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Posted
Sep 30 2009, 10:03 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Has a charity ever pushed and annoyed you to the point that you've cut them off?
When do you draw the line at giving? When they've hired a telemarketing company that pesters you, or if they send you too much mail?
"FMF" of Free Money Finance raised the question in a recent post called "Off my giving list." He stopped giving to a group he had generously supported because a telemarketer who called his house wouldn't take no for an answer.
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Posted
Sep 30 2009, 06:12 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Julie Rains at partner blog Wise Bread.
Many people are job hunting these days. I have worked with job seekers for many years and have found that these five common assumptions frequently derail a job search.
Being open to anything will increase my chances of landing a job. The search ought to have a focus: You should be targeting opportunities in a certain discipline or function; or you should identify the strengths you'd like to leverage and then uncover positions that match those strengths. The résumé should convey that focus; otherwise, you can't differentiate yourself from other candidates because you're not really great at anything but rather average at many things.
Hiring managers don't want to spend training and payroll dollars on a so-so candidate, especially in an environment where money is an extremely limited resource and a more qualified candidate is sure to surface soon.
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Posted
Sep 29 2009, 06:48 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.
Movies today can rely on special effects, monster marketing efforts, and a few pretty faces (*cough* "Transformers 2" *cough*). In the 1980s and early '90s, movies had to rely on the story and the acting to achieve success.
Out of that era, which coincided with my childhood, came a lot of classic movies that teach powerful lessons about how to deal with your money, how to approach your career, and how to find success in both.
I thought it would be fun to pick out five lessons from just five movies from that era (one of them is from 2000, but no fancy special effects there).
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Posted
Sep 28 2009, 04:42 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The first car owned by Paul Van Lierop, the FiscalGeek, was a 1977 AMC Gremlin, presented to him for his 16th birthday. The year was 1989. If cars are a personal statement, it was a disaster.
"'Wayne's World' had not come out," Paul wrote. "AMC Gremlins, Pacers or Hornets were definitely not cool. I was actually laughed at by scores of kids the day I drove it into the parking lot of our high school."
Why would he now insist that his own kids' first cars will be equally used and unhip? He listed seven good reasons in a post called "Why my kids will drive a piece of crap." It's a fun read and also prompted many readers to reminisce about their first vehicles.
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Posted
Sep 28 2009, 09:34 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from David Weliver at Money Under 30.
For today's information workers, offices don't make sense. Why commute in rush-hour traffic to sit in a cube and write, research, and make phone calls -- all things you could do anywhere? For many workers, ending -- or at least reducing -- daily treks to the office may be as simple as asking their employer. Especially in challenging economic times when employers can't always offer raises, companies may actually see telecommuting as an affordable way to keep employees happy.
If you have ever considered telecommuting but don't know how to approach your manager about working from home, here's a look at things to consider before requesting a telecommuting arrangement and a way to propose working remotely to your manager in the best possible way.
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Posted
Sep 28 2009, 06:23 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.
An anonymous GRS reader submitted a question last week that hits close to home:
I have a family member who this past year has been in serious financial trouble. He is one of the most ambitious and intelligent people I know and I would have never imagined him getting in this kind of trouble. His ambition may have been his downfall as he keeps shooting for the stars and has fallen short on some of his business ideas, which may have put him in a more vulnerable position when the economy turned south.
He is now living in debt and struggling to put food on the table for his wife and four young boys. He has had to live on credit cards for several months and they are all maxed out. I have never seen firsthand anyone in this much trouble.
My question to you is: When faced with job loss and depleted savings, how can you avoid going into credit red? To what lengths would you go to avoid living on credit cards and missing payments on just about everything? In the situation, is credit rating even worth anything?
As I say, this situation hits close to home. Last year, I wrote about my little brother, Tony. (I say "little brother," but he's 36 now.) Tony's family got caught up in the mortgage mess, buying a home in Bend, Ore., at the height of the bubble -- and before their home in Portland, Ore., had sold. Six months earlier and things would have been fine. But things weren't fine. They couldn't sell either house. The market went to hell and they lost both homes to foreclosure.
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Posted
Sep 25 2009, 01:52 PM
by
Teresa Mears
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Chalk up another casualty of the recession: workers' health.
A new study released this week found that, despite all the concern over health care costs, the health of people with jobs is declining.
"Workers are putting in longer hours, afraid of losing their jobs. With less time to exercise, more than a third of employees report that work drains them of energy, leaving nothing for their personal lives,'' writes Cindy Krischer Goodman, who does the Work/Life Balancing Act column and blog for The Miami Herald.
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Posted
Sep 23 2009, 02:22 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
If you were born before 1955, you're part of a group that's enjoyed remarkable prosperity. Born later and you're among those who are losing ground at an accelerating pace.
USA Today analyzed U.S. Census data to track just how far incomes have fallen since 2000. The story said:
Household income for people in their peak earning years -- between ages 45 and 54 -- plunged $7,700 to $64,349 from 2000 through 2008, after adjusting for inflation. People in their 20s and 30s suffered similar drops. Older people enjoyed all the gains.
Why is this happening?
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Posted
Sep 23 2009, 07:19 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Nora Dunn at partner blog Wise Bread.
How many friendships have you lost (or almost lost) because of money? If money matters are a touchy subject to begin with, then how are we expected to navigate the murky waters of borrowing from friends?
We've all been there (on either side of the spectrum) before: A buddy asks you to spot him $20, but never seems to have the cash available to pay you back, or he continues to forget when he sees you. And when, months later, he buys a fourth round of beer in front of you without handing over the $20 that has been slowly eroding away at your sanity, you pop.
Your buddy has probably forgotten that he even owed you anything and immediately hands you the cash, but the damage has been done. Your friendship now faces trust and communication issues that may or may not be overcome.
Now, $20 is a fairly easy loan amount to forgive or forget about. But what if that $20 is $200, or even $2,000 or beyond? What tension will exist in the friendship as a result of an outstanding loan?
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Posted
Sep 22 2009, 05:34 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.com.
A few years ago, when unemployment was low and the economy was rosy, all you needed to do to get a job was get your résumé in front of as many people as possible. You had to carpet bomb, stuff electronic résumé boxes, and simply wait. One of the companies you reached out to probably had a job opening and you probably were a pretty good fit.
Nowadays, the jobs are harder to find and companies aren't going to take a risk on a "pretty good fit." So, I compiled a list of 10 tips I've tried to use when crafting my résumé during a job search.
You are a salesperson now. Joe Sugarman is one of the most famous copywriters of all time and a mail order maven. I read one of his books about copywriting, and think that the best part about his tips is that they're simple -- your title should be designed to get the reader to read the first sentence. The first sentence should be designed to get the reader to read the second sentence. The second ... you get the idea.
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