Chew on This – Tip #5. Read and Act to Not Be Fat or Poor

by: admin - October 31st, 2008   Filed under: Money Thoughts Add Comment

We previously posted about the similarity between being poor and being fat. The article described the similarity in patterns of avoidance and rationalization in either trying to lose weight or getting yourself out of debt and into wealth creation. Here is a website I came across that highlights a good way for people to learn about losing weight, in the same way that our blog readers have come to learn and contribute about money making strategies.

It is usual to see websites that promote diet pills, weight loss programs, exercise advice, etc’ but most usually spam to notify people about their services.

It’s always a smart thing to see what others say about the product before you start using one. DietBlogTalk.com is a website that offers a free service that collects diet reviews from consumers. The site allows consumers to share their experience with the diet products by providing comments. Any diet product can be described and commented on. You do not even need to provide your email address to add comments.

Consumers classify their comments as positive, negative or neutral and a total score is given. To ensure quality, there are editors that review the posts before they become public. The popular products with at least a 75% positive rating are assembled together and a summarized for easier browsing.

What also helps is a section on the website that shows the before and after picture of people who lost weight just along side of the product that helped them. This makes the site even more personable and encouraging to get the best results.

So just like losing weight, make sure to do the research on wealth creation strategies and then act to better your life.

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The 4 Lessons to Teach Your Children About Finances

by: admin - October 31st, 2008   Filed under: Money Thoughts 3 Comments

Teaching children about money management can build a solid foundation for lifelong wealth creation. Unfortunately, these lessons are not universally practiced, even by many adults.

There are 4 financial lessons that I believe should be conveyed to children:

1) Money doesn’t appear out of thin air -At the basic level, money results from trading one’s time for money. Work equals money and you should explain to your children about your work and the monetary and emotional importance involved in it.

The topic of whether it is okay to give allowance to children is still debatable. Even more in dispute is whether they should be paid for doing chores. Personally, I believe a small allowance is good and some compensation for chores will not spoil the children.

2) How spending money works – How to spend money can be divided into phases of:       a) limited resource spending: the children can spend but not more than what they’ve earned. If items are too expensive, they will have to choose between one item or another, not both.
b) Value Spending – once the child advances in their understanding, they can be taught about smart spending, such as: spending more for better quality, the value of discount sales, buying and sharing  toys among siblings, etc’.
c) Needs and Wants Spending – Further give your children control over their money by setting a budget for certain shopping events(such as ‘back to school’). The role of the parent is to explain the difference between wants and needs and staying within the budget.
3) Saving Money – when the children want to spend more than what they have, a parent should teach them about setting financial goals and money saving tactics. As a more advanced approach, you can teach them about interest they can earn if they choose to save.
4) The Importance of Giving – Charitable giving should be explained, starting with the value of sharing things. This can be followed by telling them about worthy causes they might be willing to give to.

Utilize the natural curiosity of children, but never force the education on them.

Other, more advanced, lessons could include: passive vs. active income, investing, saving for college, credit and debt, and even retirement.

Since children learn more by observation than listening, do practice good money management tactics yourself and your child will grow a more informed person.

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Time for a Second Job?

by: admin - October 31st, 2008   Filed under: Money Thoughts Add Comment

If you are currently strapped for cash or foreseeing financial difficulties in the future due to the economic downturn,  this could be the optimal time to take a second job. The holidays are around the corner and many businesses would be likely to hire extra help, even temporarily.

Your basic position could be that you need more money and soon, however, keep the following in mind:

* Make sure you are permitted a second job – Many employers’ policies will not allow you to work a second job that is even remotely similar to your first job, therefore check with them first.

* Work in Moderation – You may get tired once in a while but do avoid working yourself to the point of exhaustion. Keep being healthy and make sure your primary job isn’t affected. Also, you will clearly have to re-balance your amount of work and non-work activities. So skipping the occasional party is reasonable, skipping all parties isn’t.

* Make sure the second job is worthy of your time-  If you are missing significant time away from your family, then the second job is not worth it. The revenue you get should offset the costs. The costs being both monetary(for example, hiring a dog walker) to emotional(being away from your family). You may also consider having both jobs in close proximity to each other to save commuting time.

* Will your taxes be affected – It’s easy to forget but earning an extra income could push you over to the next tax bracket, which would mean that you would owe more in taxes.

* Perseverance is important – Although the second job might not be ideal, it’s better to stick with it instead of constantly changing jobs with the hope of finding a perfect one. You might even gain by networking  with people at the second job and mutually benefit in the future. Seek a job that requires a somewhat different skill or a different physical activity than the first job. The change of environment will benefit you and make you last longer in it.

* Set Earning Goals – Prior to taking a second job, calculate how much extra money you want to make. Designate the extra income for something that is a goal, such as topping up your savings account. This will make the work easier.

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A Gift That Keeps Giving

by: admin - October 24th, 2008   Filed under: Money Thoughts Add Comment

Wish to send a surprise gift to someone who is worried about today’s economy? It’s not always easy to come up with good ideas for gifts to family or friends. One of the things I’ve done with success is to send a gift basket from Wine Country Gift baskets. WineCountryGiftBaskets.com is an online store that sells gift baskets loaded with food, drink, and additional special treats. I like how original their products and packaging looks as well as their great Internet and phone customer service.

The online store features an extensive catalog, where you can select from several occasions and themes for a present. The gift basket doesn’t have to contain wine, for cases where the recipient isn’t a wine lover. Besides the Wine Gift Basket offerings, the website presents products such as Godiva chocolate gift baskets starting at less than $50. Whoever gets this basket will have a big smile on their face.

There are also special corporate baskets, coffee baskets, spa baskets, thank you baskets, romance baskets, discount baskets, and more.

Besides the contents of the baskets, there is an additional bonus, which is the baskets themselves. The baskets are constructed with high quality materials and made to last long after the food and wine are consumed.

If you have other ideas for cheering up worried family and friends, let us know here.

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Get Paid What You’re Worth

by: admin - October 24th, 2008   Filed under: Easy Finance, Money Thoughts 1 Comment

There are several websites that disclose employee salaries from various industries. This transparency is quite surprising, but in the age where more people are upset about unfair executive compensation, why not reveal salaries, so we know if it even vaguely matches the work being done? Here is a list of some popular salary websites:

* Glassdoor.com – employees share salaries and review employers.

* Salary.com – offers a wide range of employment information, and includes an analysis of salaries for various positions.

* Payscale.com – offers free or premium salary reports. It also offers a variety of tools (such as cost-of-living calculator) and other resources.

* SalaryScout.com, includes an interesting world map of salaries.

My favorite is Payscale since it offers a solid balance of information while being easy to navigate.

For a good general overview of jobs in the US, check out the occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The website provides information on the education and training required for many careers, job descriptions, their earnings, and future prospects.

Finding out what salaries are offered to our colleagues is useful if we’re underpaid, resulting in us being informed and empowered when asking for a raise. Hiding salary information does seem like an outdated concept, likely to be advocated by employers, not so much by employees.

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