If you read this site often, you know that the founder, DC, has started a new job, and he could definitely talk about successful job interviewing since it led to his new job.

For me, other than writing about personal finance, I love to write about careers and mentor others in their careers; and I actually just started writing regularly for AOL Jobs about women in finance careers.

As a 13-year financial services veteran, I have quite a bit of experience in finance and enjoy when I can use the lessons I learned to help others on their professional journeys.

Over my career, I participated in the hiring process of dozens of candidates for the firms where I worked, and as a hiring manager or influencer, there are a number of things I would like to share with you to make your job interview the most successful it can possibly be, so here are some tips.

1) Know Yourself

Some hiring managers will utilize recruiters and get a full synopsis on each of the candidates they interview, while many will only have your resume as a point of reference. I only interviewed candidates where I had nothing but their resume, so I made a point of picking apart their resumes before I sat down to interview them. I went through every last detail, and created an image in my mind of what the candidate would be like, and I frequently developed my list of questions based solely on the resume.

There is nothing worse than asking a candidate about something on his or her resume and the candidate not knowing what I was talking about. You need to be prepared for anything in an interview, and the easiest prep work you can do is simply reading and knowing your own resume.

2) Do Your Research

Of course you should research the company where you are going to interview, and you should know all of the big picture details of the company like what they do, how large the are, where they are located, etc.; however, beyond this research, you need to make sure that you research your interviewers.

Ask your contact at the company in advance for the names of the people that will be conducting your interview and then Google stalk the heck out of those people. I would try to find all of their social media outlets, then take notes on what I could find like previous companies, interests, etc. All of this research is important for the next step.

3) Get Personal

People LOVE talking about themselves and the more they talk about themselves, the more they will associate positive feelings about you. Having researched your interviewers in advance should give you plenty of questions or opportunities to get personal with your interviewer. If you could not find much online about your interviewers, then ask them “generic” personal questions like “What do you love about your job or this company? and What would you change about your job or this company?”

The more that you can get them talking, the less pressure on you and the better your results. I once interviewed for a job where the interviewer spoke for 45 minutes out of our one-hour time limit. Afterwards my recruiter said that the interviewer had nothing but amazing things to say about me. I just laughed to myself because he barely got to learn anything about me. It didn’t matter, though, because I moved onto the next round.

4) Share Something Interesting

Oftentimes hiring managers will meet with dozens of candidates for one job position and all of those candidates will tend to blend together in their minds. The best way that you can stand out amongst the competition is to share interesting tidbits about you or your life experience during the interview; and I don’t want to hear that you studied abroad in college because just about everyone seems to do that now.

As a hiring manager, I want you to share something really esoteric and unique about your life experience. For example, one of the greatest interviewees I had shared his summer job of selling Cutco knives door to door and how he carried empty cans and other objects to demonstrate the range of capabilities that the knives had. I interviewed this person almost 10 years ago, and he not only made it through the next round, but I still remember his story.

What tips do you have for successful job interviewing?
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So, I started thinking about writing this post a few months ago after a conversation with a client where I pretty much had a money saving solution for everything she was struggling with.

As I got in my car and drove home, I started to wonder if there was ever a need to pay full price for anything.

During the time I spent in the car on the drive home, I couldn’t think of a single answer to this question.

Challenged Myself to Figure it Out

I have found that over the last few years as I have adjusted my spending behaviors that I have become spending averse but more than that I have become full price spending averse. I honestly can’t remember the last time that I purchased something that wasn’t on sale, sold at a discount store, or I had a coupon for it. Sure, I have paid full price for mushrooms or something like that when I am grocery shopping and need them for a particular recipe that I am making; however, I have also been known to cancel recipes based on paying full price for something like mushrooms.

In response to my somewhat crazy newfound frugalness, I thought it would be a great idea to explore when it actually makes sense to pay full price, in an effort to sell myself on the idea. And I have to be honest with you, I thought about this for hours and days. I talked to my hubby and friends about it and no matter what ideas were thrown out to me I had a difficult time coming up with a full list of when you should pay full price for anything. So please excuse my sorry list, but I could only come up with two times where it makes sense to pay full price.

1) Health and Well-Being

Your health and the health of your family, and that may include pets, is the number one priority we have in life. And I don’t think that anyone should sacrifice personal health in the name of frugality. I can’t imagine not taking my son to the nearest doctor because I could find one cheaper. Or telling my hubby that he should not get his blood work checked annually because we would save money if he did not go one year.

With all of the areas we have in life where we can save, I urge you to never try to save a buck where your health and well-being are concerned. In fact, this sometimes not only means paying full price, but paying extra. My hubby was in a funky state last year, and I suggested that he speak with a psychologist, and his response was that he didn’t want to waste the money.

I was not concerned about the money, I was concerned about the depressed guy I shared a bed with every night. After a lot of coaxing, he finally started seeing someone, and it changed his life. He was able to process a number of his issues and he is mentally in a better place, which makes him not only better physically but a better hubby and a better daddy. It was full price money that was well spent.

2) Emergencies

These situations unfortunately dictate to us that we have to pay full price whether we like it or not. Where our health and well-being is a spending choice, emergencies are usually a spending command. Some emergencies that may arise and force you into full price spending could include a car incident like a blown tire or a household incident like a plumbing disaster (just ask Cat about that).

There are times when you can actually look for deals on emergency issues, but if they are going to impact the health and well-being of your family, then you need to bite the bullet and pay full price. The tire light in my hubby’s car recently turned on, and after putting air in it the tire light turned on again. He didn’t want to risk taking the time and energy to find the best deal, he was more concerned about a blown tire that could cause an accident. So he immediately headed to get it fixed, sans coupon, but thankfully only paid $26 for a patch thanks to a nail in his tire.

When does it make sense to you to pay full price?
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Image Source: Ed Kohler

I don’t know about you, but my work life has seemed to take a turn for the dramatically busy.

For some reason, my career flow has always seemed to be one of “feast or famine” where I work hard consistently, and then certain opportunities all seem to materialize at once.

I liken it to putting 10 fishing poles in the water at the same time, waiting for months and then six lines all have a bite simultaneously.

It would be nice to have those bites happen one at a time, but that is just not how life works out. And don’t get me wrong, I LOVE when the fish bite and opportunities arise; however, when they come, I always seem to get stressed because my workload instantaneously doubles or triples. 

What I have realized, though, is that with a plan and a strategy for working through it, I can relieve a great deal of my stress and give the quality work that I would be proud of. When I feel myself get stressed about managing my work life, I do the following:

1) Sit down and list projects

One of the great stressors I have sometimes is that the work builds up and I can’t seem to keep track of what I have going on. It is impossible for any of us to manage our lives just in our heads, we really need to take the time to sit down and write down what we have to work on.

I will write my projects down on my notebook that I always have with me, but sometimes I put it on my phone. Depending on how busy my workload is I will update this list on a daily basis to keep reminding myself what I have to focus on. If anything has a specific due date, I will add this to my list as well.

2) Analyze personal calendar

Before I even plan how I will tackle my work to-do list, I look at my calendar and determine where I am allocating my time. I literally try to make sure that I am balancing a crazy work life with my family/friend life. I used to be awful at this and it only led to friends and family who were ticked off with me.

What is the point of working hard, if you miss out on opportunities with those you love? Look for times when you plan to spend time with those you love and then allocate your work schedule around the personal time.

3) Schedule specific time for each project

After I have allocated my schedule between work and personal, then I start plugging in the specific projects that I have to work on, so that I know that I have specific time allocated for each one. I literally put those tasks during blocks of time on my schedule.

For example, if I have blog posts to write, I will schedule them during a period of time that is free but also one that I know is good for writing for me. I happen to be highly productive with blog writing on Mondays, so I try to leave as much space as possible on Mondays for this activity.

4) Enjoy the downtime

Once I get through a busy work cycle, I let myself enjoy the downtime that comes after it, sometimes this is only a day or a few hours, but enjoying the downtime gives me the energy to tackle another crazy work schedule.

For me, I usually use this time to read a book or catch up on shows that I have neglected. “All work and no play” is not only a difficult way to live life, but it truly does start to wear on you over time and it makes it increasingly difficult for you to stay motivated when you really need it.

How do you manage your life when work gets busy?
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Image Source: Victor

So, if you read this blog last week, you may have read my partial rant about how husbands or significant others can spend money on gifts that they think their wives or significant others want.

However, if your significant other is a frugal-minded person, giving them what you think they want may actually have the reverse effect as the one you intended. Instead of making them happy and smiling because you are so thoughtful to give them a gift, you just tick them off.

Last week, I gave you a few ideas of the type of items that will tick off your frugal honey, so this week, I am sharing with you some things that would make her happy.

1) Your Time

My hubby and I both work, and we also have an 8-year-old son who consumes quite a bit of time and energy. Usually by the end of the day, we can barely have a full conversation and just want to get some rest. There are times, though, when my hubby has come home early just to hang out with me and chat, or he makes a conscious effort to put his phone down and give me his undivided attention when I have things on my mind.

I understand the value of his time and energy, so when I get it from him undividedly, it truly is a gift I cherish. Unless of course, I am in the middle of watching Dancing with the Stars or The Voice (but we have been married 10 years, so he knows better than to interrupt that time).

2) Pampering

I love a massage more than anything, especially since I spend lots of my time on a computer and really feel it in my neck and shoulders. I hate to pay for one from a stranger, though, and I hate to burden hubby who has hard days as well. Every now and then, though, he senses extra stress in my life and offers to give me a massage without expecting one in return. I literally cry tears of joy every time he makes that offering. It is another “free” gift that has tremendous value to me.

3) Your Handyman Skills (No matter how poor they are)

I don’t know a single friend of mine who does not have a honey-do list for her hubby. If you own a home, or even if you rent, there is always something around the home that needs some kind of attention, whether it is a squeaky door or a clogged sink. If you were to take on one of these tasks without her asking, you would be her hero.

If you don’t know what needs to be done, just asking her if there is anything she would like you to do around the house would be HUGE. If you are not confident in your DIY skills, here’s a link to some great resources courtesy of my DIY guy.

4)Babysitting (your own kids)

If you have kids, one of the greatest gifts you can give your wife is babysitting time with your kids. Even if it is for just a few hours so she does not have to bring them with her on an errand, or for her to workout or go out with her friends for a ladies night, it would be a great gift. We mom’s love our kids, but we also like some time to decompress from them, and if you step up and offer that time willingly, it will be much appreciated.

5) Thoughtfulness

This is a little more ambiguous, but it’s because you should take some time and think about the tasks your wife does around the house and think about doing some of those for her. Perhaps you could do the laundry a few times, or unload the dishwasher, or cook dinner. Everyone splits up tasks differently at home, but if you were to take on some of your significant other’s tasks for a day, a few days or a week, you would give her a break that would be worth more than any bouquet of flowers you could find.

These are just a few ideas, but if you are really thinking about giving something to your wife or significant other, the best thing you can do is ask her what she wants or what is important to her. I can assure you, though, that the best gifts you give her are your time and consideration for everything she does.

What frugal gift ideas would you recommend or like to receive?
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Image Source: Lindsay

For those of you who don’t know me, I am a frugal wife. I am a lot of other things, but for the purpose of this post, we will just focus on the fact that I am frugal and married.

I also live in the suburbs of New York and take the train into Grand Central when I work from my office. Everyday that I catch the train home, I pass two flower stands that are set up right outside the train tracks, and every time that I pass those flowers instead of being a woman who would say “Aww, I wish my hubby would bring those home for me.” I think, “I would kill my hubby if he brought those home for me. What a waste of money!”

Whenever I have this internal dialogue with myself, I laugh that I may be unlike other wives, and I also think what other gifts my hubby could get me that would tick me off. So, in case you have a frugal wife who doesn’t appreciate you spending money frivolously, here is a list of a few things that may tick her home if they crossed your threshold.

1) Flowers

Please note that I am not talking about the kind that you could have picked from your neighbors yard.  I am, however, absolutely talking about the kind that you would get from a marked up site like 1800 flowers.

I don’t care what kind of coupon you have for that place, after taxes and delivery charges you haven’t saved any money. Plus the flowers that come to your door never look as impressive as the pictures from the website. Even if you buy cheap flowers some place, they will probably run you about $10 and they will only last for a few days before they start drying up and making a mess that just has to be cleaned up, probably by your wife.

2) Jewelry

I know that Tiffanys and DeBeers have amazing advertising that would have you believe that your woman wants to be swimming in diamonds, but the truth is, you can get great, inexpensive costume jewelry that will get more attention than the real stuff.

The worst offense in the jewelry category is the engagement ring. You are about to commit to a lifetime with this person, you shouldn’t start it by overspending on something that might not fit when she gets pregnant and can’t be worn after the baby is born because you are afraid to scratch the baby with the ring. Seriously, though, you need to save your money for joint financial goals like a home, kids, travel, etc.

3) Car

Cat wrote a great post not too long ago about how her Facebook friend bragged about the “gift” of a car that her husband gave her.

A car is probably one of the worst investments you can make, especially if you are paying cash. If you had to finance it, then it is not a gift, it’s more debt, and who asks for debt for their birthday or Christmas? If you used cash, I would rather you give me a gift of an IRA or something like that; then at least that cash could grow in value over time rather than lose 50% the second you drive the car off the lot.

4) Name Brand Anything at Full Price

My hubby used to buy me a new Coach purse every year for Christmas. Back in my pre-frugal days, this was a great gift that made me smile. And we rationalized that it wasn’t Louis Vuitton, so we weren’t indulging too much.

Now, if Hubby brought a Coach purse in the house, he would have to turn right around and return it. Even the ones from the outlet stores are not cheap. Yes, there are some name brand options that are high quality and could be a great investment option, but most of the time, it is just one more item that will sit in a closet after a few months and not get used again.

5) Greeting Cards

Is it just me or have the price of greeting cards gotten completely out of hand? It seems that you can’t find a card for less than $2.50 and some run up to $6. I used to keep all of the cards Hubby gave me when we were first dating, and then for our first few anniversaries, but now they just take up space and I forget where I put them. So, this would be like giving me $2.50 and just hiding it, only for me to never find it, or eventually throw it out. I would rather have the $2.50 than the card.

I am sure you may be wondering what your frugal wife would love for a gift, and you will just have to check back next Tuesday for that list. Until then, it is probably best for you to not casually spend any money, or better yet, just ask her what she wants. If she says nothing, she probably means it.

What do you think would tick off your frugal significant other? As a frugal significant other, is there any gift that you would not want to receive?
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Image Source: NRMA Motoring

As someone who has been married for ten years, I know that any relationship is bound to have its ups and downs.

One of my favorite songs about relationships is “Just Give Me a Reason” by Pink where the couple is trying to figure out if they are just bent and not broken.

Until this song, I never thought about the fact that relationships can and will bend and sometimes to the point of pain; however, they are not necessarily broken. There will be a number of issues in life that cause relationships to bend, and from my perspective, money is the number one issue.

As a financial planner, I have a front row seat to a number of different money practices. I have seen so many that I am never surprised no matter how crazy they seem. There are a few, though, that I believe are bad for a relationship. Here are 3 money related practices that I believe can force a relationship to go from bending to breaking.

1) Hiding Accounts

I know a number of people who have set up credit or bank accounts without the other person knowing. In the case of credit cards, the person wanted to spend without getting in “trouble” for it and in the case of bank accounts, the person wanted to have money of their own or didn’t trust their partner with the management of the family funds. In either of these cases, if you or the one you love is opening up accounts without telling the other person, you have to wonder about other issues in your relationship like honesty and communication.

I know that we can all rationalize our decision-making processes; however, to me when you are hiding your accounts, it is the equivalent of lying to yourself and the one you love. If you need to open a credit card without your significant other knowing, then you have a spending problem. It is one thing to have separate credit cards; however, each person should be aware of the cumulative spending taking place in the household, especially married couples. Depending on state laws, each spouse is equally responsible for the debt that it incurred while married so the spending that you are doing on the credit card is equivalent to the spending of your spouse.

If you are opening a separate bank account because you don’t trust your spouse with money, I understand that some people are better at managing money than others, but the spouse deserves an explanation of this decision. Perhaps you could include the spouse in your process and help teach him or her better money practices. I don’t think it is fair to completely write someone off as being bad with money management without first trying to help them get better.

2) Spending without Discussing

I don’t necessarily think that you have to discuss every single purchase with your significant other; however, I think for any purchase over a certain agreed upon price, there should be a joint conversation around the purchase. Again, you should think of the spending that you are engaging in as joint spending. Even if you are just in a relationship, if that relationship becomes more serious, the spending you are engaging in today is impacting the future financial health of your family.

I know that most people do not like to be told “no” when they want something; however, sometimes no is the best answer for you. I have a client who complains about her frugal husband all the time and complains how he questions everything that she buys. She was looking to me to support her and her independent purchase power; however, I had to agree with her husband. The two of them made a commitment to each other and their family and they have short and long-term financial goals that they want to achieve.

Each trip of hers to Nordstrom or Macys is taking the two of them collectively further from reaching their goals. They both make nice incomes; however, it doesn’t change the fact that the spending is still having an impact. Rather than think of one person as being “controlling” you should include your joint goals as part of the discussion and let those goals dictate the best spending habits for the two of you.

3) Meeting with Advisors Separately or Individually

As a financial planner, I refuse to meet with married couples individually. I have had to meet people on Saturday mornings or late in the evenings to get all of our schedules to work; however, it is always for the best. Time spent with advisors like accountants or financial planners is a perfect opportunity for couples to discuss their near and long term goals and the best way to achieve them. If only one half of the couple is there, how do you know that your collective goals are being discussed?

I know a number of advisors who only meet with the “husbands,” and then they are shocked when the husband dies and the wife moves her account. First of all, she never had a say at the table and you never cared to get her opinion. I understand that in many of these situations the husband is the breadwinner, but that does not mean that the wife is not contributing to the family and should not have a say in the conversation.

I also know that some wives don’t feel comfortable and don’t want to appear “stupid;” however, I think it is much more stupid to sit back and not have a say in your financial future. You should always feel free to ask tons of questions of your advisors, after all, it is your money and you should feel comfortable with what happens to it, but also, you are paying these people to help you and they should earn it.

If your significant other does not include you in these meetings, you should speak up and ask to be a part of it. You want to make sure that you have a say in your future, but also that you are prepared should you need to be the one making the decisions if anything should happen with your spouse.

What money practices do you think ruin relationships?
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I have mentioned on my blog that in the past, I had a bad case of lifestyle inflation when I worked in investment banking and a term for this could also be Affluenza or the proclivity for over-consumption and keeping up with the Joneses.

Affluenza is something that is highly prominent in certain geographic areas but also in certain industry areas like investment banking, law and medicine. It is a terrible affliction to have, but the good news if you have it is that there is a cure. Or at least, I have found myself officially cured from it.

In the past, I used to shop mindlessly. I didn’t think about keeping up with things like coupons or waiting for sales. Who had the time for those annoyances? Besides, coupons could only save you a dollar here and there. I thought that a dollar was just pocket change that could be lost, a rounding error. After realizing that I wanted more in life than just essentially living paycheck to paycheck, and taking the path to financial health and well-being, all of the sudden, I put my spending habits under the microscope and I started viewing everything differently.

Financial Health = A Marathon

I like to think of my road to financial health as a marathon. The old me thought that every financial decision was just a mini race. So every day, every week, every year I was on a mini race for my numbers to make sense. I never thought of each decision as part of a longer race and how each decision impacted the results of my race. When I became more focused on my financial health, I started viewing each purchase as a hurdle that was keeping me from my financial goals.

I have now gotten to the point where I almost detest spending. I can’t remember the last time that I paid full price for anything. In fact, I recently had to buy a dress for an event. So I went to my new favorite store, TJMaxx, and I spent two hours sifting through every last rack in the store. At the end of the rummaging, I decided on a black dress that cost $19.95. It’s a beautiful dress with lots of future use potential; however, as I was standing in line waiting to pay, I had an inner debate with myself about whether or not I should buy the dress.

I was still arguing with myself when it was my turn to approach the open register. I paid for the dress with cash, got in my car and sat there for 5 minutes debating on whether or not I should return the dress. I ultimately kept the dress because it was actually less than I had budgeted ($29.99), it is a versatile dress that will get lots of use, and it was originally $129.99 (or at least that is what TJMaxx said it was).

When I realized I was Cured

So why do I share this story about my newfound crazy aversion to spending? Because it was in that moment in the car that I realized that I was officially cured of my Affluenza. For me, the cure for Affluenza was a mindset shift from short-term races to a long-term marathon. If you are running short-term races trying to keep up with the Joneses, then you are more likely to spend and make stupid choices with your money.

If you think of your race as a marathon, then you know like any runner, that you have to run your own race. 26 miles is a long journey and you will run out of steam and energy if you spend most of that time worried about the runners around you then how you are performing. It is the same way with money. If you spend your money based on others, you will find yourself out of money and resources by the time you get to the end of your race (aka retirement).

Most people who run a marathon do not finish and ask what their time was in the hope that they were at the top of the list. They finish the race and celebrate the fact that they were able to finish the race and they are still on their feet. Your financial journey is the same way. Set your own goals and run your own race. You will not only stay focused on what is important to you and your family, but also you will cure yourself of any potential case of Affluenza that you may be feeling.

Have you or anyone you know suffered from Affluenza? How did you combat it?
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