December 2008

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How to Grow Money in your Bank Account

December 30, 2008 in Personal Finance by Jeremy Day | 4 comments

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Vincent @ Hit Your Goals. Enjoy!

Untamed Expenses

The first step to become wealthy is to manage our expenses. Have you noticed that whenever we do not manage our expenses, they tend to rise to our level of income. For example, when we are earning 2000 bucks per month, we have ways to spend it all without saving any of it and even when our income is increased to 20,000 bucks per month, we still have ways to spend it all because we will find the excuses to have a more luxurious lifestyle.

There are people who are broke with a monthly income of 2000 bucks and there are also people who are broke with a monthly income of 20,000 bucks per month. What does that mean? It means that whenever we are not managing our expenses, they tend to grow to our level of income and this is an attribute that you do not want to have if you want to be rich.

Be Frugal

This is the one of the most important traits you need to have if you want to become rich. Whenever we talk about millionaires, we have the mental images of them living in a mansion, driving a fancy car or owning an island.

This is not the truth about millionaires. Research had shown that most millionaire don’t actually live in fairy tales lifestyle that we thought they do. Instead they are frugal. Two of the world’s richest men are known for this attribute.

Ingvar Kamprad and Warren Buffett, the owner of IKEA and one of the best investor in the world respectively, are known for their frugal habits. Ingvar Kamprad still drives an old Volvo and Warren Buffett loves his Cherry Coke instead of the expensive champagne.

7 Tips To Grow Your Bank Account

1. Save 10% of your income – Always make it a habit to save 10% of your income and do not touch it no matter what. Imagine putting 2 eggs into a basket every morning and removing 1 egg at the evening, what will happen to the basket over time? It will eventually overflow! It works the same way for your bank account.

2. Track you expenses – Set up a spread sheet or write down on a note book about what are you spending on and you can review your expenses at the end of the month and note down what are some of the expenses that you can cut down on.

3. Budget – Have a budget for your month. Set how much you will spend on necessities, entertainment, food, and transport. Then stick to it. Having a budget will help you to curb overspending.

4. Eliminate debt - If you have outstanding debt, make sure that you work to eliminate it. The interest that you are paying for your debt makes others rich, not you. You can put the money you are paying for interest into better use instead of letting it slip out of your hand.

5. Lifestyle – Do you have a lifestyle that takes more money out of your pocket then you are putting in? If you are, it is time to have a change of lifestyle. Be more prudent. Borrow library books instead of buying them. Eat out less. These are some ways to help you save your hard earned money.

6. Stop your impulse buy – The salesman are very tactful and I believe that they can even sell ice to Eskimos. So beware of being urged on to buy whatever they are promoting. Have a shopping list and stick to it, so that you will have a lesser tendency to buy on impulse.

7. Invest - We only have 24 hours a day and there is a limit of how much time we can work. By investing, you can make your money work for you without much effort on your side. Learn more about investing and start allocating your money into areas such as equities, fixed deposits, or any investment you are well educated on.

Vincent is the author of Hit Your Goals at HealthMoneySuccess.com. He writes about personal development, finance and health at his blog and be sure to subscribe to his blog over here so that you won’t miss out on his latest articles

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Carnival of Twenty Something Finances

December 29, 2008 in Economics, Personal Finance by Jeremy Day | 8 comments

Welcome to the December 29, 2008 edition of twenty something finances.

Thank you for dropping by and participating! I decided to host this carnival because personal finance has been a hot topic lately. Especially with the way the economy has been performing. Although it’s bad now I do believe it will recover in the next three years. Here we have a lot of great articles that will help you with your finances. Here are my editor’s top picks:

  1. Debt Free Destiny presents New Year’s Resolution: Get Out of Debt For Good posted at Debt Free Destiny.
  2. The Shark Investor presents How To Outgrow The Self-Help Learning Stage posted at The Shark Investor, saying, “If you keep reading and reading and reading, you may be just losing your time”
  3. J. Savings presents New Year’s Resolutions – Did i actually accomplish something? posted at Budgets are Sexy., saying, “For once in my life i followed through w/ my resolutions! All about picking things you’re passionate about i suppose.”

Joe Manausa presents Real Estate Supply And Demand | Tallahassee Real Estate Blog posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, saying, “It really isn’t that hard to tell where the real estate market is heading. All we need to do is take a quick re-examination of Economics 101 and realize that Supply and Demand actually do matter in the real estate market.”

Jeremy Day presents Why YOU are your own best investment advisor posted at Insight Writer, saying, “This highlights the need for you to be educated enough about your own finances to be your own best investment advisor.”

Michael Bass presents Will debt follow you abroad? posted at Debt Prison, saying, “Can you be arrested in the country you’re moving to for the debt you leave behind in the U.S.? Can you be deported back to the U.S. for debt? Are there secrets for making a clean getaway? Apparently these are complex questions and there is little information on the web that provides a complete explanation for leaving debt behind.”

Super Saver presents Mortgage Rates Are Falling posted at My Wealth Builder.

FIRE Getters presents Research – From Junk to Joy ! posted at FIRE Finance.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Best Gas Credit Cards: Get Rewards For Spending on Gas posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “If you are responsible about using your credit card, then why not get rewards for spending on the stuff you spend on anyway? Gas credit cards can help you lower your gas expenses.”

Credit Card Assist presents What College Kids Might Not Know About Credit Cards posted at Credit Card Assist.

Savings Toolbox presents Two Things You need To Know About Online Payday Loans posted at Savings Toolbox.

Insurance Toolbox presents Don’t Buy Life Insurance For Your Children posted at Insurance Toolbox.

Deposit Accounts presents Will Opening a Deposit Account Affect My Credit Score posted at The Money Blog.

Trisha Wagner presents For Best Results: Use When Ready posted at Empowering Mom.

The Smarter Wallet presents Expedia Deals and Travel Discounts For The Frugal Traveler posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Thanks! Great travel discounts for the frugal twenty-something!”

Stephanie Collins presents College Money Tip #3: Bank Better posted at Poorer Than You, saying, “Quick money tip: get a better bank account!”

Britannica Blog presents Credit Cards & the Genius of Marketing | Britannica Blog posted at Britannica Blog, saying, “The flood of credit card offers in the mail has begun to subside. This may be all there is of an upside to the current economic embarrassment, but it’s no small potato. They used to come several times a month.”

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Pros and Cons of Giving Gift Cards This Holiday Season posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “There are pros and cons to giving gift cards.”

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents 5 Ways To Save on Taxes — Before Dec. 31 posted at Military Finance Network, saying, “Tips for saving money on your taxes before year end.”

nickel presents How do Federal Income Tax Brackets Work? posted at fivecentnickel.com.

CreditAddict presents Amex Preferred Rewards Gold Card $100 Signup Bonus posted at CreditAddict.

Aussie Investor presents Watching What Fund Managers Are Buying And Selling posted at Australian Investing, saying, “Watching the professional investors can be a great way to generate new investment ideas. However you will need to use your discretion – don’t buy stocks indiscriminately just because your favorite money manager is buying. This article looks at a couple of ways to take advantage of what the big boys are doing as well as pointing out the pitfalls.”

Jeff@MySuperChargedLife presents Personal Finance Budgeting Priorities In An Income Crisis posted at My Super-Charged Life, saying, “Setting the proper budgeting priorities in an income crisis is crucial to fiscal survival. I appreciate being consider for your carnival!”

The Shark Investor presents How To Outgrow The Self-Help Learning Stage posted at The Shark Investor, saying, “If you keep reading and reading and reading, you may be just losing your time”

Sandy Naidu presents Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme posted at FutureNestEgg.

Finance Tips 101 presents Timeshares, Affordable Part Time Ownership With A Twist posted at Finance Tips 101.

Michael Haltman presents Bernie Madoff: Who Could (Should) Have Known? posted at The Political and Financial Markets Commentator, saying, “Question: How do you make a small fortune? Answer: Start with a large fortune and give it to Bernie Madoff to invest!”

Jim presents Are Reward Checking Accounts Worth It? posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

One Family presents Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) and 401K Retirement Plan Annual Enrollment and Contribution Review posted at One Family’s Blog.

Livingalmostlarge presents What an MBA has cost us posted at LivingAlmostLarge, saying, “What you need to know before you start an MBA”

Deposit Accounts presents Investing in a Rocky Economy posted at Deposit Accounts.

Destroy Debt presents Make Your Own Debt Reduction Plan posted at Destroy Debt.

Debbie Dragon presents It’s Not About The Money posted at Share Your Number.

Credit Card Assist presents Eliminate Debt With a Credit Card? HUH? posted at Credit Cards Blog | CreditCardAssist.com.

apply4-credit presents Got Bad Credit? Get Secure posted at Apply4-Credit.

Ben presents Seven Cheap Foods to Serve At Your Holiday Party posted at Money Smart Life.

Debt Free Destiny presents New Year’s Resolution: Get Out of Debt For Good posted at Debt Free Destiny.

Matthew Paulson presents Asking a Friend or Family Member For Money to Fund Your Business posted at American Consumer News.

Debt Freedom Fighter presents How to Find the Debt Relief Company That is Right For You posted at Discover Debt Freedom!.

Savings Toolbox presents Set Your Children Up With Savings Accounts posted at Savings Toolbox.

J. Savings presents New Year’s Resolutions – Did i actually accomplish something? posted at Budgets are Sexy., saying, “For once in my life i followed through w/ my resolutions! All about picking things you’re passionate about i suppose.”

Mr Credit Card presents What Happens To My Points? posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

The Dough Roller presents 90-Day Interest Free Credit Card posted at The Dough Roller, saying, “If you have a small business, a home-based business or do consulting, this credit card offers a unique 90-days interest free on all purchases, and it never expires!”

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Self-Employed Retirement Plans posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “A rundown of various self-employment retirement plan options.”

nickel presents Deciding When to Refinance Your Mortgage posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Jeff Rose presents Should You Only Have a 401k? posted at Jeff Rose.

Bill Spohnholtz presents Best Tax Savings Tip For A Down Market posted at Learn The Stock Market And How to Trade.

Piotr Stepien presents Money Free World posted at we overstep, saying, “It is nice to have money, but it is better not to have it at all. Suprised? Read the whole story.”

Michael Haltman presents You Are Facing Foreclosure? Now What? posted at The Political and Financial Markets Commentator, saying, “For any number of reasons many homeowners find themselves in the position of either being late on their mortgage or about to be late. There could be a death of the breadwinner, loss of a job, an adjustable mortgage, divorce, loss of a tenant in an investment property and the list goes on. Prior to going into the foreclosure process, there are other steps that should be considered in dealing with the lender and the mortgage they hold on your property. Some may delay the process, others will avoid it, but in the end the borrower will likely lose the house.”

kathryn presents Dealing with Financial Disaster posted at Out of Debt Christian, saying, “Instead of throwing in the towel or trying to bury your head in the sand, take the bull by the horns and get started right now on fixing the problem.”

MoneyNing presents Value Added Tax Refund (VAT) for Vacation Shopping posted at Money Ning, saying, “Remember not to leave money on the table!”

FIRE Getters presents Want To Be A Millionaire? Follow the YAWN Philosophy posted at FIRE Finance.

Fabulously Broke presents Financial Snapshot of a Mid-twenties Couple posted at Fabulously Broke in the City, saying, “A financial snapshot of a 20-something Toronto couple. I am planning on doing more of these.”

Mr. Banker presents Lock In CD Rates Now! posted at Best Interest Rate Banks.

Tushar Mathur presents 3-6-3 Rule – An unofficial banking rule !! posted at Invest In India, saying, “The banking industry of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s is often described as operating according to a 3-6-3 rule .The rule basically explains how bankers would give 3% interest on depositors’ accounts, lend the depositors money at 6% interest and then be playing golf at 3pm.”

Shaun Connell presents Financial Happiness: The Real Goal of Financial Planning posted at Financial Planning, saying, “Financial planning almost always revolves around the same basic theme: get a job that pays well, save as much as you can, invest as much as you can, make as much as you can, hoard as much as you can. But what if financial planning -isn’t- about the money? What if it’s about something else? This is a must-read for anyone who has any sort of financial plan.”

retirehappy presents All About Mutual Fund Loads posted at My Retirement Blog.

Sam presents NEW !! Best Stock Picks of the Decade !! posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, “Best Stock Picks of the Decade Someone is Getting Rich What do the best stock picks of the decade have in common? With the exception of Apple, they were very small companies at the start. Some were microcap stocks with a market capitalization of less than $300 million. They were also unknown companies, and received little publicity or name recognition in the financial press. These stocks were also more volatile than the stocks of established large-cap companies. Most important, every one of them is characterized by strong consistent revenue growth and earnings growth. Although all are successful, these companies are a diverse group of enterprises. They demonstrate the ingenuity and creativity that builds and sustains business. In spite of the present climate of economic weakness, with disasters in the housing and financial sectors, the threat of inflation and possible higher interest rates, other extraordinary companies like these are right now building the base for a decade of spectacular stock returns. Check out these 10 best stock picks of the decade for clues to build your portfolio of rewarding stock investments.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of twenty something finances using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Happy Holidays!

December 27, 2008 in Saturday Rap by Jeremy Day | 4 comments

So this is my Saturday Rap. I have no real site updates or cool articles to show. Well I do but I am busy spending time with family… :-)

This Monday I will be hosting the carnival of twenty something finances. We have a lot of cool articles so check it out. Also, there have been a lot of personal finance articles posted and we will continue with that theme next week. I hope you have enjoyed all the guest articles written here. I hope to find a lot more people that will write on here in the coming year as well. Any volunteers? ;-)

After the New Year I will be posting a lot on personal development again. Education has been a constant theme of the discussions I have been having with friends recently so I will have an education week in January. I have a lot of ideas to discuss…

And in the New Year you can look forward to a new site design. I’m switching from three columns to two columns and from a fluid width to a fixed width. I hope it will prove to be simpler, easier to navigate, and even easier on the eyes. My current inspiration for a site design are the sites, DoshDosh, Get Rich Slowly, The Simple Dollar, Zen Habits, and Think Simple Now. I do welcome your thoughts on what you think will be a great design as well…

So that’s it for now! I am happy for the break in my blogging work, yet excited to redouble my efforts in the new year. Thank you all for reading!

Cheers,

Jeremy

Financial Planning for the Financially Inept: Choosing the Right Advisor

December 26, 2008 in Personal Finance by Jeremy Day | 4 comments

*This is a guest post by Alex Fayle of Someday Syndrome.

After reading Jeremy’s post on being your own financial advisor (http://www.insightwriter.com/2008/12/10/why-best-investment-advisor/), I had to laugh. I might have been good at mathematics in high school, but I sucked at applying it. There’s no way I could ever be my own financial advisor. Not only do I not understand it, but it bores the crap out me.

In the comments to that post, I mentioned that I learned just enough to know what to look for in a financial advisor and then pick one who would do all the work for me. So, for those of you who are the same boat as me, here’s my story and what I did to find myself the perfect financial advisor.

When my former employer started offering me retirement contributions instead of a pension, I went to my bank where a friend worked and she set me up with a mix of funds. Being a good friend from high school, I trusted her and let her do her thing.

Then my bank merged with another one and my funds got transferred over, going from a mix of about 6 different types of funds to about fifteen. Over the next few years I consistently lost money, but being a big-time procrastinator at that point of my life, I didn’t do anything about it.

When I left the 9-5 world and started my own business, I joined a networking group where I met Rachelle Allen. As we spent time in the group together, I learned more about financial planning from Rachelle. She told us to look for in an advisor – and slowly it sunk in that I should really do something about the money I was wasting in my bank’s mixed up funds.

I learned that it starts with knowing your investment personality. For me, investments are for retirement. I have a long-term view. I don’t care what my investments might be doing now, six months from now or even 5 years from now. All I care about is that in 25 years when I want to retire, they’re going to provide me with another 35 years of decent living (yes, my family’s very long lived and we need to plan for living to at least 100).

So, I knew I needed someone who could take care of my investments over the long-term and would be interested in the future of my money, not what he or she could get out of me in the moment.

Over the year that I got to know Rachelle before deciding to work with her, this is what I learned was important to me:

Trust trumps all. Think about the Madoff fraud scandal. This man was supposed to know what he was doing and he was supposed to have his clients’ interests at heart. I wonder, however, how many of his clients knew him personally. Before I started working with Rachelle, I got to know her on a professional and personal level. I knew that her values matched my own and that I could trust her with my money.

Certification matters. In many industries being certified doesn’t matter, but to me, financial planning is one place where the advisor needs to know what’s what and to understand the language of finances. And the best way to show that knowledge is with certification. In Canada, the most respected designation in the industry is the Certified Financial Planners’ (CFP) designation. It has a three year minimum experience requirement, a strict code of ethics, and a series of three exams. When I started with Rachelle, she had already started working towards her CFP and will be writing the final exam in June 2009.

Who pays the advisor? This one actually one of my first questions to Rachelle: “If I go with you, do you make money off my investments, or do I have to pay you a fee each time you do something for me?” She explained that there are normally three income models for financial advisors:

  • Commission – This is traditionally the most common way financial advisors are compensated.  When you purchase a product or investment, a certain percentage goes directly to the advisor.
  • Flat Fee – Some advisors will charge an hourly rate or may charge a flat fee for creating a financial plan.
  • Fee Based on Assets – Some advisors will charge an annual fee that is based on a percentage of assets.

Then she told me about a fourth way, how her company, Investors Group, does it. She never charges commission, flat fee or a fee based on assets. Investors Group compensates her directly when new clients join her practice.  In addition, the company compensates her for servicing and growing her clients’ assets. In other words, she has a stake in the well-being of the funds and so wants them to grow, without any cost to the client.

That was enough for me. Here I had someone I liked and trusted, whose values and ideas about life matched my own. She was dedicated to ongoing learning and being the best she could be in her profession, and her earnings although tied to the value of my investments didn’t come directly out of my money.

I couldn’t ask for more!

And now that I live outside Canada, the trust and intimate knowledge of the Canadian market is even more important. When the news spouted on and on about the economic downturn, I sent off an email saying: “Do I have to worry?” And Rachelle’s immediate response was “No, you’re in this for the long-term. But I will keep an eye on things and let you know if we need to reshuffle.” And because of my high level of trust for her and because of her strict adherence to being an ethical advisor, that was all I needed to calm any financial fears.

This type of financial planning is not for everyone, however. I doubt Jeremy with his interest in finance would ever want to go this route. But for someone like me who falls asleep at the mention of mutual funds, bond markets and… whatever they’re called, Rachelle was a gift from the gods.

* * *

Alex Fayle, of Someday Syndrome (http://www.somedaysyndrome.com), is a former procrastinator who uses his visionary ability to uncover hidden patterns and help people break the procrastination obstacle so they can finally find freedom and start living the life they desire.

Rachelle Allen is a Financial Consultant for Investors Group in Toronto, Ontario, who works with all types of people, not just those who find finances boring. You can find out more about her and Investors Group at http://www.investorsgroup.com/consult/rachelle.allen/english/default.htm

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10 Ways to Spread Holiday Cheer

December 23, 2008 in Interesting Things by Jeremy Day | 7 comments

Well, Christmas is upon us here in the US and in many other parts of the world. The decorations are up. The tree looks great. The Christmas cards are sent out. And we are almost done counting down our 12 days and getting ready to feast and share presents.

I am super excited to be spending time with friends and family. This is meant to be a happy time of year. I know many people struggle this time of year, but it is good to remember to take some time out just to be cheerful and think about all you have. So I figured I should give you a couple of ways to spread some holiday cheer. Let the joy begin. ;-)

  • Shout for joy. Sing some fun Christmas songs.
  • Laugh. Reminisce about some funny events that happened in your life with others.
  • Eat Hearty. Hey, if there is any excuse to be a glutton this is it! Personally, I can’t get enough Christmas goodies. I love cookies! ;-)
  • Forget about your troubles. They will be there tomorrow. Enjoy today!
  • Give Hugs. Lots of them. It’s good to feel loved.
  • Encourage someone. Often we talk about future plans this time of year. Tell someone they will be awesome at whatever they plan to do.
  • Plan some fun events. Speaking of next year’s plans, why don’t you start planning some fun events with your family and friends to do next year.
  • Sit down and write. Tell someone how much they mean to you.
  • Stand up and go. Go help the less fortunate. Help feed the homeless or give a child a present who otherwise wouldn’t get one.
  • In all things, give thanks. Remind yourself that you are surrounded by good things. Tell your friends and family how much you appreciate them and are thankful for them.

Enjoy this time of year! Happy Holidays!

Cheers,

Jeremy

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Knowledge is not Wisdom

December 22, 2008 in Education, Top Content by Jeremy Day | 9 comments

By Kent Thune, Author of The Financial Philosopher

December 12, 2008

When Sir Francis Bacon profoundly stated, “Knowledge is power,” his use of metaphor was absolutely accurate.  I must say, however, that the operative word in the phrase is not knowledge – it is power…

“The most exquisite paradox… as soon as you give it all up, you can have it all. As long as you want power, you can’t have it. The minute you don’t want power, you’ll have more than you ever dreamed possible.” ~ Ram Dass

Humans love power.  This love affair begins with our strong desire to be in control.  What’s wrong with that?  Power is good, right?  Isn’t control preferable to chaos?  Not necessarily… In fact, it is more likely that the pursuit of the former is what eventually causes the latter…

As we have all witnessed at one point or another, the pursuit, acquisition and distribution of power does not ensure its prudent use or a favorable outcome and our hyper-intentional efforts to be in control, not just of ourselves but of others and everything that surround us, can potentially lead to paradoxical consequences.

“Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire.” ~ Epictetus

We are fortunate to live in a free society.  This freedom enables tremendous potential to succeed wonderfully but it also provides the capacity to fail miserably.  One does not need look any further than the current financial crisis to see examples of the successes and failures of freedom.

Before I digress too far from the theme of this post, we now have a wonderful foundation to build on my point that knowledge may be power but it is not good judgment, or what I refer to as wisdom…

Because we need and want control, we seek power to enable that control.  What do we, especially in the western hemisphere, view as the enabler of power?  You guessed it!  It’s knowledge.  Remember:  knowledge is power…

“All know the way, but few actually walk it.” ~ Bodhidharma

When Jeremy asked that I write a guest post, I was excited and humbled to re-visit a theme that his blog and my blog have in common – turning knowledge into action.  What I will do today is demonstrate how our human desire for power and control will have us seeking knowledge without any desire or motivation to turn that knowledge into action.

I once posted on this human tendency to perpetuate and stretch the wide space between knowledge and action, which I and others have referred to as the knowing-doing gap.

To see this perpetuation and stretching of the wide space between knowledge and action, we need not look further than the way we educate our children (and ourselves), especially at the college and graduate levels.

“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” ~ Oscar Wilde

As if our flawed DNA were not enough of a hurdle in itself, we are also implicitly taught in school and in the workplace that “smart talk” is a substitute for action.

In an academic article, titled The Smart-talk Trap, authors, Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton, observed the cause and effect of the knowing-doing gap in the world of business:

Smart talk is the essence of management education at leading institutions in the United States and throughout the world.  Students learn how to sound smart in classroom discussions and how to write smart things on essay examinations.  A substantial part of students’ grades is usually based on how much they say and how smart they sound in class…

[Students] learn that they need only to deliver an intelligent insight – or an intelligent critique of someone else’s insight – to impress their professors.  They don’t have to actually implement the recommendations or act on the insights that emerge in the conversation…

People will try to sound smart not only by being critical but also by using trendy, pretentious, or overblown language…

“He who knows, does not speak.  He who speaks, does not know.” ~ Lau Tzu

Most of us can draw on immediate experience to recall examples of smart-talk and the knowing-doing gap.  In my graduate and MBA studies, I recall “class participation” was, indeed, a significant portion of the final grade.

What about in the “real” business world?  How many mission statements are actually carried out?  How many ideas hatched in committee meetings actually make it past the meeting minutes?

What about the CEOs and managers or even past Presidents of the United States?  They may “dress for success” and appear knowledgeable, but do they even know what their smart talk means?

“Ignorance of all things is an evil neither terrible nor excessive, nor yet the greatest of all; but great cleverness and much learning, if they be accompanied by a bad training, are a much greater misfortune.” ~ Plato

Ironically, The Smart-talk Trap paper was first published as an article in the Harvard Business Review.  Laying irony on top of irony, in a recently published book, titled Ahead of the Curve:  Two Years at Harvard Business School, author Philip Delves Broughton, dubs HBS, arguably the pinnacle of business schools, “A factory for unhappy people.”

But I thought money, material wealth and social status were the producers of happiness?  In the event you have not detected my sarcasm, it is absolutely intended here.

“Ever more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for.” ~ Viktor Frankl

I certainly am not saying that there is anything inherently wrong about pursuing higher education (I’m one class away from an MBA degree, myself); and there is no doubt that knowledge, in absence of action, can actually bring extremely high levels of success.

So why not follow that path of conventional wisdom – of knowledge, power and control – if it is proven to offer the potential for money, material wealth and social status?  It is because this particular path is not proven to be the path to a meaningful existence – the same path that can not come from physical world pursuits…

… and it is because I believe that knowledge acquired through ”higher education” is still beneath the self-knowledge acquired through the highest form of education, which can only be found within, and obtained from, ourselves…

Oh yeah, do you remember Francis Bacon’s famous words, “knowledge is power,” where we began this post?  I thought it fitting to end the same post with some of Bacon’s lesser-known words:

“But this is that which will indeed dignify and exalt knowledge, if contemplation and action may be more nearly and straightly conjoined and united together than they have been…” ~ Francis Bacon, Advancement of Learning

I first found Kent when he was a guest writer at another site that I am failing to remember now. He impressed me with his writing so much that I jumped at the chance to have him guest write here. I am proud to say he has certainly outdone himself again! I truly hope you would take the time to maybe read this article a second time. Believe me it’s worth it to read it twice. Then head on over to his site The Financial Philosopher. It will be well worth your time! :-)

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Interview With Barbara: Author of Blogging Without a Blog

December 21, 2008 in Blogging by Jeremy Day | 31 comments

Today we have a special guest. Barbara of Blogging without a Blog will be joining us to talk about her blogging experience. I have never seen someone so capable of generating a discussion and building a community of fellow bloggers out there. She always has insightful questions to ask and I do believe she has helped me make my blogging better because if it. So without further adieu, here is Barbara…

Barbara, you are one of my favorite bloggers out there. I am sure all your “regulars” would be sad if suddenly your site no longer existed. We are all glad you got started in this whole blogging gig, but please tell us what inspired you to start blogging?

It’s not so much “what” as it is whom. When I started blogging I wanted to share all I’ve learned over the years, and that which I continue to learn. What I found was, when I started getting comments and meeting other bloggers, it was the visitors to my blogs that inspired me to go on. Something amazing happens when community begins to build on a blog.

Who is your current audience and why should they visit your site?

The audience I have are new, not so new, transitioning bloggers and some who don’t have a blog (yet). For any blogger who wants to hear what other bloggers are saying or who want to be challenged to think about that which we encounter when blogging, would feel comfortable in the BWAB community.

You have created a great community around your blog. Can you give us some advice on creating a similar community around our blogs?

First, I am very grateful for all who leave comments on my blog. Secondly, I carefully read each comment and strive to answer each and every one (although I may miss some that land on older posts). Third, I try to reciprocate and visit the blogs of those authors who visit mine. I see it as common courtesy and most times will also subscribe to their blogs so I can follow their progress. It’s not just about watching my community grow, but it about helping other grow theirs, too.

What do you think is the biggest benefit of blogging for society as a whole?

Blogs are filled with a vast amount of knowledge. What I love the best about blogs is that which is written (in blogs) is often not something we can find in a text book. By visiting blogs on a variety of subjects, we can expand our knowledge base and learn from the mistakes of others, as well.

What are your top 5 tips for new bloggers?

1) Make time to become active in blogosphere and comment on other blogs, especially smaller ones. This will aid in getting your blog found and building a community of like minded people.

2) Be courteous to other bloggers. I see our blogs as our “home in blogosphere”.  Respecting the blogs of others is imperative. Even though we may disagree with an author’s point of view, we should never attack the author.

3) Blog responsibly. If you’re stating facts, do your research and make sure what you post is accurate. Also, choose your words carefully.

4) Be patient. Blog success does not happen overnight. Most big name bloggers didn’t begin to get recognition until they had blogged for nearly two years.

5) Don’t get hung up on the numbers. Compare your visitor statistics from month to month, not day to day. Checking your stats too often can stunt your creativity.

Who are your favorite bloggers that you read often and why?

Jeremy, I read too many to list. I like to read blogs on all subjects even if it’s a topic that does not affect me. I use blogs as a tool to become better educated on all topics.

How much time do you spend blogging every day?

That varies. If I’m busy on my paying job, I may only spend 2-3 hours a day blogging. However, if I’m caught up with my work, I can spend up to 8 hours a day on blogging activities. On weekends I only spend a minimal amount of time on my blogs.

You have some great ideas such as your “A.S.K Darren Rowse” posts and your New Blog of the Week. How did you come up with such amazing ideas for your blog?

The New Blog Of The Week series started in January of 2008 when I realized it was time for me to begin to pay it forward. I knew what a difficult time I had getting my blog “found” and I wanted to create a way of showcasing new bloggers so they would be “found” quicker than I did, and not get discouraged. My hunt began and the rest, you might say, is history.

The A.S.K. (Answers Sharing Knowledge) series started after I interviewed Lorelle. As I read her answers I realized how much knowledge she shared. That became a light bulb moment, thus A.S.K was born. When I interviewed Liz Strauss, Darren Rowse, and Andy Baily, I included them in the series. As I pursue interviews with other experts, their words of advice will be added.

It is obvious you have a lot of traffic coming to your blog. How did you do it?

Since I don’t use SEO (search engine optimization) very often, I find most of my traffic comes from referrals and from me visiting other blogs. For me that has worked well and my blog has grown at a pace that has been easy for me to adjust to. Had I used more SEO, I could have experienced faster growth, however I’m a big proponent of quality over quantity.

Do you have any blogging mentors?

Yes. My blogging mentors are those I’ve followed even before I published my first post. They are Steve Pavlina, Darren Rowse (Problogger) and Lorelle VanFossen (Lorelle on WordPress)

What do you credit your initial success to?

Belief in myself that I could be a decent blogger. Add to that, patience, determination, perseverance and a love of sharing and helping others.

What do you think will help you to succeed even more in the future?

As I learn more about what goes on behind the scenes of blogging I’ll be able to spend less time tweaking my blog, and more time writing, visiting others and building my online reputation/presence.

What is one personal growth tip you can give our readers?

Be true to yourself. It’s easy to compare ourselves to others in blogosphere, but remember, you are a unique individual.  There will never be another “you”. Blog accordingly.

Thank you Barbara for a wonderful interview. To read more and to join the BWAB community please head on over to Barbara’s website, Blogging without a Blog. See you over there!

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It’s time again for…

December 20, 2008 in Saturday Rap by Jeremy Day | 1 comment

… my Saturday Rap. Where I share with you the best stuff I have found on the interwebs (<—not a typo) ;-) and give you a site update…

First, the cool stuff I have found…

Ok, last week was fun. I highlighted three of my favorite sites on the web. Maybe I will do a top ten someday, but today isn’t your lucky day.

I have been finding some good stuff though. Two weeks has given me a lot of material… why am I writing so much… let me just give them to you… ;-)

  1. How to Live Artfully – Wow! Great article. I don’t know how to describe it except to say that I love it!
  2. The Two Career Assumption – The two career assumption is that both husband and wife will have a career. Trent over at the Simple Dollar put together a great piece challenging our assumptions. And we all know what assumptions do, right? ;-) I’ve heard this argued both ways, yet somehow Trent found a way to put a refreshing spin on it.
  3. Improve Your Life: Things I Learned from the Disney Movie Bolt – As we all know the internet has a lot of crap out there. And it has a lot of rehashed crap that is saying the same thing 50 other people said yesterday. Yet, occasionally you find something that is done well and is unique. This is such an article. It’s worth the read. ;-)
  4. 7 Lessons from the Innovative 2008 Opening Ceremony Director – Again, this article has a unique approach to something I thoroughly enjoyed. The 2008 Olympics in China. I really love how Glen put this all together. Check it out!
  5. 28 Things the Health Experts Forgot About That REALLY Matter for Your Health – Long freakin’ title. Great unique perspective. Definitely food for thought.
  6. How to Make Lots of Money During a Recession – This is certainly food for thought. The title is only where Steve begins. The whole thrust of the article is about finding ways to provide real value to other people. It’s good good. ;-)
  7. Dedicate Yourself to Life, Not Work – Ok, I have saved the best for last. Alex has become a friend of mine fairly quickly. We have some things we hope to work on in the near future, but I have to admit that I am fairly impressed with his blog. Its called Someday Syndrome. The idea is that we all say we are going to do things someday, but then never do. Alex is urging us all to make someday today. When people talk about fitting into a niche Alex has certainly settled into his and I think its one of the best sub-niches to be in in the personal development community. While my blog is fairly broad to fit into a sub-niche I must admit that I am trying to do the same thing as Alex. Get people to take action today! This article is one of the best. The 43 comments by themselves speak about how much conversation this post generated. That is wonderful for a fairly new, yet rapidly growing blog! How can such a short article generate so much conversation? I guess you got to read it to find out! ;-)

The more I surf the pickier I get. So please send me your articles. But only send me your best and most unique stuff. I love reading them and I hope to maybe feature some of the things YOU send me.

Now, the site update…

Guess what? I blew my goal out of the water and now have 109 subscribers. Again, thank you all for reading! It’s just more confirmation that I am doing my job right and accomplishing my goal with this website.

And, I blew away another goal. I am now averaging 300 visitors a day. I had two big days. I had 723 people visit one day and 613 visit the next day. These are my two biggest days ever. My 9 Easy Ways to Get a Life really took off on Stumble Upon. It was one of my older posts that really wasn’t getting the exposure it deserved. So I asked a few of my SU friends to check it out and it has certainly proved to be a popular article.

I have a couple ideas for 2009 that I think you will enjoy. For the next two weeks posting will be fairly light here. Christmas and New Years are upon us and I will be spending a fair amount of time with family and friends. If I don’t get back to your comments that quickly please forgive me. I will return to my normal level of activity after the New Year.

Check back on Tuesday for a very special holiday article. I put a lot of thought into it and I hope you enjoy it and get a lot out of it. Thank you all for being a part of this blog!

Cheers,

Jeremy

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20 Baby Steps to Better Health

December 19, 2008 in Diet & Exercise, Personal Health by Jeremy Day | 8 comments

This week has been all about health. And living a healthier life. Last week was all about the economy and improving your finances. In trying to write simply, and give people some easy to do action items, a theme emerged.

Baby Steps…

Most people have heard the idea before. When your faced with a big or broad task it is best to break it down into little steps. This helps keep you from being overwhelmed by the project. And it helps you focus on the task at hand. It also helps you just plain old get started. Which is often the hardest thing to do in the first place.

Awhile back I wrote a post entitled 11 Little Steps to Better Health. It is where we begin. They are a great launching point to get started improving your health. To round out the week I have added nine more. Please enjoy…

12. Replace one bad health habit with one good one every month. They say it takes at least 21 days to develop a habit. Pick one each month and work on just that. Focusing on your health will help you make powerful changes.

13. See the future. What you practice today leads to your tomorrow. You don’t just wake up one day 50 pounds overweight. It happened to over the past months and years. Look into the future. If you don’t like what you see, change your now.

14. Look at the past. Your family history and your genetics play a large role in determining your overall health. If you haven’t done so already, develop a health program with your doctor to help prevent some of the things you might be prone to.

15. Look at today. The same way you can’t wake up 50 pounds overweight in a day, you also can’t loose 50 pounds in a day (Short of liposuction).  Ask yourself a question. What single thing can I do today to bring myself one step closer to better health?

16. Consider organic food. I can’t stress it enough. What goes in comes out. There are a few reasons to not buy organic. Primary among them is that they are more expensive. But consider it this way. How much is your health worth? Would you rather pay a few dollars more right now, or a few thousand dollars more when you get the hospital bill and have to be put in hospitalized care at an older age?

17. Start getting regular check-ups. Men are horrible at this. I will admit that I will suffer through just about anything before I go to see a doctor. Funny thing is that I truly do believe preventative medicine is the best medicine. Many diseases can be cured or treated in the early stages. If you wait till the later stages you may be proclaimed a helpless case. This is advice to myself as well as to you. Practice Preventative Medicine.

18. Give up some technology. Gasp! There I said it! Technology has made us lazy. Screens ruin our vision. Keyboards give us carpal tunnel. Washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, cars, and anything else you can think of have taken our extra work away and have made us lazy. If you don’t use it, you lose it. So go outside, breath some fresh air, and use those muscles before you lose them for good.

19. Record your progress. Don’t knock it till you try it. First, the simple act of writing down your progress helps you to keep focused on the process instead of the end goal. The thing is that this will help you reach your end goal anyhow. Second, it is very satisfying to look back over your progress and think about how well you have done. Each little success gives you great satisfaction and keeps you going. Nothing brings more success like success itself. Once you’re headed in the right direction, success just keeps coming to you.

20. Smile and love on people. What’s your health good for except to be happy and to better share your life with others? :-)

Thank you so much for reading! I hope these steps set you in the right direction for success!

Wow! These have been two great weeks. It has turned out to be very rewarding to write a week long series like this one. Many people have found them to be very helpful!

I am excited to tell you that I have many more series ideas that I will write about in the New Year. During the coming year I will write about each and every hot topic I have in the right sidebar. Please subscribe using the link below so you don’t miss a thing!

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Health is a Mindset and a Lifestyle

December 18, 2008 in Personal Health by Jeremy Day | 4 comments

I think we can all agree that living a healthy life requires the right mindset and the right lifestyle. In fact, our lifestyle is often what gets in the way of our health. I for one am a road warrior at my job. I put 30,000 miles on my car this past year. Guess what that means? I eat fast food way more than I want to.

For the most part I have a pretty good mindset on health and a fairly healthy lifestyle. The key is that there is always room for improvement. Here are some steps in the right direction.

Right Health Mindset:

  1. Practice Positivity. It’s pretty much a proven fact. Positive people have better health, lower stress and lower cases of stress related diseases. Being positive also helps the immune system fight of just about any disease.
  2. Have a Sense of Humor. Like being positive, humor helps improve the immune system. It worked for Patch Adams right?
  3. Learn to let go. You know of what I speak. Those behaviors that always seem to haunt you. The bad habits you have formed over the years. I’m not saying its easy, but focus on replacing those behaviors with other good behaviors. Drink water instead of soda for instance. Exercise instead of watching tv. I’m sure you can figure something out…
  4. Think healthy. The more your focus on health the more likely you are to practice it! ;-)
  5. Resist temptation. Bad health is the easy path. Good health is the hard path. Once you have established a healthy lifestyle, don’t look back. Don’t give in to temptation. It gets easier. Once you look and feel your healthiest you will not want to return to your previous lifestyle.

Right Health Lifestyle:

  1. You are what you eat. In goes bad, out comes bad. In goes good, out comes good. Diet is one of the biggest cultural factors that determine health. The Mediterranean diet and the Okinawan diet come to mind when I think of two excellent diets to practice.
  2. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. And women too! Late to bed, late to rise, might work as well. ;-) I guess the point is to get sleep. Feeling rested helps you in all areas of your life.
  3. Move around. The sedentary life does not bode well for anyone. Get up and move around. If you work in an office take a walk outside as often as the smokers do. It’s your right! Play some sports. Take a hike! Or just go walk. I know many people who do an evening walk right after dinner. They report nothing but good results from it. Just plan a way to be active on a regular basis.
  4. Have lots of friends. And get a dog too! Both have been proven to increase your health. A strong network of friends is always a good thing for your health. Not only will they help increase your happiness levels they can also recommend good doctors too! As for dogs. Well someone just told me that having a dog throughout your entire life can add as much as 10 years to your lifespan. Whether its true or not I know my dog adds a lot of value to my life. ;-)
  5. Did I mention laughter? It can not be underestimated folks. Laughing releases some of the same magical chemicals as exercising does. So what do you say? Let’s exercise with the deep down belly laugh today!

Here’s to a healthier mindset and lifestyle today!

I hope you enjoyed this reading this good stuff. I know I enjoyed writing it. Tommorrow is the final post in this series on health. It’s going to be good. Please subscribe using the link below so you don’t miss a thing!

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