Hacks – Page 64

When Buying a Car with a Credit Card Makes Cents

06.25.2007 by Marc Chernoff // 14 Comments

the new car we bought on a credit card We just purchased a brand new car (Honda Accord Coupe EX-L) on a credit card. You think we’re crazy? Think again. We instantly saved ourselves about $500 by paying with plastic. Sure, there are a million reasons why this might sound like a bad idea in regards to long term debt. However, if you have the cash to back it up, a credit card is the smart way to pay for a new car.

Consider the following 2 points:

Rewards / Miles Credit Cards – Typical rewards cards generally earn the consumer somewhere in the ballpark of 2% cash back. If you buy a new car for $25,000 with your rewards credit card, you just saved yourself $500. If you have an airline miles rewards card, as I do (Southwest Visa), you can earn yourself a free round trip flight for about $20,000 in purchases. With airline fares continuously skyrocketing, this round trip airfare ticket is easily worth about $500.
0% Interest Rate – Many credit card issuers entice potential consumers with various introductory 0% interest rate deals for a certain period of time. This introductory rate period usually spans somewhere between 6 months and 1 year. Let’s say you buy a $25,000 car on your 0% interest for 1 year credit card. You then invest the $25,000 in a 1 year CD (a non-liquid investment that prevents you from spending the cash) earning a modest 5%. At the end of 1 year you have $26,250. You immediately pay off the $25,000 car, leaving $1,250 to be returned to hip national bank.

Do you think those savings are meager, or not worth the effort? Well then head over to your bank right now and donate that amount of money into a complete stranger’s bank account. No? I didn’t think so. The bottom line is this: If you have the cash and discipline necessary to back up your car purchase, there is no reason why you shouldn’t reap the benefits of buying your next car with a credit card. You do the math. It just makes cents.

PS: Contrary to popular belief, most new car dealers will let you put a hefty dollar sum of your car purchase on a credit card, so long as your are paying cash on the remaining balance.

10 Irrational Thoughts Rational People Often Think

06.06.2007 by Marc Chernoff // 28 Comments

irrational thinking Irrational thoughts occasionally occur in the minds of all people. Intelligence does not make someone immune to irrational thought. These thoughts typically clutter our minds with feelings of resentment and distaste. Sometimes they are based on internal defense mechanisms we develop to mitigate personal anger in an attempt to avoid facing the truth about ourselves or our immediate circumstances. If someone imposes stringent expectations related to a stressful issue on themselves or their close companions, irrational thought is likely to set in, and all parties involved will probably experience needless emotional grief.

Passionate perceptions of an event made by someone in distress can seem crazy from a third party perspective. This craziness is simply the sum of stress and irrational thought. These thoughts allow the distressed party to remain the victim while avoiding all situational responsibility. One must learn to break this momentary negative thought process in order to achieve continuous stability in their life and in their relationships.

Here are 10 irrational thoughts that rational people often fall victim to at one point or another:

Mistakes are never acceptable. If I make one, it means that I am incompetent.
When somebody disagrees with me, it is a personal attack against me.
To be content in life, I must be liked by all people.
My true value as an individual depends on what others think of me.
If I am not involved in an intimate relationship, I am completely alone.
There is no grey area. Success is black and failure is white.
Nothing ever turns out the way you want it to.
If the outcome was not perfect, it was a complete failure.
I am in absolute control of my life. If something bad happens, it is my fault.
The past always repeats itself. If it was true then, it must be true now.

Your life will be more productive if you learn to avoid this type of negative thinking.

Check out these books for more insight on irrational thoughts:

3 Reasons to Quit Your Job in order to Advance Your Career

06.04.2007 by Marc Chernoff // 9 Comments

A routine personal assessment of your career goals and career path directly correlates to a successful and rewarding profession in corporate America. One must continually learn, adapt, network, evolve and progress. Once this cycle begins to stagnate, changes must be made to ensure continual knowledge development and job advancement. Since higher salaries are usually tied to advanced job positions, maintaining this cycle is essential in a person’s ability to increase their income producing power.

personal growth Daily Blog Tips posted an article entitled “7 Reasons to Quit Your Job” a few months back. The article discusses 7 reasons why someone should quit their job in an effort to pursuit alternative career advancement. While the article is well written and passionate, it is also completely one dimensional based on the “work for yourself” viewpoint the author takes. The points made are valid, but let’s face it, not everyone wants to go into business for themselves. Some people are content with the corporate America exchange of hours for dollars.

Self employment is only one of many possible courses for career progression. Thus, there are many other reasons to reevaluate your current job in a proactive effort to realign your career goals. After a thorough assessment of your current job position and your future career ambitions, here are 3 general reasons why you should quit your job:

You Dislike Your Job – No matter how much you get paid or how elite your job title is, the ultimate question is, are you happy? A good majority of our waking hours are spent working. Life seems a bit of a waste if you don’t enjoy that time.
You Are Not Learning – If you aren’t continually expanding your skill set and adapting to new technologies and processes, you will become an undesirable candidate for advanced job placement in the eyes of all employers. Never forget the old adage, knowledge is power. Your career progression relies heavily on your ability to master new skills.
You Are Pigeonholed – If your employer classifies or categorizes you in a way that inhibits your ability to grow, it’s time to take immediate action. Pigeonholing means that your employer has set up boundaries around you. These boundaries restrain you from moving around within the company. Usually motivated by the inaccurate perception management has concerning an employee, these perceptions are usually all that matters when promotion time comes around. Are potential career opportunities with your current employer passing right over you? Are you being skipped over on positions you want to be a part of?

You are the only person that cares about your personal growth. It’s up to you, and only you, to make it happen. Be crystal clear on your personal goals for growth and be aware of how that growth fits into your employer’s objectives. Make sure you professionally convey these goals to the right people. Managing personal career growth is a continual proactive process of re-evaluating your goals and suitably aligning them to the goals of your employer. If you aren’t being proactive, you are being reactive, and you will be unprepared to take action when career growth opportunities arise. If you have been diligent and your current employer still resists your motivation… it’s time to move on.

5 Healthy Habits of a Productive Lifestyle

06.01.2007 by Marc Chernoff // 4 Comments

healthy My parents are health nuts. They are two loving, caring parents, but they are constantly in the process of reminding me how to maintain a healthy diet, mindset, and lifestyle. Over the years they have mailed me numerous health related pamphlets, articles, and quick-lists. Even though much of the information seems redundant, I usually read through it all anyway.

So here is my attempt to simplify the information that every general health article ever written states by delivering the info in 5 clear bullet points:

Eat Nutritious Food – Most of us know what is and is not nutritious for our bodies. We also know that what tastes good is not always what we should be stuffing our faces with. The old adage “you are what you eat” could not be any closer to the truth. If you ignore this step, the rest of the steps on this list will be a waste of your time.
Exercise Regularly – Most health professionals seem to think that about 30 minutes of exercise everyday is enough to fulfill this requirement. The #1 suggested form of exercise is a 30 minute brisk walk outdoors.
Do Not Smoke – This should be obvious, yet 1 out of every 5 people still smokes cigarettes on a regular basis. Don’t smoke, and avoid being around smokers while they smoke.
Nurture Your Relationships – Personal relationships are essential to general contentment and satisfaction in life. Regular interaction with close friends and family is regarded by many mental health professionals as the #1 source of happiness in a human being’s life.
Manage Stress – Stress comes in many forms, so make sure you are aware of any personal stress factors that are sitting in the back of your mind. Don’t put off a task that is stressing you out. Instead, address the problem head on and resolve it ASAP.

Email Communication Problems: How To Communicate Effectively

05.28.2007 by Marc Chernoff // 5 Comments

Email is an extremely popular form of communication in both the business and personal communication landscapes, but it can often lead to major problems if the underlying tone of the email message is misinterpreted at one end. If the parties involved are in different emotional states of mind, the slightest disagreement via email can quickly spiral out of control leading to a full blown argument. The email communication breakdown occurs because… let’s face it, we all aren’t poets. Seasoned poets can clearly exhibit brilliant emotion in their writing, but the average email communicator’s intended written emotion gets lost in translation.

email communication problems As soon as email writers start using text phrases to characterize emotion that would normally be delivered via physical body language, the intended message could be misunderstood by the reader due to a complete misinterpretation of the writer’s emotional tone. It’s also important to note that intentional sarcasm in an email message only makes matters worst. The source of the problem with email communication deals directly with emotion. Emotion portrayed in a text based email can be interpreted differently when being read by different people, in much of the same way that a well written poem or set of song lyrics can receive various interpretations by various people.

How can we solve the email communication problem? There isn’t a single correct answer, but here are 4 bullet points to help you out:

Be clear. Be brief. – Write short email messages with a crystal clear point. Do not write long winded confusing paragraphs that leave room for misinterpretation.
Proofread. – Proofread your message multiple times. If the email deals with touchy subject matter, have a third-party read it over as well. This can give you added perspective on how well it will be received by the intended recipient.
Wait. – Write the email, proofread it, and then sit on it for a little while. Knock off a couple other tasks before you have second look at it. If your emotions were flaring when you wrote the email, a little time can allow these emotions to settle, allowing you to evaluate the message in a different light.
Pick up the phone! – While email can be a convenient communication channel, certain discussions need to be handled over the phone, or if possible, in person. If you notice that the situation is starting to deteriorate, don’t send another email, it’s time to pick up the phone or arrange a face to face meeting.