Immigrant or Expat – who are you?

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An Expatriate often shortened as expat is a person temporarily or permanently living in a country other than that of the person’s upbringing.

What is the difference between an Immigrant and an Expat?

It often depends on who is explaining it. These two words are subjective.

According to the oxford an Expatriate is a person living in a country that is not their own and an immigrant is a person living permanently in a country that is not theirs.

According to Miriam Webster: the word “Expatriate” is actually a verb or an adjective and means someone “living in a foreign land”. The word “Immigrant” is a noun and means “a person who comes to a country to take permanent residence”.

Meaning, immigrants have the intention of staying in the country of residence and expats are guests whose intentions are not clear if they are just visiting or staying.

Most Expats have citizenship in at least once country but live in another.

Would you categorise yourself as an Expat or Immigrant?

Either way PlannedDeparture is here to help you. We provide services in keeping all your important documents safe and secure.

Photocopies of important documents such as visa’s, passports, work and resident permits, certificates etc can be stored securely in your electronic vault. You are also able to make a list of beneficiaries that will be contacted when or if anything happens to you. They will have a clear and specific idea on what to do with all the information and digital assets you have left behind.

Sign up for a free trial today.

Secure Your Digital Legacy By Planning Ahead

On the 31st of July PlannedDeparture was featured as a guest blogger on ‘Digital Beyond’ page. We thought we would share that piece with you also.

On July 16th Yahoo Japan launched an end-of-life service called Yahoo Ending. It offers various services such as farewell messages, funeral planning and removal of relevant yahoo accounts.

Once Yahoo receives official notice of the subscribers passing it takes these steps.  Deletes all information stored on the company’s system and cancel’s the deceased’s subscriptions. Yahoo Endings will also launch a tribute site after the subscriber’s death. The tribute site serves as a memorial space. It hosts user’s memories, pictures, biography, messages, video messages, and a playlist of favourite music in the deceased’s honour.

According to The Cultureist 2,405,518,376 people use the Internet worldwide and seventy percent of those use the Internet every day. This number has grown 566% since the year 2000.

Why are these figures important?

The Internet plays a major role in most of our lives without us realising it. We store immense amount of information from our personal and professional lives online.

Our email accounts, utility bills, insurance policies, social media pages, digital albums, online bank accounts are some of the examples of our growing digital footprint.

We collect various items as we grow at different stages of our lives. What used to be a collection of stories, an archive of classic movies or a stack of letters is now digital in our growing age of technology. With the help of our smartphones, laptops and tablets everything is now stored digitally.  Stacks of letters are now emails, story collections are now eBooks and classic movies are now stored online. What happens to all these when the inevitable happens?

Continuous digitization and penetration of Internet in our everyday life has made our digital assets valuable. Like other valuable things, we have to manage our digital assets should during our life and protected after we pass away. In the absence of appropriate planning and protection, these digital assets can become an easy target for identity thieves. Identities of approximately 2.5 million deceased Americans got stolen last year.  It created a huge financial and emotional burden for people related to the deceased to deal with.

Yahoo, like many other major companies, is realizing the importance of digital legacy. The Uniform Laws Commission recently endorsed a plan to give personal representatives control of digital assets.

The plan, is not law until adopted and approved by state legislators. It would allow heirs to access and control digital assets. Unless instructions are otherwise specified in a will or other estate-planning instrument.

The ULC effort is a step in right direction, yet many individuals may want more control of their digital assets. For instance, you may want to distribute your digital assets to right beneficiaries with your instructions for them. Many individuals need a comprehensive digital estate plan to deal with this problem.

The emerging state laws in the U.S. and services such as Yahoo Ending and Google’s Inactivity Account Manager are good steps in the right direction. Individuals still need to take action.

I believe estate planning for digital assets will continue to become mainstream and independent organizations such as Planned Departure will try and serve the needs of this growing market.

Image Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2454800/dead-in-japan-yahoo-ending-has-all-you-need.html

 

 

What can we learn from a homeless man?

In life it’s not the material things that are important but the knowledge of love, character and loyalty.

You can have all the riches in the world but if you do not have true friends and family to share that with – it is pointless. Money can buy you happiness but can’t bring you joy. Money can make your life pleasant but that won’t fill the void of loneliness and sadness you will feel.

The person that gives when he has a little is the one that will give when he has a lot. This video is priceless. i was touched by the homeless man’s actions towards his fellow homeless man. No one understands till they have been in the exact situation as you! He showed love, even though he could have saved that money for the next day, he decided to share and help out a total stranger. In the end they were both winners. They both walked away smiling and gave us the opportunity to witness this remarkable act.

Greed and selfishness are the roots of most crimes today. It’s unfortunate that not a lot of people are as selfless as this man was.

Let’s all try to be better people. Give when you can and always try to think about others.

Here at Planned Departure we want what is best for our clients. It’s not about money but about having satisfied customers. Planned Departure exists to ensure that important information is never lost and your loved ones are protected from financial loss and emotional burden. We do Thank you for being loyal and we will continue to bring you the best service possible. Have a great weekend!!

 

Evolution and Revolution of Social Media

Is social media a trend that people just blindly sign up to as soon as a new app, software or programme is launched or is it a new way of life involving the revolution and evolution of technology? Some say the biggest shift since industrial revolution.

The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of water power, the increasing use of steam power, and the development of machine tools. It also included the change from wood and other bio-fuels to coal. Read more …

It is very important to understand the growth of social media today and the impact it has on this generation. It is bridging gaps and making the world smaller and more connected. All those figures and statistics are proof of the rate at which the internet and social media has a big impact in our daily lives and society as a whole.

Social media is here to stay so it’s in our hands to make good choices on how we use it. In fact it has become so important that few states in US has advised their citizens to prepare Social Media Will to ensure that online identities and their social media accounts are not lost or abused. With the services that PlannedDeparture offers all this information and digital footprints we leave are protected. Sign up today and safeguard your online identity.  

Work hard, Work out harder!

At PlannedDeparture we know that how we live our life is a matter of choice. How you choose to work and your perception of work is your opinion.

Life is what you make it and so is your working environment.

Working in general often has its challenges, but if you work in a conducive environment and in a good team that supports and encourages you, it helps.

At PlannedDeparture we believe laughter is food for the body mind and soul. in order to be as productive as possible, we try to work in jovial but committed environment.  Studies so far have shown that laughter can help relieve pain, bring greater happiness, and even increase immunity. Read more… As a result we play hard but work harder even at the office. Brainstorming and Standups to share ideas is one of the ways we come up with brilliant ideas and services for our clients. When we are not working in the office we take it to the gym.

A body that gets exercise is a body that is equipped to fight. A healthy body has a healthy mind. Why? In terms of work , exercise relaxes the mind and boosts the body’s  energy levels. When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you have more energy to go about daily activities. After a good workout, you sleep better which revitalizes you for the next day of work. Our gym comes very handy as a result.

We aim to please each and every one of our clients. Even if we can’t that doesn’t mean we wont keep trying :). In taking care of ourselves, we take care of you.

So why not book an Open Office hour with Komal Joshi and learn more about Planned Departure.

Five Important Reasons Why You Have to Protect Your Digital Assets.

Digital Assets are any form of content and/or media that have been formatted into a binary source which include the right to use it. Digital assets include online accounts, social media pages, online banking accounts, emails, e-books, music and others.You can find more information on digital assets in this blog post.

People tend to think that protecting digital assets is mostly the concern of businesses and firms but that is not the case. We all leave a digital trace every time we use the internet and that is why we should all be prepared.

Here are top 5 reasons for you to protect your digital assets.

1. Plan Ahead

A digital asset management plan enables you to plan ahead and put all your affairs in order. You are the sole decision maker for all your digital assets. Otherwise the decision is left to chance, government or charity.

2.Easy of Access

It is difficult to keep track of all the accounts created. It becomes more difficult when different account information is recorded at different places such as notebook, emails or other media. Creating a list of all the accounts and login details helps in easy access. You can refer to the list anytime anywhere.

3. Information could be lost forever

If your online accounts are not protected and something happens to you, all information stored online could be lost forever. This information could be of financial as well emotional value. Protecting digital assets can prevent information loss.

4. Easier for Family and Friends

Due to security measures, it is almost impossible to get access to an account without  authorisation. With a list of beneficiaries, it is easier for loved ones to access all these accounts from one place. The family does not have to assume about your wishes for these accounts. If you would want them deleted, memorialised or all information extracted and saved in an archive. The decisions would have already been made and all they have to do is implement it.

After losing her daughter to a brain tumor, Louise Palmer was banned from her daughter’s facebook account, in the name of protecting her privacy. Read more…

5. Prevent Identity Theft or Ghosting.

With so much of our information stored online, identity theft of the dead is getting more and more common in our day. The dead are the easiest of targets and the most vulnerable since they cannot defend themselves or put up a fight. You can find more details on Ghosting or identity theft of the diseased in this blog post.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, up to 9 million people per year are victims of such thefts. After death, some of our personal information become public records and that makes it easier for thieves to use this information and get access to credit cards, loans etc.

Take the first step of ensuring your digital assets are protected today by signing up with PlannedDeparture. We help you plan well and protect all information securely.

“Are you prepared?”

Richard Webber has famously said that,

“We’re all going to die. We don’t get much say over how or when. But we do get to decide how we’re going to live. So do it. Decide. Is this the life you want to live? Is this the person you want to love? Is this the best you can be? Can you be stronger? Kinder? More compassionate? Decide. Breathe in. Breathe out, and decide.”

so it’s a fact that all of us are going to die, sooner or later, but, the question is … ‘are you prepared?’

What does it mean to be prepared in this context? Prepared could mean that you take care of your assets and liabilities, you think about your beneficiaries , your power of attorney etc.

On the same lines, you think about your digital assets.

But why is it important to be prepared….

Our digital assets are most likely to exist forever if not deleted, shut down or infected with viruses which lead to it getting lost (which is very unlikely).

Our email accounts, social media pages, digital albums, online bank accounts etc. will still be in existence when we pass away. Now with our new knowledge we know there is something called digital asset management.

It will be up to us to determine what we want done to our assets. It is advisable to have a list of all your digital assets with detailed information on what you would like done with all the information on the accounts.

If you would like the account to be closed down completely, turned into a memorial page or even send birthday, anniversaries messages from beyond the grave.

It is important to plan ahead to save your loved ones the hassle of trying to figure our passwords. It gives them access to photos, videos and even the settling of bills. It makes everything easier after your death.

There are many ways to plan it. You could go the old fashioned way with the pen and paper, a will or as technology evolves evolve with it and go for the easy, safe and secure version. Set up an E-vault with PlannedDeparture and keep all your digital assets in one safe place.

Kindly repost if you found this helpful. Thank you 🙂

Top 3 team building videos selected by Team PlannedDeparture :)

We all know teamwork is when a group of people come together with a common goal and strive to work efficiently and effectively towards that goal.

Working in general often has its challenges, if you work as a good team member you have support in times of need from your colleague’s.

Two heads are better than one. This allows you to discuss and brainstorm on ideas that will help improve and enlighten your task and also broaden your scope of knowledge.

People can not do everything by themselves as some think. In a team you can delegate tasks to one another that helps you improve upon your weakness and also showcase your strengths.

Be a good team member, Share success and failure together and become better because of it. In learning to help others you help your self.

PlannedDeparture is a member of your team. We are here to help you, help yourself. Sign up for a free trial today.

Its Marketing not rocket science!

Innovation and marketing is the key fundamentals of a business. If your marketing is poor , you will end up spending and putting too much effort in selling because you haven’t marketed your product properly.

Simple question. What is Marketing?

Marketing is creating the interest and purpose of your product. It is selling to the world, whilst sales is selling to an individual. Challenge yourself and create your marketing plan and make sure it’s visible and clear to the understanding to everyone and anyone that picks it up. A good marketing plan helps you achieve your goals.

Find your strengths and weaknesses. Are you good at sales? Are you good at pitching? Presenting?

You won’t know till you test and try things out, explore new avenues .

In every company, start-up, business you should have a “why and what”.

The ‘why’ of PlannedDeparture: To give the user control over what happens to their assets.

The ‘what’ of Planneddeparture: To preserves all digital assets that matter to a user and distribute it to the beneficiaries listed by the user if anything happens to him or her.

Rod Sloane gave this information and more at an event organised at the google campus on the 16/07 on ‘Selling for Startups.

“Don’t give up, keep trying and when anyone in the position to help says no, ask again; Do you mean no now, or no never?” Chances are they mean ‘no’ right now.

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. – Harriet Beecher Stowe

 

Out with the old, in with the new :)

Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.- James Cash Penney

The PlannedDeparture team was all smiles on the 21st of july as we moved from our previous London Business School premises to our new Vista office in Hounslow.

There are no secrets to success but known facts. Hard work, determination and dedication pays off. it might not happen overnight but sooner than later it will be evident.

These past weeks have been challenging in finding out what best suits our clients but as usual the PlannedDeparture team have worked through it all and moved from strength to strength.

As we packed our boxes of equipment and bid farewell to LBS incubator to a bigger office, a professional business centre, we were proud of our growth and achievement but we couldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for the support of our clients and followers.

We from planned departure want to say a big thank you for all your support, subscriptions, comments, likes, reposts and retweets.

We promise to keep up the good work and  keep providing an even better service than we do now.
Out with the old- Old office

 
In with the new – New Office