Deal With It, Get Past It, Get Hired The unemployment rate in the U.S. is currently 7%, but if you're one of the ones out of a job, you probably don't care what the percentage is. What you care about is how you'll pay your bills until you can get back on the payroll again. While you're probably in for a few major changes, you can get through this tough time unscathed. Here are eight tips to survive unemployment.8. Create a Frugal Budget If you're out of work, you absolutely must set a budget. Use an Internet resource, such as Mint, or write your budget out on paper. Take a ha... view article details

Mortgage Size   The first and biggest hurdle to buying your own home is money. Few buyers, if any, try to buy a home without financing because it just doesn't make sense. In addition to the relatively low price of credit in America, why would anyone pass up substantial mortgage interest tax relief? Then there's the opportunity cost. Even the most financially secure among us won't want to tie up hefty capital in real estate when it could be spread across several investments in a diversified, well-planned portfolio.Typically, home buyers pursue a loan in amounts of 80 or 90 per cent of the purch... view article details

Dear Annette,Do you have any holiday gift ideas for the office?SantaDear Santa,This is my favorite time of year, as thinking of gift ideas for others always reminds me of me. One December years ago I received an ostrich from a client after helping him survey his New Zealand ranch. I had to get rid of him after Dickie became allergic. The ostrich stayed for five years.Narrowing down the wish list is always so difficult. A year or two ago, the Mednikow catalog had a $575,000 diamond ring on its front cover, complete with a little cutout so you can try the ring on for size. Difficult to duplicate... view article details

There are three reasons why your credit card bill is so high every month. The first are the splurges: the plane ticket and hotel costs for your vacation; the $130 shoes you had to have; or that new flat screen TV for football season. The second are the lifestyle expenses. A few $60 dinners each week or that round of happy hour drinks on your coworker’s last day are common.The third expense is more insidious: low-cost, recurring monthly expenses that are a direct result of the digital age we live in. You probably pay $8.99 for Netflix, $9.99 for Dropbox, $4.99 for music streaming, $6.95 for web... view article details

You may not think you are in sales, but if you are involved in a job search, you are! It’s important to understand that your resume is more than a calling card and less than a comprehensive record of your career. Your resume is a marketing brochure for what you want the company to buy – and that’s YOU!Although you may not have a background in marketing or sales, thinking about yourself as the “product” your resume is selling can help you land an interview. It can also be helpful to move your focus away from your personal goals in the documents. If you are still using an objective statement in ... view article details

In these tough times everyone is cutting back in some way. We wanted to know how your spending habits have changed in recent months.In the following slideshow we will show you the results and a few selected tips from other readers.Hundreds of wonderful tips were submitted and we want to thank everyone who took the time to submit one.Reader Advice 'As a former shopaholic ie... going to a mall/store at least once a week, I now limit myself to once a month or less.''Ask myself if I really need something, and nine times out of 10 I put it back on the shelf. ''I only purchase what I MUST ... view article details

Most of us loathe the very idea of doing our U.S. personal income taxes, not because we expect to get fleeced each April 15 (or 16) but simply because we don't know an adjusted gross income from a standard deduction. For the many tax code illiterates among us, Salary.com has combed through the Internal Revenue Service website, taking inspiration from Sarah Young Fisher and Susan Shelly's book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance, to come up with a checklist that may help simplify your tax-filing experience. Taxable and nontaxable income To get things started with the very basics, bel... view article details

More than 70 percent of America’s workers are still living paycheck to paycheck according to a recent American Payroll Association poll. And current tough economic times have everyone wondering what they can do to stretch their paycheck a bit further. We’ve compiled a list of what we feel are ten of the best ideas to help stretch your paycheck. With a little extra effort, you can yield some big savings.1. Stop buying bottled water Americans spend a staggering amount on bottled water - $15 billion last year. Name brands in small bottles can cost more than $10 per gallon while tap wate... view article details

For Tony Danza, having a thick regional accent keeps him working. But for the rest of us who are interviewing and looking for jobs, sounding like Snooki from Jersey Shore or Matt Damon when he played that 'wikkid smaht kid,' is not helpful. Research indicates human resource professionals hold biases against different accents, and it affects their decisions. But which accents are the worst offenders and what can you do to make sure you avoid being screened out simply for the way you talk? Read on, we've got you covered.Address the Accent All it takes is one higher-up ma... view article details

There is always a temptation to over spend during the holidays. In light of the current economic situation it is more important than ever to avoid getting deeper in to debt in order to satisfy gift-giving obligations. Don't despair. Salary.com has put together a few ideas to help you shift your focus and have a happy holiday season.Develop a plan Decide ahead of time how much you can afford to spend and on whom you plan to spend it. By looking at your entire planned gift giving at once, you'll make better decisions once you get into the thick of holiday shopping. Once y... view article details