Your Tip of the Day

by Bob Osgoodby

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In this Issue

** Tip Of The Day – Quick Close 

** Something to Think About by Jan Tincher - How do you stop talking negatively?

** Food For Thought by Dr. Kevin Nunley  - Ways to Get More Free Publicity 

** Quote of the Day

** A Little Levity – Diet Scale

** The Dollar Stretcher by Gary Foreman – 401k Layoff Trap

** Stress Matters

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Welcome

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still
Tip of the Day

Quick Close

Need to shut down two or three open programs quickly, but leave the rest running? Hold down the CTRL key as you click their buttons on the taskbar. Then, right-click (still holding down the CTRL key) one of those depressed buttons and select Close from the resulting menu.

Note that you can also minimize, maximize, restore, cascade, or tile these windows using this technique. Pretty nifty?

Bob

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Something to Think About by Jan Tincher

How do you stop talking negatively?

Pick one or two of your friends and share with them the words or phrases you want to eliminate from you habitual vocabulary AND the new words or phrases you plan to replace them with.

For the next ten days, catch yourself using the old word or phrase, and immediately replace it with the new word or phrase. If you catch yourself using the new word or phrase give yourself a pat on the back.

Let your friends help by giving them permission to say something like, "Does that really make you mad as heck, or are you just a little peeved?" That helps you go in the right direction, alerts you to the negative wording, and gives you both a pat on the back.

Here is an article that will help: Your Brain Is A BioComputer
You can find it here:  http://www.tameyourbrain.com/biocomputer.htm

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Stupid Quotes

"Please provide the date of your death."

- from an IRS letter

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Food for Thought

Ways to Get More Free Publicity

I often write about sending out press releases and getting on radio talk shows. If you've already tried that but want more publicity, here are some professional PR tricks to get you in the news.

Search for articles on topics that match your business. Look up the article, find the author's email address, and suggest another related story that, of course, includes your business or expert information. This often works surprisingly well to generate PR for you.

ProfNet.com has a service where journalists and writers can post topics they are trying to get information on. As a business or non-profit, you pay $50 to $100 per year to see these posts. Your multiply your chances of getting covered by ten when you respond to a reporter with good usable info.

Also look through the web sites of newspapers, TV news operations, and magazines. They usually tell which reporters are assigned to particular topics (like the business editors or technology reporter). Magazines often post a list of subjects they will be covering from one issue to the next throughout the year. This is particularly true of industry publications.

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"See Kevin's 10,000 free marketing tips at http://drnunley.com"

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Trivia

The czar term derives from the title Tsar which was used to designate the
Russian, Bulgarian or Serbian monarchs of pre-World War I Europe.

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Quote of the Day

It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can do only a little. Do what you can.

-  Sydney Smith

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Grins

Diet Scale
-=-=-=-=-=

"Darn!" the man said to his friend while weighing himself at the local drug store scale.

"I started on a new diet but the scale says I'm heavier than I was before."

Turning to his friend, he said, "Here, hold my jacket."

The scale still indicated that he had not lost any weight.

"OK," he said to his friend. "Hold my Twinkies."

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Can you believe a candidate dropped out of the race because of a lack of campaign funds? Anyone who stops spending just because he's out of money doesn't belong in Washington anyway!

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The local high school has a policy that the parents must call the school if a student is to be absent for the day. Kelly (name changed to protect the guilty), deciding to skip school and go to the mall with her friends waited until her parents had left for work and called the school herself. This is the actual conversation of the telephone call.

Kelly: "Hi, I'm calling to report that Kelly so-in-so is unable to make it to school today because she is ill.

Secretary at high school: "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'll note her absence. Who is this calling?"

Kelly: "This is my mother."

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Negotiations between union members and their employer were at an impasse. The union denied that their workers were flagrantly abusing the sick-leave provisions set out by their contract.

One morning at the bargaining table, the company's chief negotiator held aloft the morning edition of the newspaper, "This man," he announced, "called in sick yesterday!"

There on the sports page, was a photo of the supposedly ill employee, who had just won a local golf tournament with an excellent score.

A union negotiator broke the silence in the room.

"Wow!" he said. "Just think of the score he could have had if he wasn't sick!"

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If aliens are smart enough to travel through space,
why do they keep abducting the dumbest people on earth?

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The Dollar Stretcher
by Gary Foreman

401k Layoff Trap

Dear Dollar Stretcher, I was surprised at the "Borrow from your 401k" suggestion. While it's true that it's better than cashing out, so many people are being laid off unexpectedly. When this happens, it must all be paid back or considered a cash-out, which comes at a time when people are least able to repay because they just lost their job. It should at least have been mentioned as a consideration.
Deborah in San Diego

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Deborah makes a very interesting point. She's referring to an article entitled Need Cash that discusses 10 ways to raise cash quickly if you're in a jam.

How widespread is the problem? It's hard to find many statistics on 401k loans. But a Harvard report cites two statistics that point to trouble. The vast majority of plans allow for borrowing (over 85% in 2005, Investment Company Institute, 2006). And they also report that 18% of 401(k) participants had a 401(k) loan in 2006.

We can't know for sure, but it's probably not an unreasonable guess that about one in five or six people who are laid off will have a 401k loan outstanding when they get the pink slip.

And, that's when Deborah's problem comes in. As a general rule, if you leave your employer, you need to repay the 401k loan in full. You may be given a month or so, but that's it.

Any amounts that you fail to repay are treated like a withdrawal. That means that you add the amount of the loan to your income and you'll pay normal income taxes on it. Plus, you'll be liable for a penalty that equals 10% of the unpaid loan.

What can you do about it? First, if you have a 401k loan and think that you could lose your job, you need to take it seriously. Begin by estimating how much the taxes and penalties would cost you if you didn't repay part or all of the loan. It'll be bad. But since your income will be lower than previous years (because of the layoff), your tax rate should drop (that assumes no tax rate hikes).

In any event, you need to have some idea of how much the penalties and taxes are. You'll want to compare that to the cost of other alternatives.

There are a couple of withdrawal exceptions that might help in a layoff situation:

•You were age 55 or over and you retired or left your job
•You paid for medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of your adjusted gross income
What if you don't fit into one of those categories? Your options are limited, but you still have some choices to make.

Now might be the time to consider selling a car. Your ride needs to be worth more than any loans on it. Any cash you raise could help pay off the 401k loan. If you're not working, transportation won't be such a big issue. You can always buy another car when you're employed again.

Do you have a homeowner's line of credit or enough equity to refinance your home? That could provide some money to repay the 401k loan. Refinancing will be easier before you lose your job. So you might want to consider this if you expect to be laid off.

Using your credit card to pay off the 401k loan is a high-risk strategy. You'll probably pay a higher interest rate. And, you'll also need to keep making payments even if your income has dried up. Plus, you'll be consuming part of your credit line that you may need later.

The only advantage to shifting the debt to a credit card is that you avoid the tax problems of a 401k withdrawal. But it's wise to compare the numbers before you make a decision.

The unfortunate fact is that most 401k loans were promoted as an painless way to "borrow from yourself." Turns out that's not so true if times get tough.

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Gary Foreman has worked as a Certified Financial Planner and currently edits The Dollar Stretcher website http:www.stretcher.com You'll find hundreds of free articles to help you save time and money. Visit Today!

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Stress Matters

True happiness comes from connecting with your goodness.

- Dr. Rae

~ Need help with this "Weekly StressTip"? Invest in yourself, contact The Baum Group at www.YourStressMatters.com/contactus.htm ~

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What do you do when you see an endangered animal
that eats only endangered plants?

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Copyright - 2009

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