Tag Archives: Catherine Balavage

WORKING WOMEN TAKE FINANCIAL CONTROL – BUT NEGLECT TO PROTECT THEMSELVES

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o Nearly half (46%) of working women describe themselves as the main earners in their family

o 44% of all working women state they are responsible for making the family financial decisions and over three in five (61%) raise money discussions in the household

o Yet over two million working females have no savings accounts in place

Almost a century after women asserted their right to vote, a new report from protection specialist, Bright Grey reveals another step forward in equality by highlighting that almost half (46%) of working women currently describe themselves as the main earner in their household. But its not all good news as the Women and Protection report* also suggests that women are actually less likely than men to have financial back-up should they suddenly be unable to work.

The ‘Women and Protection’ report – which examines the financial role of women in the household today – reveals that women are not only increasing their earning power but they are also gaining a stronger financial voice in the home. Over three in five (61%) working women state they are the most likely to raise money discussions in the home, compared to a lower 57% of working men who state they would raise them.

When it comes to crunch time, working women are also just as likely to make the financial decisions in their household with nearly half (44%) of all working female surveyed stating they predominately make the financial decisions in their household – compared to just over half (53%) of working men who state they would make them. Almost three in five (59%) of married couples say they consult each other on all financial issues.

Women are the family financial hub – but fail to financially protect themselves
Multi-tasking continues to remain a skill for women – even if they are at work all the time. In fact nearly three quarters of working women (72%) say they pay the bills, compared to two thirds (66%) of working men. A similar figure (71%) of working women in the UK do general day to day household budgeting, such as sorting home insurance compared to just 59% of working men who state they are responsible for this. Half of working women (50%) say they are responsible for longer-term financial decisions such as buying life insurance or organising a will.

Yet despite females bucking the traditional trend of males being the financial decision-makers it appears they are failing to financially protect themselves as over two million** working women (16%) say they do not have a savings account. Meanwhile, over a third of working females (35%) say they do not currently have a pension in place, compared to 30% of working men.

In terms of protection insurance products, over half (53%) of working women admitted that they have no life insurance cover in place, a product that is aimed at protecting their families in the event of their death. Over four in five (84%) working women do not hold income protection products, while a similar number of working women (78%) do not hold either a critical illness policy or private medical insurance (81%).

Roger Edwards, proposition director at Bright Grey said: “As earnings levels even up and the level of financial responsibility in households is more equally divided, women could be putting themselves at risk by not protecting their income – especially if a household is dependent on their salary.

Taking online accounting classes can be a great first step in really understanding financial matters.

“Bright Grey is calling for women to have adequate financial protection in place for themselves and their families. By buying a protection product that pays out if they are unable to work due to a serious illness or disability, women can ensure they protect both their household income and current lifestyle. There are various affordable protection options in the market, and it is critical that women in the UK who are increasingly running their household finances are protected.”

WORKINGMUMS LIVE EXHIBITION

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Mark Your Calendar – Tuesday 8th March 2011

Workingmums Live Exhibition, a brand new exhibition event, gives working parents the opportunity to:

* Meet with family friendly employers face to face including: Deloitte, Coca Cola, Santander and H&M
* Find flexible job opportunities
* Get advice on being self employed, starting a business or setting up a franchise
* Improve their CV and brush up on interview techniques
* Get advice on retraining from the experts
* Attend informative seminars on everything from party planning to tax credits
* Find out about childcare options and business funding

Venue: Business Design Centre, Islington, London.
Time: 10am – 5pm

Nearest Tube Station: Angel
The event is free for all attendees, and you can even bring your little ones as there will be buggy parks, changing stations and crèche facilities to make life that little bit easier.

To register, please visit www.workingmumslive.co.uk.

LAUNCH OF BLUEBELLS & SEASHELLS: ONLINE GUIDE TO ACCOMMODATION ACROSS GREAT BRITAIN

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A new comprehensive online accommodation guide for Great Britain which will feature all types of places to stay, from bed & breakfasts, hotels, holiday cottages, yurts, campsites, boats, glampsites and even a converted Shepherds Hut has been launched. The website: www.bluebellsandseashells.co.uk, has been named to represent all that is typical of Great Britain’s beautiful countryside and stretching shorelines.

The advanced search page offers one of the most comprehensive search facilities available ensuring that users of the site are able to find accommodation suitable for their individual requirements, such as with wheelchair access, eco-friendly accommodation, or places that cater specifically for vegetarians. Alternatively, holidaymakers can consider trying something new during their break, by searching for accommodation providers that offer workshops and courses, for example cupcake making classes or crash courses in keeping chickens!

Visitors to the site are also able to view up to ten large images of the accommodation, view feedback from other guests, check availability of holiday cottages and see details of popular local attractions and things to do locally as listed by the property owner rather than advertisers. The news section carried on the www.BluebellsandSeashells.co.uk home page and monthly newsletter also features stories on places to go and things to check out around Great Britain, for example places to take children during the half-term break.

Joanna Thorne, Founder of Bluebells & Seashells commented: “There are 2.9 million bedspaces* available to guests in the UK every night, including hotels, B&B’s, guest houses, through to holiday dwellings and tourist campsites with an average occupancy rate of 55% for all serviced accommodation**, suggesting that the flow of traffic and money into the British tourism industry is still very much alive and open for business. London remains the most popular destination for overseas visitors (14.2 million), who collectively spent over £8bn in 2009, representing 50% of all inbound visitor spending***.”

“We launched this site to counter all of the items we found most frustrating from our own experiences at looking for accommodation and we’re delighted that we already over 1250 properties of all shapes and sizes, atmospheres and locations registered with us. We’ve ensured that images are displayed as large as possible and the search does not limit browsers to select one property type or another unless they choose to, as we all know that when looking for a bed for a night when attending a friend’s wedding for example, choosing a hotel, guest house, B&B, converted mill or boat is not what’s important; but the price, warm welcome, décor, cleanliness and location are.”

“Furthermore, many of the holiday cottage letting companies around Great Britain have been purchased by overseas corporations, and as a result the consumer ends up paying considerably more for their holiday, including the compulsory insurance than cottages owners receive. This is neither fair for the owner, or traveller, but perhaps worst still is that this money is leaving our economy, when it has never needed it more. Bluebells and Seashells is aimed at providing those independent accommodation owners, with an affordable and fair platform to share what they to offer and with Royal Wedding and the 2012 Olympic Games only months away, the outlook for accommodation providers looks extremely prosperous.”

A short marriage, but a longer divorce?

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A short marriage often ends with a longer divorce due to differences of opinion over the financial settlement warns Caroline Bourn, solicitor at Buss Murton Law LLP.

Caroline Bourn comments: “This is highlighted by recent media coverage of Katie Price and Alex Reid’s split as reports claim Alex Reid is seeking a £6million divorce settlement, whilst Katie Price is offering £700,000. Couples can have great difficulty in agreeing what is the right settlement when dealing with a short childless marriage where one person brought into the marriage the majority of the wealth.”

“There is no one size fits all approach to any divorce settlement, as each case will depend on its own individual facts and circumstances.”

“In this case, the starting point of any financial agreement will be to identify the “marital acquest”, or more simply, what was built up during the marriage.”

“For example, in Katie Price and Alex Reid’s case this might include the money from the TV shows or magazine deals they were in together. The marital acquest, once identified, is often shared equally, which then leaves the decision as to what should happen to those assets that were bought into the marriage by one party or were inherited or are business assets, which were the result of one party’s effort.”

“In short marriages, contributions made by either party can prove to be decisive; whilst the longer the marriage lasts, the less weight may be given to those contributions made before a marriage.”

“With a short marriage, there is often not the acceptance that the assets will be divided equally, which is often the case in longer marriages.”

“A contested court case will cost thousands of pounds and could take years to conclude and if Katie Price and Alex Reid wish to avoid this, they would be well advised to find a better way of resolving the finances, such as Collaborative Law. This will mean they have to sit down around the same table with their lawyers and thrash the deal out.”

Caroline concludes: “If either party considers remarrying in the future, they would be well advised to draw up a Pre Nuptial Agreement to protect the wealth they bring to the marriage.”

Justin Bieber Flirts with Rihanna at NBA Game

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Stars watch NBA All-Star Game

Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, Beyonce Knowles and John Legend were amongst the celebrities in attendance for the 60th NBA All-Star Game, while Rihanna, Kanye West and Lenny Kravitz performed at half-time.

Justin Bieber made the most of being sat beside stunning Rihanna by chatting her up all night.

Other stars in attendance at Sunday’s game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ciara, Gabrielle Union, Spike Lee, Snoop Dogg, Sean Combs, Steve Tyler, Dustin Hoffman, Lil’ Wayne, Gene Simmons, Ellen Pompeo, Kelen Lutz, Drake and Piers Morgan.

The celebrities though had turned up to watch the stars on the court and the National Basketball Association’s best did not disappoint. Kobe Bryant led the Western Conference All-Stars past their Eastern Conference opponents in a high-scoring 148-143 game.

Los Angeles Lakers guard, Bryant, who played in London in October as part of NBA Europe Live, scored 37 points and added 14 rebounds to take the MVP award in front of his home fans.

The Eastern Conference put up an impressive fight and produced a fantastic comeback to nearly snatch a victory. LeBron James, of the Miami Heat, was particularly impressive recording a triple double. He had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

The 2012 NBA All-Star Game is set for Orlando, Florida.

Actress Donna Air on Dating the Second Time Around

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Actress and model Donna Air shares her ‘second time around’ dating stories for relationship site, www.eHarmony.co.uk

Dating Unplugged: Eight weeks of thoughts, advice, videos, pictures and comment for those who are finding love all over again
 
 
Actress, TV presenter and writer Donna Air this week unveils the first in a series of weekly blogs for relationship site eHarmony.co.uk, based on her own recent dating experiences. The blog posts will all follow the theme of ‘Dating the second time around’, the subject of a recent book by Dr Gian Gonzaga, Senior Relationship Scientist at eHarmony.co.uk. The blog can be found at: http://moourl.com/donnadating. 
 
Donna’s articles will feature amusing first-person dating anecdotes covering topics such as dating in the fast-moving world of social media, the challenges of dating outside your age group, and finding love as a single parent. Donna herself is a single mother to a seven year old daughter, and has spent the last four and a half years on the London dating scene following the breakdown of her long-term relationship.
 
Donna Air said:
“The search for the perfect partner is the one thing that unites all of us, whatever our circumstances, and starting that journey again after a long relationship can be scary. I was really excited to be asked by eHarmony to share some of my stories, and hopefully help other single people in the process. It can feel like a ‘dating jungle’ out there at times but sharing our experiences with each other will help us all on that mission to find the perfect person!”
 
The eight weekly blogs will run from Thursday February 24th until April 25th and will sit on eHarmony Advice, which contains relationship advice articles, forums and opinion polls for eHarmony members and anyone seeking relationship advice. Advice articles and videos by Dr Gian Gonzaga, excerpts from his recent book, and videos, photos and personal stories from eHarmony-matched couples who found love second time around will also feature. The blog will be supported by a social media campaign to amplify Donna’s articles through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other online channels.
 
Ottokar Rosenberger, UK Country Manager for eHarmony.co.uk said:
“This is the first time in the UK that we’ve worked on a series of guest-authored blogs and we’re extremely excited to host Donna’s unique content on our site. Donna has a really warm and engaging personality and we’re sure her stories will strike a chord with anyone who’s navigating the sometimes nerve-wracking world of dating. We hope readers of the blogs will also post their own thoughts and experiences.”
 
“We plan to run other blogs over the rest of the year on a range of love-related subjects, which we hope will appeal to our existing members, and to anyone seeking helpful and interesting relationship advice.”

Celebrities Get Lippy For ActionAid

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JOANNA LUMLEY, KATHY BURKE, SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR, BEVERLEY KNIGHT, ANNIE MAC AND MIRANDA RICHARDSON GET LIPPY FOR ACTIONAID

Celebrities mark the 100th anniversary of INTERNATIONAL WOMENS’ DAY on MARCH 8th 2011 by letting rip on women’s rights for the launch of ActionAid’s GET LIPPY campaign.

Celebrated photographer Rankin and anti-poverty charity ActionAid have joined forces to highlight the inequalities faced by millions of women across the world.

Together they asked six high-profile women to be photographed in support of women in developing countries who are speaking up to claim their rights and improve their lives – to GET LIPPY for women living in poverty.

March 8th is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.

For millions, it is the time to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements women have made since the first International Women’s Day when people marched across Europe for a woman’s right to vote, work and hold public office.

For ActionAid, International Women’s Day is also a time to shine a spotlight on the struggles women face now in the developing world and to build solidarity to tackle the urgent challenges ahead. ActionAid campaigns for a world where women and men, girls and boys, have equally good chances in life, free from want and free from fear.

Getting Lippy…. ActionAid asked the celebrities to send a message of support to the millions of women in the developing world who are struggling everyday to improve their lives.

Since ActionAid believes that more unites women than divides them, the charity also asked the celebrities to say what they thought was the best and worst thing about being a woman today.

JOANNA LUMLEY said: “I have travelled in all kinds of countries so I know some of the terrible disadvantages women have been struggling under and continue to struggle under all across the world. I want them to know that we are going to help, we are there for you.”

On what the best and worst thing about being a woman is “It’s obvious what women are best at. Multi-tasking, we are genetically able to multi-task – men can’t do that. What’s worst? The way we have been discriminated against in all religions and in all societies throughout all time. It’s incredible to think it’s not even 100 years since women got the vote in this country – bad.”

The British public can also GET LIPPY and send their messages to: www.actionaid.org.uk/iwd

Facts and statistics
1. One in three women will experience violence at some point in their lives.
2. An estimated 5,000 women worldwide are murdered each year in what are referred to as ‘honour killings’.
3. At least three quarters of civilians killed in war are women and children.
4. In Afghanistan, 80 per cent of women experience domestic violence.
5. More than 200,000 cases of rape have been documented in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
6. Nearly half of all sexual assaults worldwide are against girls under 15.
7. Over two out of three people living in extreme poverty are women.
8. Women make up 70% – 80% of the world’s poor, illiterate and refugee populations
9. Sexual and domestic violence persist, despite some major advances in legislation.
10. In many parts of the world women aren’t allowed to own property or keep money they earn.
11. More girls than boys are denied an education.
12. While we have some prominent women heads of state, men still have a monopoly on decision-making — from village councils to national government and disaster response committees — so policies tend to ignore women’s needs.

Fearne Cotton, Alistair McGowan and Harry Hill go Mad for the Fairtrade Facebook Challenge …

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Fearne Cotton, Alistair McGowan and Harry Hill go Mad for the Fairtrade Facebook Fearne Cotton, TV Burp star Harry Hill, Zoe Ball and DJ husband Norman Cook, ex-model and presenter Lisa Butcher, Fast Show star Mark Williams and more are all going Fairtrade Mad on the Fairtrade Fortnight Facebook Challenge at http://www.facebook.com/FairtradeFoundation .

Each day, the celebs are inviting people to take part in a different, fun challenge such as creating a wacky Fairtrade Banana Smile, Outrageous Fairtrade Label Waving, painting a Fairtrade Chocolate Moustache, Random Acts of Fairtrade Kindness, Fairtrade Your Mum, create a Fairtrade fruit inspired hat, and the Fairtrade Ice Cream Pile Up.

Other celebrities have pledged to take part in the challenge, including singer Mica Paris, Olympic gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave, chef Sophie Grigson, How Clean is Your House presenter Aggie McKenzie, as well as Tory MP and DFID Minister Stephen O’Brien.

Alistair McGowan is launching the ‘Outrageous label waving’ challenge by replacing his tennis ball with a Fairtrade pineapple as he impersonates John McEnroe. ‘We are all thinking a lot about the sustainability of our world,’ says Alistair McGowan. ‘I believe that we have to start with the people who produce the foods and goods we put in our shopping baskets. When I buy Fairtrade I know the farmers and workers receive enough for their products so that they can put food on the table and enjoy a better standard of living’.

Each challenge comes with a fabulous prize for the funniest, most outrageous and creative contestant. Up for grabs are prizes like a Sainsbury’s supported trip to the Dominican Republic to visit Fairtrade certified banana farmers; a flower arranging lesson with top florist Simon Richards who designs all of Marks & Spencer’s floral arrangements; a cupcake making course with cake-maker extraordinaire Lilli Vanilli whose bespoke cakes are sold in Harrods; a week’s holiday in Sri Lanka which includes a visit to Fairtrade tea growers who sell their tea to Jacksons of Piccadilly; a Starbuck’s ‘sensory weekend’ with all sorts of delights; a Green & Black’s chocolate Masterclass; and a year’s supply of Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream.

The rules are simple. Log onto the Fairtrade Facebook site at http://www.facebook.com/FairtradeFoundationUpload a photograph of yourself taking part in one of the daily challenges and encourage your friends and family to vote on your entry. The entry with the most votes wins. The funniest and wackiest photograph is likely to win. For those who don’t win the grand prize, there are lots of great are Fairtrade-inspired consolation prizes.