These Are the Threats You Didn’t See Coming, and What You Can Do About Them
Be safe out there over the 4th of July holiday weekend. It is the biggest Summer celebration in the States. More celebrations are right around the corner. When people are out, about, and happy without a care in the world, that is when danger strikes. It crouches in the shadows even now. It is sizing you up and probing for your vulnerabilities. There is a target painted on your back. And the predators are lying in wait for the opportune moment to pounce.
If that puts a bit of a damper on your celebration plans, you’re welcome. One of the greatest tools predators have is your overconfidence and distraction. It is probably one of those dopamine kind of things. When it is time to celebrate, you start producing all those really powerful pleasure chemicals that put a smile on your face and take away your sense of risk and danger. You really do become a person without a care in the world. That is exactly the moment when things get really dangerous. You become open to threats you never considered. Here are just a few of those threats and what you can do about them.
A Really Bad Loan
If you are even the least bit financially compromised, you might have plans for the holidays that your budget can’t handle. Now, you will have to borrow a little money to get by. Predatory lenders know that. And they prey on your desire to have a fun holiday by offering you a really bad loan that ends up being a debt trap.
It is easy to fall for one of those car title loans with no income verification. It is easy to get money from such loans. But it is not as easy to get your title back. Payday loans are another popular choice that can leave you in much more trouble than you were in before the loan. The way to avoid bad loans is to know what a good loan looks like. There are very helpful installment loans you should consider when you have a financial emergency. Do a little research before going with the first lender that hands you money. Lending fairness is critical to financial fairness. The way to protect yourself is to wait till the celebration dopamine hit fades away before you accept a loan.
An Unwise Social Media Post
For the most part, no one knows if you are home or away. Many of the fun activities for celebrating the 4th involve you being someplace other than home. But there is enough ambiguity about your plans that no thief can be sure you want be hosting the parting at your house. One of the main ways they discover such information is from you and other people in your family.
You would be shocked and appalled at how easy it is for people you don’t know to be accepted as a follower of your social media feed. Once there, you tell them everything they need to know by talking about your vacation plans well in advance. They know exactly where you are going and when you are leaving. More importantly, they know exactly how long you will be gone. Do yourself a favor and don’t talk about your vacation until you are back home.
Food Poisoning
You would never leave potato salad out on the counter for hours before feeding it to your family. Yet when having a holiday, we forget all about food safety. There is a good reason people often feel sick after a celebration and end up losing a day’s work and pay. When going to an outdoor feast, be sure that there is plenty of ice so that dishes stay in the food temperature safety zone. Bring coverings for every dish. And delegate someone to keep the insects at bay.
You are surrounded by threats and are only aware of a few. You might be a double black belt in all of the martial arts. But that will not prepare you for the predatory lenders who want to sink you deeper into debt rather than help you out. you will be blindsided by well-meaning but unwise social media posts. And you will happily eat your way into seven different forms of food poisoning at a picnic that you wouldn’t tolerate at home. Be aware of these threats and have a happy celebration, whatever you happen to be celebrating.
