MoneyWiseWomen

Making Changes

Changing your job search techniques, or changing any behavior that isn’t working first requires getting conscious about it.   

          If you want something to be different, then something needs to change.

This is a simple dynamic. Are you still chasing postings on job boards, but not getting the results you want? Is your idea of networking to ask people if they know of job leads? Do you face each day without any idea of what you should be doing? Bottom line: have you continued to do the same things over and over expecting to get different results? We’ve all heard it before- that’s the definition of insanity!

If you agree that your methodology or thinking needs to change, then pick just one or two thing to do differently. It is too hard to try to change everything at once, and, it is too hard to sustain multiple changes. It is possible to make minor changes to begin with, and build on them as they become habits. Making one or two small changes to your approach can dramatically change the outcomes you are getting.

But getting started is hard too. Developing a plan for making necessary changes is as critical as the plan you will make for specifically accomplishing your goals. With a strong commitment to changing your behavior, your plan for addressing the needed changes will make it easier to do than you would think.

Get started: The first step in making a plan for change is to identify your barriers to doing something differently than how you have done it in the past. You’ll need to establish which internal elements and which external elements have been affecting your job search results. Is it your health? Bad planning? Procrastination? Lack of focus? Or is it the economy? The weather? Competition? If the issues are external, your reaction to them is the only thing you can control, and that is what may need to change. 

    •   Face your barriers.
    •   Take a closer look. Deal with reality. What can you change?
    •   Which one behavior can you work on for the next 30 days? Write it down.
    •   Make a decision about what you need to do differently.
    •   Write out the steps you need to take. Plan them. Do them.

What changes have been most difficult for you to make: changing your actions or changing your re-actions?

Sherri Edwards
Resource Maximizer
Consultant - Trainer- Career Coach
sherri@resourcemaximizer.com
www.resourcemaximizer.com

Commitment Doesn't have to be Expensive

By Dr. Bonnie Eaker-Weil

This is good news since most of us can't afford one more expense this year! As the economy has fallen apart, most Americans have been cutting back on their expenditures whether it be drastically – from necessity – or little by little – in preparation for what might be to come.

Sure, money – or lack there of – causes stress, but it's important to bear that stress as a couple and not let it DETRACT from the time you spend investing in eachother and in your relationship. In some of my past posts, I've tackled how to do that – by asking the right questions, learning to fight fair and not being afraid to open up about your financial past.

Where to start if you want to do better with money

By Sue Holm, JD, CFRC

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now."
Johann von Goethe

If you have decided to secure your financial future, you are probably planning to take one or more of the following actions:

• Save more
• Pay off your debt
• Invest for the future

 You may wonder, “Where should I start?”

The foundational step for each of the above actions is a probably the best –kept secret of financial management.  Here’s the secret:  TRACK YOUR MONEY. 

Yes, before you can commit to saving more you have to know where you money is currently going, so you can decide how much money you can regularly save.  Before you can commit to paying off your debt, you need to know how much money you can pay to your creditors.  Investing in the future is futile if your past keeps sucking money out in the form of interest on your debt.   You can’t move forward to a secure financial future until you know how much money comes into your life and what your life costs you on a daily, weekly, monthly, annual basis.

The good news is that you can do this.  The technology is as simple as a piece of paper or small notebook and a pen or pencil.  Write down all money that comes to you and everything you spend.  If you want to look official, you can go into any bank branch, ask for and get, a check register.  If you’ve attended a Money Wise Women conference, you’ve heard Marcia Brixey talk about tracking your money.  You even received a tracking tool that looks a lot like a check register.  These can be used to track all money coming into and leaving your life – cash, checks, ATM, debits, and credit cards.  Write down all transactions, whether manual or electronic.  At the end of the month, categorize your spending.  Where do you intentionally spend money?  Where does money wander away to?  Why?

If manually writing all your transactions down sounds too tedious, you can use a variety of electronic methods to track your money using programs such as Excel, Money, Quick Books and Quicken.  An excellent tool is the Money Minder® system ($59.95) from the Financial Recovery Institute.  I’ve been using that system for more than 10 years.  I use it for my personal life and my business.  You can get it directly from the Financial Recovery Institute.   There are websites that will help you track your spending, or even do it for you.  These sites include, but are not limited to:   Mvelopes;  and Money Pants.  One caution -- you learn nothing about your money if you use electronic tools to track your income and spending but never look at the results.

More good news is that simply tracking your spending tends to reduce your spending by about 20%.  Try it and see.  Report back to us.  We as a community are interested in your success.

Whatever you decided to do to secure your financial future, begin it.  Your plan has genius, power and magic in it.  Begin it now.

Sue Holm, JD, CFRC is a certified financial recovery counselor who can help with the mechanics of money, planning and tracking income and spending, eliminating debt, increasing savings and help resolve emotional issues around money. 

Develop a Plan to Reach Your Career Goals

Developing a plan for your career seems simple enough: Start with a specific goal. Then break it down into actionable items. But, many issues can make it difficult to stay on track - the weather, traffic, the economy, company politics, and health issues to name a few. Creating structure to your activities will allow you to gauge what hasn’t happened and what needs to happen, much more clearly than if you wait and see each day. Knowing what you need to get done, and then getting it done, is a method for creating structure that is closest to what you would have if you were working. Don’t allow distractions to prevent you from completing what you have set out to do. If you are employed, you’ll have fewer available hours to work on your goals, and it will be even tougher to stay on track.

Here are some pointers that will help you make and stay on with your plan:
•   Plan your schedule in advance, making a commitment to do the activities that lead you to the  accomplishment of your goal.
•   Know what you need to do every day.
•   Plan exactly which hours you will work on your tasks.
•   If you are not working, plan ahead at least 30 days to help you stay focused.
•   If you are working, plan ahead at least 90 days to help ensure you will stay on track to get where you want to be next year.
•   Don’t allow distractions to prevent you from completing what you have set out to do.

What has been toughest for you: making a plan or sticking with it?

Sherri Edwards
Resource Maximizer
Consultant - Trainer- Career Coach
sherri@resourcemaximizer.com
www.resourcemaximizer.com

Hello, This Is Your Money Talking

Wait! Please don't run off. I'm not here to scold or shame. Actually, I want to thank you. Thank you for hanging in there with me during these tough economic times. I know you've been worried about me, but I appreciate you being more thoughtful this past year, and doing your best to use me wisely.

When you focus on our relationship in positive ways, it makes me want to stick around and work harder for you. So, here's what I want you to know... We can do better this year. We can really kick it up a notch. Let me be the resource I truly am. Stop worrying about me so much. If we need help, let's get some help. If we need to interact in new ways, let's get started.

I'm in your life to provide for the basics, but also to fund your dreams. Inspire me and put me to work!

Now, what can I do for you in 2009?

• How can we partner together in ways that feel good?
• What will you commit to?
• What do you need from me?
• When/How will we check in with each other?

Let's keep this dialogue going!

Sincerely,

Your Money

Debbie Lacy, MoneyMindful Life Coach

www.moneymindful.com Get clear. Be inspired. Take action.

Prepare Yourself for Divorce: 10 Steps to Take NOW

1.   Get help as early as possible - before you think you really need it

Recognize as early as possible that your marriage is in trouble and accept it. Get some “divorce education” and learn the basics. Read, attend classes, utilize the services of inexpensive resources - – before going to an attorney. Just as you wouldn’t sign up for an algebra class if you couldn’t add or subtract,– why go to an attorney before knowing the basics? If you have the luxury of time, use that time to prepare yourself for what will undoubtedly be a new chapter in your life. You will never regret spending time educating yourself and finding out as much as you can about this complex process. 

Make a Commitment to Reach Your Career Goals

Too often, people establish career goals the same way they make New Year’s resolutions. The problem with resolutions is that they fade away, are forgotten, and are only a distant memory by February. To actualize your desire for a change, exchange your resolution for a COMMITMENT to action.

Don't Lose at Investing in Your Relationship

By Dr. Bonnie Eaker-Weil

There are many, many people who have lost a lot in this recession – you may be one of them. And one thing's for sure, the investors that trusted Bernard Madoff were also pretty big losers, monetarily speaking.

As BloggingStocks points out, “Madoff saw a weakness in the system and took advantage of people and institutions for about $50 billion (we don't know the final tally yet because Madoff kept several sets of books and the courts need to sort out what's left).”

Your financial struggles may not be anything this drastic, but they don't have to rival the dollar amounts Madoff's investors lost to still feel like a huge loss to you and your family.  Even if you've lost some of your financial investments, don't make the mistake of failing to invest in your relationship during these difficult times.

Now is a good time to specifically begin delving into any debt – in particular, credit card debt – that you may have and make every attempt to keep your credit in good standing and to keep the doors of communication open in your financial relationship. Money and relationships are often closely intertwined. Now more than ever you must make understanding your partner's financial choices and discussing money a priority.

You are likely carrying around an emotional connection – and therefore, baggage! - you didn't even know you had. It's a connection between your brain and your credit card debt – between your thoughts and feelings and why and how you spend money. It helps explain your views on money and debt and why you react to these things in certain ways. Knowing about these connections and your money patterns won't excuse you from financial problems you might face, but you can help nip these problems – and any repercussions they might have – in the bud.

Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil has been an internationally acclaimed relationship therapist for thirty years. New York magazine named her one of the city’s top therapists and Psychology Today named her one of America’s best therapists. Her most recent book, Financial Infidelity, is available on Amazon.

Granny Knows Best. Advice from my 90-year old grandmother.

My grandmother recently turned 90-years old and at such a milestone, it made me reflect on all of the wonderful things she’s taught me.

Advice from my 90-year old grandmother:
1. Always keep your house clean:  It doesn’t matter how much or how little money you have; keeping your house clean shows you respect yourself.

2. Eat your vegetables:  Doing things you might not like can actually be good for you in the long run.

3. Treat others as they want to be treated, not as you want to be treated:  Don’t assume everyone is just like you.  Flex your style to meet the needs of others.

4. Always be on time – better yet, be early:  My grandmother has always loved that old saying about “the early bird catches the worm.”  She’s right; it works.

5. Never try to be someone you aren’t:  Be the best person you can be; it’s too hard trying to be someone you’re not.

6. Cooler heads prevail:  Try to remain calm no matter how difficult the situation.

7. “You’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”:  A kind word goes a long way.

8. Always give it your best effort:  Always give 100%; if you can’t give 100% then you’re probably trying to do too many things at once.

9. Keep it simple:  My grandmother says, “Fancy smancy!  It’s the simple pleasures that make life special.”

10. Always lend a helping hand:  Lend more help to others then you ask for help yourself; give back to the world more than you take.

It’s her advice that really helped shape me and was integral in my success – both professionally and personally.  Got some great tips too?  Share them here.

You can do it!
Lisa Quast
Career Woman, Inc. - "Your Future, Your Way"
www.careerwomaninc.com

A Financial Minute with Jenifer: Practice Makes Perfect (An excerpt from the book "A Financial Minute")

We’re not responsible for what comes into our heads; we’re responsible for what we do with it. —Anonymous

We have looked at deliberate acts of financial thought: examining your story, exercising faith, focusing on a new future, and generating gratitude. But what do you do with random ideas that oppose what you're trying to accomplish?