Give A Great Interview

I know in my personal experience, the best way to beat anxiety and to land the job is to prepare a formal interview process.  The way I see it, until I actually land a job, it IS my job to look for work.   There is no better way to spend all of my idle time then to get my next job as soon as I can, as well as the highest income that I can.  The interview itself is only a part of the process.  In order to pull off the perfect interview, you need to consider the following:

 

1.  Before looking for a job, be sure you have a great reference from your manager.  You may ask your manager outright if you can use them as a reference.  I know of several situations in which whether you are good or bad, managers will not even give a recommendation for anyone, in which case you may have to ask for reference by lower level supervisors, or even coworkers in your field.   If you are still employed by your old firm, you may first want to work on getting a raise before having to look for a new job.

 

2.  Plan ahead.  Now that you’ve been offered the interview, you need to do a little homework.  Research the company and the position as much as possible before going in.  Find out also if you are interviewing for HR or for a manager in the department you would work for.  Someone in HR may not know all of the technical terminology as someone from the department.

 

3.  Practice interviewing.  It’s always a little awkward when starting out, but you can benefit hugely by sitting with a friend and going through interview questions.  If it’s your first time in a while, your friend will also point out several things to brush up on.

 

4.  Interview questions.  Have ready made answers to questions that they will probably give you.

 

Tell me about yourself. 

 

What do you know about our company?

 

Why should we hire you (over someone else)?

 

Why did you leave your last position?

 

How would your former coworkers describe you?

 

What are some of your greatest accomplishments?  (answer with the SAR format, listed below)

 

5.  Practice giving your accomplishments in a SAR format.  SAR stands for Situation, Action, and Results.  The great thing about the SAR format is that it shows you identifying a problem, and that your using your head to fix it.  To practice with the SAR format, first write down your biggest achievements that you would like to share with an interviewer.  Now using the SAR format, try to explain what the situation was first like, then your action that you took to fix the issue, and finally the result of that action.

 

Example:  

Situation:  My company’s website always had fairly low traffic on it.  I found that it was rarely updated, to the point that it still offered products that were no longer being produced. 

Action:  I updated the site removing outdated products, and I added a section so that our customers could post product reviews.  I also added a request page so that customers could make requests for other products. 

Result:  Our website has seen an increase of 50% in traffic in the past year, and the income on it has doubled.  Both traffic and income continue to grow to this day.

 

6.  Talk to people who work in the company.  They’ve already been through it, and anything that they can offer will give you an edge over other interviewees.  If they hired recently enough, they may even tell you the method of interviewing, and perhaps even an interview question or two.

 

7.  Reread your resume before going in.  After all of your alterations to your resume over time, the last thing you want to do is say something that does not sync up with your resume.  Read it again so that you and your resume are telling the same story.

 

8.  Dress appropriate for the interview.  While you want to look your best, you don’t want to look out of place either.  If you were interviewing for a construction job for example, coming in wearing a 3 piece suit can make you look awkward to all of the other interviewees who are wearing nice jeans and a button down shirt.  Overdressing can also make it look like your trying too hard to hire for the job.   Dressing poorly also has a negative effect, since it makes you look like you either don’t care, or you don’t have common sense when applying for the job.

 

9.  Make eye contact, and give a respectable handshake.  Give the interviewer some eye contact to let them know that you are interested in the job.  Also, no-one wants to shake hands and feel like their shaking a noodle; give the interviewer a firm, non-aggressive handshake to let them know that you are genuine.

 

10.  Be positive.  Future employers don’t want to hire negative people, and they especially don’t want to hear bad comments about previous employers.

 

11.  Relate to the interviewer.  Answer questions to your interviewers needs.  Show how your achievements relate to the current position being offered. 

 

12.  Always thank your interviewer.  Always thank him or her for the time out of their busy schedule for the interview.  They will probably appreciate it, since interviews are almost always added in addition to their regular work.

 

13.  Always finish up with a thank you letter.  After every interview, follow up with a thank you letter.  Even if you find that you don’t get the job, that company will no doubt be hiring in the future, and you still want to leave a great impression on them.  Sometimes you may also find that you were the runner-up for the position, and the applicant that was to get the job suddenly turns it down.

 

Finally, just remember to just relax during the interview.  Find a method to calm down, since it will make you a more pleasant interviewee to be interviewed.  Also remember the simple basic steps, like eating before an interview, to avoid a grumbling stomach, and to have a good night sleep.  After all, you do want to make the best impression possible. 

 

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Salary Negotiation – Show You Should Get A Raise

Getting a raise is a process that you work on throughout the year.  A raise is not only based on doing your job well, but being a genuine asset to the company.  By becoming a genuine asset, documenting it, then letting management know, you can be better set to receive a salary increase.  There are several steps you need to consider when trying to get a raise:

 

1.  Get a list of expectations from your manager.  Go to your manager, and see exactly what is expected out of you and your coworkers.  Write a list of what is expected, and confirm the list with your boss that you have it right.  Quotas and numbers are especially good information, as you now have a standard to which you can compare yourself to.

 

2.  Exceed expectations.  Once you know what is needed from you to keep up with your coworkers, you can exceed your bosses expectations.  Set a reasonable standard that sounds good to you, and make that your new minimum.  If everyone else sells 125 of something a month, you try to sell at least 150 a month.  Figure out how your company’s mission statement can be incorporated into your activities. 

 

3.  Be a genuinely great employee.  Be a cheerleader for your department, as well as for your company.  Take some in-house, online courses for your company, to show that you are trying to develop yourself.  Finally, be sure to be punctual for meetings and deadlines.  While you may not think it is a big deal, everyone will notice if you are late to meetings all of the time.

 

4.  Use the IDP, or any other company self evaluation system to your benefit.  An IDP is a Individual Development Program that is issued by many companies.  Quite literally, you and your boss sit down, discuss your goals for the year, then write them into the IDP.  Throughout the year, you accomplish your listed goals, and notate your accomplishments into the IDP report.  It is a self-evaluation that you give to your boss at the end of the year.  I’ve seen so many co-workers put off working on their IDP’s until the last minute, can’t remember any real accomplishments throughout the year, and then do a crummy job on the report.  This is a major path to a raise!  Not only do you know what is expected of you, you can continue to add to it throughout the year, and show you’re an exceptional worker. 

 

What can really stun a manager is for you to learn the IDP system really well, and then even offer to demonstrate to your co-workers on how to do one.  Coming up with that idea shows leadership and initiative, and yes, something else to add to your own IDP.

 

5.  Document your work.  Buy yourself a dedicated notebook for your job activities.  Every time you exceed expectations, write it down.   Make sure to put a date next to any activity so that you can prove it to your boss later.

 

6.  When someone appreciates you, ask for honorable mentions.  A lot of companies have internal awards and honorable mentions that employees can bestow on each other.  The next time you do something right, and someone tells you that they REALLY appreciate it, tell them that you would appreciate it if they would present an honorable mention to you, so your boss also knows you are doing well.  Tell them that your boss would file it in your employee folder.  I know it sound cheesy, but it works.  I know a lady who had a 3 ring binder full of the awards that she got for the year, while everyone else in her department have less than 1/2 a dozen of them.  She constantly received the highest raise year after year, although she didn’t work much harder than the average employee.  Dropping a pile of honorable mentions and rewards on your managers desk in time for your yearly review will do you wonders in getting a raise.

 

7.  Help your boss; make your boss look good.  Another way to help with a raise is to help your boss.  I’m not saying to be a suck-up, which no-one likes anyway, you should see what you can do to make your boss shine.  One thing I found in several work places was the use of people called Subject Matter Experts also called SME’s.  SME’s take something that a manager may be over, learn it to become an expert, then assist the manager with implementation.  These people work on side projects for managers in a department.  Find out if your manager has any open projects, and see if you can apply with your boss for a position.  It often doesn’t pay a dime more for the position itself, but your boss tends to lighten your workload in other areas, so that you can work on their pet project.  Let your boss share the praise for the work that you’ve done.  It helps your boss on what they deem important, and when they execute a project well and in the allotted time frame, it lets your boss shine to his boss.  It is also something great to bring up to your boss around review time.

 

8.  Ask a stellar co-worker how to shine.  It’s simple enough, finding someone who is great who can mentor you can be mutually beneficial.  Not only do you learn in’s and out’s to your company, the mentor also has something to report to his boss to show how he shines throughout the year.

 

9. Show that you are not being paid enough, compared to coworkers.  You need to demonstrate you are not paid enough compared to your coworkers to show you really need a raise.  While you may be making the same wage, your stellar performance should nudge you further.  You may even include an income report from Salary.com for people in your field with your skill-set and years of experience.

 

10.  Dress sharp.  After everything that has been mentioned, you have to dress sharp to make your high performance believable.  See what some of the nicer dressed co-workers are dressed in, and look at your company dress code before going out and buying new clothes.  If you dress well, you will typically be looked upon better, and will make people think that you are more of a producer than someone who doesn’t dress well.  If you are are one of those who think “I don’t care what people think about my wardrobe”, than your actions also indicate that you don’t care about what people think about your performance either, as well as your raise.  They go hand and hand, and you simply cannot divide the two. 

 

11.  Market it all, the presentation.  Now that your a great worker who’s documented all of his work, received honorable mentions, helped your boss, and showed your not paid enough, you need to package all of this up to present your boss.  The trick here is to warm up your boss to the idea that you’re an exceptional worker first, before you ask for a raise.  If your boss has monthly reviews with you to “see how things are going”, have a folder ready to go with all of your accomplishments that you’ve achieved since your last meeting.  Be casual about it, don’t act overly excited about the presentation.  Here is also a good chance to find out where you are needed in your department, regarding projects that your boss may want to give.  Month after month, give several of these informal presentations to your boss, and notice how your boss’ attitude may have changed toward you between meetings.  Finally, set an appointment with your boss a week away to talk about a raise.  Before the meeting day, give your boss the information that you’ve gathered regarding accomplishments.  Plan your words ahead of time, then march in for your meeting. 

 

11.  Have a backup plan ready if your boss counter offers low, or says “no”.  What happens really depends on what you want to accomplish.  Do you give up and head back to work?  Do you start applying for another job, inside the company or out?  Do you make plans to ask again at a later date?  Do you make your own counter offer?

 

Whatever you do, at least ask your boss so you have a reason for not getting the raise.   Find out exactly why you didn’t get a raise, and ask your boss if you accomplish the changes suggested, if a raise would go back on the table.  If you find the whole situation at an impasse and that you will look for another job, consider getting a reference from you manager before you start sending off your resume.  After all, you have shown yourself to be a stellar employee.

 

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Finding Cheaper Transportation

I got to thinking lately how everyone lately is talking about saving money by clipping coupons, but no one seems to be talking about longer term, larger expenses as much, such as transportation.  According to HUD, 60% of household income is spent on housing and transportation.  Considering that transportation is the second highest bill in a household, it’s worth seeing if a viable, cheaper alternative is available.

 

How to reduce transportation costs.  I’ve considered several types of methods for a person to get around.  I’ve included a hybred car, manual transmission car, automatic transmission car, motorcycle, and public bus.  All the cars listed are Honda Civics for simplicity.  It is comparing apples to apples.

 

What I’ve found.  Here is the quick rundown on lifetime costs of transportation, including purchase price, assuming all vehicles can drive 200,000 miles during its life, during a period of 10 years.

 

Honda Civic Hybred:                                         $42,473.53

Honda Civic DX (manual transmission):         $42,171.67

Honda Civic DX (automatic transmission):    $42,534.51

Honda CRF203L Motorcycle:                          $13,601.15

Monthly Bus Passes, 10 years:                          $9,360.00

 

How I made my calculations.  In order to calculate these numbers, I made the following adjustments and assumptions:

    1.  Personal property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and interest payments are not included for vehicle costs.  These were too widely variable to add.  Personal property tax is typically added by your local government, if your local government has personal property tax for vehicles at all.  Vehicle insurance swings wildly depending on your marital status, age, driving record, state you live in, and credit score.  Finally, maintenance can also very wildly between 2 cars of the same make and same usage.  Several figures I came across claim a car costs about $2,000 a year in repairs, a figure I consider too high.  Again, interest payments are too unwieldy, since your debt load, credit score, and special offers on vehicles determine how much you pay in interest.

     2.  I figured gas price averages $4 a gallon for the 10 year period.  While gas is currently less than $2.50 nation wide, the average would be $4 by the time 10 years has rolled by.

     3.  It assumes you completely replace one mode of transportation with another.  Replacing a 2nd car with a bus pass, for example.

   

Who really benefits from this information.  Pretty much, anyone who is single, or anyone married who is thinking about doing away with a 2nd vehicle.  Married couples will need at least one car to help their household function, such as getting groceries or moving a family about.

 

Want to try your own figures?  I’ve made a Vehicle Comparison Excel Spreadsheet that you can download and use your own figures to calculate transportation expenses. 

Don’t Count On Social Security To Be Enough For Retirement

I know a lot of people are expecting to be a large part of their retirement.  While Social Security can be the difference between living an OK retirement and living a good retirement, there are many things to consider before you finally walk away from work for the last time.  By looking at your Social Security benefits and understanding a few things, you can better prepare for retirement.

 

Case study:  Me.  Using numbers from the Social Security Benefits Calculator, it figures that by the time I reach 67 years old, my benefits should be $1,434.  I am currently 39 years old, with 28 years to go. 

 

1.  The estimator does not adjust for inflation.  The estimator in this case shows my benefits to be $1,434 in 28 years.  If we figure inflation at 3% for that time, the “real” benefit I will receive only amounts to $645 at today’s prices.

 

2.  The estimator does not add Medicare premiums, or anything else that can be deducted from your benefits.  Just like your paycheck, this is your gross amount, you will still have money deducted from it.

 

3.  The estimator makes the assumption that Social Security is static, that the program will always be in place, and that benefits would never be reduced.  We all know that Social Security is  in bad shape.  While this is suppose to be my benefit, there is no guarantee that I will ever collect a dime.

 

4.  Don’t expect having your house paid off to help a great deal.  Don’t get me wrong, owning a home is a great way of keeping expenses down in the future.  The fact of the matter is, while your actual mortgage will always be the same in a fixed loan, your taxes and insurance will continue to go up.  It is not all that uncommon that at the end of paying off a 30 year note, that the taxes and insurance by themselves will be as much as taxes, insurance, and mortgage payments were at the beginning of the mortgage.

 

5.  You have to consider insurance premium increases.  It’s simple enough, older people have more health issues, and will see the hospital more often.  Even healthier seniors will see an increase in doctor visits compared to their youth.  Seniors will have more out-of-pocket expenses as well.

 

What to do.  While it may be a little gut-wrenching to see the figures, you can do things to protect yourself for retirement.

 

1.  Start working on your IRA.  Anything that you can add to an IRA will help.  There are many books, and specialists that can help you set up a plan for retirement.

 

2.  Pay off debt.  Trying to retire and pay off debt is a two-edged sword.  Having a higher debt and lower income is not a way for anyone to finish living out their life.  Pay off debts, even if it means working beyond retirement age, so you can enjoy retirement.

 

3.  Buy (and pay off) your house.  While I mentioned earlier that insurance and taxes go up significantly throughout the time you are paying off your house, they do not increase nearly as much as rent.  I know a couple in which after 30 years, their taxes and insurance matched their original tax, insurance, and mortgage payment.  Today, they live in a house that costs them about $219 a month, compared to $750 if they were “just” renting it.  They also continue to benefit, as no one has the ability to raise their rent over time. 

 

4.  Test to see if you can live off of your retirement.  A few years before you actually retire, contact Social Security, and see what your actual retirement benefits will be, including all of the premiums that you will have to pay out of it.  After you get this information, try to live off of that budget the last few years that you are still working.  If you find that it’s impossible to live without a job, contact your Social Security office to see the benefits of not retiring for a few extra years, or what kind of options there are to both receive Social Security and work a part-time job.  You can earn a certain amount from work without getting a penalty, but it is best to contact Social Security directly, as these amounts will change.

 

The best thing that you can do if you are young and making future plans for retirement, is to not count Social Security in your calculations at all.  Learn to budget, and learn how to invest and spend your money well.  If by some chance, you do eventually retire and do get income from Social Security, I have no doubt that you can find something to make your retirement a little more fun. 

Spending Dollars To Save Pennies

I’m becoming concerned about one of the theories that several of my fellow blogger’s have regarding using credit cards for bonus points.  A lot of the suggestions that I read seem idealistic, spending the same amount of money as before, and also getting bonus points, as long as you always just pay off your credit card at the end of the month.  While this looks great on paper, rarely does this implement well in life.  There are several areas that people don’t consider, were using credit cards for bonus points fail:

 

You spend more.  Anyone who always uses a credit card for their spending typically will spend more than anyone who uses debit cards or straight cash.  As sited by DebtGoal.com,

 

1.  A Dunn & Bradstreet study found that people spend 12%-18% more when using credit cards than when using cash.

 

2.  McDonalds found that the average transaction rose form $4.50 to $7.00 when customers use plastic instead of cash.

 

Using credit cards to many people psychologically doesn’t really feel like spending money.  What makes it worse is that at the end of the month, a bad purchase will only cost a purchaser just a few dollars.  Of course, the credit card company earns interest, and will try to stretch the minimum payment out for years and cost you more in the end.

 

Cash back bonus’ are really just a shell game.  The cash back bonus can really work out great, if you pay off your credit card every month, and don’t use it at all every other month.  Most people however are not willing to put that much effort into making the cash back feature work for them.  Credit cards also will use different rates for different types of use.  You may have a credit card that has 12% interest on purchases, but 23% on cash advances.  Furthermore, you will typically find in the fine print that cash advances are NOT purchases, therefore they do not qualify for a cash back bonus.  The credit card companies pay statisticians to figure out how to maximize their profits with these schemes.  Betting against the credit card companies is comparable to gambling against the house.  Before you start you are  already statistically against the odds.

 

Balancing your checkbook becomes a nightmare.  You can’t really figure out your budget if you are always charging and making payments on a credit card.  By the time you are ready to balance your checkbook, your credit card is already two weeks into the new cycle.  If you compound that problem with several more credit cards, all in which you use and “pay off” every month, your bank statement will never really tell you how good your finances are.

 

The simple solution.  The only way to really beat credit cards at the game is to pay off credit card debt.  Even if all you can do is stop creating debt, and make at least the minimum payments each month, you can start taking control of your finances.  You will start receiving your credit card statements that will have the final debt, and you will be able to finally budget a way to pay them off. 

Buying An Air Conditioner

A few years ago, I found that I had to take a crash course in air conditioning.  My wife and I had just recently married, and we moved into married housing on campus, which did not have AC.   What I found to cool off our tiny 600 sq. ft. apartment actually customizes very well to any type of air conditioning application that a person would need.  The trick is to learn the few steps yourself, then customize this information to your needs for the most effective results.

 

The crash course.

 

1.  You have to measure the area to be cooled by square feet.  Multiply width x depth to get square feet.  A 12′ x 14′ room for example measures 168 square feet.

 

2.  Air conditioners use British Thermal Units (BTU’s) as a measure to cool off a room.  Generally a 1 square foot area requires 20 BTU’s to cool.  You will almost always see very large numbers associated with BTU’s.

 

3.  One ton of air requires 12,000 BTU’s to cool.  One ton would be required to cool a 600 sq. ft. area.

 

4.  Running a AC unit that uses 240 volts is almost always cheaper than running a 120 volt unit.  I would like to emphasize 99% of the time, it will be significantly cheaper to run a 240 volt unit over a 120 volt unit, but there are always unusual circumstances that prove otherwise.

 

5.  Getting a unit too large is a very bad idea.  If you think that you can just bypass this information and get a really large unit, it just won’t work.  Air conditioners are designed to chill the air as well as remove the humidity in an area.  Get one too big, it will cool the area very quickly, then turn off before it has a chance to remove all of the humidity.  Get an air conditioner that’s too small, it will run non-stop, and it will not cool down the area.

 

Types of air conditioners, and considerations before buying.

 

1.  Central air conditioners.  In most cases, you would simply hire a contractor to install this unit.  There are several advantages to central air conditioners over window air conditioners.

      A.  Central air is the easiest to use.  As the weather gets warmer, you just clean out the filters and flip a switch.

      B.  Central air is most desirable to home buyers.  Many buyers see homes without central air as sub-par.

      C.  Central air is the quietest to use. 

      D.  Central air allows for central control.  You can set the entire house for a particular temperature at one location.  You also set a timer on a digital thermostat that allows automatic adjustments throughout the day.

 

2.  Window air conditioners.  There are several advantages and disadvantages in using a large window air conditioner over a small air conditioner.  The East Coast is particularly dependent on window units to cool off entire buildings, since the buildings are much older than the rest of the country.  It is very expensive to add duct work and central air to a preexisting, radiator heated building.

 

     A.  Large window units – Generally less expensive

          a.  Fewer units typically are required to do the same job, so the initial costs tend to be lower.

          b.  Come in both 120 volt and 240 volt models.  (240 volt models are cheaper to run)

          c.  Larger units tend to be cheaper to dispose of after they die.  Many municipalities charge the same amount per unit to dispose, no matter what the size may be.  The fewer air conditioners you have, the fewer you have to pay for a disposal fee down the road.

 

     B.  Small window units – Generally more convenient 

          a.  Easier to install and remove from a window during the year because of its small physical shape.

          b.  Typically requires only one person to install.  Larger units can easily weigh over 100 pounds.

          c.  Houses that have older wiring can lighten the load on a particular circuit by dividing the work to several smaller air conditioners over several circuits.

          d.  Distributing a number of smaller AC units throughout a house cools more effectively than a few large units that give a house hot and cold spots.

          e.  Allows you to close specific rooms and turn on and off air conditioners as needed, potentially saving money.

 

At this point, you should have enough general information to start your search for a new air conditioner.  If you are considering buying a cheap used unit, keep in mind that if it is not going to last for very long that you are setting yourself up to pay disposal fees sooner than later, and that older AC units in general cost more to run. 

Steps For Detecting Investment Fraud

Since the economy has taken a tumble, I’ve noticed  that there is a new wave of fraud that investors need to avoid.  Whether it’s work from home gimmicks, or get rich quick schemes, there are a lot of scammers out there that are desperate for your money.  I have listed below some things to consider before you get involved in an investment.

 

Some of the tactics used by fraudsters:

 

1.  Focusing on your dreams of a luxury life, instead of focusing on the investment.  All the focus will be on the money you make rather than the investment itself.

 

2.  The investment is limited to only a very special group of investors.  No legitimate company places limits on who can invest in it, they would be deliberately limiting their own growth.  It’s just a gimmick that you are in on a very special deal.  Your “limit” will often give you a special opportunity to include your family and friends.

 

3.  Your investment opportunity is offered for a very short period of time.  The trick is to make you rush before you have a chance to think it through.

 

4.  Your investment requires money from you up front for vague fees.  The investment may be nothing more than collecting up front fees from you and then running.

 

5.  They try to pressure you with “hard close” tactics.  Any salesperson, both good and bad, will try to close a deal, but in this case it’s overly aggressive.  A salesman telling you “I guess your in” and grabbing your hand from you and shaking it to “seal the deal” before you have a chance to respond would be an example.  (I actually had someone try this hand shake tactic with me).   Also getting back to you in very short periods of time, like meeting with you late at night, and telling you that they’ll call back the next morning to see if your interested.

 

6.  Any other attempts to confuse, be vague, and avoiding answering questions.  Any indications of lying or deceitfulness is a reason to not invest.

 

Places to research to avoid scams

 

1.  Look into their balance sheet.  You have the right to look at the balance sheet if you are a potential investor.  You should get information on the value of the company, its profits, assets it owns, and its debt load.  If they keep putting you off or tell you “no”, then walk away.

 

2.  Follow the money trail.  See how your investment is used to help the company, and how the customer is suppose to interact, and how the customer benefits.  Check to see if the business model makes sense. See how in the end you will get your payback for your investment.

 

3.  Check ALL of the costs involved.  Make sure that there are no hidden fees that can devalue your investment.

 

4.  Check out all of the liabilities involved in the investment, and how they can be limited.  Some investments will only take the money you’ve invested, while other investment may expose you to lawsuits, potentially losing everything you own. 

Resolving Technical Issues – Will Be Back Tomorrow

SpiffyLinks.com, the site for this feed, has had a catastrophic server failure.

Currently, a new replacement server is being built and configured.  If everything goes right, the site should be up and running with new articles by tomorrow morning.

I’m sorry for the inconvenience.  I do  want to thank you for following my site as this issue is getting resolved.

Sincerely,

David Nofsinger

Your Financial Mission Statement

I’ve never seen anyone any success without first mapping out a course of action.  First they find a target, such as getting into a successful career in “X”.  Once they decide on a career, then they plan on how to get there, such as the college they need to go to, and break it down further, such as how to finance pursuing that career.  Once people graduate and settle down, it seems that the idea of formally planning in your life falls apart.  Having a financial mission statement can help you continue on a path in your life to achieve bigger goals, and maximize your happiness in life.

 

Your mission statement, and your financial mission statement.  Its no surprise to see that your mission statement and your financial mission statement are almost identical with each other.  You want to maximize happiness, by achieving goals.

 

Laying the foundation for your financial mission statement.  In order to lay down your financial mission statement, Questions to ponder when deciding your mission statement.

 

1.  General life questions:

     What do I want to accomplish in my life; what are my priorities?

     Who, and what are important in my life?

     Do I regret the life that I’ve had so far?  How should I change it?

 

2.  Specifics:

     How does my career fit into my life?

     Do I want to have a spouse?  Do I want to start a family?

     How do my wife and kids fit in?

     Do I want to donate to charities?

     How do people look at me?  Do I care?  Should I care?

 

3.  Actionable items to pursue your finance goals

     Career:  Should I go back to school for more training?  Brush up my resume?  Ask peers and supervisors on how to get better?

     Personal finance:  Who is the “chief financial officer” of our family?  What does that job entail?  Should we have monthly meetings on how to run the budget?  What do we want as far as the “big goals” in our lives?  What about our 401k, and our retirement?

     Personal life:  What do I want to do in my life that would make me happy?  Get involved in a hobby?  Get involved in a social club?  Ride motorcycles with my friends?  Go to church?

 

What your mission statement might look like.  Here are a couple examples of mission statements that one may decide on.

 

I want to to raise a family with good moral values.  I want them to learn that money isn’t everything, that it has it’s good and bad sides.  I also want to instill a sense of helping and giving to charity is how we should live our lives.

 

or

 

I want to pursue a well paid career as an insurance agent.  I want my family to enjoy life, including going on vacations, and not have to sweat the little things.  I want my kids to know that college will be paid for when they are old enough to go.

 

A mission statement should help you reach personal fulfillment.  I remember a few years back as a single guy, doing nothing but working overtime and fixing up on my house.  That was all I did for several years.  A co-worker one day asked me if I had a million dollars, and could only spend it on fun things, what would I do.  I responded “I would….uh….uh”.  I always thought if I had a million dollars, I would pay off my house and put money away in investments.  What would I do for fun?  I  struggled to come up with anything to do for fun.  I had trained myself to be a worker bee so completely that I didn’t notice that time was slipping by in my life.  It wasn’t all that long before I cut out my overtime, and started a more active dating life, and found my wife. 

 

However you choose to write your mission statement is of course up to you.  Just remember to set a time to revisit your mission statement, to keep yourself on track with your life’s goals, and to also change your mission statement as you need. 

Predatory Marketing

I’ve come across several times recently in which a family member or I had been a target of what I would call predatory marketing.  Predatory, meaning to be deceitful or aggressive, so that they can sell you their goods.  Such direct attacks are really direct attacks on your personal finances.  Someone who wouldn’t have been a consumer otherwise may be swayed in buying something they don’t need or want, or could even have their credit dinged.   

 

Several predatory marketing examples:

 

I was running through an airport, running close for my flight and when I passed by a guy in a pilot uniform, who started shouting “Sir, wait, wait!”  I stopped and turned to him only to find that he was offering to sign me up for a credit card with sky miles.

 

My mom had a guy knock on the door to sell her something, to which she turned down.  As she was closing the door, he literally stuck his foot in the doorway to prevent her from closing it. 

 

My sister-in-law having a college kid knock on the door selling vacuum cleaners.  When she said she wasn’t interested, the kid said if he could just show his manager that he made it into the house, he would meet his quota for the day, and she didn’t have to buy the vacuum cleaner.  (yes, very naive, I know)  She let him in, the kid called his manager, then when he arrived they both tag-teamed trying to get her to buy a vacuum cleaner.

 

Considerations.  It does look like that some companies are coming up with some fairly ugly ways to get you to part with your money.  There are several things that you should consider when you get approached by an unscrupulous salesperson:

 

1.  Don’t reward marketers for being deceitful.  If you were thinking about getting a credit card anyway, don’t reward the credit card marketer who snuck up on you in a pilot uniform, pretending to be something that they are not.  If they are resorting to being shifty to sell the product, it’s likely the product has it’s own problems anyway.  You are much more likely to do better by spending some time looking for your own good deal.

 

2.  Don’t be intimidated.  If someone is in your face trying to sell you something, politely tell them “no” and move on.  If they are preventing you from moving on, tell them that you’ve already made up your mind, any more aggression from them is only going to draw them into an argument.  Keep in mind that while they may have sold their soul in selling the product, if they find very quickly that you won’t add to their bottom line, they will look elsewhere to make their money.

 

3.  Keep up with family and friends on this issue.  Unfortunately, the elderly are often targeted by this kind of marketing.  Talk to them about phone calls and e-mails that are scams, phishing for information that they shouldn’t give out.  Have their phone number added to the Do Not Call Registry.  You may even look into no soliciting signs for their front door, to keep salespeople to a minimum.

 

Now I realize that marketing in most cases is a very good thing.  Legitimate companies can use it to highlight their products, provide stability to their companies, and gives other companies a source of income running ads.  In the end people need to make sure that they are buying a product for the right reasons, and not because they were somehow tricked.