Motivation, Personal Finance, Career Advice, Social Issues and Business

Entries from October 2007

How To Buy A New Car For The Least Amount Of Money Possible

October 30th, 2007 · 8 Comments

When it comes to buying a new car, most people drive around town and stop at various dealerships to find the car they like and then begin the negotiation process. Typically, the first dealership will not be the final stop as the buyer will continue to search, hoping to find the car a little cheaper. Often, a buyer will travel to multiple dealerships before finally finding a price and terms that are acceptable which wastes not only time but gas money and effort. The Internet has made the process slightly easier through sites such as Edmunds.com, allowing buyers to get price quotes. There is, however, still an easier way! Use the reverse auction!

The process of the reverse auction is quite simple and detailed below. The idea is basically to find the exact car that you want to purchase and then through a series of brief phone calls, the dealers will do the work for you to have you driving that new car in no time and at the lowest possible price. Here are the steps to follow:

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Tags: Personal Finance

Creating A Personal Budget To Get Your Finances In Order!

October 27th, 2007 · 4 Comments

In order to develop a clear picture of your personal finances, it is crucial that you create a budget that tracks all of your income and compares it to all of your expenses. This sounds easy in practice but the process can be somewhat challenging. All of those small, day-to-day expenses can add up very quickly and many are easy to forget. To make the process considerably easier, I have prepared a standard budget template for you!

Your Personal Budget

To start the process, download the personal budget (right clicking on the link and save the file) I have created for you and you’ll be well on your way to seeing
your financial picture. This will require Microsoft Excel but if you do not have it, you can download OpenOffice free of charge. This budget is intended to be used for monthly expenses so how do you handle expenses like furniture for you home? Surely you won’t be replacing your sofa every month! The idea is simple. Take the amount you spend on furnishings and divide it by the amount of time between purchases. For example, if you spend $1,000 every 5 years for a new sofa, simply divide $1,000 by 60 months to get the monthly amount you need to save for that new sofa. Do this for all expenses you have that you do not use each month.

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Tags: Personal Finance

Foolproof Interview Tips To Make You Stand Out And Get A New Job

October 25th, 2007 · 2 Comments

Going on a job interview is an exciting and nerve-racking process that gives you the opportunity to sell yourself to a potential employer. The problem is that along the way, your potential employer uses their power to set up little traps. Here are some potential pitfalls and how to avoid them so that you get that new job you’re looking for with the most benefits possible.

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Tags: Career Advice

Getting Married? The Secret To Stress-Free Finances For Two

October 24th, 2007 · 5 Comments

Your big day is quickly approaching and with it comes a great deal of undue stress. You’re busy planning the wedding, the honeymoon and perhaps buying a new home to begin your new life together. One very important aspect of your new life that often goes without any planning is how you will handle your finances as a couple. Most couples simply make a quick stop at the bank and open up a joint checking account and mark that task complete. Although this is easy in the beginning, there is a much better way to handle your finances as a newly married couple!

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Tags: Personal Finance · Relationships

10 Fun Ways To Get Your Cardio Workout Without A Treadmill

October 22nd, 2007 · 9 Comments

Let’s face it–the gym can be a very boring place sometimes. One of the main reasons people quit going to the gym is because the redundancy of it can just drain the motivation right out of someone. In order to combat the boredom and still burn those calories, here are 10 fun ways to get your cardio without a treadmill, elliptical machine or exercise bike!

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Tags: Health & Personal Fitness

Earn Respect By Dressing For Success

October 19th, 2007 · 1 Comment

We have all had the experience where we attend a business meeting, social gathering or wedding and see someone sticking out like a sore thumb in the crowd because of their attire. Was it a suit-and-tie event and they looked as if they just stepped off the golf course? When someone is grossly underdressed at an event, it remains in people’s mind for quite some time because it appears as a sign of disrespect. Although this person isn’t consciously saying, “I hold my own comfort in higher regard than the hosts’ event,” we all seem to think that when we see them.

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Tags: Career Advice · Social Issues

Go To The Gym In The Mornings For A Motivating Start To Your Day

October 16th, 2007 · 1 Comment

You are probably reading this article because you are looking for ways to become more motivated and to better your life. Most motivational coaches will teach you that one of the fastest ways to start being more productive both at work and at home is to develop habits. These habits will help you accomplish tasks without really thinking about how difficult they are to overcome. One of these difficult tasks that is quite easy to overcome is to get on a personal fitness campaign.

Going to the gym can be an impossible hurdle to overcome but the results are fantastic! Ask anybody walking into the gym how they feel about what they’re about to do and then ask the people walking out of the gym how they feel. It is a very odd phenomenon but people dread going to the gym but love the feeling once they are done. It is a feeling of gratification and accomplishment as you leave the gym and head to your car–you have accomplished something great! For this reason, start going to the gym first thing in the morning!

If you get into the habit of waking up in the morning and heading straight to the gym, I promise you will have a more productive day. The reason is, before most people have even rolled out of bed, you will have accomplished a very difficult task. This feeling of accomplishment will carry over into your work day and get you in the proper mindset to get more out of the day. Not only that, but you will be more fit and healthy before you know it.

Will it be easy? You will need to wake up earlier than usual, drive over to the gym, lift heavy weights, run longer than you’d like and then head to work. That sounds ridiculous but there’s an easy way to keep this motivation up. At the same time every day (I prefer the mornings), take out a fabric ruler and measure your waist. Write this measurement down and keep it where you’ll see it. Simply watching this number shrink will give you the motivation you need to get into the gym. Furthermore, you are going to constantly get reassurance from coworkers, family and friends in the form of compliments. For me, people noticing that I am losing weight is motivation enough to hop out of bed and want to go to the gym.

If you’re already in this mindset, please share in the comments section how you do it. Similarly, if you’re having trouble getting out of bed, I want to hear from you as to why. Let’s learn from each other and improve our lives one day at a time.

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Tags: Health & Personal Fitness · Motivation