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Fight against credit card rate hikes
by Gerri Willis, CNN finance editor
As expected, credit card issuers are raising fees and rates just before legislative restrictions take place next February. But you don't have to be vulnerable. Here are some alternatives to bank credit cards.
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Cutting Grocery Costs without Cutting Nutrition
Simple, healthy, and affordable ways to weather the rising price of food
by Karen Collins, R.D., American Institute of Cancer Research
Grocery prices are projected to increase again in 2008 – that’s following 2007’s highest annual increase in 17 years. But surviving these tough economic times doesn’t have to mean sacrificing good nutrition. Some simple strategies can help you cut food costs and eat more healthfully, too.
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83 Percent of Recruiters Look for Digital Dirt
4 Ways to Clean Up Digital Dirt
by Selena Dehne, JIST Publishing
Job seekers, beware! That MySpace photo of you doing a keg stand may get a few chuckles from friends, but it's no laughing matter in the job market.
Employers are increasingly scouring the Internet for "digital dirt" to help them weed through job candidates. In fact, 83.2 percent of recruiters acknowledged to using online search engines in 2007 to uncover information about candidates, according to ExecuNet, an online referral network for executives and recruiters. Of these recruiters, 43 percent acknowledged eliminating candidates based on the negative information they found.
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CDI College of Business, Technology and Health Care
Top 10 Online Job Search Tips
by CareerBuilder.com
While the popularity of online job boards puts millions of jobs at one's fingertips, it has also made the job applicant pool that much bigger. For this reason, national job search sites and the Internet as a whole have gotten a bad rap from some industry professionals as an ineffective job seeker tool; on the contrary, the Internet actually can be a great resource for job seekers -- they just need to know how to use it.
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by Nancy Ahlrichs Raichart
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No one escapes receiving feedback today--not the teacher, hospital administrator, attorney, elected official, consultant, or you: the businesswoman. Your internal and external customers demand accountability from you and anyone else with whom they spend time or money. Everyone is a consumer who expects a degree of satisfaction whenever they interact with you. You expect no less when you are the service or product consumer.
Conversely, each of us needs feedback to feel appreciated--and to correct whatever subtleties stand in the way of receiving that appreciation. Honest feedback is a reward valued by even the highest paid individual.
The best feedback is mutual, even if the timing is not concurrent. Strong work relationships and trust are built when feedback can be given, discussed, and taken to heart on the part of both people. Whether you are a manager, team member, or sales rep giving feedback to and receiving feedback from employees, peers, or customers, the ideal outcome of is a stronger relationship, improved work skills and lower stress levels.
While the performance review has historically been the setting for managers to give mostly one-way feedback, the use of 360-degree assessment tools enables gathering multiple sources of performance data rather than relying on one person's perspective. Relevant peers, employees or customers may contribute their experiences in an effort to further refine both the individual's performance and skills development.
Weekly feedback, however, most effectively reinforces desired behaviors so that they are repeated appropriately, and it provides a timely course correction for behaviors that should be modified. Feedback is a key ingredient in employee loyalty and motivation. Here are seven tips for giving feedback more effectively:
1. Praise in public and reprimand in private.
2. Offer positive feedback whenever possible, but provide negative feedback, if necessary.
3. Be specific.
4. Offer constructive suggestions.
5. Watch your--and their--body language. Meet eye rolling or other negative nonverbal behaviors by saying, "Is there something I am saying that bothers you?"
6. Skip the small stuff.If the employee's behavior is not negatively affecting operations, service, quality or customer relations, let it go.
7. Accent the positive. Catch someone doing something right-and they are more likely to repeat the behavior appropriately in the future.
Receiving feedback is more of an art than a science. Prepare yourself prior to receiving feedback so that the interaction strengthens-not weakens--your relationship.
• 1. Focus and listen. Do not accept phone calls, send emails, allow interruptions or otherwise multi-task.
• 2. Ask the individual to prioritize and clarify if they are giving you multi-part feedback.
• 3. Ask what specific actions or behaviors would be appropriate or preferred.
• 4. Set a reasonable deadline for response. Digest the input before deciding your next course of action.
• 5. Be prepared to act by the deadline. If you cannot act on the feedback, explain why and provide an alternative.
Nancy Ahlrichs Raichart speaks at WLE conferences around the U.S.
Her two books, Manager of Choice: 5 Competencies for Cultivating Top Talent, and Competing for Talent: Key Recruitment and Retention Strategies for Becoming an Employer of Choice, may be found in large bookstores and on www.amazon.com.
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9 Cash-Saving Tips That Pay Big Bucks
complaintsboard.com
The expression "a penny saved is a penny earned" doesn't cut it these days. But saving a few dollars here and there can add up...
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more...
Try out these Thanksgiving recipes from tasteofhome
You May Have Too Much Debt But You Also Have Options
How Life Works
If you feel like you're in over your head with personal debt, you're not alone. Millions of Americans have become overextended, many as a result of easy credit and the recessions. Credit cards, medical bills, personal loans and raising interest rates do not make a good financial mix.
read more...
Suze Orman's Recession Rescue Plan - helps you survive in times of financial crisis
OPRAH.com
Do you know what your family would do if you lost your job - or worse, your home? Financial expert Suze Orman is ready to help you
devise a recession rescue plan to survive - and possibly thrive - during this deepening financial crisis...
read more...
Could fat babies mean fat toddlers?
A new study from Harvard Medical School found that babies who gained weight quickly had a sharply higher risk of obesity. The study
followed close to 600 babies and found those in the top quarter of weight for their length at 6 months had a 40 percent higher risk of
obesity by age 3 than smaller babies.
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more...
The 10-Ingredient Shopping Trip
By Tara Parker-Pope and Mark Bittman
... In his latest “How to Cook Everything” segment on the Today Show, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman makes it
surprisingly easy to cook a week’s worth of dinners with just a 10-ingredient shopping trip.
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more...
Finding last-minute tuition money
There's still time to find funds for this semester's college tuition. But you'll have to move quickly.
By Gerri Willis
It's only a couple of weeks or even days until school begins. And if you don't think you'll be able to get a handle on your college
tuition bill, here with your guide to last minute money.
read more...
Short-term Payday Loans
econ4u.org
...Which are more expensive, late fees or short-term loans?...
A short-term payday loan can be a better option than overdraft fees, reconnect fees, late payment fees or a damaged credit rating when
the loan is repaid promptly. However, these loans are not suited for longer repayment periods...
Being realistic about budgeting can help avoid the need for short-term borrowing.
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Your Just-in-Case Emergency Plan
by RealSimple
Who do you call if you can't make it home in time to meet the kids' bus? Who do
you trust to take in your mail when you're on vacation? Who do you trust with
the extra set of keys to your house?
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more...
How to save $10,000 in 2009
By Liz Pulliam Weston
If you were hoping for a list of small tweaks you could make in your spending to save $10,000 a year, sorry. The reality is that
$10,000 is a lot of money. And saving big money usually means making big changes in the areas where we spend the most, such as:
Housing, Transportation, Food.
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more...
The Super, Sexy, Single Mom on a Budget
by Renee Rayles
A quick reference guide designed for the busy, single mom who has
little time to read while running the mom taxi, cooking dinner, helping with homework, and trying to fit in a date night every now and
then.
32 and Counting? Finding Your Happily Ever After Today
by Gi Gi
The author talks about the struggles a single mom goes through and the discovery that you can have HEAT (Happily Ever After Today) just
as you are, being single, taking care of your kids...
read more...
Single Mothers &
Male Role-Models / Mentors
Single mothers carry an enormous load of responsibility, especially those having sole and/or primary custody of minor children. They
nourish, they nurture, they teach, they discipline, they shelter, they protect, and they provide… all without the assistance of another
equally-invested adult.
read more...
Your 5-minute guide to protecting your identity
20 steps to protect yourself from identity theft, and seven ways to clean up things if you become a victim.
read more...
TheOnlineMom.com offers parents and consumers a guide to the top-rated, age-appropriate, kid-tested and parent-approved tech toys and gifts.
read more...
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
by Jeff Kinney
For those wondering why tween boys don’t read very much, the answer is that more books aren’t like this...
read more...
34 Ways to Reduce College Costs
Cooperative education programs allow students to alternate between working full time and studying full time. This type of employment program is not based upon financial need, and students can earn as much as $7,000 per year.
Some colleges give credit for life experiences, thereby reducing the number of credits needed for graduation. Students should check with the college for further information.
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8 Ways to Survive - and Thrive - in a New Job
by Robert Half International
... The initial months on a job can be exciting, but they also are critical to shaping your manager's and co-workers' opinions about your potential in the new role, as well as laying the groundwork for success within the organization...
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Answer Key Interview Questions Like a Pro
by Robin Ryan, Author of "60 Seconds and You're Hired"
"We would like you to come in for an interview" are the wonderful words every job hunter longs to hear. All that stands in the way of your new job is acing the interview and handling the questions like a pro. Long, babbling answers or monosyllabic replies aren't effective.
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Factors to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer
by Robert Half International
Searching for a job is hard work. Scanning help-wanted listings, researching companies, sending out customized cover letters and résumés and attending interviews can be tiring and time-consuming. If you're like most job seekers, you're excited -- or at least relieved -- when your efforts result in an employment offer.
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How to Identify Your Transferable Skills
by Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer
This "finding a career" thing is tricky business.
You go to college and major in one thing -- but find yourself in a job opposite from what you spent four years studying. Or, you land a job that's exactly in line with your college major -- but discover it's not what you had in mind.
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The Directory of Financial Aid for Women
by Gail A. Schlachter
ISBN 1588411672, 560 pages
If you are looking for financial aid for women, or know women who are, then this
is the directory for you. Here, in one place, are detailed descriptions of more
than 1,500 funding programs--representing billions of dollars in financial aid
set aside specifically for women.
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Four Ways to Get Hired Faster
by Mark Krajnik, CEO, Next Level Solutions
The difference between being proactive and reactive is time. Reactive people wait for things to happen to them, while proactive people go out and make things happen. Timing is key in any career move, so it is up to you to make things happen.
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