Ben Edwards's Blog: Money Smart Life, page 29

Free Resume Tools for the Unemployed

When you lose your job, the first thing you need to do is update your resume. While it’s better if you update your resume periodically, even during your employment, sometimes a job loss catches you by surprise and you aren’t ready.

If you are trying to figure out how to best update your resume, you’ll want to do what you can to take advantage of free tools that can help you create a resume that is more likely to help you get a job:

Workforce Services

Find out where your state’s workforce service...

Job Application Tools to Help Manage Your Job Search

As you participate in the job hunt, it is easy to lose track of what you’ve done. Pretty soon, all of the places you’ve applied to start to run together and you end up trying to remember who has your resume, and what appointments you might have.

In order to keep it all organized, it makes sense to use apps to help you manage your job search. Here are a few tools that can help keep you on top of your job search:

Google Apps

As you might expect, Google provides a number of tools that can help you...

When You Should Refinance Your Mortgage Loan

There are different times when you should refinance your mortgage loan, but contrary to popular belief lower interest rates are not the only reason. Sure, when interest rates hit new lows millions of homeowners flock to refinance their homes. But there are also times when you should refinance when rate is not the driving force.

When should you refinance your mortgage loan?

1. When mortgage rates are at least 2% below your current rate.

This rule was more important when interest rates were higher...

How to Estimate Your Social Security Benefits

An often overlooked component of retirement planning is Social Security. It’s not that no one knows it’s there – but more that getting reliable estimates of your benefits is something of mystery. In addition, many people believe that Social Security will become “bankrupt,” so they try not to rely too heavily on it as a source of future income.

Maybe this is just my thought on the bankruptcy issue, but it will be virtually impossible for Social Security to go bankrupt in a vacuum. If Social Sec...

How Does a Loan Affect Your Credit Score?

You just completed the paperwork on a new loan. Because of your excellent credit score, you got an outstanding rate on the loan. But 30 days later you pull your credit report and find out that your credit score dropped by 40 points. Everything else on your report is consistent with what has been there before, the only difference is the new loan.

Did that cause your credit score to drop? And if so, why?

Unproven Payment History

If you are not fully familiar with the credit universe it can be a sh...

How to Stay Out of Debt When You Lose Your Job

The economy is finally showing legitimate signs of recovery from the last recession. But millions of people are carrying large amounts of debt owing to long periods of unemployment experienced during the downturn. That experience should strengthen your resolve to avoid the same fate in the future.

How can you stay out of debt when you lose your job? The answer to that question can be given in three parts – what to do before, during, and after a job loss.

What to Do Before You Lose Your Job

Peopl...

The Finances of Losing Your Job – Getting Fired vs Being Laid Off

It’s never pleasant to lose your job. You lose a major source of income, and you have to find a new job.

However, when you are laid off, rather than fired, your situation is a little bit better. Being laid off provides you with a degree of protection that being fired doesn’t come with.

Laid Off or Fired?

In most cases, whether you are considered laid off or fired depends on the circumstances. Often being laid off is the result of larger company-wide issues. Lay offs usually affect an entire segm...

How to Open a Business Bank Account

When I formed my LLC, I finally opened a business bank account. I probably should have had a separate account prior to that point, even though I was a sole proprietor, but I waited until the business felt more “official.”

Opening a business bank account requires a little planning, and proper documentation, depending on the type of business you have. Before you go into the bank, figure out what information you need to open your account.

In most cases, if you open a business bank account as an or...

Using a Salary Guide When Applying for Jobs

If you are looking to get a raise, or you will be applying for new positions in your field, it’s never good idea to just “wing it” when it comes to your salary requirements or expectations. There are ways you can get very specific information about salaries in your field, which will help you to be realistic in your salary requests to your employer or to or a prospective employer.

Below are some online salary guides that will help you to get the information you need. These are popular sites, bu...

5 Tips for Working with Job Recruiters

If you are looking for a job, one way to get your name “out there” is to contact recruiters. Job recruiters, also sometimes called head hunters, specialize in matching openings at companies with great workers.

When you work with a recruiter, you have the chance to get your name and your resume in front of a variety of companies, and even find the perfect job for you. But working with a recruiter requires planning and a little finesse.

1. Remember: The recruiter works for employers, not you.

The...