Let’s talk about being a teacher.  It’s a truly stressful job.  They have 100 students (at least) every day that need to be educated with not only the subject that the teacher is charged with teaching but also the life lessons that some of our more lackadaisical parents “don’t bother to” or “forget to” teach their children at home (FYI…it is NOT the job of a school teacher to teach your children the good morals and values of our society…that is in YOUR jurisdiction!).  Needless to say, it’s a little overwhelming.  What’s more, the money system set up around the education system (at least the parts I know about, as I am not an expert) is ludicrous.  For example, the school system allots each teacher a certain number of copies that they are allowed to make per year on the copy machine, and if they want to make more, they have to pay for them!  That puts added and undue pressure on the teacher, because let’s face it, toner and copy paper are cheap.

 However, silly as it is, it is the workplace version of “living within your means”.  But not all teachers do.  They will either spend money out of their own pocket to buy supplies, or send home a list of supplies that the parent MUST provide for all of the various projects the teacher wants to do.  All I have to say is, my oh my, what a mess!  Teachers are given a budget.  They should have to work within that budget (and yes, I am absolutely certain that their budget is too low and doesn’t help much, but it is what it is).  By buying supplies out of their own pocket, they are saying that the budget is meaningless, and that sets the wrong example for the students.  I love the generous nature, but they shouldn’t take the burden on themselves and set a bad example for the children.  And if they decide to pass the cost onto the parent?  Well, the parents at home have their own budgets and money problems to worry about, and the decision to have all of these wonderful projects impacts them too!

So, what is a teacher to do since they’re being squeezed on both sides?  Get creative!  If they figure out less costly projects and methods for teaching the same lesson, they will be able to stay within the budget the school set for them without passing the cost on to the parents!  I know that the replacement projects won’t be as full of bells and whistles, but the object of the lesson is to teach something, and that usually doesn’t require fancy projects.  Also, as long as the teacher has a computer with an Internet connection, she can show the students whatever she wants to show them!  For example…let’s say the teacher originally wanted to have the students build volcanoes for science class.  All she has to do is have them read the chapter, discuss it in class, then show the students this on the projector.  It’s not AS cool, but it works and it’s pretty much free!

I’m not trying to pick on teachers, just so you know.  I just wanted to give an example of how we have a mental disconnect between living within our means at home and at work.  We shouldn’t be frugal at home and a spendthrift at work.  Apply the same principles at both places, and get creative on your savings!

• With regard to your career, the author suggests that you heed your enemies.  The logic behind this advice is that the people you have trouble with are generally those people that have the greatest insight into you and your attitudes and faults.  What these people have to say will help you improve as a worker/entrepreneur…if you only take the time to listen.
• With regard to the stock market, buy and hold your funds.  The author and I agree on this…people think that they can beat the stock market, but in reality, almost no one can (and you are probably not the exception).  If you buy funds and then keep them over the long run, you’re more likely to make money, at the very least thanks in part to the ability to avoid taxes and other fees.
• Don’t be a fool with regard to your love life.   When lovers quarrel, each has the blame around 50% of the time.  Understanding this fact will help you build the kind of relationship that isn’t as susceptible to a divorce.  And as all of us know, either from personal experience or the experience of a friend or loved one, divorce sucks.  We don’t want it and should avoid it at all costs (both financially and emotionally). 

That’s it.  3 very simple little lessons that might save you a lot of headache or heartache as your graduate enters the post high school, trade school or college life that they have worked so hard to achieve.

I LOVE this statement.  It shows the power that your thoughts and your point of view can have on your life and your future.  You see, all too often we take the “glass is half empty” approach to life.  We are pessimistic, we expect the worst out of life and out of people we know and meet, and more often than not, we shouldn’t be doing that. 

I like to say that if you want a different outcome, you have to take a different path, and that you shouldn’t let life happen to you, you should happen to your life.  This way of thinking/doing things puts you in a better position to make positive and, on occasion, very lucrative/beneficial decisions for your future because you’re not just following the simple path or a previous path…you’re challenging yourself to be better.  This is the same idea behind Ms. Godfrey’s statement.  By telling people to raise their children to make a job and not just get a job that someone else is offering, she’s not just telling people to be entrepreneurs, she’s telling them to think for themselves, think of what they can make of themselves, and to learn how to plan for their future.  In my opinion, one key difference between the “haves” and the “have nots” of this great nation is that the “haves” have created and are on a plan.  They think positively and shape their point of view to the path that best benefits them.  It doesn’t ALWAYS matter what plan you’re on…more often than not, it just matters that you’re on a plan.

Just a little food for thought in the middle of your week.  Try a different approach.  Think positively.  Create a plan.  See how things turn out.

As a person already in an established career, you continually have to plan for retirement (which we talk about all the time).  This is a normal practice in life.  Unfortunately, something else that has become even more commonplace is finding a new career.  With unemployment high and layoffs climbing, many of you in established careers are finding yourself without a job as companies have to make cutbacks to stay solvent.  You are therefore planning for the near future, and have to figure out if you want to stay in your current career or if you want to change paths.  You are therefore in the same boat as the high school student and the college student.  Having the right information can help all of you make your decisions easier. 

A recent article on Walletpop.com and another website offer great information regarding the top career choices for graduating college students and the top salary earning careers in general.  These resources should help those of you in the process of planning your future careers or discovering potential new careers get an idea of what you can expect (it is a guideline…salaries do vary based on your geographic location in the U.S.) as far as monetary compensation.  Keep in mind that not all careers will be on the lists, and if you’re looking into a different career, you can check out Salary.com for more information.

Is this information necessary to plan a future career?  No.  And you certainly shouldn’t choose a career ONLY based on the income.  We would never recommend that, since it would mean the potential for an unhappy work life (which is not successful living).  However, if you have a few career choices in mind, and feel you would be equally happy at all of them, it doesn’t hurt for income to be a factor in your decision.  After all, more income means a heftier nest egg, college fund (for the kids) and hopefully the ability to spend more quality time with your family.  That kind of information is always welcome when making a decision!

And let’s not forget the nasty divorce between Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger.  That situation was all over the entertainment magazines and shows when it was top news, and most of us remember the not so distant and very public fight he had with his 11 year old daughter, in which he called her a pig.  I don’t think he’s the best choice for helping a couple work things out.

To be fair, I think that this show will be hilarious, but only because the advice offered from the celebrities will be, to put it politely, “sub par”.  I worry that people watching it will give them credit as being an “expert” on fixing relationships, simply because they’re a celebrity.  We have a tendency to give people more credit than they’re due in our society if they’re on TV, which is ridiculous.  Just because someone is on TV does NOT make them an expert, and I hope our readers never forget it!

The government is looking into extending benefits in the unemployment program for the 5th (that’s right, I said 5th) time since the recession started, just a couple of years ago!  Normally, the benefits are doled out to the unemployed over 26 weeks (aka 6 months), with the option to get a 13 week extension.  Basically, this means that you can draw unemployment for 9 months before you have to go back to work, and a lot of people do just that!  They collect full benefits before even really trying to get a job!  Why, you ask?  Well, I assume for some it’s because they think it’s “free money”, but, as we all know, that’s never the case for anything.  Somebody always pays, be it the company, the taxpayers, the government (which takes its money from the taxpayers) or the consumer (who is almost always ALSO a taxpayer).  Under the new proposed benefits, the pay outs can run as long as 99 weeks…almost 2 YEARS!

The funny thing is that some studies sited in the post indicate that people are most likely to find a job when the unemployment runs out, no matter if that length of time is 2, 26 or 99 weeks.    People seem to think that because they are drawing unemployment, they economy must really be in the toilet for everyone, and so they don’t try.  However, when there is no more unemployment, they “magically” find work.  Amazing!

There are many examples of these programs being run the wrong way and abused by some of the participants.  I’m not going to get into that, because I have a feeling many of you wouldn’t want to read a post that long.  If I’m wrong, say so in the comment section, and I’d be happy to oblige!

Dan Miller draws an interesting observation, drawing a parallel between the way bears hunt and the way we as humans acquire a job.  Bears hunt more efficiently when they aren’t given food from humans…you know, when they have to hunt.  We are the same way with money and jobs.  When there isn’t somebody giving them to us, we get creative and figure out a way to do it.  Be that start our own company, go to work for someone else or sell some stuff, we will make it work.  Can’t find work in your area?  Perhaps you should move.  Think outside the box people!

Dan Miller has pointed out other products in this post, however, that might not necessarily be able to be pigeon-holed in the need category.  He talks of the fancy tennis shoes that have come about in the near past, that help with stabilization and have a broader base, and their new counterparts that are narrower and simulate running barefoot at $245 a pop (I spent a lot of time deciding which way to go on this very topic when I decided to start running)!

Another product, Bling H2O, that has been on MTV is encrusted with Swarovski crystals that spell out “bling” on the bottle.  The funny part is that the water comes from Tennessee, and probably isn’t very “blinged-out” on some guys farm.  That doesn’t stop them from sealing the bottles with a cork and calling it “Limited Edition”.  The funny part is the price!  This water can be bought for $441 dollars a case (12 bottles) or $36.75 a bottle.  Can we say ridiculous?  Funny thing is, people are buying it! 

And this is Dan Miller’s point:  If you fill a “need” you can make a living.  If you fill a “want”you can get rich.  I agree with him wholeheartedly, I am simply dismayed at the reason for such a statement to be true.  In our instant gratification, want the best, have to be famous society, wants and desires trump needs.  We all have desires, and I think that’s OK.  But when we start to go into debt to obtain them, something is wrong.  When we start to think we “deserve” them, we are out of touch with reality, because the truth is that you don’t “deserve” anything just for being you…you have to earn it!  As sad as it is, however, it’s how things work today, so if you can find a want and fill it, go make yourself rich!

We have all seen this in our own lives, if not to the extent of jail time.  Somebody tells a little white lie on their resume to make themselves sound better for the job.  People update their statuses to make themselves sound more fabulous and exciting than they really are.  They embellish the problems they had on their car ride/plane ride etc. to make you feel sorry for them.  Whatever the situation, people like to exaggerate when it comes to who they are and what they do.  The sad part is, who we are IS enough for most people, and the people it isn’t enough for are not worth your time!  Do you really want to spend your life trying to impress other people with lies, or live your life, whatever it is, without the embellishments?

Do you find yourself inventing things when you share your history with other people?  Are there things that you’d like to change about yourself, or are you happy with who you are?  If you have things you’d change, have you written them down, and set up a plan to change what you’re not happy with?  That would be where I would start!  Good luck!

Basically, the jist of the 10,000 hour rule is that the author’s research shows that it’s rare for a person to get to the top of their game in their chosen field without putting in at least 10,000 hours of preparation. 

Raw talent is apparently not as important as the time you devote to your passion…to that thing you do better than everyone else.  No matter who you are and where you came from, no one gets to the top without the 10,000 hours.  And, supposing you want to get to the top of your field, that means you’ve got to WORK!  In a 40 hour work week, you can finish those 10,000 hours in 5 years.  If you’re doing a part time job at 20 hours a week, that’s 10 years.  If you’re working 60 hours a week, that means you’ll finish in 2 1/2 years, but it also means you don’t have a work-life balance, and I can’t agree with that! 

Where are you putting your hours in?  Are you putting effort in the areas of your life that matter the most, or are you leaving work, coming home and turning into a couch potato?  I truly hope you’re not ignoring your family in exchange for mindless channel surfing.  And hey, if the area of your life that matters most, that you want to be excellent at is your relationship with your partner, I’m totally cool with that!  So long as you are putting in the hours and are excellent at something you love, your favorite southern couple is behind you!

The numbers for unemployment in September show that it rose to 9.8%, and that it might hit 10% in the near future.  But as bad as the overall unemployment rate is, the breakdown of single versus married people is interesting…it’s almost double!  In August, the rate was 13.5% unemployment for singles and 6.3% unemployment for married people!  The article points out that a likely reason is that married men are motivated to take a lower paying job, to be able to support their families, and that single people are typically younger and have less education and experience than their married counterparts (this, of course, is just supposition).  There is also a difference in those with a high school education versus a Bachelor’s degree or higher.  Only 4.9% with a Bachelor’s degree are unemployed, versus 10.8% with only a high school education (a good argument for staying in school and going to college).

There is also disparity amongst race, gender, and age.  And, while these statistics are interesting to me, I have to think that there are ALWAYS discrepancies amongst employment based on race, gender and age, since the people in the work force are constantly changing.  I’m not taking away from the fact that these people are suffering.  There are a lot of people out there suffering, and I wish them a job…pronto.

Here is the breakdown:

• African Americans – 15.4%
• Hispanics – 12.7%
• Caucasions  9.0%
• Asians – 7.4%
• Adult Women – 7.8%
• Adult Men – 10.3%
• Teenagers – 25.9%

Overall, I’m most intrigued by the stats on single people.  If single people are more likely to be jobless due to their unwillingness to take lower pay, I say that it is their choice!   As long as they have an emergency fund in place to carry them through this tough spot and/or are working a part time job til they find the “perfect job”, so be it!  And for those of you who are married, taking lower paying jobs, don’t forget your worth!  No matter what your situation, having an emergency fund and being prepared for a job loss will help you weather any storm!

• Can You Plan Spontaneity - This is a recent post, but it’s a good one, and it’s one of our trademark tips for a successful lifestyle .  The post outlines how we have built spontaneity into our budget (which works quite well, I assure you), achieving both spontaneity (to have a little mystery about special outings, gifts etc.) and budget restraint (so you have so money to retire on one day).
• YOU are an emotional piggy bank -   This post has generated a lotof talk of the last few weeks.   You are an emotional piggy bank, taking in deposits and doling out payments from other people.  Just like a bank account or a piggy bank, you need to have more deposits coming in than payments going out for the system (i.e. you) to function.  People that drain too much from you, drain you, and you should spend time with them sparingly, if at all.  This, of course, is opposed to emotional boosts, who make lotsof deposits into your piggy bank.  You should spend as much time as possible around these special people.
• Never forget where you started… - This post is a reminder of why you got married or into a relationship with your spouse/significant other, and some tips on how to make it work better or keep it working wonderfully!
• Why your friends are costing you money, and what you can do to stop it! - This post is all about being friends with people who have a larger income than you and ways to avoid the pressure of spending too much money, or spending money that you don’t have when you hang out/spend time with them!
•   So, going to the gym is like budgeting my finances? - This post draws parallels between going to the gym and budgeting your finances.  Not only are there insights into better ways to budget your money, but there are also a few tips on going to the gym!  You can’t beat that!

So, those are the blog posts that we’d like for you to go back and take a second look at!  Hopefully, you will find some information that helps you along in your life, or reaffirms what you already have in practice!

“clips episode” of previous posts that are “must reads”

One of the employees at my gym told me last week “You know, working out is the only time in your life that it’s OK to fail, because it means you tried your hardest”. Well, I happen to think she’s right about that statement and I think the principle applies to your finances as well. Most people, I think, would agree that as a nation we could do better at both working out and balancing our budget. Personally, I think $6 coffee has been a huge detriment to both. We eat too much, we spend to much. We need to work out with great intensity, and carry that drive over to our finances. When you go to the gym, you focus on what you are doing (otherwise you might drop something/fall off something and hurt yourself), but when you do your finances, are you focused? Or, more likely, do you have the TV or radio on? Your budget/finances will only work for you if you work for them…turn that TV off so you can pay attention! Do the absolute BEST you can with your money, and if you fail, you are probably still better off than most people!

Most people who go to the gym plan out what they are going to do in advance. they decide which muscle group they want to work, which machines they will use and whether or not they will do cardio that day. Your approach to your budget should be the same. You should be thinking about it ahead of time. You should be planning out if you will pay the bills first, or balance the checkbook with the weeks receipts. Your yearly budget should take even more planning than that. You should have things written down and have a game plan (look for next weeks blog to learn how to create a simple budget) of what you think that years monetary needs will be.If you take the time to plan out your trip to the gym, do yourself a favor, and do the same with your money. You’ll feel better while you are at the gym if you aren’t worried about the state of your money!

People who go to the gym know you can’t just go once a week and expect fabulous results. So why then, do people only do bills once or twice a month and think that is enough? It is important for you to pay attention to where your money is going at least once a week, preferably twice a week. Most people don’t use cash anymore (which is a real problem, cause we spend it without thinking about it now), and so we end up with a bunch of receipts from our debit card (if we were diligent enough to get a receipt in the first place) at the end of the month. This is equivalent to going to the gym irregularly and using random equipment in the wrong way…you’re just hurting yourself at this point! So, know that you have to go to the gym 3 times (or more) a week to get results. Know that you have to pay attention to your finances weekly (at least) to keep your budget balanced and peace of mind.

I like to believe that a person shouldn’t let their life happen to them, they should happen to their life. If something is going on around you that you don’t like, do something about it. You aren’t powerless. The gym and you finances are the same. People who go to the gym see that their body is not where they want it to be and they are doing something about it. It is my goal to help people realize that they need to do something about their personal finances, and help them achieve it!