Saturday, September 25, 2010

Budgeting, But How?


Frugal Hacks

Link to Frugal Hacks
Posted: 02 Sep 2010 05:19 AM PDT
Budgeting was on my mind.  Husband and I just spent some time seeking to pare down several of our budget categories due to an unforeseen change in circumstances.  An accumulation of funds carefully saved in a few areas was an asset and helped in the making of decisions.
Our budget is of the monthly kind.  So much is put aside for food, clothing, car, etc. each month and we work diligently to stay within those boundaries.  Normally, this has worked well and given us a plan that needs little tweaking.  Usually, we meet once each year to review our projected costs and make any changes needed at that time.
Recently, though, I have been contemplating the budget style  recommended by some others well versed in making ends meet.  Suggestions  to set a new budget every week or when a paycheck arrives provides more flexibility for finding extra cash or trying to meet financial goals.  Somehow this has always seemed  to require more time and effort and I am not sure how all the budget areas would fare at the end of the year.
However, a major car repair, a broken lawnmower and a non-working dryer, have caused me to reconsider my budgeting strategy.  Grateful to have had some extra in the car repair budget our needs for this area were met. But as this was one of the funds we had pared down just recently that empty spot on the page has me wondering if we can get our funds replaced before the next break down.  The lawnmower has been limping along all summer but now is in total rebellion and of course that is the other fund that received a major slash! The hot Texas sun makes the dryer the least of my concerns and actually the electric bill has improved nicely.
It has been tempting to think of repurposing some budget categories based on the needs of this moment, but I can't help wondering how this all works out in the end.  Ultimately, it would seem to me reworking my expenses will only deceive me for the present  and create an endless cycle of living by the "tyranny of the moment."
What do you think?  Which budget works best for you?
Advertise here
Save up to 90% at your favorite local businesses with Groupon
I love Swagbucks. You will too!
© DL for Frugal Hacks, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us

Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Your comments are welcomed but moderated to prevent spam.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Normal is Broke

Living With A Chain

How to Get a Job when No One is Hiring

When the jobs are hidden

To get a job, you have to find the openings that no one's advertising, and really impress your potential employer.

By Jia Lynn Yang, writer-reporter
March 30, 2009: 12:31 PM ET

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- David Perry, a longtime headhunter, says you're wasting your time if you're looking for job postings online. And he should know: he's often the guy on the other side helping companies lure new talent. Perry, who's based in Ottawa, says that in the last 22 years he has accomplished 996 searches totaling $172 million in salary. And the bottom line in today's economy, he says, is you have to tap the "hidden job market."

Perry's also the co-author of "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters" and he recently spoke with Fortune.

What's the "hidden job market"?

When companies say, 'We have a hiring freeze,' that doesn't mean they're not hiring. It just means they're not adding headcount. Every year there's 20-25% turn over. So in a 1,000-person company, 200 or 250 people are going to turn over, either through attrition, or someone moves. Those companies are still hiring but they don't want to tell you.

So how do you find these jobs?

What you have to do in a recession is map your skills to employers to where you know they have a problem you can solve. My advice to job hunters is pick 10 to 20 companies, no more, and pick companies you're interested in, and that you think you can add value to. That requires researching companies, and so that list may take you two weeks. If you're trying to crack the hidden job market and you know the job position you want reports to vice president, find that vice president on LinkedIn and look at his profile to see who else he's connected to and go ask them, 'What's this guy like to work for?' Do the research before you even pick up the phone.

How can you get someone's attention?

We can go into billboards, sandwiches - that stuff only works once. It's only for one person who figures it out once, once in a city. If you're looking for fun stuff, we have this thing called the coffee cup caper, 30% of the time it will result in an interview. You send an employer a coffee cup with a little $5 swipe card with a little note that says, I'd like to get together and talk with you over coffee. I'll be calling soon. And you send it by U.S. post two day delivery, and that gets registered. So when they've signed for it, you wait about 20 minutes and then you call them. And then you go, Hi, I know you just got my package.' You're proving you're imaginative and creative.

What something people should avoid during a job interview?

This drives me insane: I've seen people mentally deciding in the interview whether they want the job. That's the last place to decide. You go into an interview, and you sell like your life depends on it. You've got to get the job first. I've seen it thousands of times. There's this point in the interview, where people go 'Hmm, do I really want this? You can see their body change. The employer picks it up and it's gone. If the employer is telling you, 'I love you,' and you're not saying 'I love you too,' it's over with.

How about following up afterwards?

If you really like the opportunity, don't go home and write thank you very much. Go back and write a letter that says, upon further reflection of what we were talking about, here's what I bring to the table, here's how I see myself fitting into the organization, including a 30-60-90 day plan.

How can someone attract a recruiter's attention?

You have to go to ZoomInfo and LinkedIn and create a profile. All corporate recruiters and probably 20% of the headhunters in America have ZoomInfo accounts. When we start a search, companies aren't going to advertise. The headhunter goes to ZoomInfo, types in requirements that we need, like skillset, degree, city, functional title, and up will come anywhere from a hundred to several thousand people who fit that criteria. Then we go to LinkedIn and run the same search. If you're in ZoomInfo with a picture, we're going to call you first. Just reverse engineer what recruiters are doing so you get found.

How can you really impress a potential employer?

It hasn't worked in years just to bring in your resume, except only in the most junior positions. I concentrate on directors to CEOs, and the last interview for us regardless is always a Power Point presentation of what you've learned, pain points, and how you intend to fix that. Everyone talks about being a great leader and great communicator, so prove it. Don't go into an interview and treat it like it's just another business meeting. Your career is your biggest asset now - because it's certainly not your house. To top of page

From
http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/30/news/economy/yang_headhunter.fortune/index.htm

August 2008 Dave Ramsey on Barack Obama

This was aired in August 2008. So was Dave right???