Exploring New Ways to Earn a Living

I keep running into people that seem to be at a crossroads, trying to figure out which path should they choose when it comes to earning a living. Like myself, many are diversifying into areas that they might not have considered a few years ago, when the economy (at least on the employment side) felt a bit less fragile. But now, with so many unemployed, the focus is on finding ways to earn a living that provides NOW... not 8-10 years down the road. For some, that may be opening a franchise, or going back to school to gain a certificate or degree in a new field. For others, it may be turning a part-time hobby or business like selling handmade items on Etsy.com or selling collectibles on eBay into a full-time venture.

Here's a few resources for those that may be at the crossroads:

The Top 5 Fastest Growing Job Markets Without a Four-Year Degree

The Top 5 Franchises to Own

The Restaurant Manager's Handbook: How to Set Up, Operate, and Manage a Financially Successful Food Service Operation 4th Edition - With Companion CD-ROM

Seven Ways to Make Extra Money in 2011 -U.S. News/Yahoo! Finance


Dream Jobs: Six-Figure Salaries and a Bright Future - MoneyWatch

Chores, Allowance and the 21st Century

When I was a kid, chores and allowance were "the norm" for pretty much every family in our neighborhood. In our family, chores were assigned and posted on the fridge. Over the years there may have been a switch here and there in the compensation system (flat rate weekly allowance vs. per chore) but the values and requirements remained the same: Money = Responsibility. I can still remember the craft projects we did in Brownies or Vacation Bible School that consisted of decorating baby food jars to hold one's allowance. Ours was a three-jar system: one for savings, one for church, and one to spend. I still think allowances and chore lists are a good idea and was pleased to find that so many others feel the same way. In fact, there's so many families using a chore/allowance system that website and mobile app designers are finding innovative ways for parents and kids to manage their own systems in the 21st century. Here are just a few of the sites or apps available:

Based on my post above, I gotta say, Three Jars is my favorite.

ThreeJars makes allowance fun and easy for 5 to 13 year old kids and their parents. Kids learn to manage their "money"through saving, spending, and charitable giving jars- with guidance from Mom and Dad. 

NOTE: ThreeJars.com has a 15-day free trial and an annual family membership of $30.

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FirstKidBank.com is a virtual bank that always knows your child's current balance and what chores they've completed.Make deposits & withdraws and track chore progress from your computer or mobile phone.Your child develops the financial smarts that come from managing their own money -- without the problems of cash. When your child’s ready, add:

• savings accounts with interest
• charity accounts
• borrowing and finance charges

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MoneyTrail.net offers free allowance and money management for teens and families. Web or mobile app. Keep track of cash, credit, gift cards and checks.

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4Chores focuses on the tasks, not the money management. However, there are added features:

4Chores does much more than track chores. It teaches kids about accountability, responsibility, and encourages them to donate time and money to their community. Kids can even use 4Chores to run their own neighborhood business where they can do chores for neighbors, and even donate their time to those neighbors in need.

Have another website or mobile app to share? Feel free to leave a link with your comment!

TO DO Lists - Positive Goal Reinforcements

I recently read a tweet that said If you're not finishing your "To Do" list, you're basically doing something wrong. I wholeheartedly...disagree. A few years ago I sat down and created a To Do list for everything I thought I wanted to accomplish in the next 18 mos. It was a substantial list I must say, with more than 50 items. I pinned it to my bulletin board and at least glanced at it a few times a week. A few weeks into it I noticed I had crossed off a few items. Yay me! What I saw was what I had accomplished, not what I hadn't. Two years later, after I had long put the list away and gone on with something else in my life, I found it again. No, I hadn't lost 45 lbs (#5 on the list) and I hadn't climbed Mt. Whitney (#22), but I had paid off my car, put $2500 in my savings account, gotten my passport and spent 10 days in Scotland and Ireland without charging anything to a credit card. Finally tally: I had put a line through 65% of my list. I couldn't help but smile...and wonder, how much would I have accomplished if I had never made a list at all?

Maybe now is a good time to start a new list...

The Top 3 Household Forms You Should Keep On Hand

The holidays are here, which means many of us will be doing one (or all) of the following:

• Arranging for someone to feed and water our pets and plants;
• Arranging for a new babysitter to watch the little ones while they're on Christmas vacation... or we are out on New Year's Eve;
• Sending one of our children with friends, a youth group or other family members on a vacation away from their physician and away from us.

Sound familiar? If so, then these three forms (which are free to download) are a "must-have" for your household!

House/Pet Sitting Instructions A simple-to-use form that allows you to document all necessary instructions for your sitter, including emergency phone numbers, pet info and plant care

Medical Authorization for Minors In the event of an emergency, use this form to provide consent for emergency medical treatment when children are away from home. *Note: Some businesses/organizations may require you to have your form notarized - especially if your child will be traveling outside the country.

Emergency Information Sheet Keep all emergency information handy in one area, including parent's work numbers, nearest neighbor or relative, children's school, pet info and insurance info.

*Be sure to print out a blank "master" of each form to keep on hand for next time.

Happy Holidays

Save Your Sanity - Holiday Online Shopping Is the Way to Go

I'll let you in on a secret: I rarely go to the mall after Thanksgiving. It's not that I don't love the decorations and Christmas festivities - it's just that I don't enjoy the parking hassles, frantic shoppers and overstimulated kids having meltdowns. I prefer to save (or savor) my sanity! Besides, I've found that overall, I can get just as many great deals shopping online as I can at the malls or big box stores. In recent years I've changed my shopping strategy to the following:

• I have my holiday budget pretty much defined by September - that includes decorations, gifts, holiday entertaining and food.
• Many of the stores have their seasonal items out starting in October, which means I'll head to the malls prior to November 15th to get an idea of what's new and what the current pricing of possible gift items is.
• And then... I savor my sanity by shopping online. The 2010 Holiday Season is bursting with unique gift ideas, heavy discounts on Christmas favorites like toys, electronics and clothing, and best of all... FREE SHIPPING. Watch for last minute deals and deep discounts on favorite sites like Overstock.com, WalMart and AMAZON.

Here are just a few of the sanity-saving deals I've found online this week:

Holiday Toy Deals - save 70% and more at AMAZON  including Curious George for $5.99
( I may have snagged one or two...)

Puritan's Pride - Buy one get one free or Buy TWO get THREE free. Yes, they are best known for their vitamins, but they also have this deal on items like essential oils as well as bath and body products.

Walmart's Selection of more than 400 DVDs on sale for $5 plus free shipping
add a couple of DVDs, popcorn and movie candy to a large basket, tie with a bow and you've got a fabulous gift for under $20!

Williams-Sonoma - free shipping on more than 500 Holiday favorites. Includes their yummy peppermint bark cookies and the essential oils hand care set - two of my favorites under $25.

Pottery Barn - Check out these charming Green Patina Planters in three sizes, on sale $9.99-19.99