Read This If You Feel That You Can’t Save Money

Garth Beyer

I have experience with a budget. I know various formats that can be used for a variety of people. I am 19 years old and have written at least 10 different budgets for myself alone and 20 with someone else. In addition I have reviewed others’ budgets and studied the art of budgeting intensely. When a person passes the point of giving themselves excuses to not write a budget, the next thing I hear is that they are not saving any money.

They write a budget and at the end it shows that they will be saving at least 200 dollars. Yet at the end of the month they are negative 20 dollars. Of course there were life changes during the month and as I always say about budgets, they are not constant, but they are a constant process. No budget will work two months in a row perfectly unless you do absolutely nothing with your life, make no income, and no expenses. Not the most sought after life.

After another attempt at adjusting the budget for the following month, the same results occur. They just can’t save any money.

As I corrected budgets, for a long time I would find ways to lower expenses and cut back. A little about my story, I moved to Madison WI with someone in Aug 2011. Being young and in love, you can guess that we did not have much money. We had saved enough to last seven months living at the lowest amount of expenses possible. We quickly got jobs. (Check my LinkedIn and you can know why, but don’t judge a book by its cover. I actually got the jobs I have because of what is NOT on my résumé) Now that we were set with employment, our goal was to keep saved what we had and save more from our paychecks. Hell no it’s not easy! Can you imagine spending 55 dollars a week on groceries for two people? We do it. We minimize every other expense as much as we can as well. Yet at the end of each month, we only save about 50-250 dollars a month.

Last month we sat down with the budget and tried to make more adjustments so we could save more. It just couldn’t be done unless we wanted to sacrifice all of our happiness. Then it hit me, kinda like a master craftsmen would slap his apprentice over his head once he figured out how to accomplish something he thought could not be done. It was almost as if the slap had a voice and said “You idiot, of course that’s the only way. Why are you spending all of your time on limiting yourself to save money!”

What I learned — If you can’t save money, EARN MORE

I and so many others are doing the right thing with creating a budget but were so focused on making the current monthly income we have work properly. If we could just take all that energy and focus on making more money… You can only imagine how much life would change and the money you would save.

We are a perfect example, we now save 300-450 a month and have only just began our approach at earning more since we couldn’t save more.

Stay Positive and Know Where Your Energy Is Going

Garth E. Beyer

Relationship Improvement Method

Relationship Improvement Method

Garth Beyer

Every guy and lady have been victim to their own accidental voicing of an opinion or failure to complete a task in a relationship. In other words, everyone in a relationship ends up digging themselves a hole by not thinking before speaking or taking action. One will say something that is meant to be a friendly remark and it will come out wrong. Then they will try and clarify it and end up making things worse, digging themselves deeper into a hole.

It’s quite clear, even in my relationship, that men dig themselves holes more often then women and I am sure you would agree.

Though, digging yourself a hole is not always the problem since you usually end up laughing at the ridiculous statement you made. The real problem occurs when you can’t recover and clarify yourself. especially if your loved one takes real offense, which often they can.

One day I was recklessly offensive to someone and dug myself a deep hole. Sadly it was on a topic related to her family — a big no-no. At first she laughed but then the subtle honesty in my joke set in and I began digging myself deeper from there. Proceeding the after-noon that was spent in a state of emotional dysfunction, we recovered from my mistake. After we were on the same page again I joked that men should get a “Get Out Of The Hole Free” card. Damn I’m brilliant.

She laughed at the idea but then considered that we (men) do make mistakes. So instead of trying to recover from a comment which results in a deeper hole, the card is a way to just shut-up and start over or forget it. That day we decided that we would both get ONE “Get Out Of The Hole Free” card each month. Why not? It saves us from having an accidental emotional disaster. At the same time it forces us to be more aware of our thoughts and actions, especially if you use your card in the first week of the month.

Share the idea with your loved one and let me know how it works for you!

If you are feeling lucky, you can tell your partner that the card’s rollover each month.

Stay Positive and Out Of The Hole

Garth E. Beyer

You Get More Than One First Impression

Garth Beyer

Cliché’s are phrases that are so commonly used that they have lost their originality. Regardless, cliché’s are created because of the truthfulness of them and their ability to be used negligent of where you are. “You only get one first impression” used to be a cliché’. It used to be a nationwide truth. This cliché’ is now deceased. Whether you are aware of it yet or not,

You get more than one first impression.

It is hard to believe that people thought they could not change others’ original judgements of them. We have all evolved since the days the cliché’ was originated. We know each other on a deeper level and understand that each of us have our own lives that we may be having trouble with at the time. A first impression is appropriately defined as the first consideration or judgement one person has on another. That is how it is truly defined, yet those who still live by the original cliché’ define a first impression as the first time that a person meets.

Following the correct definition, it would be universally correct to say that you have a first impression each time you see someone, whether it is your first time meeting them or 100th.

While I agree that how you look, your behaviors, and actions create the first judgement on you when you first meet someone, your true first impression is how the conversation or meeting with the person will go. You have the ability to make a new first impression with each meeting by going in with a positive attitude, an open conscious, and the willingness to help the other person.

Stay Positive and Impressionable

Garth E. Beyer

The photo is of me participating in a Live Radio Talk Show about the Running Start Program in Belvidere, Illinois. Though I have met the other people I talked with previously, I had the opportunity to make a first impression that I was prepared to do the talk show. I was optimistic and energized to take part in the talk show and socialize.

Improv, Improv Character Building, Improv-ing Writing Skills

Garth Beyer

Jim McClearahew is not an average “Jim”. You can tell he is battling his nearly schizophrenic impulses. Or maybe he is just checking out the woman that decided to eat at Subway instead of McDonalds. For me, I have to question Jim’s motives as I retrace his line of sight back to him, I finally notice that he has a purse with him. Glancing back at the woman ordering at Subway, it’s quite clear that of all people, Jim would be the last to ever get a chance with that woman. Obviously the purse is not hers. I conclude that the purse in question, is actually a man-purse. This leads me to believe that Jim is in a deep philosophical analysis of his sexuality. It becomes clear to me that he is staring at the woman in an attempt to discover why he does not find her exceedingly attractive.

As I let him continue contemplating his life without the fear of him matching my gaze, I begin to observe his clothes and notice that his shirt is not buttoned on the top two buttons. He must be Italian. The shirt which has no Italian vibes to it must have been given to him by his recently deceased aunt who was Irish and lived in the suburbs of New York.

Continuing to observe him I notice that he is wearing Crocs. You are going to have to trust me that I would not make this up since you cannot see it in the picture. Despite my deep efforts to continue teaching you (the reader) a lesson, I can’t fathom looking at his Crocs a moment longer. I apologize if you are one who wears them, but don’t let that stop you from learning the lesson from this.

WOW

If you know anything about the show “Who’s Line Is It Anyway” than you know that it is all Improv — everything is made up on the spot. No rehearsing, no memorizing lines, purely provided to the audience the moment the idea enters the brain. Heres a definition  of improv if you are sadly unfamiliar with this incredibly hilarious show.

Now you know about Improv and whether you realized it or not, you know how to use Improv to build characters. Whether you are in an improv group like me, or love to write (also like me), then being able to create characters for your skits and written works is extremely important. Let’s jump back to Jim.

I don’t know him if you didn’t catch that. I was just enjoying some Sbarro at the food court with my journal and while I was eating I picked out a person that was sitting alone.  Did I do an alright job at building a short character background of him? Looking at the picture again, I have to point out that the little boy to his left in the red shirt is pointing and laughing at him for wearing crocs.

Next time you catch a snag in your writing or acting skills, go to a place similar to a food court where a lot of people go. It is best to go to a place that the majority of people are sitting down since you will have to study them for a little while.  Bring a notebook and a pen and start creating background stories of people. You will quickly find that with enough practice you will start creating back ground stories for people as you walk down the street, or drive past someone in a car. I have always hated asking the question “I wonder what they do for a living”. Now I love asking myself the question, because I can always make up an answer.

Stay Positive and Focus On Improv-ment

Garth E. Beyer

LOOKING FOR A WINNER

I know you have what it takes, but does everyone else? Take a picture of someone in a similar setting like the one above and create a background story of them. Send it to me and I will choose the winner. The winner will get a full on creative writing/creative acting/creative life interview with me and have their submission posted with the interview on my blog and other social media outlets.

Guidelines:

  • No longer than one page long, double-spaced.
  • Refrain from using vulgar language, readers are confronted with enough conflict on a day-to-day basis
  • Shame on you if you use real names, unless of course their name is hilarious like Jacob Tinkletime.
  • Really enjoy it, this is supposed to be a fun and creative exercise. Do NOT make it complicated for write with forced effort.

This is an ongoing process, you can submit once each month. I will be choosing a new winner at the end of each month.

It PAYS To Be Early

It PAYS To Be Early

Garth Beyer

Do you know that feeling of seeing the sun rise? How aesthetic and life-energizing it is? The sight of it transports you to a realm of endless peacefulness. It nearly makes you feel as warm as the sun itself. It reminds you the world is a beautiful place.  What if I told you that you could have a similar reaction by getting to work earlier than usual? What if I shared with you an idea that you would consider skipping watching the sunrise to partake in? Read On.

We generally don’t get paid for arriving at our jobs early. Or do we?

We never realize the perks and rewards for arriving to meetings, our jobs, or even friendly get-together’s early. We just think “I’m lucky I got a seat” or something of the sort.

Something so simple gives such greater rewards than a good seat. Do you notice them? Do you realize the difference between arriving early and arriving just on time?

Say… you have a meeting to attend this Friday and you already know your boss is going to be there early to set up the presentation. Are you one of the few that sees this as an opportunity? Or are you thinking “I have to make sure I am on time, I can’t let my boss catch me being late again”?

What you should be thinking is the next step to work, relationship, and financial progress. You may consider asking your boss if he or she needs help setting up. Don’t be a suck up.  Despite what movies suggest, successful CEO’s are not surrounded by suck-ups. They are connected with activators and those who take matters into their own hands and form them into successful creations. Don’t ask if your boss could use some extra help getting things ready, put yourself in the position. YOU can be the reason that the meeting went effortlessly and efficiently. A good deed never goes unnoticed. Whether you can see that your actions had a positive impact or not, your boss will be mentioning your name when talking to other CEO’s because of your simple contribution of time and energy. — And to think, all it took was getting to work 20 minutes earlier.

Just a thought,
In order to be first, you need to be first!

Stay Positive and remember the alarm does not go off to punish you. It goes off to let you know that an opportunity to succeed -further than you have already- is awaiting for you to grab hold of it.

Garth E. Beyer

Your Loved One Has Other Options

Garth Beyer

An average man spends 43 minutes a day checking out at least 10 women according to a survey .One of those women is your interest, your girlfriend, your fiance’, your wife.

This will not be a list of special things to do for the one you love, this is a reminder to you to DO special things for her.

In a year, the woman of your interest will have at least 200,000 guys look at her and create fantasies of getter her interest. You can bet that at least a quarter of them will take a shot at  her. Despite your large ego, your girl has plenty of other choices and she knows that. It’s your responsibility to show her that you are the best of the choice. Sorry guys, it even frustrates me sometimes that loving someone is a life-long effort.

Ladies, do not think this doesn’t put you in account either. This is a reminder to give your partner a reason to not look at 10 other women. Love is a two-way street.

What are you doing for your loved one to keep their eyes on you?

Stay Positive and Go The Distance

Garth E. Beyer

I thought I would toss an idea that I had for you new love-birds. Keep record of every movie you see together so that in a year, five years, or twenty years you can go back and relive your relationships situation at the time: Your first movie, Your first movie with their family, Your first movie that you spent making out instead of watching it, etc.

Knowing People and The “Informal Credential” Fallacy

Garth Beyer

Though “time” is the only constant in life, it is also the largest change we must adapt to. It’s a bit of an oxymoron isn’t it?

The farthest back that I have experience with the job market is when people walked into a business, asked for an application, filled it there, called them to check up on the application in a week, got an interview, and then got the job if their first impression and behavior was acceptable.This is just one process that was “the right way” at the time.

Though there are hundreds of different processes to acquire a job, job seekers are being grenaded with two specific processes.

1. Know Someone – No one cares about the olden days of apprenticeship and working for your parents. Kids grow up usually wanting to do the exact opposite of their parents. That leaves the fact that to get a job in an area of your interest, you have to know someone in the department. I don’t know why companies bother asking for references on the resume, the only reference they care about is word of mouth. The only opinion they care about is that of someone who they work closely too or that is already in the department. Your focus needs to be on people who love you and could talk about you all day THAT IS IN YOUR AREA OF INTEREST.  How do you do this? Well, I can answer that with a couple of options.

  • Don’t have the bachelor’s degree that’s required for the job you want? Apply free. Send the application in requesting that you would like to be the assistant to the person who gets the job you are after. Make sure that it is clear that you will work for free and help with whatever tasks that are assigned to you to help the person fulfilling the position. You are only after experience — to begin.
  • Anyone who types or writes a word can call themselves a journalist. So go to the business that you want the job at and request an interview with the owner or highest ranked person. You simply want to write a report on the company for your blog, school, website, etc. Sweet, you got your interview. Don’t let others tell you that your first impression is everything. It’s not. What you want to do is take your 15 minutes you got and turn it into a 30 minute interview. (Have enough questions prepared, but you should be having more of a conversation than an interview). You can talk about your interest in the field, but do not state your education or interest in a job. After you write your article and send it to the business, you can wait a week and call them back for a follow up interview. All of your visible or invisible readers want to know more and were interested in your content and the business itself. You are already on a friendly level with the owner and now you can focus the interview to bring out your knowledge of the business in question. Before you leave, have a card or contact information ready to give to the employer and bring up the idea of working for them for a pay check or for free. If you do not feel you are acquainted enough to accomplish this you can ask that you would like to interview some of the employees. Instead of winning over “the big-man”, win over the employees so they can put a good word in about you. They will only reassure “the big-man” of your qualities and abilities

2.  Informal Credentials – Who cares about a piece of paper, a few letters before your name, or how hot it is to be called Doctor “Smith”. What you can do to get a job without a degree is to surprise the employer with a list of different experiences related to the field. In the “education” area of your application write “Check out my experience in my Resume”.

  • The only way to get a job this way is to step out of your box and travel the world and to go after every experience in the related field. If you are into working for an Environmental group, start traveling to Australia and Ireland to see how they use their green bags and the politics around the topic there. Get acquainted with all angles of your interest from all the different parts of the world. An employer wont turn you down. Better yet, you may end up creating your own business instead.
  • For more on how to gain informal credentials, I will push you towards Tim Ferris http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2011/09/29/8-steps-to-getting-what-you-want-without-formal-credentials/

My question to you is, why is it not pushed to do these two processes IN ADDITION to getting formal credentials? I’ll help you with the easy questions here..

The only way someone is going to be successful in helping others find jobs is if they focus on a niche area of getting people employed. I have just shared with you the two largest ones. People share these concepts with others because no  one will listen unless it is quick and specific. We have since passed the era of receiving all the information on one topic. We only receive all the information on one small piece of the grand topic.

I am not saying that this information is unworthy and not should be followed, I am proposing that you combine these topics to create the original knowledge base that they were taken and separated from. Only then can you truly achieve absolutely any job you want at the same time as being surrounded by incredible people with the same interest and traveling the world.

A person walks into a job interview with a master’s degree in the field required from an Ivy league.

The next person that will be interviewed has the same degree from Australia, has worked in a similar company in London, and created another similar company in Hawaii which made just enough money to make it self-sustaining.

Which one gets the job?

Stay Positive and Self-Credentialed

Garth E. Beyer

I say, ” If you can’t get out of your box, at least take it with you when you travel the world to get your informal and formal credentials.”