Mar 09

Should YOU LinkIn?

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by Ann

March 9, 2012

Guest Post by Peter Saulnier,  Toombs Inc.

 

As many people know, LinkedIn is the most popular social networking site for professionals.  That is, it’s the professional or business-world equivalent of the more personal Facebook.  And while Facebook and other social networking sites are gaining in popularity amongst some job seekers, there’s no doubt that LinkedIn is still the leader in this area.

 

But LinkedIn isn’t just for people looking for work, not by a long shot. It’s becoming increasingly important for everyone to have a LinkedIn profile of their professional self.  If you’re considering it, here are some things to remember.

 

Anything on the internet is pretty much open for the world to view. You will have to assume that anyone, and I mean anyone, can see what you have to say about yourself.  That’s the advantage.  And the risk.

 

Remember that anything inappropriate or too personal really doesn’t belong on Facebook.  This is even more true for LinkedIn, as it is the place where people show their professional selves.  Everyone will see what you have to say about yourself.  Which is a good thing.  It’s great exposure for you.  Just be careful what you choose to expose.  Think of your professional reputation first and foremost.

 

There are some must-have items for your profile: past and current work history, and education come to mind.  What about recommendations?  This is where people who know you write a recommendation of you on your profile.  Many people have them, but whether or not they’re necessary isn’t clear.  Some people will always value a “live” recommendation over a written one.

 

People always ask me, what if my current boss sees that I’ve posted my profile on LinkedIn?  Does it mean I’m looking for a job?  No.  Or at least, not necessarily.  Show that you’re very proud of what you’re doing right now, and who you’re doing it with.  You don’t want your profile to sound like you’re looking for a job (unless you are openly doing so).  Of course, when you are looking for work, it’s a great tool.

 

I recommend people use LinkedIn first and foremost for professional networking – if you use that mind set when you create your profile, it will have the right tone.

 

And finally, connect with people!  That’s the whole point, to build (and keep track of) your network.  It only works if you’re willing to accept invitations from people you know, or would like to know.  And maybe send a few of your own too.

Happy Linking!

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Feb 29

Pick yourself up … and start all over again …

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by Ann

February 29, 2012

In my multi-cultural community, diverse people speak literally hundreds of languages. Uniqueness is a way of life, and I love this! I have met some amazing recently-arrived people, and have discovered that there are some common threads in their lives. Let me tell you the story of “Cathy”.

Cathy came to Canada about three years ago. She is an incredibly bright and articulate woman. In her country of origin she had a significant job with the government. She has two degrees; she is funny and fun; and she is a great mother of two very active boys.

In her country of origin Cathy had a large house, a cook, a cleaner, a driver and a nanny. She never had to shop for groceries, do laundry or balance her budget. However, the society was in a shambles, crime and corruption were rampant, and she feared for the safety of her children. She and her husband, also a professional, decided to create a better life for their children. They packed two suitcases, got some of their money out of the country, and fled. They arrived in Canada ready and willing to do anything.

They now live in a small basement suite. Their kids are doing well in school. Cathy and her husband went to school to learn English, and are now gainfully employed in low-level retail jobs. They work two jobs each. They acknowledge the loss of what they had, but they are happy with what they have. They don’t have much in the way of material goods, but they are happy.

I asked myself could do I do this? Could I move to a strange country and start all over again? Could I raise my child in a completely foreign environment?

I honestly don’t know if I would have the courage to do this. I honestly don’t know if I could do half the job that Cathy does.

What I do know is that the secret to Cathy’s success is that she is very clear about her values. She values the safety and security Canada offers her family more than she values material goods.

She knows what truly matters to her and her family: the future they are building together.

Do you know other remarkable people who have left their past and started all over again … and who are building their future with goals and actions based on clear values? If so … we want to hear about them.

WHY?

Because their stories may help those of us who are going through less dramatic changes learn how to live with the changes in our lives. Losing a job … starting a new career … beginning again is terrifying.

Facing life’s changes with our values in place makes the journey easier.

I have a lot to learn from Cathy and I am really glad that she is in my life.

 

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Feb 19

Using your superpower for good!

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by Ann

February 19, 2012

I just read a great article from Harvard Business School on how to use your superpower for good.

The superpower it refers to is our amazing ability to change the moods of others – for better or for worse!

This post cites research that shows that emotions spread like a common cold – whether they are negative or positive emotions. This means that by being positive and optimistic, we can change the moods of those around us.

In Good Friends Guide to Money we talk about finances and living within our values. What we did not talk about (and will fix in our next book) is the impact that this has on our emotions, and on the emotions of others around us.

When we manage our finances in accordance with our values, we change our relationship with money. As any one who has ever had a relationship will know, a change in a relationship leads to changes in emotions! So changing our relationship with money will also change our emotions around money.

For many of us that means we go from a place of fear and insecurity to a place of living with money in a healthy way. This change makes us generally more positive and optimistic about our life and finances. We become more willing to talk to others honestly and openly about money.  We are more likely to share helpful hints and tips.  We begin to actually impacting others in a positive way.

When we live within our values, we are using our emotional superpower for good! Do you agree? 

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Feb 09

If you were dying right now, what would you regret?

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by Ann

February 9, 2012

I just read an article that poses this question:

What’s your greatest regret so far, and what will you set out to achieve before you die? 

This article is about common deathbed regrets. It really impacted me, and I urge you to take a few minutes to read it and think about your life.

One reason we wrote Girlfriends Guide to Money was to express how we felt about money and ourselves. Our book aims to help readers to focus on your true values, align your financial values to your true values, and live accordingly.

Our hope is that by doing so, you will relieve yourself of many of your day-to-day stresses, such as the stress of consumerism. If you can reduce stress and competitiveness, you can focus on what really matters to you.

The list of deathbed regrets focuses attention on the things that really matter in life – and this helps to sharpen your focus on your own values.

What really matters to you?  What do you NOT want to regret?  What do you want to spend your time and resources on TODAY?

Read this list. Read our book.  TALK to your friends and family.  Develop your own value list.
And then LIVE it … each and every day.

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Feb 04

Frugality is not an F-word

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by Ann

February 4, 2012

During my current trip to Mexico and the USA I have spoken with several very frugal people. Many had plastic chairs; some had wobbly tables; most had minimal decorations. Stainless steel or granite counter tops were nowhere to be seen. Clearly, none of them were attempting to compete with the Jones.

 

At first I was shocked by the lack of THINGS.

 

Then I started to look around and wonder why. These were not poor people, so why no “nice” things? After a while it dawned on me: they valued different things.

 

Material things got in the way of having TONS of family over. Plastic chairs can be stacked when having a party for all 100 of your family and neighbours. Plastic tables can be unstacked to make room for Grammy’s special beans and rice dish during the weekly potluck. During our trip we never stayed at places for more than a week or two. Yet I was invited to more birthday parties of our local neighbours than I have while living in my same house in Canada for 14 years!

 

It seems that the lack of material things made it easier for them to focus on the values they care about. This was a novel way of looking at things for me. I realized that my own culture is so often focused on things that along the way we sometimes lose sight of people in our lives.

 

Talking to an emigrant friend about these experiences, I was further enlightened to hear the impressions of someone who experienced Canada as a foreign culture when he arrived here. As immigrants from a developing country, he and his family were awe-struck by huge quantity of things everybody had.

His mother speaks about the shock of going to the birthday party of a two-year-old neighbour, where the bewildered boy received more gifts at that one party than she had received throughout her entire childhood.

My friend remembers seeing a family minivan for the first time, and laughing out loud. How could anyone possibly need such a big car, he wondered. Five years later, he was driving one … spend enough years in a culture, and you will start to adopt its ways.

 

I don’t plan to emigrate, and I will not be adopting a different culture. However, it has been a wonderfully enlightening experience for me and my family to travel and explore other cultures, values, systems, concepts of frugality, and lifestyles. I will come back different, hopefully more open, and having learnt many valuable life lessons along the way.

 

P.S. This article on the seven habits of highly frugal people matches many of my own dreams and aspirations. I hope you enjoy reading it too.

 

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Jan 25

Is everything getting more expensive?

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by Ann

January 25, 2012

According to statistics Canada the answer is a resounding yes. Most things are getting more expensive. In particular, we are spending more and more on food and gasoline.

So what would the Girlfriends tell you to do?

Look for creative ways to save money

Most people can make changes to take the edge off the steadily increasing costs of food and gasoline.

  • One girlfriend says that she rides her bike much more than she used to. Instead of feeling depressed because she has to pay more for gas, she feels exhilarated because she is getting healthier and fitter.
  • Another girlfriend is becoming an expert on freezing food. Every time she cooks she makes a double batch of everything. All extras go into the freezer for future lunches.
  • Yet another girlfriend is focusing on learning how to cook exotic vegetarian foods. She is experimenting with food from different cultures and learning how to be a more exciting cook. She is spending her free time roaming the web looking for inexpensive recipes, and going to culturally-exciting grocery stores. She is getting her creativity fix, her shopping fix, and her eating fix all at once – and saving a ton of money at the same time.

Look for creative ways to increase income

Savings is only one part of the equation. We also need to consider income. Each of us should make sure we are being paid according to our value to our organization.

You could also consider other ways of increasing your income:

  • Can you get a part-time job of some kind, such as a consulting job?
  • Can you increase the return on your savings?
  • Can you charge your grown-up child rent?
  • Can you rent out a room to a student from a different country (get a great cultural experience and some cash)?

There is a lot you can do to maximize your earning potential. What would you like to change about your income and spending?

 

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Jan 18

Why women make less money than men

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by Ann

January 18, 2012

I was walking and talking (two of my favourite things to do) with some friends today. One of the women made a self-deprecating comment. It annoyed me no end that a bright, beautiful woman would undermine her own value. I recognize that many of us do that and we don’t even know it: we just don’t hear how we subtly put ourselves down.

The girlfriend’s vision for a healthy life is to live in alignment with our values. Values can be the values we hold deep within ourselves, and they can also be the weight we attach to our contributions to the world. As women we often under-estimate the value of our contributions to the world.

Under-estimating ourselves can lead to us making less money than our male counterparts. This is NOT a recipe for a financially healthy life.

How does under-estimating ourselves lead to making less money?

Well, let me tell you a story. Early in my career I was running a department that had a very large filing system. It was a zoo, so I hired a terrific, strong and determined woman to sort it out. Her first order was for a two-part door – she kept the bottom part locked so people couldn’t just wander into her area and take stuff. She was amazing: she took ownership of all the data, and soon the area was ship-shape and ten times more effective.

I acknowledged her contributions, pointing out all the great work characteristics she was showing: ownership, work ethic, values, drive, and determination. I told her that with these characteristics she could do anything and I wanted to promote her. What area would she like to train into?

Her response stunned me. She said: “I didn’t do anything special. I just did my job. I don’t think I am capable of doing more.”

Wow! Here I was thinking that I was going to mentor her through a stellar career and she thought she was just doing her job and was not capable of more. I was stunned. No matter how I pushed, cajoled, and bribed she would not budge.

She limited her own value, ensuring that she would never earn as much money as she deserved.

Another woman started every meeting with a joke about being disorganized, even though she wasn’t. She was confused when she did not get a promotion, not realizing that she had undersold her value to the organization.

Her self-deprecation was taken seriously, ensuring that she also would never earn as much money as she deserved.

We talk about values, goals and actions. I think we should also talk about behaviours that reduce how others value us. These behaviours could be blocking our career paths and preventing us from earning as much as our male counterparts.

Ask a girlfriend: do you have behaviours that reduce how others value you? And if so, ask yourself why.

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Jan 14

Is an education worth it?

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by Ann

January 14, 2012

At Girlfriends Guide to Money we believe in living in alignment with our values. For many of our girlfriends, one of their greatest values is being able to give financial health and security to their families. And based on statistics, that means making sure our kids get through school.

High school dropout rates have been declining, and that’s a good thing. Because statistics show it is harder for dropouts to get jobs, especially during economic downturns, such as the one in 2008/9. At its worst, the unemployment rate for dropouts was 21%, compared to 12% for high school completers. And even if dropouts do manage to get jobs, they earn a lot less than people with a high school diploma. And they usually work longer hours as well!

 

I believe that getting the kids through high school is the role of the family. So how as families can we focus on education and enable our children to have future financial health?

This is how I plan to live in alignment with my value of education:

I plan to talk to my daughter about the lifelong impact not getting an education will have on her and her future family. We as a family will sit down and affirm that education is a family value. All of us need to work together to make sure my daughter succeeds at school, and we will organize ourselves to make this a priority.

We will align our goals and actions with the value of education. We will spend time on schoolwork together. We will read together. My husband and I will take time off work to go to parent teacher meetings. We will ensure that our daughter gets enough sleep each night (and take that distracting cell phone out of her room!) so that she can achieve the best she can, and have the tools to develop her future.

Do you agree with me that families need to support their children to get through high school? And how do you achieve that with your children?

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Jan 02

Gifts, Values … and Guilt

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by Ann

January 2, 2012

As we come out of the exciting, stressful time holiday season, it’s a good time to reflect on gift giving. This Christmas I spent some time figuring out my gift giving values.

I value my family and want to recognize them. I value my friends and want to recognize them too. I want to see the glow of excitement in young children’s eyes when they open up a special gift, and be part of the season. But at the same time, I want to be fiscally and socially responsible. As with most things that have to do with values and money, this creates some tensions!

First let’s deal with the guilt

Most of us feel tremendous pressure to get the perfect gifts for our loved ones. But take a moment to remember all of the Christmas presents you ever received: how many of them really impacted you? How many do you even remember?

I remember probably about a dozen gifts. Mostly they were activities with my family, such as a trip or an outing. I also remember a beautiful skirt that my mom made for me to wear to church. I was so proud of that skirt.

But I have forgotten most of the gifts I have ever received. Gifts are usually something that we do, not something that really showcases our love.

So I decided that I need to stop worrying about it so much. Memories are made of actions, not things. My daughter won’t hate me if I don’t give her the perfect gift.

Now lets deal with what makes a meaningful gift

If you are going to spend money – spend it wisely

By far the best gift my parents ever gave me was education. They helped me out financially, emotionally, and with oodles of support. No matter how far from home I go, that gift of love from my parents keeps on giving. It gives to my family with my career. It gives to my daughter by showing her that women can do anything they set their mind to.

Now my parents are giving the same gift to my daughter, by making a donation to her education fund every Christmas. By the time my daughter goes to school my parents will be elderly, but their gift will outlive them and make a lasting impression on my daughter.

Would my daughter rather have a new toy or a new electronic game? Yes, of course. But will she remember that 20 or 30 years from now? NO!

If you are not going to spend money – recognize that you are going to spend time

Project management recognizes that there is a tension between money, time, resources and quality. If you spend less of one, you will have to spend more of another. If you are not going to spend money, use your valuable time to create a gift that will have a lasting impact.

For example, think of an activity that your family would enjoy. How could you package that into a series of events that will build into an exciting memory?

What did you do this year? Did you manage to come up with a worthwhile gift that reflects your values? Please tell us about it!

 

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Dec 26

Less is More

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by Ann

December 26, 2011

We sometimes lose our ability to creatively problem solve our financial challenges because we cannot “see” any other way to live. Taking my family on an RV trip made me realize I have choices I could not perceive before.

One of the things I struggle with is the fact that my family spends so much on food. And we’re not alone: according to government statistics, most families of four in Canada and the USA are spending a minimum of $500 a month on food. And if we include the billions we spend on restaurants and eating out, a lot of us are spending significantly more than that. I know my family does. This is no small amount of money. Yet it is money that we often feel helpless about.

We need to eat. Unless I want to become a coupon junkie, what choices do I have?

Currently my family and I are living in an RV and traveling around Canada, United States and Mexico. The challenge of living on the road has helped me see that we do have choices. Our budget calls for us to eat most of our meals at home. Besides, as I wrote in “Value” Meals, I have not been impressed with the quality of the food on the road. But we are three people and our stuff voluntarily living in less than 220 square feet, so our kitchen at home is bigger than our entire living quarters on the RV. OH MY!

Our quandary in a nutshell is that we have to eat in … but we have less tools, space and food.

One of the first things we discovered on the RV was that processed and packaged foods take up much more room than fresh food. With limited space … out they went.

Next thing we rethought was cooking tools. At home we made excuses to buy expensive cooking tools. We said they would help us prepare our food faster – essential for our busy lives. So we had to buy the newest food toys, and shelves to put them on. But we hardly used them: even with our excellent tools, we often felt we were too busy to cook. Now, on the road, we would rather be out and about exploring than spending time in our tiny kitchen. We discovered that we don’t need a crepe pan, a griddle, a panini pan and other equipment. One good quality pan will do.

All in all, we have discovered that with less stuff in our kitchen, and more fresh food picked up along the way, we are enjoying cooking more. We are also cooking quicker, cheaper, fresher and healthier. Forced simplicity because we have so little space, and forced freshness, because we cannot store large amounts of food. And all this has added up to a better quality of food and better health.

What will I do different when I return home?

So, what has changed? Our perception of what is a necessity. Less really is more. Less stuff in the kitchen equals better quality food in our bellies. Less stuff works for our family!

When I get home I am going to have a garage sale of my excess food prep tools. Want to come?

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