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Red hearts, chocolate, lace, and roses: it's that time of year again. With February comes Valentine's Day, and with Valentine's Day comes thoughts of love. While Valentine's Day emphasizes romantic love, or eros-the kind of love that results when Cupid's arrow penetrates a heart and inspires swoony, smitten feelings of attraction and desire-it's also a time to celebrate other forms of love, like the love a parent has for a child, the love between friends, or the quiet, strong and steady love between long-married spouses. Indeed, Valentine's Day is a time to honor all kinds of love.
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Insurance can be a tricky business. Shopping for can feel intimidating because there are so many providers and plans to choose from, so much fine print...and so many misconceptions! Yes, myths abound in the insurance world, and they are perpetuated as readily and colorfully as any fairy tales or legends.
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Most business owners in Illinois are so preoccupied by what's happening in the present-customers or clients to serve, bills to pay, employees to manage-that they scarcely have a free moment to think about the future. But the future comes much sooner than most of us expect, and it's smart for business owners to ask some serious questions about it. What would happen to your business, and your family, in the even of your death? Do you have the right life insurance policy in place, one that recognizes the role your business plays in the financial health of your family? Here are a few future-related questions for business owners-ones that, fortunately, we can answer.
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One of the best ways to beat the winter blahs is to stay active. When the weather in Illinois is chilly, the sky is gray, and your mood is blue, it's smart-and fun-to get out and get moving. Downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, and ice-skating are just a few classic winter sports that make many people look forward to the most frigid time of year. But, like all sports, these winter sports can be dangerous. Accidents are common, and costly. Use the following tips to stay safe during winter sports season, and protect your finances in the event of a mishap.
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Resolving to make improvements to your health and habits in 2013 can do more than just improve your longevity, your quality of life, your appearance, and your attitude; it can also work to put more money in your pocket! How? Well, in addition to all the cash you'll save by foregoing that daily double mocha with whipped cream, you can also reap the benefits of having decreased insurance rates. That's because many insurance providers will give you a break if you make changes for the better. For example:
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Off the job safety is essentially an extension of on-the-job safety rules. Designed to keep employees in Illinois safe and healthy even when they are not at work, off the job safety ensures that they can keep coming back to work and keep contributing to the company! Off the job safety also helps businesses to save money, because employees who are safe and healthy outside of work tend to use their employer-provided health insurance less, resulting in savings for the employer.
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Those of who live in cold climates get to enjoy the fresh, crystalline beauty of a snowy, icy landscape. Sometimes, a mere glimpse out the window reveals an outdoor winter wonderland of sorts, one where all is white and shimmering, where pine boughs are weighed down by heavy clusters of snow, and long, pointed icicles dangle from the eaves. There can be a downside to all this beauty, however. As much pleasure as they can give, snow and ice can also cause damage to your property. Here's how you can protect your home from ice and snow damage:
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More and more business owners are seeing the economic advantage of basing their business in an unconventional locale, such as a home studio or office, or a shared space with a fellow entrepreneur. There are literally hundreds of types of business owners whose enterprises are perfectly suited for home offices or similar places, including: freelance writers, web designers, wedding and event planners, consultants of all kinds, photographers and other fine artists, tutors, music teachers, furniture makers, and many more. The phenomenon known as Etsy is a web-based community of literally thousands of business owners who sell their wares via the Internet and operate not from traditional stores but from virtual ones. This perfectly illustrates the increasing popularity of home-based businesses.
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