Living Life Like The Money Pros

Using your money in the right way can mean something different for everyone. For some it’s not touching a penny unless you absolutely need to, for others, it’s donating to charity and making sure there’s a good tax deduction on the amounts each year, and for someone else, it’s spending whenever they want to. So whether you’ve stocked up on coupons to make sure you’re scoring the deals you need, or you’re the kind of person who socks away at least 20% of your income each month into a savings account, now’s the time for you to live life like a money pro. You’ve earned it after all! Here are a couple of tips to get you started.

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Always Pay the Rent First

Something quick to start off with. If it becomes a habit, you’re going to be less and less worried over whether or not you remembered to pay for the roof over your head this week. And because of that, you can afford to relax a little! You can easily budget in a meal plan around this, and even the odd takeout every now and then to make sure you’re living the best life you can.

                                                 

Present a United Front

If you have a partner, make sure you’re always communicating with them over your plans for the money you earn. And it’s likely that the both of you are funneling funds into the same savings account; most couples do it to increase their chance of a comfortable and successful life. This means you both need to be on the same page when it comes to the way you use money, as their plans and motivations may be completely different from yours.

When you can tackle any money troubles together, agreeing on the biggest decisions (you can still argue whether off-brand or name-brand cereal is better!), you’re going to be a lot happier in your financial situation. You can even better treat each other this way: agree to allow a few dollars at the end of the week to buy something nice or go out for a quick bite to eat together.

Cover Yourself Against Financial Liability

No one knows what the future holds, and that's why it's important to protect yourself against financial liability. Unexpected events can happen at any time, and if you're not prepared, they can have a serious impact on your finances. For example, having a car accident without insurance can have serious financial consequences. There are a few different ways to cover yourself against financial liability. One is to purchase insurance. Insurance can help cover the cost of unexpected events, like accidents or natural disasters. Another way to protect yourself is to set aside money in an emergency fund. Furthermore, having the contact details for a car accident lawyer can help you be prepared in the event of a car accident. Taking these steps can help you manage your money like a pro and protect yourself against financial liability.

Try Your Chances with Investing

Investing is something people find scary, and when you don’t know anything about the nuances or methods of it, it can be! But you can easily learn, and there are a lot of money pros out there willing to hand out advice on where your money should go to get you the best dividends at the end of the month.

If you have some savings you know are more disposable than they are essential, you can easily use these to test out the waters. You can even try using the predictions of Larry Edelson if you’re really into the idea of making sure any money you put into the stock market comes out again with at least a double return investment. Getting serious with your money-saving efforts requires it!

Living life like the money pros will very soon become second nature!

Stress-Busting Tips When Travelling For Business

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Let’s face it; traveling can be stressful. Airport lines, missed connections, getting lost in new places… it would be easier to stay at home than face some of these inconveniences. Still, there are times when we have to pack our bags and travel, be that for the annual family vacation or to further our career with business meetings. Hence this article. With business travel in mind, we have some ideas to alleviate your stress. Check out our tips below.

1. Don’t travel

Okay, so this is an unusual choice for an article about business travel, but if you can conduct your meetings over Skype or any other kind of video conference center, do that instead. It will save you on travel costs, and you won’t have to run the risk of the stresses we mentioned at the beginning. Still, if you do need to leave the comfort of home, consider the rest of the tips below.

2. Carry light

If you aren’t going away for an extended period, don’t stuff your bags with anything you don’t need. You will only end up struggling and tiring yourself out when you are heavily laden with baggage. Instead, focus on carrying the essentials, such as your business outfits, phone (with travel apps), and your passport, and leave everything else behind, including the proverbial kitchen sink.

3. Pick the right hotel

When it comes to picking the right hotel for a business trip, we recommend a hotel that doubles as a conference center. This way, you can meet your client at the hotel, instead of running the risk of being late when you have to travel halfway across a strange town to meet them. The Delta Hotels Edmonton South Conference Centre is an example of what you should be looking for, with boardrooms and meeting spaces. Of course, while you are traveling for business, you should also make some time for yourself, so look for a hotel with leisure time amenities - swimming pool, spa, gym, etc. - where you can enjoy your downtime when you’re away from work.

4. Get plenty of rest

Travelling can be exhausting, which isn’t great when you need to be fresh and alert for your business meetings. You don’t want to doze off in front of your clients, after all. So when you can find an opportunity for some shut-eye, do it. We also recommend you arrive at your chosen destination early (or even the night before your meetings) as you will be able to relax and enjoy the benefits of rest and sleep before the serious business of work begins.

5. Stay in touch with your family

Being away from your family for any length of time can suck, big time! While you will probably enjoy the opportunity for some ‘me-time’ away from family stresses, you are still going to miss them. And of course, they will miss you too. So schedule some time for a phone call or video chat, and you will all feel a little better. A familiar face or voice can make all the difference when you’re situated in an unfamiliar place, and you won’t feel as lonely when you talk to them. Still, when you’re done chatting, enjoy the opportunity to watch you want on the hotel tv, and catch up on that book you have always been meaning to read but couldn’t because of family interruptions.

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Follow our tips and you will make your business travel less stressful and miserable. You might even get the chance to enjoy yourself, too. Thanks for reading, and if you are traveling for work purposes anytime soon, bon voyage!

The Career Boosters You Can Work On Close To Home

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When you love your career, you’ll always want to make sure that you’re doing a good job, seeing success, and generally enjoying what you do. Because you spend a lot of time working and crafting out the perfect career, it’s often good to know that you’re progressing as much as you can be. However, when you’re putting in the hours and doing as much as you can do in the office, you may feel frustrated at not progressing in the way that you want to be. So, instead, you’re going to want to think about the things you can do to boost your career outside of the office. Here are five ideas a little closer to home that can help you.

Studying Online

First of all, one of the best ways that you can boost your career and open new doors, is to study. If you’re currently limited by your career prospects, going back to school could help. But when you’re busy and you have a family, you aren’t always going to be able to go to school full-time. So instead, studying online with somewhere such as St. Bonaventure University is going to be a better option. You can boost your education in your own time and get the qualifications you need to progress in your career right from home.

Volunteering

Next, you might also find that any volunteering that you do is going to really help you to advance your career. Whether you volunteer at school or with a local cause, you will find that you learn a load of skills similar to those you would in the working world, such as management, money skills, and communication skills. So adding this to your CV can also demonstrate and show the additional skills you have that could help you to progress on in your career.

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Networking

You know that contacts are always going to be important in your career. It’s the reason why they say it’s who you know not what you know. So definitely think about the way that you can network in your local neighborhood and even online to get greater opportunities to boost your career.

Blogging

Thanks to the internet, there are now so many more ways that we can all really boost our careers in the evenings and at weekends. Blogging is one of them. When you start a blog in a niche that you’re passionate about, specifically if it’s related to your job, you’ll offer experience lots of different opportunities to progress. You can also make connections or learn things that will help you to bag your next promotion.

Side Hustling

Finally, you may also find that starting a side-hustle can help you to learn new skills and progress on your career path. When it comes to advancing your career with side hustling, it’s always a good idea to pick something that you love or that will teach you new skills. From photography to cooking, this is a great way to add another string to your bow.

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I Can Only Imagine Review and Why It Touched Me

Disclosure:  We received free tickets to go see this movie in exchange for our first post.  This is our review of the movie.

Chefy and I finally got the opportunity to go see I Can Only Imagine, so we saw it at the Northgate Cinema in Durham, NC.  We were hoping that we would like the movie as much as we love the song and we were not disappointed. 

J. Michael Finley blew us away playing Bart.  You could feel everything he was feeling by simply looking at his face.  Dennis Quaid did an amazing job in the role of Arthur, Bart's dad.  I actually wanted to beat the crap out of him during the better part of the movie. Dennis and J. Michael worked wonderfully together and you could actually believe that they were father and son.  Emotions ran rampant when they were together. 

When Bart's mom left him behind and Bart ran behind the moving truck, I started bawling and I stayed on that emotional roller coaster the entire movie.  I was wanting to take Bart's pain away and give him that hug that he desperately needed.  I watched him try to be the man his father wanted/expected him to be, and it was so sad.  Nothing he tried ever seemed to work out or be enough.  I wanted to take his hand and guide him, the way his mother should have done.  Yes, it was that emotional for me. 

When Bart finally left home to pursue his dream, Chefy and I were cheering for him all along the way.  He had so much going on in his head and he was all over the place with his music.  He seemed at ease on the stage, but never more so than when he was singing Christian music.  We could really feel the difference.  He was only singing the regular songs, but he was feeling the Christian music. 

When Bart went back home to try to deal with his feelings for his father and to sort out their relationship, you started to really understand just how complicated it was.  At that point, Bart wanted nothing to do with his dad, but when found the letter about his dad's cancer diagnosis, everything changed.  The hatred that Bart had for his father was replaced by sympathy, and Bart began to see that his father had changed.  Arthur had started to listen to preaching on the radio, which led him to start reading the Bible.  God can change anyone.  You just have to be open to Him! 

Bart and Arthur got to spend time together before Arthur passed away, and that was healing for them both.  After his father passed, Bart sat down and wrote this award-winning song,  I Can Only Imagine, in just a matter of minutes.  It became the first song released by MercyMe. 

I am not going to tell you any more about the movie because I don't want to ruin it for everyone.  Now I want to explain why it touched me so much. 

My daddy was a bit of a wild man when I was a child.  He was a good man, but he wanted to do things his way, and he had a temper.  My daddy was a drinker and he liked to play poker.  My parents actually separated for a few weeks when my brother and I were small.  One of the rules my mom had for reconciliation was regular church attendance.  Daddy started attending and he started to change.  He started to stay at home more and drink less.  He started to really read and study his Bible.  When things would go wrong, instead of slipping back into bad habits, Daddy stood steadfastly and kept his faith.  Over the years, I watched him grow in his faith and I watched how God changed him.  Daddy became a preacher when I was a young adult and I was never more proud.  He walked the walk and talked the talk. 

There are lots of similarities between my dad and Bart's dad, Arthur. Both men had their own issues when they were younger and were hard to live with, and both men turned to God!  God redeemed my daddy just like he did Bart's dad, and like Bart, I lost my dad, way too early.  BUT, I am thankful that God blessed me with him for 45 years.  God came into his heart and changed him.  I can only imagine what it will be like when I meet him again in heaven!