress management
4) Removing toxins such as smoking or any other drug or alcohol intake.

Incorporating these habits will include a range of new routines including new workout plans, healthy eating habits, and being cognizant about everything. It won’t be easy. But the more capacities you include in your plan, the more complete your health transformation will be. For instance, if you want to improve your health and only make an exercise routine, then your plan is half-finished. You may gain muscle, but you may find that you still have other health issues.
By giving attention to all four areas, your health will improve drastically in many different ways that you will be able to see!

Let’s answer a very important Question…

How do you stay motivated towards improving/betterment of your health?

So there are multiple ways you can keep yourself motivated to bring yourself towards the healthy you!
You can think and aim to improve your health as a new year’s resolution by cooking healthy

What one needs to remember is, improving your health is not an objective you can complete in a weekend or even a season (as we do binge-watching on Netflixthon). This is a long term objective that will take all year or even longer depending on how you start, when you start, the objective you set for yourself and the present state you started in? So how do you stay encouraged through a year or longer of pursuing this objective? First, you can start by committing to improving your health on a specific day.

For example, let’s start with baby steps, you could commit to a week at a time then work backwards. Once done with a week from there to set goals for the next days or weeks of improvement to stay motivated. You can also use interim rewards as motivators: give yourself something like a new workout outfit that will be a gift for and waiting in your closet if you meet your milestones.

For the long term health goal, decide what is most important to you when it comes to improvement- weight loss or muscle gain? Write down specific short and long term goals so that every day feels like progress on this journey of health.
If your objective includes making your body toxin-free and removing toxins such as quitting smoking or becoming sober, don’t try to do it in isolation or by yourself. It will be a lot easier if you reach out to others for support. Look around for people in the same state of affairs as you and build associations that encourage you to be in a good health and quit those things that are draining your health from you.

You can also:
1) Use affirmations.
2) Set up answerability strategies with a friend.
3) Invest in a gym membership. (You will not want to waste money, so you’re more likely to go as opposed to if it is free.)
4) Just do it. Don’t wait for motivation to strike.

Some things just need to be done rather than it being planned and strategies, these approaches will help you stay motivated toward your objective. Improving your health as a new year’s resolution can seem overwhelming, but when you break it down into small components, stay committed to it, and stay motivated, it will be easier to stay focused on getting to the result.

How will you know that your health is improving?
Speaking of the result, how will you know that your health is improving? Here are some signs that your health is on the track of restoration:

• You can breathe better
• Your energy levels improve
• You have a stronger immune system that combats diseases more effectively and heals quicker. It also thwarts illnesses from developing in the first place.
• You sleep better than ever before
• You’re more confident because you feel better about yourself.
• Food tastes and smells stronger than ever before
Women exercising to improve their health in the long term
• The clothes may fit looser
• The digestive issues resolve themselves when you start getting healthier
• The skin looks clearer and has more vibrancy
• Women can carry heavier things (your children, for example!)
• going up and stairs are no more excruciating, you can do it without getting winded
• your joints don’t ache

But don’t be surprised if it takes a month or more before you start to see these changes. Like I said above, this is going to be a long term goal. Healthy weight loss happens at 1 to 2 pounds a week, which means you might start to feel looser clothes after 3-6 weeks. And it may take 6 months of actively improving your health before you notice that your sleep and immune system are improving.
So if you find this taking much longer than you had anticipated, don’t get discouraged. If you can be consistent for a few months, then it will be easier to see the improvements that you’re looking for. Keep going!

12 Ways to Rock Your New Year’s Resolution to Improve Your Health

1. Eat more vegetables
When it comes to improving your health, the starting line to start with a healthy lifestyle is your plate. Studies have shown that people who eat more vegetables improve their health manifolds. It means that it’s more than just the occasional salad or vegetable side dish or a one in blue salad meal, but ensuring their addition to your meals at least once a day. Add tomatoes and mushrooms to your eggs in the morning. Eat carrots with hummus for lunch, and serve a sweet potato and peas with meat in the evening.

2. Drink more water to improve your health
One of the first steps towards improving your health is by drinking more water, which is at least 3 litres of water a day. It sounds unpretentious, but it can be challenging for people who have a tough time recalling to drink enough throughout the day. To mend this pattern of behaviour, start with a big glass of water first thing in the morning. You can also attempt carrying a bottle with you and sipping on it throughout the day.

And make sure it’s water. Nothing replaces water as soda, coffee, tea, and energy drinks give you tons of sugar and other chemicals that could derail those health goals you have. So stick with H2O!

3. Exercise frequently
Lifting and carrying your children or your nieces and nephews is a great motivator for getting in shape
Moving your body is an amazing way to improve your health. Studies have shown that even the lightest exercise can increase or maintain cognitive function, improve sleep and promote weight loss. Make time for an activity you enjoy (going on a walk, doing yoga) at least thrice a week. Try interim training where you substitute or interchange between high-intensity bursts of energy followed by short periods of rest.
Another way to continue your workout is to find a buddy for some accountability and regularity in your actions. If you can’t run or don’t like yoga much, there are tons of options for you. Walk. Rock climb. Hike in nature. Play with your kids!
Remember: No, Exercise without Diet Won’t Help You Lose Weight

4. Give up smoking for good health
Quitting the smoking habit can be difficult, and you may have already tried not once but maybe many times. But it’s worth it to improve your health in the long run and live a healthy long life.
When you decide to quit smoking, the first week is the hardest, but after that, you will feel better. Be less lethargic and be more energetic. One should also see the health benefits of quitting smoking include:
• Fewer coughs and chest infections
• Less risk of heart ailment, lung cancer, or even stroke
• Reduced breathing difficulties (which improve asthma)
• Minor chance of developing mouth or throat cancers
Well, if compared with the previous scenario, that is a huge improvement on your health.

5. Emphasize fibre
Fibre is the material in your food that doesn’t break down, and it helps with digestion. One of the calmest ways to advance your health in a better manner is by adding more fibre-rich foods into your everyday meals and overall diet. Fibre also helps keep our cholesterol levels down, and it can prevent constipation or haemorrhoids as well. So how much should you aim for? It is suggested to aim for around 30 grams a day from food sources like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes.

6. Try Intermittent Fasting
A few years back no one paid much attention to Intermittent fasting, it has become more popular in recent years. Fundamentally, it involves cutting your food intake to a definite time frame and then abstaining for the remaining part of the day. Many people, working on this concept use the 16/8 method, which means that you eat only during eight hours of the day and fast for sixteen hours, part of which is overnight.
So for instance, your normal regular day starts at 6:00 am and don’t eat anything just yet. Eat your lunch at 11:00 am. Then you can have a snack in the late afternoon, and eat dinner around 6:00 pm. Then completely abstain and stop eating at 7:00 pm for the night. Turn in at 10:00 pm for a full 8 hours of sleep.
It has been proven that intermittent fasting has many health benefits, including weight loss and increased energy.

7. Get enough sleep
One of the most important things and mantras to a healthy life is “GET ENOUGH SLEEP”
We wonder why to sleep never gets enough credit for all the good it does for our health. Sleep can improve learning, improve mood and improve memory. Sleep deficiency can cause problems with attention span, problem-solving skills and the ability to memorize information. It’s no revelation that sleep-deprived doctors make twofold as many mistakes in surgery as their well-rested colleagues.
Sleep is also important for our bodily health. It can improve recovery after a workout, keep blood pressure lower and improve glucose control. Research and multiple studies have shown that sleeping less than seven hours per night increases the threat of death by all causes from 13% to 18%. For individuals over 65 years old, this increase is even more dramatic (from 16% to 26%).
These days many people find it difficult to sleep, If you’re finding it difficult to improve your sleep, try setting a time to hit the sack and ensure sticking with it. Make sure the room is dark before going to bed, turn off screens at least 60 minutes before bedtime and avoid caffeine after noon. And if all else fails? There’s always melatonin!

8. Meditate
One of the oldest and most soul searching and peaceful act is the act of meditation. It can also do wonders for your health. It can boost your immune system, lower blood pressure and improve heart rate. It also has the potential to reduce stress, anxiety and depression.
When you first try meditation, ensure you find a comfortable place where you won’t be distressed or disturbed by anything or anyone. Sit straight in a chair, on the floor or even cross-legged. Keep your back and neck straight but not stiff, close your eyes and relax every muscle as you breathe deeply for three to five minutes.
Start with short sessions of meditation each day, and consider using mala beads, this is a sure shot and very relaxed formula to better health and improve the immune system.

9. Practice your favourite self-care regularly
Self-care like deep breathing is important to our complete healthy self
Self-care can improve health in plentiful ways. It can make your mood better, improve your immune system, improve sleep quality and duration, improve mental health symptoms, and particularly reduce stress levels. It is a fact that if and when our stress levels are high, our health will be negatively affected.
The following are some practices you might want to include in your self-care routine: journaling/art therapy, spending time with friends and family, reading for fun (not related to your work), taking a bath to relax, playing music, or even laughing.
Choose one or all of these practices, depending on what suits you best!

10. Avoid drugs and consume alcohol in moderation (or not at all)
It has become a socially acceptable thing for youngsters to consume use drugs with friends and even resort to using alcohol, but drinking in moderation is important. It’s also worth observing that not drinking alcohol at all has been linked to a longer life expectancy than restrained drinking, according to a study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Alcohol intake can also lead to weight gain which in turn increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease.
If you’re someone or you know someone who is struggling with addiction to something, whether it be a substance or a behaviour, we sincerely recommend you seek professional help from an addiction counsellor.

11. Cut the sugar
By cutting out sugar from your body, you’ll improve your health in a lot of ways. Sugar is directly linked to obesity, heaviness and tooth decay, not to mention energy crashes and blood-sugar problems. Many people around us don’t even realize how much sugar they’re consuming because sugar is packed in everything, from pasta sauces, to granola bars, to yoghurt, each and everything has some amount of sugar in it.
If you’re craving and want to have something sweet then try having some fresh fruit or make yourself a smoothie with plain (unsweetened) Greek yoghurt instead! A piece of healthy advice, you can thank us LATER!

12. Alter your mindset to improve your health
One of the most basic and important things to start your health regime and move towards a healthy life is “SETTING YOUR MIND TO IT”.None of this is possible without a healthy mindset. When you think healthy, you can be healthier. One way of doing this is by taking a few minutes every day or week to meditate on positive thoughts or words of affirmation like “I am healthy. I am strong”. “I am happy”. I am content”
If you need convincing that your mindset needs a change before setting your new year’s resolution to improve your health, then do see this video. Dr Joe Dispenza explains exactly how mindset works… and it can change your life.

Conclusion
This blog post is only scratching the surface of what you can do to improve your health, but we hope that these 12 tips will help get you started on this New Year’s resolution journey.
Improving your health in 2022 is a big goal and should be taken seriously. But when you break it into smaller pieces, it becomes more manageable. Don’t forget that seeing the kind of improvements you are hoping for may take a while – so stick with it!

Khurram Zahid

The post Resolution for 2022: Improve Your Health! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

It’s a lot easier to lose or use all the money than it is to gain/make it or earn it. Here are three of the easiest ways to become poverty-stricken in a year (or less). By learning about them, hopefully, you can evade them.

Buying Materialistic Things

One of the quickest ways to go broke is to spend money on money-oriented things, the things most people never need. Whether it’s designer clothes, flashy cars, or anything in between. When people feel like they’ve ‘made it,’ to a point where their hard work has paid off, they get the sense or the feeling that they have to show everyone about it “more off announce it to the world”. Which repeatedly goes against how they got to “earned” where they are in the first place.
While somebody is working hard and creating fortune, they don’t spend money on things while they are working towards it. But at that juncture, all of a sudden, when someone has wealth, the money they have worked so hard to earn, a switch flips, and it seems like a good idea to break all of their good habits and routine, and instead of continuing to build wealth, they blow their money disproportionately.

From: look at all of the money I have, to look at all of the money I had. The transition is pretty danm fast and smooth without any hiccups and the fastest way to crash the fortune and wealth just earned.
You often hear about news and it comes as a shock when professional athletes or celebrities go broke. When people start creating wealth, they lose their sense of reason and sense of why they were working so hard and spend it all, usually on stuff that doesn’t matter nor is needed. That’s why structuring good habits early on is significant.

When it comes to material things, no one recollects what they wore a month ago, let alone a few years ago. So no one does or will remember what outfits, or watches, or expensive things you had in the past either. So we wouldn’t focus on that, honestly, no one who truly cares about you cares about your ‘things.’

Not Thinking About Your Future Self

With money when in hand all hard and new, fresh out of the bank, begging to be spent, especially the newly earned money, a lot of people get the impression or feeling that it will go on forever, that they don’t need to worry about things common people worry about. Things like making financial arrangements, setting up an emergency fund, saving, and investing for their future.
That causes people to be underprepared and leaves them exposed to a lot of risks. When an individual has created wealth, there are things that can happen or occur that would deplete the hard-earned. Things like being unable to work or unexpected death.

On the other hand, some people just don’t think much about the future, a very common phrase “Aj hai kal nahi” “aj jeee lo” as very famously Shah Rukh khan said “ kiya pata kal ho na ho” the yolo mentality. Causing people not to put things in perspective or think big picture and think about what’s in the future. Good financial health is to perform a balancing act of living a happy lifestyle today while looking out for your future self. You want to do things that your future self will look back on and thank you for.

I believe 100% that everyone should do what makes them happy. Otherwise, life is not really worth it. But again, it’s a balancing act. Spending everything today and having nothing for tomorrow doesn’t make sense, and neither does having nothing now while saving everything for tomorrow.
Think about an individual who bought a BMW 750i back in 2011 and wants to change it in 2014. The car’s proposed retail price was 15000,000 three years ago, but the same vehicle would sell for about 75000,000 today, according to an online source. That’s a 75000,000 net cost over three years or just almost 200000 per year. If this person had purchased a Honda Accord in 2011 instead of the pricier BMW, he would still have faced a depreciation on the vehicle, but he’d do that at a significantly lower cost.

Specifically, the Accord that cost PKR 55000,000 new in 2011 could be sold for about half three years later. The annual cost of ownership works out to PKR 800,000, so the other person has more to save and invest each year than the owner of the BMW. That may not make him look stylish, but it does make him look smart.

Live paycheck-to-paycheck

The surveys have shown that virtually anyone who lives above the line of poverty has the ability to save only PKR 2500 a week. According to a report, 28 per cent of the population has categorically no emergency fund, according to Bankrate.com. That means they’re wavering on the edge of bankruptcy, just petitionary to be sent over the edge by an unanticipated expenditure, such as a car repair, health crisis or job loss.

Play the lottery

A lottery is a game of luck! In hundreds and thousands of people, one individual wins! Somebody’s got to win, so why not you, right? Regrettably, the chance of your winning is worse than your chance of getting crushed by a vending machine or becoming a movie star, according to the source Daily Beast. Indeed, gambling of any kind used by anyone is a recipe that means losing a proposition. According to a Wall Street Journal investigation, 95 per cent of gamblers lose in the end, leading to loss of great funds.

Buy on credit

There’s nothing that can make you poorer than paying interest on purchases that you made years ago but can’t pay off. Consider: If you have a $5,000 balance on a credit card charging 19 per cent per annum and pay $100 a month against the loan, you’ll spend 100 months paying off the bill and end up paying a total of $10,000 5000,000 in principal and $5,000 in interest. If you don’t want to be poor, don’t buy things before you can afford to pay for them with cash.

Be a victim

There is a whole spectrum of the mindset of “The victim mentality” that involves blaming others for whatever goes wrong, but it’s really a way to rationalize and streamline making and continuing to make bad decisions, Finley a financial analyst said. If someone wants to be rich in the future, he/she needs to understand and take responsibility for what’s wrong in her financial life, learn from it and fix it.

Getting an Inheritance

Some people who become heir to money spend irrationally. They go on shopping extravaganzas, take vacations and immediately start upgrading their lifestyles. We have seen people want to buy everything from cruisers to manors that are completely out of budget after receiving an inheritance. Usually, there’s going to be a huge rush of emotions to spend it when you suddenly have money but those are your worst enemy.
Unable to separate rational thought from short-term choices that’s how to go penniless.

Entrepreneur Syndrome

Many financially successful people go bankrupt trying to get richer. They start companies they don’t need and don’t have the experience to run. Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary called it “entrepreneur syndrome.” In an article, she mentioned NFL player Warren Sapp as an example of this. His bankruptcy filing, submitted in March 2012, listed $6.5 million in assets and $6.7 million in liabilities. His lawyer told the newspaper that Sapp filed because of his business sum was unpaid.

Going To Jail

Going to jail definitely leaves people poor. Home loans, cars loans, child support and other obligations don’t pay themselves, but you still have a loan from. And that remaining and mounting debt can cause a person to lose everything. It’s nifty to make a financial plan before you go and perhaps even file economic failure to give yourself a clean start when you get out, otherwise, you can end up going to financial jail for longer than real jail.

Bad Business Partners

Choosing a bad business companion is a common reason people are ruined, according to Qualitative Research. One partner can run up credit, drain the business and essentially run it into the ground. When the unsuspicious partner discovers what’s going on, there’s no money and massive debt. Even if you were gullible or deceived, you’re responsible for what your partner does, she said.

Being a Cosigner

You may have a heart of gold and feel the passion to help your loved ones in need but in many cases, people go bankrupt cosigning for a family member or a friend. Once a woman in her 20s co-signed for her aunt’s loan. The aunt stopped repaying, and her niece was left to pay the loan, plus interest, to avoid ruining her credit at a young age.
Cosigning a loan might seem like a simple favour, but it can land you in some serious trouble

Over-Indulging Single Moms

Working single mom took a loan to take her child to her child to Disneyland with friends for his seventh birthday, another mom booked a weekend at a fancy hotel with room service to celebrate her child’s valediction from elementary school. And she put it all on a credit card.
A lot of single moms stick their necks out and do wild things to give their kids whatever they want, But since kids don’t have an end to what they want, these women end up broke. These moms are often driven by memories of their own underprivileged childhoods, so they over-indulge their children in their own jeopardy.

Inheritance Scams

It’s not uncommon to find people who lose everything because of advance-fee schemes. We saw once that one gentleman discharged his entire IRA trying to help someone in Nicaragua supposedly transfer an inheritance to the U.S. The victim transferred a couple of thousand dollars at a time for travel fees, bank fees and whatsoever the scammer asked. And, in return, he was theoretically to get repaid plus make a profit. Instead, he was broke and got nothing.
It was a little bit of greed and a little bit of trying to help someone out,” that actually took away all that he had.

Excessive Plastic Surgery

One thing that is becoming popular these days is to have a picture-perfect face and body!
Another star of “The Hills,” Heidi Montag, also ended up broke and living with Pratt’s parents, according to the Daily Beast interview. Unwarranted plastic surgery used up a lot of her money. Montag had three procedures within the first year of the show airing, and later she underwent 10 procedures in one day, according to The Daily Beast. This was one of the ways she overspent and became poverty-stricken.

Not Paying Back Taxes

People don’t usually pay back taxes for many reasons, ranging from honest mistakes and lost paperwork to willful ignorance and tax evasion. But if you’re deliberately dishonest, don’t stick to payment plans or ignore collection attempts, the FBR can take action that leaves you destitute, such as seizing your accounts and trimming your wages.

Living for Fun

During a 2010 appearance on “The View,” Mike Tyson said he was “completely broke” and “destitute.” This is a man who once had $300 million, lived in mansions and kept Siberian tigers as pets, The New York Times reported. When asked how the financial downfall happened, his reply was: “I had a lot of fun.”
Life is not just a ride on a roller coaster, one needs to evaluate and re-evaluate every now and then that what works or not? Are they doing things the right way? Are their house and work in order? Do they need to sit and plan is there a need to do so?

“Life cannot be all fun and no work”

Financially Tied To Your Car

A lot of people go broke because of their cars according to a report. He told a story about one man who was driving a BMW with a certain amount per month car payment, which he could barely afford. Add a couple hundred thousand in gas and the insurance, all-in he was basically paying hundreds and thousands a month for a car. It was more important to him than his house, so he downgraded where he lived to keep his car. In the end, that car destroyed his credit and left him bankrupt because he couldn’t keep up his lifestyle and keep the car.
One needs to understand the fine line between wanting to do something or they want to get something or when that person is over-stretching himself and the budget set for the month.

Ignoring Professional Advice

When your pipes need work, you call a plumber. When your car needs work, you call a mechanic. But when it comes to money, a lot of people don’t call a financial professional or they call them but ignore the advice and they end up broke, it’s something people think they don’t need an expert for.
According to a case study “A client came in in 2008, he had $1.1 million in the bank,” he said. “ the financial consultant offered him some options, but he decided to continue handling the money his way. He came back in 2010, and only had $680,000 basically enough to last seven more years at the rate he’d been spending. He was in trouble, and he knew it.”
Don’t wait too long, if you wait too long the situation might be unsalvageable.

Having an Affair

Well, well
Cheating is not only bad for your emotional wellbeing and family it can also leave your bank accounts empty. Depending on how long the affair lasts, the person who is cheating might spend hundreds or thousands on dates, gifts, hotel rooms and even flights if it might come to that. Some people even pay their lover’s bills. The average affair lasts six months and costs a lot per month, Meanwhile, factor in a cost can be if you have a suspicious spouse or partner who starts forking over cash to investigate what’s going on a private investigator might be an added cost that would really start to add up. While all of this extra spending is occurring, there are still household obligations to cover. Infidelity is a prime example of how emotion-driven decisions make people go broke.

Living on Credit Cards

Using credit cards like free money is another way people go broke. People will get five or six credit cards with multiple six-figure limits, depending on the financial profile. They’ll feel like they have a lot of free money, and they start living the good life. But credit runs out and needs to be paid back, and that’s where the problems come in. Managing minimum payments often turns to juggle payments between the creditors that are the most persistent. Interest and finance charges start piling up, and the debt won’t go down. “A lot of people end up exhausted and file for bankruptcy,” she said.

Taking Predatory Loans

Hocking your car for cash or getting a payday loan can make a bad situation worse. To repay these high-interest loans in a single payment, the average title loan borrower gives up 50 per cent of the average gross monthly income, and the average payday loan will consume 36 per cent of the average borrower’s paycheck, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. A lot of borrowers can’t afford that, so they get caught in a cycle of renewing these loans, which digs a deeper and deeper ditch.

Overspending On Pets

The Sherman Law Group in Roswell, Ga., featured a question from someone who had over 43 pets at one point, including dogs, cats, birds, snakes, goats, horses and mice. Trying to pay the animals’ veterinary bills left the person struggling to pay for food, mortgage and car payments. The law group responded that they have had several clients who’ve gone broke from pet costs, but that such debts could likely be discharged in bankruptcy.
If you are doing everything all alone!

Overwhelming Medical Bills

Medical bills wreak havoc on people’s finances, especially those who have chronic and debilitating conditions. Many people who are overwhelmed by their medical debt run through their savings, turn to credit and take out loans trying to manage their households and health care. Despite their efforts, they might still end up broke. A poll conducted by NPR asked people how health care costs had impacted their finances. Twenty-seven per cent reported being unable to cover basic necessities, such as food, heat or housing, and 7 per cent had filed bankruptcy.

Not Having Savings

If a 40,000 emergency popped up, 46 per cent of people would struggle to pay for it, according to a recent survey by the Federal Reserve. And, a recent survey found that more than 50% of the population has less than 100,000 in savings. A lot of people live on the brink of financial disaster, having little or no savings. So it only takes one unexpected expense, such as a major car repair or leaky roof, to push them over the edge.

Conclusion

Getting rich is pretty easy. But many common money traps can just as easily make you poor, says Mike Finley, author of “Financial Happine$$.” If you’re wondering why you’re never getting ahead, take a look at these five traps and see if you’re snared by one or more of them.
Focus on looking good: It’s one thing to be in shape and well-groomed, quite another to wear the latest designer clothes and shoes and drive in late-model luxury cars. The thing about clothing and cars is that they’re depreciating assets. The moment you buy them, they’re used and worth significantly less than what you paid. If you pay up for labels and shop till you drop, the value of your “investment” in looking good looks worse and worse.
This article is for informational purposes only. Not all information will be accurate. This should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.

Khurram Zahid

The post Tips to Hold onto Money! Weird way People Loose their Money! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Maribor, Slovenia

Slovenia is a tiny but vivid country, especially for family travel. Rent a vehicle and head north from the capital to Maribor, a condensed city that’s just a stone’s throw means on very little distance from active entertainment suitable for all ages. The activities there include canoeing on the river Drava in summer and skiing in the nearby resort of Pohorje in winter. In spring, the tourist can try the resort’s single-track toboggan that hurtles down the ski slopes at up to 30mph.
Where to stay in Maribor
• Best place for staying near nature: Chateau Ramšak – Vineyard Glamping Resort
• Best apartment-style: Hotel Maribor, City Apartments

Reserva Monteverde, Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a yet to be explored completely travel gem. It’s a world leader in eco and adventure tourism, with the Monteverde area a prime example. About half of the sheltered area is conserved as the Bosque Eternal de los Niños (“Children’s Eternal Forest”), a huge stretch of lush cloud-forest, rainforest and montane evergreen forest threaded with trails and full of wildlife-spotting prospects. As one can expect, there are plenty of outdoor activities available for all kinds of adventure appetite: hiking, camping, zip lines, canopy excursions and horse riding. Nearby Monteverde Cloud-forest Biological Reserve offers yet more primeval forests and adventure activities, while Reserva Santa Elena even has pushchair-friendly trajectories.
Where to stay
• Best B&B to stay in Costa Rica: Camino Verde B&B Monteverde Costa Rica
• Best place for staying near nature: Chira Glamping Monteverde
Things you can do
• Best for nature and animal experience: Sustainable farm tour
• Best for foodies: Bread making in the forest
Tailor-made trips
Families travelling can opt for tailor-made trips, for instance, see sloths, toucans, monkeys and more on a visit to Costa Rica with any native, expert service providers. Take a look at sample travel plans like Beaches and Volcanoes and Tropical Costa Rica and use them for your own, personalized schedule.

 Bali & the Gili Islands, Indonesia

A country located in South-East Asia has all the ingredients of the tropical beach vacation for travelling alone, friends travelling in group and families with children. Bali’s entrancing Hindu culture and jaw-dropping tropical sceneries are enough to have any family mesmerized. But there’s no short supply of activities to keep the children from having fun, starting from Ubud’s monkey forest and shadow puppet shows to waterfall swimming at Gitgit and dolphin-watching off on the Bali’s north shore. When it’s time for serenity, the serene Gili islands are a short boat ride away. With white sands and still waters, Gili Air is the picture-perfect place to enjoy the tantalizingly slow pace of island life, but Gili Meno’s turtle hatchery is unquestionably worth a day trip.
Where to stay
• The Best family place in Ubud: Mehrudani Boutique Hotel
• Best family hotel on Gili Air: Vyaana Resort Gili Air
What to do
• Suggested activities for the active family: Beginner’s surf lessons for the whole family in Kuta
• Best to explore the island paradise: Snorkel Gili Nanggu, Sudak & Kedis islands
Tailor-made trips
We recommend that before travelling contact a travel guide or an expert on the area for the ultimate Bali family holiday. Take any travel plan and tailor it according to your fondness, like the Rest and Relaxation in Bali and Lombok itinerary, or start your request from scratch.

Havana, Cuba

At Havana apart from experiencing the fading magnificence of the exciting city, Havana has a mass of places to go with children. An excursion through the planetarium walks you through four floors of rooms, projecting a journey through the outer space, from the Big Bang (represented by a light and sound display) onwards. The Parque Almendares, as well as being a welcome stretch of greenery, is an impeccable picnic spot and offers rowing on the river and crazy golf.
The place to stay in Cuba
• The best place particularly for families: Home Jaime y Cuki
• The best boutique hotel: Malecón 663 Boutique Hotel
What to do in Havana
• Best for exploring the Old Town: Walking tour and Cocotaxi Ride
• Best for exploring the new parts of Havana: 2h convertible Classic Car ride
Tailor-made trips
We believe that you should plan and book your family trip to Havana with made trips so that you can enjoy the most while you are staying in Havana. Have a look at some example itineraries, like this active family adventure or this e-bike tour across the island. You can one or the other modify an existing travel plan or start from the beginning and just take in the comments of your local expert will then create and quote your personalized trip.

 Rosario, Argentina

While Argentina isn’t exactly well known as a family destination, it has a lot to offer for us to recommend it to you as a family destination for a vacation. The food is wonderful (kids will particularly appreciate the traditional heladerías or ice cream parlours); there’s a spectacular variety of landscapes and open-air activities, and the wildlife-spotting is second to none. Rosario makes a good base if you want to venture away from Buenos Aires; not only does it offers child-focused attractions like the Jardin de los Niños and the Museo de los Niños, but one can head out on river tours or rent a car and work your way north, ending up at the awe-inspiring Iguazú Falls.
Best Place to stay
• Best to stay in the city centre: Holiday Inn Rosario
• Best value: Roberta Rosa de Fontana Suites
What to do in Argentina
• Best for first-time visitors: Walking tour through the historic centre
• Best for views: Riverboat tour on the Paraná river
Tailor-made trips
For a trip family trip to Argentina that the whole family will definitely enjoy, get in touch. You can always pair up with a local expert to plan and book every aspect of your holiday. Have a look at many sample travel plans, like Magical Patagonia, and get encouraged for your own trip.

North Island, New Zealand

New Zealand’s North Island might not have snowcapped mountains, but it doesn’t hold back when it comes to affected scenery. Kids will be captivated by the sulphur stink at Rotorua, the little living lights in the glowworm caves of Waitomo and the bubbling pools at Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula. If you hire a motorhome you can explore at your own pace. We all are fascinated with the lords of the rings trilogy, these days it’s impossible to separate New Zealand from it, and young enthusiasts will love the hobbit holes at Hobbiton, as well as Wellington’s Weta Workshop, the centre of New Zealand’s film industry, where kids can absorb all about prop building and prosthetics.
Where to stay to North Island
• Best in Rotorua: Prince’s Gate Hotel
• Best in Waitomo: Waitomo Caves Guest Lodge
Things to do in North Island
Best for family museums: 3D Trick Art Gallery
Best evening experience: Glowworm caves boat tour
Tailor-made trips
For family holidays in New Zealand, try the Rough Guides Tailor-Made Trip service: itineraries like the self-drive North Island can be used as a starting point for your own, personalized adventure. Find sample travel plans and travel with an amazing programme for your family.

San Ignacio, Belize

San Ignacio, Belize is one of the safest and stress-free Central American countries to explore with children. Apart from its colourful marine life and beautiful beaches, its (malaria-free) rainforest interior provides tropical excitement. At Caves Branch Jungle Lodge near San Ignacio, you can float downriver in an inner tube through luxuriant forests full of cheeky spider monkeys and squawking toucans, then wake up to a dawn chorus of chirping cicadas.
Places to stay
• Best for nature immersion: Hidden Valley Inn & Reserve
• Best for staying close to town: San Ignacio Resort Hotel
What to do
• Best for history & fun: Caracol Maya Ruins & Waterfall tour
• Best for outdoor adventure: Half-day canoeing tour
Tailor-made trips
If you’re looking for family holidays to Belize, contact the local experts as soon as you decide on the destination. They would be happy to create, quote and book itineraries tailored to your preferences and wishes and desired places.

Colorado, USA

You won’t find finer views and cleaner air than in Colorado, USA. If you’re looking for a family trip that embraces the great outdoors, this state solicits to be explored. Start in the compact, mile-high city of Denver, from there it’s a short drive to the sparkling alpine lakes and magnificent peaks of the Rockies. Hidden further east is Colorado’s answer to the Grand Canyon, the dramatic Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, one of America’s most discounted national parks. Older kids with an interest in history will also be fascinated by the Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde in the state’s southwest corner.
Where to stay
• Best for boutique luxury: Kimpton Hotel Monaco Denver
• Best for families: Hyatt House Denver/Downtown
What to do
• Best for a first impression: Half-day tour from Denver to the Rocky Mountains

• Best for evening entertainment: Haunted Walking Ghost Tour – suitable for the whole family

Nairobi, Kenya

On the exterior, this extensive city doesn’t seem like one of the most sensible places to go with kids. But Nairobi has access to some delightful child-friendly attractions. Nairobi National Park, where lions, leopards, giraffes and zebra roam free within sight of the city, is the perfect day trip for wildlife watching. For a more hands-on experience, try the Giraffe Center where you can feed these sophisticated, long-necked beasts from a raised gallery, or the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust where bereaved elephants are transformed and prepared for life in the wild.
Best places to stay
• Best location to the CBD: Swiss Lenana Mount Hotel
• Best for a luxurious break: Villa Rosa Kempinski
What to do
• Closest National Park: Nairobi National Park, an easy drive from Nairobi for a half-day safari experience
• Best for up-close animal encounters: David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust & Giraffe Center
Tailor-made trips
Thinking about going on safari? Check our Family Safari in Kenya trip. For a memorable trip to Kenya, we can connect you with a local travel expert to plan and book the perfect holiday.

Puglia, Italy

Puglia, in the heel of Italy’s boot, is a great choice for a family holiday in the sun. With no end of pristine beaches, the Salento peninsula is a highlight; the seaside town of Otranto with its hulking castle makes an appealing family-friendly base. The countryside has its charms too, not least the fairytale trulli – kids will love spotting these pint-sized limestone dwellings with conical roofs, which are dotted throughout the region. Head to UNESCO-protected Alberobello for a town full of trulli you can even spend a night in one for added fun.
Places to stay
• Best in Otranto: Vittoria Hotel Resort & Spa
• Best in Alberobello: Tipico Resort
What to do
• Best for foodies: Street food walking tour in Lecce
• Best in Alberobello: 2-hour guided walking tour to learn more about its unique history

Tailor-made trips
Plan your family holiday in Italy with local Italian trip planners and trip advisers. Our local experts create customized travel plans according to your preferences and wishes, with straightforward pricing and easy booking options.

Bran, Romania

In Bran, Romania for older children, Romania is a feast of freaky folklore. With its grim disguise, bartizans and ramparts, and dangerous position, teetering atop a rocky no-nonsense against a mountain backdrop the Bran Castle is the exemplary vampire count’s lair. To spend more time exploring and less time waiting in line, make sure to get your entrance ticket well before time. The historical symbol behind Romania’s Dracula legend (Vlad Țepeş) is as terrifying as Bram Stoker’s fiction: he wasn’t known as “the Impaler” for nothing. There are countless other atmospheric sites linked to the legend, not least Poenari Castle, where Vlad once lived, and the country’s “cult of the dead” is never far from the surface.
Where to stay
• Best for families: Pensiunea Casa Doina
• Best for a little luxury: Casa Din Bran – Inn Nature

Edinburgh, Scotland

The Scottish capital is tiny enough to promenade round and hosts a number of fun and educational attractions for the whole family. But what makes Edinburgh stand out is its festivals: there are twelve major festivals throughout the year, including the famous Fringe, from a storytelling celebration to a science fest. If you don’t go during festival season, the Camera Obscura makes for some preposterous family photos, and of course, there’s the Museum of Childhood where you can get sentimental and wistful and the kids can get hands-on.
Where to stay
• Best for a little luxury: Radisson Blu Hotel Edinburgh
• Best on a budget: Novotel Edinburgh Centre
What to do
• Best for Harry Potter fans: Harry Potter magical walking tour
• Best for a rainy day: Camera Obscura and World of Illusions
Tailor-made trips
Book your family holiday in Scotland with Rough Guides Tailor-Made Trips. Family adventures from Harry Potter to Loch Ness await or book your own personalized trip with the help of local experts and tourist guides.

Brittany, France

Brittany, France is a European bucket-and-spade holiday, it’s hard to beat Brittany. France’s roughly beautiful northwest offers everything from charming seaside resorts and family-friendly campsites to remote coves and rocky peninsulas. For a first visit, base yourself in St-Malo, where a strip of stunning beaches stretches east from the winding streets of the old walled town. Older children can try windsurfing or catamaran sailing at the St-Malo surf school, while grown-ups will bargain fresh oysters to feast on and local ciders to sample. And on rainy days, consider a trip to the Aquarium.
Where to stay
• Best for ocean views: Kyriad Saint-Malo Plage
• Best on a budget: Hotel Eden Saint-Malo

Toronto, Canada

Toronto is a-buzz and amazing with kid-friendly activities, from cheap thrills marveling at the slick skyline and interweaving town aboard a streetcar to splashing out on a ticket to go up the famous CN Tower and sighting dinosaur bones and Native Canadian headdresses at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum). To make the most of your time in Toronto, book your entrance ticket well before time and receive chosen access to the ROM. Chinatown and nearby Kensington Market are great browsings and wandering territory, and the Toronto Islands are only a ferry ride away, but a world apart from the city’s hustle and bustle. If you have time on your hands, you can venture south to spectacular Niagara Falls or north to the rocky islets of Georgian Bay. For children over 7 years of age, check out the adrenaline-fuelled zipline experience from Niagara Falls.
Where to stay
• Best for a little luxury: Fairmont Royal York Hotel
• Best for great views of the city: Radisson Admiral Toronto Harbourfront

Lake Retba, Senegal

Senegal has a lot to offer families, from wide-open beautiful beaches on its wild Atlantic coast to some seriously curious natural wonders. There’s the pink-hued Lake Retba, which, at its liveliest, is a startling sight. There are undulating sand dunes ripe for you and your 4X4 to explore, and don’t miss Ile de Fadiouth – a small island in the south made entirely from shells.
Best places to stay
• Best for being on the coast: The Rhino Resort Hotel & Spa
• Best on a budget: Hotel Mermoz
What to do
• Best for wildlife: Fathala Wildlife Reserve
• Best for a relaxed tour: From Dakar or Saly to the Pink Lake

Antalya, Turkey

Antalya, in southern Turkey, is packed with activities to keep the whole family entertained. Behind Konyaaltı beach lies the Antalya Aquarium (complete with 4-D cinema), the Wildpark (devoted to insects and reptiles) and – for when the kids really can’t bear the heat an indoor snow park. Next door is Antalya Minicity, which has a 1:25 scale re-creations of some of Turkey’s most iconic landmarks. The Toy Museum at Antalya’s harbour also provides a fun distraction from the beach.

Best places to stay
• Best for family fun: Titanic Beach Lara
• Best on a budget: Sealife Family Resort Hotel
What to do
• Best for families with teenagers (14 years) and older: Quad Safari
• Best for younger children: The Land of Legends Theme Park

Tokyo, Japan

There are loads of kid-friendly destinations in Japan, but when it comes to places with activities all the family will enjoy as with everything you’re spoiled for choice in Tokyo. The Ghibli Museum and Odaiba highlight, and the city have plenty of huge parks and interactive museums to explore together. Tokyo Disneyland is also nearby, while Yokohama (for Chinatown and yet another Ferris wheel), Kamakura and Nikkō (more nature and history, less neon) are all visitable on a day trip.
Best places to stay
• Best on a budget: Hotel Gracery Shinjuku
• Best for a little luxury: Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba
What to do
• Best for a full day of fun: Tour to Disneyland or DisneySea including transport and preferred access
• Best of both worlds for younger & older children: Tokyo Legoland and Madame Tussauds entrance tickets

Cape Tribulation, Australia

Queensland’s Cape Tribulation is great fun for courageous children, and adults too. With both lush forests and palm tree-lined beaches, there are plenty of activities that Australia has to offer. From here, you can also take a boat trip out to the barrier reef or trek through Daintree Rainforest on the lookout for primordial cassowaries, avoiding crocodiles, spiders and snakes along the way. The brave might want to try a night-time rainforest walk or a thrilling treetop jungle zip wire.
Where to stay
• Best for being close to the rainforest: Heritage Lodge In the Daintree
• Best on a budget: Cape Trib Beach House
What to do
• Best for outdoor lovers: 2-hour beach and rainforest horseback ride
• Best for underwater fans: Ocean Safari Tour including snorkelling

The Maldives, Indian Ocean

The Maldives in the Indian Ocean might seem like a honeymoon-only destination, but don’t be turned off. Most resorts are child-friendly it’s best to check first, though, to avoid being surrounded by just-married couples. Rent a hut on the beach and children will spend hours playing in the white sand, jumping in waves or snorkelling in the shallow waters.
Many islands have swimming pools and offer beach games, kayak hire, and dolphin-spotting trips too, with diving courses for older children.
Where to stay
• Best for on a budget: Meeru Island Resort & Spa
• Best for a little luxury: Velassaru Maldives
Tailor-made trips
Not sure where to stay and what to do? Consider taking a combination trip Sri Lanka and the Maldives together, and contact the local tour advisers today for your own, personalized offer.

Ko Lanta, Thailand

Ko Samui or Ko Lanta are great possibilities for family holidays, with plenty of facilities and lots of distractions for kids. If the thought of resorts makes you shudder, Thailand’s well-developed traveller arrangement makes it fairly easy to head to a more isolated island or part of the mainland. Thailand is especially great for kids in January National Children’s Day (the second Saturday of the month) means free activities and public transport for children all over the country.
Where to stay
• Best for a little luxury: Pimalai Resort and Spa
• Best for amazing views: Unique Sea View Apartments
What to do
• Best for beach lovers: 4 Islands and Emerald Cove Snorkelling Trip
• Best for local immersion: Tung Yee Peng Village Eco-Tour
Tailor-made trips
Thinking about taking the family for a vacation to Thailand? Don’t worry about the logistics but let the professional local experts take care of the quoting and booking process for you if you are not a frequent traveller and need help with planning and execution. Modify existing itineraries like the way you desire Family Time in Thailand trip or start from scratch starting from asking the quote online.

Cape Town, South Africa

The outside activities are never far away in Cape Town, which makes the city a on the whole great destination for children. It’s tough to beat the city’s marvellous beaches, the highpoint of which for most kids is Boulders, home to an inhabitant of the penguin-breeding colony. The beach at Fish Hoek, a little further north, boasts a playground alongside its beautiful beach and gentle waves. There’s also a richness of parks and open spaces, the spots are perfect for picnicking in fine weather, while for rainy days there’s a handful of good, hands-on museums.
Best place to stay
• Best for views of Green Point: Cape Royale Luxury Hotel
• Best for a little luxury: The Table Bay Hotel
Best things to do
• Best for exploring underwater species: Skip-the-line tickets to the Two Oceans Aquarium
• Best for coast views: Sailing Trip across the bay
Tailor-made trips
Explore Cape Town on this 8-day long sample trip or stay active as a family and cycle the Garden Route – the locals and experts would be happy to plan these trips for you or create your own unique family adventure.

Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

The daring wildlife of the Galápagos Islands makes adults feel like kids and make kids feel like they just can’t believe their luck. They’ll tread softly in between giant tortoises, have birds land inches from their nose, splash around in the shallows with playful baby sea lions, and snorkel near hammerheads and enormous turtles. When they get tired of the wildlife one-on-ones, amuse them with stories and accounts of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century pirates who hid out on the islands. The landscape is still (almost) exactly as those old sea dogs would have known it, and there’s still even some old pirate graffiti to boot.
Best place to stay
• Best for a little luxury: Galapagos Casa Playa Mann
• Best on a budget: Galapagos Verde Azul
Tailor-made trips
You can explore Ecuador’s cultural cities before heading to an island paradise or create your own itinerary from scratch with the professional help of our local experts.

Tobago, Caribbean

Perhaps the Caribbean’s most laidback place to take the kids, tiny Tobago provides dozens of activities and wildlife experiences, from beachside horse-riding to hummingbird spotting. Instead of high-rise hotels, you’ll find small-scale guesthouses accustomed to catering to families. Steel bands and street eats, fresh juices and safe swimming beaches – one you’ve been “Tobagoed” you’ll want to return.
Where to stay
• Best on a budget: Lillibets
• Best for being by the ocean: SeaScape on Heavenly Bay

Travel Secure

One thing to remember is safety and security comes first, be it financial or health. You need to insured that you are covered and protected. The world has evolved in the past one and a half year and the things, such as additional documentation like vaccination certificates has become as important as your passport. The countries which didn’t require travel insurance, have now explicitly mentioned the presence of corona care in your travel insurance policy.
So it is recommended and suggested that before applying and executing any plans it is imperative to get the travel insurance and travel secure and carefree without any hassle and stress.

Last word! ‘

OK so you’ve read all the way through the article and you’re now equipped with a list of places to go with kids in tow. But what about getting there? We’ve all been on an aeroplane with a crying baby or unruly toddler and felt the parent’s pain. And we’re not going to lie: long-haul travel with the whole clan can be challenging, but there are some ways to make family travel go more smoothly.
Firstly, if your children are old enough, get them involved in trip planning – talk to them about where you’re going and ask them to think about a special day out or activity that they’d like to do while you’re there. If your kids are crafty, think about a scrapbook that they can start to work on before you leave, and add to while you’re away. Let your kids pack their own mini suitcases or backpacks with games and favourite toys. And don’t feel guilty about letting your kids watch movies on the flight!
Travelling with a baby or toddler? First of all, give yourself a break. Many of your fellow travellers will have been in your position and understand the stresses and strains. Get to the airport early so you don’t have the additional stress of being late for your flight. Different airlines have different rules about free seats or discounts for children, so do your research and you could save yourselves money.
Be realistic about what you can see or achieve in a day and enjoy the downtime as much as you’re exploring time. Young children will take a while to adapt to new time zones, temperatures and cuisines, so be patient with them (and your partner!).

Khurram Zahid

The post 21 Best Holiday Destinations to Travel with Family and Children! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

You are on a school picnic at an amusement park. You are not carrying lunch with you, as you were informed that your school will provide you with sandwiches. You think it will be enough, and since you were promised you didn’t give it a second thought to carrying something of your own, you do not carry any pocket money with you. But your hunger doesn’t go with the sandwiches served. If only you had carried some money along, you could have bought something for yourself to eat.

Have you ever heard the term “covering all fronts”, well while living in Pakistan and being middle-class individuals or professionals, we are constantly worried about even the smallest thing? We try to cover everything and anything that can be a sign of any pertaining worrisome thing. We tend to buy covers for anything we might feel that would provide us with a financial cushion and emotional peace.
Many companies are providing health benefits considering a number of benefits to retain employees, loyalty and increasing productivity. Keeping that in view many employers offer this benefit but sadly this benefit ends once an employee leaves the job and the workplace. One needs to have a sound health plan for its self and their families.

One question that many people have and it’s usually one of the things that matters the most is is it possible for an individual to have more than one health plan to cover the medical expenses that may arise.
When someone talks to us and tells us about investments and finances, we have our answers ready! We have done our research on what is best for us and how to select the right avenues, all done and prepared. But when it comes to choosing the best health insurance plans for family or yourself, to protect your savings and someone questions us on it, often our answer is “Why do I need one? My company covers and provides me with the needed of me and my family under their corporate health insurance policy.

Most of us can relate to this situation of having a corporate health insurance plan. And you might give it a thought on what’s wrong with it? Well, in principle, nothing. However, the essential question that remains unanswered is “Is it enough to cover your family’s health or do they need another health insurance policy?”. And that is exactly what we will be speaking about here in this article, in our simplification drive.
A corporate health insurance policy is definitely a great health benefit. Why? Simply because it offers a certain level of protection and coverage for you and your family, at the expense of your employer (happiness indeed ) and the company makes sure that this added benefit of an employer’s health insurance, will lead to better retention in the company and create loyalty.

But, the problem with depending on only a corporate health insurance plan.

Firstly, the business’s health insurance policy has a standardized Sum Insured for all employees and their families.
However, your needs and requirements might differ from the other workers. The right Sum Insured should ideally be based on your age, life stage, family arrangement, lifestyle, medical history, etc. Depending on your and your family’s requirements, a standard employer’s health insurance policy may not protect the employee completely when they actually need it.

Suppose, your Sum Insured is 2 lakhs and unfortunately, you face a sickness that necessitates hospitalization and the bill comes up to 3 lakhs. The extra 1 lakh after your employer health insurance claim to be paid, has to be borne by the employee if they don’t have an additional individual health insurance policy.

Now, you might have your savings to rely upon. But in case (God forbid), someone in your family suffers from a Life-threatening Illness and the treatment cost shoots up to more than 10 lakhs, can you still rely on your savings? And even if you can, exhausting all your savings leaves you money-wise unprotected for the future, esp. in a time which is otherwise also very mentally straining.

Secondly, an employer’s health insurance policy is applied and available till you are employed. When you leave your job or tend to switch it, the corporate health insurance cover ceases to exist immediately. So, the time when you are in between jobs or on a time off, you are basically without any health insurance policy. If anything ill-fated does happen during this period, you are left completely unprotected and vulnerable.

And the most imperative purpose is your family. Though some corporate health insurance policies cover your dependents in your plan but again that coverage which ranges from PKR2 lacs to PKR5 lacs is not enough. And given the healthcare conditions, coupled with inflation is 20% as compared to 8% overall, it is important to evaluate your health insurance protection.

So, what is the solution?

Simple, procure a personal health insurance plan parallels with the right Sum Insured that fits all your needs, so even if your corporate health insurance plan cannot cover your health expenses completely, you always have your individual health insurance policy to make an insurance claim with. And if 2 health insurance policies are becoming a pain to maintain, stick to your corporate health insurance plan and take a top-up plan on it. This way, even insurance claims needs that are over and above your corporate plan, are taken care of.

Note- In case you leave your job, the amount of coverage that was borne by your employer earlier will have to be paid from your pocket since you would lose the cushion of coverage provided by the employer.

Let us clarify this with an example

Suppose, Rasheed has corporate health insurance of PKR2 lakhs. He takes a personal health insurance plan of PKR5 lakhs, making the total Sum Insured as PKR7 lakhs. Now, he had to leave the job due to a particular reason and regrettably, has to be hospitalized for treatment, and the bill comes to PKR7 lakhs. As he also has his personal health insurance plan, at the time of claims, it will only come into action after the company pays the initial PKR2 lakhs. Given that the employer is no longer responsible for Rasheed’s health insurance claim, that amount will have to be paid by Rasheed himself, as an added amount that is above his personal health insurance coverage limit.

Can We Claim Health Insurance from Two Companies?

One reason to buy additional health insurance could be that one has availed of additional coverage over and above the group insurance offered by the company. Alternatively, that the employer might offer an old policy that means with limited coverages and to procure higher coverage one might choose a second insurance plan for better coverage. A third reason may be that an individual has two policies; one that covers your parents and the other covering their spouse and children.
The procurement of policies and coverage entirely depends on the need of the family, the number of family members and the kind of coverage desired (meaning the frills that you may need to get covered).

The process to make multiple claims

The important part is to know, understand and learn the steps involved to get the claim, if an individual understands the do’s and don’ts beforehand one can easily get the claim without further hassles and delays.
the Insurance Regulatory and Development body in Pakistan security exchange commission Pakistan has been making and proposing changes in the framework and regulations to serve people better.

The modifications have made the procedure easier and simpler. Now, if the claim amount is less than the sum assured, the insurance provider will provide the claim without any hick-ups or issues. However, for claims exceeding the sum assured, the insurance provider might add some terms and conditions but, you may choose the insurance company from whom you want to make the first claim.

1. Cashless claims

For such cashless claims, you make the claim from one insurance company and procure the settlement summary from that provider. On completion, you will need appropriate copies of all the bills. If the bills exceed the sum assured by one insurance provider an individual may then approach the second company for claiming compensation of the balance amount from the other provider.

2. Reimbursement claims

Cashless claims are appropriate because the insurance providers settle the hospital bills directly with the hospital. Nonetheless, there are some hospitals that do not follow such procedures means they might not be on the panel of the network hospitals of the insurance provider. In this situation, the individual needs to first pay the amount from their own pockets and then follow the HEALTH INSURANCE CLAIM PROCESS designed by the insurance provider for compensation. The policyholders need to submit all original documents (that are retained by the insurance provider) along with the claim application form.

Documents needed to make reimbursement claims

When you plan to make claims under multiple health insurance policies, the individual must intimate and initiate requests with all the insurance companies at the time of hospitalization. After this, the policyholder may choose the company from where they wish to make the first claim. Here is the list of original documents that must be attached with the claims form.

1. Bills and receipts
2. Discharge forms
3. Diagnostic tests
4. Prescriptions
5. Films and slides, if any required or undertaken at the time of diagnosis or treatment

When you make a HEALTH INSURANCE CLAIM, it is recommended you choose your employer’s insurer as the process will be quicker. It is important you procure multiple attested copies of the aforementioned documents from the hospital. The first company will provide a claim settlement summary, which must be submitted to the next insurer to file the claim for the balance amount.
There is always a possibility that your health insurance claim is denied (due to any reason). This may happen because the policyholder did not inform the insurance provider about existing policies at the time of buying the plan. Alternatively, the claim may exceed the amount assured as per each individual. Having adequate health coverage is fundamental as medical expenses are constantly rising. However, it is worthwhile to obtain higher coverage under a single plan instead of purchasing a smaller sum assured under multiple policies.

How to claim health insurance from your employer?

In Pakistan, amid the pandemic, many companies have given out suitable group health insurance policies for their personnel. While most companies cover employees under group health insurance, there are a few formalities and profiles to be completed before the insurance starts working. If not filled in time or in the approved manner, the employer may not pay the claim if and when needed. Hence, to make things easier, policyholders must follow these four steps before filing for a group health insurance claim.

1. Update the family’s profile: The first thing an employee should do after receiving their employee ID or confirmation letter is to update your family’s information on the company’s portal. According to a head- corporate business, of an insurance integrated platform, said, “You will not make claims if you have not entered the necessary information into the insurance portal. Prioritise this step.”
2. Get an E-card or Health insurance card: The employer will give you a third-party administrator (TPA) for instance TPL, Jubilee or IGI whoever insurance your employer procures. A card once your health insurance policy is issued. If you intend to use a cashless facility at a hospital, this card will come in handy. Also, remember to bring the employer’s E-card because if it is misplaced or forgotten the physical copy of your TPA card while in the hospital, one can always submit the e-card. It is also pertinent to mention that it is also a must to submit an ID proof in addition to the E-card.
3. Understand the benefits offered in the plan: Always read the policy document carefully and exhaustively when purchasing any policy, not just health, but the car, travel or life insurance. To avoid last-minute complications, one should first learn what is covered and what is not. “Corporate health insurance policies frequently include restrictions, such as the number of family members covered, different exclusions and room-rent limitations,” said HR Head of a reputed firm.
4. List of network hospitals: By and large, insurance companies have an agreement with a selected group of hospitals (the larger the better) to provide cashless services to their customers. These hospitals are referred to as on-panel network hospitals. While going through the policy document, make a list of these hospitals.

How to file a claim

The policyholder should try to get treatment in a network hospital of the insurance provider. At the same time, the policyholder family members should provide details of the health insurance policy and the policy card to the hospital.
An expert of corporate health insurance believes that “the Policyholder family should be well-versed in the provided employee’s healthcare policy. Keep them up to date on all of the lists that have been created and keep the policy documents in an easily accessible location.”
Usually what happens is once you get discharged from a network hospital, all expenses related to medical bills are sent to the insurance provider by the hospital. The insurance provider then evaluates the costs and gets the claim settled with the due course of action.
A corporate health expert said, “In the case of company insurance, the employee should inform the dedicated department of the organization who can help in the claim process, approval and settlement altogether.”

4 Reasons Why the Health Insurance Claim could be rejected

Many of us have the habit of not paying attention to the fine print of a health insurance policy. This mostly happens due to a lack of seriousness and awareness of the consequences. The carelessness towards health insurance can be one of the main reasons the claim is rejected. This might sound less severe for those who don’t really understand the gravity of the situation. However, the people, whose claims have been denied, would find the experience quite exhaustive and retributive.
So, it is fundamental to know the reasons for which a claim can be overruled. At the same time, it is also important to understand the precautionary measures one needs to undertake. There is a popular saying that “prevention is better than cure”. Similarly, in the insurance segment, it is better to avoid rejection than taking corrective measures later on.

An insurance company can divert your claim after rejection, provided that the policyholder is able to convince the insurance provider that the claim initiated is genuine. However, the policyholder first needs to know why it was forbidden and then take corrective measures. There are many reasons for denying your claim. These could be due to getting admitted to a non-network hospital, ignoring exclusions and putting forward them to the insurance providers, etc. So, let us elaborate on the 4 reasons because of which your claim can be rejected.

1. Going beyond the Sum Insured
Have you heard about a thing called Sum Insured? When you decide on a health insurance policy or a personal accident policy, there is a pre-determined “sum-insured” involved whether it is a family floater or an individual health cover. Depending upon the chosen plan and the required monetary coverage, the sum insured is the amount available to the policyholder and their family on annual basis. Presuming that you have consumed the entire sum for a particular year, the successive cashless claims will get rejected. However, if a part of your sum assured is still integral, the insurance provider might provide the policyholder with reimbursement at a later stage.

2. Ignoring the exclusions
There are several diseases, illnesses and sicknesses for which coverage is not there in most of the health insurance plans. These are specifically and explicitly mentioned in the policies as being ‘not covered’. These are fundamentally diseases for which you can’t file a claim and are generally referred to as exclusions of the policy. However, if certain plans or policies provide coverage for any such disease, then a waiting period will be there for the same. So, if you file a cashless claim for one such disease/medical condition that is excluded, then rejection is understandable.

3. Suppression, misrepresentation of facts
Some common causes for claims being overruled are non-disclosures, partial disclosures and wrong disclosures of significant and essential details such as age, nature of occupation, income, current insurance plans, major ailments or pre-existing medical conditions. Coverage is provided on the basis of the data given by the nominator on the proposal form, so any inconsistency between the declaration and the reality during the time of filing claims can easily lead to the refusal of the claim. The only solution to this problem is to be quick and precise while filling forms.

4. Exceeding the time limit
In a health insurance policy, the individuals are required to apply for compensation within a certain time frame. As for emergency admission, the time allotted is 24 hours after the patient has been admitted, and in other cases, it can change according to the type of policy the policyholder has opted for and the treatment being availed by the policyholder. If the policyholder doesn’t apply within the time indicated, the claim can be rejected.

So, if you take our advice, don’t just depend on your corporate health insurance plan. The wise thing to do is to take a personal health insurance plan so that you are never under-insured or left without health insurance.

After all, this is about the most important aspect of life: your well-being.

It can be easily established that in order to avoid cashless claim rejection, one should possess a good understanding of your health insurance policy, ideally from the time when making the purchase. Then, you need to compare health insurance plans online to understand what is on offer, comparing with what you need and then choose a policy that best meets your requirements. It is also appropriate to maintain a record of all your documents.pre and post hospitalization expenses, hospitalization records, diagnostic tests, discharge summary, investigation reports, etc. These documents can be extremely vital if your insurer needs clarifications.

Khurram Zahid

The post Is depending on a group health insurance policy good enough? appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Summer brings sunshine and higher temperatures, but it can also bring summertime car problems. Here are some common car problems in the summer and hot weather car tips to keep your car running in top condition no matter what the weather may be.

Summer is the perfect time for road trips and new adventures. We look forward to summers for planning trips and vacations where few days of relaxation and different from routine. Sadly, it’s also one of the hottest time the time when car breakdowns can occur because the extreme heat and weather can affect several car components such as the engine, tires, brakes, battery, and fluids.
Below mentioned are Summer Weather Car Problems and How to avoid them and save a lot of money!

Tire Bursts

One of the most common car complications experienced during the summer season and is tire bursts. Due to the rise and fall in temperature (very hot days and cooler nights), the air pressure in the tires can be seriously affected making it easier for them to get damaged leading them to become worn. During the summer season assure that your tires are inflated properly to avoid this problem. Also, one should not forget to check the tire wear patterns and remember, it’s vital for an individual to remember that one should not drive their winter tires throughout the summer.
Problem 2: Weak Battery
During extreme hot weather conditions, the car battery must works a lot harder almost double to keep the car cool in hot conditions. You need to assure that the battery is in top contour and that nothing is hindering the flow of air over the battery. If you find and notice a slow engine crank start, this could mean it’s that’s part of the year where it’s time for a new battery.

Overheating

We definitely can’t blame the sun for this one! A defective cooling system can lead the engine to become overheated. To prevent this from happening, keep an eye and check on fluid levels. If fluids from the car engine are being drained faster than usual, there could be a leak in the system. Also, if you ever notice that steam is coming out from the hood of your car, without wasting a minute pull over immediately and call a repair shop for assistance.

Worn Wiper Blades

Small things which can have a great impact, are the wiper blades can easily become worn from overuse leaving them damaged and making it difficult to remove water without streaking. Replace your wipers when they have become worn to make sure your visibility is not affected.
You’ll get quite a bit of use out of your wiper blades during the spring/summer rains. This will likely leave them worn and damaged making it difficult to remove water from your windshield without streaking.
This could cause a build-up of debris under those nicks or warps on the edge of the blade which may cause scratches on your windshield. That would be the cue for you to replace them.
Summer thunderstorms can get intense and it can be a sudden pour as well. One minute you’re enjoying the sunshine, poolside or at your home balcony or garden with a nice cold beverage in hand. The next, you’re getting pelted with heavy, messy drops of rain. If you’re driving, worn wipers can quickly lead to an unsafe driving state of affairs. It can be extremely dangerous if you get caught in one of these thunderstorms.
Pay attention that the edges of your wiper edges are crisp, straight, and intact. Thuds, nicks, or warped edges allow for water and debris to get underneath and cause streaking and even scratching. Manufacturers recommend replacing your wipers every six months. If your windshield looks like a toddler’s finger painting when it rains, it’s time for an upgrade.

Broken Air Conditioning

Summer is the worst time to not have air conditioning in a hot car. Ensure that the electrical components that power the AC are working well. One suggestion to keep your ac healthy and working are that you may want to consider driving every once in a while with your windows down when the weather isn’t that hot to reduce the strain on your AC.
We understand that there’s nothing quite as satisfying and comforting as a cool car on a hot summer’s day thanks to your trusted AC. If the AC breaks down, the temperature inside the car can rise to dangerous levels which could be detrimental to the health of the passengers of the car.
So, check to see that the vehicle’s fluids are at prime levels and that all the electrical components that power the AC are working fine. To reduce the strain on the AC, try driving the car during the cooler times of day like in the mornings and evenings.

Worn Shock Absorbers

You might notice sometimes the car feels uneven and a little wobbly after hitting a pothole or after driving on gravel. Have the shocks checked before they can cause further damage to the car?
Those off-road summer adventures might sound all great and but they are recipe for disaster for the shocks. If after driving on the gravel or hitting a pothole you notice that your car feels a little uneven while driving, sluggish when making a turn or excessively bouncy the most likely culprit are the shocks. It’s a good idea to have them checked.

Dead Battery

One common summertime problem is a dead car battery. High temperatures can cause the evaporation of battery fluid, which makes the battery work harder, reducing its efficiency and lifespan. To avoid a dead battery, make sure you:
Things to remember…
1. Have the battery changed every three to five years
2. Keep the battery clean
3. Check your electrical system to make sure it’s charging at the proper rate
4. Engine Overheating
Another common problem in the summer months is an overheated engine. The engine naturally produces a lot of friction and heat, so when temperatures get high and we’re dealing with a heatwave, it’s easy for the engine to become overheated. That’s why it’s important to check your engine in hot weather to monitor its temperature. It’s also a good idea to make sure the engine has the right amount of coolant to help regulate its temperature.

Tire Damage

Tire damage can occur during the summer months for several reasons. Foremost, asphalt heats very quickly, and driving on hot asphalt can cause the tires to lose adhesive friction and pressure. Heat also logically causes tires to lose pressure, as air indentures and expands with changes in temperatures. This change can lead to over-or under-inflated tires, which will reduce the vehicle’s manoeuvrability, increase wear on tires and affect your gas mileage.
To avoid excessive tire damage, be sure to check the tire pressure frequently, especially before, during and after any long car trip.

Fluid Leaks

Heat and sun can vaporize essential fluids in the vehicle, from brake fluid to coolant and more, which can cause abundant issues. For example, low brake fluid will affect the car’s capacity to stop and complicates the engine oil that can cause the engine to fail.
Summer heat also causes petrol to turn into gas, which will increase the pressure in the gas tank. This pressure is relieved through a system of hosepipes, but the hotter it is outdoor, the more the pressure will build. If the hose is fractured at all, the evaporated petrol will leak out of the tank, which will lower the fuel efficiency. The main thing, nevertheless, that we see in hot weather are blown head seals. The extreme high temperature will take what is generally a moderate head seal issue and push it into an added serious problem.

Funky Smell

Scorching heat might mean or may lead to more beach days, but the heat also encourages the growth of microorganisms and mildew. The best way to keep your car smelling fresh and clean is to quickly remove any wet or soggy things, such as bathing suits and towels, and allow the internal of the car to air dry completely (with doors and windows wide open) when it does get wet.
Is there a mildew smell already there in the making the passengers crinkle their noses? Don’t agonize. You can treat mildew damaged fabric or carpeting with a variation of all-natural solutions, like baking soda and coffee grounds. The Mold Blogger suggests in one of its blogs states that sprinkling the seats and floor with baking soda, letting it sit for a few hours, and then vacuuming it up. Still, if there is an odour problem? Try freshly grounded coffee beans. No, it’s not a period to bring out your French press while driving. Merely place a small open dish filled with ground beans and wait. The grounds will absorb any persistent smell or odour.

Emergency Kit

It is recommended to always keep an emergency kit in the car irrespective of the weather or climatic conditions. It is a good idea to keep checking the kit before a change in the season and modifying its content accordingly. For instance, a person can always remove the extra hoodie and swap it with a light cotton sweatshirt or some clothing as the season changes from winter to summer.
Blood pressure medicine, water bottle, and basic first aid apparatuses are an essential part of an emergency kit that need to keep in car 24/7. All this certainly becomes more essential if an individual is driving outside city confines or going on a long road trip.

Children

Now and then, parents tend to keep their kids unattended in the car’s back seat while they step out of the vehicle for a quick shopping trip or a teeny tiny smoke break. This can be dangerous or even fatal in the summers.
Whether the car’s engine is switched on or off, children should not be left unsubstantiated, especially the younger ones. The temperature inside a static car that is uncovered to the sun can shoot up in an instant this can be a tough state of affairs for children. The same reasoning applies to pets as well.

Fuel

Driving during the summer period means the car’s air conditioning is working almost all the time. Dependent on other factors, this can make bad the car’s fuel economy. Therefore, be extra aware of the fuel meter in your car in the summer. You don’t want to be stranded in blistering heat, do you?

Windscreen

Try to clean the windscreen frequently and get rid of any scratches, dents, and cracks. When sunlight falls on such distractions at a certain angle, it can cause a glare, leading to a loss of focus. A few seconds of unfocused driving can be a cause for lethal accidents. Therefore, be proactive and avoid such situations.

Plan the Journey

Driving for long hours in the summer heat can take its toll on you. Driving three hours in winter is different from driving for three hours in high temperatures. You might want to wash your face to be refreshed, change a sweat-soaked shirt, or have a snack thanks to the constant heat. Be aware of the route, the pit stops, and try to plan your journey in a manner that avoid the peak heat timings, for example, cover most of the distance before the sun starts operating at full power.

Sun Glare

Keep those fashionable sunglasses handy during the summer season. Consider keeping an extra pair in the car if you do not want to carry them with you every time. For those who wear prescription eyeglasses, you can get special glasses made that will help you to avoid sun glare while driving.

Servicing

Different weather conditions pose various challenges to a car’s health. Thus, it is valuable to take satisfactory cautionary measures just before the start of every season in case someone lives in a locality that is exposed to marginal to extreme weather conditions or if there is a harsh change in weather situations.
While one might not want to undergo the full tuning, servicing and repairing treatment just before there is a change in the season, one might want to get the vehicle checked and go for specific required treatments that can prevent issues in the car before they flare up or aggravate.

Dehydration

Just in case you are someone who needs to be reminded to meet daily water-drinking requirements, then one needs to set an alarm or use a similar app that will help individuals to stay hydrated. Avoid sipping caffeinated or soda-based drinks, rely on water or fresh juices instead especially during the summer season. An important thing is that those who sweat a lot need to pay exceptional attention to their water intake, especially during the summer.

Vaporized Fuel Leaks

It’s time for a small chemistry lesson. Don’t worry, we’ll keep it short.
Heat in general causes the liquid fuel in your tank to vaporize. The trapped vapour causes the pressure in the fuel tank to rise. Cars are designed to allow this excess pressure to escape through a system of hoses where it is held until your car engine needs to use it. This system is particularly important in the summertime to prevent engine breakdowns and extend the life of the car when temperatures are abnormally high. If there’s a cracked hose in the system, the vaporized fuel leaks resulting in low gas mileage.
That’s the cue for the check engine light to come on. This is quite a communal problem in second-hand cars. If God forbid that happens, the local auto repair shop can sort that out the issue in an instant to have the car up and running in no time at all.

Summer Driving Safety Tips

1. Apart from the above-mentioned general tips, here are some specific summer driving safety tips to keep the car healthy while driving in hot weather/season
2. Avoid sun glare by replacing old wipers and keep the windshield clean.
3. Take breaks as per your body needs. For example, if you have a bad back, you might need to take more breaks while on a long trip as compared to somebody who doesn’t have such issues.
4. Prevent sudden changes in the temperature by increasing the air conditioning bit by bit before venturing out of the car and by reducing it slowly after you enter the vehicle after spending some time in the sun. Recurrent and unexpected fluctuations in the temperature can be harmful.
5. Try to park the car in the shade whenever possible.
6. Sidestep from driving if you are feeling weak and seek suitable medical help.

FAQS – Frequently Asked Questions:

Q1: Here are some frequently asked questions about driving your car in the summer season.

What kind of an effect does the hot weather have on a car’s performance?
Different weather conditions affect the vehicles differently. Hot weather, combined with other factors, can harm the vehicle. As mentioned in the above sections, a car’s tyres, battery, fluids, and mileage are affected because of intense heat.

Q2: Which kind of clothing will be helpful while driving in the summer?
Wear light-coloured comfortable clothes made of natural fibre fabrics. Cotton or linen are good choices.

Q3: Will my insurance company help me out in case my car breaks down due to overheating?
Insurance companies offer a Roadside Assistance Add-on that helps in such tricky situations. It can be purchased with a Comprehensive car insurance policy. Some insurers might offer it as a feature of the policy as well. If you have the appropriate plan, the insurance company will send a mechanic to repair your vehicle or arrange for a towing vehicle to take the car to a garage for repairs.

The Bottom Line

As much as these car problems may be common during the summer, don’t let them put a cramp in your style. If you can avoid them altogether, the better your summer will be.
The last thing you want is to get stuck by the side of the road waiting for a tow truck to rescue you from the hot summer sun. Get proactive and start preparing today.
Do you want to get the most out of your car? Be careful and up to date on effective ways you can use to keep your car in top condition. Last but not least you can avoid them and ensure your safety by checking your car before every drive, especially before a long-distance trip.

One Essential Step

Every tip and trick of taking care and maintenance is extremely important and needs to be remembered and taken off at regular intervals. There is also a need to address the risk which is not apparent and cannot be assessed completely or even be prevented 100%. These risks can be covered by buying a car insurance policy. The car insurance provides comprehensive coverage to the vehicle covering all the known unknown risks, the insurance policy covers the risks that are beyond maintenance and ignorance of the vehicle but mostly due to environmental factors not under human control. So one should always try to secure all fronts to avoid any kind of financial catastrophe.

Khurram Zahid

The post Common Summer Car Problems and Tips You Must Know About appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Where the taglines like “Train like a Beast and Enjoy like a Beauty” doesn’t entice you to make a run for your best jogging pants and gym shoes?

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The good news is that you really don’t have to! There are amply of ways to work out without ever setting your foot in the gym or doing even one squat thrust. In fact, when people start or join a gym at all many don’t want to exercise in front of others it may be “shyness” it is the “hesitancy” to do so and that is perfectly okay.

But first, let’s consider a few mindset shifts that will help you succeed.

Reassess and Rethink what it means to exercise and get yourself moving
Think of exercise as simply movement of the body, no form no shape just simple movement. Sometimes we have a depiction in our mind of what exercise looks like. Instead, think outside the box. Every movement counts.
Make them work out more than just weight loss. Contemplate how you will feel when you are more active, energetic and fit. Imagine yourself with more vitality, being less rigid and sore, feeling a little less stressed and frazzled, sleeping better, and feeling more alert and active. There are so many physical and mental benefits of exercise!

Avoid all-or-nothing thinking. Just sit down and think once, Does one hour of exercise feel overwhelming or even crushing to the point of avoiding it? Instead of a full hour, start small. Tiny stretches of exercise are still beneficial. Even a few minutes is better than doing nothing means not moving your body at all.
One thing to remember is don’t rely on inspiration. Drive your enthusiasm yourself Many people assume that they have to be motivated to work out, and they think that they hopelessly fall short. But the thing is, motivation wanes over time. Even athletes may not feel like working out every day, but they stick to a training schedule.
Make movement a habit by setting aside a specific time to do it each day. Find the time that works best for you, and set a reminder on your phone or smartwatch to help you stay on track.

If you wait until you “feel like it,” or “in a bit, I’ll start” in all likelihood you will never get the right moment to get up and move. Many people still believe in the fact that even after years of doing exercise still to this day rely on habit and a scheduled time to exercise, rather than the feel of that very moment. I know how much better exercise will make me feel physically and mentally, so it’s worth it to get it done and you would always be glad that you did exercise.
Make it fun. If working out isn’t your thing, focus on finding a physical activity that you do enjoy. There really is something for everyone. Find your calling by trying different types of exercises or activities until you find what is on the same wavelength for you (or at least something you don’t hate and would be consistent at). It doesn’t have to be a customary workout like going to the gym or aerobics.

Read this article further for some ideas to get you started.

Ways to work out when you don’t like exercising and the traditional workouts

Walking is one of the simplest and best exercises there is. In fact, that’s how most people get started. Many individuals enjoy it so much that they do the power-walk every day as their main exercise, and it generally leads to weight loss and one feels much better. The best thing about walking is, that it is free, it doesn’t require any equipment or special skill, and you can do it almost anywhere and even anytime. Just get up and go, is that you have to do.
Many people have dogs as their pets and walking your dog once or twice a day is a brilliant exercise that benefits you both, making it a “win-win” situation. Let yourself “GO” Just dance. Just put up the music at home and dance like no one’s watching, move yourself to the music and let the movement be. Or take if you want to take a class such as ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, salsa, ballroom, or belly dancing, we do have some great dance classes going on at PACC Karachi, if your movement is DANCE, get yourself registered their today.

Wash the car by hand instead of going through the automated carwash, we all love our automobiles. Rather than taking it for wash, do the deed yourself at home, it will not only make you active on a lazy Sunday morning but in return will also help you save a lot of money each month. Also, who can love and clean your car better than you!

Ride your bicycle
Cycling is one of the best ways to bring your whole body in motion. Cycling is gentle on the joints; it builds strength in the legs, muscles and core; is a great cardio exercise, and helps relieve stress and enhance the well-being of the individual helping the person to feel young and strong.

Do the chores yourself
Sure, housework may not be fun or something that you may look forward to, but it counts as exercise so at least there’s that motivation to get your housework done yourself. Gardening, backyard work, push mowing and clearing out untidiness works, too. Plus, you’ll have the satisfaction and gratification of getting the job being done.

Go out and play
Grab the children or your fur babies, go outside and have some fun. Don’t forget the joy of playing when you were a child? Try hula hooping, playing tag, dodgeball, hide and seek, swinging on the playground, hopscotch, skating, bike riding, playing catch, chasing fireflies or jumping rope.

Move-in virtual reality
Exercise video games are accessible for all the leading platforms including Wii, Nintendo, Xbox, Play station and PCs. Dance games; boxing, tennis and many other sports; and traditional exercise programs are among the many offerings that are presently available in the market for anyone who wants to grooves with the music.

Try a group fitness class
With a class, you don’t have to guess and speculate what exercises to do, for how long, which should come first and which one should follow, you simply show up and follow along. Plus, you’ll make new friends whose support and camaraderie can help you stay motivated. There really is something for everybody. The countless options include aerobics, Zumba, cardio kickboxing, barre, strength training and many more. Check out what’s available from your local recreation and parks department or fitness studio and try something new.

Take online exercise classes
There’s no need to leave the comfort of home and your environment when the class can come to you. In adding it to being private and oh-so-convenient in your own personal space, online classes are also the easier, safer option in a pandemic no mask or social distancing required, at the same time it connects you with the other exercise mates virtually giving you the feel and touch of a real live class at the comfort at your very own home.

Hiking
Hiking definitely is a way to connect you with nature and builds cardiorespiratory endurance and muscular strength, which helps build body core. What is a better time than an evening or an early morning to get outdoors and explore one of our state’s beautiful trails? Living in a city like Karachi we might not be able to find these trails but you can always find parks and other places for the walk, so you might find some great hiking trails in Islamabad at Margalla hills but need to look for other ways to carry on the routine.

Geocaching
Geocaching might seem farfetched keeping in view that Pakistan still needs to be technologically advance but this can be easily implemented as it is a kind of real-world treasure hunt that requires participants to use GPS synchronizes and an app to find what others have hidden. It’s a fun and engaging way to get in some walking. It can help in achieving the targeted steps for the day with some fun and great adventure.

Partner with a workout buddy
It is a famous idiom in Urdu “ik sey bhalley dou” Two can be better than one and will keep you both moving, a partner will keep you motivated, make you feel accountable and at all times will encourage you to do more and be consistent. Having a workout partner helps and raises your spirits and makes you feel the spirit of “DO MORE” and keep yourself exercising in some manner.

Think short and sweet while working out
Micro workouts also called “exercise snacking” is an approach to try if long workouts just aren’t for you. We believe that every person is different and their likes and dislikes also surely differ from each other. When “one-size-doesn’t-fit-all” how can one routine or one way of doing things can be the same and equal for all. For example, when we talk about micro-workouts, instead of one 30-minute workout, you could do three 10-minute bouts of exercise spread throughout the day. The thing to remember is, you need to set a routine even if you need an alarm or a reminder to do the deed. It is important that you are consistent and make sure that you don’t miss the desired time slots kept designated for the workout.

Martial arts or a self-defence
The martial art class and defence class means learning self-defence will help you build stamina, strength and flexibility. You’ll also develop coordination and balance, and increase self-confidence. It will prepare you to tackle any issue or obstacle that comes your way and makes you strong to face anything in life.

Sports with a group of friends or co-workers
Engaging in activities with friends and co-workers fosters good relationships as well as fitness, so it meets the greater goal set. We have suggestions for games to Try; a game of tennis, pickleball, bowling, badminton, or golf; or go canoeing, indoor rock climbing, roller skating or ice skating. A group activity is not only a good way to get moving but it is also a nice way to mingle, interact and spend some quality time with your friends and co-workers.

Use your fitness tracker
One way to keep track of your fitness goal is to complete a challenge to cover a certain number of miles in a month, or certain steps in a day or reaching a goal in a week. For example, if you walk or run five miles a day for one month, that equals 150 miles, can you imagine that is almost going or walking Hyderabad and it can help you achieve great fitness goals, so keeping track of things isn’t just a great way to maintain health but also an amazing way to keep track of things and keep yourself motivated!

Try mind/body formats
Trying these mind-body formats are just amazing, it helps you stretch your body and improve your overall body. Yoga improves an individual’s strength, balance and flexibility, and creates tranquillity. Tai chi is another way to relax and also helps reduce stress and anxiety, these activities also help you to increase flexibility and balance making your body toned and more leaned.

Water exercise
Well! This is something fun and great and it is beneficial for almost everybody but is especially good if you have arthritis, obesity, or mobility issues as it doesn’t add stress to your body joints and muscles due to weight. If you have access to a facility with a pool such as your community pool or if you have access to any club via membership, consider joining a water exercise class. Exercise in the water feels good and is a lot of fun.
It is not very common, but it is becoming a popular phenomenon in recent times, look for the clubs and pools that are offering this recreational exercising routine. Get enrolled right now and thank us later!

Just get moving and grooving!

Remember, there’s no one right way to work out, and as we have also mentioned earlier that “one size doesn’t fit all”. Be creative, have fun and find what works for you! You need to just get moving to the groove or anything that you might interesting in and something that you would like to carry forward with consistency. There is no right or wrong, nothing is more rewarding or less rewarding. The only thing important is how and when you do it. The setting of whatever you plan to do we suggest that only one mantra be followed which is “Let’s do the moves.”

Last Word!

Well, when you get moving it will help you overcome many health issues and will help you build strength and stamina and will make your body flexible. But one thing that you should carry with you is your health card. It may not seem an important bit that needs to be added in your life as it is your security against unforeseen circumstances and instances, the health insurance policy will provide you financial cushion against any uncertainty and accidents that cause a sudden dent in your financial budget.

Khurram Zahid

The post Exercises for People Who Hate to Work Out: Great Fun Ideas to Get Moving appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

So we believe that heading off on a new adventure and voyage is one of the most exciting things to do, and the opportunity to visit new destinations and find out amazing experiences is always a good idea. We know that when you are excited and something that you call a great trip on the horizon, even the planning can be exciting, but, learning from our experiences of life we know that the best-laid plans in the world can’t always account for everything.

Travelling can be a pricey business, and unexpected travel expenses can have a huge effect on what you’re able to do on your trip. No one wants a nasty surprise halfway through their dream vacation, and ending up over-budget, or worse still running out of cash can really kill the holiday mood.

Still, it has been found that people run out of budget despite preparing a substantial travel budget due to overspending without acknowledgement. This brings us to the need to face unexpected expenses that can be harsh and at times unforgiving or severe (when travelling on a budget) in your pocket.

Well, that doesn’t mean that you didn’t prepare or plan well. Despite travelling with proper preparation and reservation, there are times where travellers are charged in the name of tipping, hotel booking fees, hotel resort fees, and complimentary snacks. While organizing your trip, one should be familiar with the tipping culture of different countries; it may seem like a very small thing but if ignored, this alone can cost an individual a lot of money. Well, you can go through the additional expenses by doing some research and the required groundwork about the place prior to your travel plan. In case the hotels are too expensive, you can choose hostel-based self-service in most countries abroad.

It’s easy and usually normal to go over budget when travelling. It might be as small as that souvenir you absolutely needed or you had an exotic and expensive dinner one night. Whatever it may be, these are extra expenditures you chose to pay for, so what happens when there are expenses you weren’t expecting or had calculated in your original “travel budget plan”? Those troublesome hidden fees can seriously hurt your wallet and throw off your vacation.
The good thing is that with a little preparation and research you can avoid most of the common unexpected travel expenses that may arise. So before you book a last-minute flight to Maldives or Turkey or fly across to Europe, take a look below at what we have got to say about some of the things travellers often forget to budget for, as well as costs that can take you by surprise or even as a during your vacation, and how to avoid them.

Here are a few common unexpected travel expenses and what you need to do to avoid them:

Baggage Fees

Baggage fees can be complicated and a little tricky, especially when flying numerous airlines. They all have different weight and size dimensions that can cost and charge you a pretty penny if you don’t meet those requirements.
Before filling your suitcase to the top, find out the weight and size requirements for each and every airline you are flying. Also, check your ticket to make sure luggage is included with your ticket. Budget airlines/tickets when travelling with a lot of transit don’t always include free checked luggage or even a cabin carry luggage!
Baggage fees are usually not kept from us; they are reasonably awaited costs that contribute to our trip. To combat this situation, you can begin learning about the airline’s weight, size, and height restrictions. Before you pile up so much fabric in your suitcase, make sure it’s used; else, there’s no point in paying for needless products. If they are redistributed by the dense and challenging, you should even suggest wearing any of them
To avoid ever having overweight luggage issues when travelling, invest in a portable luggage scale that you can use in your hotel or even at the airport before checking in the luggage to save an expense.

Hotel booking fees

You find the perfect hotel in the perfect place and the price is right within your budget. You come back to purchase the room and as you checkout, you notice the hotel has tacked on “service” fees and “cleaning” charges, making the price more than you anticipated.
To avoid surprises, go through the process as if you were actually booking the room, all the way until payment is needed. Don’t enter payment, but take note of the total price. You will be shown the complete total with all fees attached.

Hotel city taxes

In some countries, like Europe, lodgings will charge a city tax. This is recognized as the tourist tax. This can fluctuate from 2 euros per person to a percentage of your total price. This is usually paid when you get to your lodging and many tourists are often asked to pay with cash only. One of the tourist’s on their recent trip when they stayed in a few Airbnb’s and had forgotten about these taxes and they put my budget out of proportions.
Don’t be like them, simply ask the hotel or host if they have any tourist taxes or additional fees and how much they will be.

Debit/Credit card fees

There are 1000’s different banks across the world, which means fees for non-members. If the travellers don’t have a travel card, travellers probably end up paying ATM or withdrawal fees. If someone is travelling internationally, some cards may even charge a tourist’s small percentage for each purchase.
The best way to avoid these fees is to have a travel card that reimburses these fees or one that can be used internationally with no ATM or purchase penalties. Don’t forget to always notify the bank when travelling out of the country to avoid the card being denied or worse eaten up by a machine.

Roaming charges

In this global village today we’re connected to our phones and want to be able to use them wherever we go. However, it’s not always possible to do so while travelling.
Turn off roaming on the cellphone to avoid expensive bills when after travel individual return’s home. Use Wi-Fi when and where possible, or think about purchasing a Sim card at the destination. Let us explain how to do this and other tricks in this heading for using your phone internationally.
Usage of cell phones overseas is often inevitable or inescapable, but it can come with some seriously cumbersome roaming charges. Data and minutes are usually overpriced, and when individuals are paying by the minute or the megabyte a quick scroll through social media, using the map app, or a check-in phone call will come with a huge bill.
It is well worth and recommended to turn off roaming before travelling, so you don’t inadvertently get charged for anything. Use WiFi as much as possible for internet use, and if someone is likely to need to make regular phone calls, think about procuring a local sim card.

Tipping

Some restaurants add automatic tips to the bill. This may put a ding in an individual wallet if it was more than that was planned on tipping. Ask beforehand if tips are applied automatically, or add the 15-20% tip to your dining budget for every meal to add wiggle room.

Patio fees

In the European Union countries, it will often cost people more to sit down or sit outside at a restaurant. In Italy, it is common for places to charge for sitting and drinking coffee. In Spain, we were often charged extra if we wanted to sit on the patio outside rather than inside. Restaurants will frequently note the additional fee at the bottom of the menu or a sign. If in doubt, don’t be afraid to ask or try looking it up on sites that may help better navigate through the process.

Uber/Cab fees

There may be an extra charge for that ride from the airport to any of the desired destinations. This applies mostly to Uber or any other ride-hailing applications but sometimes happens to Cabs in cases of turmoil in a country. For instance, during the strikes in Paris, cab scammers were charging in the air approximately 150 euros to get into the city from the airport. During peak times, Uber will increase ride prices
To avoid paying a great deal of money, know that there are flat rates for taxis and that they must bear these. People often travelling should learn these rates to avoid getting ripped off. If Uber prices are over-the-top, consider opting for public transportation like the metro, the bus, or a shuttle.

Emergencies

Having an emergency is the last thing you want to think about when on vacation, but it’s something we have to think about. Accidents can and probably will eventually happen if you travel frequently. To make sure you’re covered, purchase travel insurance for every trip or have a credit card on hand in case of an accident. Well, nobody goes on holiday knowing medical emergencies are waiting for them on the way. There is always a risk of disasters when you are travelling from your city because the body cannot always cope with the abrupt shift in the routine or environment. These circumstances are inevitable; an individual will have a hard time dealing with them if they don’t handle them adequately. Start preparing for them in advance by taking all the requisite vaccines, medicines, safe travel insurance, and emergency funds are a must.

Travel insurance helps in transferring the risk from the individual pocket to the insurance provider in case of any unforeseen situation or circumstances. The travel insurance allows the traveller to enjoy the vacations/holidays without any worry and with ample peace of mind.

Prior Research of the Holiday Destination

You can be exhausted on or after flying while you’re on holiday, and taxis at the airport are often too costly. Around peak time, rates are paid twice, and the risks of theft are increased; To avoid such scenarios, carry out prior research on the location, be it a small street, place, or spot. Read more of the various modes of transport to choose carefully as public transport is better than the reserved one. You can share a taxi if you like since they provide the same degree of comfort at a lower price.

Cellular Charges

Smartphones are the most used devices in our daily life intact; everyone needs their phone throughout the journey, right from booking tickets to uploading photos on social media. In the middle of the trip, it will help take pictures, navigate locations, carry all the other documents, and require road maps.

To avoid heavy cellular charges, knock out surplus services from your setting or inquire about any of the best packages available from your mobile operator, when travelling make use of free WiFi wherever available as the data usage generally goes up while travelling. When going for a month or more than a week, the traveller can consider buying/upgrading him/herself to a local sim card.

Foreign Exchange Fee

Been there and done it kind of situation as we try and plan everything about the vacation and it is planned to the tee, but in a certain scenario where we might realise the day before you are due to leave that you don’t have any foreign currency! Changing money at the airport commonly comes with poor exchange rates and big fat charges. Taking money out from ATMs abroad with your day-to-day card can be even more expensive.

While all foreign money exchangers will charge a certain fee of some sort, there are plenty that offers better rates and lower fees. Make sure when travelling does a little research online in advance to find the best places to change money. On the other hand, take a look at debit cards that offer no charge/fee-free withdrawals abroad. This will give an individual more flexibility which makes the person free of the responsibility and one doesn’t have to carry cash…although there will still be the risk of ATM charges.

We know from an experience that on the first trip abroad, many people have no idea how pricey converting the money could be. Currency exchange places also usually take a fee for their services, costing a person even more. Use a currency converter, to make sure to get the best rate. It is also often cheaper to exchange money in the destination country rather than at home before the start of the trip.

Credit Card Charges

An individual tends to pay for minor things with cash, snacks, and souvenirs and so on one might not always be able or want to carry enough physical money to cover larger purchases. However, using credit cards abroad can come with a whole load of hidden charges, which can quickly add up if one is not careful. Bad exchange rates, foreign transaction charges and Dynamic Currency Conversion can all make using plastic on vacation a bad idea.
Quite a few credit cards do offer fee-free use abroad. It is worth calling the credit card company before an individual journey anyway, to prevent the card from being blocked for ‘suspicious activity, so one should take a moment to ask about charges as well. If you are a frequent traveller it might be worth applying for a credit or debit card that lets an individual spend money abroad free of any expense. Another option is to get a prepaid card from a foreign money exchanger.
Exchange rates with these cards are usually better, and you’ll be able to withdraw money from ATMs.

WIFI

We have already mentioned WiFi and cellular charges, it is worth indicating out that even in today’s super-connected and globalised world, many hotels and airlines still charge for WiFi use. When it comes to hotels, check out what their WiFi usage policy is, and how much they charge for the usage. It might even be worth upgrading to a marginally more expensive hotel if they throw in free WiFi! With airlines, just download on the tablets and devices with offline music, films and games, Netflix series and enjoy taking a break from the email notifications!

Departure Taxes

We are scared of the nasty final surprise, we often have to face at the end of a vacation, many countries like Costa Rica and Argentina charge departure taxes at the airport when leaving. These do not really cost that one can avoid, hence it is recommended to do a little research in advance so it doesn’t come as a pure shock when confronted with an added fee/tax when an individual is going back home.

Visa Costs

While many countries require the traveller to sort out the visa situation in advance and before travelling, there are also plenty of places where you need to buy your visa on entry, at customs.
In line with departure taxes, this isn’t really something one can avoid. But with pre-planning, travelers can ensure that they have the required money set aside for any and all visas and border crossings that one might/will need throughout the trip. Costs aside, when it comes to procuring visas it is worth doing intensive research in advance anyway as if you are missing something that one might need to enter or exit the country one will have to spend a lot of time trekking back and forth to the embassy, which brings stress, hassle, and loss of vacation time!

Last Word!

We hope this article would be a great help to anyone travelling be it you or your loved one! Understanding that having a certain budget will bring you peace of mind so that you can fully enjoy your trip without the worry of spending or over-expanding your budget. It’s always a great idea to have a miscellaneous section of your budget for unexpected expenses as well. Whether business or pleasure, enjoy your next trip without the concern of unexpected expenses.

Khurram Zahid

The post Unexpected Travel Expenses (And How to Avoid Them) appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

In this article, we have shortlisted some of the habits that need to be immediately reviewed and modified on “PRIORITY.”

You must have heard or read it before: It takes 21 days to transform a habit. And while we’re all on a mission to live healthier lives and improve our well-being, the first step would be to become aware of bad habits is the one step forward in initiating change. From chewing on fingernails to eating a sad desk lunch while using your computer, we’ve compiled quite a few unhealthy habits you’re probably guilty of.

Mark these bad habits below and make it your goal to mix them in the bud and your lifestyle.

Lack of Vegetables in Your Diet

Not combining vegetables in your diet can cause digestive issues and other health problems. Asparagus and bell peppers are rich in Vitamin B6 and folate that lowers homocysteine, an amino acid linked to heart disease. Carrots and tomatoes are filled with carotenoids, an antioxidant, which helps ward off issues associated with heart disease. Antioxidants are also a cancer-fighting property too. Onions contain phytochemicals that can lower cholesterol levels. Keeping the cholesterol under check will aid in the prevention of heart disease. Potatoes are high in potassium. Since potassium helps regulate blood pressure, it reduces the risk of congestive heart failure.

Eating On-The-Go

In today’s world, with a busy schedule is not unusual for many it’s so easy to fall into the fast-food trap. While stopping at the drive-through and ordering a burger now and then is still acceptable, making it a routine stop can be unfavourable to health. Fast food is loaded with a host of unhealthy ingredients like sugar, trans-fats, and sodium. Eating fast food frequently can have the following damaging effects on your health:

1. Increased risk of cancer
2. Increase the risk of heart disease
3. High blood pressure
4. Increase inflammation
5. Increased threat of infections
6. Increased threat of allergies
7. Compromises the immune system

It is suggested that Instead of relying on fast food for chaotic days, getting in the habit of meal planning for yourself and your family can be a good way to keep the whole family healthy. Cooking and freezing healthy meals beforehand not only saves time but ensure the provision of healthy meals for the entire family with the right nutrients they need to get them through the day. Packing lunches with snacks that contain raw vegetables, whole grains, yoghurt, and other low-fat, nutritious foods is one way to stick to a healthy habit and healthy life.

Living a Sedentary Lifestyle

Lack of exercise is a guaranteed way to put good health on hold or a complete halt especially if you have a sedentary job, which requires sitting at a desk most of the day. Not only will an inactive lifestyle weaken muscles it can also increase your risk of the following:

1. High blood pressure
2. Type 2 diabetes
3. Cancer
4. Obesity
5. Heart disease
6. Osteoporosis
7. Cardiovascular disease
8. Stroke

It’s not easy to start an entirely different routine and to follow it. Use the tips and get started

1. Get a friend to exercise with
2. Start small with a daily 15 to 30-minute walk
3. Try short interval workouts for 10 to 15 minutes
4. Participate in low impact exercises such as yoga or swimming
Exercising help focus on better bone health. Since bones protect the brain and other organs from devastating injuries, taking care of them through exercise can make a positive difference to the body overall.

Skimping on Sleep

Falling short on sleep is a big “No-No”, but why what’s the big deal? Research indicates that not getting enough sleep can impact a lot of things: it can compromise your immune system, your ability to judge and make decisions (more prone to make mistakes) and bad heart health. Being sleep-deprived may fuel depression and make it hard to lose weight if you’re dieting-and more likely that an individual will give in to that sweet temptation tomorrow.
Target to get around 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night, although there is no magic or fixed number, says the National Sleep Foundation, so listen to your body and try to get the amount of sleep that your body needs to function at its best.

Lack of sleep can lead to the following serious heart-related conditions

1. Heart disease
2. Heart attack
3. Heart failure
4. Irregular heartbeat
5. High blood pressure
6. Stroke
7. Lack of sleep can also weaken immunity, cause weight gain, and increase the risk of diabetes.

To get enough sleep try these techniques

1. Don’t drink caffeinated beverages later in the day
2. Avoid slumbering during the day
3. Go to bed at the same time each evening
4. Keep bedroom set at a comfortable temperature

Not Drinking Enough Water

Water makes 60 per cent of our body so it’s not too astonishing that drinking water benefits your overall body health. Staying hydrated helps to keep memory sharp, stabilizes mood and motivation intact. Keeping up with fluids helps skin to stay supple, enabling the body to cool down when it’s hot, allows muscles and joints to work better and helps clean toxins from the body via kidneys.

So, how much water should you be drinking? According to the Institute of Medicine, adult men need about 13 cups per day of fluid; adult women need about 9. (You get about an additional 2 1/2 cups of fluid from foods.) But because one size doesn’t fit all, the best way to know if one is sufficiently hydrated is to monitor urine colour: if it’s light yellow (the colour of lemonade), which means water intake is stable.

Eating Late at Night

There are multiple reasons why one should have dinner an hour earlier. Researchers believe that the long gap between meals allows the body to process food more efficiently. There is some research around intermittent fasting (where you space out your meals and eat in a shorter window), that suggests it may help with weight loss. It will an individual to sleep better: according to the National Institutes of Health, late-night meals can cause indigestion that interferes with sleep.

Sad Fact: Plus, many don’t eat carrots and apples late at night-we go for snacky foods that aren’t necessarily the healthiest choices.
A research study from the American Journal of Epidemiology reports that people who skip the morning meal were 4.5 times more likely to be obese, adding that eating multiple, small meals may suppress hunger and overall blood sugar levels.

Forgetting to Change the Bed Sheets

Bacteria and germs can easily become anyone’s sleeping buddy if sheets are not washed enough. “they have spores of fungi, bacteria, animal dander, pollen, soil, lint, finishing agents of whatever the sheets are made from, colouring material, all sorts of excrements from the body,” said Philip Tierno, a microbiologist and pathologist at the New York University School of Medicine. As if that’s not uncivilized enough, one study has found that both synthetic and feather pillows give refuge to between four and 17 different species of fungus. Yikes!

Shopping for Low-Fat Foods

Low-fat foods may lead to the belief that it would lead to faster weight loss, but that’s hardly happening. “Older generations hear words like ‘bran’ or ‘low-fat’ and instantly assume it’s the healthy choice,” Lisa Hayim, RD, and founder of The WellNecessities say that, “These foods, which can be high in fibre, are usually loaded with processed flour, high in sugar, and can be high in sodium too. Don’t be misled by the name at the bakery counter or on the menu. Read the labels and always the ingredients.”

Squirting on Hand Sanitizer

No matter how delicious or amazing that bottle of sweet-pea-scented hand sanitiser smells, it’s better to leave it out of the purse. Triclosan, a chemical commonly used in hand sanitisers, has been linked to increasing the risk of obesity and affecting the thyroid. The best bet is washing hands the old-fashioned way: soap and water are more effective than hand sanitisers at eliminating or inactivating certain kinds of germs and bacteria.

Ignoring the Weight Rack

Using the treadmill and elliptical is a great way to boost heart health, but visiting the weight rack every so often may provide even better benefits. According to the American Heart Association, strength training surges tendon and ligament strength builds fat-burning muscle mass and improves the quality of life.
Not too keen on going alone? Here’s a solid reason to find a gym buddy: according to a study in the American College of Sports Medicine, people exercise for an average of 34 minutes longer with a friend than they do when they go to the gym alone.

Using Plastic Water Bottles

The gulping of eight recommended cups a day won’t do the body well if using plastic bottles. Research in the Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine proved that the industrial chemical Bisphenol A, or BPA induced early puberty in females, sperm reduction, obesity, and increased rates of reproductive cancers, while a Harvard study found that adults with the highest concentration of BPA in their urine had considerably larger waists and a higher risk of becoming obese. Rather than refilling your plastic water bottle, go for a reusable plastic-free, stainless steel jug.

Rushing to Finish a Meal

Even if time is less, powering through meals isn’t going to help stay satisfied. A study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association indicated that participants who took their time eating consumed 66 fewer calories per meal than their fast-eating counterparts and felt filled after putting their forks down. As it takes about 20 minutes for the brain to recognize that body is full, make sure to take time and eat mindfully to avoid overeating and gaining the feared pounds.

Serving Dinner Buffet-Style

Research in the journal Obesity has found that when food is served from the dinner table, people gorge on 35 per cent more food during the meal. If getting second helpings necessitates leaving the table, people are more likely to rethink the decision and refrain as contrasting to when an assortment of food is served at an arm’s length.

Starting Your Day With Coffee

Research in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that participants who drank about 17 ounces of water experienced a 30-per cent increase in their metabolic rate! Make it a habit to pour a cup of coffee after you’ve gobbled down H2O to keep your fat-burning incinerator and waistline in check.
Deliberate waiting to get your caffeine buzz until after 9 a.m. Because your cortisol levels naturally rise in the morning after waking and peak between the hours of 8 and 9 a.m., having a coffee before or during this time may result in increased stress and anxiety and its stimulating effects won’t be as effective.

Consuming Diet Drinks

Just because diet drinks contain zero sugar, it shouldn’t give you the green signal to start sipping. Researchers have found that elderly people who drank two or more diet drinks daily saw their waists increase five times faster than those who didn’t drink. Mark it up to the artificial sweeteners manufacturers spike diet drinks with.
A review in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that non-nutritive sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, and stevioside which is associated with weight gain and cardiometabolic risk if used regularly.

Skipping Dessert

One might think they are doing a good thing by expelling sweet treats. But studies suggest that feeling deprived even if the individual is consuming plenty of calories can prompt overeating. Making any foodstuff off-limits just increases its appeal. So when craving, go a small treat won’t break the diet! Two squares of dark chocolate or ½ cup of ice cream clocks in at under 150 calories.

Not Changing or Sanitizing Your Kitchen Sponge Frequently Enough

This might not be something one might think regularly, but the kitchen sponge can harbour 150 times more bacteria, mould and yeast than your toothbrush holder. Ick! According to research from NSF International (an independent public health organization), most of the germs they found won’t make you sick, but some could.
After diligently cleaning the kitchen counter, sink and refrigerator shelves, but fail to disinfect the sponge afterwards, try this to keep germs at bay: microwave a wet sponge for two minutes daily and replace it regularly every two weeks.

Cooking Everything in Olive Oil

Even though olive oil is packed with heart-healthy antioxidants (called polyphenols) and monounsaturated fats, every time it’s not the best choice for cooking. Why? Because olive oil has a lower smoke point than some other oils (that’s the point at which an oil literally begins to smoke and olive oil is between 365° and 420°F).
When it comes to smoke point, the beneficial compounds in oil start to degrade, and possibly health-harming compounds form. When cooking over high heat, skip it and choose a different oil. However, olive oil is a good choice for making salad dressing or sautéing vegetables over medium heat.

Wanting to get healthy is the first step in decreasing your risk of disease. Second, following the above tips eating a well-balanced diet, getting regular exercise, and sticking to your cancer screening schedule can all give you a lifetime of health benefits.

Eating ‘Whole-Grain’ Cereal

Whole grains’ is a promotional term and can loosely be applied to foods if they contain some amount of whole grains, most often, though, the food may encompass whole grains, but in totalling to regular wheat, or white flour. These foods also have to sustain a long shelf life, so are pumped with preservatives, sodium, and artificial flavours and lack many of the needed vitamins and minerals.

Eating Too Much Sodium

People harbouring on preserved and canned meals eat about 1,000 mg more sodium each day than we should. One of the easiest ways to cut your sodium intake is to cook at home using fresh ingredients. Restaurant foods and processed foods both tend to be very high in sodium. To further cut the sodium intake even further, try enhancing the flavour of food cooked at home with herbs and spices rather than salt.

Forgoing Doctor Recommended Cancer Screenings

Early recognition of cancer is crucial to increase the chances of survival. Depending on family history and personal risk factors, the doctor may endorse certain cancer screenings. Cancer screenings can aid doctors to find and treat cancer as soon as possible. Screening exams are typically commended for the following types of Cancer:
Breast Cancer – mammograms are the best way to detect breast cancer early.
Cervical Cancer – once a year Pap screenings can detect abnormal cells within the cervix. The HPV test is used to regulate if the human papillomavirus is present, which can increase the chance of developing cervical cancer.
Colorectal Cancer – a colonoscopy is a standard screening process used to look for precancerous polyps in the colon or rectum. If precancerous polyps are detected, they can be removed before turning into cancer.
Lung Cancer – screening for lung cancer is done by a low-dose computed tomography also known as a CT scan. Typically doctors commend this test for adults who have no symptoms but are at high risks, such as someone who is a smoker.
Prostate Cancer – the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test is a blood test that detects PSA levels in the blood. PSA is a prostate produced substance, and typically high levels of PSA can indicate that prostate cancer may be present.

Getting Insured

One thing that we often overlook and forget it, getting ourselves health insurance, by following the aforementioned tips you can reduce health threats and live a happier life. But at the same time, there are certain unknown risks, some health threats which can occur out of nowhere for instance an accident or sudden health issue. Keeping the risk in perspective one should definitely procure health coverage as soon as possible. Few things to keep in mind while searching for health insurance is to see the premium vs coverage benefit, numbers of members to be insured in a single policy and exclusions of every policy.

Conclusion
Some of the things you do or don’t do every day might be harming your efforts to be healthier. As you read the list of daily habits, don’t be too hard on yourself and expect that one can change all of these at once.

The main reason to succeed to maintain a healthy life is to slowly integrate change into your life. And if you fall off the wagon occasionally, don’t fret or beat yourself up-it’s more important that you get back on. Take a look at these 10 habits to see if there are any places you can make a healthy change

Khurram Zahid

The post Common Bad Habits that effect Health! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

How to Design an Employee Benefits Programme

Handling employee benefits is an important and costly effort for employers. Though most employers are required to provide mandatory benefits which are rewarding for their organizations, worker’s compensation insurance and other fixed ones, mostly other benefits are voluntary in nature and determined by the company.
Benefits programs by an organization vary greatly, but typically they include health insurance, life and disability insurance, retirement income plan benefits, paid-time-off benefits, and educational assistance programs. Benefits selection to be offered to employees and design are critical components in the total compensation costs.
In some cases, benefits offered to employees account for 40 per cent or more of total compensation costs. Due to the employer cost investment and the importance of employee benefits in employing and retaining, companies should have a well-thought-out benefits plan design that meets both the worker’s needs and employer objectives.

Step 1: Identify the Organization’s Benefits Objectives and Budget

An important and first step in designing an employee benefits program is to identify its objectives. This identification will provide overall guidance in instituting the selection and design of the benefits program. Generally, this practice does not result in a list of specific benefits offered but rather provides an overview of the administration’s objectives of offering benefits that reflect and reciprocate both the employer and employee needs.
The organization’s business and/or HR approach will help guide the development of the benefits objectives, as these goals should help achieve the overall strategic goals. Factors such as company size, location, industry and collective bargaining agreements should be always considered in the development of the benefits objectives. Some companies choose to have general benefits objectives, whereas others integrate the objectives in their total compensation philosophy of the organization. The benefits objectives are not stationary and should be assessed and revised to reflect the current company strategy and employee needs.
Sample objective: To establish and maintain competitive employee benefits health insurance benefits based on employees’ needs for paid time off and protection against the risks of old age, loss of health and loss of life.

Equally important is determining the budget available for spending on benefits, as most employers have price constraints in offering benefits to employees. If a current benefits plan exists, organizations should analyze current welfares costs and projected costs and create a reasonable spreadsheet outlining annual benefits costs. The rising cost of offering benefits such as health insurance will greatly affect an employer’s benefits.
If no current benefits program is being offered to the employee, the company may need to obtain quotes for a few key benefits to estimate a welfares budget. HR with sound understanding may be helpful in this process.

Step 2: Conduct a Needs Assessment

A needs/requirements assessment should be piloted to determine the best welfares selection and design based on the needs and requirements of the employees. The needs assessment may include a company’s perception of employee benefits needs, competitor’s welfares practices, and tax laws and regulations. But a more current trend is to take a market research approach to employee benefits planning.
The Common market research techniques include a member of staff inquiries in the form of personal interviews, simplified questionnaires or sophisticated research methods. Even though employee feedback will most likely result in higher employee motivation and satisfaction with the welfares offerings, this is true only to the level that the employer is committed to using the feedback in benefits selection and design.
If a current benefits plan exists, the employer may also conduct a utilization review of each plan to determine actual employee use. Knowing the frequency a particular benefit is used and to what extent may help the employer determine cost-saving design practices. For insurance plans such as a medical plan, the carrier will often provide a utilization review for the employer.
Organizations should analyze the existing workforce demographic that is the assessment based on their age, gender and pace they are coming from to assist in determining the needs of various categories of employees. Younger workers may value paid time off more, whereas older workers may place a higher value on retirement income plans.

Managers can analyze and assess the needs assessment results and compare them with any existing benefits/perks and against available benefits to prioritize which benefits will be most helpful in achieving the objectives of the benefits being offered for the organization.
The company will also need to consider and foresee any legal requirements regarding benefits offerings. Some companies may have obligations to offer benefits by law, such as any rule or any obligation mentioned by SECP that needs to be fulfilled by the companies. Employers will need to determine if they are covered by this action and the impact this will have on the decisions and design of member of staff health insurance plans.
Paid sick leave is another benefit that is quickly becoming an obligatory offering for many companies. State and local laws even if they don’t require employers to offer paid sick leave to employees, yet the employers provide these benefits to ensure that the employee is comfortable and does not feel exploited, hence offering paid leave also assures more productivity.

Step 3: Formulate a Benefits Plan Program

Once the needs assessment and gap analysis are complete, the employer will need to formulate the new health insurance policy. Using the data collected from all resources in Step 2, the employer can begin to articulate benefits offerings in order of priority. Then the company will need to determine the cost of providing the prioritized benefits and evaluate it against the benefits budget existing within the company.
This step is complex and compound and the employers may need to consider many factors:
1. Can change be made to the current plan design to induce cost savings?
2. Can perks that are underused or not valued by employees be removed and something more attractive is added?
3. What are the administrative expenses incurred for the benefits?
4. What cost-containment features can be put in place?
5. Will employees have to contribute, from their monthly salary and how much?
These are the certain aspects the managers would keep under evaluation when determining whether to add, change or eliminate benefits offerings.

Step 4: Communicate the Benefits Plan to Employees

In this era of inclusivity, it is important to take all stakeholders in an organization when making a decision, if more than one party involved is going to benefit, be affected or have an influence over the process of decision making.
In today’s world communication is very important and designing the right communication strategy is a critical element to the perks being offered to the employees planning and management.
Employee understanding of the benefits is critical and significant to employee buy-in. Without buy-in, the manager’s efforts, no matter how perfectly designed to meet employees’ needs, may be ineffective and futile. If employee input was obtained in designing the perks programme and used in the benefits design process, employers should be sure to share this with their staff and let them know how their feedback influenced the overall designing of the perks and benefits.
The positive impact on hiring, retention and employee morale may be lost without effective communication plans. Although the company is obliged to provide communications to comply with laws regarding disclosure of various benefits policies and plans, such as a plan description and summary, the communications with the staff should go beyond the legal requirements. Good health and other benefits communication objectives should include:
1. Creating awareness and appreciation of the new or existing benefits and improving employee financial security and providing them with mental peace knowing that their health is covered for any unforeseen situation.
2. Providing a high level of understanding of the benefits offered and a systematic way to avail those benefits.
3. Encouraging wise use of benefits.

Step 5: Develop a Periodic Evaluation Process to Determine Effectiveness of Benefits

Periodically reviewing the benefits and the health insurance policy provided is another important step in the benefits management process. The benefits provided to the staff must be assessed regularly to determine if it is meeting the organization’s objectives and employees’ needs.
Changes in the business climate, the economy, the monitoring environment and workforce demographics all create dynamic forces that affect benefits that are being offered. Employers should consider developing goals and parameters to assess the benefits’ effectiveness and make adjustments as necessary. Companies may also consider using external or international trends and benchmarking data to evaluate the effectiveness of the health insurance policy and other benefits provided or conduct employee surveys or a full-fledge needs assessment repeatedly.

Group Health Insurance –FAQs

Q1: What is Group Health Insurance?
Group Health Insurance is can be understood as outsourcing of the medical facility of the employees and their immediate dependents by the Company to the Insurance Company. It is universally recognized as the best way to safeguard an employee’s interest in the occurrence of loss by illness or bodily injury.

Q2: Why Group Health Insurance?
Group health insurance has multiple benefits that can help an organization in the longer run
1. Attracting and retaining employees
2. The plans are Affordable and help
3. Convenience Flexibility ( in case of cashless hospitalization)
4. Easy fits with Company’s budget
5. Tax advantage for the organization of tax-free claim amounts

Q3: What is covered in Hospitalization & Related (H&R) Benefits?
The benefits which are offered by the organization under H&R includes:
1. Hospital Stay
2. Doctor visits Pre and Post stay Surgery
3. Specialized Diagnostic Test Inpatient Treatments
4. Emergency Accidental Treatment. Pre-Hospitalization
5. Post-Hospitalization Per day room limits
6. Medications required for in-patient care

Q4: What is covered in Maternity Benefits?
Provision of the maternity coverage lies within the sole discretion of the company, the company has the full right to decide on it and the decision is made based on the cost and customization of the plan.
If the company plans to offer maternity coverage the limit given for each female spouse and female married employee under Maternity benefits which includes:
1. Prenatal treatment Childbirth
2. Postnatal treatment Complicated Delivery

Q5: What is covered in OPD?
OPD is again a benefit whose provision depends on the employer, not every organization offers OPD benefit and almost all organizations in Pakistan have a definite cap to OPD consultations. The reason for the cap is that it’s a confirmed expense. An annual limit is given for insured under OPD benefits includes:
Consultations
Medicines
Diagnostic Tests

Q6: What is the eligibility of Employees & Spouses?
The eligibility criteria are usually set by the insurance provider and employer together minimum eligibility age is 18 years Maximum eligibility age of Entry is 59 years maximum eligibility age of Expiry is 65 years.
Spouse age for maternity coverage is from 18 to 45 years

Q7: What is the eligibility of Dependents?
The plan offered by organizations varies from employer to employer maximum eligibility age of Entry is 18 years for the children generally rest of the terms and conditions apply.

Q8: What is the minimum number of Lives to acquire a Group Health Insurance Policy?
There must be at least 05 people in an organization to obtain a Group Health Insurance Policy. This can further be discussed with the insurance provider when opting for a plan.

Q9: What is the step to be followed by group health Insurance plans?
When planning to get insured all these things need to be followed in sequence
Step 1: Submission of complete data which includes ages, designations and benefits to be offered to employees.
Step 2: Submission of Proposal citing Premium which is based on age band rates applied on the provided data of the company according to the required benefits.
Step 3: Send acceptance along with the payment of the premium to the insurance provider.
Step 4: Issue Healthcare Identification (HCI) cards and Policy Document.

Q10: Which hospitals are on the panel?
The hospital panel list varies from insurance provider to insurance provider. If you buy group health insurance from an A++ or AA++ reputed insurance provider you will be provided with almost all trusted and desired hospitals on the panel.
For further information on the exact panellist, please refer Preferred Panel Hospital List from the insurance provider.

Q11: How can employees use our HCI card?
For emergency hospitalizations in case of accidents or emergencies, Cardholders may present an insurance provider HCI card to get admitted to a PPN hospital. In case of a Non-Emergency Treatment from PPN Hospital, the Cardholder should seek a Credit letter from the insurance provider in most cases. Terms and conditions applied.

Q12: How do organizations determine who should get a Group Health Plan?
The organizations need to set their goals and priorities of which benefit do they intend to provide to the employees and the ratio of investment versus the returns of that benefit. Many organizations provide the health benefit considering it a basic benefit having a positive impact on the overall organizational goals.

Q13: Whom can organizations enrol under their corporate health policy?
Organizations when providing health insurance can include, the employee their spouse up to the age of 59 years and a maximum of 4 dependent children above 90 days old, in your policy. Once enrolled, the coverage can be continued up to the age of 60 years.

Q14: How does the Group Health Plan work?
The group health plans extents to employees, spouses and children, the parents of the employee are not covered under the health plan provided by the organization. There is a definite limit set by the employer which needs to be met and if over exceeded the Health Insurance Policy would cover only up to for instance Rs.100,000/-, while the remaining amount of Rs.150,000/- would have to be borne by the employee himself.
The maximum amount that can be claimed under the policy during a policy year will be limited to the Annual Family Limit selected by the employer.

Q15: What is the General Waiting Period?
In the first policy year, coverage would be effective after thirty days once the policy has been issued and has been delivered to the main Insured Member, except for Accidental Emergencies which will be covered from the date of the purchase of the policy.

Q16: Is there a waiting period to incorporate health plans like Individual or family health plans?
Unlike the general health plans for individuals and families, there is no waiting period required when you purchase a “Group Health Insurance Plan.” The plan or the coverage starts from the date of purchase of the policy.

Q17: What are the advantages of a Network Hospital?
Reputable insurance providers have developed a network of over 200 plus carefully selected hospitals nationwide. You can download a complete list of Network Hospitals from their respective websites or can inquire about them by calling on their customer service helpline.
In the event of hospitalisation, you can choose any of the Network Hospitals for your treatment without having to pay out of pocket. You can avail of the credit facility by a simple pre-authorization procedure and the insurance provider will settle the bill directly to the hospital, as per your entitlement.

Q18: Can I be treated at a Non-Network Hospital?
Yes! But the immediate treatment expenses will be borne by you. The insurance provider will reimburse these expenditures on submission of the original bills, subject to equitable charges that would have been sustained at a comparable network hospital for a similar treatment.

Q19: Are pre-existing medical conditions covered?
The pre-existing medical condition means any sickness, disease or injury or any symptom related to such sickness, disease or injury which has been diagnosed, treated or is under treatment or has been known, even if no medical advice or treatment was sought, before the effective date of this insurance.
Pre-existing conditions, if any, must be disclosed by the insured member at the time of enrolment in the general health insurance plans but in the group health insurance plans, it is decided by the employer to offer pre-existing medical coverage or not. Usually, the treatments required due to pre-existing conditions are covered under the group health insurance policy.

Q20: Is there any exclusion?
Expense arising from or related to Pre-existing conditions, Pregnancy and Childbirth, Outpatient treatment, war, invasion, civil unrest, infertility, cosmetic treatment, routine medical check-up etc provision of the coverage depends on the plan chosen by the employer. Dental and suicidal tendencies are not provided coverage for in almost all corporate health insurance plans.

Q21: Are there any in-admissible conditions?
The policy may and may not be available to people suffering from Cancer, Diabetes or HIV/AIDS depending on the coverage provided and procured by the organization.

Q22: Will I be insured after leaving the organization?
Usually, the employee is not covered after leaving the organization and is immediately deleted by the employer providing the health coverage.

Q23: In how many days will I receive the policy documents?
Your policy documents along with your Health card will be dispatched to you within the max of 30 working days once the account has been debited. One thing to note is that the policy becomes effective once the premium is paid by the organization and acknowledged by the policy provider.

Q24: What is the procedure in case an organization wants to cancel Group Health Plan?
Once it purchases the corporate, the organisation cannot cancel or even make any changes once the premium is paid. The changes required or if the organization aims to cancel the plan can only be done after one year of the plan purchased. It is advised that whenever buying health insurance employees they need to be sure of the plan the organization is opting for.

Q25: is the insurance provider available on the market?
There are multiple renowned and trustworthy group health insurance providers, like Jubilee Life, EFU Allianz Adamjee Life, IGI – Life Vitality, TPL Insurance, Pak-Qatar Takaful, Salam Takalful these are someone the renowned underwriters of this Policy. These are the specialised Health Insurance companies in Pakistan.

Q26: How to get the best Group Health Insurance Plan for the organization?
There are multiple ways to procure the best health insurance plan for your organization. The plans= can be bought directly from the insurance provider or any of your trusted agents who can provide you with the best deal and plans with the best customization that fulfils the needs and requirements of the organization buying health insurance for its employees.
There is a benefits column in the policy document, the organization should properly read and it should be understood by the employers when procuring the health insurance for instance
1. They should see coverage till which age is available means minimum and maximum age to buy insurance
2. They are getting pre-existing or emergency coverage or not
3. If the organization is procuring maternity benefits what would be the terms and conditions associated with it and what would be the maternity limit?
In addition to this, when procuring the health insurance plan, the organization can definitely choose to pay online for any of the desired plans purchased for their organizations.

Q27: What is the procedure to add or delete an employee?
An email has to be sent to add or delete to the insurance provider or the point of account of the insurance provider, mentioning the policy effective date. Deletion of the employee can be done immediately and addition takes 3 to 5 working days.

Pro-rate basis: the addition and deletion of an employee are done on the pro-rate basis for instance if one employee health is 12k if the employee leaves after 6 months after the date of purchase of the insurance policy the balance is given to the client organization at the time of renewal. Same if the addition of the employee, if insurance is balanced at the time of renewal or the end of the policy term.
In maternity situations, the plan procured with maternity, no addition or deletion of an employee affects the premiums paid for. It’s the cost on which a pro-rate basis is inapplicable. Addition or deletion is only a health premium not in the case of maternity premium.

Conclusion

We hope that the information provided in the blog would be helpful and after this blog, you stand better educated on the terms and information related to corporate health insurance plans, the nitty-gritty of it and the ways to means to maximum utilization of the plan.

Khurram Zahid

The post Steps to Design Group Health Insurance and Important FAQs! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.