To those who celebrate it, Merry Christmas! Here are some articles I’ve found recently that you might enjoy.
AllFinancialMatters suggests the top 8 New Year’s Resolutions for You and Your Wallet. Since most people fail at financial New Year’s Resolutions, many within the first month, I suggest taking a different approach if financial changes are truly important to you.
Stop Asking No Credit Needed to Apply for Your Silly Credit Card. NCN is sick of cashiers who ask customers when checking out their purchases to sign up for a store credit card. Perhaps creating a button to wear while shopping, saying, “Please don’t ask me to sign up for your credit card,” will help get the point across. They ask because they get paid more when their customers fill out applications. I never had any problem saying, “No, thank you,” but I do more shopping online now, where it’s easier to close a pop-up window with an offer than have to tell a cashier that you will not assist them in getting paid more from their employer.
And finally, Penelope Trunk says that, “Do what you love,” is bad career advice. Her argument is that we are most likely doing what we love anyway. “We are each multifaceted, multilayered, complicated people, and if you are reading this blog, you probably devote a large part of your life to learning about yourself and you know it’s a process. None us loves just one thing.” I started my career by doing what I love and trying to get paid for it, but if anything, I was hardly getting paid and I was loving what I did less and less. And like Penelope states, I’ve found that there are many different things that I enjoy doing—and I do these things in addition to my day job, which I most certainly do not love. We all have heard, “Do what you love and the money will follow,” but there is something to be said for, “Do what you love and seek remuneration elsewhere.”
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1:12 pm (reply)
Merry Christmas Flexo.
Thanks for the site, it has been a blessing to me for the last year. I hope 2008 is a great year for you.
12:56 pm (reply)
In response to most people failing at financial resolutions, thats probably true.
However, I think making realistic, measurable goals drastically increases one’s performance – financially or otherwise. Maybe its time for resolution reform. No more vague statements. Lets make SMART goals!
Hope you’ve had a great holiday, I truly enjoy the blog.
Cheers
12:39 am (reply)
Bobby & Amanda: Thanks for the nice comments, and I agree… make goals and plans if you want to accomplish something… resolutions are fodder for parties where you’ve had too much champagne.