My Two Dollars

The Hardest Part of Any Job Interview: Don’t Trash The Old Boss.

This is a guest post from Ron Haynes who writes for The Wisdom Journal, a blog about Wise Choices, Improved Finances, and a Better Life. A partner in a regional lumber and building materials company, he has a bachelor’s in Human Resources Management and an MBA with a marketing concentration.

Putting a positive spin on what (at the time) felt like the worst day of your life is the easy part. Volumes have been written about how to spin your layoff, or handle a termination, or explain away that annoying gap in your employment history. No, those are easy. What’s far more difficult is resisting the urge to trash your former boss when deep down you know he or she really deserves it. Yes, it’s the hardest part of your interview, but it’s also the most critical.

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working

By David

Money Quote Friday – Help Humanity Forward Edition.

“I am absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can help humanity forward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in this cause. The example of great and pure characters is the only thing that can produce fine ideas and noble deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and always tempts its owners irresistibly to abuse it.”
- Albert Einstein

Have a nice weekend everyone…

quotes

By David

Create a Gold-Laying Goose.

“A man and his wife had the good fortune to possess a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough and imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decide to kill it in order to secure the whole store of precious metal at once. But when they cut it open they found it was just like any other goose. Thus they neither got rich all at once, as they had hoped, nor enjoyed any longer the daily addition to their wealth.“ (Dwight Edwards Marvin, The Antiquity of Proverbs, (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1922) p. 188)

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making money

By David

Give Yourself A Mid-Year Paycheck Increase.

Now that we are about 1/2 way through 2009, it’s time to adjust the withholding numbers on your paycheck, says Kiplinger.com Most of us pay the majority of our taxes due in the 1/2 half of the year, which means that if you leave your withholding at the same level for the second 1/2 of the year, you might be overpaying…and then you get a refund come 2010. Personally, I don’t like getting a refund, as it means just that – I lent my money to the government interest-free for at least 6 months! I always aim to either break even or owe a little bit come tax time, which is pretty easy for me to do because I am self-employed and I don’t have any W-4 forms to fill out for employers – I track all my own income and taxes paid. But for someone working for a company, you have to file a revised W-4 form with your employer that asks them to reduce your withholding for the rest of the year. The more allowances you claim on the form, the less taxes get taken out.

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taxes

By David

Consumer Reports 10 Best Cars For 2009.

While you might not be considering buying a new car in this economy, plenty of people are…and there are some amazing deals to be had. From thousands off invoice, to 0% financing, to “turn-in” programs and even monthly stipends, car manufacturers are doing all they can to get you to buy a new car. But before you go shopping, you might want to check out the 2009 list of the best cars according to Consumer Reports, so you can at least check out the ones they recommend. To earn a recommendation, each car must have good test scores, good safety scores, and average or better predicted reliability based on owner surveys. Let’s take a look at the 10 best for 2009:

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automotive