1. Register early. You can usually attend conferences and other events for a fraction of the price if you register in advance. Many events offer lower priced “early bird” pricing and then increase 2-4x if you wait until the last minute.

2. Stay at the conference hotel if you can. It may cost more, but there are many benefits to staying at the event hotel. It’s makes attending the event a lot less of a hassle. If you have a few extra minutes or need to grab something or get rid of your bag or briefcase, you can run to your room and back in just a few minutes.

3. Get professionally designed business cards. There is a difference, and people can tell. If you want to make a good impression and get your brand noticed, make sure you get a nice looking card to hand out along the way.

4. Plan your itinerary early. Print off the list of sessions and who is speaking. Highlight the sessions you want to attend the most, and try to resolve conflicts. If you want to attend more than one session, get a feel for which one is most important to you so you can prioritize. If you’re not getting what you want out of it, you can always check out another session on your list.

5. Know your goals. There may be folks you want to meet, or specific questions you want answered. Try to collect your thoughts in advance so you can get the most out of the event you are attending.

6. Speak if you can. You may be new to the industry and perhaps not qualified. But if you put yourself out there and can speak about something which provides value to conference attendees, you will create more opportunities to connect and meet people you might not otherwise meet.

7. Work the room but don’t hard sell. Nearly everyone is trying to sell or promote something at a conference or trade show. You probably came there to promote your business or product. If they are interested in what you offering, people you meet will ask you about it. So make sure you meet and connect with plenty of people, but don’t hard sell them during the event.

8. Dress sharp. You are going to an event to network and connect with people. So try your best to make a good first impression.

9. Take notes at sessions including potential action steps. I usually try to bring a notebook so I can jot down comments, web sites, etc. at sessions or during the day.

10. Have something to write with while you’re networking. I usually try to carry a pen and some index cards in my pocket during parties, cocktail hours, and networking events. If someone mentions an idea or suggestion that I want to remember, I write it down. This often happens in mid-conversation during evening cocktail hours and parties, and I know that I will forget their tip if I don’t write it down. So I just write down one or two words to help me remember later. I’ve tried to use my iPhone or PDA for this before, but I can’t type fast enough without disrupting the flow of the conversation. So I stick to pen and paper.

11. Make a plan of action when you leave based on what you learned.  I get excited whenever I get to attend an event. I always learn something or get a new perspective on something that I have been working on. So take advantage of this energy and make a detailed plan for how you are going to take your business or project to the next level. I usually try to do this on the flight home, since everything is fresh in my mind.

12. Link up with everyone you meet. When you get back to work and the dust settles, go through your stack of business cards and connect with folks you met on the social network of your choice. Let them know if you enjoyed meeting them or think there may be an opportunity to work together.

Make sure you follow up when you get back to work, but don’t BS people if you didn’t have a meaningful conversation. It’s fine to be honest and send someone an e-mail saying you enjoyed meeting them. But if you did not actually meet them, don’t lie about it – you will only make yourself look bad. Even though I meet dozens of people every time I attend an event, I usually remember most of them. And if someone I’ve never spoken with contacts me out of the blue and says they enjoyed meeting me when I know they never have, I find it hard to take them seriously.

13. Review your notes and action plan about a month after the event. Have you done everything you wanted to? It’s easy to get back to “the grind” and change gears and never follow through with items on your to-do list from the event. It helps to review notes a few weeks after to see if there is anything else you can take away from the event.

Not sure where the conferences are for your industry? Check out Conference Calendar – the only global conference online resource center that details specific events.

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13 Tips To Get The Most Out of Conferences

1. The IRS is on the phone: There are a wide variety of scams that use the IRS’s name to get your personal information (like your Social Security number) over the phone or via email. While the exact reason the caller purportedly wants the information varies, scams like a claim that the IRS needs the information to send your tax refund or a stimulus check are common. Scammers use the information they collect through these phone calls and email to steal identities.
2. Landing government grants: The Better Business Bureau reported a scam this month that involves companies offering free advice on getting large government grants. The grants are claimed to be part of the stimulus package, although no such grants actually exist. The scammer typically offers to send a free CD to any requester, but those requesters are required to submit their credit or debit card number in order to receive it. Credit cards are then charged with reoccuring fees indefinitely — in many cases, the fees only stopped when the victim canceled his or her credit card. Many victims of the scam also report that they never received the CD. Some variations on the scam ask you to pay a small initial fee, around a dollar or so, in order to get your credit card account information.
3. Your stimulus check is in danger: Another scam connected with stimulus payments has been popping up in email accounts. You may receive an email from the IRS or other government agency, with a warning that you’re in danger of forfeiting your stimulus check if you do not respond immediately with your bank account information. The emails may ask for PINs, passwords and other secret access information — as well as taking you to fake websites where the same information can be stolen. That information is all a scammer needs to gain access to a bank account and empty it out. It can also be used in identity theft.

It seems like scammers come out in force when there are economic problems: the know that many people are desperate and they take advantage of that fact. To make matters worse, there are new scams (and variations on old ones) every day. Just because you’re familiar with the existing scams doesn’t mean that you can easily realized the next one out there. All you can do is investigate any situation that seems to good to be true, even if that means being suspicious of the emails and phone calls you receive.

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Watch Out For Scams: 3 Big Ones

In order to make sure you get that money, the IRS has released new tables to show taxpayers just how much of their paychecks will be withheld when that tax credit goes into affect. Your withholding should amount to only a few dollars less per week — remember that the credit is spread out over a full year — but you shouldn’t need to do anything to receive it. Employers should be receiving the new withholding tables and put them into affect by April 1, 2009. Depending on how on-the-ball your employer is, you could start getting a little extra in your paycheck immediately.

The actual amount you can expect varies. It’s the equivalent of 6.2 percent of your earned income for the year, up to a total of $400 per person. You can qualify for up $800 if you’re married — even if only you (or only your spouse) is employed. Your annual income can also affect the credit — taxpayers passing a certain income do not receive it. If you are single, the credit phases out between $75,000 and $95,000. If you are married, it phases out between $150,000 and $190,000.

The credit is also available to self-employed individuals: they can claim it by reducing their estimated quarterly tax payments or claiming it when they file their 2009 tax returns. You can also get the credit even if you don’t earn enough to owe federal income tax: you will have to wait for it, if withholding isn’t taken out of your pay check though. Instead, you’ll be able to get the credit when you file your 2009 tax return. However, you do need to have a job in order to get the credit — and you cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s taxes. That means that if you’re a student working part time, you’ll probably miss out on this particular tax credit.

It’s worth making sure that you do qualify for the tax credit: employers will just automatically start using the new withholding tables. If your spouse’s salary makes it impossible for you to claim the Making Work Pay Tax Credit, for instance, it’s up to you to make sure your paperwork reflects that fact. If you don’t qualify for the tax credit, but your withholding still decreases, you’ll owe the IRS money come April 2009. It may be significantly easier just to fill out a new W-4 and increase your withholding on line 6.

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After the Stimulus: How Much is in Your Paycheck?

Predatory Lending Practices

The best known options for quick money also among the worst. Payday loans, title loans, even tax refund anticipation loans all have horrible terms that can easily put someone in a worse position than they started in. It’s not unheard of for the interest on these predatory loans to work out to 100 percent interest (or even more!). The fact of the matter is that even the small amounts of money a pawn broker can offer is a better option than something like a payday loan.

Looking For Better Options

Loans aren’t the only option for finding money quickly. There’s always the option of selling something: while it’s hard to get the best rate if a seller is in a hurry to get money, there are plenty of options beyond pawning an item. For instance, placing an ad on Craigslist can get an almost immediate response, as long as the item for sale is desirable. It’s possible to complete a sale in just a day or two, if necessary. If there’s more lead time — if someone knows that they’ll be a little behind in advance — it’s possible to sell for better rates. And while pursuing such avenues as selling plasma sounds like a fall back to college money-making, such options are still available.

For those in a position where a loan is a better option than trying to complete a sale, there are sources of loans other than predatory agencies. It’s worth asking a family member for help before all others, but asking an employer for an advance or community members for some aid can also provide options.

Keeping Calm in a Crisis

Finding oneself on uneven financial ground is difficult. The first reaction many people have is to rush around, looking for someone to effectively bail them out. But if a person can keep their calm in such a situation, it’s often possible to find a solution that — at the very least — offers enough time to get back on solid ground. Rushing around only makes it easier for predatory lenders to take advantage and make the situation much worse.

The best thing someone in financial straights can do is step back and assess: determine the amount of money needed, possible sources and how helpful those sources might be. Consider all the options, such as piecing together a larger amount of money through multiple methods and sources. If there’s a way to find a little more time without making the situation worse, it’s almost always worthwhile — with more time, a person might even be able to take on a little extra work and earn enough to cover the shortfall.

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Money In A Hurry: Your Options

Chapter 7 & 13

In the United States, there is a set of laws governing bankruptcy known as the Bankruptcy Code. The code is divided into chapters, six of which describe specific types of bankruptcy:

• Chapter 7: basic liquidation for individuals and businesses
• Chapter 9: municipal bankruptcy
• Chapter 11: rehabilitation or reorganization, used primarily by businesses, but can be used by individuals with substantial debts and assets
• Chapter 12: rehabilitation for family farmers and fishermen
• Chapter 13: rehabilitation with a payment plan for individuals with a regular source of income
• Chapter 15: ancillary and other international cases

For individuals, Chapter 7 is the most common type of bankruptcy, followed by Chapter 13.

Choosing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be a difficult choice: as part of the proceedings, the debtor gives up their assets. Some assets are exempt, and it’s possible to make arrangements to keep a car or home that the debtor is still paying for. Bankruptcy is not intended to be anything but a last resort, and Chapter 7 can be especially difficult to go through. If a person considering Chapter 7 has much in the way of assets or is involved in a corporation and partnership, filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 or 13 may be much better. Chapter 13 offers the opportunity to create a repayment plan: a debtor’s assets aren’t liquidated because they are working to pay off debts rather than have them simply discharged.

The Credit Concern

While bankruptcy may seem like a ‘get out of jail free’ card on the surface, there are some major drawbacks to going through the proceedings. A bankruptcy sticks with a person long after the financial matters have been finalized. Bankruptcies stay on a credit report for ten years. That means that for someone who has been through a bankruptcy will have a much harder time getting credit in the future and more: prospective employers and landlords both look at credit reports and can use a bankruptcy as a reason to refuse to lease an apartment or to offer a job.

Depending on the type of debts at stake, a bankruptcy may not even offer a truly clean slate. It provides a way to eliminate credit card debt and other unsecured credit cards. However, there are a whole list of obligations that bankruptcy does not affect:

• Child support and alimony
• Student loans, except in very limited circumstances
• Most property liens
• Most Tax Debts
• Fines and penalties imposed for legal violations
• Judgments from personal injury suits
• Debts incurred through fraud (lying on a credit application, using borrowed property as collateral, etc.)

Furthermore, any debts not specifically dealt with during bankruptcy proceedings are not discharged. Creditors also have the opportunity to convince the judge during most bankruptcy cases that their debts should survive the bankruptcy.

The first step to filing for bankruptcy — no matter which chapter — is to contact a bankruptcy attorney. All bankruptcies in the U.S. are handled through the United States Bankruptcy Court, but state laws can have some extensive effects on a bankruptcy. It’s crucial to discuss a potential bankruptcy with a local attorney: at the very least an attorney can help explain other options in a particular state. A lawyer will be able to walk a debtor through discovering whether bankruptcy will really discharge enough debt to make it worthwhile. However, not all bankruptcy attorneys are inclined to turn down a potential case unless specifically asked about alternatives.

The Big Benefits

Especially if a debtor takes time to look at all the options available, a bankruptcy can offer some help. Filing Chapter 13, for instance, specifically offers a chance to stop a mortgage foreclosure. And any unsecured debt, like credit card debt, can be very easily dealt with during a Chapter 7 bankruptcy — as long as the debtor is willing to liquidate assets in order to do so.

Beginning bankruptcy proceedings offers another benefit, although it isn’t necessarily monetary: it can stop creditor harassment, as well as collection activities. It may seem like an extreme approach to stop phone calls and letters, but it’s important to remember that collection activities include foreclosures and repossessions. Bankruptcy can provide a short-term solution to stop such situations and hopefully help find a more long-term solution.

Options Beyond Bankruptcy

Surprisingly few people are aware of options beyond bankruptcy for settling their debts. While not all alternatives fit every situation, it is very possible that in a given case, bankruptcy is not the best choice.

• Negotiate with creditors: A debtor can negotiate a repayment plan or settlement plan without going through a bankruptcy court. It’s as simple as picking up the phone and asking. Most creditors know that if a case progresses to bankruptcy, they’re chances of receiving money drop, so they’re usually willing to at least discuss some kind of settlement.
• Debt counseling: A debt counseling agency can help a debtor come up with a repayment plan (similar to Chapter 13) without the black marks a bankruptcy adds to a credit history. There’s a little less legal protection for debtors who miss payments, but for a debtor committed to repayment they can be a better — and cheaper — option than bankruptcy.
• Do nothing: Oddly enough, not acting can be a much better option than bankruptcy in some very specific cases. Creditors can’t take away essentials (basic clothing, household furnishings, personal effects, food) or certain benefits (Social Security, unemployment, public assistance). If a debtor doesn’t have a steady income or property — and doesn’t expect to have them in the future — bankruptcy isn’t necessary. Creditors realize they can’t collect in these situations and rarely try. In seven years, any such debts are removed from a debtor’s credit history.

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The Facts About Bankruptcy

With all of the tribulations that have plagued the automobile industry, the manufacturing industry, and the entire economy, the automobile industry wants you to know that car loans are available to finance a new car purchase. From the looks of television and printed ads for December of 2008, it is business as usual if you are looking to buy a new car. Although dealerships are closing and auto makers are delaying the release of some new models, they are more motivated than ever to get you into a new car.

The Approved Credit Clause

Taking this on face value, a new car buyer might be able to get a pretty good deal on a new car, with many dealers offering zero percent interest on approved credit. Your credit rating will determine whether or not your new car loan will be written with zero interest. You may find that, without the best rating, you’ll end up paying interest on your loan. You will also find that new car financing is now spread out over a longer term, some at 60 months, making the interest issue even more costly. When you sit down to negotiate the price, base it on the invoice price, not the MSRP, which can be misleading.

Upside Down Auto Loans

If you finance your new car purchase, try to arrange a shorter term, and put a larger down payment on the car. By doing this, there is less chance of getting upside down on your loan; owing more than the car is worth come trade-in time. With trade-in value at an all time low, keeping your car after it is paid off can reap multiple rewards; no car payments and lower car insurance rates. If you decide to pay off your loan sooner than the term, check for prepayment penalties that can rain on your parade.

Consider Trade-in Value when Buying

While you might be tempted by prices dropping to consider SUVs, resale value on them is also dropping thousands of dollars a month. Some dealers will not even accept them in trade. According to ForbesAutos.com, the three vehicles with the best resale value for 2008 are the BMW 1 Series, the Infiniti G37, and the Cooper MINI, keeping approximately sixty percent of their initial value after three years.

Borrow With Caution

Look closely at your budget before borrowing for a new car. Consider all of the vehicle’s operating expenses, including insurance before committing yourself to four, five or six years of monthly payments. By financing a new car purchase, you are paying for the convenience of getting that car now instead of saving up and paying for it outright. That can be a good thing if you keep other debt in control and manage your budget carefully.

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Auto Financing

There’s only been one major exception to my inexpensive shopping trips, and that was picking up the Thanksgiving ham. I could have gotten it during my initial bulk buying run, but I just couldn’t figure out how to get it into my freezer with my other purchases.

I still have plenty of food left, too: my husband and I are comfortably stocked for another at least another two weeks. Assuming that we only make it that far (though I am planning to see just how far I can stretch it), I will have spent approximately $580 for food for two adults for two months. That breaks down to about $35 per week per person — or less than $2 per meal. That’s actually on par with the baseline amount some states use for food stamps.

I do have a few tips to share that make the bulk buying experience easier:
Prepared foods drive up your food bill. The more you can make from scratch, the cheaper you can eat. The biggest obstacle for most people seems to be bread — but there are many recipes that require just 5 minutes of your time to make a loaf.
You don’t have to make everything from scratch, though — crackers are an example of your time being far more valuable than the effort it would take to make a certain food.
Ingredients store better than prepared food, despite the preservatives. You can store flour almost indefinitely, but a loaf of bread may not make it through the week.
Soups and stews are your friends: they’re easy ways to use frozen or canned vegetables, as well as any leftovers.
Break down anything in your freezer into meal-sized portions. For instance, if you buy a 40-pack of hot dogs, you don’t want to have to defrost the whole thing for just one meal.
Indulge in a few of your favorite foods. For me, I have a weakness for cheese. I bought a big block of Gouda and ate it on practically everything (and often by itself).
Plan your shopping trip in advance. Pick items you can use in multiple meals and draw up at least a general meal plan.

These tips come out of my experiences — and my mistakes. I think my experiment has shown that buying in bulk can be an effective way to save money on food — and I don’t have to spend nearly as much time grocery shopping as I’ve needed to in the past. Since I was already used to cooking from scratch, I think I may have wound up saving time as well as food.

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Buying In Bulk Pays Off

1. Know Your Rights: Depending on where your savings account is, there might some changes going on beyond the name on the building. However, making sure you’re aware of just what the bank is allowed to do with your money — and what rights you have — can help ensure that a sudden change won’t put your cash accounts in danger. You should also understand the protection the FDIC offers you for savings accounts, CDs and other cash accounts. If you’re not quite sure what the FDIC does, you can read up on it on the FDIC website: I’d recommend reading the bank closing information for Silver State Bank or another failed bank, rather than the various ‘About the FDIC’ pages. You’ll get an example of exactly what happens, rather than wading through hypotheticals. The FDIC actually protects more than you might think, including IRAs and money market accounts.
2. Minimize Movement: Unless you are truly not confident in an investment’s ability to ride out the recession intact, try to minimize moving your money around. That’s actually a fast way to lose money — with all the fees that can be associated with a move, you can wind up losing far more than you might expect. For most investments, the current downward trend is nowhere near permanent. Once the economy becomes stronger, stocks and other investments will regain value. It’s a waiting game. There are a few exceptions, of course. If you do need your money now, it’s reasonable to pull it out of an investment, although it’s worth discussing the matter with a financial planner in order to protect your investment as much as possible.
3. Save and Diversify: While it can be harder to sock away money during a recession, creating a bigger cushion of savings can reduce your worries about the current financial situation. It may seem counterintuitive to invest any of your savings during a recession, but it’s worthwhile to do so as long as you invest conservatively. CDs and other insured investment vehicles can keep your money safe while the market evens out. Do your research before investing anything, of course, and diversify where you place your savings to increase their safety as much as possible.

There is no perfect way to protect your investments, unfortunately. Even putting all of your money in a mattress at home is risky — and that money is certainly uninsured. However, you can ease your mind by taking the steps available to you: if you’ve done everything you can to protect your investments, you can rest a little easier when it comes to money matters.

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3 Steps To Keep Your Investments Safe

1. Having no idea what your credit score is — or what it means. Credit is crucial these days. Despite that fact, most people don’t really know much about their own credit score or report. It’s not enough to receive your free credit reports from annualcreditreport.com. Instead, you should read it over thoroughly and make sure you’re clear on just what information is listed. Take the time to dispute the errors on your report, as well. Lastly, be aware of your rights when it comes to your credit report. Even prospective employers or landlords can request your credit report — but you do have legal rights about what either a landlord or employer can make decisions based on.
2. Letting the pennies slide. For a lot of us, little spending habits can get us down. A soda from the machine every day at lunch, a newspaper on the way to work, and other little expenses add up very quickly. It’s important to figure out just where your money is going, even if you wind up having to track every one of your expenses. Not all of your little indulgences have to be a problem, but would you rather have that extra candy bar or would you prefer to go on a cruise next summer?
3. Letting the dollars slide. I’ve seen this problem escalate when folks start to get their pennies under control: while we’re worrying about saving pennies, we lose sight of the bigger picture. A key symptom is spending more time and effort on saving a few cents than they’re actually worth. If you drive across town to save just a dollar or two, you’re paying more attention to your pennies than to your dollars.
4. Rewarding yourself for the ordinary. Do you feel like you need a reward just for making it through the week? Maybe a dinner out just for actually receiving your pay check? While going out to dinner isn’t necessarily harmful to your bottom line, the idea that you deserve a reward for something that you ordinarily do anyhow can hurt you in the long run. Many people turn to books, games and other stuff for their rewards and those constant costs drag down their savings. Instead, your rewards really should be treats. Save them for something big, like getting a promotion.
5. Putting others first. I’m sure I sound like a horrible person for saying this, but the simple truth is that you do have to put yourself first when it comes to personal finance. It feels good to help others out, and I’m certainly in favor of philanthropy, but you need to make sure that such a gift won’t hurt you.

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5 Common Money Mistakes You Might Be Making

I work with Photoshop a lot. Back in college, I may have used a version of a less-than-legal nature, but I’ve found that legitimate software has paid off. For one thing, I haven’t had to spend any time getting a cracked copy to work. And if something does go horribly wrong with my software, I can call up tech support and get someone trained to handle this type of issue to sort out for me. There are updates, patches and more, as well.

There is a major drawback to buying music online, of course: DRM. Because of the way that most companies run their digital rights management systems, they have to update them every few years. Once a new type of DRM is being used, most companies stop supporting the old one — making songs sold with that particular DRM effectively useless. The situation is getting better, though. Last year, Apple switched to selling music free of DRM, as has Wal-Mart and many other venues. If you can manage to avoid buying DRM-free music (and you remember to back them up), you won’t have to re-purchase your music. The price remains comparable to buying CDs, as long as I want every track on an album, but it’s still an amount I feel comfortable paying.

When it comes to movies, I’ll admit my tastes have certainly dictated where I get my entertainment. Back in the days when I was willing to search through torrents for a particular movie or show, I could only rarely find the films I really wanted to watch. When I did, it was usually impossible for me to get the full file for some reason or another. I turned to Netflix in order to actually watch the movies that I wanted to see, instead of banging my head against the Bit Torrent wall. Netflix has only gotten better these days: now that I can watch movies immediately on my computer, I get a lot of the benefits of downloading movies, without having them take up half my hard drive.

And I do download plenty of stuff for free still — I just do it legally. There are thousands of musicians who release their tunes for free online, and the same goes for software and movies. I often look for Creative Commons-licensed media when I want something new. Even better, I often find stuff that really is new to me this way.

What do you think? I won’t ask you to incriminate yourself on whether or not you download music illegally, but do you think that it makes sense financially to take one approach over the other? Do you think that there’s anything wrong with downloading intellectual property of any kind? I’ve virtually ignored the possibility of legal fees here, I’ll admit, but I don’t really think they play in to the decision to download — do you?

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Buying Vs. Downloading For Free: The Better Financial Choice

For all my hard work, I’d really made only $50. My real hourly wage was only $2.50, at least for that first week. Because the clothes were a one-time cost, I got a ‘raise’ to $4 the next week.

My hourly wage, both official and actual, have gone up since then. But there’s still a major disparity between the two that is important to remember. Not everyone keeps a close eye on the difference and it can turn into a problem fairly quickly. When you’re looking for a new job, for instance, it’s important to be very aware of your real hourly wage, beyond the taxes automatically taken out. You might be offered a higher wage at a new job, but is it really that much of a better deal?

• Will your commute remain the same? Or will you need to pay more in transportation costs?
• Will you have to pay any costs to move your retirement accounts?
• Will your current wardrobe be appropriate? Or will you need to buy new clothes?
• Will you be traveling more, and paying for more calls home and other costs?

A new job can quickly turn into an expensive proposition.

It’s pretty easy to calculate your real hourly wage. Start with your actual annual earnings — you can make your calculations for shorter periods of time as long as you make sure that all your numbers are comparable. However, I do suggest making the calculations based on yearly numbers because there can be a lot of variation between weekly or biweekly pay periods.

Subtract your annual costs from your earnings. Even if something isn’t officially a work cost, you can still subtract it if you wouldn’t purchase it without your job. That includes meals out with co-workers, shoe polish and that one kind of pen you have to have but the office supply manager won’t purchase for you. The number that results is your actual income.

Divide your actual income by the number of hours you spent on work-related tasks. Odds are pretty good that you spend more than the standard 40 hours per week. Even if that’s what the time clock reads, you should include the time it takes to commute as well as anything else related.

The resulting number is your real hourly wage. Most of the people I’ve talked to look at that number in complete surprise — it’s often 40 percent less than what most people think they’re making. You can bring up your real hourly wage, however, without asking for a raise or changing jobs. It’s a matter of reducing the cost of working: you may be able to reduce your costs by making a lunch at home, carpooling or maintaining a smaller wardrobe.

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How Much Are You Really Making Per Hour?

But I kept trying to outsource tasks and grow my business. And, over time, I got better at it. This article describes my “system” for effective outsourcing.

Who Should You Hire?

• If I’m looking for someone to write on a particular subject on a regular basis, I usually hire a freelance writer on CraigsList.
• If I’m looking for someone to perform a unique one-time task that requires specific technical skills, I hire someone on eLance.
• When I identify tasks that I want someone to do on a regular basis, I use my virtual assistant.
• My virtual assistant performs all other general one-time tasks that do not require niche technical skills. Most tasks fall into this group.

I will go over some tips for doing each of these in the rest of this article.

How To Hire Writers On CraigsList

I have personally had the best luck hiring writers on CraigsList. This is what I do:

1. Place an ad on an active CraigsList site. (Not every city has lots of writing jobs. The more job postings, the more writers will be checking the site.)
2. Write a paragraph or two about what you are looking for, i.e. general niche/description of site and what you want them to do (i.e. write 3 x 500 word articles about widgets per week, etc.) I usually do not list the URL in the CraigsList ad.
3. Ask them to describe their background in the niche/subject area.
4. Ask for a writing sample that is relevant to what you want. Be specific. If you are going to hire someone to write 3 x 500 word articles per week about widgets, then have them send you a 500 word writing sample article about widgets.
5. I always include a note saying that if they do not provide the writing sample I requested, their email will be deleted without a response. (If they can’t follow your directions now, how do you know they will follow directions when you are paying them?)
6. If you have any criteria for location, language, etc., be sure to state that.
7. If you intend to hire them as a 1099 independent contractor, be sure to mention that. (If you pay them more than $600 in a calendar year you are required to send them IRS Form 1099-MISC.)
8. Be sure to mention that they can work from home, with no set working hours, as long as they meet all required deadlines.
9. Try to be as specific as possible about the rate of pay and your budget. Also be sure to mention when they will get paid and how they will get paid. (If I am hiring them as an independent contractor, I usually require writers to send me an invoice bi-weekly or monthly to receive payment. Then I have something for our records.)
10. Check your email, and delete any emails that do not meet your criteria.
11. Review writing samples and select writers.
12. Email the writer(s) and confirm that they are still interested. Provide site URL and anything else they need to know. If you have any writing or style guidelines you want them to follow, provide those too.
13. Provide them what they need to get started (site login, etc.). If they are not familiar with your blog or CMS you may need to explain how they can write articles on your web site.
14. Profit!

Hiring On eLance

I have hired several folks on eLance for one time tasks. I have had a mixed experience with the contractors and the eLance site in general. While I like the general concept and the platform, there are some fundamental flaws in the system and I don’t know if there is an easy way to fix it.

Tips for hiring someone on eLance:

• Define your project as specifically as you can. The more detail the better. It will help you understand what you want, and make it easier to communicate what you want to the contractor.
• If you are trying to hire someone to build a web site or a software application, provide sketches or wireframe drawings of what you want and what each link/button will do. This will help you explain what you want to the contractor. It will also help you more clearly define what you want, which will make it easier to communicate with the programmer. It will probably save you money too.
• Search for qualified contractors and invite them to bid on your project. There are many contractors and not all of them will bid, but you will have a wider array of options if you invite contractors to bid. Look at their feedback, the jobs they have performed, and their areas of expertise. Find contractors that look like they can do what you want, within your budget.
• The cheapest bid will probably be the lowest quality of work, and may not be completed to your standards. While this is not necessarily true, my experience has been that it can be true. For example, a bad writer will butcher articles for you no matter how many rewrites you have them do. Eventually the experience just gets painful. You may decide to throw in the towel rather than keep working with them.

Disadvantages of eLance

• Once you put money in escrow, the contractor must give permission for you to get it back. Some contractors will require that you fund the escrow before they complete the task. However, if the contractor does not perform the work to your satisfaction, and you cannot reach an agreement with the contractor in order to achieve that, you will have to go to arbirtation. Even if the contractor did not complete the work or you have proof they are plagiarizing someone else’s work. (I had really hoped to get a better answer than that when I called eLance to learn about my options a few months ago, but that is what they told me.)
• Some contractors can be unethical. This is more often the case on the lower priced bids, which tend to be lower quality work. Some contractors will plagiarize code or writing from another source, and even go as far as to vehemently deny they did so (sometimes even when you show them proof!).
• Contractors may misrepresent themselves. I doubt this happens very often, but it happened to us. We hired a company in Australia to perform work on one of our sites, and found that they were just a “middle man” that re-outsourced to someone in China. (We first thought someone in China was hacking our web site, and then realized what was happening.)

When To Consider A Virtual Assistant Service

• If you have a lot of recurring tasks (other than writing) that you want to “offload”
• If you want a single point of contact that can deal with everything.
• If you want someone that could make phone calls on your behalf.
• If you want someone that can handle a wide variety of tasks.
• If you want someone that can think on their feet if necessary.

Tasks Your Virtual Assistant Should Do

• Tasks that I do on a regular basis (weekly or monthly or whatever)
• Tasks that I have been performing myself, but don’t necessarily need to be done by me
• Tasks that I don’t like to do (and would rather not do any more if I can help it)

How To Hire A Virtual Assistant

1. Research virtual assistant agencies to find one that works for you.
2. Sign up for their free trial or “pay as you go” type of plan.
3. Prepare a list of three tasks, ideally various types of tasks that you would have them do. (such as research, making phone calls for you, etc.)
4. Try to avoid tasks that, if performed poorly, would embarrass you. For example, resist having them phone your boss or an important business contact until you are more confident in their abilities.
5. If one of the tasks is technically complex, send them that one first. If they are all relatively straightforward, send them all at once.
6. Be sure to specify a deadline for each task.
7. Evaluate the results.

Tips For Hiring a Virtual Assistant

• It is best if you can have the actual VA do your trial tasks. If you’re not sure, ask. (Some agencies may assign you to someone else who acts as a “filter”, then assign you to a different VA when you sign on as a client. The quality of work may differ.)
• Cheaper is not necessarily better.
• More expensive is not necessarily better, either. (I fired a more expensive USA-based service and am extremely satisfied with an overseas service that is less than half the price. For the same tasks. And they are doing a better job than the more expensive service.)
• Evaluate their output. Focus on the potential for a long term working relationship.
• Most people overestimate how many hours they will need. So if you can, you should start with a “pay as you go” plan and then upgrade as needed.

How To Train Your Virtual Assistant

I use Google Docs a lot because it lets me share files in a standard format quickly and easily. No weird file formats, and no need to send file attachments. For each task, I use a standard template that includes the following:

• Summary of the task.
• How often the task needs to be done, and when it needs to be done.
• Any setup that is required for this task, such as installing programs on their computer, etc.
• Objective of the task.
• The step by step process for doing the task.
• Any other details they might need to perform the task.

Tips For Working With Your Virtual Assistant

• Transfer recurring tasks over to them one at a time, making sure they understand each task. If they don’t understand, they should email or call you to get clarification.
• Observe and evaluate their work as carefully as possible in the first month. By then you should have a better feel for the potential of your working relationship.
• Periodically check on things on their work in various areas to ensure work quality has remained consistent.
• Provide deadlines for every task. If the task does not have a deadline, provide an approximate timeframe when you would like it completed. (This helps your assistant manage their time most effectively.)

When To Fire

Most people have not fired someone before. It is not something I take pride in, but sometimes it must be done. Focus on making an objective un-emotional decision that is best course of action for your business.

My evaluation process includes questions such as:

• Is their output/productivity providing us enough value, given their input/cost?
• Do they follow instructions?
• Do they cut corners?
• Do they meet deadlines?
• Do they have to re-do work often?
• Do they require extra oversight/supervision in order to complete tasks?
• Do they communicate effectively when they have a question or they don’t understand something?
• Do we have a good working relationship?
• Have I explained my concerns to them? How did they handle it? Has anything changed?

How To Fire

• Make it clean.
• Make it quick.
• Tell them why you are letting them go.
• Don’t argue/debate the reasoning behind your decision.
• Stick to your decision, unless there is a significant extenuating circumstance (that you were not aware of) which may justify giving them one more chance. (This happened to me on one occasion. They made me aware of the circumstances and gave us a financial incentive to keep working with them. That person still works for us today.)

Conclusion

Outsourcing is a way that you can build your business one step at a time. While it may be hard to let go, once you get started it can be quite addictive. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have and/or share your experiences as well. Good luck!

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Outsourcing 101

In general, one mantra works for both saving the environment and saving money: “Use less stuff.” There are some small steps you can take to implement that mantra in your life.

Energy Star Appliances

Energy Star appliances are government-rated appliances proven to be more energy efficient than other options. The initial price for many Energy Star appliances are a little higher than you might be used to, but in the long run, they’ll save you money by dropping your electricity bill.

It used to be that the Energy Star system only covered major appliances, like washers and dryers. The Energy Star site now lists a whole array of electronics, though, from lighting to televisions to battery charging systems.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Want an easy fix for your electricity bill? Swap out your incandescent light bulbs for CFLs. For each bulb you change out, you’ll save at least $30 in electricity costs over the life of the bulb — and that’s taking into account the fact that CFLs have a slightly higher purchase price.

Public Transportation & Carpooling

Looking for ways to cut that gas bill? Depending on what part of the country you live in, you may be able to make use of public transportation. Even in some of the Midwest cities notorious for less-than-adequate municipal bus systems, you may be able to get a cheap ride to the mall or other city hubs.

For those trips that public transportation just won’t help with, consider carpooling. Rather than offering to meet up with your friends, see if someone will swing by and pick you up. Same goes if anyone needs to run the same errands you do.

Shop Locally

Minimizing the trips you take outside your neighborhood may limit your selection a bit, but even if your nearest grocery store is a little pricier than some of the others in town you can still save by not using so much gas.

There’s another facet to shopping locally that can bring the price down even more: if you buy locally grown produce and other food from farmers’ markets and similar local suppliers, you can often spend significantly less to buy your food. A farmer who operates just outside of the city limits doesn’t have to factor in the fuel costs that grocery stores who bring produce in from two states away must.

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Green: An Easy Way To Save Green

Mailbox Diving

While not particularly common, theft of your postal mail can be very damaging. If you’re old school and pay your bills by check and receive paper statements, you’re the most at risk. Essentially putting all that information in a box in front of your house without a lock is asking for it to be stolen. But what if you live in an apartment or condo and you do have a locked mailbox? Believe it or not, you’re still at risk. Those large banks of mailboxes have a big door on the back that opens like a trunk hatch, exposing every mailbox inside. It only takes a crowbar and a few moments for a thief to get to every mailbox in your apartment complex. One stop shopping.

Using Computers

Some of us are from the generation that remembers never having computers, much less the internet. Once upon a time computers were safe and the internet was a novelty to be played innocently with. No longer. Your computer is now the gateway for hackers who make a very nice living stealing your money. These days going on the internet (or indeed, even plugging into the modem at all) without anti-virus software or firewalls is like shaking the hand of an Ebola patient. You don’t even have to use your credit cards online to become a victim. Virus writers now are targeting your passwords and your online banking websites. Even worse than using your own home computer is using a public one. The terminals at a library are no place to be checking your balance. Want to buy something online? Doing it at the library is like giving that Ebola patient a nice big kiss.

ATMs

It’s Sunday at 5 o’clock, you’re about to go out to dinner with some friends and you don’t want to pay with your debit card (want a good way to tick off your waiter? Tell him to split the bill among five cards all with different amounts). You go to one of those stand-alone ATM booths (more secure than the ones at the gas station, right?), and swipe your card through the reader on the door to get in. The light doesn’t turn green, and the door doesn’t open. Frustrated and late, you decide to frustrate the waiter instead and leave. What’s the problem you ask? You just became an identity theft victim.

A technique criminals sometimes use is the fake card reader. Sometimes these are placed directly on some ATMs, but most often they’re installed on bank doors or those stand-alone booths. The thief will remove the card reader that opens the door, and attach an identical one that they have modified. Instead of reading the card number and sending a signal to open the door, this new reader sends a signal to a wireless device or a memory card, storing your card number. You just think that the door isn’t working, when in reality you just gave your card number to a thief (in fact, you probably gave it several times as most people will try three or four times to open the door before giving up).

These are the more unusual ways to become a victim, but the lesson here is the same in general. Vigilance and knowledge are your best defenses. The only thing you can count on from identity thieves is ingenuity, they are constantly thinking up new and devious ways to get your cash. But if you stay up to date on the latest scams and arm yourself with the know-how to avoid them, you’ll be safe and sound.

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Three Unusual Ways to Become a Victim of Identity Theft

Unfortunately, many people — especially when they’re first developing a personal budget — let the budget take the leading role, often in two different ways.

1. They don’t plan for changing circumstances, like a mid-month emergency.
2. They don’t change their budget in response to upcoming events, like moving.

You don’t need to carve your budget in stone: you do not need a budget that will work month in and month out. Instead, your budget should be a living document — the kind you can easily amend or change. Furthermore, you should plan to change it on a fairly regular basis. It isn’t unreasonable to expect that you’ll need to at least review your budget and make small changes every month or so. However, it is practically mandatory to revise your budget when you have something out of the ordinary coming up: a vacation, moving expenses or even the holidays.

Consider the expenses of moving to a new home: you may be able to tweak your budget from residence to residence fairly easily if the rent or mortgage payments are similar. But the actual act of moving should also figure into your budget: extra gasoline for your truck, renting a U-Haul or hiring movers each can require an allotment of money in your budget that you wouldn’t normally worry about.

So how can you make your budget flexible?

Start out by keeping track of your budget in such a way that you feel comfortable making changes. I use an spreadsheet, although I know many people who still feel more comfortable with a paper budget. The one warning I would like to make about a paper budget, though, is that most people aren’t comfortable marking up a piece of paper over and over again. You may wind up rewriting your budget, or otherwise spend too much time trying to make a simple piece of paper look a little clearer.

You should also make the effort to check your budget once a month, preferably with your calendar in hand. I like sitting down at the beginning of the month, and reviewing both upcoming events and what I expect to need to spend, all in one go. I typically set aside one afternoon a month for all sorts of paperwork, including my budget. Most people don’t need to spend hours tweaking their budget — some months you may only need 10 minutes. But don’t forget to look a couple months out. If you’re trying to save a little extra for a trip home for the holidays, you should take that into account when reviewing your budget several months earlier.

Lastly, you need to remember who’s in charge. It’s your budget, and you should never be scared to rip it up and start over, if you need to.

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Your Budget Can’t Be A Straitjacket

This is not the time to pay only the minimal amount on your bills and it is definitely not the time to skip a payment. It is time to get serious and get rid of your debt before doing so becomes even harder. The credit card companies and banks look for reasons to raise your rates and charge you extra fees under normal circumstances. With so many people defaulting, they are itching to recoup their investment. Don’t give them any reason to target you.

The key to reducing your debt is to figure out exactly how much money you owe. Get all of your bills together. Don’t worry about insurance or utility bills yet, we’ll include them in a little bit. If you don’t have a recent bill handy, call the company and ask them for a remaining balance. Write it all down. Make sure that the amounts left on your mortgage and car loans are represented. Add it all together and this is your debt. Tack on an extra ten to fifteen to percent to account for the interest that will be added as you pay down the debt.

Yes. The final number will probably be depressing.

Now, go through your bills. Write down two numbers. The first number is the minimum payment. The second number is the amount of money you are charged for interest and finance charges. Combine the two numbers and add ten dollars. This is your new “minimum payment.”

Total your new minimum payments. Yes, this number will still be depressing.

To your minimum payment total add the following: if you live in an apartment, add your rent payment. Add your insurance payments (car, home, rental, etc). Add in how much money you spend on groceries each month and your utility payments. Figure in how much money you will need for things like getting your hair cut, clothing for work, and even some for leisure time activities –seeing the occasional movie, splurging on the occasional dinner out, things like this. Be realistic. If you know that you are not likely to skip your monthly hair appointment, write it down. Total all of these numbers together and this is the amount of money you must make every month.

Does your monthly income match your monthly “out go?”

Don’t feel bad and do not panic if you don’t earn enough to make your monthly minimum budget. There is plenty of advice here on Wealth Junkies to help you figure out how to add to your income and how to reduce your spending.

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Creating Your (dreaded) Budget

There are three steps to eliminating your debt:

1. identifying and consolidating your debts
2. managing your debts
3. and reducing your debt

In order to most effectively eliminate your debt, you must take all three steps.

Identifying and Consolidating Your Debts

Make a list with the following for each of your credit cards and other debts: the debtor, amount you owe, and the interest rate. The purpose of this list is to identify which credit cards need to be eliminated first.

You will want to start eliminating the higher interest rate credit card debt first because it is costing you the most every month. Some credit cards can have rates as high as 21% or more – if you are carrying debts of such a high rate you should eliminate that first.

If you owe a large amount of money at a high interest rate you will want to consider transferring that debt to a lower interest rate credit card. As another option, you can consider getting a debt consolidation loan from a bank.

If you are able to transfer some of your debts to a 0% interest credit card you should transfer your highest interest rate debts to a 0% card. This will let you manage that credit card debt while paying a minimum amount and then reduce your other credit card debts while carrying the first at zero interest.

You should try to consolidate your debts at the lowest possible interest rate. If your average credit card interest rate is 15% or higher you should try to consolidate to a single digit rate if you can.

Debt Management

Debt management is an art of maximizing the effectiveness of each of your dollars to pay off the most principal and the least interest. If you are able to keep a portion of your debt on a 0% card you could save thousands of dollars while managing your debt and focusing your energies on paying off a higher-interest card.

One important thing to remember is that if you are trying to manage your current debt you must do your best to not add any more to your debts. You’ll need to analyze your cash flow and not spend more than you are earning – you need to save every extra cent to get rid of this high interest debt!

Take advantage of 0% balance transfer opportunities. If you make the same payment each month to a card with 0% interest, you’ll pay off much more of the principal.

Debt Reduction

Make credit card payments each month. Even if you just pay the minimum, you have to make monthly payments on time. It will affect your credit score for the rest of your life.

If you are tight on cash, I recommend paying the absolute minimum to all cards but then pay the maximum you can afford on the card with the highest interest rate. Put your maximum effort toward paying off your highest interest rate credit card, and make it your goal to pay it off and close the account.

Take advantage of low interest rate cards whenever you can. If you can transfer some of your balance to a 0% card, you can pay a lower monthly payment on that balance. This will allow you to pay even more cash toward your highest interest rate credit card, which will make it easier for you to reduce your debt.

Cut back on any expense you can in order to save every penny to cut back your debt. Cut back on morning coffee, cut back on McDonalds breakfast, and save everything you can. Getting out of debt is a continuous process and you have to change the way you think about money.

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Eliminate Credit Card Debt