My premise is that self-defense is not limited to just potential physical altercations. When ordering online or frankly any online activity, there are a variety of risks: 1) getting a computer virus, 2) shopping on a fake site, 3) getting your payment information intercepted, etc.

Let’s start with a antivirus program for your computer and phone. If you don’t have and use one, you are having unprotecting computing and can not only get virus from others but can also give them. Apple products are more difficult than others to get virus because you have to type in the admin password and accept it, but it does not mean it is impossible. So if you don’t have one, get one.

Next, be sure you are using some kind of VPN – ESPECIALLY ON A OPEN AND PUBLIC NETWORK. An open network is some place that does not have a password to access. Be sure you home and office use a password to access the wireless network. Also do NOT USE “PASSWORD” as your password.

Bookmark sites you tend to shop with, and do directly to the bookmark to get to the website. If the site does not look right (i.g. different font than usual, misspellings, etc), do not log in or place an order. Sites can be hijacked and redirected.

Another great online safety protocol is to use something like privacy.com. This is a service that essentially allows you to create a custom debit card for a specific vendor or a single one time use. With this specific service, if I have any issues with a merchant, I can just pause any future payments via this method. This is paused until it is unpaused. This is far more convenient that having to pause your bank debit card. I have heard there are other services, but this is the one I am familiar with.

After placing orders, review the order confirmation. If there are any issues, CONTACT THE COMPANY IMMEDIATELY. I used to work for one of the top discount brokerage firms in the country, and I spent most of my time in the electronic order division. If you wait, and they are able to tell, they may hold you accountable for any additional losses that occurred because you failed to bring it to their attention.

Always check your order carefully before placing the order. If something does not look or feel correct, DO NOT PLACE IT.

We have all heard that we are not suppose to reuse passwords. Many of us still do. Using unique passwords is far more easy with an electronic password keeper. I have had great success with 1Password.

Last piece of advice, is to always review your email order confirmations. It is easier to fix something early on.

Point being that the best of the best have a single focus and do something every day to further their goal. This reminds me a little bit of the movie City Slickers where the character Curly said the secret to happiness was one thing. Find your one thing and pursue it.

But what if we take these concepts and combine and expand on them. My proposal – and what I usually attempt to do – it to take some kind of action in pursuit of my goals. I have more than one goal. But by taking hopefully positive action towards your goals – martial arts (practicing or at mentally rehearsing), marksmanship drills, spiritual goals, etc, we improve who we are by becoming incrementally better. No one became a master of something the first time they did it. All skills are perishable and require practice

Also remember practice has a way of becoming permanent. So be deliberate with what you are hardwiring .

The article article mentions a several rules of thumb for budgeting: 1) the 1 percent rule – putting aside 1 percent of the total purchase of the home annually, 2) the square foot rule – set aside annually a $1 per livable square foot, and 3) set aside 10 percent of your main monthly expenses (i.e. mortgage, tax and insurance).

But why limit this to just your home. What other items do you use regularly that you know will require maintenance? For many this would be a car. I highly recommend a separate savings account for repairs or maintenance for the vehicle. The amount set aside will in part be based on the age of the vehicle, and what planned maintenance you have for the year. You also want to plan on the “unplanned” items.

By putting money aside, and reserving it for the specific use, you will decrease you need to use a credit card for such repairs. There is a time and a place for credit cards, but unless you are paying them off in full each month, they are essentially a financial cancer that will consume your life. My taking a prevent defense on setting aside funds, you will be much better off.

Also by doing or having your regular maintenance done, you will delay the need for a major repair. Not only will you delay the need for a major repair, but your house and or car will run better.

But how much worse – if at all – was your life before you bought the item? If not at all or if minimally, I suggest several things. Let’s get rid of some of the impulse purchases. First, UNSUBSCRIBE from every email that tries to sell you something. Second, whenever possible, plan your purchases. If it is something you are planning on buying, then do some comparison shopping and go after the best price. You can use the website CamelCamelCamel to check historical prices for a specific item on Amazon. Of course, if like so many other people, and are using Amazon, consider using my affiliate link . Third, when you go shopping, have a shopping list, and only purchase items on the list.

If you don’t see any difference after a month, you can always go back to those websites and sign back up. They will happily take you back.

My perspective is that self-defense is essentially learning to assess your risk and have some strategies and tactics to deploy if you missed something or could not avoid. In that capacity, finances fall very much within that realm.

Frequently people – myself included – fail to see what is creating any financing distress they may having. Only you can determine if you are in financial distress. From the experience, I have learned what causes me to miss the risks, and I plan on sharing ways to help your avoid risk.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs points out that our most fundamental needs are shelter, food, warmth, rest, and health (Physiological Needs). Depending on which web version you look you may see a few more or less items on there. Fundamentally these are what you need to survive. Simply put: 1) Food, 2) Water, and 3) Shelter.

When our spending starts to go beyond that, then there is something else going on. Only you (maybe with the help of counselor) can determine that. But if an expenditure is outside of your fundamental basic needs – especially if you feel under financial distress – consider pausing and thinking about why you really want it. If there is not a truly urgent need to meet one of your physiological needs, set it aside, and then put money aside to purchase it. Yes it may cost more, but it will be a decisive instead of an impulse purchase.

So one way to start saying money TODAY is to unsubscribe from all of the emails where you are being offered something that you had no idea you could not live without. Lets start the process of removing the temptation. For things on you wish list that are NOT in the category of “physical needs”, put money aside for a purchase, research the prices cycle of such items through a site such as https://camelcamelcamel.com/ and be deliberate with your purchases.