Top 10 Consulting tips
Share Apple Health Data
iOS 15 allows you to share health data with your friends and family members. The data you share will appear in their Health app. You will also get an alert for important health metrics like elevated heart rate, etc. It’s all built with privacy and security in mind. Apple only shares a summary of each topic and not the details. The information is encrypted, and you can stop sharing at any time.
Have an Emergency Fund
If you lost your job tomorrow would you have enough money to live off while you look for a new one? If not then you're not alone. This study found that although Americans are doing a better job at saving, around 24 percent of them (57 million people) don't have an emergency fund. Now I don't want to be a negative Nancy or a Debbie downer, but emergencies happen all the time. They may not happen to you, but it's always good to be prepared. You can't predict an emergency, but you can prepare for one. The best way to do so is to set up an emergency fund of 3-6 months living expenses. That means if you lost your job tomorrow, you'd be able to live off your emergency fund for 3-6 months while you look for a new one. Here are some common financial emergencies:
- Job loss
- Car problems
- House repairs
- Natural disaster
- Medical or dental expenses Still not convinced that you need an emergency fund? I wrote a story to show you how important having an emergency fund is:
Use iCloud Authenticator
iCloud Keychain gets a much-awaited two-factor authentication support built-in. When you view the password for any website in the iCloud Keychain, you will see an option to Set Up Verification Code for the app. iCloud Keychain users can replace the apps like Microsoft Authenticator and Google Authenticator on the iPhone.
System-Wide Drag and Drop
You really need to use this trick in person to check its awesomeness. You can long-press any image/video/file from one app, open another app, and drop it there. Keep the content pinned using one hand and open another app using another finger and drop the content. It works seamlessly across Apple apps. For example, you can select a photo from the Photos app and use the drag and drop method to attach it to an iMessage conversation.
Know Your Net Worth
Net worth can seem like a tricky topic, but it's quite simple. Your net worth is how much money you are worth. If you were to sell everything you own, then pay off everything you owe, how much money would be left? That's your net worth. Here's what that looks like in equation form: Net worth = Assets (what you own) – Liabilities (what you owe) Ready to calculate your net worth? Here's how: First, create a list of all your assets (what you own) and their estimated value. Here are some examples of assets:
- Money
- Investments
- Real estate
- Cars
- Jewelry
- etc. At the bottom of the list, add up the total value of all your assets. Next, create another list of all your liabilities (what you owe). Here are some examples of liabilities:
- Credit card debt
- Mortgage
- Student loan
- Auto loan
- etc. At the bottom of the list, add up the total value of all your liabilities. Now that you have the total value of your assets and liabilities, plug the numbers into the equation above, and you'll get your net worth. If you have a positive net worth that's good. Continue working to increase your net worth even more. If you have a negative net worth, you need to take a look at your budget and come up with a plan to increase your net worth. If you're young and you have a big student loan, you shouldn't worry too much as you haven't even started working yet. Make sure to re-calculate your net worth every month or so to keep up to date with your finances. I use a free tool called Mint to track my net worth but many people recommend Personal Capital as well.
Use Magnifier App
Need to zoom in for specific details using iPhone? You no longer need to open the Camera app and use digital zoom. iOS 15 now comes with a new Magnifier app. As the name suggests, you can use it to zoom in on elements, text, use a bunch of filters, flashlight, play with the brightness slider, and more.
Access Spotlight Search from the Lock Screen
Spotlight Search also gets a major boost with new features. Spotlight uses intelligence to search photos by location, people, scenes, or objects. Using Live Text, Spotlight can also find text and handwriting in photos. Spotlight now offers web image search and all-new rich results for actors, musicians, TV shows, and movies. The good news is, you can access all these goodies right from the iPhone lock screen. Use the same swipe-down gesture from the lock screen, and Spotlight Search is ready to serve you.
Start Investing
Investing is one of the best ways to increase your net worth, but a lot of people stay away from it because they're scared of losing money. So instead of investing, they keep their money in a savings account. That's great, and you should have some money in a savings account for emergencies, but the truth is: Money in a savings account loses value over time. See, the average savings account has a very tiny 0.06% APY (annual percentage yield), while inflation is around 1.7%. That means that each year, the money you have in a savings account is going to have less and less buying power. So, what can you invest in to stay ahead of inflation? Here are some options:
- Real estate
- Peer-to-peer lending
- Exchange traded funds (ETFs)
- Stocks
- Cryptocurrency (crypto can be volatile, so invest at your own risk)
Communicate With Your Significant Other
Notice how I wrote significant other; this financial tip doesn't just apply to married couples. Money fights can affect any relationship. The best way to avoid fighting about money with your S/O is to talk to them about it. Remember that you're a team! You should be talking to each other about your financial goals, and you should set a date once a month to go over your finances together. I recently started doing a monthly money meeting with my girlfriend and it's actually been pretty fun. We get to see where each other are at with our financial goals and we keep ourselves motivated to accomplish those goals. The bottom line? Don't let money ruin a great relationship.
Create Temporary New Email Addresses
Are you tired of using your primary email address for every website you visit? With the iOS 15, Apple takes care of this hassle. From the Settings > iCloud > Hide My Email menu, you can create multiple temporary email addresses to use. This is a part of iCloud’s Hide My Email function. Users can keep their personal email addresses private by creating unique, random addresses that forward to your personal inbox and can be deleted at any time.
