Nov 28, 2013 | News
Holiday overspending can create stress and anxiety that lasts well beyond the turkey leftovers. With the holidays rapidly approaching, Foundation Financial Group offers holiday budgeting tips to help people avoid the buyer’s remorse that often hits during the holidays.
“Overspending on the holidays can become a snowball effect,” said Tanya Mauro, Foundation Financial’s CFO in a press release. “You max out your credit cards, struggle to meet the minimum monthly payments, and spend the whole next year haunted by the real ghost of Christmas past: holiday debt.”
Mental Health America conducted a survey that identified the most common holiday stressors in 2006, and the findings have been widely agreed upon since then. Financial stress is reported as the number one source of holiday stress, and parents are the most financially stressed-out group. Reducing financial stress during the holidays is one way to make the holidays more enjoyable for everyone.
The best way to beat the bank account blues is to set a holiday budget and stick to it. Planning your gift, meal, and decoration expenses ahead of time will help you avoid impulse shopping, which is a notorious budget killer. Early and practical preparation will make a big difference, Mauro says.
Make a list of every person you intend to give a gift to and brainstorm gift ideas. If your list is too big for your budget, consider which people on your list will appreciate thoughtful gifts like holiday cookies or homemade decor. Use websites like Pinterest to find delicious recipes, easy crafts, and other creative gifts.
“Remember, the holidays should be a wonderful time of year to spend with family and friends, not stressful because you are spending too much money,” said Mauro, who says she gives homemade gifts to many loved ones.
On Black Friday (Nov. 29 this year), deals are notorious for luring shoppers on a bargain hunt that quickly escalates into chaos. Before you leave the house, make a schedule of the stores you will visit. Note the items you are looking for and a maximum amount for each item. Research prices online before hitting the stores and if credit card limits make overspending too easy, leave the plastic at home and use cash to force yourself to stick to the budget.
ILScorp knows how difficult budgeting for the holidays can be. We’ll be announcing our own series of December discounts on some of our most popular insurance training and licensing programs tomorrow. Check back at ILScorp.com Friday and learn how you can save and still get the insurance training you need this holiday season.
Nov 26, 2013 | News
The Chambre de la sécurité financière compliance deadline in Quebec is coming up soon. If you still need to complete your compliance hours for Saturday’s Nov. 30 deadline, ILS can help!
The Chambre oversees the training and ethics of nearly 32,000 members who work in five sectors and registration categories: group savings plan brokerage, financial planning, insurance of persons, group insurance of persons and scholarship plan brokerage.
Anyone working in any of these areas in Quebec must earn the following professional development units (PDUs) anually: 10 PDUs in general subjects; 10 PDUs in compliance with standards, ethics and professional practice; and 10 PDUs in topics specific to each discipline or registration category in which they are authorized to conduct business.
ILS offers
Quebec Compliance Courses and our 5 Part Ethics Series is included in the
ILS CSF subscription, which is available for only $275 for six months of access. You can obtain more than 100 PDU credits for just $285 . Courses are available for individual purchase as well.
All courses can be completed on your own schedule anywhere you have an internet connection, making it easy and convenient to complete your compliance hours.
Visit ILScorp.com or call 1-800-404-2211 today and get set up today.
Nov 25, 2013 | News
5 fast facts about the ILScorp Life Licensing Qualification Program:
1. The ILScorp LLQP is the first fully online Life Licensing Qualification Program in Canada. Our $309 streaming-video LLQP is complete and comprehensive, giving you all of the knowledge and skills you need to successfully challenge the provincial LLQP examination.
2.The ILScorp LLQP program was developed by Bob Ransom, who is also the instructor. Mr. Ransom developed and wrote most of the original Advocis LLQP program, as well as editing the rest of the course and developing testing materials (including Exams). In addition to his work with Advocis, Mr. Ransom developed much of the LLQP program used by the Insurance Institute of Canada (IIC) and edited/rewrote portions of the LLQP course offered by IFIC.
3. Each program subscription includes: Access to the LLQP life insurance course in video format; a series of exam-type case studies; an online mock exam; your certification exam; and six months of access.
4. You can preview a video of the course on the ILScorp website.
5. The LLQP will be part of ILScorp’s “All I want for Christmas” promotion, offering special pricing on our most popular online insurance training programs through the month of December. Details will be announced on the ILScorp blog on Friday, so be sure to check back and see how you too can have a new career in insurance to start 2014!
Call ILScorp at 1-800-404-2211 to get started today.
Nov 20, 2013 | News
Not invited to the holiday parties? Passed over for promotions?
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in your career is not understanding that there are certain codes and rules to abide by in the workplace. If you’re not careful, you may even lose opportunities because others are put off by your lack of professionalism.
You may not know it, but your office behaviour could be affecting your co-workers perceptions of you. Are you acting in a professional manner in the work place? Not sure? Know someone in your office who could use a few pointers?
ILScorp’s Office Etiquette course will teach employees how to behave professionally in the office. Areas of focus include:
- Dressing for success
- Customer Service
- Teamwork
- Respect
- Company Property
- What not to do
This one-hour course features humorous segments which follow fictional staff members in an office setting. These clips add entertaining visuals to the important course content. Enjoy a video preview here.
The ILScorp Office Etiquette course will help viewers understand what is expected from them at work and how to display professional behaviour at all times. Enhance your reputation and advance your career, with the ILScorp Office Etiquette course today.
The ILScorp Office Etiquette is available for individual purchase for $29. Visit www.ILScorp.com or call 1-800-404-2211 today to get started.
Nov 19, 2013 | News
As the holidays approach our calendars start to fill up with additional events and activities on top of an already busy schedule. How do you fit it all in? Where do you find that balance?
As insurance professionals, managing your time is important. From responding to clients in a timely manner to arranging meetings, and balancing personal time, there is a distinct need in the industry for strong time management skills. ILScorp offers a number of time management courses, accredited for continuing education hours. Many of these courses are available as part of the ILS continuing education subscription bundles, or can be purchased individually. Examples of these courses include:
Taking Control – Creating a Time Management System that Works for You
This course examines the basic skills of organization and prioritizing. The information in this course drawn from the book entitled Time Management by Marc Mancini. Topics covered include:
- Organization and basic scheduling
- Time management misconceptions
- First priority: prioritizing
- Time killer: procrastination
- Goals, blocks, clusters and distractions
- Delegating
- Saying ‘No’
- Anticipation
- Time Crimes
- Tools of the Time Management Trade
Developing a Time Management System That Works
In this course, you will learn the basic skills of organization and prioritizing, time management myths and the skills needed to be as productive as possible, under the following headings:
- Organization and basic scheduling
- Time management misconceptions
- First priority: prioritizing
- Time killer: procrastination
- Goals, blocks, clusters and distractions
View these courses and more online continuing education programs at www.ILScorp.com or call 1-800-404-2211 today to get started.
Nov 18, 2013 | News
November 30 marks the Chambre de la sécurité financière compliance deadline in Quebec.
The Chambre oversees the training and ethics of nearly 32,000 members who work in five sectors and registration category: group savings plan brokerage, financial planning, insurance of persons, group insurance of persons and scholarship plan brokerage. If this is you, ILS can help you complete your mandated compliance training hours.
Representatives working in these areas in Quebec must earn the following professional development units (PDUs): 10 PDUs in general subjects; 10 PDUs in compliance with standards, ethics and professional practice; and 10 PDUs in topics specific to each discipline or registration category in which they are authorized to conduct business.
ILS offers
Quebec Compliance Courses and our 5 Part Ethics Series is included in the
ILS CSF subscription, which is available for only $285 for six months of access. You can obtain more than 100 PDU credits for just $285 . Courses are available for individual purchase as well.
All courses can be completed on your own schedule anywhere you have an internet connection, making it easy and convenient to complete your compliance hours.
Visit ILScorp.com or call 1-800-404-2211 today and get set up today.
