1. Work is desirable because it might serve as preventive of boredom. Indeed, our work at a given time and location might be really tedious or uninteresting. However, such tedium is quite small in comparison with the boredom stemmed from empty days, days without nothing to do.
2. Further, work has another benefit: it makes vacations much more enjoyable when they come. A happy life requires balance. All pleasures, all the time, are no good for the soul. Contrasts help us to appreciate the world in the right context.
3. And third, the obvious one: work increases our probabilities for success, both economically and profesionally.

The conclusion seems clear: work, even a boring one, always leaves some kind of profit.

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1. Knowing rights and duties

When you train a staff, the first thing you should teach is that leaders start by knowing their rights and duties within the organization. Teach them their rights, that will give them confidence in the organization and a sense of belonging. Besides, point out their duties, what the organization expects from them, their responsibilities. Take into account that leaders will utterly fail conducting an organization unless they perceive that their work will be rewarded. Your leaders must understand that leadership requires:

• commitment
• consistency
• monitoring several activities
• ensuring excellence
• solving problems
• making suggestions
• controlling programs
• following agendas
• promoting ideas
• defending organizational values

among other things requiring constant effort and dedication. This is why it is absolutely important to convey the leaders the value they have for the organization, the importance of their work, and the reward they can receive for their work. Leaders have to demonstrate passion and dedication. Motivation and perseverance are also at the core of leadership.

Knowing their duties will also allow them to know under what conditions they will be leading the organization, what are the expected results of their leadership, what is the proper way they should develop their leadership, and what are the milestones they are fully obligated to met for their leadership to be effective, and fully approved by the organization.

It is important that leaders know what are the rewards their leadership will bring along, because they are leaders committed to the organization, and they deserve wage benefits, admission to exclusive activities of the organization, and merit distinctions, promotions, delegated authority over certain matters of the organization. Of course, always in accordance with the results of their leadership.

When training a staff to lead, the future leaders must feel that the organization trust them, that they will be respected. Conversely, training must state that the organization expects dedication and concentration from their leaders. Teaching the leaders’ rights and duties within the organization is at the core of educating for leadership, of promoting a doctrine of respect between the organization and its leaders.

2. Train leaders for success

Leadership development means that you must train leaders to continually grow and mature. Leadership is not a static concept; leadership is a dynamic, mutable, adaptative process. More than training leaders, you should train successful leaders.

Some leaders fail distinguishing between successful leadership and being a leader and feeling successful because of such status. There is a great difference between being a leader who thinks he is successful because he has reached a leader status, and being a leader who has set out to achieve things, worked hard, and has achieved his success because he conquered his goals. The later one has the right attitude. Success is not a random thing, success is achieved when one is out to reach a goal, and has managed to reach it.

If you do not want to have mediocre leaders, teach them to differentiate between what a leader is and what it means to be successful leaders. You must train leaders so that they understand that having a leadership position is not everything: having a status, an office, an appointment, maybe a team, does not mean to be a successful leader. In order to qualify as successful, a leader has to:

• Have a clear goal she wants to reach.
• Such goal comprises general and specific objectives to be achieved.
• Arrange such objectives in estimated time intervals.
• Identify the required steps to achieve each objective.
• Know limitations and obstacles, and possible solutions for overcoming them.
• A leader does not to stop, a leader does not get discouraged by adverse outcomes: leaders are perseverant, they keep going on.
• Stand firm despite attacks and impediments.
• Do not stop until he reaches the end of the goal.
• A leader, no matter victories and defeats, is carefully enough to keep the right target. No deviations are allowed.

All these steps tells us that being a leader means more than just only a status. Trying to keep leadership according to these parameters will allow the leader to achieve success in everything she undertakes.

3. Leaders stand out for their excellence

Excellence is synonymous of perfection. Often as leaders we are pleased with our accomplishments, but… are such result true accomplishments, useful for our organization, or are they just a matter of personal satisfaction?

Sometimes we count small steps as huge accomplishments in our leadership, but they are just that: small steps that give us an approximation to the path of success that we want conquer, but which rarely deserve the big spotlights we point at them. A leader has to meditate on their achievements, to ask himself whether such results were the best that he could have been done.

When you train leaders, train them to do their tasks, of course, but also train them to excel at such tasks: a leader’s results must set them apart from the non-leaders.

Excellence in leadership also means that the things a leader does attain the best possible results, and processes are carried out in the best possible way. Leaders propose the best models and the best ideas. If when we evaluate what we do we realize that there was a better way to do it, or a better idea, or that we could have done it better, then, we must realize that it was a good performance, but maybe far from an excellent performance.

When training leaders, teach them to think, analyze, evaluate and consider what are the best tasks to achieve their goals, the best path. Leaders must find joy in a work of recognized excellence.

4. Challenge them to their full potential

All human beings have a potential within, probably unknown to us, because we don’t know how to hone our skills, or how to develop them. However, when circumstances are adverse or difficult in the extreme, that is the time when our struggle to survive and overcome the problems of life lead us to discover our talents, gifts, skills and abilities. Hard times help us to realize our qualities.

When training leaders, teach them to do their best, to keep trying even when they don’t feel enough confidence in themselves, perhaps because they feel they don’t have the skills or knowledge. Demand them to do the best they can do, no matter how difficult the task, no matter how weak their self-esteem as a leader, no matter the level of difficulty. Require them to always do their best.

Demanding their best means that they necessarily will have to discover how to achieve what lies ahead, no matter how much they have to sacrifice, or how much they have to fail on the road trying to succeed. Leaders do not surrender to the challenges of their work, because leaders know how to harness energy to overcome challenges.

When you demand these things, you are challenging them. A leader says to herself: I can, I’m able to achieve it, I have the potential to attain my goals, I have the abilities, I have everything I need to do it, I will succeed and my work will be a success.

5. Discover their achievements and talents

Sometimes, leaders tend to assess more the disappointments they’ve found during their work: they tend to minimize their achievements, their true talents.

Sometimes leaders know their accomplishments and their skills to perfection, but when the organization is not aware of the leader’s capabilities the leader may feel discouraged, lacking enough motivation, because after all no one is aware of what they do, or how well they perform. This way, organizational ignorance about their leaders might devalue their work.

As a trainer you also have to highlight the importance of an organization which recognizes its leaders, specially the favorable results of their work and their capabilities and skills. Further, teach leaders how to discover other people’s talents, how to set higher goals, how to develop new skills. That is, teach them to understand that success requires continuous personal and professional improvement.

Teach them to set goals which are intended to become defined achievements, and teach them to exercise specific actions to ensure such achievements.

6. Give them tools to work

Leading is not easy. Leading requires tools. There are many ways to give tools to a leader. Now, what is a tool? A tool is a useful device or technique for a job. There are several types of tools:

Physical tools or materials. Examples: a hammer, a computer, a blackboard, depending on the type of work to do.

Cognitive tools, knowledge and expertise. This is one of the most universal tools that exist, among the first things organizations must convey to their leaders: knowledge and education concerning the areas they should know, which are closely related to their work.

Conceptual tools. One thing is to have knowledge, and another thing is to have concepts and ideas developed in terms of knowledge. If the organization manages a vision or a way of doing things in a particular or different fashion from the rest, these approaches should be transmitted to the leaders. When a leader shares the concepts of his organization, he will perform a lot better.

Strategic tools. These are made up of all the techniques, steps, procedures, and forms of work that the organization has set as parameters and standards to ensure their achievements and successes.

A lot of organizations hire unqualified personnel, which is being evaluated for performance, but which has not been taught anything about leadership, lacking useful tools, only expected to try to learn fast. This is a serious error.

Most companies prefer to hire people with experience, but very few are committed to working towards empowering inexperienced ones. The same goes for the leadership: leadership prefers to delegate responsibilities to people which have been leaders in other organizations, and the only valid option for someone to fill these positions is that his resume says that he executed the same function in other organizations and has had experience in it, for a significant period of time. This situation has its very understandable reasons, because it saves investment in staff training, effort and time. However, organizations that invest in staff training and ongoing training, have remarkable successes that remain in time.

7. Diagnose possibilities

Diagnosing involves assessing scenaries that may occur, depending on the current reality. If  you want to know what things could happen in the future, do not sit to wait for the arrival of the future. Be active. Assess the present, and analyze any data the current reality provides.

Evaluate your staff, study their behavior, habits, strengths, weaknesses, talents, values, prejudices, self-esteem. All of these factors have to be taken into account: they can turn into an impediment to progress and achieving success.

When exploring possibilities, consider good and bad possibilities, likely and unlikely scenaries, spot business risks and dangers.

Based on this concept, we can conclude that if you do not make a diagnosis, you are exposing yourself to be defeated by harmful eventualities. Protect from catastrophes by means of planning. Train your leaders to diagnose scenaries, and also to evaluate what is necessary to evaluate, to change whatever is urgent to modify, and to improve everything that has to be improved.

For more information about leadership, take a look at The 7 Attributes of Leadership.

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Leaders radiate their happiness, and convey energy rather than absorbing it. People wishing to achieve success and raising to the top must be full of positive energy, and project it to the things they do. Willpower alone is not enough; it must be accompanied by a good deal of energy to undertake new businesses and projects, and to bear any hurdles along the way. Energy, when effectively conveyed to other people, allows us to lead them positively. Leaders are, in essence, sources of energy, and people will follow a true leader if they feel enhanced, relaxed and supported by their leader’s energy.

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Leadership can be defined as the will to control processes and events, to understand what is required to focus all of the involved activities in a specific direction, and to yield the power to complete tasks and distribute resources, properly harnessing and directing the abilities of each person involved in the project. Summarizing, leadership is about control, focus, and also about effective management of people and resources.

There are two kinds of leaders:

1. Nominal Leaders: The main goal of nominal leaders is to establish, between her organization and its environment, a set of relations which allow the perfect execution of a project’s tasks. A nominal leader defines such tasks and monitors them to verify they are carried out entirely.
2. Concrete Leaders: This kind of leader expresses and represents the perspectives of her group. It might happen that the nominal leader will not properly represent or understand the emotions of her people, and under such circumstances, a concrete leader could emerge and oppose the inpetitude of the nominal leader (and even replacing her.)

This tell us a very important fact: groups follow the person which is able to quickly and clearly connect with their emotions. Leadership is, then, also an emotional journey.

Some leaders are more effective managing small groups, instead of huge organizations. Other leaders are able to inspire great masses, but are little respected by their immediate collaborators. And there is a third group of leaders, the best leaders, whose followers are everyone: masses and close collaborators.

Regardless of the cognoscitive field a leader adresses, they have several interesting characteristic which distinguish them from everybody else. The 3 most visible characteristics of leaders are:

1. They have achieved incredible success in their work and in their private lives; it’s often said about them that they have the Midas touch.
2. They seem to own an unlimited luck.
3. They are rich, and they are getting richer (even right now).

There exists a wrong belief about leadership being a hereditary, genetic issue. And some people think being a successful, real leader is a matter of luck. Nothing further from the truth. Leadership has to be built, has to be shaped, and (very important) has to be mantained. And there’s always room for improvement.

All of we are able to achieve professional success. But we have to study, we have to observe, we have to learn which are the traits of leaders and the keys for success. Obviously, success can be achieved, taught and learnt: we have to reshape a set of our behaviors, and suit them to the profile of a successful person. We have previously touched upon 3 visible traits of leaders. Now it’s time to delve into this point. And now we’ll discuss the two key traits of leaders:

Motivation

Leaders are like tireless motivation machines. Leaders are continuosly motivating themselves, and they renew their motivations easily, almost effortlessly. Leaders communicate and convey their motivation to the people around them. Leader are always motivated, and always motivating their people.

Perseverance

And motivation is the fuel for the kernel of success: perseverance. They are entrepeneurs and innovators. Generally, successful people have faced harsh beginnings. What distinguishes them is their faith in what they are doing, in what they are pursuing. Leaders believe. Leaders insist in their projects, goals and tasks. They set realistic tasks, and they fight over and over until fully completing each one of such tasks. How many times do common people abandon their startups at the first view of difficulties? How many projects are never realized just because of plain laziness? It’s in that initial moment of doubt when leaders raise above the crowd. Leaders keep going forward, because they are relentless fighters. Note that leaders are perseverant in work and effective use of their resources. Perseverance without a rational application of forces and use of resource will only lead to an utter failure.

And what’s life but a struggle against the chaotic forces of the universe? Leaders are the warriors who are able to tame those chaotic trends

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Networking means building a list of contacts. Contacts are people you’ve met during your business or social activities. More often than not, such friends and acquaintances will provide you information about job openings, companies and industry leads. Moreover, they’ll introduce you to other so that you can grow your network. Therefore, it is important not only to inform them about your job search, but also give them some résumés.

This list will provide some hints about the people and organizations we should include in our network:

• Relatives
• Friends
• Recruiters
• Former Employers
• Neighbors
• Professional Organizations
• Other Job Seekers
• Academic Contacts (School, University)
• Business Associations
• Merchants

Organizing your Network of Contacts

Please, organize your network. Save information about your contacts in a spreadsheet or a database. Include their names, titles, company, address, phone and fax numbers, and email. It’s also important to register a few notes about the way in which any of your contacts is valuable, for instance, what do they know?, who can they refer you to?, and so on. Further, organize their business cards.

Besides, you should register the dates of communication with your contacts. Don’t be afraid to communicate with your contacts and ask for their help. This way, you’ll be connected to your network of contacts. Occasionally, check the progress. A phone call, SMS or email should suffice.

A few notes about Networking and Job-seeking

• Looking for a job is a job in itself. Develop a strategy, set goals. Look for a job by following a typical work schedule.
• When finishing a relation with an employer, please try to leave the best possible image. Remember that people in your company can be very good contacts. And also, it might happen that your future employer will call your previous company to ask for professional references about you.
• Create an attractive business card. Take your time to produce it, avoid spelling errors and, if required, look for professional advice. The idea is to have a genuine business card presentation.
• Finally, remember to keep your network informed of your progress. After you’ve got a job, remind to thank them for their help. Keep your network alive, as you don’t know when they will prove helpful again. Oh, and remember: you’re also a member of the network of each of your contacts. Share the love.

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you have to research your potential employer beforehand

…that will give you a very important lead. Get as much information as you can about the business, and also about the potential interviewers (you should research their style and attitude… that’s very important). If you know someone who has previously taken an interview in that company, talk with them about their experiences in the interview. Try to extract pure information, i.e., don’t let them to influence you (specially about the job being impossible or, on the contrary, being too easy).

1. First Approach

Remember that you have to dress with a professional look, according to the nature of the job. You are a professional… thereby each and every aspect of you must communicate that fact. Now, during the interview, take into account that Interviewers will ask questions related to their company, for example, why would you like to work for us? They may ask you about your opinion on the company’s products or history. Typically, this information is available on the company’s website, and by knowing it you demonstrate a genuine interest for the job.

2. Virtues and Limitations

Talk about your virtues, but not excessively. In this regards apply balance and good sense. Answer this question presenting your virtues in the context of the requirements of the job you’re applying to, with a clear and concise language. However, other almost granted question they will do is about your defects, thereby you must also be prepared to answer that. Furthermore, the interviewer may ask about your abilities and limitations: prepare an answer beforehand in order to allow you to present your defects as a new opportunity for keep improving.

3. Expect the Unexpected

You have to be ready for anything… a group interview, a forum about some specific problem of the company, a written exam, and so on. Carry any material you think you may need: think of the interview as your first day of work.

When entering to the interview, greet to your interviewer with a smile. Visual contact must also be direct and firm (but not exceedingly). Remember that, no matter the circumstances, you have to act formally instead of dared or zany (refer to your interviewer using his title… Dr., Mr., Engineer, etc.), unless they demand you to treat them informally (but that’s relatively rare; read point 6. Be on the alert). Listen to your interviewer very carefully. Sometimes the applicants are so focused in the things they want to say that forget what they are really being asked about. No answer is good if it does not truly answer the matter asked about.

4. Language

Be careful about the expressions and style you use to communicate your ideas. Don’t use inadequate, informal or excessively colloquial phrases.

5. Gestures

Be careful with your corporal language too. A firm handshake transmit self-confidence. A good posture also reflects confidence. Don’t act disturbed or nervous. Lean sligthly towards your interviewer in order to show interest in his words.

6. Be on the alert

Expert interviewers know human nature very well. An expert interviewer will quickly create a relaxed and trusting atmosphere for you, in order to expose your real behavior and ideas. However, never forget that he is there evaluating you, so no matter the confidence and comradeship he shows, you must always act as a professional. Novice interviewers, on the contrary, often act very arrogantly… fight off their arrogance by showing yourself relaxed and breezy (never answer the interviewer’s arrogance with more arrogance!).

7. Keep your moral high

Regarding this point, I recommend reading the posts The Winner’s Mind and The 7 Attributes of Leadership.

8. Secrets of a Critical Thinking Interviewer

Finally, good interviewers know how to distinguish good prospects from bad ones. They know that two people with the same job title may differ in at least one of the following ways:

• ability to perform the work
• interest in the work
• experience with similar applications
• experience with similar tools
• experience with similar techniques
• experience with similar working environment
• training
• ability to communicate with others
• ability to share responsibility with others
• management skills

Each of these characteristics can affect an individual’s ability to perform productively. These variations help to explain why one employee can complete a particular chore in a day, whereas another requires a week. The differences can be critical, not only to schedule estimation, but also to the entire success of the company’s projects. An expert interviewer knows that.

I wish you good luck on your interview and hope that you get the job!

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Let’s see how recruiters or prospective employers will not put down our résumé.

The Structure of the Résumé

The résumé must have the following organization:

1. Personal information: Name, residential address, contact phone number, e-mail address and date of birth. Sometimes, there is no need to indicate your marital status.
2. Education: It must be structured data about your studies and the titles you hold, in chronological order from top to bottom. Please indicate the study center (school, university, etc.), the town and dates.
3. Training: You must specify the other studies and practices that complement your academic training. It may help if you indicate the number of hours taken in each course. However, include only those courses which are relevant to the job.
4. Professional experience: List your previous jobs, the company’s name, date of start and finish, job title, and your duties and responsibilities. Again, follow a chronological order.
5. Languages: Simply point out the languages you command, and your level. Include proficiency tests’ results, if any.
6. Technical abilities: This section should comprise a brief description or listing of the skills, techniques and tools (e.g., software) that you command and are pertinent to the job.
7. Further details of interest: Driver’s license, availability for traveling, hobbies, and so further. The content of this section really depends on the job’s characteristics.

Often a résumé must be accompanied by a cover letter or covering letter, which simply is a letter of introduction. Cover letters are generally one page at most in length, divided into a header, introduction, body, and closing. The header should include your address and other information, the recipient’s contact information, and the date sent after either yours or the recipient’s address. On its side, the introduction briefly states the specific position desired, and is designed to catch the employer’s immediate interest. The body amplifies on material in the résumé or job application, and explains why you are interested in the job and would be of value to the employer. Finally, the closing summarizes the letter and indicates the next step the applicant expects to take… you can say that you will look forward to hearing from or speaking with the employer.

The Style of the Résumé

Here are a few recommendations for preparing our résumé:

1. The writing style must be direct and positive. Your writing should be in the third person.
2. Use a simple and concise vocabulary. Don’t recur to contrived or rarely used words. Be as clear as possible.
3. Beware of orthographic and grammatical errors… They decrease dramatically the professional feeling of our résumé.
4. Learn to organize your information in sections. Title such sections effectively.
5. Leave out any information unrelated to the job you’re applying to.
6. Don’t use colors. Don’t use “funny” typefaces, or unprofessional mixtures of fonts.
7. Nowadays, if a résumé is not redacted via a word processor then it is considered unprofessional and unacceptable.

Résumé Caveats

• The résumé should not be longer than two full sides of A4 paper.
• Do not write anything pejorative about other persons, businesses or your previous employer.
• Keep in mind that the résumé is a marketing document, not a bibliography, and certainly not a biography.
• If we are applying for a specific position, we must not forget to accompany the résumé by a cover letter explaining one’s suitability.
• Never comment on your economic expectations.
• Do not write about the reasons for this change of job or why you’re not working … reserve such information for the personal interview.
• Include a photo only if they ask to do so.

As always, your opinions on this topic are entirely welcome. Best of lucks with yor résumé.

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That said, I have some friends that abuse their credit cards usage. They charge a lot! They go nuts because they feel like they work pretty hard and should be able to do that sometimes. The problem is not that they cannot afford the payment or cannot pay it off. The problem is that most of their purchases are frivolous things they really don’t need. Surely, they work hard and they deserve to enjoy the fruits of their work. But they are not enjoying anything by acquiring a bunch of unneeded objects. On the contrary, they’re wasting their money. The only thing that such frantic credit card usage satisfies is the desire of material possession. Do we indeed work so hard only to crumble under such lame desire? When we are going to use our credit card we always should examine the actual reason behind the purchase. Review carefully your financial state… are you paying a house, a car, a small loan? Then try not to acquire more debt. Moreover, if we have a short or troubled credit histories we must try to do things right. Pressure of extreme debt is what leads to desperate and dangerous measures such as payday loans, for example. Really dangerous. Calm. Relax. Think. Good sense, remember? Life is beautiful.

If you cannot control your credit cards, I think it’s best that you turn them over to the issuer. Alternatively, give them to your husband/wife, if he/she is more responsible Don’t be afraid to close a card you don’t want. Though closing cards never helps to improving your credit scores (on the contrary, may hurt them), the damage will be relatively minor if the card has little time with you. Now, if you’ve held the card for many years… think it over, as closing it may seriously hurt your scores.

Credit’s origin delves into ancient history. Thanks to credit, we can be granted a loan. But credit also signals the creation of debt. Thanks to the advances of informatics and communications, we are able to use our credit cards almost anywhere, anytime. That’s nice, I think. Some people argue that credit cards are evil instruments that may easily leave you broke. I disagree about the ‘evil’ part, but certainly they’re not ‘god’ instruments They said that lenders hide several dirty tricks behind the cards (soaring rates, huge fees, poor limits, etc.) That’s why I said we have to know well the terms and conditions. Here we have a few remarks:

• In general, we have to go little by little with credit cards and scores. Credit is a mixture of trust, settlement and reputation.
• If a card does not work for you, turn it over. Try to keep older cards, though.
• Some people recommend that we should not carry credit card balances. I disagree. Pay in parts, but always amortizing the debt. Avoid late payments by agreeing to an automatic debit so at least your minimum balance gets paid every month.
• Instead of accepting a new card, ask for higher credit limits on the cards you have.
• Use your card carefully, and learn to use them. Sometimes credit cards represent an opportunity for going to the restaurant with the family, buying gifts for the loved ones, attending emergencies, harnessing a sudden business chance, and so further.
• Apply good sense. Don’t hurt your self-confidence. Enjoy your cards but take the responsibility

Finally, I like to buy some healthy pizzas and some gadgets with my credit cards. That’s what I like the most about them

Compare credit card interest rates to suit your finances.

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1 The Laptop

Albeit my experience with the Toshiba has been good, I think it’s time to go Apple. The problem with the Toshiba is that one is forcefully restricted to Windows environment; we may also install Linux but it would be too cumbersome for my needs. On the contrary, by using an Apple machine I have access to the powerful Mac OS X operating system, and besides I can compile and test some applications originally targeted at Linux, without doing separated installations. The Mac runs all the software I need. Someone may also add that the Mac is stylish, but that really is not my motivation as I prefer functionality over appearance. For example, it is evident that the relatively new Mac Air is very stylish, but it is also evident that it relinquishes an important quota of computing power. Therefore, I think I will choose the Apple MacBook Pro MB133LL/A, which boosts a display of 15.4″, 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, and DVD SuperDrive. Just all I need. I’m aware about the direct relation between big displays and laptop weight (this MacBook weighs 5.4 pounds), but I prefer to reduce any strain on my eyes.

I also like the DVI video output, which would allow connections with the digital projectors I use in meetings and seminars. Additionally, it includes a DVI to VGA adapter to connect with legacy equipment. It also includes many facilities for video conferencing with built-in iSight camera and the required software. The only thing that worries me a bit is the battery life. According to its technical specifications, this MacBook Pro’s battery is able to provide up to 6 hours of untethered work… but with so many add-ons and functions that number is hard to believe.

Overall, I think this is the right laptop. If you have had some experience with it, please share.

2 The Camera

I mostly shoot films, but a good digital camera is nice to have. And I’ve always believed that photos integrate with blogs better than videos do. However, regarding digital cameras I don’t have much experience. Nevertheless, I prefer a photo-quality of at least 7 Megapixels (MP.) A friend of mine has recommended the Canon PowerShot SD750 which, although is somewhat pricey (200 US$), has 7.1-MP quality, 3x zoom, and works fine for both expert and novice photographers (like me.) Besides, she says that the 3″ LCD screen of the camera is very crisp. I’ve had no good experiences with Canon products in the past, but I’ll give this a chance… let’s hope I can find a good discount, though… 200 US$ for a camera… yikes!

3 The Disc Burner

I think it’s also time to replace my DVD burner for a higher storage, modern and HD unit. This time my choice is firmer. I’ll be purchasing the LG GGW-H20L Super Multi Blue, which can burn and read Blu-ray, and also read HD DVD, DVD and CD. Great. I have a lot of things in my hard drive, and it would be nice to backup them in Blu-ray discs, which can hold up to 50 Gb. Finally I can have all my seminars in one disc… one disc to rule them all

4 The Projector

Mandatory tool for meetings and conferences. I love the Viewsonic brand, and of course, I will pick up a projector by Viewsonic. As the budget is already restricted by the above items, I will focus on the ViewSonic PJ503DB DLP projector.

I’ve already used this projector, and its setup is pretty easy and is relatively lightweight. It’s HD compatible, and has a good selection of video input ports. It also boosts excellent display, colors and clarity. The only cons, however are its inability for XGA resolution, and the lack of a zoom lens… things that I really, really don’t need.

I think these 4 items are reasonable companions for the tasks I’m currently developing, and for my upcoming plans. What do you think about my choices?

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Money has to be tightly controlled. We must know where money comes from, and where it goes to. We must strive to know the way our money flows, the paths it travels, and the drains taking most of our income. By closely watching our money’s nature, we’ll learn to control it. Control is a keyword of personal finance. Control refers to checking the errors we are incurring with our money’s management, and to take the corrective action to rectify any deviation from our desired goals. Setting goals is other important requirement for saving, and it answers the question what are we saving for ?

In the following, we’ll review 12 recommendations for a better saving:

1. Register Everything: Write down a (complete and exact) list of your monthly spendings. When the month ends, examine your list, sort all the expenditures and you’ll notice those spots and activities which represent an opportunity for saving. The list will also allow you to see at a glance how consistent you truly were distributing your money. The general idea is to detect new opportunities for saving. You’ll be surprised of the great opportunities that knowing our money’s flow offers. Furthermore, the list is the first step into making a monthly and annual budget. Preparing budgets is also an art, and we have to start to hone our planning skills as soon as possible.
2. Review your Invoices: Please, review all of your services’ invoices. A few decisions or changes may yield miracles. For example, turn off lights when they’re not in use; leaving your lights on when no one is in the room is a huge waste of energy and money. These are simple measures that every member of the family can contribute to. Remember, a penny saved is a penny earned.
3. Tune up your Services: Besides reviewing our invoices, we could benefit from analysis and more drastic actions. Do you really need the long-distance calls service? Do you really watch all the channels included in the platinum subscription of your cable service? Check if your communications provider offers more economic plans, adjusted to your real needs. We should also apply a similar approach to banks’ services: let’s look for financings with lower interests and compare different banks to open a savings account. Additionally, try to save in water and gasoline.
4. Amortize your Credit Card Debt: Decide on the right amount of money you might assign to amortize your credit card balance. Try to lower a bit your nonessential expenses in order to pay more than the defined minimum proportion of the bill. Remember, amortizing your credit card balance may be a wise investment. Other step you may take is that if you have several credit cards, cancel the ones you are actually not needing: this will save you from the fee and other commissions of the credit card, and additionally prevents wrong uses of your credit capacity.
5. Create a Plan of Pensions for the Future: Research if the company where you work offers a contribution retirement plan (e.g., 401(k)). Under such plan, your employer will start “deferring” a portion of your wage. Typically, you also are able to select from a number of investment options (stocks, bonds, etc.) A nice side of this type of retirement plan is that the company does all the bureaucratic steps for you. Needless to say, a retirement plan is a form of saving.
6. Review your Insurance Contracts: Are you paying the right cost for insurance? An insurance coverage is very important for our mental relax. But compare the types of insurance policies, including life, home, disability, health and even those covering small business, and select what you indeed require. And specially, reject insurance policies that are too pricey or that contain too many exclusion clauses.
7. Write a List of the Things You Have to Buy: Next time you go shopping, prepare a list of the things you have to buy. Else, you may yield to compulsive purchases, and acquire things you perhaps don’t need in that moment, such as movies, cellphones, clothes, etc. If you have to purchase a dear item, please research your options thoroughly, compare prices, and choose the offer providing the best relation price/quality.
8. Prefer Automatic Payments: Some financial institutions can arrange for automatic payments to be deducted from the user’s bank accounts, thus avoiding late payment altogether as long as the cardholder has sufficient funds. Take into account that when we have to go out to do payments, we are subject to the business pressures to purchase things we don’t need. And transport also represents an expense, of both money and time. Furthermore, automatic charges prevent us from paying extra commissions for late payment. All your services could also be automatically charged, and by the end of the month, you’ll have saved a lot of money, and avoided plenty of worries. Be careful, though, not to forget to keep the source account with a proper level of funds.
9. Recognize the Impact of Inflation: Inflation results in a rise in the general level of prices over time. Watch out for inflation as it can erode the real value of your savings. Inflation is a hidden risk pressure for those with savings to invest them, rather than have the purchasing power of those savings erode through inflation.
10. Setting goals: For example, a possible long-term goal is “retire at age 60 with a personal net worth of 300,000 US dollars”, and a mid-term one is “buy a house in 5 years paying a monthly mortgage servicing cost that is no more than 23% of my gross income.” Besides retirement and a house, other goals could be related to paying off credit card (as told above), college and university costs, medical expenses, etc. Such financial goals help to direct financial planning.
11. Planning and Executing: After setting the goals, the next step is to define the financial plan, which should describe how to accomplish our goals. Regarding this how-to, we could follow the guidelines stated in the previous points. Now, execution of the personal financial plan often requires discipline and perseverance. Don’t hesitate to look for professional help (accountants, investment advisers, lawyers, etc.) if you have some doubts.
12. Monitoring and Assessment: As time passes, the personal financial plan must be monitored for possible adjustments or reassessments. Try to improve all the suggestions I’ve given above.

Remember that saving is an art, and as such, it requires to be a genius or a lot of practice. The ultimate goal is to combine skill, craft, and wise judgment, in order to distribute our money in the best possible way.

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