Give gifts to everyone and don't play favorites. ? This means that you have to give gifts from your assistant to the utility. Treat them all equal. If you plan to give different items to each of them, the value should only be within a couple of dollars.

If you are giving gifts to selected few, be discreet. ? If in case you only plan to give gifts to a chosen few like your assistant, few clerks, and the receptionists, do not tell everyone about your plan. Keep it silent and hand your gifts when no one else who can see; it may be out of the office. You can be charged with favoritism if you are not careful enough.

Be fair to everyone and consistent. ? A personalized gift to one employee means personalized gift to all. Do not give special gift to someone and a uniform token to the rest. Doing this will create negative feedbacks against you.

Choose appropriate gifts ? There is a thick line that divides the appropriate gifts from the inappropriate ones. However, even if it may seem so hard to cross this border, there are still some who want to test the un-chartered terrain. Leave that task to those who want to take the unnecessary risks.

For your employees, make sure that what you choose as a corporate gift suits the person. Be safe and use common sense. You know very well that the gift items you can give to your wife/husband are different from the gift items you can give to your employees.

Also, your diabetic employees should not receive chocolates or cookies; your overweight employees should not receive clothes that will not fit them; and so on.

Avoid gender discrimination ? Of course, you will choose your gift according to gender but make sure that you treat each of them equally. Do not buy a $50-gift for men and a $10 gift for women. Keep it equal. Better yet, choose an item that will suit both men and women and give it to all.

A gift is different from a party ? Do not think that once you have given your employees a party, you have already given them your gift. A party is a party; a gift is a gift? plain and simple.

Take gift returns easily. ? Receiving returned gifts may be quite an embarrassing experience but make sure you do not go ballistic that would end that employee an added figure in the unemployment rate. You will only scare everyone if you do that. Keep them comfortable and appreciate their honesty.

Take into account the important matters ? Do not just give what you want; give what is right. Consider your employees' religion, ethnicity, health, personal ethics, cultural background, etc. Make sure you take note of these things so that you avoid hurting your employees in the process or having your gifts returned.

Work related Gift items should be avoided ? Any corporate gift item not related to work is very much appreciated since your employees are not compelled to use it at the office or where you can see it.

Don't give double-meaning gift items ? "Idiot guide to counting from one to ten correctly", "better understanding about work and professionalism", "easy guide to lose pounds", "book on Labor Code", and anything of the same sort can insult anyone. These items must be avoided at all cost.

Are you having trouble getting your loan application approved?

Probably you are one of the millions of individuals who are having trouble getting their loan application approved. They have complied with the requirements and submitted necessary documents, yet they always got a negative response from the application division of the lending company.

What have gone wrong?

Yes, you have complied with the necessary requirements and submitted necessary documents, yet you forgot something which is very vital in getting your loan application approved?your credit score.

Many individuals find themselves getting rejected every time they apply for a loan (such as a home equity loan or an auto loan) because they are not aware of their credit score, or worse, do not know what credit score is at all. They tend to deal with something which they do not understand what they are really dealing with, thus they get caught in the pitfalls of rejection. It is important that you know what credit score is and how vital it is in your loan application. As many say, start with the basics to get rid of the complexities.

A credit score is used to determine whether you are a credit risk or not. It is one of the major factors that will initially determine whether your loan applications would be accepted or rejected. It possesses every inch of details with regards to your credit experiences, such as the loans that you have previously availed, any late payments that you have made, and existing debts that you failed to pay prior to your present loan application. In other words, this will serve as your "grade" whether you passed or failed in a certain subject.

Your credit score is recorded in your credit report, which is one of the requirements when applying for a loan. It is divided into 4 main sections, which is as follows:

? General information, such as your present address, date of birth, contact numbers, driver's license number, and your employer's name.
? Personal history, which contains information about your personal accounts.
? Public records, which contains financial data such as any judgments from county courts, defaults, or bankruptcy.
? Inquiries, which includes list of individuals or groups who have requested for your credit report.

You can obtain copies of your credit score from 3 major credit reporting agencies. One of which is the Trans Union, which is one of the global leaders in terms of credit information and management. Since Trans Union was founded in 1968, they have worked with various businesses and individuals to gather, evaluate, and deliver the critical information needed to create strong economies around the world. As a result, businesses are now managed effectively, resulting to better client relationship. Individuals now understand and manage their credit effectively, thus achieving their financial goals.

Serving more than 30 countries in 6 continents around the world, Trans Union developed local relationship among different nationalities, using the expertise of its manpower in terms of credit management and offering services to individuals who are having a hard time managing their credit profile.

Managing your credit means managing your life as a whole. For Trans Union, credit score is not a subject that should be taken for granted. In fact, it should be one of the top priorities of every individual who prefer credit solutions to their financial needs. Thus, if you want to have that great financial potential and have an access to loans with affordable interest payments and incredible terms of conditions, trust Trans Union.

Honesty, experience, and relationship. Those are the 3 values that made Trans Union a leader in credit management and information.

They say there's more than one way to skin a cat. The same goes when you start tearing your hair out with all the frustration, grief, anxiety, and yes, stress. It's a state of mental conditioning that is like taking that bitter pill down your throat, causing you to lose your sense of self, and worse your sanity. Just thinking about it can drive anyone off the edge.

And they say that the proactive ones are already living off the edge.

As one stressed-out person to another, I know how it feels, and believe me there are many variants when it comes to stress. Coping with life, and carrying the problems that may or may not belong to you can scratch away the little joy and happiness that you can carry once you head out that door. You can't blame them for being like that; they have their own reasons, so much like we have our reasons to allow stress to weigh us down. They say that stress is all in the mind, well, what's bugging you anyway?

There are several ways to manage stress, and eventually remove it out of your life one of these days. So I'll try to divide it into a seven-day course for you and I promise it's not going to be too taxing on the body, as well as on the mind.

1. Acknowledge stress is good
Make stress your friend! Based on the body's natural "fight or flight" response, that burst of energy will enhance your performance at the right moment. I've yet to see a top sportsman totally relaxed before a big competition. Use stress wisely to push yourself that little bit harder when it counts most.

2. Avoid stress sneezers
Stressed people sneeze stress germs indiscriminately and before you know it, you are infected too!

Protect yourself by recognizing stress in others and limiting your contact with them. Or if you've got the inclination, play stress doctor and teach them how to better manage themselves.

3. Learn from the best
When people around are losing their head, who keeps calm? What are they doing differently? What is their attitude? What language do they use? Are they trained and experienced?
Figure it out from afar or sit them down for a chat. Learn from the best stress managers and copy what they do.

4. Practice socially acceptable heavy breathing
This is something I've learned from a gym instructor: You can trick your body into relaxing by using heavy breathing. Breathe in slowly for a count of 7 then breathe out for a count of 11. Repeat the 7-11 breathing until your heart rate slows down, your sweaty palms dry off and things start to feel more normal.

5. Give stressy thoughts the red light
It is possible to tangle yourself up in a stress knot all by yourself. "If this happens, then that might happen and then we're all up the creek!" Most of these things never happen, so why waste all that energy worrying needlessly?

Give stress thought-trains the red light and stop them in their tracks. Okay so it might go wrong - how likely is that, and what can you do to prevent it?

6. Know your trigger points and hot spots
Presentations, interviews, meetings, giving difficult feedback, tight deadlines…. My heart rate is cranking up just writing these down!

Make your own list of stress trigger points or hot spots. Be specific. Is it only presentations to a certain audience that get you worked up? Does one project cause more stress than another? Did you drink too much coffee?

Knowing what causes you stress is powerful information, as you can take action to make it less stressful. Do you need to learn some new skills? Do you need extra resources? Do you need to switch to decaf?

7. Burn the candle at one end
Lack of sleep, poor diet and no exercise wreaks havoc on our body and mind. Kind of obvious, but worth mentioning as it's often ignored as a stress management technique. Listen to your mother and don't burn the candle at both ends!

So having stress can be a total drag, but that should not hinder us to find the inner peace of mind that we have wanted for a long time. In any case, one could always go to the Bahamas and bask under the summer sun.