If you’re in a career transition with limited financial reserves or up to your neck in alligators from overspending, run to, not from the problem. The longer you carry this issue around the heavier it will get. Choose to implement all of the action items below to immediately reduce your spending. Better yet, make it a game to see how low you can get your expenses…you just might find that less is more.

1. Phones

Eliminate your cell phone and shop around for a long distance carrier with a low rate per minute and no monthly fee.

2. Subscriptions

Cancel newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. Everything you need is free at the library, accessible via the internet, or on television.

3. Utilities

Turn down the thermostat, use energy efficient lamps in fixtures, turn off the lights when you leave a room, ask your local utility companies about budget billing, and review the many other energy and money saving tips listed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s website.

4. Taxes

If you’re employed, ask if your employer offers a Section 125 Plan or Flexible Spending Program. If so, enroll in the plan as soon as possible to pay your health premium, health expenses and dependent care expenses (if applicable) with pre-tax dollars.

5. Medical

Purchase generic prescriptions when possible and obtain the best price by calling and comparing prices at local pharmacies, increase your medical coverage deductible, and read and understand your medical plan to be a smart consumer of health care services and save dollars.

6. Stuff in your home

Clean up, organize, and simplify your home environment. Hold a garage sale and fill it with the things you don’t use, don’t have room to display, or can’t access easily. You might also consider selling items on eBay. Another option is donating your items to a charitable organization as your gift may be deductible. Your stuff is someone else’s treasure.

7. Meals

If you’re working – take your lunch, shop at a discount grocery store and buy in bulk, cut out the junk food, avoid purchasing prepackaged meals, and avoid eating dinner out. Have you stopped to think that your daily latte may be costing you $600 per year?

8. Fitness

Terminate your gym membership. Try walking, running, hiking, or biking. It’s easier and more convenient to step through your front door and start exercising, plus the fresh air is invigorating.

9. Recreation and fun

Stay home with a good book or rent a video or DVD instead of going to the movie theater. Pop your own popcorn, snuggle up in your favorite chair, and have a fun night at home. As painful as it might be, you could also drop your cable TV.

10. Lifestyle

Money problems are seldom about money but rather emanate from your lifestyle choices. For example, I recently spoke with a small business owner who told me he was in financial trouble and was looking for ideas to save his business. He then mentioned that he was taking his family on vacation next month. He must have felt it necessary to justify his vacation plans because he proceeded to tell me he was taking the vacation in spite of his dire financial situation as it was important to create a positive memory and good time for his kids. I wonder how much he’ll enjoy the vacation when his business is about to tank.

If you’re in financial trouble or see it looming on the horizon, please don’t try to justify spending any more money, cut every expense today and when you’re out of debt start saving and building at least a years worth of financial reserve. It can be done! Good luck.

Source by Pam Woods

Some speakers pay close attention to their audience, whether it be an auditorium full of people or one person, whereas others can talk their audience’s ear off and never know when to stop!

In every office, family or organization, there is someone who can’t tell when to be quiet. People listen out of politeness and courtesy, but secretly dread the wind bag’s arrival, and wish they could say, “Please, will you be quiet?”

If you want to be sure you never bore people to tears, and people are always willing to listen to you, try the following techniques:

A. Attention. Pay close attention to your listener(s). Look for body language and subtle cues that your audience has heard enough. When you see the signs of boredom or disinterest, it’s time to be quiet! Or you could try talking about something more interesting.

B. Be Aware. Monitor the time you spend talking and limit yourself to just a few minutes… even if you haven’t said everything you want to say. Chances are, people don’t want to hear it, anyway. And you’ll prevent yourself from lecturing or lapsing into a long soliloquy.

C. Switch. Make a point of giving people equal time. If you are accustomed to doing most of the talking, maybe it’s time for a change. Switch from talking to listening. A good rule of thumb is to spend as much time listening as you do talking, if not more!

Be sure your interchange with the other person goes both ways, and not just one way, with you doing all the talking. Listen and let the person speak his or her mind. Ask questions. Take time to reflect on what the other person says.

If you dominate conversations people will resent and avoid you.

You will win more friends and influence more people by being a good listener than a good talker. Good talkers are everywhere, but truly good listeners are fairly rare.

Avoid using flashy words and sentences… they don’t really impress people. Communicate simply and clearly in the language of your listener.

Case Example

Recently a co-worker was telling a group of us about her harrowing weekend, where everything went wrong, and she went on and on, even though people started losing interest. Some of the cues she missed were people shifting in their chairs, yawning, scratching their heads, drinking from their cups frequently, staring off into space and excusing themselves for various reasons.

What was the mistake she made?

She was hyper-focused on her story. She missed the tell-tale signs people were becoming fatigued and wanted her to stop.

Good communicators are good listeners and observers. They discern cues and react accordingly. Knowing when to stop is a valuable and endearing trait that will help you succeed in any social setting.

Once you get the hang of it, your brain will shift attention between the message you are delivering and the ever-changing behavior of the audience. You must constantly monitor the listener’s behavior so you always know how it’s going, and you won’t miss all-important cues.

It will be easier to visually track your listener’s responses if you maintain good eye contact. Whatever you do, avoid becoming immersed in yourself or your story. Ask yourself what your listener wants… and be sensitive to his/her needs.

To make sure you never bore, observe your listener closely and know when to switch topics or be quiet — you’ll be a more effective communicator who knows how to make people happy.

Source by Richard Hamon