by Jaime Thompson on August 31, 2010
Getting ready to shop the upcoming holiday weekend sales? Maybe you’ve already been busy with back to school shopping. Have you ever thought to calculate how many hours of work those dollars spent just cost you? It’s a powerful tool that might make you step back and reevaluate how you shop and what you buy. I’m sure you have an idea of your gross salary, but lets look at what you actually take home after Uncle Sam, health insurance, and your 401k among other things take their share. Go and get your most recent pay stub. It’s in your organized file cabinet, right? Divide your take home pay by the number of hours the paycheck covers. What did you come up with?
Lets say your result is $20 per working hour. So now we’ll apply that to your purchasing power. Your $6 a weekday morning coffee and muffin habit means you have to work an hour and a half to pay for it. The $60 video game, 3 hours. Those must have designer jeans at $200 a pair cost you 10 hours at work. $460 car payment is 23 hours in the office. That one payment is over half a week of a typical work week and we still need a place to live and food to eat.
Want another view? Include the hours you spend commuting to and from work and any other work related activities you do outside of the hours that paycheck covers. Sadly, that $20 just dropped even lower. This isn’t a way to shame you into not spending your money, just a tool that might make you think about how hard you really work to make that purchase. Remember it’s not just a dollar amount, but your precious time spent working to earn that dollar.
Photo: Time Card by flickr user TheGoogly, used under CC license
by Jaime Thompson on August 28, 2010
We all know by now we should be using compact fluorescent light bulbs, unplugging electronics and appliances that aren’t in use, washing our clothes in cold water, and adjusting our thermostats when we aren’t home. These will all help save us money every month on our utility bills and it’s just better for our earth. But what other ways can we be green in our lives and help us keep more money in our pockets?
Some retailers will pay you to recycle! Office Depot and Staples offer a store credit for every ink or toner cartridge you recycle with them. M.A.C. cosmetics will give you a free lipstick when you return 6 of their primary packaging containers. Recyclingforcharities.com allows you to recycle electronics such as cell phones, cameras, and PDAs. You select the charity you want your unused product to benefit and then you can take a tax deduction (assuming you itemize your tax returns).
Another great idea is Freecycle.org where you can find items other people no longer need and get them for free! No, you aren’t going to find a brand new stainless steel fridge, but if you want to try your hand at camping, you can probably find someone who has an old tent lying around that they no longer use. In fact, it’s a great way to help clear out some things you no longer need but are still in usable condition. After all, we want to enjoy life, not just a garage full of clutter.
(Photo credit aussiegall)
by Jory Butler on August 27, 2010
This is a post from the newest member of the Lukas Coaching/Past Due Radio team, Jory Butler. Jory is a Career Coach with great passion, enthusiasm, and motivation.
Have you ever been behind someone who has their turn signal on, but they never turn? It can be a frustrating experience to those following this unaware driver. Come on, you know you have been guilty of this.
Sometimes in our careers, we are that unaware driver and don’t realize how we affect others. Many times our turn signal is nothing more than our personality being portrayed and/or interpreted the wrong way. For instance, a coworker could find someone with a dominating personality abrasive or controlling. Another turn signal could be a decrease in work performance due to outside stressors. Maybe a negative attitude at work is affecting your coworkers or customers.
Allowing others to let us know our turn signal is on can be beneficial. It’s not always easy when someone tells you that your actions or attitudes are affecting those around you. My wife is such a blessing because we have resolved to let each other know when our “turn signal” is on. If we continue to embrace the corrections in life and use them to make us better people, we will have a higher probability of success.
My encouragement to you is to really take a look at yourself, rather than just the circumstances. Find a trusted friend to hold you accountable or a coach to come along side you, with motivation and encouragement. In your career be a driver who is aware of how you are affecting others.
by Derek Sisterhen on August 25, 2010
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Past Due: Radio 120 – Budgeting For Happy Wanderers
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My wife and I love to travel. We love going to far-off places, meeting new people, and experiencing the local culture. The problem is that this stuff costs money!
Today we talked about budgeting for vacations and travel. I’m heading to Australia for a couple weeks and wanted to give you a peek into how I prepared for the trip, from the four categories I use on my travel budget, to the type of checking account I use to handle foreign transactions.
Today’s Mentionables:
Down Under – song and music video by Men At Work
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Getting ready to shop the upcoming holiday weekend sales? Maybe you’ve already been busy with back to school shopping. Have you ever thought to calculate how many hours of work those dollars spent just cost you? It’s a powerful tool that might make you step back and reevaluate how you shop and what you buy. I’m sure you have an idea of your gross salary, but lets look at what you actually take home after Uncle Sam, health insurance, and your 401k among other things take their share. Go and get your most recent pay stub. It’s in your organized file cabinet, right? Divide your take home pay by the number of hours the paycheck covers. What did you come up with?
