If you ever happen to find yourself in a situation where you’re in jail or you need to help a family member or friend get bailed out of jail, it’s important to remember that getting bailed out is a viable option. While it’s true that bail can sometimes be very high, fully trusting a person will show up to their court date is essential before you make the decision to help them out.

If you need bail bonds explained, here is the nitty-gritty: a bail bond is an avenue for a defendant to pay bail. In legal proceedings, bail is an amount of money determined by a court that a defendant must pay to be released from custody before a trial. It’s important to note that bail is not a fine, nor is it a punishment. It’s very simply a way for a person to not have to stay in jail before their time in court.

In some cases, defendants have the option of paying the full bail amount, assuming of course that the bond amount is small. In cases like these, defendants can use a credit card to pay their bail amounts.

If a bail amount is too large, defendants also have the option of working with a bail bond company. Many times, this is a more viable option because defendants only have to pay a part of the bond upfront. In cases like this, friends or relatives of a defendant. The important thing to remember when working with bail bondsman services is that a bondsman writes up a contract that makes the defendant responsible for showing up in court. If a defendant fails to do so, the defendant is responsible for the full bail amount.

How Do Bail Bonds Work?

If you need bail bonds explained, you also need to know how bail bonds are supposed to work. Firstly, you need to know that the right to bail is provided by the U.S. Constitution. In fact, the Eighth Amendment provides defendants with the right to reasonable bail and protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

People can get arrested at any time, day or night. Thankfully, most bail bond agencies are open 24/7, so any defendant needing to post bail doesn’t have to wait. Essentially, a contract is drawn up between a bondsman and a defendant. The contract spells out that the defendant understands they agree with the amount of bail they’re posting is a means to ensure they will show up for their court proceedings. The contract also spells out any fees involved, as well as if a defendant has to put some form of collateral.

Another key point of having bail bonds explained is understanding that if a defendant fails to show up in court, the bail agent will be responsible for paying the full bail amount to the court. In cases where a defendant may try to evade authorities, a bail agent will most often hire a bounty hunter to track a defendant down.

Understanding Bail Hearings

At bail hearings, a court sets a bail amount. The amount of bail is determined by the details of a case and the nature of the crimes involved. The hearing is typically the first appearance by a defendant after an arrest and the judge takes into account the nature of the crime as well as a defendant’s history and character. If a defendant has criminal defense attorneys, this is their opportunity to discuss different bail factors and they may even be able to have a bail amount lowered by talking to a judge.

Bail Bond Amounts

As you have bail bonds explained, one question you probably have is how much bail bonds are. That really depends on where you’re at. Different states have maximum fees that bail bonds services have to follow. Those fees also depend on the situation involved in an arrest. This affects the amount of risk that a bail bond agency takes on, in much the same way an insurance company takes on risk when insuring a car or a house.

Since there is a risk, bail agents often require collateral or anything of value that the person who hires a bail agent owns. This includes homes and cars.

Advantages

While bail is a serious matter, there are many advantages to using bail services and reaching out to bail agents for help with bail bonds:

• By working with a bail bond agency, a defendant can shift their attention from a court appearance to other things. With that peace of mind, a defendant can spend time meeting with their lawyers and focus on day-to-day priorities.
• Posting bail also gives a defendant the chance to keep working and earning a living before their court date.
• Posting bail also gives a defendant time to plan for the future. Depending on the nature of the crime committed, a defendant may need time to get their affairs in order and bail allows them to do that.

Different Bail Laws

As you have bail bonds explained, it’s also important to note that there are many different state laws regarding bail. Many states such as Wisconsin, Illinois, Maine have alternative bail systems in place. Some of the different bail laws include:

Nebraska

In Nebraska, a jail takes on the role of a bail bond agency. When bail is set, a defendant has the option of paying a 10% non-refundable fee of the amount of the bail. That fee is then sent to the jail. Prior to a trial, the state will sometimes also monitor a defendant, especially if there’s reason to believe they won’t show up in court.

Illinois

There are many different bail laws by state, but Illinois has by far one of the strictest systems against private bail agents in place. In Illinois, bail bond agents are banned and an auto accident attorney or another type of criminal defense lawyer can’t post bail for a defendant. Any money paid for release prior to a trial is given to a circuit court clerk and the amount is 10% paid in states like Nebraska.

Kentucky

Kentucky was actually the first state to ban commercial bail, but defendants still have several options for securing a pre-trial release. Defendants can put up in-state property that’s equal to twice the amount of the bail, so if the bail is $50,000, the property put up must be at least $100,000. If someone misses a court date, the state then puts a lien on that piece of property.

Other options include a family member paying the full amount of the bail; usually in cases where the bail is small. Yet another option is paying the 10% amount, which is paid directly to court.

Maine

In Maine, a bail commissioner determines a defendant’s bail. That amount can later be forfeited if the defendant fails to appear in court. Another difference in Maine is that if a defendant makes all their court dates, they don’t have to pay a dime for pretrial release. The only exceptions are cases involving assault, such as felony assault and sexual assault. Maine allows defendants to put up in-state property for release. This is what’s called a surety bond.

Georgia

In Georgia, state courts work together with bail bondsmen and those in the commercial bail bonds industry to manage and enforce the state bail system.

Oregon

Bail bonding in Oregon is essentially the same as it is in Nebraska, where the state takes on the role of the bail bondsman. The biggest difference is that if a defendant makes their scheduled court dates, then at least 80% of their pretrial release fee is returned. The remainder typically goes toward covering different court costs.

Wisconsin

There’s no commercial bail bond industry in Wisconsin, but the 10% of the total bail amount option exists and can be put up by friends or family.

Massachusetts

As you have bail bonds explained and different bail laws by state, you’ll learn that Massachusetts has perhaps some of the most unique laws. In Massachusetts, magistrates oversee a defendant’s first appearance in court. If a person is found to be releasable, they pay a $40 court fee. In other cases, a person may be released simply on their own recognizance.

What If You Can’t Pay Bail

Although it is helpful to have bail bonds available as an option for bail, there are times when a bail amount may just be too much. In many cases, folks have been in jail for months or years because they haven’t been able to make bail. As you have bail bonds explained, you’ll come to find out that, in many cases, a bail amount is based on precedent. In minor cases, bail might be as little as $1,000. For more serious crimes, bail might be $100,000 or higher.

A defendant that isn’t able to pay bail still has several options on the table:

Using Collateral

As you have read and had bail laws and bail bonds explained, you’ve learned that many states allow a defendant to put up collateral for release. It doesn’t always have to be a piece of property. It can be other items of high value such as cars or jewelry. Putting up collateral allows defendants to secure a bail bond, without feeling pressure to start selling their valuables.

Trying To Get A Lower Bail

In some cases, a defendant can try and request a lower bail amount through their legal representation such as lawyers or criminal defense attorneys. In some cases, a court may rule that a bail amount imposes unnecessary economic hardship on someone. In other cases, a bail amount may just be deemed too excessive. In many cases, a defendant’s legal representation will make a request for lower bail prior to a hearing.

Going To Jail

In some instances, when someone has committed a crime, posting bail doesn’t automatically guarantee that a defendant will avoid going to jail. If a defendant has committed a serious crime, such as vehicular manslaughter, or is a repeat offender of the law, a court may decide against bail and in favor of jail time.

But going to jail also doesn’t mean someone will stay there forever. In fact, it may offer a chance for someone to be released before the end of their sentence. As an example, if a defendant is arrested and then jailed on drug charges, it may be determined that the best option for them is to get help elsewhere. Rather than being in jail, a defendant may be released to a treatment center. A criminal lawyer may also vouch for their client to be placed under house arrest or be admitted to a halfway house, so they can have some normalcy in life.

Conclusion

As you have had bail bonds explained, you’ve learned about what bail bonds are and how they work. You’ve also learned that there are different types of bail bonds, including cash bonds, which must be paid in cash only and result in a warrant being issued if a defendant doesn’t show up in court; citation releases such as traffic violation bail bonds, where an arresting officer gives a defendant a citation, informing of them of when they need to show up in court; and immigration bonds, which are issued if someone is arrested as an illegal immigrant.

As you’ve had bail bonds explained, you’ve also learned that different states have different bail laws. These laws are designed to help the defendant stay out of jail by offering different payment options. Whether a defendant or their family pays 10% of a bail amount, collateral is used to secure release, or a bail amount is lowered so that it can be paid in full, there are all kinds of options for a defendant. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to post bail, the best thing you can do is familiarize yourself with your state’s laws, so you can plan for the future.

Do you feel overworked, overwhelmed, and under-supported? Has it been months since you could honestly say you were having fun? Do you seem to spend your entire existence serving other people, without ever feeling fully at home in your own life?

Maybe you feel like coming up with a good self care routine would be a waste of time. Or maybe you’d like nothing better than to devote some attention to yourself, but you feel like you simply don’t have time to do it.

However you would describe your situation, unless self care is a serious priority for you, chances are you don’t get enough of it. It’s not hard to see why: with so much going on in the world, it’s easy to feel like you’re being pulled in a thousand different directions at once, and everything demanding your attention is just as important as everything else.

But it’s important to realize that self care is simply a way of investing in the one thing you’ll always have around: yourself. We change jobs, move to new communities, and have friends come and go, but we’re always stuck with ourselves. If we consistently invest in our own wellness, that investment pays off in time. If we neglect ourselves, it comes back to bite us.

To help you form a good self care routine for you, check out the tips and advice in this article. You’ll definitely find something that helps.

Relieving Stress

Stress and anxiety are common experiences for people — so common in fact that many of us have come to expect it. Beat the stress in your life with these simple tips.

Exercise

If you don’t have a good self care routine involving exercise already, chances are you don’t exactly enjoy working out. You might find the experience incredibly uncomfortable, or you may have even developed negative associations with it out of guilt for feeling out of shape.

If that’s how you’ve approached working out up until now, it’s time to change that. Instead of seeing exercise as an obligatory practice that you feel guilted into doing, recognize that it has many immediate benefits for relieving stress and boosting your mood. Working out isn’t always about losing weight or building strength. It’s best used as an antidote for stress and difficult mood swings.

Starting an exercise routine is as simple as getting outside and walking through your local park every day. There are also countless at-home workout programs you can try, many of them requiring no equipment. If you feel like you need more accountability than that, signing up for classes at a local hot yoga franchise might be your thing.

Just remember: exercise may help you develop a slim waist, but that’s not necessarily why you should do it. It’s also great for helping you feel positive and in-control in your everyday life.

Improve Your Diet

Changing your current diet to a healthier one may sound like way too much work, but you should know that proper hydration and nutrition play a big role in how your feel and how you manage stress. Drinking too much coffee can contribute to anxiety for some people, while drinking too little water may literally impair brain function, because your brain needs to be well-hydrated to function optimally. And you don’t have to completely change your diet overnight. In fact, it’s much more effective in the long term when you make small changes over time.

The next time you think about what’s for lunch, consciously choose something healthier over something quick and processed, such as fast food or a frozen dinner. When you go grocery shopping, remember to get a few vegetables to try, and maybe some salmon or chicken breast to prepare. Stay on the outskirts of your supermarket, because that’s where the least processed foods are. The inner aisles are where they stock most of the processed foods full of sugars and refined grains.

If paying attention to your diet is simply too much to manage right now, you might be able to improve your health and performance with supplementation. Some people have had success dealing with anxiety and improving their mood with natural supplements like St. John’s wort. A hemp oil supplement might be useful if you struggle with inflammation or skin disorders like acne. CBD can even help reduce pain, control epileptic seizures, and assist in mental illness and addiction recovery.

Volunteer

According to a 2013 study that examined the connections between volunteering and hypertension, doing good for others can significantly improve your blood pressure. In fact, adults in their 50s and beyond who volunteer are 40% less likely to develop hypertension in the next few years. Expressing generosity can have a similar stress-reducing effect, as a 2010 study pointed out that the less money people give away, the higher their cortisol levels tend to be.

So going out of your way to do good for others doesn’t just make you feel better about yourself. It’s been scientifically shown to improve your health and decrease stress, which makes it integral to a good self care routine.

Doing good for others in your community can be as simple as bringing flower arrangements to people who are sick, or those who have recently lost loved ones. You could volunteer at a local soup kitchen or participate in charitable activities with your church.

Try to think of ways you could support good causes and help those in need by drawing on interests and skills that are unique to you. If you’re naturally good with animals, your local animal shelter would probably be grateful to have you on as a volunteer. If you have graphic design skills, you could offer to make custom tee shirts for local nonprofits.

Create a Good Self Care Routine

We’ve been touching on the benefits of having a good self care routine already, but it’s time to zero in on just what a self care routine is: something you do consistently, every day or week, to make sure you’re always getting the care you need. If you always wait until you get burnt out to start thinking about self care, you’re just adding that much more suffering to your life. Having a good self care routine means doing things on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to make sure that overwhelming stress stays away for good.

The problem with routines is that it’s really easy to design one that we just won’t stick to. We’ve all seen people get excited about losing weight or prioritizing their health when the new year comes around, but then they lose steam and give up within a few weeks. It’s not because people are lazy or unmotivated: it’s because they never had a workable routine to begin with. They set their standards too high, and it was too much for them to keep up with.

Obviously stressing yourself out over a routine you’re supposed to keep up with will defeat the purpose of having a good self care routine at all. Instead, you should plan on doing things that are enjoyable, and don’t give yourself too much to do at any one time. If your routine involves activities that you generally find pleasurable, you won’t have as much resistance towards sticking with it. And if you practice self care in moderation — say, performing one activity every evening, or spending one full afternoon per week focused on yourself — you won’t get overwhelmed and give up after a week.

Besides having a good self care routine to keep yourself cared for throughout the week, it’s a good idea to notice how even everyday activities can feel pleasurable. You just have to pay attention to them by practicing mindfulness. Some people find cleaning the house or washing dishes very relaxing. Simple things, like fingering stones or running your hands through wood chips in the back yard, can be almost rejuvenating when you’re mindful of them. While it’s no replacement for a dedicated routine, you can make many mundane activities rituals of mindfulness and enjoyment.

Besides the tips we’ve already shared, we’ll talk about more items you might add to your daily or weekly routine in the rest of this article. The important thing is to choose a few of them that work for you, and practice them consistently, either every day, every week, or every month.

Treating Yourself

Treating yourself can be a strategy for decreasing stress, and strategies for reducing stress can sometimes feel like treats. But giving yourself a treat now and then — whether it’s getting a massage or hitting the local gun ranges — is essential to self care. Unlike rewarding yourself for a job well done, treating yourself is something you do just because it makes you feel better. Then, once you feel better, you’re more likely to perform well.

Ideas for Treating Yourself

If you don’t show yourself the love and appreciation you deserve, you can’t always count on it coming from anywhere else. So to help you add a little more fun and self care into your day, try some of the following simple ideas.

• Set a timer for five minutes, and treat yourself to some well-deserved time spent doing nothing at all. Deliberately doing nothing for a set time can do wonders to clear your mind and boost your mood.
• Prepare yourself a healthy snack or beverage, and then enjoy it slowly, lingering over the experience. Hurrying through our meals takes a lot of the enjoyment out of eating.
• Treat yourself to a facial at your favorite beauty salon. If you’re normally the type who doesn’t splurge on such things, it will mean even more as a special experience.
• When you start your workweek, begin by making a list of things you’d enjoy doing on the weekend. So often we let our weekends slip by while binge-watching television, never really getting to the things we’d like to do. Making a list of ideas at the start of your week will give you something new to look forward to.
• Pretend to be a tourist in your hometown. Try to forget about your busy life and pretend you’re on vacation and enjoy all of the sights and sounds that are unique to your area. It’s easy to take a place for granted when you live there. Go outside and really enjoy it.
• Buy yourself a new outfit or at the very least a new accessory. Again, this is more special if you aren’t already a shopaholic.
• The next time you have a late morning or early afternoon off, go see a movie by yourself. There’s something remarkably relaxing about seeing a movie alone in a near-empty theater.

Treating yourself can be an extravagant affair, like seeing a plastic surgeon to enhance your appearance, or very simple, like reading a poetry book. You get to decide what to do — just make sure you do something to make yourself feel great.

Getting Support

Even if you have a really good self care routine, we all need support from outside sources. Whether that be from a church or community we’re a part of, or from a counselor or therapist we see regularly, everyone needs someone to offer them advice and help them through life. Here we’ll offer some ideas for finding supporting people and communities to be a part of.

Find a Local Community

The first step to finding a local community to be a part of is to be willing to be open and vulnerable with people. This doesn’t mean you tell the first stranger you meet about all your hopes and fears, but it does mean being ready to open up gradually as other people open up to you. You can’t be closed off or afraid of what others think of you and expect to make friends quickly.

Next, you have two options for finding a community: either you can find a place to visit regularly based on your interests, such as a church or library; or you can find local communities based on certain interests online. Websites such as Meetup.com allow you to find groups in your area that all have similar interests, such as gaming or music.

Look for a Coach, Counselor, our Therapist

Everyone needs a helping hand or a voice of reason now and then, and sometimes you can’t really expect your friends or family to help you process your situations. This is where a counselor or life coach can come in handy. Getting help like this isn’t a sign of weakness, and it certainly isn’t just for people who struggle with mental health issues. In fact, literally everyone can benefit from having a good counselor or coach to visit now and then. It’s like the way the best businesspeople have mentors to help them navigate the world of business. For everybody else, counselors and therapists are mentors when it comes to processing past events, overcoming personal challenges, and navigating relationships.

There are several websites online that allow you to look up counselors and other experts in your area. You can even find someone to coach you long-distance over the phone or video chat.

From designing a good self care routine to getting support from a coach or counselor, these tips should be all you need to invest in yourself by bringing some self care into your life.