On Financial Awareness Day, Celebrate with Identity Protection

How to Celebrate Financial Awareness Day on August 14

Call your friends and tell them you’re having a party on August 14th, and when they say they have no money, say, “Perfect, it’s free! See you here!” Promise that the party will be fun and what you’re asking them to contribute will cost nothing.

How to Throw a Free Party

1. To make the journey fun, create a short scavenger hunt where they have to find things like landmarks or historical points along the way.
2. Have everyone prepare a joke or two to share with the group.
3. Have each person wrap an item from their home for a fun gift exchange. It can be a useless, “white elephant” item or something useful. All items must be no cost and should be wrapped in paper or a bag they already have.
4. Have a few board or card games ready. What better games to play on Financial Awareness Day than Life or Monopoly?
5. Have several scenarios for individuals or pairs to act out that the group tries to guess, like Charades.
6. Have everyone bring a movie and take a vote on which one to watch—but you can’t vote on your own.
7. Have a dance party where everyone brings a favorite dance song.

How to Help Your Friends Be Financially Aware

At some point during the event, explain that August 14th is Financial Awareness Day, and this party is your way of bringing attention to the importance of financial planning. Because you care about your friends, you want to give them some helpful tools to take control of their finances, should they need a little help.

Hand out sheets of paper with these recommendations for financial stability, which apply whether they are already growing financially or struggling. Allow each of your friends to take their sheet home, and if a discussion arises out of it at the party, great!

Two Key Financial Recommendations

1. Budget Your Money: To hold yourself and spending accountable, make sure that your expenses are lower than your income. In your budget, withhold a percentage from each paycheck or gig and save it for future expenses, an emergency, or for retirement—and don’t touch this money. Use a financial institution that offers the best interest rates on your savings but also doesn’t charge fees to hold your money.
2. Protect Your Savings: The best way to do this is to protect your identity. This includes the following:
   • Protect Your Online Accounts: Use strong passwords and change them on a regular basis. Enable two-factor authentication. Use the tools available to you to ensure identity thieves won’t be able to easily hack your accounts.
   • Watch Your Financial Accounts: Check your credit card and bank accounts often to check for fraudulent transactions. Credit cards offer better protection than debit, checks, or cash, so if you pay off your credit card each month, consider making purchases on credit. Monitor your credit report using a major bureau like Experian, Equifax or TransUnion, and you will be able to catch suspicious activity on your credit accounts. You are entitled to one free annual report from each credit bureau, so use it.
   • Keep Your Social Security Number Private: Organizations should never ask you for this number, although sometimes they will confirm your identification by asking for the last few digits. Sharing this number over the phone, in emails, or on the internet leaves you vulnerable to identity theft and financial harm.
   • Don’t Be a Social Media Queen: Share your birthdates, email address, home address and other personal identifiers privately, and only with those closest to you—not on social media. Once this personally identifiable information (PII) becomes public, the whole world has access to it, including identity thieves who are creeping your social media pages looking for ways to steal your identity and your money.
   • Shred Everything: Never throw anything containing PII in the trash or recycle bin.
     • Healthcare insurance documents, ID card, medicine bottle labels, or prescription paperwork
     • Airline boarding passes or frequent flier information
     • Financial account statements or expired credit cards
     • Old passports, driver licenses, or ID cards
     • Receipts, invoices, or bills
     • Magazines, circulars, or junk mail with your address on the label
     • Anything else that has your name, address, phone, email, birthdate, SSN, passport number, or other identifiers on it

Instead, work with a local, reputable shredding company that offers mobile shredding, drop-off shredding, and shred events that make it easy for local residents like you to keep your information secure. Consider a “shred everything” policy to take the decision process out of what to recycle and what to shred.

Who Do You Call?

Wiggins Shredding is always ready to help you protect your identity with secure document shredding. We make it easy for residents and businesses in Pennsylvania and the Tri-State area of Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware to destroy their sensitive documents and shred their digital media. Want more information? Call us at 610-692-TEAR(8327) or complete the form on this page to talk with one of our friendly shredding experts.