Life Skills Blog

April 6th, 2009 | by Lynn | Tags: Financial Services, Great Depression, Mutual fund, Stock market, United States 

It is fun to sort through our emotional, environmental, physical and financial lives,  isn’t it?

(I heard you chuckle!)

Well, I know it isn’t for me or The Chief.  The one thing that has helped us through our married life was to look back at our parents.  All of them were from the “Dirty 30’s, the “New Deal”  and through the tough times of WWII when our country really had to band together.
If they had not, we would not have had the chance to live high off the hog and give ourselves our own  “Great Depression”.  I bet those of us who still have living parents in that age bracket will find that their parents are not as stressed out as the rest of us.  They remember what it was like to draw back, not live extravagantly and save for a rainy day.  Luckily before all of our parents were passed on, I asked them how they lived.  I have implemented a lot of those “tidbits” which today have become uncommon.  It is funny to think that they gave me “uncommon sense!”

And so now, let’s finish with the series we’ve started last week… Pull out your Journal and make some notes.  This is the most challenging assignment for most people.  Good Luck, I know you can do it!  Lynn

52 Ways That You Can Change Your Life for the Better

edited by Kalia Doner

Money Talks
Smart decisions about spending and saving
By Catherine Fredman

When Einstein was asked to name the strongest force in the universe, he supposedly replied, “Compound interest!” Despite its ups and downs, and downs again, the U.S. stock market has averaged about 10 percent annual growth over the last 75 years. What does that mean in real life? If you save $15 a week by making your lunch, in 20 years (at just a 7 percent return) your lunch money will be worth about $34,000. Sock away another $750 a year, and in 20 years you’ll have about $67,000. Start the savings habit when you’re 25, and at 65 you’ll have nearly $327,000. Now that’s really something to look forward to!

33. Discharge the charge cards. The average American household with at least one credit card carries nearly $9,700 in credit card debt. With interest rates running in the mid-to-high teens, that family spends, on average, at least $1,700 a year in interest and fees. Take control of your debt by limiting yourself to no more than two charge cards, advises Matt McRee, a senior financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial in Blythewood, SC. Look for low long-term rates rather than rates that balloon if you carry a balance. Even better, choose cards that you have to pay off in full every month, so you can’t dive into debt.

34. Buy carefully. Retailers have a saying: “Today’s peacock is tomorrow’s feather duster.” Avoid buyer’s remorse by taking a moment to ask yourself, Do I need this? Will I use this? Download the New American Dream Wallet Buddy, a cost-cutting catechism that you can print out and fold into an impulse-stifling sleeve for a credit card.

35. Hire a financial planner. Seeking professional help could be the smartest money move you ever make. An Ameriprise Financial survey found that people who work with a financial advisor report that they saved nearly twice as much as their unadvised counterparts. They are more than twice as likely to save regularly for the future, notes a Merrill Lynch survey. And, both surveys concur, they feel more confident, less anxious and—more important—have more realistic financial goals. Advisors aren’t just for the affluent, says Candace Bahr, an investment advisor in Carlsbad, CA. “Their real value is not only creating a financial plan but helping people stick to it.”

36. Avoid money fights. Talk money with your honey.  How to avoid the financial stresses that can rupture a relationship?  Make a regular date to talk with your partner about money, says Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, coauthor of It Pays To Talk: How to Have the Essential Conversations with Your Family About Money and Investing. “Financial conversations take lots and lots of practice,” says Schwab-Pomerantz, who honed the habit with her husband on Sunday morning strolls through the park. “You may have to agree to disagree at first, but at least you’ve initiated the discussion. And in the end, the talking will pay off.”

37. Save energy and money. With energy prices soaring, the thermostat is your friend. Turning the heat down 10 degrees at night can slice up to 20 percent off your heating bill.  Even a one-degree drop over an eight-hour period reduces your fuel costs. No need to go cold turkey; start by cooling down one degree a week.  Ask your utility company for more suggestions. And while you’re asking, don’t forget to call your telephone service provider for advice on cutting costs. Combining cable, phone and Internet service, for example, can knock $50 off a monthly bill.

38. Balance the books. Spend less than you earn. Getting rid of debt routinely makes the nation’s top three New Year’s resolutions. Nearly 40 percent of people who have problems with debt report symptoms of severe depression, according to a survey by Myvesta, a nonprofit financial crisis center. Do the math:  Subtracting debt from your life is the fastest way to financial happiness.

39.  Invest your savings. You don’t need to be Warren Buffett. As little as $1,000 will open an account at a mutual fund company like Vanguard, Charles Schwab, T. Rowe Price or Fidelity. Low-cost, targeted maturity funds offer a broadly diversified mixture of stocks and bonds that are tailored to your individual risk profile and automatically adjust every year to a more conservative balance. “It’s a sound investment method for anyone who just doesn’t know what to do,” says Ellen Rinaldi, a principal at the Vanguard Group.

40.  De-bloat. Your budget, that is. Sharpen your pencil to slice your spending, says Bonnie Hughes, a certified financial planner in Miami. Write down everything you spend over the course of a month–not just the mortgage payment, phone bill and groceries, but the lattes and movie tickets. Are you paying for a magazine you don’t read? A gym membership you don’t use? Get rid of them and watch your bloated budget slim down. “The easiest way to get money back is to pay attention to what goes out,” says Hughes.

41. Protect your savings. What if you were found at fault in a major traffic accident? What if a tree on your property crashes through your neighbor’s roof and she sues? Ordinary auto and homeowner’s insurance policies rarely guarantee full protection from the potential liability you may incur from others’ injuries or legal actions. The solution? An umbrella liability policy. Umbrella liability insurance only comes into play when your home and auto coverage is exhausted. But you get a lot of protection for surprisingly few pennies: A $1 million personal umbrella liability policy tends to range from $150 to $300 a year, and there’s usually a substantial discount on premiums if you buy your umbrella liability, homeowners’ and automobile insurance from the same company.

42. Start a $1 bill savings plan. Here’s a grown-up version of stashing spare pennies.  When you leave the house in the morning, don’t carry anything smaller than a $5 bill. When you get change, don’t spend the singles—except for leaving a tip. At the end of the day, slip any leftover dollar bills into a shoebox. You’ll be surprised at how soon they add up.

Working it Out
by Beth Howard

On average, a working person spends about 1,900 hours a year on the job—eight times as many hours as he or she spends caring for others or doing household chores, and four times as many hours as is spent on leisure activities or sports, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And those are the facts for people who work a little more than eight hours a workday. A lot of you out there are putting in 10 hours—and on some days even more.

So if you hate your job, are feeling swamped or disorganized or are upset about a lack of advancement, you may find that tips 43 to 52 can help you cope with your work-related problems.

43. Shake it up! Job satisfaction goes both ways. Before you throw in the towel with your current employer, take charge of your situation. You can’t expect your manager to be a mind reader or to be responsible for your contentment. Do what you can to fix what’s wrong or figure out what’s lacking.

44. Find your bliss. More than 8.4 million Americans ages 44 to 70 have started so-called encore careers—second careers prompted in part by a need to find greater meaning in work, says Marc Freedman, author of Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life. These second acts often involve a dream or calling, but it’s important to plan well. Take an honest inventory of your skills and finances before taking the plunge.

Feeling unorganized?

45. Drop unnecessary activities. According to Laura Berman Fortgang, author of Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction, we all cling to many “have-tos” and “gottas.” Do you really need to keep that weekly lunch date with your old college roommate? Or volunteer two nights a week for the local Y when one night a week will let you do what you enjoy without overwhelming you?

46. Tolerate a little clutter. Put down that Swiffer! A messier household isn’t just easier to maintain than a super tidy one, but studies suggest that moderately disorganized people are actually more efficient and creative than obsessively neat ones, says David H. Freedman, author of A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder. In fact, a recent survey links messy desks to higher salaries.

47. Make a smooth transition. How do you switch gears between work and home? If you work outside the home, make the most of your return commute. Put some soothing music on your iPod or car radio or relish the silence. Then take 20 minutes to sit and relax when you first come inside, inside of jumping straight into household chores.

Lack of advancement and/or respect for what you do?

48. Get a mentor. No mere professional contact, a mentor is in the position you’d like to be in and has the clout and connections to guide you to a similar job. See if your current employer has a mentoring program or ask the professional organizations and university alumni groups you belong to. Choose someone you respect and admire, whether inside or outside your own place of employment.

49. Brush it off! Having a sense of humor can lower the levels of destructive stress hormones, such as cortisol, in your blood. Those hormones can make you vulnerable to illness and may even sabotage your performance. When you laugh, your pulse and blood pressure rise, sending oxygen to your tissues, like a workout does. Just smiling boosts your mood—whether the smile is real or fake—so grin (and bear it).

50. Delegate and share credit. You will get more credit for your efforts, and be recognized for what you do (which can lead to advancement), if you are generous and share the limelight with fellow workers. Delegating well not only makes your job easier, but it develops trust with underlings and prepares your successors—so that you can move on to greater glory!

51. Increase skills. Ask your boss which skills will be especially valuable in the next few years. Even better, ask if your company has a tuition reimbursement plan that will pay for training or academic courses. Try out a new field by volunteering for a nonprofit organization that works in that area. This is a great way to get experience that might not be available at your day job.

52. Make the most of business communications. Messages at work are always significant, according to Eric Maisel, Ph.D., author of 20 Communication Tips at Work: A Quick and Easy Guide to Successful Business Relationships. They reveal who you are, and they educate you about your fellow workers.