Putting yourself out there and communicating clearly can actually be the key to getting what you want—from casual dates and hookups to serious relationships.

## Understanding First Impressions

When it comes to first impressions, your job is to give people, and especially potential dates, a good first impression so that they like you enough to take the time to get to know you better. After all, you want to spend the rest of your life with this person, so you want to start off on the right foot.

You can be as skilled or unskilled as you want at choosing the right clothing to show your style and look. But in terms of your body language, your attire, and how well you come across, your first impression is much, much more powerful. https://russian-woman-dating.com/learn-to-use-russian-hookup-apps-and-succeed-with-moscow-girls/
Photo by Ross Winters.

Before you do anything

Step One: Getting Your Credit Report

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It might seem odd, but protecting yourself from identity theft and fraud begins long before you start dating. The first thing you should do is have a free copy of your credit report from a credit card company, or from the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion). This way, if someone breaches your identity, you'll be able to see it and, hopefully, catch it in time before it's too late. Here are links to the three most common credit bureaus:

If you're the sort of person who never uses credit cards, you can get your Equifax credit report for free. If you do use credit, your credit card company should be able to get you a free credit report from them.

Step Two: Know Your Credit Scores

I use the really cool service Credit Sesame (or its Yahoo! cousin), which can give you your credit scores, along with more personalized info about your credit. Seriously, this site is awesome.

Step Three: Change Your Password

Change your Facebook password. Change your e-mail password. Change your iPhone's and Android's passwords.

Step Four: Secure Your Accounts

Delete accounts you don't use, and don't go updating a site just because everyone else does. If you're a Gmail user, don't go bothering to change your password every time someone sends you an e-mail; this is a magnet for hackers. Password protect your computer with a password you won't forget and change your credit card and bank account passwords a lot. And, finally, look into using a service like one of the following to make your online life a little more secure:

Securifi Wi-Fi repeater ( $179.95 )

Password Site ( $59.99 )

Hands off Me! ( $179.95 )

Step Five: Monitor Your Social Media Accounts

If you're not already monitoring your social media accounts, there's no excuse for not being on top of what your online friends are posting. Here are some suggestions for monitoring your online accounts:

Facebook: Over the last few years, Facebook has become a status reporting system for just about every news outlet on the planet. With over 540 million active users, Facebook is a gold mine of information for hackers. My advice is to remain skeptical,