JosephSangl.com

Helping people accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances.

Archives for June 2008

Personal Finance Art Contest

For our eleventh anniversary, Jenn and I visited the High Art Museum in Atlanta, GA.  It was very nice, and it inspired me to practice my outstanding art skills.

The theme of my drawing is "Sangl's Finances Sketched In Still Life".  Click on the picture to admire a larger version.

I am so inspired by drawing this "instant masterpiece" that I want to host a "Personal Finance Art Contest".  The theme is "Finances In Still Life".  Below are the rules, and I can't wait to see the capabilities of the JosephSangl.com audience!

Rules

  • Joe can change the rules at any time.
  • All submitted art will be prepared in a blog post and voted on by JosephSangl.com readers.
  • The winner will be awarded a prize pack which includes:
  • All art must be submitted to josephsanglblog@yahoo.com by July 11.
  • Joe has the right to use your art as long artist credit is provided.

If I am lucky, AVCLUB will participate.

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Personal Finance SERIES on JosephSangl.com

Have you checked out all of the series that have been featured on JosephSangl.com?

 

What series would you like to see featured at JosephSangl.com?

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HULU.com = Cheap Entertainment

About six months ago, AVCLUB introduced me to Hulu.com.

Hulu.com is a HUGE database of movies and TV shows (past and present) that you can watch for FREE!

You will have to watch a couple of commercials during the shows, but it is FREE!

If you have a high-speed internet connection, check it out!

I am sure that The Saving Freak is proud of me for this money saving tip!

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SERIES: Negotiate A Pay Raise – Part 5

I write a lot about how to eliminate expenses and reduce the OUTGO from one's home economy, but there is another side to the equation and that is INCOME.  INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO works a lot better when the INCOME is increased!

This series is focused on one key way that INCOME can be increased and that is to Negotiate A Pay Raise.  In each part, I will be sharing how I have successfully negotiated pay raises in the past.  I hope this series helps you do the same!

Part 5 – "Negotiation"

Once I received a response from my manager, I took time to compare it to what I requested.  If it was everything I asked for (it never was), I obviously would have accepted it.  Since my offers were not exactly what I requested, I prepared for a negotiation.

As I entered the negotiation, I knew the following things:

  • Which items were the most important to me, and which ones I was OK with leaving alone
  • Exactly what I was willing to settle for
  • The silent time was over – I was going to leave the meeting with an answer

Negotiations are tricky.  Every one has been different for me.  I have tried the compromise path.  I have tried the "I'm sticking to my guns" and "I refuse to budget" path.  The bottom line is that I knew exactly what was needed to call this a successful negotiation for me.

What I do know is that because I had done my homework, I was in a strong position to negotiate and that resulted in a successful pay raise each time.  One of them was immediate and another took six months to be implemented.  Both were worth it. 

So this concludes the "Negotiate A Pay Raise" series on JosephSangl.com.  If you are going to make the big ask, good luck and let me know how it goes!

Readers:  I know that there are several business managers reading this site.  Would you share your thoughts about this series from an employer's/manager's perspective?

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SERIES: Negotiate A Pay Raise – Part 4

I write a lot about how to eliminate expenses and reduce the OUTGO from one's home economy, but there is another side to the equation and that is INCOME.  INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO works a lot better when the INCOME is increased!

This series is focused on one key way that INCOME can be increased and that is to Negotiate A Pay Raise.  In each part, I will be sharing how I have successfully negotiated pay raises in the past.  I hope this series helps you do the same!

Part 4 – "Receive The Response"

There WILL be a response.  It may not be the one you expected.  It may be way more than you expected (it happens!), or it may be way less than you expected (this happens too!).  Either way, there will be a response.

The best way to respond?  SILENCE

This is a negotiation.  SILENCE makes people uncomfortable.  If a manager knows that their response is less than reasonable, silence will allow them to rethink their position.  Many times, the manager has been provided some leeway in this discussion, and they have been authorized to adjust the numbers some to ensure an adequate and final response is obtained.

SILENCE has been my friend twice.  Both times, it resulted in a substantial increase beyond the initial offer.

Once the offer has been extended and appropriate silence has occurred, thank them and tell them that you will need twenty-four hours to review the offer (if it makes sense). 

This is Part 4 of a series featured at JosephSangl.com – "Negotiate A Pay Raise"

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I share my journey to achieve financial freedom and teach personal finance tools in my book, I Was Broke. Now I'm Not.  Check it out!