The Morning and Evening After

A most common predicament among salaried employees nowadays is that after a payday, they do not know where their money goes. The date of the payday varies; sometimes its mid-month and end of the month, other times it is just once a month. Almost always, the employees feel that after their salaries come, the money just passes by without them having to hold them for a long time or even savor the feel of having a large amount of money at hand. With this in mind, maybe we can try to find out where your money goes exactly.

Credit Cards. This is the very first and foremost place where one should look for their money, which is their credit card statement. Normally and ideally, every person should have only two credit cards, one Visa and one Mastercard. More than this number of credit cards is considered an unnecessary expense. Aside from paying the annual fees and your card is more than two, you will end up paying more than your actual budget. To stay within your budget, it is advisable to have the total credit limit no more than two months of the net monthly salary. In this way, the amount that will be owed stays within a manageable level and can be easily paid overtime. Finally, credit card companies increase your credit limit especially if you are a good payor and without your consent. It is better to bring down the credit limit as two cards with high credit limits is bad as having several cards with very low credit limits.

Unpredictable Expenses. There are those incidental purchases that we make each time we go out like parking fees, buying of clothes, equipments, gimmicks, gadgets etc. and we never seem to keep track of these expenses. The simplest way to go about minimizing these kind of expenses is through planning, rather disciplined planning. The budgeting method is very useful here as funds can be properly allocated in a rational way and sudden shopping impulses will not be allowed. Control of our behavior on purchasing can be seen.

I hope this post will help you in a way especially in these times of worldwide crisis.

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Blogging Things that You Need to Know

Blogging is one way of letting you impart to people what you know in the Internet and getting you voice heard as well. There are many different ways to blog, and many of this ways are free. Your blog will tell people about you or the things you are interested in or what you are passionate about. Adding videos and photos and audio to your blog will make it even better. Here are some things that you need to know about blogging before you can get started.

Blogging is Free. There are different free blog hosting sites out in the Internet that will make blogging really easy especially for beginners. Here are several free hosting sites:

• Blogger—You can add your thought to your blog everyday if you so desire and even photos to make it better. You will be able to receive comments from other people to find out what they think. Visit their site
• Myspace.com—This is a place for friends and looking for friends. You may create a profile, write blog, add pictures, send email and even IM. Visit their site
• Twitter—This is a blog site that will let you blog about anything that you may think of as long as it is within 140 characters. Twitter is blogging in short phrases about every little thing you are doing. It is more personal if you want to, than longer blogs. And you learn more about people when they are feel free to post about anything. Visit their site
• Facebook—Whereas before Facebook is a way for college students to keep track of old friends, new friends and other things, nowadays it is open to people from all walks of life. It will help you get in touch with people and even blog there. Visit their site
• Wordpress—It is a free blog tool and a weblog platform. It has a blogging software that will help you to create a free blog easily and faster about anything and everything you want. Visit their site
• Typepad—This hosting site has design features so that you will be able to have a goodlooking blog. It has an easy to use tool so that you change the way your text looks and helps you connect your blog to the Web and even receive and manage the comments in your blog. Visit their site
• Xanga—It is the weblog community and you can get your own fully customizable blog. Uploading photos, posting blog entries, formatting and customizing your posts and pages, even connect with friends are among the things that you can do with this hosting site. Visit their site

Photo Blogs are Fun. A photo blog is a blog where you can add photos to. It is also a place where you may be able to make stories about your photos. You can share your photo blog with your family and friends and comments may come in freely on the photos or they may even add photos of their own.

Write about things you love to blog about. Write that are of interest to you or the things that you may want to try or have tried already.

Be Paid from your own Blog. It is true. People really do make money from blogging. There are many different ways and as long as you are willing to put in the time and the effort you can make a living from your blog.

Blogging is Good for Many Different Reasons. You may want to blog for you are a passionate person or you like to impart your knowledge or you may want others to know what you feel. Just impart it on your blog.

Layout of your Blog can be Changed. There are lots of blog templates on the Internet that you can use to make your blog be noticed in the Internet world. Use the blog templates and make it look the way you want it.

Sound Blogging is Possible. This is called Podcasting and a way of sharing your thoughts through blogging without the need to type. Just enter your post, then your subscribers and readers will be able to listen instead of read. One sample blog that demonstrates this podcast is Blah-Blah Blogs.

Link your Blog to other Blogs. If you already have a blog and you like other blogs to connect with your blog, this is called linking. You may do this with the permission of the other blog owner so that you will be able to have backlinks. And the more backlinks in the future, the better for you. We will talk about these topics in my next posts.

Attach Pictures to your Blog Articles. You may have photos that may go along with your blog posts, then it is better to add photos to your blog. People are most likely to read articles that has photos attached to the posts.

Enjoy Blogging! Do it and enjoy blogging. Blogging can be fun if you know how to do it right. You will be able to meet fellow bloggers and be able to link to their blogs as well, and then they will link back to your blog. In this way you will be part of the blogging community.

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Character Credibility

As the Olympic fever is still on the rise, we might as well talk about it in relation with credibility and business. Have you heard of Justin Gatlin, the American sprinter who raced 100 meters in Qatar in the most amazing time of 9.76 seconds which equals the world record? It made him the fourth man to winning a World Championship, an Olympic Gold Medal and holding the world record. But based on Wikipedia, Gatlin was eventually banned from athletics and his 9.77 performance which was set in May 2006 was considered void.

If you ask me, if I am an athlete or in any field known worldwide, I like to be remembered for the achievements I have done in order to have historic significance and so to earn a place in the record book.

If the lessons in leadership, classroom curriculums and sermons in churches seem to have worn out the characters of persons lately, they do so for good reason. Scandals in the corporate world are not the only discomforting evidence of character deficiency in the world. The society has come face to face with an appalling shortage of morals in whatever field.

Cultivating Credibility. Leaders, unlike before, are examined for airtight character. In this climate of doubt, the credibility of a leader may vanish with a short-lived moral slip. Here are some tips in developing a realistic foundation as a leader.

Character Counts. The reputation is based on external perceptions and can change due to accusations or very unfortunate circumstances. This character is built on decisions made internally and remains the solid rock among changing situations. Eventually a leader’s strength or even his weakness of character will succeed.

Individuals Act and Organizations Create Cultures. The people are the engines that will drive organizations. The productivity of the organization will entirely depend upon the quality of work they give to its workers. The impact of the organization on the society will depend on the decisions of the leaders of these organizations.

The actions of the individual shape the outcomes of the organization. Companies do not give to the community without individuals choosing to be generous. Neither do businesses take advantage of the shareholders and partners with the selfish actions of the individuals. The credibility of the corporations relies on the individual character.

However, organizations do cultivate cultures, and these are highly communicable. A culture of transparency and honesty will positively pressure the employees to act with ethics, whereas a culture of corruption will result into deceit.

Trust is the Foundation of the System. Before the 9/11 incident, we just ride the airplane with a little concern for safety. After the incident, tightened airport security resulted to levels never before seen. To regain the trust, the FAA or the Federal Aviation Administration have to adjust procedures to make sure that the passengers boarding the flights had been screened for weapons and other dangerous materials.

While trust is the main pillar of the airline industry, the same thing goes with business as it must be transacted with a foundation of trust. In the early part of the 21st century, amidst the widespread corporate scandals, good faith has been replaced by strict rules and regulations. If the word of a corporate executive once sealed the deal, safeguards and laws have been implemented to protect us from fraud and forgery.

Once the trust has been broke, restoring the credibility will take an extra effort. Leaders must learn to earn trust and give value to it dearly.

The Heritage You Leave is the Life You Lead. Credibility is not found on the intentions but on actions. Leaders inspire when they clearly express the message in words, and they also mark their message in the hearts of those they lead when they live it day by day.

Being a hypocrite will trap a leader of its credibility. The phonies and the fakes have a short life in leadership. The reason is when their credibility goes down, they have no basis of respect from which to lead.

You Can Yield A Difference. Despite the leaders who exploit, who misinform and who control, people still is longing for leadership. In particular, people long for leaders who demonstrate character and who are willing to serve those they lead and who do things with their team’s best interests in mind. These leaders who build their credibility and willing to shoulder the responsibility will always attract loyal followers.

Compared before, character and credibility are the important points to leadership. The important part is that you can make a difference. You can change the leadership culture by attending always to your character and you can lead effectively by earning and influencing credibility.

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You Don't Need A Title to be a Leader

Recently, the owner of a pharmaceutical company that I know, and let us name him Mr. Ang, is looking for someone, a team leader to hold a very critical project in the company. He is looking for a leader who will really do a great job. After much thought, he considered Frank who was very good in his work and has great potential as well. But after explaining the project and what Frank will do what Mr. Ang wants him to do, he invited him to lead the very important project.

Frank replied with, “I hope you will promote me if I take this project.”

His candid response caught Mr. Ang by surprise. It just shows the real motivations of Frank. Either he is a person with the need to gain or the need to contribute. Will Frank act in the best interest of the company or just for himself. So Mr. Ang explained to Frank the real situation that Frank will not be promoted after this assignment. Mr. Ang withdrew his offer and came up with another candidate for this project. He thought of Ben who has shown great potential and promise as well. Ben is just in a freelance status and he felt that his team would need someone like Ben with such problem-solving skills and a strong perception in life. So Mr. Ang offered Ben to lead the project with apprehension because of what happened with the experience with Frank. After saying the offer to Ben he added: “Please bear in mind that I won’t promote you if you decide to lead this project.”

Ben simply answered, ”It is alright. I don’t need a title to be a leader.”

Leadership is Influence. Everyone has the opportunity to lead, whether everyday or every minute. It does not matter what your position is, whether you help your family or in your school, or a leading company or how long you have worked at your job. Being a leader can easily be learned.

A leadership expert defines leadership as a positive influence, and that is the simplest definition of leadership that I know. People lead for different reasons and the most common denominator among the leaders is the passion for what they do and passion for life. If you give 110% in your work it will come back a hundredfold. The more you put yourself in a certain task, the more it reflects back on you.

How does a leader take action? A leader leads through relationships with people and not to their control over people. A leader collaborates rather than control and knew they can shape their careers and lives positively. A leader persuades others to contribute instead of ordering them to. A leader gets others to follow them out of commitment and respect rather than compliance and fear.

The Leadership Test. Leaders aren’t born; they learn to be a leader. If you have no title or the ability to reward or just penalize your subordinates, can you get them to follow you?

Many are unaware of how much of a leader one is. You may be called a leader but you are “untitled”. In other words your title does not reflect all that you accomplish.

One Last Thing. Leadership is about the small things each of us can do everyday to influence the customers, friends, colleagues, and other communities.

You desire to lead if you really want to:
• take control of your life
• grab new opportunities
• make the company run better
• improve the service the customers receive
• solve problems
• persuade others to do their best always
• give to the betterment of others
• make the world a better place to live in

And you don’t need a title to do it.

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Top Causes of Debt

Many readers are probably asking that question, “What are the top ten causes of debt?”

Well if you ask me and based on the experiences of those around me, here it goes: the top ten causes of debt

So here goes: Your top causes of debt!

Same Expenses and Reduced Earnings. There are times like this when an unexpected occurrence happens in your life and your earnings are reduced. In today’s crisis around the world, it may be happening to almost all of us. As a result, debts are filling the gap of the reduced earnings. Maybe while the earnings are not lessening yet, avoid as much as possible too much neck deep credits.

Poor Supervision of your Money. A plan for your monthly spending is very important. If you have no plan, you will have no idea where your money is going. You may subconsciously be spending lots of money wastefully every month and you end up charging purchases which you should have avoided in the first place. In planning, you will write down your income and expenses and merge the two. It is nice to know and feel when you know when and where you are spending your money and be able to make wise decisions based upon it.

Underemployment. Most people nowadays are underemployed and thinking that this stage is just temporary. So it is normal for them to keep on spending as if they are coming off unemployment with a false sense of relief. But of course, everyone deserves a break. Just get those current income in line with your expenses.

Gambling. This habit can be very addicting. The gambling establishments are the only place where one can mortgage his house while intoxicated and is still legal. It is the tribal casinos, so to speak and the new entertainment of a country. Just be careful as if you get this habit already, it is very hard to stop.

Small Savings or No Savings at all. Better prepare for the unexpected expenses by saving three to six months of living expenses. That is the simplest way to avoid unwanted debt. Do this and your money will grow and it will be there when you especially need it. Remember that no one has ever regretted having savings hidden somewhere.

No communication skills regarding your money. It is important to communicate well with your spouse or your children about finances. Always keep the communication lines open and be able to discuss financial goals and spending styles. If you are married to a spender and you are a saver, a strategy needs to be map out for you both to get what you want. Know what credit accounts you each have and promise each other to be honest with what each other spends.

Storing money only when there’s extra. Spending tomorrow’s money today is very tempting, especially if you believe that tomorrow will come no matter what. A scheduled job bonus may not be a sure thing. The inheritance which is a long time from this period that you believe will come your way may not. The important this is don’t spend the money until the check clears.

Financial illiteracy. Many people don't understand how money works and how it grows, how to save and invest for a rainy day, or even why they should balance their checkbook. The schools don't teach it; your parents may not have sat you down and explained it. Well it doesn’t matter now because you are responsible for your life and your money anyway. Mistakes you make financially are increasingly costly and complicated to resolve. It is better to educate yourself so that you are more in control of your life.

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What is RSS

You may wonder what this tiny orange button is for.

So I think it is better if I write an article about it and hopefully will be able to cast some light on the subject matter. We have many ways wherein you will be able to receive updates on TechnoConvergingZone. The major one that most of the readers use is the RSS feed. But what is RSS?

RSS Definition

RSS is a technology used by millions of blog and website users all over the world to keep track of their favorite website and blogs. Before, when you like a website, you simply had to bookmark websites in the browser and you return to that site manually on a regular basis to see what has been added.

But the problems encountered with bookmarking are that it tends to get complicated if you are trying to track many websites all at once. You will also miss some information when you forget to check the bookmarks that you made. You will always see the same information all over again on the website that don’t update frequently. And you as the web surfer have to do all the work.

RSS indeeds changed things. It is a technology that gives you a way of getting meaningful and useful and updated information sent to you for you to read in your own time. It can be a time saver for you and will help you get information faster and after the post has been published.

RSS simply stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication’. It can be considered as a news feed that you can subscribe to anytime. It is really like subscribing to a magazine delivered to you regularly. Anybody can really use the RSS even if you are not the most technical guy in the neighborhood. I myself am not that technical, but I find it very convenient to use the RSS.

RSS Reader

Now, if you want to read sites via RSS feeds you should get yourself an RSS feed reader. There are plenty in the web differing in the approaches and the features. The most simple that I know of and is free to use is the Google Reader. There are also other popular feed readers like Bloglines, MyAOL, MyYahoo, MyMSN, NetVibes, FeedDemon and NewsGator. The latter two costs money.

Many of these feed readers work somewhat like an email. If you subscribe to the feed, unread posts from the sites that you are tracking is marked as bold. As you click on the entries, the latest update is seen and you can read the entry right there at the feed reader. You can click through to go to the actual site or go to the next unread entry; the last entry will be marked as ‘read’.

Most feed readers have a very helpful help section in order for you to start reading through the subscriptions, or better yet you just simply subscribe to some feeds.

RSS feeds through Email

Others don’t want to use an RSS Reader. Email is the other option for you then. You may seem to find the above explanation a little too complicated, so other sites allow you to subscribe to their RSS feeds via email which is a more familiar means for others.

You can easily see the RSS button here at TechnoConvergingZone, somewhere at the right hand sidebar of the screen. Actually there are two buttons, one is subscription for an RSS Reader and the other is subscription for RSS via email. Don’t worry your email is kept private and confidential, should you decide to subscribe here in TechnoConvergingZone; it will not be used for any other purposes than to send these daily updates.

Hopefully this post answers the question of What is RSS!

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The Need to Monetize your Site—The Need for RevResponse

In the advent of making money online, there are numerous online companies trying to promise a rose garden to everyone and one by one they fall flat on their face as people strip bare their true identity hiding inside a reptile skin. Scammers and con-artist they are, or just plain spammers prying on every one in every opportunity. RevResponse possesses some features that set them apart from those unscrupulous reptiles that tread the cyber world.

RevResponse provide contents such as ad formats for your blog or website for free and would eventually earn you money. Commission comes easily as your readers get something from them through your site; it may sound too good to be true but you’ve got to experience it to believe it, and you’re glad you did.

Practically everything that you do on the web such as maintaining a blog or a website, publishing a newsletter or writing business topic articles, RevResponse has an answer to your monetizing needs.

Even advertisers will find it useful to partner with RevResponse as they have the largest B2B content distribution network on the web.

Might as well hit that button right now and boost up your making money online plans now!

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