Office Plants to Up Your Productivity This Winter


@domenicoloia

Winter is officially here, but it's only getting started. With these short days, long nights, and frosty temperatures can come some seasonal sadness. A great way to fight that is to bring some nature indoors! Even if you have a home full of plants, spending hours in your office everyday can leave you missing mother nature. There's no good reason to keep plants out of the office! They improve your mood, productivity, and air quality. Here are some of the best plants to try out in your office or at your desk!

Spider Plant

Kremp

A versatile plant that is hardy enough to survive varied light, water, and temperature conditions. They thrive in partial sun and shade so windowless or not you can have a green companion. Just pop it in a pot with sufficient drainage and give it a little water once you see it's soil is dry. These do look best in hanging pots but they can sit on a desk. They come in a lot of different sizes so no matter your office's size you'll find the right fit.

Snake Plant

SydneyPlants

A nice sturdy plant, if you can find a small one it can work for any desk. It stands straight upright so it won't be growing all over your papers but will still provide plenty of beautiful greenery. This can handle some drought as well so it is a great fit for people who aren't the best at remembering to keep things watered.

Pothos

plantscape

A great plant for office, home, bathroom, anywhere! It's very forgiving with light conditions and won't get upset if you forget to water it once in awhile. It will grow full and long but don't worry too much about the roots because it likes to be a little rootbound. These are a great plant because of the variety of verigations and because they are great air cleaners.

Peace Lily

Conversational

A tropical plant that has gotten used to tree's stealing all of the sunlight, this plant is perfectly adapted to the shade. They like water so keep them moist, especially if you want to keep them flowering! The flowers bring cheer in the heart of winter and they are one of the best plants for cleaning toxins from the air.

Bamboo

smallofficeideas

Low and medium light works just fine for some bamboo, but the best part is that it can happily grow in water. No soil to check, just make sure you swap out the water every once in awhile and keep it filled up.

ZZ Plant

mycityplants

You know at the mall when you are wondering if that plant inside is real or fake? A lot of the time it's a happily growing ZZ plant. Great for people who can't seem to keep anything alive the ZZ plant can thrive on low light and water, in face they prefer it.

Ferns

Getty Images

Ferns are great for low light but they do like to be kept nice and moist! These guys can't be forgotten about or they'll turn all brown and dry up. They can come in many different sizes and features a wide range or variations.

Cactus

lomets

If you have an office or cubicle with some sunlight then consider a cactus! They are famously low maintenance for anyone who wants some greenery but doesn't want to be constantly worried about them. There are plenty of varieties and sizes to choose from and all of them can work as long as you have the sunlight they need.

Succulents

Just Maggie

Another sunny option is a succulent. If you have the sun they need they will hardly ever bother you. They need minimal water but can provide a lot of color and comfort. With a ton of varieties you can mix and match to create stunning pieces of living art.

So brighten up your office this winter with any of these great options! Give your productivity a boost, clean up some stale winter office air, and make your mood a litter brighter this winter season.
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6 Certifications to Take Your Career To The Next Level For $100 or Less

Developing further skills can boost your career at any stage.

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Whether you are looking for a new job or trying to grow in your current one, getting a certification can be a great way to improve your skills.

Anyone can put that they are proficient in a computer program on their resume but having a certificate can help you stand out amongst the competition and give credence to the strength of your skills.

But what's the best way to invest in yourself without breaking the bank? Some certification programs can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. We are going to walk through six of the best certifications you can get for $100 or less.

Tableau

A sales dashboard created using the computer program Tableau.

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Tableau's data visualization capabilities are comparable to Domo and Power BI.

Who is it best for: Those who work with analyzing and presenting data.

Cost: $100 for Tableau Desktop Specialist; additional certifications are available for a larger fee.

More companies than ever see themselves as data companies. Being able to understand data and use it to guide decisions at your company is often critical to taking on a leadership role. Not to mention, being able to present the data in a clean, attractive, and compelling way can help get buy-in from others in your organization or clients. That's why Tableau is a great tool to have in your toolbox.

Tableau allows you to create interactive visual analytics dashboards. In layman's terms, you can take data; create graphs, maps, or charts; and then allow end-users to interact with these graphics to better understand the information. It's a fantastic tool allowing non-technical users to gain insights for data-driven decision-making.

Tableau Desktop Specialist certification starts at $100 and has no expiration date. There are many videos on Tableau's site to prepare for your exam as well as Tableau Starter Kits allowing you to play around and learn the different capabilities of the program. Tableau offers a 14-day free trial as well as free license for one year for students.

Additional certifications after Desktop Specialist are Desktop Associate and Desktop Professional. Those working with a Tableau server may also be interested in a separate certification as a Server Associate or Server Professional.

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The Federal Funds Rate and How It Affects You

The Federal Reserve sets the guardrails for the federal funds rate, and through that helps control the money supply for the nation.

"Federal Reserve Building in Washington D.C. - Illustration" by DonkeyHotey is licensed under CC BY 2.0

When you take out a loan for a car, charge something to your credit card, or get a personal line of credit, there is going to be an interest rate that applies to your loan.

A lot of different factors go into what you will be charged, including your own personal credit score. But even those with flawless credit still see a minimum charge that they can't get around. That all goes back to the Federal Funds Rate.

One thing consumers rarely realize is that all of our banks are lending money to each other every night. Banks are legally required to maintain a certain percentage of their deposits in non-interest-bearing accounts at the Federal Reserve to ensure they have enough money to cover any withdrawals that may unexpectedly come up. However, deposits can fluctuate and it's very common for some banks to exceed the requirement on certain days while some fall short. In cases like this, banks actually lend each other money to ensure they meet the minimum balance. It's a bit hard to imagine these multibillion-dollar financial institutions needing to borrow money to tide them over for a bit, but it happens every single night at the Federal Reserve. It's also a nice deal for those with balances above the reserve balance requirement to earn a bit of money with cash that would normally just be sitting there.

The Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve


The exact interest rate the banks will charge each other is a matter of negotiation between them, but the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) (the arm of the Federal Reserve that sets monetary policy) meets eight times a year to set a target rate. They evaluate a multitude of economic indicators including unemployment, inflation, and consumer confidence to decide the best rate to keep the country in business. The weighted average of all interest rates across these interbank loans is the effective federal funds rate.

This rate has a huge impact on the economy overall as well as your personal finances. The federal funds rate is essentially the cheapest money available to a bank and that feeds into all of the other loans they make. Banks will add a slight upcharge to the rate set by the Fed to determine what is the lowest interest that they will announce for their most creditworthy customers, also known as the prime rate. If you have a variable interest rate loan (very common with credit cards and some student loans), it's likely that the interest rate you pay is a set percentage on top of that prime rate that your lender is paying. That's why in times of low interest rates (it was set at 0% during the Great Recession), a lot of borrowers should go for fixed interest rate loans that won't increase. However, if the federal funds rate was relatively high (it went up to 20% in the early 1980's), a variable interest rate loan may be a better decision as you would be charged less interest should the rate drop without the need to refinance.

The federal funds rate also has a major impact on your investment portfolio. The stock market reacts very strongly to any changes in interest rates from the Federal Reserve, as a lower rate makes it cheaper for companies to borrow and reinvest while a higher rate may restrict capital and slow short-term growth. If you have a significant portion of your investments in equities, a small change in the federal funds rate can have a large impact on your net worth.

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Whether you're leaving a job involuntarily, departing for something new, or just want to prepare for the unknown, it is smart to understand all your options regarding your 401k.

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