Farnoosh Torabi's Blog, page 78

Today Show: Get Your Spouse to Save

This morning on Today, we discuss ways to encourage the spender in your relationship to embrace saving.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Handling Stress as a College Freshmen

A growing number of college freshmen are down in the dumps, finds a new survey, "The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2010." The New York Times reported on the results last month that more students rated themselves as "below average" in emotional health. Those who said their emotional health was "above average" fell to 52%, down from 64% in fifteen years ago.

Analysts partially blame the current economy. Young adults are surrounded by financial stress, worried about their job prospects and financing a college education, and maybe witnessing their parents struggle financially along the way. The study may shed new light on why college students aren't learning much in school. Could it be that some are just too distracted by life to focus on class?

This worries me both professionally and personally, as an older sister with a 20-year-old brother in college.

I have some advice on MoneyWatch that could reduce stress and save money for those struggling in school. Here's a snippet.

Rethink Your School

It's OK to transfer if you're unhappy.  Students often make the wrong choice for college, and if your school is proving to be too costly, transferring to a lower-cost university could be a smart solution. The National Association for College Admission Counseling actually finds that one third of college students switch schools. My brother, in fact, transferred schools in 2009 during his freshman year. My mother sensed he was getting a bit depressed at University of California at Irvine, and reassured him that if he was unhappy, he was free to make a switch. UC Irvine is a commuter school, but my brother, who moved down there from northern California, was a full-time dorm resident. He joked that the weekends on campus were so dead that he looked forward to Mondays, when students would return.

Encouraged by our mother, he transferred to the University of Arizona in Tucson the following semester. It wound up being an even financial exchange: Out-of-state tuition at U of A is actually comparable to (maybe even a little cheaper than) in-state tuition at UC Irvine, since UC schools raised tuition by 30% last year.

For more visit MoneyWatch

Beat Rising Food Prices

Earlier this morning I stopped by MSNBC to discuss the record rise in global food prices. The U.N. says food prices reached their highest level ever recorded in January and there are a number of factors at play. First you have soaring fuel prices that are increasing farmer's input costs, which are then being passed down to the consumer.  Strengthening economies in China and India have their middle class demanding access to better foods. And most recently, bad weather and natural disasters across the globe from cyclones in Australia to floods in Russia and our own snowstorms have left crops damaged, diminishing food supply.

While prices have skyrocketed in the Middle East and northern Africa, food inflation has remained relatively tame here in the U.S. In fact the Department of Agriculture estimates food prices will go up about 2% this year – not as high as the double-digit percentage hikes seen in other countries. Still, with many Americans out of work, it's difficult to sometimes afford the basic necessities. Major food labels like Kraft and Sara Lee have already suggested they may need to rise prices this year. To help, here are some ways to combat a jump in food prices at your local grocer.

Pay Attention to Your Pantry or Fridge

The fact is our country wastes 40% of the food it produces, double the rate from 10 years ago. Before you go food shopping check your inventory to make sure you don't overbuy or make redundant purchases. Try to create meals using the existing ingredients in your kitchen.

Watch out for "new packaging"

Food companies are becoming more savvy, introducing "new packaging" that's marketed as eco-friendly, but what that also means is that the packaging is smaller. It's less food for the same price. When you shop, take note of how many units you're getting for the price. That's one of the best ways to comparison shop.

Buy Private Labels

From Kroger to Wal-mart and Target, many supermarkets carry their own private label brands, which often cost up to 50% less than name-brand items. And, frankly, the quality is no different.

Join a Food Coop

Many neighborhoods have food coops that, in return for a membership fee or volunteer shift, give members access to discounted fresh fruits, vegetables and meat. Find a coop near you via the Coop Directory.

Stack Coupons

Coupon aficionados can tell you all about this trick. Wait until items go on sale, then refer to your collection of coupons to stack a store coupon on top of a manufacturer's coupon to earn steep discounts. You might even get overage, which is when the store owes YOU money after your coupon discounts exceed the actual price.

Money 911: Fighting a Jerk Boss

This morning on Today's Money 911 I was joined by the lovely Sharon Epperson of CNBC and Dylan Ratigan, host of The Dylan Ratigan Show on MSNBC to answer viewers' questions on all-things money. We got pretty tied up on the first question – but it was an interesting one regarding whether you can collect unemployment for quitting a hostile work environment.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Download Psych Yourself Rich For Free!

Beginning today and for a limited time, my publisher is offering Psych Yourself Rich for FREE for Kindle users. Keep in mind: even if you don't own a Kindle, you can download a Kindle app for your iphone, ipod Touch, ipad or desktop – and the app is FREE, too.

Get your free copy here.

Get Organized By Friday

I've recently teamed up with Office Depot to conduct a survey of 1,000 workers to find out how well they manage to stay organized throughout the year. While 93% said they feel being organized improves performance (like locating important documents, filing taxes and paying bills on time), 81% admitted to keeping a disorganized workspace.  Oops.

With January being "Get Organized Month" and "February being "Time Management Month" now's the perfect time to get your financial house and home office in order. Here are my five tips – one for each day – for a fast recovery to better organization.

MONDAY: TAKE SELF-INVENTORY

Before getting physically organized, take inventory of your personal priorities and goals. Now's the time to get reacquainted with your goals and priorities. Think about where you want to be in the next year personally professionally and financially. Do you want to buy a house in the new year? Do you want to go back to school in 2011? Do you want to get married? All of these goals carry price tags. And the sooner you take inventory of these goals and commit to sticking to them, your money becomes less abstract and motivation kicks in.

TUESDAY: ASSESS THE MESS

Now you need to roll up your sleeves a bit and tackle your financials. Come face to face with the reality at hand. Three focus areas:

Credit card bills. Be honest. Count up every penny.
Savings. See how much is left in savings.
Credit. Take a look at your credit report and request a free credit score at sites like credit.com and quizzle.com

WEDNESDAY: DIVIDE AND CONQUER

From year-end statements to tax-related paperwork and receipts, some things need to stay and others can get the boot.

What to keep: Set aside all paperwork for your bills that you need to address in January from your credit card statements to your utility bills. Put these in separate file folders with labels or an accordion folder. (To attack your credit card bills — be most aggressive with the card with highest interest rate and work your way down. Keep in mind you always want to pay more than the minimum – an extra $10 dollars a month can get you out of debt months or years faster. Not to mention, it saves you tons in interest).

Gather up all related receipts and paperwork that you will need once you file taxes on April 18, including receipts for charitable contributions, out-of-pocket medical expenses and business or work-related expenses. I like to put these in a labeled box.

Things you can toss: We get more mail in December than probably any other month – all those holiday catalogues, the marketing material, the credit card solicitations. You want pull out the shredder to get rid of all those holiday mailings with your address labels and any piece of paper with personal information.

Rules of thumb: When in doubt, keep the new, throw out with the old. If you have a new version of an insurance policy, you can toss the old one out. Just make sure it hits the shredder first. Keep tax filings for a minimum of 3 years because the IRS tends to audit within that time frame.

THURSDAY: SCHEDULE IT!

One of the best ways to stay organized is to automate as many of your financial responsibilities as possible so that you never fall behind. For example, electronically link your checking account to your mortgage collector, the town treasurer (who collects taxes), the heating company, and your healthcare provider. You never have to be unsure about when to pay bills because they'll be automatically addressed each month. As for savings, decide on a percentage of your income to be automatically deposited into a savings account bearing the highest interest rate you can find. Ideally, I'd recommend 10 for a rainy day and another 10% for retirement.

FRIDAY: STAY ORGANIZED ALL YEAR

Now that you have your priorities straight and receipts ready for the upcoming tax season, remember to stay organized all year. Clear off your desk, prepare files for the coming year, get a receipt scanner so you don't have to fight with that shoebox full of paper, put your incoming bills in one place, paid bills in another, etc.

Job Hunting in Secret

In a recent post for MoneyWatch.com, I decided to highlight some of the do's and don'ts of job hunting for those of us who are currently employed. Employees hope to find better jobs this year, a sign that consumer confidence is on the rise. Here's  a sampling of that article. For the entire post visit MoneyWatch.com.

After two years of wage cuts, slashed bonuses and watching co-workers get laid off, American workers have finally built up enough frustration to tell their bosses, "I quit." According to a survey last month by Right Management, 84% of workers plan to actively seek a new position in 2011, up from 60% in 2008. That might explain the dozen or so LinkedIn requests I received this week alone.

Job hunting now is certainly an ambitious task, especially after last week's underwhelming jobs report. And as the saying goes, it's often easier to find a job when you already have one – so don't start packing up your cubicle just yet. Meanwhile, you want to be discreet. Here are some suggestions on how to secretly hunt for a new job as you dream of the day you hand in your two weeks' notice.

1. Keep Communication Private

Printing out your resume at work and faxing it to another company's HR department is like playing with fire. Avoid potentially compromising situations by keeping all job hunting-related communication away from your 9 to 5; if you don't have a printer at home, find a friend with one, or use a nearby Kinko's. Keep email discussions with prospective employers on a personal account. And if you must take a call from a prospective employer during work hours, do it on your cell and outside the building where you can speak freely.

2. Submit Your Online Resume Carefully

If you submit your resume to a public site, be careful.  Your boss could come across it since many times your resume gets blasted to hundreds of companies, perhaps even your own. Instead, post on job sites where you have the option of keeping your company name and contact information hidden. Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com and SimplyHired are a few major job listing sites that offer confidential resume postings.

3. Watch What You Wear

Got a lunchtime meeting with a prospective boss? Unless everyone at your job wears suits, that interview suit will give you away. Men, if your attire is typically business casual, keep your interview tie in the car. Women, think about adding a jacket over a dress or keeping a pair of heels in your purse (or both) to take your outfit up a notch professionally.

For more tips visit MoneyWatch.com.

Photo credit: bgottsab's photostream on flickr

Everyday Goods You Can Get For Free

They say the best things in life are free…including some day-to-day necessities you've been overlooking. Here is my latest Yahoo! Finance savings video reviewing top five items you should never pay for.

Live! With Regis & Kelly

Ever wonder how much money you could save if you stuck to your New Year's resolutions? I crunched the numbers this morning on Regis & Kelly — check it out!

Top 7 New Year's Financial Resolutions

After reviewing myriad financial resolutions by personal finance experts, Time Magazine recently described mine as "exceptionally good." (phew).

Originally published on MoneyWatch.com, here's my personal rundown of some specific ways you can earn a healthier financial life in the New Year. Many of these tips stem from my latest book, Psych Yourself Rich, which you can order by clicking here.

1. Be More Charitable

Studies show charitable giving fell in 2010. Whether donating to charity or treating your friend to a cupcake, giving is not only thoughtful but can make you happy. A survey of more than 600 volunteers by researchers at Harvard Business School and The University of British Columbia concluded that spending just $5 a day on someone else would make you more happy than spending that money on yourself. Not to sound selfish, but how does this help our bottom lines? Well, there's always the tax deduction! Give to a legitimate charity and pay less to Uncle Sam on April 15.

2. Find a Money Buddy

It's key to have a partner in your financial life who can knock some sense into you when you feel the impulse to spend or when you are ignoring your bills. It might be your best friend, sibling, or parent. Relay your goals to this person so that he or she can help remind you of them when your judgment gets cloudy. Turn to them for advice. We often assume that our financial strife is unique – the sooner you begin networking and discussing your problems with others, the sooner you'll realize that others have been in your shoes and have persevered.

3. Stick to Cash

While it's important to maintain good credit and using our credit cards responsibly helps to achieve that, keep in mind that credit card users tend to spend more money than if they used cash.  A recent Dunn & Bradstreet study found that people spend 12-18% more when using credit cards than when using cash. (Another study found that people who paid cash at the grocery store were healthier than their plastic-wielding counterparts.) And McDonald's found that the average transaction rose from $4.50 to $7.00 when customers used plastic instead of cash.

The other reason I insist on using cash is because it keeps us honest with our money. We make better choices because we are forced to think twice or three times about our purchases, especially if we have to break big bills like a $50 bill. Bye-bye, impulse purchases!

4. Create a Money Zone

This is all about staying organized and clear of financial clutter. Find a space in your home – it could be a table in your kitchen, sunroom, bedroom, wherever – and design this space so that you actually want to go there to set goals, pay your bills and deal with budgeting. Surround your "money zone" with images of your goals, family and inspirations – all the reasons you should stay motivated. Have folders for all your monthly statements. Have a safety box for secure papers like insurance certificates, your deed, etc. And have smaller boxes for business expense receipts and warranties.

5. Establish a Rule of Thumb

As humans, we like rules of thumb because they're handy. They help when we have trouble making decisions. We have diet rules of thumb – "no sweets during the week" or "no midnight snacking"  - and they help us stay on track. Some good money rules could be: "I won't buy anything over $100 without consulting with my spouse or partner" or "No more open tabs at the bar!"

6. Automate

Save and pay your bills automatically. You'll sleep better at night knowing you did. It's less painful than taking money out of your paycheck yourself and depositing it in a savings account or handing it to your utility company. According to a recent survey by the Consumer Federation of America and the Financial Services Roundtable, 83% Americans say the most effective way to build personal savings is to automatically transfer funds from your paycheck to a savings account. Research also finds that people with the highest level of well-being had a high level of financial security. Many of them automated their payments so they didn't feel the sting of the pain of payments.

7. Turn a Passion or Pastime into a Paycheck

Who doesn't want to make more money in the New Year? One of the best ways to do that is to identify a skill or hobby that you're passionate about and turn that into a revenue stream – teaching a foreign language, designing web sites, making jewelry. When you work a job you love, it won't feel like work.

Photo courtesy: Sally M.'s photostream on Flickr