It’s a complex world, but most of us still manage to get on with it: whatever our job may be, we turn up every day and tackle the challenges that come our way.

When it comes to debt, though, it’s not so straightforward. Many people end up with serious debt problems they just don’t know how to deal with. Why is that?

• It could be because debt’s a complicated subject, full of unfamiliar terms and issues: repayment terms, APRs, early repayment penalties, and so on.
• It could be because we’re content to leave the details to the lenders. At the end of the day, it’s often tempting to assume that one set of terms and conditions is much like another – so all we want to know is ‘Can I borrow the money or not?’
• It could be because it’s just too easy to get credit – or at least it was until the credit crunch occurred. There are too many people who simply have too many debts: multiple credit cards, multiple store cards, an overdraft, a personal loan, a couple of hire purchase deals…
• It could be because we leave it too long before we look for debt advice.

In short, it’s easy to see how so many people who can cope with life’s other challenges still have a hard time coping with debt.

Read the rest of this article »

Many of us have a tendency to spend money frivolously. I’m not talking about the rare folk who run up insane credit card debts on things they just can’t afford – but people like you.

Maybe you always come out of the grocery store with a few things you don’t need … and which eventually end up in the trash. Maybe you can’t resist buying new books, even though there’s a great library nearby. Maybe you end up buying things online when you’re surfing the net in the evenings.

Spending money unnecessarily is just a habit – but it’s one that can be detrimental to your financial goals. Here are five things you can do to break that habit and take back control of your spending.

Read the rest of this article »

How many times have you sat in rage-inducing, morning rush hour traffic, cursing your boss for making you come in early to finish that report, when clearly you would have already had the report finished if you’d only been allowed to write it from home instead of sitting in this car!?

How many times, distracted by your coworker, whose high-pitched laugh while regaling her BFF on the phone about a ‘hysterical’ new Facebook post, have you cringed thinking to yourself, if only I were working from home I wouldn’t have these distractions!

How many times in a week do you find yourself thinking, if only I could work from home I would be so much more productive!

Well, according to last months’ Time Magazine – The Future of Work issue, more and more employees and employers are opting for new and innovative ways to redefine the workplace, the most common of which, is changing it – more specifically from your office to your home. And while I hear upon writing this, a chorus of working stiffs belting out Hallelujah!, before you jump into your new way of life (conference call in your pajamas, anyone?!) – a life free of stress, bureaucracy, and office politics – I caution you to remember the old adage: Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

While without question, if done correctly, working from home will yield more productivity, less wasted time, and generally improve your quality of life, if done incorrectly you will see the exact opposite happen to the point where your job itself, may be threatened. And with the exuberance of being ‘free’ there is the risk that you will throw yourself into your new situation, without proper preparation. Simple upfront planning will ensure your success and increase your satisfaction factor.

1. Discipline: This is the single hardest part of working from home. Looks easy from your crowded cubicle, but simply not true. First you must honestly ask yourself what kind of person you are: Are you the type of person that works better in a structured environment? Or do you thrive with this type responsibility? Remember once you’re working at home there’s no rush hour and no pesky coworker to blame: your performance will be judged solely on you. If you are going to work from home, understand you’ll have to be ruling yourself with a stiffer fist. The general rule of thumb that I’ve found works is: If you wouldn’t do it at your old office (i.e. take 5 calls from Francine about her blind date last night) don’t do at your new office. I have found that the transition from office to home office is made significantly easier if you start working from home on a part time basis, and then gradually make the transition to full time from home.

2. Scheduling: One of the most important and overlooked aspects of working from home is creating a schedule. Just because you’re not required to be somewhere at 9 and can’t leave until 5, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a firm schedule. It is absolutely necessary to write out a weekly schedule for yourself – and stick to it. Working from home can come with many distractions – i.e. all of a sudden that bookshelf you’ve avoided for weeks needs to be dusted right now – and if you aren’t strict about your working hours they will quickly escape you. One of the other pratfalls is that when working from home there is no limit to how much you can be doing – theoretically you could be working 24 hours a day. So it is important to make clear guidelines about where your time will be spent everyday.

3. Create the appropriate space: When working from home, one of the big challenges is keeping your ‘home’ life from your ‘work’ life, otherwise with time both worlds will blur into one, leaving you feeling like you’re always working and never living. If your space allows it, designate one room to be used specifically and ONLY for your office – while it would be more comfortable to sit on your couch writing that report (like I am right now…horrible, horrible, horrible!) it is important to have a concrete spatial divide. If you don’t have the space available, craft out a corner which again is reserved for ‘work’ time only.

4. Separating work from home: Building on creating different spaces, your entire work practice should be separated from your living practice. Though at first it might seem sooo productive to be doing your laundry while taking a conference call, it’s actually not, and most probably both tasks will suffer as a result. Use the time you have allotted to work, to work, conversely use the time you’ve allotted for personal chores, for personal chores. It is also a good idea to get out of your house on designated breaks, i.e. lunch, afternoon break. Go for a walk around the block or eat your lunch outside. Being trapped in your house day and night has many negative long term effects, both personally and professionally.

5. Staying Connected: Just because you’ve said Hasta La Vista to your office, doesn’t mean you should say the same to your colleagues. One of the bigger risks of working from home is becoming isolated and out of the loop. Make the effort to reach out to colleagues you have a good rapport with – suggest a group happy hour drink/coffee once a month. Most jobs and careers still benefit from making connections and having in person relationships. Meeting up once a month will keep you abreast of relevant insider information that will invariably help you in the long run.

Got any working-from-home advice or stories that can help? Please feel free to comment below! (Only if you’re on a break!!)

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Related Articles:

Why The 9 to 5 Worker Will Soon Be a Thing of the Past

How To Build Self Discipline

An entrepreneur needs to be someone who can both visualize and actualize.  He needs to be able to visual something-and once that “something” is visualized, he needs to see exactly how to make it happen.

In order to make it happen, there are several steps that you as an entrepreneur must take on your way to entrepreneurial success.  Do not just enhance what is, but advance towards what will be: keep the long term in sight.

It is essential that you are able to marry your work and what you love.

When in sales, there is no right or wrong way to sell: all you need is passion and enthusiasm for your product. This passion will ignite the minds of your potential client, facilitating connections, and connections between will be made.  Your passion and enthusiasm for your product will be what encourages the sale-not the rote duplication of someone else’s selling system. What you do to sell and promote your business has to be a reflection of what you are already willing to stay up late for and get up early for.

It has to connect to your why and be a part of your own experience.

Second, you must start working your plan, whether you are ready nor not.

Know the four good things that you are about to do: first, that your business is going to be built on a great idea; second, that great idea is going to connect you to a market; third, that you will create a plan based on what you learn, on an ongoing basis, about that market; fourth, that you will adjust that plan over time.

After you have visualized your plan, find the right partner… and avoid the wrong one!  You will have a significant advantage over one-man businesses if you come together with another person regularly to make important decisions.  Find someone with whom you have good chemistry, someone who fills your blind spots. Successful partnerships are based on the idea of taking different perspectives in a discussion and having different talents.

Once the groundwork has been established, set priorities for the absolutely crucial first year.  Concentrate on why you are doing something-not how.  Your why will keep you closely connected to your company and your product.  As soon as you lose sight of why, you will also lose sight of your driving force and your motivation.

Through your first year and beyond, court clients-and keep them coming back! In order that you become a successful entrepreneur, it is essential that you are the person who is willing to pick up the phone and call people to talk about making deals and doing business. When you make this phone call, make sure you are absolutely certain about the product that you are selling.  With this certainty, you can use confidence to build up a network of contacts.  The network cannot be established overnight-it is going to take a lot of phone calls.  You cannot just wave your magic wand over a corporation and change them into a profitable client.

In order to keep your client base, you need a great team to work with.

Make sure that your company has shared values, that there are rewards for quality improvements, and that there are strong internal and external relationships. Empower the best, lose the rest!

Inevitably, there will be failure.  You must learn from failure: use it as a stepping-stone. Do not forget what mistakes you have made, but do not allow yourself to dwell on them.  Take from your failure: take the lesson learned-do not let it take anything from you: not your energy, not your time and not your space.

Finally, in order to keep your company going and keep your clients happy, maintain good relations with your vendors.  It is essential that you support the people who support you.  If you are making a big commitment to a client, make sure you have a solid relationship with your vendor.

In the end, take energy from taking risks.  Live in the spirit of the entrepreneur!

Thinking about becoming an Entrepreneur? Get Your Questions Answered!

Robert Tuchman is a Guest Blogger for PickTheBrain.com. He is an Executive Vice President at Premiere Global Sports and the author of Young Guns: The Fearless Entrepreneurs Guide To Chasing Your Dreams and Breaking Out On Your Own.

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Related Articles:

How Spirituality Helps New Entrepreneurs

5 Ways To Motivate Yourself To Save

Many of us would like to have money in savings. Whether it’s for an emergency fund, a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, quitting a job, or simply creating a bit of a buffer between paychecks, having some money set aside can make a huge difference in our ability to reach for our dreams.

But when you’ve got a long way to go before you meet your financial goal, and when – frankly – a dollar spent now seems to provide a lot more pleasure than a dollar saved, how can you make sure you’re motivated enough to put money aside on a regular basis?

Here are five things that could work for you…

1.    Save Little And Often

Do you tell yourself that it’s not worth saving if you don’t have at least $100 (or $500, or $1000) to put into a savings account? This is a bit like telling yourself that it’s not worth getting some exercise unless you have a whole day clear to jog.

How about saving just a dollar or two each day? Most of us can cut a couple of dollars of unnecessary spending every day (how about skipping that latte, carpooling, ditching your daily newspaper..?) It’s a tiny amount that you’ll barely notice on a daily basis, but over the course of a year, you’ll have saved several hundred dollars.

2.    Read Personal Finance Blogs

I find that I get encouraged to save – and to adopt good financial habits in general – by reading about others’ tips and success. One of my must-read blogs for this is The Simple Dollar; Trent writes very well, and covers topics in-depth without making them too complicated. He also has an upbeat and motivating attitude towards savings and finances (some personal finance blogs can make for rather dour reading).

Other good blogs on personal finance are Get Rich Slowly and Wise Bread.

3.    Keep a Savings Log

Something that’s often recommended for those sorting out their finances is to keep a spending log – to write down what you spend, so that you have a clear picture of where all the money is going. I’ve done this in the past, and it’s always revealing (and occasionally a bit horrifying!)

A twist on this, though, is to keep a savings log. Each time you make a deposit into your savings account (or each time you shove a few dollars into the jam jar hidden under your bed), write down the date and how much you saved. This can be a great way to motivate yourself to save more. You could also use your calendar or diary for this.

4.    Save Towards A Specific Goal

Having a very clear goal in mind can make it much easier to save up. If you know that you need $1,000 for that new computer, or if you’re determined to reach $5,000 in your emergency fund, focusing on the end goal can keep you motivated.

Your end reward might not be a tangible thing like a vacation or a new purchase: it might be peace of mind, or a sense of security or freedom. Consider visualizing how you’ll feel once you have your target amount in the bank. Will it take a weight off your shoulders? Will you be proud of what you’ve achieved?

5.    Automate Your Savings

Finally, if you do find that your motivation waxes and wanes, simply automate your savings. Get your bank to transfer $100 (or $200 or $500 etc) from your checking account into a savings account, at the start of each month. If the money goes out without you having to lift a finger, chances are that you’ll simply let it head off into the savings pot …

There are plenty more ways to motivate yourself to save – so let’s hear some of your best tips in the comments!

Don’t forget to Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Related Articles:

6 Things a 19 Year Old Has Learned About Finances

How To Survive a Recession

Image courtesy of Lacking Focus

Ever since I was 15 I’ve been coming up with ways to make money. For some reason, I’ve always had the internal belief that I’m going to be very successful when it comes to finances. At 19, having a lot of money isn’t as important to me now as it was to my old egotistical self, but I still want to be comfortable.

There are definitely areas of personal finance that I could improve upon, but I think some of the fundamentals I’ve stuck to have kept me in a relatively good position compared to others my age. Hopefully, despite my youth, I’ll be able to share something here that you can apply to your own situation.

6 Things I’ve Learned

Before we start, I want to say the obligatory: I am by no means a financial advisor so my words shouldn’t be taken as fact. However, hopefully you’ll see these, often common sense, ideas as beneficial to your own wealth generation and apply them where relevant.

1) Keep Doing What You’ve Done, Keep Getting the Same Results

Read the rest of this article »

The secret to surviving a recession is opportunity recognition.  The first step in opportunity recognition is to know and believe that there will always be opportunity for those who seek and pursue it.  Regardless of how bad the economy may seem, people still buy and sell.  People still have needs to fill and businesses have products and services that meet those needs.  When the economy goes south, however, there is mass fear and concern and the perception is that the entire world may completely cease to function.  This is patently untrue.  Even in the Great Depression of the 1930’s the world continued to function and 75% of Americans had work and jobs.  Some people actually became wealthy during the Great Depression because they were able to identify opportunity and capture it.

One of the great examples of success during the Great Depression is the motion picture industry.  People were so distressed and fearful about their economic condition they needed emotional relief and a means to escape.  The movies provided that relief, no matter how brief and temporary.  The movie industry identified need and opportunity and filled it at a price people were able to pay.  Opportunity always exists, even though it may be harder to recognize in tough times because it takes a different form.

In good times, opportunity comes in the form of just doing more of what already works.  Opportunity in good times assumes the continuation of the normal and capitalizes on things remaining normal.  In bad times, opportunity comes by abandoning things that no longer work and finding new things that will work, based on new needs.  Recession itself is a great opportunity for those who choose to see it that way.  It’s just that the opportunities may look different and they might require us to leave our comfort zones.  Now we are down to the real stress that a bad economy produces; the stress of change and the need to leave our comfort zones!  Sometimes that means taking a new road.

Read the rest of this article »

Some people consider worldly success, such as success in entrepreneurship, to be incompatible with spirituality.  “It’s a dog eats dog world.” they’d say, “If you want to succeed, you do whatever (dirty things) you must do. Then you dress up and go to church on Sundays.  If you want to embrace spirituality full time, stay in the convent, or at least stay in the clean low-paying job.”

I disagree.  In this article, I want to show you how spirituality can help new entrepreneurs in two major challenges they face in starting their own business.

For the purpose of this article, I am defining spirituality as our awareness of higher purpose and power.  That invisible something that transcends us as individuals.  I am not affiliated with any organized religions.

Spirituality offers sustainable motivation

I find it quite dangerous that so many people want to become their own boss because they hate their current jobs.  They want to escape from what they hate, be it the boring job itself or the demanding boss or the work environment.  I don’t say this is no good for moral reasons.  If you don’t like something or someone, then it is so, it’s not good or bad.  I find it dangerous because the escape mentality doesn’t offer any sustainable motivations.

Read the rest of this article »

For years, I had heard that in Chinese, the word for crisis is the same as the word for opportunity. Recently I learned that the more popular story is that the Chinese word for crisis consists of two characters: one meaning danger, and one meaning opportunity. Both stories are interesting, but neither is true. While there’s some disagreement, there is little evidence to suggest that the word for crisis was derived in such a way.

But etymology aside, a crisis and an opportunity really aren’t that different, are they? Each is a critical point at which events will turn for the better or for the worse. A mishandled opportunity become a crisis, and a well-managed crisis becomes an opportunity. The most important factor is not the challenge itself, but how you handle it.

Everyone knows that the U.S. is in the middle of a huge financial meltdown. But the events are what they are, and worrying about things won’t change them. So you can either address the situation as a crisis or as an opportunity.

Read the rest of this article »

Image courtesy of Mugley.

Right now, the news coverage is overloaded with stories about the economy.  This is completely understandable, because recently there have been some very interesting developments in the global economy.  What’s unfortunate about the media coverage is that the majority of it is focused on trying to “make sense” of the current situation. Sadly, that approach just seems to be causing more and more confusion and panic. Personally, I believe in the concept that one should focus 10% on the problem and 90% on the solution.

Crystal Ball Gazing

We have “experts” looking at the past, comparing it to the current situation and then extrapolating what this will mean for the future.  I find this approach very interesting because almost every financial prospectus comes with the fine-print warning that past performance does not predict future results. Just because something happened in the 1930’s does not mean that it is directly relevant to our present-day situation.

Read the rest of this article »