by Guest Author Eliza Morgan
For many of us, when we think about credit cards, images of extraneous bills and worries over credit card debt flood our consciousness. No doubt, debt is a
worrisome thing and poor credit use can heighten one’s cause for worry. But, if you’re educated about credit use and about the cards available to you, the right credit card can actually be a useful option for the right situations and individuals. Credit should be used as a tool for creating more successful financial choices rather than a last resort for items you might not be able to afford at that time. Before springing for the next best credit card available to you, educate yourself on some of the basics of smart credit use and learn more about your various options. Educated money decisions are the first steps towards smart personal finances.
The Basics
Spending and saving wisely are the two fundamental staples of smart personal finance advice. Of course, we all know that it’s imperative to spend wisely and save wisely. But what exactly does that mean? Telling someone to spend/save wisely is kind of a meaningless blanket statement. Sure, we’d all like to be “wise” with our money habits, but many of us might not actually know how to do that. Follow these very basic tips for wise credit use:
Watch Your Accounts
The best way to defend yourself against scary credit issues is to educate yourself on your credit use. Pay attention to your accounts and get a feel for your habits. Staying on top of your finances is a top priority. Pay close attention to rate changes, bill due dates, how high your balance gets, and look for any potentially fraudulent activity. Online banking has made tracking your spending and credit card use much simpler today. Check your online statement regularly. Keep your balance low and know when changes are being made.
Understand Transfers
Credit transfers have been a popular choice among credit users who want to lower their rates or take advantage of reward offers. While this can be enticing,
transferring balances on a credit card can be an unwise choice. In some cases, credit transfers can reflect poorly on your credit standing. Consider your current balance and the credit limit on the new card. If you make a credit transfer and instantly use up all the available credit on your new card with your old card’s balance, your credit score can suffer. There are also often fees involved with credit transfers. Keep in mind that getting a lower interest rate is not typically worth lowering your credit score. Examine your options and educate yourself on potential outcomes.
Only Apply for Credit You Need
This may sound simple, but it’s an important notion to keep in mind as a credit user. Don’t apply for credit cards that you don’t actually need. Having too many credit cards to your name can actually reflect badly on your credit score. Pick the one or two cards that are the best options for you and your financial situation and stick to those. While rewards programs and store credit cards can be tempting, they aren’t useful or helpful if you’re not actually going to use them consistently. Be selective about your credit choices.
Credit Card Types
There are several different types of credit cards that can be useful to different individuals. Before you run out and grab the first card offer you see, examine your choices.
Rewards Cards
There are several different types of credit cards that offer various reward options. Before opening a credit card, take a careful look at your spending habits. If most of your money is spent on groceries or gas, look for a reward card that rewards you for spending at those places. If you travel a lot for work or whatever else, a travel rewards card might be an excellent choice for you. Think about the areas of your spending that can benefit from a rewards program. With so many card options out there, you’re bound to find one card that can help with an area of your finances.
Business Card
Business credit cards can be a very smart option for small business owners. These cards have special options and rewards for business related spending. Many business credit cards will give a certain percentage of “cash back” for office supply purchases, gas charges, business travel, and other business expenses. These types of cards can be very wise options for small business owners.
Store Credit Cards
Specific store credit cards are another popular credit option. If you recognize that you do a large amount of your spending at one specific store, a store credit card can be a smart choice. You should evaluate the card perks very carefully to be sure that they will truly benefit you. Store cards can only be used at that specific store or branch of stores, so make sure that you will have enough use for a credit card with such a limited range.
Eliza Morgan is a full time writer and blogger for businesscreditcards.com. Eliza enjoys writing about all things business and finance related. When taking a break from the pen, Eliza likes to explore new city parks and dream about travelling the world. You can contact her at elizamorgan85@gmail.com.
Now that you are ready or have your resume outlined (see last week’s post if you missed it), we need to talk about actually choosing a job. Perhaps you are looking for a job in the same field you have worked in forever. Or maybe you are fresh out of college and looking for a job in the field of your major (or not!). Or you could be thinking that it is time for a fresh start in a new area.
So how do you decide and where do you look? What’s the first step?
The first thing is to come up with some things that interest you. Maybe you want to work with animals. Do you want to work with little animals like dogs and cats or big ones of the horse variety or even elephants? Or is your line of expertise more along the lines of sitting at a computer? Then you must decide whether your talents lie in IT-type work or clerical and administrative tasks. Make a list of the kinds of things you would like to do during your typical work day.
Remember, when you do find your job you will be doing the tasks of that job day in and day out. Make sure it is something you can enjoy.
The next step is to talk to some people in that field. Is your friend Bob who owns an insurance agency open to talking about how he got involved with the company and what he likes or dislikes about it? Give him a call. Take him out for coffee and pick his brain. Ask the tough questions to really get a feel for the job and see if it is something you might like or be good at. If you are thinking of becoming a barista, ask about the job the next time you order your latte. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and gather information. You might even consider keeping a journal of your thoughts and ideas as well as the information you have gathered through talking to others.
You can also research the job online. Do you have the qualifications you need for that type of position? Do you maybe need some more schooling or need to take a few classes to get qualified? Where can you get the education you need so that you are ready and able to do the job? Make sure that you know what it is you need to know before you try to jump into the position so that you can be prepared.
Next comes the job hunt. There are so many places to find jobs. How do you choose where to look? It depends on what you are looking for. A good place to start is on the Internet. Sites like CareerBuilder.com, craigslist.org, Monster.com, Indeed.com, and more offer a way to search for jobs in your area (or a potential new location). Just type in the type of job you are interested in and sort through the results to see if there are any you can apply for.
You can also check your local newspaper.There are lists of local jobs that you can look through daily. Get out your highlighter or red pen and make note of those that interest you at first glance.
Search both the Internet and your newspaper to see when there will be job fairs in your area. Going to a job fair is a good way to get out there and talk to actual people about jobs you are interested in applying for, rather than just sending in a resume.
Speaking of talking in person, next week we will cover the interview process. So get that resume all put together and polished, get ready to apply for some jobs that interest you, and we’ll teach you some ways to land that job when you go in for your interview.
The last several years have been very tough for many people in regards to employment. I would know – I was working in the mortgage industry when the 2008 Mortgage Crisis hit. And I was 8 months pregnant when the owners decided to close the business doors. What I learned during that time and as I sat at iMoneyCoach in some borrowed dress shoes that actually fit my swollen feet and felt the baby kicking was that no job is secure, and that when you have to get out there and make money to support your family, you just have to go out there and keep on trying.
I know that some of you may have been trying for a long time to get a new job with no luck. I am not downplaying or belittling that at all. I hope today to offer some encouragement and advice to help out. We have enough hardship in this world. It would be nice if we could all help each other out, right?
Today we are going to start out by talking about your resume. A resume is an employer’s first look at YOU. Who do you want them to see? First impressions are important, even if they come in the form of a piece of paper (or an electronic file).
Your Resume
- Proofread – I’m not an English major, but I know that having a resume with proper grammar and spelling can save you from being tossed onto the pile of “no way” applications without any consideration of your skills. If you have silly spelling errors and mistakes, unfortunately they won’t be seen as “silly.” It may tell the employer that you do not pay attention to details, and that if you do not take the time to check your resume over, then you might not put the time and effort into the job they want to fill. Read over your resume several times and have some friends check it out too. If you know someone who is a type-A grammar-correcting smartypants, now is the time to ask for a favor.
- Be honest but confident – It can be hard to know what to put in a resume sometimes. First of all, make sure you are honest. Don’t put in degrees or honors or skills that you don’t actually have. Lying is just wrong, and whether you get caught or not, it is never good to start off your relationship with a company with dishonesty. Would you want them to lie to you about what the job is that you are applying for? That said, you should still be confident in your abilities and let them shine. Let’s say you are applying for a Customer Service job and you were honored with an Employee of the Month award for your Customer Service at a previous job. Be sure to include that.
- Customize. With the above information having been said, be sure that you customize your resume for the job or position you are looking for. You may be applying for a variety of types of jobs. But you will not get far if your resume is either too diverse or too specifically tailored to 1 job when you are applying to another type of job. One fairly easy way to customize is to have a mission statement or objective included in your resume. It could say something like “My mission is to serve senior citizens with love and respect, giving them the care they need and desire as they enter into an assisted living or nursing home facility.” Obviously this statement would not apply if you were applying for a gardening position at a local parks and rec district, but it would be perfectly suited for someone applying to work in a senior care facility.
- Make it look nice. You don’t have to be an expert on the computer, but make sure that you make your resume look nice. If you have extra spaces or have some lines indented but others not, it can look odd and make a bad impression. Use fonts that say “sans serif” in their title (or something like Times New Roman or Calibri) because they are easier to read. Fancy hand-written style fonts look just that, fancy, but they can be hard to read. Make it easier for the employer to see who you are and to say “Yes!”
Next week we will talk about how to choose the job that is right for you so that you can get that resume out there!
I am a visual person and like things to have a little bit of personality or create an image to convey their meaning. Whether you are also visual or just want to spice up your work, blog, invitations, whatever, you can use these free tools to do so:
stock.xchange – a GREAT place to find stock photos for your presentations. When you search they show the “fee” photos first, but scroll down to find the free ones. Also, be sure that you do look at the restrictions on the photos you want to use. Some photographers want to be notified when their photo is being used. Be sure to respect them!
MorgueFile – another good place to find free stock photos. A lot of the photos here aren’t as great a quality as what you find at the stock.xchange, but you may still be able to find what you are looking for.
Prezi – Give your presentations movement and life and keep your audience with you when you use Prezi. My husband is a high school history teacher, and he loves to use Prezi to keep students captivated. For those of us who still like PowerPoint and believe that it can actually be made to be exciting, you can import your PowerPoint slides into Prezi for a more rich experience. You can use your photos from the first 2 sites to jazz up your Prezi. Oh, and did I mention it’s FREE?
Post-it Note Generator – it’s FREE! Are you one of those people who loves, loves, loves to use Post-its? I have to write things down. Ever since having 2 kids, I can’t remember anything. But sometimes I feel guilty about using so much paper (I have a lot to write down!). This Post-it Generator lets you make your sticky note online and save the image. It’s also a cute way to send a reminder via email to a family member or spouse.
Visuowords – is sort of an interactive thesaurus that can help you find just the right word. Type in the word you are thinking of and it pops up with a whole diagram of related words, and it tells you if each of those words are a kind of your root word, related to, or the opposite of your word. See a new word you like? Double-click that one and it opens up to more related words. One of my favorite parts is that you can zoom in and out and move the screen around. It’s not completely necessary, but makes it a more interactive program.
I hope these FREE tools help you to increase or improve your creativity! If you have stumbled upon any other favorites, please share them in the comments. I’m always looking for more fun, creative, and FREE tools.
Finding some money you were missing or didn’t even know you had would brighten up the day. It’s always nice to get a little surprise like that. Today iMoneyCoach would like to share with you a few ways to put some money in your wallet:
1. First visit the Missing Money website. Enter your name and location, and it will tell you if there is money out there to be claimed. Perhaps your grandfather created a savings account for you when you were little, and you never knew about it. Or your family had land in another part of the country that could be in your name now.
2. If you are from Colorado, visit the Great Colorado Payback where you can find money specifically located in Colorado, like dividends from an account that was mailed to an old address so it never got to you.
3. When you file for a tax refund, you can use the IRS Where’s My Refund page. Just enter in your information, and they will let you know where your refund is.
4. It’s a good idea to search through your house and purse for unused gift cards. They can be a great way to save a few dollars the next time you go shopping. Too often gift cards with small amounts left on them get tossed aside and never used.
5. Check the sofa and car seats. If all else fails, dig between the cushions to come up with some change. Start putting that change in a jar as a family, and you can save up for a nice treat such as a nice dinner out or day at the movies.
Every little bit counts these days. And if you have money out there that belongs to you, it’s good to go get it!
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