One of the great principles in the founding of the United States of America includes our right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

One of the great things about life is to be able to chart our own course and make our own way. Being able to decide what we want to do is a great blessing.

Along the way, a lot of considerations come into play. Many of them pertain to money. Most of us have to get some kind of job to produce income. It may or may not be what we would have chosen if we could have picked anything that we wanted.

On one side we have the things that we dream of doing and on the other side we have the things that we feel that we have to do. Finding BALANCE that we can live is one way to get the most out of life.

What do you pursue? Do you know what you really want in life? Do the things that you really want align with the things that you pursue?

Copyright Kevin Drum 2011

Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to

Kevin Drum

Titan Solutions, LLC

www.balanceforresults.com

Follow through is important to get the results that you want in all areas of life. If you want to lose weight, you have to figure out your plan, take action, and follow through.

The same applies to getting your personal finances in order. If you want to get out of debt, develop a budget, or start saving and investing, you have to figure out your plan, take action, and follow through.

Be diligent with your follow through. This is an area that keeps many people from being successful. They have good intentions, but they don’t follow through and stick with it.

How is your follow through?

Copyright Kevin Drum 2011                                                                   

Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to

Kevin Drum

Titan Solutions, LLC

www.balanceforresults.com

What about in the area of money. Are you self-reliant in your personal finances? Can you take care of your own needs or are you depending on someone else to come and bail you out?

Do you believe that it is your own responsibility to provide for you and for your family? Or do you believe that someone else should pick up the tab if you make bad decisions with your money?

America was built by tough and determined self-reliant people. The people who built this nation were pioneers and they had to provide for their own needs.

They were far from perfect people. They made lots of mistakes. But they provided for themselves. They had a choice to either provide for themselves or to do without.

Unfortunately, some of this self-reliant spirit disappeared over the years. As America grew more and more affluent, some of this sense of self-reliance gave way to a belief that others such as the government would provide for us.

When we see the financial mess that our federal government and so many state governments are in, this should be a wake-up call to all of us regarding our need to be able to take care of ourselves.

Do you want to be self-reliant with your money? If you are not self-reliant in your finances now, are you taking steps to get this way? Is this really important to you? If so, what will you do immediately to make this a reality?

Copyright Kevin Drum 2011                                                                   

Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to

Kevin Drum

Titan Solutions, LLC

www.balanceforresults.com

What does this mean to you personally? Most Americans can’t do a lot about gas prices on a daily basis. If the prices go up, most of us end up paying them.

For most of us it has a negative impact on our monthly budget. Do you have a budget? Do you have enough room in your budget so that if gas prices go up you can cover this expense without exceeding your monthly income?

Are you living within your means enough to handle higher gas prices? If not, are you prepared to drive less? If all of your driving expenses are back and forth to work, this can be a challenging expense to cut back.

 Some people look to trade their larger vehicles for smaller ones when prices rise. This could be one good idea but this also has some potential pitfalls to consider. The last time gas prices increased rapidly, some car dealers added market surcharges to the most economical models as the demand for them increased. This meant that potential fuel cost savings had to be weighed against the extra vehicle costs.

When this happens it becomes a matter of doing the math to see if projected fuel savings costs offset getting a different vehicle.

Once again, most of us just pay the higher prices at the pump. And unfortunately, as gas prices rise, many other product costs such as groceries increase due to increased transportation costs.

One important yet simple thing you can do is to get yourself as prepared as you can be in case prices rise. There may be some simple steps that you can take to prepare.

• Can you start saving now in anticipation of rising gas prices?
• Can you make some small (or larger) cuts in other budgeted areas?
• Can you cut down on some discretionary driving?
•  If you have more than one car, can you drive the most economical one more?

Ultimately we all have to live with our choices. Sometimes taking simple little steps such as the ones above and doing them over and over can make a big difference. Do you have other helpful ideas on how to deal with riding gas prices?

Copyright Kevin Drum 2011                                                                 

Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to

Kevin Drum

Titan Solutions, LLC

www.balanceforresults.com

Following is an article by resume writing expert John Holmgren with some tips for you.

INCLUDING A RESUME JOB “OBJECTIVE”: A MUST?

By: John Holmgren, TheExpertResumeWriter.com

There are two schools of thought on the subject.

Pro: A job “OBJECTIVE” not only should, but must be a part of your resume.
Con: The “OBJECTIVE” narrows your applicability.

Pro:

First and foremost, HR and hiring managers have a problem to solve; an open job
They’re not reading idly
They’re not concerned with you individually
They must fill the position soonest
They must identify capable candidates
Desirable positions attract many resumes

It’s a multi-phase selection process.

First, received resumes are briefly scanned (½ – 2 minutes). Today, job specs are very precise. Those not fitting the job description are eliminated out of hand. Yours must state clearly your job position “OBJECTIVE”.

If the company needs an “auto claims adjuster” and your “OBJECTIVE” doesn’t say “auto claims adjustor”, you’re gone.

I make the point because it’s so important. Be specific. Don’t say you want to contribute to the prosperity (or whatever) of the organization or that you want to advance your career.

Second is close evaluation of selected resumes. This reading still only involves scanning the top half of page one. Therefore, after your “OBJECTIVE”, a “PROFILE”, or “EXECUTIVE SUMMARY” is necessary. It states the skills and capabilities supporting your claim of qualification. That may get you an interview. It should get you on the short candidate list deserving closer examination.

Con:

Assumptions:

1: “If I don’t get this job, I’ll fit somewhere else in the organization”. Job criteria are very specific. It’s unlikely you’ll get “shopped around” the organization.

2: “If I don’t get this I’m “dead” as a candidate. Nonsense! HR and hiring managers look to satisfy needs. That, or a related job, may resurface. And, if you have strong skills your resume will be retained.

3: “It’s easier for me to have just one resume format to submit”. True, if you’re lazy. Your must customize your resume for maximum impact with each job situation. Each must be one-off.

4: “I’m a generalist. I can do most anything”. Bull! That’s not the way it works.

My conclusion: you MUST have an “OBJECTIVE” in your resume to stand out!

The above article was used with permission from John Holmgren. For more information on resume writing, please visit his website at TheExpertResumeWriter.com

Copyright Kevin Drum 2011                                                                 

Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to

Kevin Drum

Titan Solutions, LLC

www.balanceforresults.com

The New Year is a good time to start out with a clean plate so to speak. It is a new beginning.

The beginning of the New Year can certainly be a good time to observe your life and figure out what is going on and where you are at. It is a good time to review what is working and what isn’t working.

Unfortunately, we know that New Year’s resolutions don’t really stick for most people. After a little time, most of us go back to doing whatever we were doing and we don’t get the real change that we were seeking.

If you didn’t or don’t make New Year’s resolutions, remember that any time that you want or need to make a change can be a good time to get started. If you really want to make something happen you have to get started – whenever that is. And then you have to stay at it to make the change stick.

Do you have some things that you want to change or accomplish in 2011? What are you willing to do in order to achieve these things?

Best wishes for a happy and successful 2011.

Copyright Kevin Drum 2011                                                                   

Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to

Kevin Drum

Titan Solutions, LLC

www.balanceforresults.com

Make an accurate comparison of your monthly income versus your monthly expenses. This is a very important number. Of course you already know what this number is, don’t you?

Once you’ve finished, take another look at your expenses. Did you include everything? This is an area where a lot of well intentioned people get tripped up.

I call it “painting the picture” of where you are at. It sounds simple. But for many it isn’t.

My observation is that the hard part is to completely list all of your expenses. As the expenses get closer to equaling and even exceeding the income level, there is a tendency to go into denial mode.

In the denial mode, we decide that not every expense really counts. For example, we decide that gifts (regardless of how much we spend on them), subscriptions, trips to the specialty coffee shop, or some other things don’t really count – even though we spend money on them.

Everything counts if you are really spending money on it. If you aren’t sure what your average monthly expenses are, track them for a period of time until you know what they are. Just make sure that you do an accurate job.

Clearly “paint the picture” of your current financial situation – even if it makes your current situation look worse that you thought that it was. Why is this so important? Because if you don’t have a clear picture of where you are (and then combine this with where you want to be) how do you know what steps to take next?

I believe that once you get to this point, you will find hopefulness and encouragement. Because now you have a clear picture and you can generate your alternatives and make your plan.

Question: What is your average monthly income versus your average monthly expenses?

A lot of people don’t know the answer to this. Generally they simply don’t know where their money went. They made money but it is gone now with nothing to show for it.

Solution step: If your monthly expenses exceed your monthly income, ask yourself the following questions. Am I/are we actually borrowing money to pay for this item? Am I/are we going into debt in order to support our lifestyle (even if our lifestyle involves living beyond our means)?

Am I willing to keep borrowing money and going further into debt for this _______? Fill in the blank with whatever it is in your situation. For example, am I borrowing money to eat out tonight?

Finally, think about these questions. If I/we keep going further into debt and living beyond my/our means, what are the consequences of doing this? Is it worth it? If not, what am I willing to do about it starting right now?

Copyright Kevin Drum 2010                                                                   

Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to

Kevin Drum

Titan Solutions, LLC

www.balanceforresults.com

One problem is getting in debt and getting overwhelmed. This leads to lots of stress and worry. In marriages, financial problems can lead to marital struggles as well.  

Some struggle because they truly don’t understand how to manage their money. For them it is a lack of knowledge that leads to their problems. More knowledge and more understanding can be very valuable to them.

But there is another category of people that struggle financially beyond those that don’t understand. This is the category that knows what to do but doesn’t do it. I don’t have a scientific count on this but I suspect that this may be the larger group.

They struggle financially because of the choices that they make. Getting more knowledge and information probably won’t help this group very much. They don’t act on the knowledge that they have now.

Do you or someone that you know fall into this category? Do you have all of the knowledge that you need but you struggle to do what you need to do?

If so, are you willing to do some things differently in order to get the results that you want? Also, if you don’t do something different and take the right actions steps, what will it cost you?

Would you like to be the person who not only knows what to do but who actually follows through and does what needs to be done? If so, what steps will you take today to become this person?

Copyright Kevin Drum 2010                                                                 

Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to

Kevin Drum

Titan Solutions, LLC

www.balanceforresults.com

Diligence is an important virtue. To me diligence is staying on the right track and doing the right things. This applies to all areas of life and it is important whether it is easy or difficult to remain diligent.

If you are trying to put your finances in order, it is important to remain diligent. If you are trying to get a business going, it is important to remain diligent.

In difficult times, remaining diligent can be challenging due to frustrations, lack of results, discouragement, etc. I’ve talked with many who now are finding that achieving good business results is difficult in the current economic environment. More are working harder for lesser results.

Unfortunately, this can bring about the temptation to say “what’s the use?” and to even cause us to quit trying and to give up. We hear examples of this when the government reports the unemployment numbers and talks about the percentage of the population that isn’t counted anymore because they got discouraged and gave up.  

We need to consider what end result we really desire. Then we need to decide if this end result is really important to us or not. If it is important and we view it as something that we MUST achieve, then giving up isn’t really our option.  It is important to remain diligent  

In good times, distractions, leisure pursuits, and apathy can keep us from remaining diligent. We can easily get off course if we lose our way on other things.

The book of Proverbs provides great lessons on how to go about our daily lives and our business. Proverbs 22:29 in particular is one of my favorite verses. It applies to our personal as well as our professional business lives.  

Every so often consider asking yourself the following question – Am I currently remaining diligent in all areas of life

In good times and in bad times we need to remain diligent if we want to succeed.

Copyright Kevin Drum 2010                                                                 

Permission is granted to reprint this article provided it is reprinted in its entirety including this copyright information and it is attributed to

Kevin Drum

Titan Solutions, LLC

www.balanceforresults.com