(Andrew Feinberg)

Investment firm Goldman Sachs recently struck a deal to invest big bucks in Facebook in exchange for allowing its wealthy clients to buy shares of the company via a “special purpose vehicle.” It’s a controversial move that allows Facebook to raise some cash and Goldman to make big money without having to go through the rigors and public disclosures involved with a traditional initial public offering. So how rich do you have to be to buy from Goldman Sachs? How about a net worth of about $1 million and an annual income of $200,000?

Yeah. I don’t have that either. While it’s difficult for the average investor to buy shares in Facebook right now, there are rumors that the company will go public in 2012. This will allow you to invest in your favorite time-waster the same way you invest in Coca Cola (KO) or Microsoft (MSFT). However, the question remains: Will Facebook be a smart investment for you? Consider the following factors before buying.

You Already Know A Lot About Facebook

“Invest in what you know” is one of the richest investment dictums from Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha,” and it’s served him well through the years. Buffett famously avoided losing his shirt when the tech bubble burst back in the early part of this century. He never understood how all of those internet companies were going to make money, so, despite the huge run-up in some of the stock prices, Buffett avoided them altogether.

So take a look around. What company do you know really well? Where are you wasting — I mean spending — a good deal of your time. Facebook, right? It might even be distracting you at work and hindering your career and, subsequently, your chance to make more money. If that’s the case, then maybe it will be right for you to stop fighting that impulse to be on Facebook constantly and put your money where your addiction is.

Beware: Facebook Is Making Money Off You

Just because you “know” Facebook and you spend a lot of time on Facebook doesn’t mean you should buy it at any price. The price you pay for any stock should reflect how strong you think the company’s earning potential is.

For example, SharePoint is a website that allows Facebook employees who have been granted stock in the company as part of their compensation to sell that stock to the public. One investor recently offered to purchase 1,000 shares at $60 per share. That would imply that Facebook, as a whole, is worth $136 billion. But the deal struck by Goldman Sachs currently values the company at $50 billion. That would put the share price at $22. Clearly the emotion of owning the latest hot company can make people pay more than they should for a stock. So don’t get wrapped up in the hype when Facebook goes public. Remember, Facebook is popular. We all know that. But for you to make money off of owning its stock, the company has to make money.

Will Facebook (Read: You) Be Profitable In The Future?

Wait a second — you thought Facebook was free? Well, it is free if you want to log on and post photos of your weekend at the beach. It’s not free to advertise on it — and ads are bringing in big bucks. It’s estimated that Facebook made $500 million in 2009 and close to $1 billion in 2010. (Nobody knows for sure, since the company isn’t public yet.)

So in order for the company to continue to make money, you have to believe that people are going to continue logging on to Facebook and viewing those little ads you see on the right-hand side of your Facebook page.

Here are some other key questions to ask with regards to Facebook’s earnings potential:

- Is the industry growing as a whole? Is social networkingexpanding and evolving, or will it be seen as just a trend that captured people’s interest for a few years?
- Will Facebook find other sources of revenue? Can it increase what it currently takes in from online game systems like Farmville and Mafia Wars?
- How will Facebook fare in changing economic times? Is much of Facebook’s popularity due to the recession? And will people spend less time at home or online once our overall economic outlook improves?

Be Patient With Your Return

Many people are chomping at the bit to buy Facebook because they missed out on Google. Google’s initial public offering saw shares going for $85. The other day it closed at $614.21.

If you buy Facebook, don’t expect the same meteoric rise. If it does, that’s great. And if you want to turn around and sell to make a quick profit, that’s your choice.

But the share price may stay flat or even go down. So if you’re going to invest, you have to use dollars that you really don’t think you’ll need for at least 10 years or so. That will allow you to ride out the ups and downs of the market (caused by economic conditions and normal market risk) and take advantage of the true, long-term growth potential that any well-run company should experience.

Facebook Stock: Should You Buy It? was provided by AskMen.com.

(iStockphoto)

We’ve almost wrapped up yet another year: a time that naturally lends itself to reflection, looking back on what we’ve accomplished and setting goals based on that measurement. This year, take a few minutes to assess your career. Career satisfaction makes a huge difference in our overall happiness. Like it or not, you’ll be spending a huge portion of the next year at your job, and unless you win the lottery, that’s going to be the case for much of your life.

Obviously, the biggest value we receive from work is our salary: unless you’re independently wealthy, the job’s gotta pay. But don’t let cash be the only measurement of your job’s worth. Money is critical up to a certain level, but after that it quickly goes from “need to have” to “nice to have.” Studies of happiness in the U.S. have shown that, above an income of about $70,000, additional money is not linked to increased happiness: other factors start to become more important. So don’t rule out potential new jobs that pay the same or even less than you’re currently making — other benefits could outweigh the money difference.

Here are some key qualities that we find valuable in our work.

Benefits

As we age, a good insurance plan becomes paramount. If you intend to get married and raise a family, these benefits can help you provide the care your family needs. In addition to vacations (to restore sanity) and visits to loved ones, generous time-off packages empower those who want to travel the world have the adventures they’ve been dreaming of. A 401(k) or other retirement plan with tax-free growth and employer-matched contributions allows you to plan for the future.

The challenge

The ideal job will walk the line between being too difficult and too easy. Studies have shown human intelligence thrives when we are pushed to our limits, but not when we’re past what we can handle. Think back to the sort of summer jobs you worked as a teen, and you’ll realize that a job that you could do with your eyes closed isn’t such a good thing, after all. Without engaging work, the hours and days drag on.

The impact

There’s tremendous value in working for a company that strives to make the world a better place. The opportunity to contribute to a cause you believe in and to leave a legacy can make going to work every day a joy instead of a burden.

Social connections

Many lasting friendships are formed in the workplace. Since we spend so much time there and have such a large portion of our lives in common with our coworkers, these bonds can be very rewarding. From deep friendships to a career-shaping mentor, to casual drinks after a stressful day, these connections can make leaving friends the hardest part about leaving a job.

The recognition

The flip side of finding a challenging job is the recognition that you receive for doing it well. This type of praise can be as simple as an internal pat on the back for meeting a deadline, but any kind of recognition contributes to your overall sense of well-being. Superiors or even coworkers who take time to recognize and praise good work can make us feel better about all the effort we’re putting in, even if work feels crazy at times. Other sources of recognition include other members of your industry, the media, and customers and clients.

A professional foundation

Ever done an internship? Or heard someone refer to a project as great “resume material”?  If so, you’re familiar with the idea of building a professional foundation. In addition to focusing on how to improve in your current job, you should have at least a broad outline of where your career is headed. Where do you want to be in a year? Five years? When you retire, what will you want to have accomplished? Your current position can be the next step in that journey. We’re not saying you should use your job as a stepping stone, but the work and skills of today become the basis for tomorrow. Working for a company that is well known or respected in the industry can be a huge jump start for your career — as can working for a well-connected boss.

Work-life balance

For many people, this is a consideration that comes second only to money — and for some, it ranks even higher. Much has been written about work-life balance, but here are a few rules of thumb to consider. In general, fewer hours is a good thing: being hardworking is hardly negative, but 80-hour weeks lead to burnout most of the time. High-stress jobs that involve bringing work home and constantly getting called in during your free time negatively impact your life. Every job will have periods of stress that demand most of your time and energy, and there’s nothing wrong with occasionally having to put work ahead of everything else — in fact, this kind of work can actually be beneficial. But if it’s nonstop craziness and the rest of your life is suffering, you need to look at whether the benefits you get from the job are worth the imbalance.

adding it all up

So — money is the big daddy of work rewards, but it’s not the whole story. It’s important to evaluate your job in terms of the total package. Sit down with a pen and paper, and review your job in the context we’ve outlined above. You may be surprised at what you discover. And if you’re not satisfied with what you find, use that same sheet of paper to set goals for your work in 2011. It’s much easier to improve once you know where you stand, so take time today to figure out what value you’re getting from your job. 

The Value of Your Work was provided by AskMen.com.

photo: AMC

The cast and crew of Mad Men do a great job of transporting viewers to another time and place. But what influence has Jon Hamm’s Golden Globe winning character Don Draper had on your working style? Read on for some career tips we’ve gleaned from obsessing over Mad Men episodes (though we prefer to call it studying).

Play your position

No matter your title at work, play the position appropriately. This really boils down to knowing everything your job entails. Don always knows what deliverables his superiors, team and clients expect.

As a leader, you should not consider any work to be “beneath you,” but you also need to be sure your team is doing their work, not just leaving it for you to pick up. Consider a manager whose team consistently leaves the bathroom a mess. If you were in this manager’s shoes, would you talk to each member of your team, having a talk about bathroom standards that was boring and non-confrontational, but still left no doubt as to what you expected of your staff in terms of how to maintain the bathroom? If you’re like most managers the answer is no; you’d simply start cleaning the bathroom yourself so you didn’t have to have that uncomfortable talk with your staff. Keep the image in your mind — some managers would rather clean up the toilets than tell an employee what to do.  

Make it about the work

Do you come to work to make friends or to work? Don Draper certainly cares more about his work than he cares about the people on his team.

Certainly, there is no need to be aggressive or to be a jerk, but this career tip from Don Draper highlights that friendship isn’t the main reason to show up every morning. Go to work to get things accomplished and be effective. If you can be friends with your coworkers (and that’s almost always the case) that’s even better, but never forget that is just a bonus. You might like the people you work with, but you don’t show up at 9 a.m. every day because you like them.

Keep your mouth shut

One of the fundamental rules of knowledge as power is to never give away information when it does not benefit you. If you are in a position that affords you exclusive knowledge, the more people you give this knowledge to, the more diluted your power becomes.

The rule here is simple: Keep your mouth shut and do it as much as you can — the less you say, the better. Your personal life, who in the office is hooking up, your boss’ golf game — all of that is valuable information in one way or another. Don’t hand it out unless you have to. Don embodies all of these qualities. In fact, one of the very few times Don blows his cool is when he overhears the team dragging Freddy Rumsen’s name through the mud.

This applies to everything except the work. If accounting asks for the month’s numbers, send them over (a reply of “knowledge is power” would get you fired). Talk about the work as much as you like; if nothing else, it keeps you from talking about your private life or any juicy office gossip.

Who do you respect more: The person who’s always talking with you about the next big project at work or the person who’s always telling you about their problems at home? Don Draper is a master in keeping his business private — two words: Dick Whitman.

Respect what you do

Do you work with people who act like what they do is a joke? Not their industry, not their division, but their own individual job as a joke? You know, someone who takes twice as many smoke breaks as anyone else or is always prowling the workplace, looking for somebody who’s free to talk? Besides wasting time, this person is sending a clear message that they don’t take their job too seriously.

If you don’t take what you do seriously, why should anybody else in the organization? You need to come to work every day convinced that you play a crucial role. Many men wonder why they don’t command more respect in the workplace, yet they don’t carry themselves with respect. This career tip from Don Draper teaches us the opposite: There’s no need to brag about past success and no need to overstate your role, but never act as if your job is unimportant or your contributions aren’t central to your team’s success.

Dress the part

Don’t overdress or underdress — always dress for the occasion. Show up looking as snappy as you can while still looking like you’re ready to hit the phones, not the clubs (or worse, the greens).

Don’t chase this month’s fashion, stick with timeless looks that suit any situation — some of the clothing on Mad Men is as current today as it was back then.

Don’t show up wrinkled and disheveled. If you work in an office where collared shirts and ties are expected, keep a spare tie that goes with most outfits in your desk drawer. Or simply keep an extra outfit – a crisp white shirt and pencil skirt or trousers — in your office. That way, if you spill coffee on yourself before a big meeting, you’re covered. If you really want to be on your game, keep some Shout wipes and a small bottle of wrinkle releaser on hand as well.

Career Tips From Don Draper was adapted from AskMen.com content.

photo: andhij

Trying to get more done at work? With distractions, emergencies and low-value busywork eating up a large part of your day, it can be a struggle. Most employees respond by working harder, which usually involves longer hours, tighter deadlines and a lot of beating yourself up for not getting more accomplished.

We’ve got nothing against hard work: often the only way to meet your goals is to knuckle down and handle things yourself. However, we all know the expression “work smarter, not harder” – yet most of us rely on “work harder” to get us through every situation. Don’t get us wrong; you can’t think your way out of every problem. Still, if you’ve been relying exclusively on working harder, there are some tricks that will help you be more efficient.

Read on to learn what the 80/20 rule at work is and the benefits of applying it.

Pare-whato?

The key rule of thumb and mind-set to develop is something called the “Pareto principle.” The Pareto principle, also called the 80/20 rule, states that 80% of results come from 20% of inputs (and, conversely, the other 20% of results come from the other 80% of inputs). The principle was named after Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian mathematician from the turn of the last century. Pareto noted that 80% of land in his native Italy was owned by the wealthiest 20% of the population. Pareto went on to comment that 20% of his garden’s pea plants produced 80% of the peas he grew.

The Pareto principle states that a little imbalance can actually benefit us. By focusing on the things that produce the biggest results, we can get the lion’s share of the results, with the minimum amount of effort. It still involves hard work, sure, but you can achieve your goals in an efficient way, rather than the feeling you’re bashing into a wall over and over — a feeling we’ve all had when chasing our goals. We all know to apply this principle to some extent, and we all try to focus on crucial things even if it means ignoring trivial ones, but you can gain valuable insight on your work by trying to apply the principle to all aspects of your work life. Read on for ideas, both obvious and subtle, of how to make the 80/20 rule work for you.

The core of your work

The most important use of the 80/20 rule is defining the “core” of your job. What are the central actions and roles that make up your job? All jobs have a lot of daily to-dos and minor activities, but underneath it all are the central tasks that are most important — the things that cause problems for the company or the customer if they aren’t done. What are the few things that, done right, will mean you’re doing your job well? What does your boss look at when he or she thinks about the work you’re doing — what numbers matter most? What responsibilities? What about your clients and your coworkers?

Use the 80/20 rule to identify your core tasks and make sure you do them with excellence. If you’re a boss, you should never delegate the core tasks of your job to your team, unless you’re grooming somebody to take your job when you get promoted or leave. If you’re an employee, you should never drop the ball on these tasks. While you’ll never leave work for the day with everything “done,” if you are completing your core tasks with excellence, you’re 80% of the way there, and that’s more than most.

Knowing what to let slide

Applying the 80/20 rule at work helps you know what to let slide when you don’t have time to do it all. We all have stretches of time that are busier for us than usual, and you will need to make decisions about what gets done and what has to wait. For instance: You’re in sale and the top 20% of your clients make up 80% of your sales — these are your most valued clients. Let’s imagine that you return to your desk and have missed two calls: one is from a “star” client from the top 20%, the other from a lesser client. Both calls are valuable and both customers are cared about and looked after, but who do you call first? The star client, of course. If something comes up unexpectedly, and you aren’t able to return both calls right away, you have at least accomplished 80%. While getting interrupted like this isn’t ideal, it’s a fact of business life and you’d do well to prioritize your work to deal with the threat of interruptions — get the most important work done first.

The most results, the least time

The sales example is a bit simplified: salespeople naturally attend to their bigger clients first. They work on commission, so calling the star client first is just a salesman following the money. The principle, however, works for all aspects of work: just as there are star clients and core parts of your job, the 80/20 rule can be applied to your productivity as well. Don’t worry, we’re not going to start some hand-waving rant about productivity in the workplace; there is, however, a better way than dashing to complete everything and leaving work feeling drained, mentally and physically.

If you invest a little time and thought, you can figure out the keys to an effective workday and how you can focus on them. For instance, the principle states that 20% of your coworkers (or, if you’re the boss, your employees) produce 80% of the results. Identify these “get-it-done” people and work with them as much as you can rather than the other 80%. Say you need some information and can get it by calling one of two people. The first is a disorganized mess, while the other seems to have everything right at hand. Which call would be quicker and more efficient? There’s a huge time savings there, and that’s just a phone call; apply the principle to all your work with others and stick with the efficient people. You’ll get more done.
 
Finally, apply the principle to your own day: is there a time of day you’re most effective? The one hour where you’re wide awake, most energized and undistracted? That’s the time to tackle your toughest, most valuable challenges. If you align the best 20% of your day with the top 20% of your list of work, you’ll get more done in that sprint than most accomplish in a 10-hour day.

Working smarter

The Pareto principle is just that: a principle, a rule of thumb. We don’t actually believe that 20% of customers produce 80% of your value on the dot. Your top 23% of clients could produce 80%, 60% or even 90% of results. The point of the principle is to realize that certain actions have outsize results, and by focusing on these and making time for the rest of your work afterward, you ensure you’re getting the most done you can. Work is work, and while thinking about it can give you better results, you’re still going to be working hard to get those results.

“Applying the 80-20 Rule at Work” provided by AskMen.com

If you have a boss, you’re probably looking for ways to impress him. Your boss has the most direct influence over your work life, and as far as your ability to advance his power over your career is second only to your own. And, deep down, your boss isn’t that different from anyone else: he loves good news and he loves when things are going well. So how do you please your boss? Don’t resort to brown-nosing or complementing your boss on his daily choice of a tie — or shoes. That’s beneath you. Keep it about the work and read on for 10 ways to keep your boss smiling throughout the work week.

No.10 – “It’s already been arranged.”

While your boss may be tackling bigger tasks than you, that doesn’t change how good it feels to check something off the old to-do list. When your boss asks about something that’s already finished, let him know it clearly and directly. Some employees speak so indirectly to their bosses that the boss may continue thinking or worrying about a task that’s done – just because the employee didn’t come right out and say the good news.

No.9 – “Good news.”

This one’s a no-brainer. When something good happens, bring your boss in on the good news. Your boss has plenty of bad news headed his way on a regular basis, so you make a lasting impression when you’re the bearer of good ones. Being a source of pleasure for your boss is never a bad thing.

No.8 – “No problem.”

You think your coworkers are a bunch of complainers? You have no idea. As much as they whine to you, your boss gets it even worse. When assigning work to your fellow employees, your boss has to hold people’s hands and listen to complaints about how busy they are and how difficult the project is going to be. Don’t be one of the complainers. When you’re given a task you can handle, let your boss know that it’s a slam dunk.

No.7 – “I made a mistake, but I’m fixing it.”

Sooner or later, you’re going to screw up. It hurts, but it happens. When you drop the ball on something, you should do two things: tell your boss and tell your boss what you’re doing about it. Your boss isn’t going to be happy (who likes problems in their area?), but he will be a lot less happy if he doesn’t hear about it until the situation blows up. Fess up to the error: it shows that you’re big enough to be responsible for your actions. And always, always have a plan for getting things back on track.

No.6 – “About X, I’ve figured out we can do A, B or C. What do you think?”

It’s fine to have situations at work, and there’s nothing wrong with asking your boss for advice, but before you step into his or her office, have some ideas about what can be done. By having a few ideas, you show that you’ve thought the situation through. Even if your boss doesn’t like any of your ideas and tells you to do “D” instead, you’ve shown him or her that your first reaction at the sign of trouble is to start thinking, not throw up your hands and run to the boss with your problems.

No.5 – “I figured out what to do about X.”

Not every problem is simple enough to be solvable in a few minutes, and that’s OK, but you should keep thinking about the problem and try resolve it (or at least move it forward). If you come up with a solution or at least a next step, share it with your boss. The more you get promoted, the larger and more complex the problems will get and the harder it will be to find a “perfect” solution. Show to your boss that you’re able to plan ahead and solve the bigger problems — so he or she won’t hesitate to promote you when the opportunity arises.

No.4 – “Consider it done.”

When you make this statement, in one instant, an item has gone from something vague in your boss’ mind to a task that’s assigned to somebody. This is a step toward being seen as a “go-to person” “your boss’s reliable right-hand employee.

No.3 – “I’ll see to it personally.”

This is an extension of “consider it done.” If you have a reputation with your boss as somebody who can handle the important or difficult work, saying you’ll handle it personally calls in that reputation you’ve built up. If you’ve been doing your work well and doing it on time, saying you’re taking care of if personally reminds your boss that the task will not only get done, but it will get done with the standard of excellence he or she has come to expect from you.

No.2 – “I found a way to get it done cheaper.”

Getting invested in the bottom line is one of the best ways to get your boss smiling. You can work hard and be a good employee all you like, but businesses don’t run on good feelings. Your boss is always looking for ways to do two things: make the business more money and cost the business less money. And while you can always help find ways to earn the company more, suggestions to save money are often easier. Lots of people can say “we need more customers,” but if you find a new vendor who’s 10% cheaper, that’s a hard number your boss can put to use.

No.1 – “Let me run an idea by you.”

Having employees who are taking the initiative means the boss can focus on the tasks on his plate: he doesn’t have to worry that you’re just sitting around waiting for direction. Your boss will appreciate you trying to come up with ideas, but he wouldn’t appreciate you launching those ideas without getting his opinion. As the one responsible for what comes out of the department, he wants to know that everybody is rowing in the same direction. Come up with some good ideas, use your noodle and make sure your boss gets the benefit from your brainstorm.

“Top 10: Things Bosses Love To Hear” was provided by AskMen.com.

Photo: Steve Rhodes

If your New Year’s resolution included some sort of financial goal, odds are you’ve struggled to keep up with it already. While most people know they should keep some sort of budget, and many genuinely try to, most run into the reality of it all: tracking all those receipts and logging each purchase takes a huge amount of time. Even for those who started with the best intentions, most soon fall behind. That’s why a growing number of people are turning to web- and mobile-based personal finance solutions. Plus, you can access your data from anywhere and it’s easy to keep up with your expenses.

If your main struggle with finances has been forcing yourself to sit down after a long day at work to balance your checkbook, read on for our roundup of a few tools that can turn the tide with the best personal finance apps out there.
you want to:

Manage your accounts with the least work possible

Mint.com: Web, iPhone (free)

Download

Mint is a free web-based application that tracks your spending and your account balances. Mint’s claim to fame is that the site automatically retrieves your financial data from your banks, credit card companies and the like, and tracks your net worth, spending and even divides your purchases into categories for you — so that Amex charge from Taco Bell at 1:43 a.m. on Saturday will automatically get classified as “food.” From here, it’s easy to set budgets for each category and even receive texts or e-mails when you’re low on funds or about to go over your budget in a category.

The downside to all this is that, yes, you’re giving Mint.com all your financial information so they can review your complete financial picture. The information is held on their servers, and they claim to use the same level of security as bank websites do, but you’ll need to head over to Mint.com to see if the security policy is something you’re comfortable with. If you are, mint is a free, powerful and nearly totally automated service to track your finances.

Pros: Free, versatile, automatic, good companion website
Cons: Requires you to share your financial data, not as powerful as more complex tools
you want to:Control what gets tracked and how by hand

Pocket Money: iPhone ($4.99)

Download

If you’re hesitant to hand your finances over to a company like Mint.com to be automated, no need to worry: There are lots of options that allow you to track your spending by hand. And if you own an iPhone, then Pocket Money is worth checking out. Features on Pocket Money include support for multiple accounts — checking, savings and credit cards — and a deep set of options to configure repeating transactions. So you can put in your car payment to apply monthly rather than having to do it by hand each month. The budgeting section allows you to set up the required monthly budgets, but also supports other budget lengths from daily all the way up to annually. Once everything is in, the reporting feature will give you access to graphs and charts to help you analyze your finances. Finally, your information can be exported to both Quicken and MS Money, so you log spending on the road and then work with the data when you’re back home.

Of all the apps we reviewed, this one has the most competition in its category. There are many alternatives to Pocket Money, so look at a few before deciding — many apps have a free demo version available, so there’s no reason not to take a few for a spin. Still, Pocket Money gets our vote for having a large feature set, the ability to export data to other programs, and it even allows in-app purchase of additional reports, graphs and so on for people who want even more features.

Pros: Flexible account setup, repeating transaction and auto-repeat speed up entry, powerful budget features
Cons: iPhone only, $4.99 while some other apps are free, advanced features require additional in-app purchases

Send and receive payments from anywhere with PayPal (free)

Download

While not a budgeting software, PayPal has a number of robust features that deserve a mention. If you bill clients directly or work freelance, PayPal payments are a quick and easy way to move money around. With access to the web or your phone, you can send payment requests or even pay others. Whether you’re trying your hand at using eBay as a side income or tracking billing and payments for your personal business, PayPal can be an indispensable part of the process. And if you’re trying to curb your spending, try this trick: PayPal offers free debit card accounts that can be “charged” instantly with funds from your PayPal account. So, move some money to the PayPal card as your “fun money,” and when the card’s out of funds, you’ve exhausted your entertainment budget for the week. This kind of self discipline can help you stick to a budget.

Pros: Free, easily pay and send bills to vendors/clients, debit card lets you keep funds earned via PayPal separate from your other finances
Cons: Only moves money, so you need a second app to track spending and budgets
you want to:

Cut back on impulse spending on credit: Debt Dog ($0.99)

Download

We all know that buying on credit can add a lot to the “true cost” of our purchases, and we’ve been told that paying more than the minimum can dramatically cut the time to pay off debts. But do you know just how to calculate these changes? Debt Dog makes it easy; you just select the interest rate for a purchase, and the amount to be borrowed. Debt Dog then calculates the true cost of the loan (all accompanied by the oh-so-helpful sound effect of money being flushed down a toilet). You get the amount it will cost after finance charges, and how many months it will take you to pay off the debt. You can also add additional payments on top of the minimum and Debt Dog will show the savings in interest and the faster payoff. If you’ve struggled with putting things on your credit card, or you’re thinking of making a major purchase like a car, the eye-opening calculations from Debt Dog are a bargain at 99 cents.

Pros: Simple interface, easy to understand
Cons: Limited application, no down payment option for larger purchases
you want to:

Track mileage to expense for work or deduct from your taxes: MileBug ($1.99)

Download

If you haven’t been tracking your mileage, you’ve been throwing money away. You can, of course, expense qualified travel expenses for your job, but you can also be deducting travel from your taxes. It’s beyond the scope of this article to explain what mileage you can deduct, but study up — at $0.55 cents a mile the deductions can add up to huge savings at tax time. If you’re ready to start tracking mileage, check out one of the many mileage apps in the app store.

We like MileBug; it has a simple user interface and powerful functionality for people who need to track mileage for multiple vehicles or multiple businesses. You simply set the starting odometer before you start your drive, then ending odometer value when you reach your destination. The app calculates mileage then logs the trip. The logged trips can be e-mailed at any point as an Excel-friendly report for you to hold onto till tax time. Best of all, these reports can be filtered to export only work-related trips, trips in a certain vehicle and so on, making it a snap to prepare your company expense report or any other information you need.

Pros: Stable, versatile and affordable
Cons: Doesn’t use GPS to track mileage
app-ly yourself to save cash

While this certainly isn’t a comprehensive list, it should be more than enough to get you started. The app world is exploding in popularity, and there’s sure to be an app that meets your needs for a financial program. Research a few, take some for a spin and decide what works best. The secret to successful budgeting is to stay on top of inputting your financial activity, and the best way to stay current is to have mobile access so you’re always up-to-date.

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Whether you work in an office or not, there are plenty of ways to burn the day away at work. Whether it’s checking your e-mail constantly or even dropping in on coworkers to analyze last night’s ball game, you can find plenty of distractions if you’re looking for them. However, what about the distractions you aren’t looking for, the ones that find you? We’re talking about the requests to help out with a project, 10 minutes of your time to discuss a new idea or that meeting that isn’t mandatory, but you really ought to be there for it. All of these things can take over your day without you realizing it. So, if you’re in the middle of something big that’s genuinely important, how do you keep the lesser stuff from distracting you from the bigger issues?

It’s easy. Just say: “No.”

Of course, there’s a little more to it than that, so read on as we cover the reasons “no” is so hard to say, and then set out the reasons you should say it anyway.

Why “no” is so hard to say

Because you want to move your career forward

If you’re moving forward in your career, you’re growing. Often, that means taking on new tasks, learning that new accounting program or even going to a meeting you weren’t invited to before. Often we don’t say no because we like the feeling of forward motion we get from doing new things. It’s pretty easy to convince yourself that you’re improving your visibility within the company by attending that weekly meeting, and on the one hand you’re right. The more aspects of a company we’re involved in, the more we know what’s going on in the workplace around us, and the more we feel like we’re making a difference. So, we make the mistake of thinking every extra thing we pile on our plate is improving us.

Because you want to help out

Secondly, most guys don’t want to let others down. Most of us have a pretty strong desire to be seen as friendly and helpful at work, and we don’t want to leave a coworker stuck with a difficult problem. Even if you couldn’t care less what your coworkers think, you still want to be the guy who gets things done — Rambo, the Terminator. The guy people call on to save the day when the chips are down. That “people are depending on me” feeling goes very deep into what drives us as men — being relied on is important to feeling manly. So, in turn, we want to feel reliable, and that means always jumping in, even when we can’t.

Because you don’t want to do your other work

Finally, and this one might sting a little, it’s possible that you’re taking on these extra commitments to avoid the work you should be doing. Given the option of letting a coworker interrupt you for 10 minutes in the middle of a difficult project or actually working on that difficult project, sometimes we unconsciously choose to avoid the task at hand. We don’t really want to do it, and it’s easier to do something else. Often the things we distract ourselves with are much smaller and simpler than the big, important, complicated projects. Rather than plow a couple of hours into a project that’s going to produce a big result, we take on smaller tasks like e-mails — it’s much easier to check these things off as “done,” and enjoy the small rush of good feelings that come from accomplishing something.

Why you should say “no” at work

You want to make the most of your time

When you rush around from task to task, it makes the day go by, sure. But are you really accomplishing anything? Every day will always have some “fire-fighting” — there will be some things that interrupt your day that you really do need to attend to immediately. However, if you allow yourself to be constantly distracted by whatever jumps up and shouts at you, the last thing that you’ll get to will often be the most important. Big, meaningful projects are rarely urgent, at least until the last minute.

There’s more to discover about the power of “no” at work and how it can further your career and keep you sane.

Encouraging others to respect your time

Secondly, time is valuable. They say time is money, and in a certain sense that’s true. However, time is also valuable on its own — you can only spend your time on one thing or the other, not both. The way you distribute your time and your attention will make a big difference in what you accomplish at the end of the day, week, month, year, and throughout your career. You have the same number of hours in the day as everyone else — just, at the moment, your time and attention are a huge bargain. If you don’t guard your time, nobody else will.

That’s an ugly fact of time management: The more extra work you say “yes” to, the more work you’re going to get. That can be a good thing — you take on extra projects at work and start receiving more responsibilities and more recognition. However, not everything that’s put in front of you is as valuable as everything else. You need to pick and choose what’s worth your time, or people will begin to pile everything on you. If you have employees who report directly to you, try this little experiment: For the next month, every time an employee comes to you with a problem (even those that have nothing to do with you), jump up, rush out and solve it personally. Don’t involve the employee or train them to fix the problem next time, just make everything all better. The standard for what is worth “bothering the boss” about will fall through the floor — you’ll be getting calls to go to the break room and kill a spider in no time.

You want to solidify your position

If you’ve ever analyzed all the different things you do as part of your job, you’ve no doubt noticed something. While every job has many important parts, there are a few key areas that are absolutely critical. These are the parts of your job that make the biggest difference, and that you simply can’t afford to ignore. You’re much better off focusing on the things you do best (and better than anyone else) than spending your time crossing off little things you’re “decent” at. The more things you say no to, the more time you can spend on what really matters. Likewise, the more things you don’t do, the more it becomes clear to yourself and others what your turf is: your strengths, what you bring to the table and just what exactly it is you do around your workplace. If there’s one thing you want, it’s for those around and above you to know your strengths and to have a very clear picture of what you produce.

how to say no

When something new that wants your time comes along, start by looking at it rationally. Is it going to improve your career? Will it provide big results for the company? If you were to take it on, what if anything that’s currently on your schedule would have to get bumped to make room for the new stuff? Finally, what would the consequences of turning it down be?

No means No

By now, it should be clear that saying no isn’t always easy. However, if you think that’s bad, consider being strapped down with a bunch of busywork that isn’t in your wheelhouse because you were to afraid to even try to decline it. Stick up for yourself — it’s better for you, and better for your company too.

Provided by AskMen.