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!

Can I just say that I LOVE the fair? All the fun food that they have (and by that I mean fried everything), great for people watching, and of course the rides and fun stuff to buy.

Well, in September the state fair is coming to Salt Lake and it’s a great way to spend time with your family and friends and just enjoy the great things that Utah has to offer and see what types of things people are making and raising in the great state.

Now here is the issue, the price can sometimes get a little out of control and we are always looking for deals on saving money. Well, I have already done all the work for you. If you click here you can get a great savings on your entrance fee.

Not only can you get discounted entrance fees, but you can also find great deals at your local grocery stores most of the time.

So, are you a fair goer? What do you like about the fair and do you know of any other deals that you can get from the fair? Let us know.

Recently, through a blog, I found Coupons.com . A great site filled with useable, brand name coupons to use almost anywhere. All you have to do is sign up, don’t worry it’s FREE, and download their Print Coupon application. You’re all set to save! On the first of every month they post new coupons that are available to print until the last day of that month. It’s so easy, just check the coupons you want as you search through the list then once you’re done, click on print coupons. Now all I have to do is remember to print them out before I go!

How do you save on your groceries? Do you clip & cut? Do you find deals online? Let us know how you save!

As you have read about me before I am all about the latest and greatest. So, I have recently been trying to do better with my spending habits and trying to do better at saving my money on all the little things I spend on.

Well, I am a huge fan of iTunes. You get whatever song you want and you get it right away. Now what is so wrong about that? Well, I will tell you. I thought it would be a great idea if I printed up an account history on my account to see where all my money was going.

 I was shocked to find out that I was spending at least $30 a month on iTunes. I would just buy songs that I would hear on the radio or friends would recommend and didn’t think anything of them because they were only $0.99 or $1.29, which didn’t seem like much, but when you buy a bunch of songs they really start adding up.

I had heard that I could just listen to the songs that I want to on Pandora if I just typed in the name of the song or artist I wanted. The great thing about this too is that I don’t have to pay a thing. I have never gotten e-mails from them and I love the mixed up music they play for me. I hear songs on there that I hadn’t heard in years from some of my favorite singers.

So, what I have started doing is when Pandora plays a song that I either was going to buy on iTunes or a song that I really love I look up how much it is on iTunes and transfer that amount from my checking into my savings account online. I can’t believe how much my account has grown just by doing these small transfers.

So what are some creative ways you try to save money? Let us know!

So I’m up at the counter ordering our shakes when the cashier tells me their entire computer system is down. They were writing orders by hand and only accepting cash. That ended up being a problem for me. I took out my wallet and, as usual, I only had my cards in there. I never really made it a habit to carry cash.

So, I have to swallow my pride and ask Pops if he’ll pick up the tab. I absolutely hate having to ask my parents for money, and it sucked even more when I was excited to pick up the bill when he usually does.

I was expecting him to be good natured about it (he usually is about everything) but I was surprised when he came down on me pretty hard. It wasn’t that I wasn’t paying the bill; he got on my case for not carrying cash on me.

So I tried the old cut-and-run technique by saying if I carry cash on me, my wife will just end up spending it more quickly. Being the wizened man that he is, he saw through it right away and told me what he does.

My dad acknowledged small bills are easy to spend, so he always has a $50 dollar bill in his wallet for emergencies. Obviously the nature of the emergency is pretty subjective, but you don’t want to break that bill unless you really need to; otherwise the rest will get spent rather quickly. On top of that, he will keep $20 worth of small bills in there. If that spends out, he can refill it as he needs to.

Now my Dad is extremely disciplined when it comes to money, so that $20 in small bills isn’t going to burn a hole in his pocket. If it does for you, I would suggest carrying only the $50. But either way, you always want to have cash on you.

Have you ever been in a situation where you wished you’d had cash but didn’t?

We’ve received a lot of questions concerning the Overdraft Courtesy Pay opt-in or opt-out program at here America First. I had a few myself and decided to find out more.

Overdraft Courtesy Pay has two different options for debit card purchases:

Opt in: If you decide to opt in, we will allow for any charges made on your debit card to go through, even if funds are not available in your Checking Account and/or your Line of Credit. In this case, if you opt in, the charge will be processed and you will be assessed a $20 fee. This is available for members who want this emergency money available. It allows for the charges to be brought on your account to $500 dollars negative. There is no cost to opt in.

Opt out: If you choose to opt out, then your debit card purchases will not go through if you do not have funds available. If you have no money in your Checking Account and your Line of Credit is maxed out, the charge will not be processed and you will not be assessed the $20 fee — your debit card purchases will be declined.

Let us know if you want to opt in to Overdraft Courtesy Pay. You can come into the branch, call us at 1-800-999-3961, send an email to support@americafirst.com or click to www.americafirst.com/courtesypay to either opt in or opt out. This program does not apply to checks — only to debit cards.

Does this clarify opting in or opting out  to Overdraft Courtesy Pay or what other questions do you have concerning this feature?

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?

It always seems like summer time is the time to go to reunions: family reunions, high school reunions, and friends that went away for school and are back for the summer.

Well, I recently received a message inviting me to my 10 year high school reunion and I thought, “Has it been 10 years already?”

So as I was looking at the cost of tickets to go to this thing I saw that they were $25 for a single and $35 for a couple (plus, the price is going up if you don’t order your ticket soon).

With the cost so high, what is it that makes, specifically class reunions, so expensive? Is it the entertainment? The dinner? The rental of the facility that it’s at? Because if I did end up going, it would be more for seeing my old friends from high school and see what they are doing.

So here is my question to you, what do you love about reunions? And how do you celebrate and reunite with friends and family at a cheaper cost? Let us know.

Once Upon A Time, I learned how to buy things online. It was life changing, really. Sometimes this life-altering change was good - other times bad. Kind of like a superpower. I’m here to tell you of the dangers involved with making online purchases and some tips to avoid them.

One of my all-time favorite websites is called Etsy. It’s basically an online boutique where people who hand make products can sell them to people all over the world. Why do I love it so much? Cause, I’m slightly obsessed with Peter Pan (the original story by J.M. Barrie is amazing) and there’s all kinds of Peter Pan stuff on Etsy! I bought a necklack with a charm on it for $5! Chalk one up for me! On the same day I purchased this necklace I found a wallet I liked too. So, with great excitement and anticipation for my items I purchased them and camped next to my mailbox with baited breath. The necklace came. The wallet didn’t. It’s been a month and I’m still camping out by my mailbox. Unfortunately, this happens when purchasing things online. I do admit this is the first time I’ve ever had a problem with online purchases in my years of this practice, but it was bound to happen.

Here are my tips for successful online shopping:

1. Look At The Merchant Reviews: Often times, underneath the product you’re going to buy, there’s the name of the person or business actually selling you the items (this is most commonly seen on Etsy, Amazon, Ebay, etc.). This is actually a link, if you click on it you’ll be taken to a page with their name, information on how long their account has been active and reviews of people who have bought items from them in the past. Read the reviews! The reviews will talk about how long it takes to receive items from this seller, the quality of the product, the accuracy of their order, etc. This page will give you a great idea if the person selling items is trust-worthy and honest about what they send and when they say they’ll send your items.
2. Use Trusted Websites: Sometimes it’s still nerve-wracking to purchase items from websites with a lot of different merchants. You can find confidence in purchasing from larger companies online such as Overstock, Amazon, retail clothing stores and well-known brand names. You will have professional correspondence and they’re far more reliable. One benefit of using the larger retail online stores is the ability to return clothes and other items that don’t fit to stores near where you live or in neighboring cities.
3. Keep a Close Eye on Your Account: Sometimes there are glitches in the electronic processes of your transaction and your account may be billed twice or not at all. Make sure if either of these happens you talk to your financial institution to get the problems resolved. There is nearly always a way.
4. Solving the Occasional Problem: Sometimes, as in my case, you don’t receive your items. Sometimes you’re billed too many times like I mentioned. Sometimes you get a different product than what you had ordered. It’s best to always involve the merchant first and go from there. If you have contacted them first and they are not able to solve the problem on their end, go to your financial institution and see the best way to proceed. There are often forms to fill out that different departments will use to research your situation.
5. Trust Your Gut: If you don’t feel good about a particular transaction don’t buy it! You can usually live without it and if you can’t just keep looking! If something seems off it’s because something could be. Trust yourself and use good judgment.

For me, it’s just a waiting game now. I’ve contacted the merchant, didn’t hear anything back and have just sent up my form to hopefully have the situation fixed. I will be a little more careful about not making purchases based solely on a product I’m in love with though. What are your practices for online purchases?

So, as I have written before I am quite the spender. If there is something that I want I tend to just go out and buy it. Well, when it comes to books I am the worst. I don’t read a lot, but when there is a book that I do want to read I just go to Barnes and Noble or Borders and get it. And I never read them again, so I’m spending money on something that I am only going to read once.

Well, a friend of mine had told me about a book that she read that she felt I would be interested in reading. She had told me that she requested it to be sent to a library by her house and then checked it out.

Now I am not a library person, but I couldn’t sleep the other night and thought, “Why not try to see if I can request for the book to be sent to the library by my house online?” So that is exactly what I did. I went online, found where the book was available and had it sent to the library near my house. Now, just waiting to hear when I can go and pick it up.

This way I don’t have to pay for a book that I will only read once and it didn’t cost me and thing. I could even walk to the library to save on gas (I won’t, but I could).

So are you a library person? Do you save on buying books, movies, and music by using your local library? Or are you like me and just impulse buy for that instant gratification?