How to Start to Invest My Money

Step 1

Write down your goals. The National Endowment for Financial Education recommends beginning your investment plan with a detailed list, including the time frame and amount needed to reach each goal. This will help you narrow the huge number of investment options into a smaller pool of choices that have historically helped others meet goals similar to yours.

Step 2

Keep emergency funds. If the market drops and your car breaks down at the same time, you won’t want to tap into depressed investment assets to repair a muffler. The Securities and Exchange Commission recommends beginning a savings account to cover six months of expenses. This will give your new investment portfolio a buffer as you begin picking investments to meet your longer-term goals.

Step 3

Decide on the tax structure of your investments. If you’re going to save for retirement, ask your human resource people at work about a 401k or similar plan. This will allow you to save money on taxes while you invest. If you aren’t eligible for a workplace plan, research traditional and Roth IRA plans. Some of these plans allow you to contribute as little as $50 per month to an eligible mutual fund if you sign up for automatic monthly investments.

Step 4

Find appropriate investments for your goals. Many beginner investors start with mutual funds. Mutual funds will allow you to pool money with many different investors to buy diversified investments. The Investment Company Institute offers a free online guide to mutual funds that can help you understand how to choose a good fund for your portfolio.

Step 5

Open and fund your accounts. If you enjoy working alone, an online brokerage firm may be your best option because fees are considerably lower on investment trades than a full-service brokerage house. Full-service brokers may cost more, but you’ll have an investment professional who has passed tests required to help people find suitable investments for their goals. Because not all brokers are created equal, ask friends for referrals and check the BrokerCheck tool on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s website to make sure your potential broker has a clean track record.

Merge Your Money

Checking

Start by listing out all current checking accounts with balances to determine which ones (if any) you’d like to merge into one account.

If You Decide to Merge Accounts:

• Transfer any automatic payments from canceled account to new account
• Visit bank office to cancel one account and add spouse to other account
• Order new checks with joint account information

If You Decide to Keep Separate Accounts:

• Decide if you want to allow each other access to both accounts
• Visit the bank office to add each other to your accounts
• Switch any automatic payments that need to be rerouted

Savings & Investments

Start by listing out all current accounts with balances and decide whether to merge accounts or allow joint access.

If You Decide to Merge Accounts:

• Visit bank office to set up any new access or accounts
• Contemplate new investments

If You Decide to Keep Separate Accounts:

• Look over your retirement accounts together, even though you won't be able to merge them
• Change any beneficiary information to your spouse

Credit Cards

List all credit cards and balances and decide which cards you’d like to keep. Also, decide if you want to add each other on as designated users of each other’s cards.

If You Decide to Get a Card for Joint Purchases:

• Open a new account
• Decide on parameters for purchases
• Set up a schedule for paying bills

Insurance

Car

• Pick the better car insurance plan and adjust your rate for a married couple

Health

• Compare health insurance plans and choose the better option

Life

• Decide how much life insurance you need and purchase a plan
• Insure your home/belongings as a married couple
• Investigate long-term care insurance policies
• Change any beneficiary information to your spouse

Loans

• List all student loans, car loans, mortgages, and other liabilities
• Talk to lending institutions about consolidating payments
• Discuss adding each other to the titles of cars, property, and other assets

Services

Compare cell phone plans and pick your provider

If you have two Internet service accounts, see how much you'd save if you combined

Get rid of any duplicate accounts for cable, phone, etc.

If you belong to different gyms, see if one offers a joint rate

Are we really going to do this again?

Just when I thought investors had figured out to behave, I took a look at some of the recent barometers of investor sentiment. And it led me to ask, “Are we really going to do this again?”

“This,” if you’re wondering, requires looking back to 2009. Remember how you felt? Remember being so scared that you couldn’t get out of stocks fast enough? I remember. In fact, I remember that many of us swore that we would never, ever invest in stocks again. But some of the previously burned have apparently been reconverted.

For instance, let’s take a look at the Consensus Index which, as of June 3, reported that 73 percent of investors are feeling “bullish.” Other measures have similarly shown positive feelings about the market (although the AAII Index reading isn’t quite as upbeat).

Stop and think about this change in attitude for a minute. Both the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and the Dow have already gained more than 120 percent since March 2009, and the vast majority of investors are feeling “bullish” about the stock market.

Doesn’t this sound familiar?

Before you accuse me of being being all gloom and doom about the market, remember that I haven’t said anything about what I think the market will do. In fact, I have no idea what the market will do in the future. I am, however, nearly positive that I know what these excited investors are going to do.

By and large, these investors are investing based on emotion — my neighbor is in the market, I have to be in the market, too. But they’re only setting themselves up to repeat the mistakes of the market meltdown in 2008-2009. That’s because at some point (and this doesn’t require a crystal ball) the market is probably going to drop again. So investors who jumps back into the market today are likely to find themselves repeating that same pattern of buying high (now) and selling low (at some point in the future).

To be clear, I am not saying we should get out of the market. I am not saying we can time the market. I am saying that the idea of people feeling “bullish” worries me, especially when I see headlines like this in “USA Today“: “Bull run gets solid footing.”

So if you’ve decided that now is the time to increase your allocation to stocks, please take the necessary steps to avoid eventually selling out of fear once again:

1. Remember how you felt in March 2009.

Perhaps you have a reminder somewhere of how you felt in March 2009. Maybe it’s little note in a journal, or a blog post, that will help you recall that feeling of dread that caused you to sell. If you can’t find a reminder, talk to your spouse, your accountant, your financial adviser or anyone who could remind you of that moment. Try to bring those feelings back for a minute so you can avoid making the same mistake again.

2. Make sure you have a plan.

To be clear, my advice today isn’t about whether it’s a good or bad idea to invest in stocks. But it is foolish to invest without a plan, regardless of where the markets stand. So make sure you have a plan based on your goals. Pay attention to investment fees. Make sure you’re diversified. Then do your best to ignore your investments. For the average investor, that’s really the only way I know to keep your sanity.

3. Figure out how you’re going to avoid quitting next time.

Yes, there will be a next time. At some point, just like the best roller coasters, the market will take a drop, and they don’t ring a bell before it happens. So make sure you’re prepared for that moment. Have you placed some emotional guardrails in place to avoid going over the edge? You will want to sell, but unless it’s a part of a planned rebalancing, you can’t afford to let emotion drive you from the market again.

Ultimately, these investor sentiment surveys aren’t telling us anything we don’t already know. Average investors tend to get really excited about the market when things are going well. But the idea that we’re about to repeat the same cycle we just survived is ridiculous. You owe it to yourself to figure out a plan that gets you through both the ups and the downs of the market.

We know better. We should act like it.

How to Get A Home Loan

Proof That You're A Tax-Paying, Income-Earning (Legal) Resident

Any bank is going to need to verify your income level and any debt you're carrying. To check this, lenders will ask for your key paperwork, which includes:

-Photo ID and Social Security card

-Proof of home payments (this could be rent) for the past two years

-Two years' worth of W2 forms and two months' worth of pay stubs

-Checking and savings account statements for the past three months

-A record of debts, including credit cards, student loans and car payments

-Records of any other real estate you own and mortgages you're paying

A Solid Credit Score

First, check your credit score for free. A credit score higher than 780 will get you a prime mortgage rate -- which is currently around 3.25 percent. A 720 credit score will still get you a great interest rate, but things get uglier from there. The absolute bottom of the credit threshold is a score of 620. If you're lower than that, most lenders won't consider your application.

How can you get your score back up? Keep renting for another couple of years, and during that time, pay off your credit cards and make timely payments on all of your loans (i.e. student loans or car loans). Make sure you don't miss any utility, cell phone or other payments by setting up online accounts so that your money is automatically deducted each month.

Check your credit score annually -- but keep in mind that any inquiries stay on your report for two years, so don't overdo it.

Perfect Rental

1. Start Early 

When it comes to real estate, the early bird catches the worm...or, in this case, the duplex with the extra closet space and huge bay windows. Starting your search early will up your chances of finding the perfect pad. The best time to start looking is at the end of the previous month, when inventory is the highest. That means if you need to move on August 1, you'll want to start checking out places around June 25.

2. Wait 'Til Winter

If your move-in date is flexible and you can deal with lugging boxes down icy sidewalks or in the middle of a blizzard, think about postponing your move. Between the cold weather and the holidays, fewer people are looking to move during the winter months, making November through March the best time to find great deals.

3. Hire a Broker

If you need to find a place fast and you have the cash to spare, you may want to use a broker. An experienced one can give you insider access to "pocket listings," which are apartments and houses that aren't advertised to the public. Another bonus to working with a broker: They'll do the legwork for you, weeding out listings that don't match your criteria or that don't live up to their descriptions. For real estate novices, a broker can identify whether something is actually a good deal and how much certain features are really worth. Just don't expect a broker to save you money -- their fees (which in some cities can be up to 15 percent of the first year's rent!) can cancel out any savings they're able to negotiate on your behalf.

4. Prioritize

It's easy to fall for fancy extras (sundeck, much?) or a great decor scheme, but don't let those eye-catchers make you blind to the things that will really matter when you live there. We're talking size, location (for example, how far it is from work or public transportation) and, if you have a four-legged family member, the pet policy. After you've got the nonnegotiables covered, use some of those extras you'd love to have (but don't necessarily have to have) to help narrow your search (think: proximity to restaurants, stainless-steel appliances, etc.).

5. Get Your Paperwork Ready

Your dream place is bound to come along, and when it does, you want to be ready. Renting isn't like buying a house, where paperwork and inspections can drag on for weeks. It typically only takes one to two days to process an application, and you don't want to risk losing a place you really love because you couldn't track down your old landlord for a reference or get your credit check done in time.

6. Speaking of Credit...Get It in Check

Having good credit is just as important for renting a place as it is for buying one. The better your credit score, the more negotiating power you have. If your credit score isn't anything to brag about, the landlord is less likely to budge on the rent and may even require you to pay a few months' rent up front or put down a bigger security deposit.

7. Get the Scoop

Talk to the current tenants and/or potential neighbors to get the 411 on how accessible the landlord is when problems arise, what repairs need to be done to the property, if pests are a problem and whether the couple next door likes to throw loud parties.

The Best Investments You Can and Should Make

We all agree that time is more valuable than money.

At least, that’s what we say.

Then we turn around and spend hours watching bad TV we’re not even that interested in. Or 45 minutes on the phone with customer service fighting a $5 charge. Or years in a relationship or friendship we stopped feeling fulfilled by long ago.

But I’m convinced it’s not for a lack of good intent that we often end up treating time as our most fungible asset. (Hey, there’s plenty more where that came from, right? Well, not really … ) I think we simply get too busy to think about it, or don’t think we have the resources to make more time in our lives. We do have the resources, though. All it takes is a fresh look at how we really spend our days, hours and moments.

I’ve been thinking about time as a tangible asset not unlike money in many ways, and about ways to invest our time to yield higher returns—better memories, more hours well spent, even minutes that nourish us instead of fly by. After much research, experience and reflection, below are what I found to be the seven best investments you can make with your time. Think of these as blue-chip time investments that can’t go wrong—and that will yield high dividends for a more fulfilled life.

1. Invest in “Life-Extending” Time 

Investing time in caring for your health is an obvious one that will certainly yield you more time, literally—in days, months, if not years tacked on to your life. Yet we often take our health for granted until we experience a wake-up call. Proactively invest your time in your health by eating well, exercising regularly, getting plenty of sleep and regularly seeing your doctors. Invest heartily in those non-physical markers of well-being as well: emotional, mental and spiritual health—you will reap many hours of well-lived life from them. Learn the habits of the Blue Zonepeople, from the regions in the world where people live the longest. Some common lifestyle traits they share? Building in natural movement and activity, lowering stress and being part of a faith-based community.

2. Invest in “Foundation-Building” Time 

There’s a little saying that goes, “A stitch in time saves nine.” Create the time to make the right stitches, and you’ll be spared much time, hassle (and usually expense) later. Stephen Covey refers to this concept in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” According to him, we spend our time primarily on four types of activity:

• (1) urgent and important (crisis, deadlines, putting out fires)

• (2) non-urgent and important (building relationships, identifying opportunities, prevention, planning)

• (3) urgent and non-important (interruptions, phone calls, meetings)

• (4) non-urgent and non-important (TV, email, time wasters)

Covey says that we spend most of our time in sections (1) and (4), but the real area of personal growth is in (2). If you’re spending more time putting out fires than building the right foundations, you’ll never get out ahead of your to-do list.

3. Invest in “Do-Nothing” Time 

Americans could use a little dose of “La Dolce Far Niente,” or “the sweetness of doing nothing,” something the Italians and many other cultures have mastered. In America, we don’t feel our time is well spent unless we’re either producing or consuming, says social psychologist Robert V. Levine, author of “A Geography of Time: On Tempo, Culture, and the Pace of Life,” which is a limited (and frankly, stressful) perspective. In other parts of the world, such as India, it’s normal for people to enjoy each others’ company without activity or even conversation. Investing in do-nothing time will help us slow down and experience a different pace of life, in which time’s value is not measured by its productivity.

4. Invest in “System-Creating” Time 

It’s well-established in happiness psychology research that making small improvements to your life pays out exponentially in happiness. For example, putting a keyhook by the door so that you don’t spend five minutes every morning hunting for your keys. Or rearranging your closet so you can actually see everything, and not spend 20 minutes each morning figuring out what to wear. Or coming up with a better filing system for your digital photos, or your expenses (check out LearnVest’s My Money Center), so your personal admin time can be cut in half. Investing some up-front time in creating better, more organized systems will reap you lots of time in the long run.

5. Invest in “Cushion” Time 

This is one of those time investments that’s so simple, but can yield such great results in your life. In the famous “Good Samaritan” study from Princeton University in 1973, researchers John M. Darley and C. Daniel Batson put an injured person in the path of several groups of people, to see who would stop and help: those running late, those who had just enough time, and those with plenty of time to get to their destination. They also controlled for people’s religious affiliation. The results: religious affiliation had no impact on whether the individual stopped to help the person—but whether the person was in a hurry had a huge impact. Only 10% of those in a big hurry stopped to help the person, 45% of those in a medium hurry did—but 63% of those not rushed at all stopped to help. This means that being in a rush may be preventing you from being the kind of person you want to be—the kind to stop and help someone in need. Building in lots of cushion time in your schedule and preventing “constant hurriedness syndrome” is a great investment in yourself and in the quality of life of those around you.

6. Invest in “Savoring” Time 

A recent 2010 study published in the Association for Psychological Science found that wealthy people are unhappier because they have a lower “savoring ability” (the ability to enhance and prolong positive emotional experience), like taking in the colors of a sunset or the taste of a cold beer. Apparently, having access to the best things in life may actually undermine your ability to reap enjoyment from life’s small pleasures. It’s not a coincidence that savoring requires slowing down—taking a few extra seconds to really look at the colors of the leaves, or munching slowly to enjoy the texture of a bite. Investing time in savoring all the unique sensorial moments of your day will guarantee your moments don’t flash by in a dull blur.

7. Invest in “Time Assessment” Time 

You wouldn’t keep spending or investing money without assessing how well things were going every month, quarter or year, and the same thing should apply to your time. How frequently you decide to take stock is up to you—but a good system might be:

• Five minutes a day to make sure you’ve invested time in at least one thing on this list

• 15 minutes a week to review your past week’s schedule and what you wish you had made time for, and what time investment made you happiest

• One hour a month (or two to three hours a season) of quiet time with a journal to assess the past season, how your time felt and how you’d like to invest your time in the coming season—this can pair nicely with the tempo of the period. For example, holidays may mean more family investment time, the new year can be career-focused, summertime may have a big leisure time component, etc.

• One day a year of time alone or with a friend or partner (best if you can physically go somewhere peaceful and different from your daily routine), assessing the past year and where your times and energies went, setting goals for the new year, and whether you are closer to achieving what is truly important to you in life

Stock Up: Investing for Beginners

Think the stock market is just for bigwigs? Guess again. Truth is, with stock prices at a major low, this is a great time for market newbies to get in on the action.

Step 1: Analyze Your Accounts

Do you have money to invest? The cash you put into the stock market should be money you can afford to lose. Look at your budget and see how much is left over after housing, transportation, emergency fund padding, and your retirement savings -- stocks shouldn’t replace your 401(k) or IRA. Decide what chunk of that balance you can afford to put into the market, whether it’s $100 or $2,000.

Step 2: Buy What You Know

One of the first questions new investors often ask is: “How do I know what to buy?” Well, you can make money buying the brands you know best. Think of it this way: If you’re really into cycling, you know way more than the average person about which bikes are hot right now or the new products that are coming out. Use the knowledge you already have to make smart investments.

Step 3: Check out Big Brands

If you want to start with a safe, steady stock, major brands like Walmart, McDonald’s, and Disney (just to name a few) are solid options. With the economy in the tank, you can now buy shares for as much as 40 percent lower than they’ve gone for in the past, making it easier than ever to invest without breaking the bank. The trick is to buy low now and sell high later. Also check out Morningstar.com to see the top-rated funds.

Step 4: Test Your Skills

Before dishing dollars into the market, go to Investopedia.com and Marketocracy.com for tips and advice in a language that’s easy to understand. Another great resource is WeSeed.com, which allows you to create a portfolio using fake money. You can “buy” stocks in your area of expertise, see how your investments would do in the real market, and get comfortable with how stocks work before investing with real dough.

Step 5: Talk to People

Ask friends, family, and coworkers to weigh in on companies and products you’re thinking of investing in, and feel free to dish on the brands you know best. You can also check out Facebook, investment clubs, and our Money Matters message board.

How to Withhold the Right Amount From Your Paycheck

Great questions. Let me start by saying this: If you want to build a secure financial future for you and your spouse, you absolutely must Pay Yourself First. Paying Yourself First means putting aside a set percentage of every dollar you earn and investing it for your future in a pretax retirement account, like a 401(k) plan.

How much should you Pay Yourself First? Here’s a simple rule of thumb: To be fair to yourself and your future, you should aim to Pay Yourself First at least one hour’s worth of income every day -- which works out to be about 12.5 percent of your gross income.

Paying yourself back for an hour a day makes a lot of sense if you start relatively young -- let’s say 25 or 30. But the number-one thing you can do to ensure a richer retirement is to max out your plan. In other words, commit to making the maximum contribution allowed. This year, the maximum 401(k) contribution allowed by the IRS is $16,500.

Only you and your partner can determine what your personal goals are when it comes to saving for retirement. How much should you save? The realistic answer is: as much as you can. There’s no better time than right now to start saving for your future. So make the decision today to start Paying Yourself First. Enroll in your plan. If you’re already enrolled, increase your contributions. If your company doesn’t offer a 401(k) plan, set up an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) instead.

Sneaky Ways to Save Some Serious Cash

Forget Fives

If using cash, at the end of the day, empty your wallet. See any five-dollar bills? Nab 'em and put 'em in an envelope. Do this every day, and at the end of the month, deposit the bills into a savings account. You'll be putting money you would have spent on other things into savings, and you'll trick your brain into making it part of your daily routine. You'd be surprised how quickly it all adds up.

Spend Money to Save Money

Jean Chatzky, financial expert and author of Money Rules: The Simple Path to Lifelong Security, says that sometimes, it saves to pay. "I know it sounds untraditional, but I was a victim of the $30 blowout (once a week, sometimes twice) until I spent nearly $200 on a really good flat iron," she says. "Now I still go for special occasions, but it saved me at least $1,500, and probably more like $2,000, a year." Is there something that you splurge on that you can cut down? Try investing in favorite coffee to make at home, an awesome topcoat for your DIY mani, or an ice-pop maker to make your own frozen (cheap) treats.

Hide the Money (From Yourself)

The reason 401(k) plans work is explained in Chatzky's money rule: If you can't see it and you can't touch it, you won't spend it, she says. Automatically transferring money from checking into savings, an IRA, a 529 Plan, or even an account with a different bank where you get a slightly higher rate of interest (think online banks like ING) works spectacularly.

Grocery Shop Online

It's harder to avoid those impulse buys when you're seeing it on the shelf (and when you know you can dig into that cupcake soon). "That's why I'm now an online grocery shopping devotee," says Chatzky. You save money because you don't buy on impulse, and you can save gas to boot. Plus, many online services store your list, so you can get all your basics in one click (saving you time). Even with the $5 to $10 delivery fee, "I more than make up for it," says Chatzky.

Transfer Balances

If you have a credit card that seems to be killing you with fees, here's what to do: Call customer service and ask to lower your interest rate. If they say no, speak to a supervisor. And if that supervisor says no, speak to his or her supervisor. If you still hit a dead end, look for a cheaper card to transfer your balance to (hint: go to lowcards.com to find one). "But don't close the old card unless the annual fee is ridiculous, advises Chatzky. "Closing it will take your credit score down."

25 Ways to Improve Your Career Today

I actually worked for a large corporation in long ago days. While the time there taught me that corporate life wasn’t the career that I ultimately wanted for myself, I also learned a lot from my mentors on ways to get ahead, much of which is good advice no matter what career choice you choose to take.

When it comes to your career, it is usually small things over a long period of time that add up to the success that you achieve. Getting into the habit of making small improvements on a daily basis will reap huge rewards over the long run. If you find yourself at your desk with some free time, here are 25 things you can do to help improve your career.

Find A Mentor: If you do nothing else on this list today, do this. Find someone (or several people) that you respect and ask them to mentor you. Most people will be more than happy to pass along advice that they have learned over the years which can be invaluable in helping your career. They will also be great people to use as a sounding board with ideas you have and help you figure out the best way to obtain the goals you are seeking to accomplish. A mentor can have amazing effects on your career and will make your advancements much easier.

Start Your Own Part-Time Business: I’m a firm believer that if you want to have the perfect job, you’re going to have to go out and create it yourself. While I have had many jobs over the years that I have truly enjoyed, it wasn’t until I started building my own sites and blogs that I realized what true passion for something was. Begin part-time and build slowly when you have free time, but start the process today. Five years from now you will be so thankful that you did and you might even find that it ends being your full time work.

Identify How You Procrastinate: We all do it, but if you can identify how you’re doing it and put in a system to discourage yourself from doing so, you will dramatically increase your productivity. My big vice was watching TV far too much and I’ve had to also ween myself from spending too much time on social networking sites as well. Once you have identified places that you are spending too much time, take steps to reduce the amount the time you spend on them and instead use that time to further your career.

Pinpoint Work Essentials: The big myth in business is that the ones who work the hardest are the ones that get ahead the most. Working hard is important, but working smart is just as important. Working smart means finding the areas within your job that are essential to your group and to the company and focusing most of your resources in those area. This is one of the best pieces of advice I ever received when working for a large company. Take some time to look at your job and what portions of it are most essential to others both inside and outside your group. If you pinpoint those areas that are most essential, you become the person that people come to when things need to get done. Definitely take the time to improve your leadership skills.

Begin Making Lists: I used to think that making lists was useless until I started making them myself in a way that was useful for me. I actually have two lists – one is a list of all the things I want to do and one is my daily must do list. On the daily list, I only place the three most important things I have to do that day and work on those three things until they’re done. Once finished, then I can go to my general list and choose projects from there. This ensures that I get those things that I may not like to do as much that would be constantly delegated to the end of the longer list. How you develop your list to work for you may be very different, but creating a list system will help you be more productive. Once you complete something, don’t throw the list away. Instead, date and file them in a work completed folder. This will allow you to have a documented list of all the tasks you accomplished which you can take out at your next performance review or when asking for a raise.

Learn a Second Language: As someone who was the worst student ever when it came to languages in school, I’m living proof that absolutely anyone can learn a second language. I think all of my high school language teachers would roll over in their graves if they knew I was proficient in Japanese. Being proficient in a second language can open up a lot of career opportunities and is well worth pursuing if you have an interest in one. There are plenty of resources online including those developed by the Foreign Service Institute.

Take Some Classes: Too many people feel that education ends when you receive that college diploma. In fact, it’s a never ending pursuit even if you aren’t taking formal classes. There are almost certainly classes you can take or skills that you can obtain that will make it easier for you to advance in your career. Take a few moments to talk with your boss or a mentor to find out what skills will make your advancement easier. Talk with your personnel department and ask if they will help pay for you to obtain these skills. Many will. It’s easier than ever to take classes while working full time with online education.

Update Your Resume: Take some time to look over your resume to update it and improve it. It’s always a good idea to have an up-to-date resume handy on the off chance that another opportunity arises. Make new copies and place them in your briefcase so that they are always ready to hand out.

Get Linked: Web 2.0 has made it easy to make new contacts with people that have a similar background and career interests. If you haven’t signed up yet, consider joining Linkedin which can greatly expand your networking resources. If you have already joined, take some time to explore and find some other people you may want to contact.

Send Some Emails: I have learned over the years that one of the most important things you can do in any job you have is to stay in contact with people you meet. This can be an easy way to improve your career, keep network lines open and create new network contacts. There are probably more than a few professional contacts that you have made that you haven’t touched based with in awhile. There may be some people that you have never met, but that you would like to make contact with. Spend a few minutes sending out emails to some of these people to reestablish contact or create a new contact.

Make A Few Calls: For the exact same reason that you should send out some emails, you should also make a few phone calls to catch up with peers and others. Calling is a more direct approach that will make sure that your message doesn’t get lost in all the other emails the recipient receives.

Make A Lunch Date: One of the most effective tools I used when I was working for a large company was the lunch break. First because I really didn’t like eating alone, but later because of all the advantages that come from it. Lunch dates give you an opportunity to talk with people about ideas you have in a more informal setting than the office. Making a lunch date is also excellent way to network and catch up with peers and mentors, or to meet someone new you’ve wanted to talk to. If everyone seems to be too busy with their work schedule, this is an excellent time to set up a meeting.

Go To Career Events: Take some time to research what meetings, presentations, talks or events are taking place in your area which are related to your career and sign up to attend. Not only are you likely to gather some good information, these are excellent places to meet new contacts and expand your contact network.

Join and Participate In Associations: If your career has an association, don’t only join it, but make an effort to participate in it. Most local chapters are always looking for people willing to lend a helping hand and doing so can easily put you in the position to meet those higher up in the organization. Again, this will open you up to a wide variety of new contacts and expand your network of contacts. It will also help you keep up with the newest developments in your career which has many advantages.

Show Some Appreciation: It’s amazing what a sincere, hand written “thank you” note can do for the amount of time it takes to create. With email and the paperless office, thank you notes stand out these days and definitely leave an impression on the recipient. Furthermore, they know that the time they spend helping you was appreciated and therefore will likely be more than willing to help out in the future as well. If someone has recently helped you out in some way, take a moment to thank them for their help. This is one thing that it’s hard to do too much of, so if in doubt, always side with sending the note of appreciation.

Reread All Your Documents: It took me a long time to break my bad habit of not rereading my writing before showing it to others, but I learned after a number of embarrassing mistakes which I should have known better. With the ease of spell checking, I got into the habit of assuming my work was fine after it cleared the spell check. It’s a bad assumption to make since a lot of things can go wrong even when words are spelled correctly. Get into the habit of rereading everything that you write whether it be an email, a report or any other work related document, especially after a spell check. You will avoid a lot of embarrassing amateurish writing mistakes and look a lot more professional in all your work.

Improve Your Writing Skills: Along the same lines as rereading your documents, you want to constantly work on improving your writing skills. Being able to put together reports, letters, proposals and other written information in a way that easily draws attention the the important points among all the information is a great skill to have that will get noticed. Take some time to go over basic writing techniques when you have some free time.

Improve Your Business Cards: Spend some time thinking about the impression you want your business cards to make and see if there are some changes that you can make to them to achieve what you want. I’m looking for more professional looking business cards that are still creative and will leave a lasting impression on anyone who receives them. Take a bit of time doing this and it may lead to an opportunity that would have never appeared if your business card was lost in the pile with everyone else’s.

Improve Your First Impression: While one of the big reasons I got out of the corporate world was so I didn’t have to worry about dressing corporate for good for first impressions, there is no doubt that they count. Dressing appropriately and having good hygiene and manners is important. Learn to make eye contact when speaking to people, smile, know how to introduce yourself confidently and always be on time (if not a bit early). Take a few moments to make sure that you are making a good first impression with everyone you meet.

Improve Your Public Speaking Skills: One of the most terrifying things for me is to do public speaking. Over the years, I have gotten a lot better, but when I first started teaching, even going in front of a classroom of high school students would have my stomach churning the entire morning before classes began. Being able to make a quality presentation is an important way to get noticed and improve your career prospects. Listen to the way that your favorite speakers deliver their information and adopt them into your own speaking. Join your local Toastmasters group to help you improve these skills.

Read: Get in the habit of reading at least an hour a day on a wide variety of topics. Some of it should be related to your chosen career and issues that pertain to it so that you keep up on the latest news and trends, but it’s not necessary to focus your reading habits exclusively on this topic. Reading should help spark new ideas, challenge your thinking process and expand your knowledge base – all things that can be helpful in your career advancement.

Clean Your Office Space: If your work area is anything like mine, it needs to have a good cleaning once a week or it will quickly get out of control. I actually have this marked down on my calendar to do every Friday afternoon and it’s amazing what 15 minutes will do to keep your desk organized. It may, however, take a bit of time to get to the point where all you need is 15 minutes to clean everything up. Start today to put things in order and put aside 10 minutes a day until you have your work area in the condition you want. You will be surprised at how much time you save looking for things and an orderly office leaves a good impression on anyone who works in your group or visits.

Set Some Career Goals: This is another one of those things that seems obvious and I thought I could get away with general ones that I had in my head, but now realize the power that comes with taking the time to write them down and make them both clear and specific. Give them a time limit if possible. While you may not always reach them, making them and knowing specifically what you want to achieve will get you a lot closer to them than not doing so. Set them for various time periods: 3 months, 1 year , 5 years, etc. and then begin working toward them.

Create a Blog or Website: Create a blog or website about your chosen career can be a great way to meet new people and share ideas. It can also be a great way to begin that part-time business mentioned earlier and may even end up being your full time job. I have found that creating content has a way of helping to crystallize the things that are truly important to me which goes a long way to helping me know what goals are most important for me to achieve. Starting any type of blog or journal will help you do the same. Just be sure that doing so will not get you in trouble with your company.

Love Your Job: Learn to love what you’re doing or begin looking for something else. Life is far to short to do something that you don’t truly enjoy. There are times when you may have to take a job that you don’t particularly like, but there is no reason that you have to be stuck there. If you don’t thoroughly enjoy what you’re doing, start implementing steps to get a job that you do love. There is nothing better in the world to get up every morning and knowing that even if you weren’t getting pays a dollar to do so, you would still be doing the same thing that you are doing. It’s also much harder not to improve your career opportunities when you love what you do because the energy and enthusiasm you have for what you do tends to be infectious and draw people to you. And if for some reason you don’t know what you love, start experimenting. That’s the only way to find out.