I'd add another strategy for bouncing back: Get a few small wins under your belt. For example, let's say you don't have an emergency fund. Stash away $500 or $1,000 as quickly as possible, then work on building your fund to suggested levels of 4 to 6 months of expenses. Or if you have several credit cards and can't pay all of them off, at least pay off the one with the smallest amount. Then begin to attack the others.
I bought a bunch of these, since mailing is not something I do well. I put them in a special envelope in a special place, but apparently the last time I got them out to mail a pile of letters, I recycled or otherwise lost the envelope. Damn!
I sucked it up and bought some more, however, just not as many. Postage increases will always be with you!
I have bought in bulk a for years. My wife almost killed me when we lived in a mobile home and I bought 3 case of toilet paper. I got name brand TP for less than 75 cents per 4 pack. (I wish I could get that deal again.)
Just be carefull if you plan on using the bulk shopping clubs like Costco, Sam's Club, etc. Know your prices because sometimes they charge more per item, quanity, pound than you can find at even Walmart or the local grocer. I wrote about buying in bulk on my blog Change Jar Savings.
Of course they aren't an investment. Linsey is not talking about buying a gross of these and then selling them when the value goes up, she's talking about the convenience of having stamps that actually work....
Forever stamps are perfect for me. I mail something a few times a year. On those occasions I look at my letter and my book of 41 cent stamps and know that I don't have any 1 cent stamps and know that it isn't worth my time to go to the post office and buy 1 cent stamps. So invariably I put two stamps on the letter (sometimes I do this as a precaution, I mail letters so rarely that I honestly don't know what it costs) thus paying double...
I totally agree Mom of 6... I actually did just that the other day - the news is running in the background while I'm cooking dinner and I suddenly realized that the constant gloom and doom chatter was stressing me out so I shut it off...
Sometimes, you gotta' say "enough" and create your own happy place. I know there's plenty of legitimate reasons to be distressed and concerned but man... we need a break from all that "reality" too!
okay Guest, stop and look again - those weren't the only things that could be on your "good stuff" list... quite the contrary, that list is infinite and there is bound to be one thing - just one thing that you can pick that's good... you obviously have internet access so you're not cut off from the world and that's something... seriously... I would definitely add that to my "things to be thankful for" list...now, what else can you add? and what can you do about the things you think you're missing? it might take some time to find a new job but what about improving your health or even making a new friend?
i don't know your specific circumstances but that's why i listed the other items as well, specifically #3..
Life isn't always easy and it certainly isn't perfect but again.. it is what it is... how we choose to deal with it is what will make the difference...
Thanks for the review. I really like the idea that it is humility that sets people apart. While many people may make money and have a huge ego, I believe that successful business people who are truly here for the long term and want to make a positive impact do have the humility that your review and the book notes.
I'd add: turn off the negative noise around you. If you are (physically) what you eat, then you are (mentally) what you see and hear. Surround yourself with trees, flowers, and the lovely music of birdsong, even if it's just on a DVD! Turn off the news that prides itself on delivering the ugliest and worst news right to your doorstep 24/7. Go online and look at photos of clouds. Do something that releases your endorphins and makes you feel good. Help others. Don't just sit there like that deflated ball in the photo above!
There is more unpredictability and more irrational behavior by businesses and employers. I think it is a combination of the ongoing bad business practices and general panic over the economy.
Keeping the upper hand on what is going on in your job life and finances is more important now than ever. Even if it is just keeping one step ahead or a closer eye on what is going on in those area.
To the writer who claims by not going thru the company they are then prevented from coming after you... Wrongamundo - at some point you will most likely receive a dcoument declaring receipt of "other funds". These other funds allow these insurance companies to make futher adjustments to the abysmal amounts one recieves. Initially, the company will try to strong arm you to file and may even offer up their attornies for free... I suppose free is relative. In other cases, there are companies that can "estimate" the cost you might receive and begin making that adjustment instead. The risk management approach they use is typically not for the benefit of the recipient.
The point of the article in many places is well taken. In essence the 80% of salary on STD is short lived followed by the mistaken belief of many that on LTD it will be 60% of your salary. In fact, once LTD is reached the "adjustments" can further reduce it to 21% excluding federal and/0r state taxes that are also due esepecially on a Group Policy (my experience here says based on how much you make one typically makes "premium" payments in addition to the company payments for LTD insurance). The part you pay is not taxable but the other part is on federal and in the state of Mass. Be especially vigilent of the W2 as they may not indicate State Wages and then find out later you are getting a bill for the amount plus penalty and interest.
The company I worked for recently decided that employees who have been on LTD will now need to ALSO make preimum payments for their Medical Premiums that current active employees make. Previously, they had waived this payment due to Good Will and circumstances. Of course, they don't prorate it even though the once active employee is no longer making 100% of their salary as they once did nor provide other avenues available to active employees.
Knowing this, the article points out private disability insurance which is a good thing but be aware - if you are unable to drive to work, some like Mass Mutual will fight you tooth and nail as to that being a "job related requirement". Thus some of those examples used that seemed silly aren't so sill after all. Expect one heck of a fight in the early going that if approved is followed by a mountain of "follow-up" forms, claims, approvals, doctor visits... Frankly, these companies apply so much pressure and documentation it is no wonder that phyisicians want no part of it!
Nonetheless, plan your private DI amount well especially after all the adjustments that can be made will be made to your LTD. While I had private DI, I did not do my homework on the "adjustments" and was lulled too sleep on the 60% threshold for LTD. Pay for the entire premium, if you can, as the article suggests as that eliminates the tax worries.
Good luck and when the insurance rep comes to your house (or you go there) to take an oral statement - be very careful of what you say as they are not there to really help you.
this is a fabulously creative list of cool projects! I love it. -- my book "Denim Revolution" and my blog has lots more creative hip ways to re-make your jeans into high fashion looks. http://21centurydressmakers.blogspot.com
The article is Really more informative ,Survey is very easy way to know about people opinion,i have been doing survey for past two years,but i have no benefits from that....
You'll be surprised how far management at OfficeMax will push their associates to sell replacement/service plans. Even if it means using a 10 dollar off coupon on top of the one a customer already has.
OfficeMax is a complete joke and I can say that after working there for two years. My store has also gone through 4 assistant managers and about 3 supervisors. Employees get treated like **** and if you don't meet your quota of "service plans" for the day, the week, whatever, your hours get cut. If management hates you, they cut your hours completely until you quit. I've seen it happen A LOT, with hard working employees.
Just the other day we were busy has f**k, three associates in the whole damn store the other 6 were supervisors and managers, they sat in the office had a "meeting" (telling jokes, watching youtube, hatching a plan to lecture us employees on selling service plans). It makes me sick to my stomach just to think about OfficeMax at all.
If the economy wasn't so tight right now and I could find another job. I would walk right up to my manager give him the bird, tell him to eat ****, and walk out. And I wouldn't look back. That's one bridge in my life that I'll let burn. Hell I'll even pour kerosene on the damn thing and light the match.
This article is important to remember in times like these when people feel there is no hope. If you can survive through this, you're going to do well 5 years from now.
With formulating a plan, I would add that you need back up plans in case of a change in direction. Have a plan a, b, and c. Write it down. Then you won't have to panic when plan a falls through.
I, too, get comments about how "lucky" I am. I work 25-30 hours per week at a job I love and am good at. That leaves me time to volunteer at the art museum and actually spend time with my husband. He works 40 hours a week and goes to school part-time (without student loans). We have a beautiful home and money in the bank.
Lucky? (Well, to be born in a country where this is all possible and to have a supportive family.)
But it's NOT luck to have savings and things we need. We drive old cars so that we can afford a retirement account. We bought a house that we can afford even if only one of us works, so neither of us feels chained to a job. We are willing to make sacrifices in some areas (furniture) to be able to splurge in other areas (travel).
And most people don't want to hear about the choices. They want to assume that our families give us money (other way round, actually) or we're 'just lucky' to have what we have. Nope, just choices. Thanks for bringing it up!
Corruption in small town Pleasant Hill Missouri. Good old boy system. Man died leaving his finance that he was getting ready to marry millions of dollars he had in about 8 trusts and farmland plus more. The will was changed behind his lawyers back because he suspected corruption and had it changed to leave it to the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and kids he wanted to adopt. He tells his finance before he goes on a trip to Disney land that he was getting ready to expose alot of corruption but that if he did, that he could be dead within side a week. He would not tell her what it concerned to protect her. They get back and he dies within the next day from "prescription drug mixture and heart attack". The lawyer fired the person in charge of trust and squanders away the money and hiding paperwork trail of everything the deceased man owns except for the farm and keeps saying there is no money. His finance is a single mom and has no money to fight it. They know this and there is many people involved. Finds out that somehow before death, lawyer somehow got her finance pronounced legally mentally incapable and he took over the trusts. (worth millions) She is harrased along with her son by law enforcement when she was fighting for his wishes and their dream. So corrupt she cant find a lawyer that will touch it and is looking bleak to find a lawyer to help. She has documents they do not have proving his trusts but no one will help. Judges, police, lawyers, who is not involved? Crazy. Greed of money. Where is this money going if she is being told that there is no money and now the farm's taxes are not paid and it will be going on the courthouse steps and she cant do anything about it even though it was all willed to her. Does not make sense but it is happening.
Thanks for pointing out that there are different kinds of acne, and that no solution works for everyone. As someone who has dealt with acne for eight years (since I was sixteen), it killed me to hear "You just need pro-activ/Dan's acne cure/to eat only apples/accutane/etc."
My advice: go to your dermatologist. Go every two or three months until things are fixed, and then continue going to make sure everything stays that way. This is what dermatologists do! It's their job! They know about all the latest treatments, and what has worked for similar patients, and the kind of moisturizer that will help when your skin goes through that initial dry-out phase.
I can't say how much of my life was wasted because I was so ashamed of how I looked, and I wish that I could go back in time and tell myself this.
What has finally worked for me: cetaphil face wash, dermalogica moisturizer, retin-a, and benzaclin. Your mileage will vary.
I could have told you ahead of time those codes were stolen. No one gets free, or almost free, codes for things the originating company retails for much more. As my dad used to say, any deal that looks too good to be true ...
I have a friend who succumbed to this sort of scam with a music download site in - get this - the Ukraine. I warned her, but she didn't listen; she had a new iPod and could get hundreds of tunes off this site for $50 on the credit card. Needless to say, she now has a new credit card, as the old one got taken for a shopping spree in Europe.
I'd add another strategy for bouncing back: Get a few small wins under your belt. For example, let's say you don't have an emergency fund. Stash away $500 or $1,000 as quickly as possible, then work on building your fund to suggested levels of 4 to 6 months of expenses. Or if you have several credit cards and can't pay all of them off, at least pay off the one with the smallest amount. Then begin to attack the others.
Greeting Cards, a good Dollar Store buy:
Holiday
Birthday
Wedding
$0.50 a card can't be beat.
I bought a bunch of these, since mailing is not something I do well. I put them in a special envelope in a special place, but apparently the last time I got them out to mail a pile of letters, I recycled or otherwise lost the envelope. Damn!
I sucked it up and bought some more, however, just not as many. Postage increases will always be with you!
I needed to remind myself of this today. Thanks.
...and I liked it because I like reading about high net worth individuals and how they live.
I agree that it isn't a great book to learn how to build wealth, but it's entertaining nonetheless.
Fabulously Broke in the City
Just a Girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver
I've never gone wrong following Jay Sherman's rules:
1) If it used to be a TV show, just don't go.
2) Give it a rest after roman numeral II.
3) If it's a remake of a classic, rent the classic.
I have bought in bulk a for years. My wife almost killed me when we lived in a mobile home and I bought 3 case of toilet paper. I got name brand TP for less than 75 cents per 4 pack. (I wish I could get that deal again.)
Just be carefull if you plan on using the bulk shopping clubs like Costco, Sam's Club, etc. Know your prices because sometimes they charge more per item, quanity, pound than you can find at even Walmart or the local grocer. I wrote about buying in bulk on my blog Change Jar Savings.
Of course they aren't an investment. Linsey is not talking about buying a gross of these and then selling them when the value goes up, she's talking about the convenience of having stamps that actually work....
Forever stamps are perfect for me. I mail something a few times a year. On those occasions I look at my letter and my book of 41 cent stamps and know that I don't have any 1 cent stamps and know that it isn't worth my time to go to the post office and buy 1 cent stamps. So invariably I put two stamps on the letter (sometimes I do this as a precaution, I mail letters so rarely that I honestly don't know what it costs) thus paying double...
I totally agree Mom of 6... I actually did just that the other day - the news is running in the background while I'm cooking dinner and I suddenly realized that the constant gloom and doom chatter was stressing me out so I shut it off...
Sometimes, you gotta' say "enough" and create your own happy place. I know there's plenty of legitimate reasons to be distressed and concerned but man... we need a break from all that "reality" too!
okay Guest, stop and look again - those weren't the only things that could be on your "good stuff" list... quite the contrary, that list is infinite and there is bound to be one thing - just one thing that you can pick that's good... you obviously have internet access so you're not cut off from the world and that's something... seriously... I would definitely add that to my "things to be thankful for" list...now, what else can you add? and what can you do about the things you think you're missing? it might take some time to find a new job but what about improving your health or even making a new friend?
i don't know your specific circumstances but that's why i listed the other items as well, specifically #3..
Life isn't always easy and it certainly isn't perfect but again.. it is what it is... how we choose to deal with it is what will make the difference...
Thanks for the review. I really like the idea that it is humility that sets people apart. While many people may make money and have a huge ego, I believe that successful business people who are truly here for the long term and want to make a positive impact do have the humility that your review and the book notes.
I'd add: turn off the negative noise around you. If you are (physically) what you eat, then you are (mentally) what you see and hear. Surround yourself with trees, flowers, and the lovely music of birdsong, even if it's just on a DVD! Turn off the news that prides itself on delivering the ugliest and worst news right to your doorstep 24/7. Go online and look at photos of clouds. Do something that releases your endorphins and makes you feel good. Help others. Don't just sit there like that deflated ball in the photo above!
There is more unpredictability and more irrational behavior by businesses and employers. I think it is a combination of the ongoing bad business practices and general panic over the economy.
Keeping the upper hand on what is going on in your job life and finances is more important now than ever. Even if it is just keeping one step ahead or a closer eye on what is going on in those area.
To the writer who claims by not going thru the company they are then prevented from coming after you... Wrongamundo - at some point you will most likely receive a dcoument declaring receipt of "other funds". These other funds allow these insurance companies to make futher adjustments to the abysmal amounts one recieves. Initially, the company will try to strong arm you to file and may even offer up their attornies for free... I suppose free is relative. In other cases, there are companies that can "estimate" the cost you might receive and begin making that adjustment instead. The risk management approach they use is typically not for the benefit of the recipient.
The point of the article in many places is well taken. In essence the 80% of salary on STD is short lived followed by the mistaken belief of many that on LTD it will be 60% of your salary. In fact, once LTD is reached the "adjustments" can further reduce it to 21% excluding federal and/0r state taxes that are also due esepecially on a Group Policy (my experience here says based on how much you make one typically makes "premium" payments in addition to the company payments for LTD insurance). The part you pay is not taxable but the other part is on federal and in the state of Mass. Be especially vigilent of the W2 as they may not indicate State Wages and then find out later you are getting a bill for the amount plus penalty and interest.
The company I worked for recently decided that employees who have been on LTD will now need to ALSO make preimum payments for their Medical Premiums that current active employees make. Previously, they had waived this payment due to Good Will and circumstances. Of course, they don't prorate it even though the once active employee is no longer making 100% of their salary as they once did nor provide other avenues available to active employees.
Knowing this, the article points out private disability insurance which is a good thing but be aware - if you are unable to drive to work, some like Mass Mutual will fight you tooth and nail as to that being a "job related requirement". Thus some of those examples used that seemed silly aren't so sill after all. Expect one heck of a fight in the early going that if approved is followed by a mountain of "follow-up" forms, claims, approvals, doctor visits... Frankly, these companies apply so much pressure and documentation it is no wonder that phyisicians want no part of it!
Nonetheless, plan your private DI amount well especially after all the adjustments that can be made will be made to your LTD. While I had private DI, I did not do my homework on the "adjustments" and was lulled too sleep on the 60% threshold for LTD. Pay for the entire premium, if you can, as the article suggests as that eliminates the tax worries.
Good luck and when the insurance rep comes to your house (or you go there) to take an oral statement - be very careful of what you say as they are not there to really help you.
this is a fabulously creative list of cool projects! I love it. -- my book "Denim Revolution" and my blog has lots more creative hip ways to re-make your jeans into high fashion looks.
http://21centurydressmakers.blogspot.com
good health - no
family = no
friends - acquaintances, so no
job- %&%% no
you've cheered me up a lot
The article is Really more informative ,Survey is very easy way to know about people opinion,i have been doing survey for past two years,but i have no benefits from that....
________
Ramya
Cash Surveys
Breathe deep the gathering gloom
Watch lights fade from every room
You'll be surprised how far management at OfficeMax will push their associates to sell replacement/service plans. Even if it means using a 10 dollar off coupon on top of the one a customer already has.
OfficeMax is a complete joke and I can say that after working there for two years. My store has also gone through 4 assistant managers and about 3 supervisors. Employees get treated like **** and if you don't meet your quota of "service plans" for the day, the week, whatever, your hours get cut. If management hates you, they cut your hours completely until you quit. I've seen it happen A LOT, with hard working employees.
Just the other day we were busy has f**k, three associates in the whole damn store the other 6 were supervisors and managers, they sat in the office had a "meeting" (telling jokes, watching youtube, hatching a plan to lecture us employees on selling service plans). It makes me sick to my stomach just to think about OfficeMax at all.
If the economy wasn't so tight right now and I could find another job. I would walk right up to my manager give him the bird, tell him to eat ****, and walk out. And I wouldn't look back. That's one bridge in my life that I'll let burn. Hell I'll even pour kerosene on the damn thing and light the match.
This article is important to remember in times like these when people feel there is no hope. If you can survive through this, you're going to do well 5 years from now.
With formulating a plan, I would add that you need back up plans in case of a change in direction. Have a plan a, b, and c. Write it down. Then you won't have to panic when plan a falls through.
You go, girl! You're my new idol :)
I, too, get comments about how "lucky" I am. I work 25-30 hours per week at a job I love and am good at. That leaves me time to volunteer at the art museum and actually spend time with my husband. He works 40 hours a week and goes to school part-time (without student loans). We have a beautiful home and money in the bank.
Lucky? (Well, to be born in a country where this is all possible and to have a supportive family.)
But it's NOT luck to have savings and things we need. We drive old cars so that we can afford a retirement account. We bought a house that we can afford even if only one of us works, so neither of us feels chained to a job. We are willing to make sacrifices in some areas (furniture) to be able to splurge in other areas (travel).
And most people don't want to hear about the choices. They want to assume that our families give us money (other way round, actually) or we're 'just lucky' to have what we have. Nope, just choices. Thanks for bringing it up!
Corruption in small town Pleasant Hill Missouri. Good old boy system. Man died leaving his finance that he was getting ready to marry millions of dollars he had in about 8 trusts and farmland plus more. The will was changed behind his lawyers back because he suspected corruption and had it changed to leave it to the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and kids he wanted to adopt. He tells his finance before he goes on a trip to Disney land that he was getting ready to expose alot of corruption but that if he did, that he could be dead within side a week. He would not tell her what it concerned to protect her. They get back and he dies within the next day from "prescription drug mixture and heart attack". The lawyer fired the person in charge of trust and squanders away the money and hiding paperwork trail of everything the deceased man owns except for the farm and keeps saying there is no money. His finance is a single mom and has no money to fight it. They know this and there is many people involved. Finds out that somehow before death, lawyer somehow got her finance pronounced legally mentally incapable and he took over the trusts. (worth millions) She is harrased along with her son by law enforcement when she was fighting for his wishes and their dream. So corrupt she cant find a lawyer that will touch it and is looking bleak to find a lawyer to help. She has documents they do not have proving his trusts but no one will help. Judges, police, lawyers, who is not involved? Crazy. Greed of money. Where is this money going if she is being told that there is no money and now the farm's taxes are not paid and it will be going on the courthouse steps and she cant do anything about it even though it was all willed to her. Does not make sense but it is happening.
Thanks for pointing out that there are different kinds of acne, and that no solution works for everyone. As someone who has dealt with acne for eight years (since I was sixteen), it killed me to hear "You just need pro-activ/Dan's acne cure/to eat only apples/accutane/etc."
My advice: go to your dermatologist. Go every two or three months until things are fixed, and then continue going to make sure everything stays that way. This is what dermatologists do! It's their job! They know about all the latest treatments, and what has worked for similar patients, and the kind of moisturizer that will help when your skin goes through that initial dry-out phase.
I can't say how much of my life was wasted because I was so ashamed of how I looked, and I wish that I could go back in time and tell myself this.
What has finally worked for me: cetaphil face wash, dermalogica moisturizer, retin-a, and benzaclin. Your mileage will vary.
I could have told you ahead of time those codes were stolen. No one gets free, or almost free, codes for things the originating company retails for much more. As my dad used to say, any deal that looks too good to be true ...
I have a friend who succumbed to this sort of scam with a music download site in - get this - the Ukraine. I warned her, but she didn't listen; she had a new iPod and could get hundreds of tunes off this site for $50 on the credit card. Needless to say, she now has a new credit card, as the old one got taken for a shopping spree in Europe.