4 Smart Money Decisions by Dave Ramsey

Make a Plan — To improve your situation, you must live on a written monthly plan—meaning a budget. If you do, you might say, “Maybe I ought to be saving something. Maybe I can’t afford a vacation to Europe this year.” There are always trade-offs. The worst financial move you can make is to assume that you have to have debt to prosper. People who prosper avoid debt.
Avoid the “Internet Impulse” — The Internet can be an awesome tool for planning and controlling your budget. The bad thing about the Internet is that there is impulse there to grab compulsive shoppers. The best thing you can do is equip yourself with knowledge—especially when preparing to make large purchases.
Use Cash, Not Credit — If you have the discipline to pay credit card balances each month, you must have the cash. If you pay cash, you spend less because it hurts more. When you go to dinner and lay down a $50 bill, you realize you bought dinner. When you pay with a credit card, you do not emotionally register the expense and tend to spend more. Also, most people do not pay their plastic off every month, thus incurring debt and finance charges.
Don’t Throw in the Towel — Probably 80 percent of the bankruptcies that are filed don’t have to be. People freak out, get scared and don’t know what else to do. To avoid or get out of bankruptcy, you have to change the habits that cause the problem. Debt is the symptom and the problem is living without a plan. Remember, you only end up a “financial failure” when you quit. The trick is to have the overriding character quality of not quitting and learning from it.

The Key to Maintaining Energy

Several simple changes in your daily life can dramatically increase your energy levels. To get the most out of yourself without exhaustion, learn how to respond in a calm, positive way to the inevitable ups and downs of your work and personal life. The key to maintaining a healthy pace in the office mean taking time to separate yourself from the rigors of work-life, so take a break! Be sure to devote one full day a week resting your mind and body. Experts attest that taking time to refresh yourself spiritually and mentally means you will produce more in the other six days, and make fewer mistakes, than if you worked seven days straight.

3 Simple Ways to Perfect the Art of Email

According to a UCLA Center for Communication survey, approximately 90 percent of all Internet users rely on email for business communication. Thus, the importance of proper etiquette and style cannot be understated. Need a refresher course?

Focus on Tone —It’s not always what you say, but how you say it. Avoid using “all caps” which makes it seem like you’re yelling. Also, ditch the emoticons. Unless you’re writing an email to a close personal friend, concentrate on verbiage and conciseness to get your message across, not smiley faces.
Don’t Fan The Flames — Appropriate tone is imperative for avoiding the second pitfall of business emails: flaming. When your tone is misinterpreted, you risk being the recipient of an off-the-cuff, emotionally charged response. The use of excessive emotion is known as flaming. Bypass this situation by drafting a response and collecting your thoughts before clicking “send”.
Double Check It, Then Check it Again — We’ve already established you’re writing a professional business email here, not a quick text to a friend, so remember that the devil is in the details. By now, most of us are pretty familiar with spell check, but don’t let that be your only resource. Take a moment to proof your message with an online dictionary. Using a Web-based dictionary is a great way to proof the arrangement and context of words with multiple spellings. After all, a well-written email reflects your skills as a communicator, so why not put your best foot forward?