I would have to say that one of life’s biggest investments is the investment that you make in yourself. If you don’t take care of yourself, then who is going to? (I am not trying to be pessimistic, but taking a realistic point of view). What I mean by investing in yourself is not by just financial investments but an overall health investment.

Do you exercise and eat right? Do you go to the doctor to make sure you are up to par? By making an investment in yourself or taking care of your health you are actively investing more time onto your own longevity and happiness. What do you think? What could you do or have been doing to make sure your investment is going the distance?

Lately, I have been looking into other potential job opportunities. I want to be noticed through the piles of applications that many companies are receiving. In order to do this, I thought to myself “What are some of the attributes that companies are looking for and what are some tips to help land a job?” I have been researching for these tips and have come up with a few good ones that might be helpful, not only to me, but for others.

1. Staying motivated throughout the application process is important. Know you will land a job and continue to have this attitude with each job you apply for.

2. Take the time needed and careful consideration when applying for each position. Is your resume tailored to the position you are applying for? Your resume might need to be refreshed.

3. If you are granted an interview, make sure that you know the position and company you have applied for. Knowledge can show that you have taken the time to apply and have done your homework!

4. Sell yourself in the interview. Let them know how you can contribute to their company and help them with future endeavors.

5. Stay positive and be persistent.

I hope this helps with your job search and good luck!

I realize this may get me punched in the face but have you started about Christmas shopping yet? I actually love Christmas so thinking about it in the middle of the summer has never really bothered me. I’ve never really thought about shopping for people this early, though. I was looking at this website Deseret News sponsors about a financial makeover. Every week there’s a different challenge and it’s all in an effort to help you makeover how you handle money. One challenge I found was to start shopping right now for your Christmas presents.

I started thinking about the benefits of this and decided it might be worth a try. The challenge talks about how advantageous it is to set up a budget this far in advance and the feasability of sticking to it when you do so. You’re less prone to standing in the middle of a random aisle on Christmas Eve ready to buy anything, regardless of how much the price has been hiked up. There’s also better prices on off-season winter items and sometimes some lingering clearance winter items from the previous season as well (usually online stores this far into summer). Another tip is to set a list - if you have a list to stick to you’re going to stay more on task.

I think in addition to these things you should try to be as creative as possible! You could have a theme of handmade gift items that would be fun to exchange. You could set limits on how much to spend on each other and actually stick to it. You could get a gift based on your favorite memories of the people you’re exchanging with. There’s all kinds of different things you could do to change it up a little.

The article also talks about cheap and alternative ways to wrap your presents (it even provides a link to some ideas). I personally think wrapping paper is the biggest waste of money. Why not use the comics or make the wrapping part of the gift? One time I wrapped a gift in paper towels and rubber bands. That was it. No tape. It was a wedding gift and I figured she could use the paper towels and rubber bands later? (a long shot - I know) I also just thought it was really fun doing that. So, try new things when you go shopping for Christmas later this year. Stick to a list and a budget. Wrap the gifts in fabric or paper bags or anything! When do you usually start buying Christmas Presents and how do you stick to a budget?

Let’s talk about one aspect of banking that most people like to avoid – personal responsibility.

I know I know. I’ve only done two blog posts and both of them have had very unlikeable words in them; but it’s something we need to know about in our finances.

As an employee of America First I can tell you with absolute certainty that we have your best financial goals at heart. It is our intention to manage your funds in such a way that you feel they are safe and secure, and that they’re able to grow. But we can only do so much for you.

I take loan applications for people every single day. I have no emotional or personal long-term investment in these loans. It’s my job to look at the applications as fairly and objectively as possible and then make a decision that is both in our members’ best interest and in the best interest of the credit union. But I only have a few pieces of the puzzle when it comes to your finances.

I’m not the person who has to live on your budget. I don’t know what your preconceived ideas are about loan payments or savings and long-term financial goals. I don’t know and neither does anyone else in the credit union. We do our best with what we have, but it ultimately comes down to you.

Here’s a good example for you. On any given day, I would say we have between five and ten people who come in to the tellers to ask about having some sort of fee rebated. I know from personal experience how frustrating and annoying it is to have my account go negative and then to have a fee added on top of it. But, I also understand that those were the conditions I agreed to when I opened my account.

I’m an adult and I want to be treated as such. But in order to earn that treatment I have to act like an adult. If I want America First to hold up their end of our account agreement, then I have to be willing to do the same. It’s simple ethics and it applies all across the financial board.

If I take out a loan for a car and total it, it’s my responsibility to take care of the loan. If the insurance company isn’t going to pay off the full amount of the loan, then it’s unfair and immature of me to expect my financial institution to just forget that I owe them the rest of the balance. I may not like having to continue to pay on a loan for a car I no longer have. In fact, I can guarantee I would not like having to continue to pay on that loan. But, it doesn’t mean I’m not responsible to do so.

Now, I understand it’s a default reaction. There are numerous factors and reasons for why we function the way we do, but it’s safe to say that most of us will have the same reaction to bad news. We first will try to defend our own actions and then we will try to defer responsibility to someone else. It’s not wrong to initially react this way, but it is wrong for us to continue along that same train of thought and expect someone else to take the fall for our poor decisions. Whether we expect another individual or a business to take the fall is irrelevant. The hard truth is that we need to accept responsibility for our own actions and the consequences they lead to.

It sucks. But it only sucks for a little while. After we get more and more practiced at accepting responsibility for our lives and defer less and less to our parents, financial institutions or any other entity to babysit us and protect us from our bad decisions, we become more and more self empowered. With the weight of accepting our mistakes, we get the power of being able to earn and accept our successes. And just like anything else worth doing, it’s going to take a lot of work and self discipline, but pay off handily in the end.