Great Article by Fortune on Lateral Career Moves

Back in October, Fortune had this great article on making lateral career moves. This is a great read for those of you thinking about making a move job wise.

Black Friday Hangover? Here is a Free Way to be $107 Richer

Spend more than you anticipated yesterday? You and millions of shoppers are waking up this Saturday morning with the Black Friday Hangover. Symptoms include: over the limit fees on credit cards, empty bank account, bent and misshapen credit cards, and many new store cards to add to your collection.

Well, there is help out there. ING Direct (which is the most customer serviced focused bank out there) has a special deal running until 11:59pm November 27 (Sunday). Open a new checking account online and get $107!!! That will go a long way to curing your Black Friday Hangover! Here is how it works right off of there website:

• Open Electric Orange November 25^th – 27^th and make a total of 5 purchases (either signature or PIN-based) using your Electric Orange Card or Person2Person Payments (or any combination of the two) within 45 days.
• Your $107 bonus will be automatically deposited into your account on day 50.
• Bonus only available for new Electric Orange checking.

The Richest Man in Bablyon: The 5 Laws of Gold

I recently read the Grandfather of all "grow rich" books. The book is titled, "The Richest Man in Babylon". It was written by George S. Claxon. The first important lesson in the book is the 5 Laws of Gold. To save you time, I will give these to you right now.

1. Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.

2. Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.

3. Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of wise men in its handling.

4. Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keeping.

5. Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.

Sound financial advice that is used by everyone including Rich Dad Poor Dad and others.

Interesting Story about Richard Branson

I wanted to share an excerpt from a book I just finished reading titled "Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?" written by Seth Godin.

Forty years ago, Richard Branson, who ultimately founded Virgin Air, found himself in a similar situation in an airport in the Caribbean. The had just canceled his flight, the only flight that day. Instead of freaking out about how essential the flight was, how badly his day was ruined, how his entire career was now in jeopardy, the young Branson walked across the airport to the charter desk and inquired about the cost of chartering a flight out of Puerto Rico.

Then he borrowed a portable blackboard and wrote, "Seats to Virgin Islands, $39." He went back to his gate, sold enough seats to his fellow passengers to completely cover his costs, and made it home on time. Not to mention planting the seeds for the airline he'd start decades later. Sounds like the kind of person you'd like to hire.

If you enjoyed this story, please consider purchasing Seth Godin's book. It is an excellent read with many good stories like this.

Three Ways To Raise Your Credit Score

Everyone always ask me what they can do to raise their credit score. Here are three ways to raise your credit score and keep it high.

First, keep credit card and other revolving balances low compared to your limits. So, the two ways to make this happen is to pay off debt and raise your limits. This can be accomplished by calling your credit card companies and ask them to raise you limits. Also, if you have a lot of balances on a lot of cards, you can do a debt consolidation that will transfer your debt to installment and in most cases instantly raise you score.

Second, do not close credit cards. As you pay off your credit cards, leave them open. This is because the older the cards you have, the higher the credit score.

Lastly, pay your loans and credit cards on time. I cannot stress how important this is to keeping a high credit score. This is the key to building good credit over the long run.

Are You a Slave or Freeman?

If you have any debts, you are a slave to that company. Think about it. You are working to earn money to pay your bills. For each bill you have, you are basically working for them. You cable bill $100, you are a slave for Comcast. Your car loan is $300 per month, you are a slave to your bank. The way you break the chains is to pay off all your debts and start paying yourself. Pay your self by saving your money, investing your money, and wisely spending money you have. Slave or free man...your choice...

You know you are spending too much when...

You know you are spending too much when you have to borrow to pay other debts...
You know you are spending too much when you cannot even make all the minumum payments on your credit cards...
You know you are spending too much when you eat out more than you eat in...
You know you are spending too much when your car payment is greater than your rent or mortgage...
You know you are spending too much when your bar tab exceeds the amount you saved from your last paycheck...

Remember, there is no shame in having debt if you are paying it back with the intention of paying it off as quickly as possible. Americans are saving less now that ever before. It is important that we as a nation put more emphasis on sound financial planning. The more of our fellow citizens that our financially fit, the better off the country will be as a whole.

Free vs Paid Advice

Which would you prefer, free advice or paid advice? Granted, one costs less than the other, or does it? What is the cost for free BAD advice? I am not advocating only seeking paid advice, but you have to ask yourself if the person is credible in the subject area.

For example, you love your parents. Most of us love our parents. You need advice on buying your first home. Your parents have never owned their own home and in fact, they are adamantly against you buying a home. Even though their advice is free, is it good advice? What if you listen to them and rent your whole life. How much did that cost you over all those years?

Remember, when seeking advice, make sure that the person giving you the advice is knowledgeable on the subject or it may end up costing you more than you think.