Category: Advice

How to End a Conversation Gracefully Without Insulting Anyone

By John Rampton You’re talking with someone at a conference when it happens: You realize the conversation’s over. You’re both still contributing to the dialogue, but you’re just filling time with mindless banter. At this point, you have a couple of choices. You could stay and allow the other person to monopolize your time, but that…


And Baby Makes Three

Dear Dave, My wife and I are expecting our first child in a couple of weeks. I bring home $35,000 a year teaching at a local high school, and she just completed her master’s degree in speech therapy. She has a job waiting for her after the baby is born, and they are being very…


My Neighbor’s Tree Fell on My Property

Dear Monty: My neighbor’s tree fell on our property. It destroyed our brick fence, and we have significant damage to the garage. My insurance agent gave me a very vague response about the insurance adjuster determining liability. She said she would come out in the next few days. She also hinted that my policy might…


I’ll Tell You What’s Right With Social Security!

I get a lot of emails from readers that start with some version of the phrase: “I’ll tell you what’s wrong with Social Security!” And then they go off on a little bit of a rant, almost always citing some misinterpretation of Social Security laws. In the past, I’ve written a similar column with all…


Budgeting for Christmas

Making a list, checking it twice. Oh wait, it’s not the holiday season quite yet? You may still be enjoying time at the pool, but if you haven’t started yet, now is the best time to start budgeting for Christmas. When you make a Christmas budget ahead of time, you can stop the holiday stress before it…


6 Ways to Do-It-Yourself Home Search

Dear Monty: We want to buy a home, but we have been outbid twice already. Agents say few homes are coming on the market, which is a big reason for the high prices. Do you have any suggestions about how we could find a home on our own? Monty’s Answer: Here is what USA Today…


How the Rapid Planning Method Makes You More Productive

Have you ever heard of the Rapid Planning Method? This time management approach, often written shorthand as RPM, was developed by motivational speaker and business coach Tony Robbins. Robbins considers RPM to be a system of thinking rather than a time management technique, but it’s a system that will help you increase your productivity nevertheless. This…


This Simple but Effective ‘Positivity Challenge’ Will Completely Change Your Mindset

By Morissa Schwartz I recently learned that it takes 66 days to form a habit, and your thought process shapes your overall mood and productivity. Humans have a natural negativity bias: The bad parts of life weigh heavier on our minds than the good parts. You must experience five good things to overcome the effect one terrible thing…


How to Use Your Time More Effectively

Do you ever feel that there’s never enough time in a day to accomplish everything that you planned the night before? Are you getting frustrated because it just seems that all you’re doing is work and never spending quality time with your family? We’ve all been there at some point. But, if you learn how…


How to Stretch a Tight Business Budget

Small business owners and solopreneurs can be on a pretty tight budget for the first year of business. Your income varies as you find your footing, and even low overhead businesses require some start-up cash. You can stretch a tight budget with a little bit of creativity. Tap Into Your Network When you first start out your…