There are people that made a habit of living in debt and they are not affected at all, but for those that desire a miracle to take it off their back I’ve been thinking of a few simple ways for you to save money. I’ve been testing them and I can guarantee you that at the end of the year when I’m draw the line I am always very happy.

Here are a few ways for you to save money to pay your debt:

1. Changing to CFL bulbs and using sun light instead of the lights in the house, for the most part of the day, will reduce your electricity bill with around $10 a month, which translates in $120 by the end of the year.
2. I prefer jogging in the park and stretching in my own home, that’s why I don’t use the gym, which saves me about $400 a year.
3. From discussions with smoking fellows I’ve understood that a smoker pays on average $65 a month if you add the coffee that goes along so well. Lucky me, I don’t smoke, so that’s another annual $780.
4. Everyone likes to see a good movie once in a while but if you rent a DVD instead of going to the cinema you can save at least what you’d pay for the nachos and soda. That could be $10-$15 each time so I imagine this would mean at the end of the year you’d save about $450.
5. Cook your own meals. That’s not always a time killer, because the internet is full of recipes you’d love, that only takes a few minutes to be done. If you’re someone that likes to order out, I advise you to try and make it your own, not only because it’s fun to try out new things but also because you could save around $1200 a year.
6. Bring your own lunch. Now that I mentioned cooking your own meals, you should know that your going out to a restaurant at noon, with or without your colleagues, 5 days a week, means that you spend around $100 a month. Bring your own and stop making all those restaurants, money fat. That way you can save up to $1200 a year.
7. Read online. I am a fan of the old fashion method of journalism because the noise the paper makes when I am switching pages is incredible. But, since you need to cut back on expenses, try to read all your magazines and newspapers online, because you may save up to $300 a year.
8. Use a free checking account. Wouldn’t it be great to get interest on your balance and still be able to pay for your bills without fees? You should also think of writing a check instead of getting money from an ATM machine that charges fees. That could be another $300 a year.
9. Drive safely. You may think I’m out of my minds but let me explain. Driving safely, from my point of view means having a distributive attention and of course driving slower. If you drive slower your fuel level consumption is also lower, by 3-4 liters every mile, which translates in about $400 a year.
10. Drink your coffee at home. Though you may not think $2 a day is big deal, if you count that for the whole year it makes about $500. So why have your coffee in the subway or on the streets if you can have it at home?
11. Buy quality products. When you choose your pair of jeans make sure you don’t pay too much, but also make sure you’re not buying low quality products because in a few weeks you’ll have to buy a new pair. Same goes for computer parts, shoes or anything else you need. I don’t have a daily or a monthly value that you could save so I will assume it’s around $500 a year.
12. Taking care of your health is a way of saving money. Wash your teeth daily and seek a dentist from time to time because it’s cheaper to prevent than to cure. And I didn’t mention the time you lose by being sick. Again I will just have to assume that on a 10 years time frame if you take care of your health you save at least $1000 a year.
13. Books: from the library, borrowed or bought second hand. You or your children need to get some cultural awareness and reading a good book is a very good idea. If you can get your books from the library, borrow from your friends or buy them second hand – in great condition – is a very good way to save money, maybe $40 a month which is $480 a year.
14. Use public transportation, a bike or walk to your job if it’s possible and they don’t need you to travel a lot during the day. The reasons are multiple, walking and biking helps your body just like a sport, and public transportation is greener (less pollution from a bus with 40 people than from 20 cars). You can save around $10 if you consider parking, insurance and fuel. That’s $2500 a year.
15. Always seek insurance deals. I’ve heard of people moving from their insurer to someone new, and saving like $1000 a year, just for car insurance. If you’re a good driver other companies may reward you better.

These are just a 15 simple ideas that I could quantify, but there are other ways of saving money like: doing your shopping using coupons, buying fresh food from the local market rather than the hypermarket, don’t shop when you’re hungry, cut your own hair or buy used cars.

If you trust me and my math I would say applying those 15 steps to saving money would make an estimated total saving of $11,330 that you can send towards your debt. Now you can go free your debt and then you can start going to restaurants again or buying a new car. Till next time!

In my last article I discussed taking risks, assuming responsibility and the importance of making informed choices. Today I want to go over why I feel that being adaptable is another important tool for your Leadership Arsenal.

Being a good leader means being adaptable. You must be able to change and adapt, at any given moment, to situations big and small. A good example of this was management in the 70s and 80s. They refused to believe that computer skills would become a necessity in their jobs. A lot of those managers found themselves without their current employment and unable to find a replacement job because they refused to accept and adapt to the computer age. Leaders are constantly faced with change. Just look at the tech advances ones must be well versed in i.e: laptops, blackberries, video conferencing…

However, not all change is large. A good leader needs the ability to adapt to all kinds of situations like changes in: company objectives, staff, deadlines, client expectations, company budget, company software to name a few. Some days it feels like these changes are coming at you all at once, you need to be able to adjust and adapt, not hang on to “the old way of doing things.”

I believe that the two most important aspects of adaptability are acknowledging that changes are inevitable and having a willingness to confront and deal with those changes. Doing things “the way they have always been done” does not help you, your team or your company.

Check back next time when I throw another tool in your leadership toolbox because you can never have enough tools in your Leaderhsip Arsenal.

Image copyright : Dunny

Currently, I am studying in the field of abnormal psychology. When one thinks of mental health, as in mental illnesses such as depression and obsessive compulsive personality disorder, one does not often associate these as manifesting in childhood. The reality is, however, that mental illness is a lot more predominate in children than once thought. The growing research in this area is on one hand very illuminating and informative but on the other hand very dark and saddening. Perhaps the most dark and saddening realization in the past years is that children as young as five or six can be thinking of committing suicide. What is even worse is that some, actually have a plan to do so.

Childhood is rich in emotional experience. This is a time when the human being learns to consolidate their emotional experiences to be able to understand themselves better and to be able to communicate with the outside world. What could go so wrong that a child would want to end their lives?

Although not completely understood to date, some indicators of depression have been pinpointed and include:

1. There can be a loss of interest or enjoyment in activities.
2. The child may experience a persistent sense of fatigue or loss of energy or on the other hand the child can be quite rambunctious and not able to sit still for a prolonged period of time. There may be fidgeting or pacing repeatedly as if trying to release pent up energy. This of course can cause an inability to concentrate.
3. There may be outbursts, crying or yelling for no apparent reason.
4. The depression may also manifest itself in somatic complaints, such as persistent headaches and pains in the body.
5. Change is a big indicator, as in change in sleep patterns, change in eating patterns etc…

The important thing to note is that if a child expresses suicidal thoughts or feelings, even in jest, or if there is an indication of substance abuse at a young age, (as young as five or six), to bring the child to a mental health professional (school counselor, hospital psychiatrist or psychologist, community worker) or consult online help forums or even telephone hotlines. There are many resources out there to help children get through their difficulties! One just needs to know the signs that the child is suffering.

I believe that everyone should have a written life plan and that plan should be broken down to cover 5 time periods; the 1 month, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years plan. In each of these time periods you will have to clearly define points covering career, financial and personal goals.

The easiest way to start your plan is to take out 3 sheets of paper. Label them: Career, Finance and Personal. Write out every goal you can think of, under the appropriate category, that you want to achieve. Don’t put a time limit on them. You can include taking a long weekend at a friend’s cottage next month and your desire to sail around the world after you retire. Include paying off small debts and your retirement goals. At this point, don’t edit your thoughts and don’t worry about the time line by which you hope to accomplish them, just write whatever comes to mind. Take your time, review, add or remove things. Think each goal through and make sure it is something that you are willing to work towards.

Don’t worry if your papers are a mess because you will be rewriting them anyway. Next time I want to break down each category; Career Goals, Financial Foals and Personal Goals, to give you a better idea exactly what you should include on those lists.