Reader Stories: How to pay off debt and save money! Part 2

This post is from the series called "Reader Stories" about tips, success, and lessons learned by our readers. Be kind and enjoy!

Today's Reader Story comes from a mother of two with an eye for discounts. She has found ways to save money on many items and services we all use every day. Many tips are so simple, they are profound.

Understanding the difference between need and want is critical in being successful once you embark on a financial plan or goal

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If you absolutely need something try looking for it on Ebay or Craigslist prior to purchasing in a store.  One example is a cell phone charger.  I could have purchased one at the sprint store for 29.99 and decided to check on Ebay where I got not one but three chargers for a total price of $5.64.  I wanted a bobby pillow before having my second child to make breastfeeding easier and because this was a want not a need I decided to look for it used on craigslist versus buying at Baby R Us for $39.99 and ended up getting a used one for $5. 

According to Pet Education, the cost of owning a dog over its lifespan is anywhere from $5k-$14k depending on how thrift you are.  If you are thinking about purchasing an animal, I would advise against it if you are trying to pay off debts or save money because caring for animals is costly and a want not a need.

Clothes shopping?  I only shop at goodwill or salvation army for clothes.  Salvation army has 50% off most of their clothing and shoes every Wednesday which makes their prices much lower than goodwill prices.  I wear dresses often because the price is $4.99 at goodwill for a dress where an outfit would end up costing more than that.

Buy generic when better and take a calculator with you to the store.  If you are trying to determine which diapers or cereal box is the better deal.  Take the price of the item and divide by how many items you receive or ounces you get, then do the same for the other item so you know exactly how much you are paying.

$15.99 for 103 diapers (15.99 divided by 103 = 15.52 cents per diaper) 

$5.00 for 33 diapers ($5.00 divided by 33 = $15.15 cents per diapers)

In this example, it is a better deal to get the 33 pack diapers because per diaper it is cheaper.  I buy dental floss, mouth wash, aluminum foil at the dollar store and buy anything generic you can.  Walmart has equate Valvoline for $1.00 where the Valvoline (name brand alternative in same size bottle is $2.79).

I now only buy soda pop if I can get it for 25 cents a can or less and anything more than that, I am simply not interested.  This means I can have enjoy 6 cans over 6 days for the same amount of money I would have spent on one 20 ounce bottle at the work vending machine.  However, tap water is much cheaper than soda pop so would be the best option.

The average household in the United States has over 8k in credit card debt.  An $8,000 debt at a rate of 18% interest will take more than 25 years to repay and cost more than $24,000.  Do you know your interest rates?  If you don’t call your credit card companies and find out.  Some credit cards can charge interest as high as 30% or as low as 13%.  You want to pay off the 30% credit card first versus the 13% card.  However, work to never spend more money than you make.

How could a credit card pay you to use it? That sounds too good to be true.  The reason credit card companies want you to use them is because they get a cut every time you purchase something.  Credit cards charge the merchant for accepting the credit card 2-4% of the purchase price

Look for programs to help you save for your future goals.  For example, citizens bank has a savings program for purchasing a home where you save $100 a month for three years and they give you $1,000 in free money towards the down ayment on a home.  They also have a college savings program where you save 25 a month, each month, and are rewarded $1,000 in free money once your child reaches 18 years old.  Go here for more information:  http://www.citizensbank.com/savings-and-cds/college-saver.aspx

Buying a home, use an easy rule of thumb to ensure you are living within your means.  Never purchase a home greater than 2.5 times your yearly income.  Doing so could put you in dire financial strain in the future.

Aim to never buy a house unless you have 20% of the purchase price to put down on the home.  Why?  If you do not have 20% down when you purchase the home the bank considers you a risky person to lend to and buys “private mortgage insurance on you (AKA PMI).”  You will be paying an extra monthly charge with your mortgage of $37.50 a month or $450 a year.

Stay tuned for part 3 and don't forget to comment and discuss!

Want to share your success and tips? 

Email personalfinance4thepeople@gmail.com to find out how.

Reader Stories: How to pay off debt and save money! Part 1

This post is the first in a series called "Reader Stories" about tips, success, and lessons learned by our readers. Be kind and enjoy!

Today's Reader Story comes from a mother of two with an eye for discounts. She has found ways to save money on many items and services we all use every day. Many tips are so simple, they are profound.  

I bought a house for $56k and a car for $16k just five years ago and have paid them both off with an income of $45k a year.  I was also able to afford $6-8k a year in daycare expenses.  How did I do it?  Hopefully these tips will help.

     

The two biggest ways to manage or save money is through budgeting and auto-deductions.

1.)  Budgeting- Review all credit card statements and ATM withdrawals to find out exactly how much money they are spending in different areas.  From there, you can prioritize what's most important to you and where you are willing to cut back on spending to free up money to put toward their financial goals.  Typically, people are spending a lot more money than they realize on food, entertainment, miscellaneous expenses throughout the day, and clothing.  It's also a great idea to have people carry around a check register or regular pen and paper to immediately write down every expense they incur for one whole month.  It's amazing how fast expenses add up!

2.)  Auto-Deductions- Just like people have 401(k) contributions set up to pull money out of the paycheck before you see it.  People automatically adjust their lifestyle to spend whatever is left in their account so you most likely will not even miss it.

3.)  If you shop on the internet, don’t check out without googling a coupon code.  I have saved over $100 and received free shipping by simply finding these coupon codes online.  I recently made a purchase at K-Mart online free ship to store.  The local store already had the items I wanted and I used a coupon code to obtain 20% off my order and when I went to pick them up I didn’t have to wait in a large line or go look for my items.  They had my items ready to go and I already paid.  This saves time and money. 

4.)  Look at all your bills?  I have saved $5 a month for a year just by calling my cable provider and asking if there were any promotions or discounts available or anyway to reduce my bill.  I already had the smallest package they offer but they still were able to give me $5 off a month for a year because of my persistence.

5.)  Don’t go to the cell phone store, call them instead.  I went to a sprint store and they told me there was no such thing as a 500 minute plan.  They told me this, I propose, because they do not make any sales bonuses off selling contracts like this.  I called sprint customer service and obtained a 500 minute plan with free sprint to sprint (all I need) for $35 a month on a basic phone.  Not having a fancy phone is an easy way to save money.

Stay tuned for part 2 and don't forget to comment and discuss!

Want to share your success and tips? 

Email personalfinance4thepeople@gmail.com to find out how.

Financial ABC's

After reading these little nuggets of financial wisdom  from Led Penzo dot Com you won’t be an expert on the subject but, if you take them to heart, you’ll definitely have enough background material to at least get a passing grade. So if you’re ready, here we go:

Annual income, twenty pounds; annual expenditure, nineteen pounds; result, happiness. Annual income, twenty pounds; annual expenditure, twenty-one pounds; result, misery. –- Charles Dickens in his book David Copperfield*

Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying. That’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s the very essence of successful investing. –-J.P. Getty

Content makes poor men rich. Discontent makes rich men poor. — Benjamin Franklin

Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are. — James W. Frick

Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. — Norman Vincent Peale

For a happy marriage, wise is the husband who understands that what’s hers is hers and what’s yours is hers. — Len Penzo

Good habits result from resisting temptation. — an ancient proverb

He is richest who is content with least. — Socrates

If you owe the bank $100 that’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem. — J.P. Getty

Just remember: Any man who has $10,000 left when he dies is a failure. — Errol Flynn

Keep an emergency fund of at least three month’s living expenses. — common financial wisdom

Lend your money and lose your friend.– English proverb

Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. — Benjamin Franklin

Never spend your money before you have it. -– Thomas Jefferson

October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to invest in stocks. Other dangerous months are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February. — Mark Twain

Plenty of people despise money, but few know how to give it away. — Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld

Quit using credit cards for making any purchases unless you intend to pay off the balance in full at the end of every month. — common financial wisdom

Rich people plan for four generations. Poor people plan for Saturday night. — Gloria Steinem

Solvency is entirely a matter of temperament and not of income. — Logan Pearsall Smith

The art of living easily as to money is to pitch your scale of living one degree below your means. –- Sir Henry Taylor

Understand that there is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means. — Calvin Coolidge

Volatility in your retirement portfolio can be minimized via diversification. — common financial wisdom

Wants may be easily satisfied either by producing much or desiring little. -– Marshall Sahlins

Xerox stock price on April 17 of selected years (adjusted to account for any splits and/or dividends): 1970 – $14.15; 1999 – $55.13; 2009 – $5.92. The moral of this story is that even buy-and-hold investors need to know when it’s time to sell. — Len Penzo

You’ll be much better off financially if you strive to be anonymously rich rather than deceptively poor. — Len Penzo

Zillow should never be considered an accurate gauge of your home’s value. — Len Penzo

By the way, did you notice the predominant theme among the majority of those quotes? Here’s a hint: It’s the first commandment of my Ten Commandments of Personal Finance.

5 Game-Changing Business Models To Learn From

In a recent article from Open Forum by American Express for Small Business on 5 tips to help your business prosper. As a small business owner, I take all the tips I can get...and pay it forward by passing on the information I learn to you.

This list is of 5 Things that could change your business...

1. Spotify

The music-sharing service has been loved in Europe for years and is now taking the United States by storm. Spotify seems to be on a mission to figure out how to offer music for free and make money from it.

Around 90 percent of Spotify users stream any song, on-demand for free. Those users are exposed to occasional audio and text advertisements. The other 10 percent of users pay a monthly fee for a premium version of the service, which offers mobile-streaming, no advertisements, and other upgraded features.

In essence, Spotify has combined many of the features of services like iTunes, Pandora and Grooveshark to create a unique music playing platform. It remains to be seen whether Spotify's business model will be sustainable over the long-term, but the service has already gained over 10 million users.

The lesson: Using a business model that offers a range of options can be an excellent way to grow your user base.

2. Box.net

Just as the consumer-focused tidal wave was coming into shore, Box.net took their boat out to sea.

The hot new startup companies—Facebook, Twitter, etc.—were all focusing on individuals. Instead of trying to create the next Carbonite or Dropbox—which focus on digital storage for consumers—Box.net founder Aaron Levie decided to transition into the B2B space.

It's paid off. The other services receive lots of press, but Box.net, which was founded in 2005, is now valued at $500 million.

The lesson: Unsexy can be very profitable. Consumer-based software seems to get all the buzz, but B2B markets have deeper pockets.

3. Cutting Edge Group

There are lots of people and things in a Hollywood Movie—script, actors, director and crew, costumes, sets—and for a film to make it to theaters, each piece needs to be funded.

In the past, everything that went into a film was usually paid for out of one large pool of money. Cutting Edge Group has decided to join the funding party in a unique way. The company invests in the musical scores of new movies.

In essence, they inflate the musical budget of films. The result is that movies with Cutting Edge funding can hire better music producers, composers, musicians and so on.

For its investment, Cutting Edge receives film royalties, music licensing deals and movie soundtrack sales.

The lesson: Most industries have a profitable niche that new companies can carve out and use to their advantage. Sure, the movie industry wouldn't function if everyone only invested in the musical portion like Cutting Edge does...but that's not going to happen.

4. Charity:water

When founder Scott Harrison started Charity:water, he decided that 100 percent of public donations would go towards the cause. It would take extra work, but he was committed to covering operating expenses through separate, private donations.

Little did Harrison know how difficult landing those private donations would be. At one point, the company was only a day or two away from financial failure and Harrison was prepared to walk in and tell his employees to pack it up.

A saving donation came through, of course, and now Charity:water is one of the most successful charities in the world.

The lesson: Creating a business model that makes things more rewarding for your customers isn't always easy, but it can definitely be worth it.

5. Umphrey's McGee

This rock jam band took a page from the video game playbook and allowed their fans to "unlock" different tiers of bonus packages by pre-ordering their album, Mantis.

For example, if 100 fans pre-ordered, then everyone would get Bonus A. If 1000 fans pre-ordered, then a new level would "unlock" and everyone would get bonus A and bonus B. If 10,000 fans pre-ordered the album, then everyone would get bonus A, bonus B, and bonus C. And so on.

The result was that fans pressured each other to buy, so that everyone received more bonuses.
The idea created a flood of pre-orders and Reuters claimed it was the "perfect way to implement a pre-order campaign."

The lesson: Making the experience more engaging and introducing some game-oriented tactics ("gamification") can make a big difference for your business model.

How can these brilliant business models help your company?

Simple Steps to Going Green

As we realize that environmental resources are limited, more and more people are considering green options for home cleaning and maintenance. Earth friendly options are becoming more and more popular, and are readily available in most areas. If you've been considering a greener lifestyle, this article will offer some

tips and guidelines to get you started. Living a more sustainable lifestyle is easier than ever, and you'll feel good about making environmentally sound decisions for your home and family.

Consider Cloth-Disposable paper products eat up the world's resources at an alarming rate, and Americans use an alarming amount of these items. Disposable diapers, paper towels, toilet brushes, mops – the list goes on and on. Consider making the switch to cloth or reusable alternatives wherever possible, using dish cloths, rags, and cloth diapers. The earth (and your wallet) will thank you!

Use Earth Friendly Cleaners-Instead of housing a cabinet full of unpronounceable chemical cleaning products; consider switching to all natural alternatives.

Cut Out Bottled Water-According to Climate 411, Americans spend over 15 billion dollars per year on bottled water, much of which is simply processed tap water. This booming industry costs both the consumer and the planet – using the equivalent of 17 million barrels of oil per year. Instead of purchasing cases of bottled water for your home, consider investing in a reusable water bottle and refilling it with filtered tap water. This one time investment will save you hundreds of dollars a year and conserve precious natural resources in the process.

world. Scout out your neighborhood for local farmers, CSA's, and organic growers to begin your journey into local sustainable food. Take some time to research where your food comes from. You just might be amazed.

Eat Locally-Modern technology has given us the ability to eat strawberries in January and apples in May. Processed, frozen, and convenience foods have become the norm. However, most Americans pay little attention to where their foods are shipped from. As gasoline costs rise and we strive to conserve energy, it's time to turn our thoughts to the origin of our food products. By eating locally and in season, we can save energy, money, and our health – avoiding costly products that have been stripped of nutrients and shipped halfway around the country.

Turn off and unplug-Even when electronic devices are turned off they use energy. Save more than 1000 pound of carbon dioxide and $256 per year by unplugging when not in use.

Buy Second Hand-Buy from used clothing and furniture stores will save money and save the environment. You’ll be amazed at the treasures you can find.


Ironing-Reduce the need for ironing by taking clothes out of the dryer slightly damp and hanging them up. You’ll save energy and money.

Less packaging-Buy products with less packaging and recycled paper, plastic, and glass. Better yet, buy concentrates that will make multiple bottles of ready to use. It’s less to recycle.

Water-Turn off water while you brush your teeth and save 4 gallons a minutes! That’s 10,000 gallons a year for a family of four.

The Bath-Plug the bathtub before turning the water on, then adjust the temperature as the tub fills.

Trash-Avoid creating trash wherever possible. Buy ice cream in a cone instead of a plastic cup.

Tires-Keep the tire on your car adequately inflated. Check them monthly and save 250 pounds of carbon dioxide and over $800 per year.

Printer-Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Save 5 pounds of carbon dioxide per ream of paper. If you find you don’t need a printed sheet, reuse the back side of the paper for the next print job. Be sure to refill your own cartridges.

Food coloring-Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the bowl, you have a leak. It’s easy to fix, and can save more than 600 gallons of water per month.

Heating and cooling-Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and $98 per year.

Vacation-When you leave for vacation, turn your hot water heater down. You will be amazed how much this will save you and the environment. While at home, keep the thermostat no higher than 120 degrees. You’ll save over $30 per year.

Air Conditioning-Clean or replace dirty air conditioner filters as recommended. Save $150 per year.

Showering-Using less water in the shower means less energy used to heat the water. Save $150 a year.

Idling-Letting your car idle wastes gas and generates pollution. If you are not in traffic, turn the car off.

Compost-You can create richer soil in the back yard by composting your leftovers.

and save 2000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

Computer-Shut off your computer when not in use and save energy and over 200 pounds of CO2.

Insulate the pipes-Insulating hot water pipes so that the water that comes out of the faucet is hotter faster will save money and energy.

Pots and pans-Soak pots and pans in water with a small amount of soap, rather than let them sit under running water while you scrape them clean.

Wear more cloths-Instead of turning up the heat in your home, wear more cloths.

Lunch-Pack a waste free lunch, utilize a reusable carrier and reusable containers.

Cloth bags-Take your own reusable cloth bags to the market. Don’t use the paper or plastic that the store offers.

Water-Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap for cold water.

 
Insulate-Insulating your hot water heater could save you over $130 per year. 

Trees-Plant a tree and suck up carbon dioxide. You’ll help clean up the air 

Car-Check your car’s air filters monthly. Save $130 per year.

Bike-Share a ride or take your bike when possible. It’s all about the small things we can do each day that will save time, money, and the environment! Going Green is all about better health for the environment and your personal health.

For more information you can visit the following links:

http://www.parentawarnesscenter.com 
http://psr.igc.org/ihwrept/ihwcomplete.pdf

It's Not just Financial, It's Personal Too: 6 Tip to Become More Productive

Most of us really don't know how to be our most productive selves. We think we do, but really we start a lot of stuff and never finish or don't use the time we do have correctly. I am very guilty of this!

I work and work and work and feel like nothing ever gets accomplished. I don't use my time effectively. I thought I had time management on lock because growing up I played sports, was in the band, and was in honors classes. Ha! Boy have I been proven wrong lately!

Here are some tips to help US ALL be more productive...



1. Embrace simplicity

Simplicity drives true productivity. Think about the small, relatively inconsequential tasks that compete for your attention every day. What can be eliminated, automated, delegated or relegated to the back-burner? Productive individuals ruthlessly root out those tasks that compete for their time and sap their resources.

2. Manage distractions

The forces of our hyper-connected, 24/7 world offers us amazing opportunities to engage—and even more opportunities to become distracted. The truly productive understand the threat of distraction in all its forms and create clear boundaries between the task-at-hand and the host of diversions that vie for their attention. Whether the distractions are work or play, establishing a “sacred space” for what you’re doing is key in becoming more productive.



3. Bend activities around inspiration

No strategy can match the motivation that comes from being inspired. Productive individuals understand this and leave their schedules flexible enough to identify and respond to inspiration. Though inspiration doesn’t always come and we often have to force ourselves to complete some tasks, knowing how to leverage those motivated moments can transform our work experience, cut the time investment and improve the quality of what’s produced.

4. Seize small blocks of time

What would get done if you waited until you had enough time? Productive people understand that small blocks of time used wisely can whittle away at projects large and small. Whether it’s 15 minutes before work or an hour during a commute, being ready (read: organized) to seize the moment can make all the difference.

5. Make lists and set goal paths

Highly productive individuals understand that every goal, no matter how small is driven by smaller supporting goals. Dissecting this dependency and flow is essential to creating sound goal paths.



If you want to change careers, that goal may be driven by several smaller goals like going back to school, improving your networking skills, updating your resume or getting a new certification. And each of these smaller goals is supported by even more granular sub-goals. Creating daily “to-do” lists is perhaps the most common way we identify each of these mini goals and understand how they fit into the bigger picture. Productive people tend to be ardent list-makers and are motivated by accomplishing the small daily tasks that, over time, drive larger achievement.

6. Multitask…sometimes

Multitasking gets a lot of good press in modern corporate culture. The willingness and ability to juggle five or 10 tasks simultaneously is almost assumed, and most employees are trained to be circus performers early on. But what subtleties of concentration, recall and quality are lost as we indiscriminately multitask?

The truly productive realize that multitasking can be useful at times and utterly ineffective at others. Choose your occasion carefully. For those jobs that don’t require creative problem solving, interpersonal communication, attention to detail, or quick response times, multitasking works great (but what exactly are those jobs?). The rest of the time, embrace the long-forgotten “mono-tasking”—it’ll boost the quality of your work, reduce your stress, help your communication skills and ultimately, make you more productive.

In the end, productivity is one part old-fashioned discipline and one part smart strategy. Organizing our lives so that we optimize our chances of being productive is half the battle. Once we see results and start to build traction, the strategies become habit and we open ourselves up to a life that’s powered by smarter time management, more focused work, and greater personal and professional achievement.

Now, go be productive!

Wednesday's Lunch Time Financial Time: How to Save Money in 20 Minutes

Each Wednesday, PF4TP brings you a financial tip to help you on your journey towards Financial Independence! Enjoy!

From Yahoo! Personal Finance - Organize Your Finances and Save Money in 20 Minutes

I Want A Pay Raise!

If you are anything like me, you NEED - not want - a raise. Wages just don't seem to match up with the cost of living these days. There are things you can do to bring home more money; like get a part time job, freelance, work overtime, sell your stuff, and all the other things I mention all the time...or you could ask for a raise (if you truly deserve one).

The Standard Advice For Getting A Pay Raise
Of course, most advice on asking for a pay raise is pretty apparent. For instance, most people think it’s a good idea to approach a supervisor when the company is doing well. This makes total sense as it’s the same thing when you’re trying to communicate with an obstinate spouse. Bring a “tough” subject up when the timing is good, and you’ll get a better shot at getting what you want. You want things to be “win-win” here. By contrast, if the company stock suddenly does a $700 swan dive, save your talk until the following month or decade.


Another piece of standard advice: update your resume with any new skills you’ve learned at your job. Something like “outsourced the entire company phone tree to a central location in Eurasia” sounds terrific. “Perfected my fantasy football team roster in just three tries” may not be so relevant. Don’t discuss the number of YouTube videos you’ve watched since the quarter began, though. But what’s better is that you keep learning new skills so that your performance will support your request for a raise or promotion.

Don’t be shy about what you’ve accomplished for your department or company. For instance, you could mention the range of clients you’ve brought into the company. Clients who spend thousands or millions a year on your products are prime. However, if you’re in retail, you don’t need to bring up the squadron of power walkers who only come in to use the bathroom.

During the negotiation itself, be aware of your body language and try to sound calm. Leave the pepper spray in your desk!

Hobby = EXTRA Cash??

Everyone has a hobby/skill/talent/passion they love to do. Why not turn that into extra income to help get you to where you want to be?

When speaking to my clients, I stress the need to make extra money...no matter what their situation is. Everyone has something they can do...tutor, making something, working with kids, teaching something, sell thing you dont need or use, walk dogs, become a freelance writer, help an elderly neighbor with chores around the house, design webistes, open a lemonade stand....

I started a business helping other with their finances. I want to run a basketball clinic in the summers. I loved collecting trading cards as a kid, I want to open an Ebay store or something. I have so many things I love to do and am passionate about that, given the time I could turn into something to make extra money...

1. Get Organized
Taking on multiple tasks or jobs, takes skill and dedication. Put together a game plan and find the best ways to save time and money, since both of these are essential to productivity.



2. Start Small
When first starting out you need small expectations and high hopes. It takes time to build a reputation, earn people’s trust and show consistency. Start small so you won’t overwhelm yourself, your family or your wallet.



3. Learn Everything
Learn everything you can about your hobby, take classes, read books, and research whatever is available. Use other people’s testimonies of success or failure, so you can put your best foot forward. As humans one of our strongest assets is our thirst for knowledge and the ability to constantly improve.



4. Stay Dedicated
Think about your hobbies and projects carefully, so you can be successful and keep progressing. Failure doesn’t equal quitting, it just means you have to keep trying and learn from your mistakes.



5. Be Passionate
The ultimate goal of a hobby is to learn something new and have fun, so if your only doing it for the money it will show. If you’re passionate and enjoy your work, it will be evident to others and they will be impacted positively.



What do you love to do that can earn you extra money?

15 Secrets to Success

1. Do something you are afraid of doing everyday – When you make a habit of getting outside of your comfort zone, you will grow strong mentally and emotionally and will see yourself getting past a lot of mental blocks.

2. Don’t over plan - There is nothing wrong with planning your goals in life, however if you try to perfect your planning, you won’t take action on any of your goals.

3. Meet new people – When you constantly meet new people, you will see yourself learning a lot about yourself and others as well. You can then use the new knowledge to contribute and help others.

4. Practice being present - When you are engaged in a specific task/activity or are having a conversation with someone, make sure that you are fully present and not caught up thinking about the past or future.

5. Take leadership roles – Start taking leadership roles in every area of your life. Organize a workshop or plan a trip or a social event. When you start taking leadership roles, your self-confidence will rise.

6. Note down all of your ideas - Whenever an idea pops into your head make sure to write it down somewhere so you can refer back to it. There are going to be those times where your mind will suddenly get creative ideas, so make sure that you have a pen and paper handy.

7. Set aside “alone time” - Spend a half hour every day by yourself in a quiet place and take time to think about your goals for the future. Think about where you want to be in the next ten years.

8. Spend more time outdoors - Get outside the house/office more often. You don’t have to plan a big trip to get out. It can be as simple as going for a hike or walking by the beach. You will be able to think clearly and focus better on your tasks. Don’t become a workaholic and get burnt out.

9. Attend seminars - Start attending helpful workshops and seminars of topics that interest you. You will be surprised by the knowledge you will gain. You will also meet like-minded people and make new friends.

10. Read more often - Turn off the television and start reading more. Once you start developing a habit of reading, you will notice that your vision will expand and you will see the world in a whole different way.

11. Don’t talk about yourself too much – If you are ever interacting with close friends or at a social event, don’t make a habit of talking about yourself and your success. This is a sign of insecurity. Instead, take interest in others unless or until someone asks you more about what you do.

12. Spend minimum time browsing the web – When you constantly browse the web, your mind will be cluttered with different images and thoughts and you will get sidetracked from all your goals. You will start getting imaginary thoughts that will get you nowhere.

13. Go to the gym at least four times a week - When you make a habit of working out frequently you will have a lot of positive energy that will help you in other areas of your life. Put it on your calendar and make it a “must do” task.

14. Don’t delay to have fun - Some people think that they need to have a lot of money in order to have fun. They think that one day that big paycheck will solve all the problems in life. Life will have its ups and downs regardless of whether you have accumulated a lot of wealth. Don’t wait for that big day to arrive to have all your fun. Enjoy every minute of life.

15. Be honest with yourself - Be very honest with yourself about who you are and what you want out of your life. Spend time thinking about what your purpose is in life. When you are aligned with your purpose in life, you won’t get many conflicting thoughts that will leave you confused about who you are.