The iPod isn’t built for easy battery replacement like a cell phone. In order to replace the iPod battery, the casing must be completely removed, exposing all of the internal components and introducing risk of damage.

Apple initially offered a battery replacement service for $249. They later offered a one year extended warranty for $60 that covers the battery. However, it’s important to note that when Apple sends the replacement, it will be in a refurbished model iPod, not your original. Today you can find qualified iPod repair shops to replace the battery for as little as $59 or do-it-yourself kits between $19 and $39 depending on the model.

The caution with the do-it-yourself (DIY) kits however, is that the iPod wasn’t designed for the average user to change the battery. Plenty of people have been able to change their iPod batteries without problem while countless online forums divulge a long list of complications faced as a result of users trying to change the battery.

Many specialty iPod repair shops will do the replacement for little more than the cost of the battery itself. Some offer additional incentives such as consumer-friendly lifetime battery replacement program. Under the program, the company will replace the battery once a year for life. Even better, your iPod is back in your hands within 48 hours with 30% more power than Apple’s original battery.

Should you choose to replace the battery yourself, there are a few tips you’ll want to keep in mind:

- Some models like the iPod Nano require soldering directly onto the board. Be sure to check the details of the battery replacement before sending off for a DIY kit.

- Have a small thin tool on hand to pry apart the casing. Once the screws that hold the case together are removed, you still need to apply some force to open it and reveal the circuitry. Many have damaged their cases by trying to pry their iPods apart without the proper tools. Many replacement batteries come with special tools to help pry the case open.

- When disconnecting the battery, don’t remove the rubber pad located on the hard drive.

Regardless of the battery complications, people still love the fun and freedom that the iPod offers. Do a little research before deciding how to handle your battery replacement as it’s a routine that you’ll need to repeat about once every year. Even if you’re not thrilled about the fact that your iPod will need to go through major surgery every year, there are customer-friendly iPod specialty companies available to make the process smooth and simple.

The author is a freelance copywriter. For more information about ipod repairs and ipod parts, visit www.iPodMods.com.

Related Posts

• iPod Battery Replacement: The “Ins” and “Outs”
• What model would Nokia launch with 8 mega pixel cam?
• Does anyone know a cellphone that I can use in the U.S. to use Yahoo Answers fully?
• Is it true that Google is planning on launching a CELLPHONE?

*  We can communicate with anyone on the planet at any time from just about anywhere (and too often we do), yet we haven’t got anything useful to say or say it at the wrong time and place.  Further, our command of the English language is slipping, newspapers and magazines are failing, and book publishing is sharply diminishing, thereby indicating a decline in reading.

*  We can now write beautiful documents, but our grammar and spelling seems to be degenerating.  People may know how to send text messages, but have difficulty composing an effective business letter.

*  Our automobiles now offer abundant luxuries through electronics, but the cost to repair and maintain them has skyrocketed.

*  We can now purchase items and make travel reservations on-line, thereby displacing this function from trained travel agents and sales clerks with better skills and knowledge to process such things.  Inevitably the customer purchases the wrong thing or makes an error in processing the order, which is difficult to correct (and very frustrating).

*  Technology may give us in edge in warfare; but you first have to have a well trained and determined soldier to pull the trigger.

*  Computers were supposed to be a boom for office productivity but consider how much time is lost tweaking and rebooting MS Windows alone.  Further, computers were supposed to cut down on paper; but sales at the paper mills appears to be doing just fine, as well as robust sales of copiers, printers and cartridges.

If our technology is so good, it would make sense that we would see a noticeable leap in productivity in our country.  However, if you study the statistics at the US Department of Labor, output has actually been declining over the last ten years in just about every industrial sector.  Those sectors showing an upswing can hardly be described as “dramatic.”

If there is a statistic to show how technology improves productivity. the US Department of Labor certainly doesn’t have it, nor does anyone else for that matter, which is why I continue to say, “Show me the proof!”  Frankly, you cannot because there is more to productivity than technology.  To me, technology simply represents the tools we use at work and home, and like any tool we can either use it properly or improperly (like shooting ourselves in the foot).  Even the finest tool in the wrong hands will produce inferior results.  This implies there is more to productivity than the technology itself, that it depends on how the human being uses it.  In other words, management is an integral part of the equation, and something that has been sorely lacking in recent times, as indicated by our current recession.

Consider this, number crunching has always been one of the prime benefits of computing.  If this is true, then why does it take so long to compile a financial report or budget?  After all, everything should be available at the push of a button, right?  Unfortunately, corporations and government agencies, operate with poorly designed systems and data bases, thereby the reliability of data is doubtful, thus requiring rechecking.

Productivity should not be measured simply by how fast we perform a given task (efficiency), but the necessity of the task itself should also be examined (effectiveness). After all, there is nothing more unproductive than to build something efficiently that should never have been built at all.

Let me exemplify this another way; the general perception in this country is that America no longer knows how to build automobiles, that the quality is not good. I disagree.  Americans know how to build good reliable products as demonstrated by the Americans working in Japanese automotive factories.  The difference is in building the right products.  Whereas American companies focused on luxury and gas-guzzling cars, the Japanese were busy building economical and fuel-efficient automobiles (as were other countries).  Here, it is not a matter of how well we build a product, but is it the right product to build in the first place?

More than anything, technology is a reflection of our standard of living. We have always had technology, we will always have it, and it will constantly change and evolve with us.  However, over the last thirty years we have witnessed an explosion in technology that has permeated our society and changed our culture.  It was triggered by such things as the Cold War and other military interventions, space exploration, medical research, and global competition in business.  Technology came at us so fast and furious that a lot of people had trouble assimilating it, thereby causing a noticeable frustration factor.  In all likelihood we probably use only a small fraction of our technology properly (which would be another interesting statistic).  For example, how intimate are you with all of the features of your cell phone, computer, TV, digital camera, or even your sprinkler system?  Are you using them to their full potential?  Probably not.

It has always been my argument that as technology increases, socialization skills decreases.  The more we depend on technology to fulfill basic functions like mathematics, communications, spelling, etc., the lazier the human brain becomes. Technology may be fun to use and play with, and can indeed provide tremendous mechanical leverage for humans, but be wary of how it is used and avoid dependencies. Regardless of your pride and prowess with technology, please don’t tell me it improves productivity.  The jury is still out.

“I don’t know a thing about computers and I’m the happiest guy on the Earth.”

- Louis Vavoularis, Palm Harbor, FL

Tim Bryce is a writer and management consultant located in Palm Harbor, Florida.

http://www.phmainstreet.com/timbryce.htm

He can be contacted at: timb001@phmainstreet.com

Copyright © 2009 Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

Random Posts

• Where can I get iphone 3g unlock software for free right now?
• T-mobile – More New Tariffs
• Everytime I try to hook up my RAZR V3, USB Composite Device Error?
• cell phone plans. please help?
• does any one have a vk 4000 mobile charger i can have?

- Bryce’s Law

INTRODUCTION

On August 1st of last year, my “Management Visions” (MV) broadcast premiered on the Internet. MV is a free Internet broadcast (aka “Podcast”) that is updated weekly (on Mondays) and is made available in MP3, WMA, and RealPlayer file formats (the RealPlayer is accompanied by graphics). During the broadcast, I discuss subjects related to Information Resource Management IRM), review upcoming events of interest, and review e-mails from listeners. I also describe my “Pet Peeve of the Week” which represents items irritating me at the moment. This has turned into a popular part of the show and, as such, I am including them herein for those of you who missed the broadcast. Hopefully, you will be able to relate to some of these peeves. They are meant to offer some humorous insight into current topics of interest. I hope you will enjoy them. Please note that these are my own opinions and do not necessarily represent the opinions of my company or any other group.

AUGUST 8, 2005 – BOUNTY COMMERCIAL

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is a Bounty commercial I recently heard on the radio while driving into work the other day. Now as many of you know, Bounty is Proctor & Gamble’s “Quilted Quicker Picker-Upper” paper towels, which I don’t have a problem with as such. We use Bounty in our house. However, the new radio ad described it as having “a new blue-dot quilting” that results in a “high resolution shine.” Frankly, when I heard this I burst out laughing. People in the cars next to me must have thought I had lost my mind. “High resolution shine”? I guess it seems funny to me to see something as mundane as paper towels go “high tech”. Ah, you gotta love Madison Avenue I guess.

AUGUST 15, 2005 – MICROSOFT WINDOWS

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is Microsoft’s Windoze operating system. I recently purchased two computers for the office; one a laptop and the other a desktop, both equipped with

the latest version of Windows XP. I had to migrate a lot of data to both machines which offhand, shouldn’t be a big deal. It was. Now, I don’t consider myself a technical guru by any stretch of the imagination but rather I like to consider myself a “power user” who knows his way around a computer.

I’ve installed a lot of operating systems over the years, both beta and production versions. Now, a lot of you know me as an advocate of IBM’s old OS/2 Warp operating system which I still consider the best 32-bit operating system on the block. Nonetheless, my track record of being able to crash a Windows operating system remains intact, for I had no end of problems and found it an extremely frustrating experience. I guess I’ve been spoiled by OS/2 with its object oriented desktop, System Object Model, and preemptive multitasking. I am still at a loss as to why IBM abandoned it.

But in my mind, I can’t imagine why anyone would bother wasting their time inventing computer viruses and worms when you have something like Windoze out there. The only thing that goes uninterrupted is Microsoft’s cash-flow. And no, Virginia, there is no o.s. monopoly out there is there?

AUGUST 22, 2005 – SOFTWARE TESTING

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” Is software testing. As I mentioned in my essay, there is a simple “bottom-up” way to test and install systems. However, I am concerned about the way software vendors are testing their products these days, if at all. The industry has fallen into the nasty habit of letting the customers test the products. For example, it is not uncommon anymore for people to get “beta” releases of software products, play with it, and report back to the manufacturer on problems encountered with it. Further, major releases of software products are being shipped with the manufacturers knowing

full-well the products are “buggy.” To pacify customers, they offer free upgrades of the next release (which actually represents the final version).

This approach to software testing is offensive to me.

I used to beta-test software products for vendors, but I no longer have the time nor inclination to do the manufacturer’s work for them anymore. Further, I no longer rush out to buy the latest release of “any” software product; I have been burned too many times by the vendors. As far as I’m concerned, the software vendors really need to clean up their act when it comes to testing. If they really want us to test their products for them,

let us know where we should send the bill.

AUGUST 29, 2005 – MICROMANAGEMENT

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” Is something a little different: micromanagement. There is a general inclination in the workplace today for managers to try and control “everything”; that nothing happens without the manager’s personal stamp of approval. I have also seen this phenomenon occurring in nonprofit organizations, everything from computer societies, to homeowner associations, garden clubs, little leagues, and, Yes, even Masonic Lodges.

Micromanagement represents a Theory X style of management, which means the organization is basically led by a dictator. Now, in some situations, I can understand the need for this. But for the workplace in general as well as our volunteer organizations, I am at a loss as to why people are doing this. One nasty byproduct of micromanagement is that people become complacent and will only do what they are told and nothing more. They evolve into robots with little loyalty for the institutions they work for.

Having played football on the gridiron years ago, I learned a lot about the concept of teamwork. In any team-type of environment you have several players, but only one coach who is responsible for the game plan. However, trying to control the actions of every player on the field is not only infeasible, it can be counterproductive. I have always found it to be more effective to empower people to make decisions and hold them responsible for their actions. People will not seek responsibility and will only put forth the minimum effort if they are not given some latitude. I always liked Ronald Reagan’s comment on his management style when he said, “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.”

In other words, ease up on the micromanagement, empower your people, give them direction, but don’t tell how to do everything in meticulous detail.

Bottom-line: Do more management and less supervision.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2005 – UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” are University programs that profess to offer a systems curriculum, but in reality, concentrate on nothing more than software development. I am often asked to give overviews of “PRIDE” at universities, normally at the MBA level, and am appalled on how superficially the colleges gloss over the fundamentals of true systems work. Normally, the curriculum offers an introductory course on systems but little else. Instead, they tend to focus on programming languages, networking, and computer trends. Small wonder when I start to talk about “PRIDE”, with its engineering/manufacturing concepts, the students look at me dumbfounded. Terms like “Product Structure,” “Blueprinting,” “Bill of Materials,” MRP, and Production Control are foreign concepts to most systems students. Consequently, our universities are spitting out more software people than we really need. A lot of the customers I deal with are looking for students who can grasp business concepts, know how to interview users, know basic math in order to prepare proposals, understand work flows and work measurement, and write effectively. Frankly, they are screaming for more systems people as opposed to the software candidates churned out by the colleges.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 – THE DEATH OF COMMON COURTESY

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is the death of common courtesy. The other day w
e had a new FedEx driver make a delivery at our office in Palm Harbor. Since I happened to be by the front door, I opened it and watched him approach. He wore a scowl on his face as if he had been having a bad day. I opened the door, greeted him warmly, shook his hand and asked how his day was going. As I signed for the delivery, the driver looked at me strangely. I asked him if there was a problem. He said, No, it was just that I was the first person that day to be friendly to him and actually ask how he was doing. He said in most companies he visits he’s pretty much taken for granted and treated rudely.

I asked if he thought this was something unique to him as an individual. He said, No, the other drivers often speak of the callousness of their clientele. Come to think of it, I have seen evidence of this elsewhere. For example, when I go to a restaurant, the waiters and waitresses are often taken aback when I kid with them and ask them about their day. Often they look at me like I might have some ulterior motive. But once they get past this, they warm up to me and we have a good working relationship.

This made me stop and think about today’s corporate work place. Have we become so jaded and insensitive as to disregard the interpersonal relationships of our employees, our customers, and our vendors? Have we become so self-centered and aloof that we no longer care how we treat other people?

You know, I learned a long time ago that you can catch a heckova lot more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. A little courtesy and hospitality can go a long way with people. For example, I learned the virtues of a firm handshake some time ago. I don’t just give them some wishy-washy handshake and look through the person. I look them squarely in the eyes, shake their hand and tell them how glad I am to see them. Something as simple as a sincere handshake can work miracles.

We must remember that we don’t conduct our business with inanimate objects, but rather with human beings. Sharpening our people skills is incredibly important to accomplish anything worthwhile in life. Simple common courtesy is a big part of this. Try it. Next time that FedEx or UPS driver comes to

your door or a waitress to your table, look up at them, greet them with a smile and ask them how they’re doing; heck, even often them a handshake. You will be pleasantly surprised with the service you’ll get in return. I’ll tell you this; we have no problems with shipments or deliveries at our office. How about yours?

SEPTEMBER 19, 2005 – THE COMPUTER PRESS

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is the Press. No, not the general press as distorted as it may be, but rather, the computer trade press. Years ago we had numerous publications you could count on to print an unbiased view of the industry. Publications such as “Infosystems,” “Datamation,” “Computer Decisions,” and the “EDP Analyzer” were able to give balanced reporting while still generating sufficient advertising dollars to sustain

themselves. But something happened along the way in the 1990’s with the propagation of the PC in the workplace. Suddenly, new interests and allegiances were formed and the trade press basically sold its soul to upstart vendors who now command the market. This resulted in jaded reporting and, unfortunately, the credibility of the various publications have diminished. So much so that circulation of the publications are at an all time low. Even “InfoWorld” and “Computerworld” are mere shadows of themselves.

What is missing is a little integrity in the trade press. Instead of trying to invent the next fad, how about some honest reporting on what is actually going on in this industry, both right AND wrong. I’ve got news for you, not everything is as peaches and cream in this industry, regardless of what the press tells you.

SEPTEMBER 26, 2005 – WORKAROUNDS

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” Is the word “workaround” as has been commonly used in the IT field for the last ten years. I tried looking up “workaround” in both Webster’s and The New Heritage Dictionary and, of course, I couldn’t find it. As

we all know, it has come to mean finding a way around a technical problem. It doesn’t mean its a correction to a problem but rather, a way of addressing a problem. But make no mistake about it, “workarounds” ultimately represent errors or bugs in the system and we should refer to them as such. I’m amazed by programmers when they proudly proclaim they’ve found a “workaround” as opposed to admitting they have a problem and don’t know how to fix it.

An IT Department should avoid the term “workaround” as it tends to irritate end-users and causes them to lose faith in the development staff’s ability for solving their problems. A bug is a bug, I don’t care what you call it; don’t try to sugarcoat it, fix it.

As an aside, I was finally able to find “workaround” defined in one dictionary, the Redneck Dictionary. Its typically used to determine the location of employees. For example, “Hey Y’all workaround here?”

I don’t know, I guess I’m getting tired of the sloppy language in this business.

OCTOBER 3, 2005 – MICROSOFT

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” Is Microsoft, whom I refer to as the Howard Johnsons of the computer business (with apologies to HJ). We call them this because they offer products that are never state of the art, but they are not the worst either; just mediocre and very predictable.

Recently, I read that Microsoft announced its Windows Workflow Foundation (or WWF – which sounds remarkably like the World Wrestling Federation). Nonetheless, WWF is a Windows technology that will enable developers to stitch together MS Office applications and in-house developed software into workflow applications. Here again is another example of “bottom-up” system design. Instead of first determining requirements and designing the overall system architecture, they are proposing a means to assemble programs bottom-up. Vintage Microsoft. Frankly, I think they should stick to wrestling.

OCTOBER 10, 2005 – CORPORATE DRESS CODES

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” Is corporate dress codes. Back in the 1970’s it was generally expected that a man wear a suit and tie to work and women dressed well. During the 1980’s this code was relaxed and you would see “dress down” days on Fridays. By the 1990’s suits and ties had been replaced by golf shirts and slacks. But now, in 2005, we see t-shirts, blue jeans and shorts in the workplace.

Ben Stein recently wrote an interesting piece in the New York Times complaining about the slovenly appearance of corporate America which I have to agree with. I think we have gone too far. Dress codes have an impact on the corporate culture of any business. If we dress sharp, we tend to think smart. If we dress sloppy, we tend to be lazy in our work habits. Show me a workplace without a dress code and I’ll show you a pigsty that produces questionable results. I know we like to promote

rugged individualism in this country, but there is nothing wrong with a little uniformity and teamwork either.

When we started our company in the early 1970’s, our dress code was “business casual” except when we knew customers were coming into the office where we were then expected to spruce up and dress professionally. Over time, we abandoned business casual and mandated at least a shirt and tie for men and proper attire for women. This had a positive effect, particularly on our IT staff. What I found interesting though was while we, as a small business, were learning to “dress up”, corporate America began to “dress down.”

Ben Stein was right in criticizing today’s corporate dress codes. After all, who would you rather do business with, someone who looks like a bum or someone dressed for success and has their act together? I think the answer is rather obvious.

OCTOBER 17, 2005 – CELL PHONES

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is cell phones. As you will remember, cell phones first became popular with doctors and other members of
the medical community who rightly saw it as a vital link between their patients and themselves. Next came business people who needed mobility to talk with their office and clients. This included realtors, salesmen and service people. But then it landed in the hands of housewives and children under the clever ruse that it was a great way to get in touch with our loved ones in the event of an emergency. And this is when all hell broke loose. Now, it seems everyone has one, not only on their hips or in their ears, but in their cars, on their motorcycles. I’ve even seen kids talking on them while skateboarding, riding bicycles, and, Yes, even tricycles. Its now more of an annoying habit than a working tool or status symbol.

What I find amusing is how it has affected our social skills. Its now common to find people walking alone on a street or in a store seemingly talking to themselves. Maybe they are and the cell phone is nothing but a clever ruse. But what disturbs me more than anything is how people jabber away on the phone while they’re in traffic. Now you know darn well not everyone has something vital to communicate all of the time. It is now common to see 16 year old girls talking to their boyfriends and making plans for the weekend; moms chatting with their girlfriends, guys talking with their buds, and so on. We’re doing everything but paying attention to the road. Have we become so bored with our lives that we find it necessary to talk to someone just to kill time while in traffic? I guess so.

In 1967, James Coburn starred in a movie called “The President’s Analyst” which has become a cult classic. If you haven’t seen the picture, Coburn uncovers a plot by the telephone company to implant a chip into everyone’s head whereby everyone can send and receive telephone calls (I’d love to see how they would handle faxes). Nonetheless the movie is very prophetic in terms of where cell phones are heading. I’m just worried about the social implications.

Please do me one small favor though, if you find it absolutely necessary to talk to someone on the phone while you’re driving around, please pull off to the side of the road and talk to the person like a rational human being. And Yes, I am very much in favor of legislation regulating the use of cell phones.

OCTOBER 24, 2005 – BLOATWARE

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is “Bloatware.” Ever notice when you get a new computer how fast it runs, Yet, over time it starts to slow to a crawl. This is primarily attributed to

what is called “bloatware” in the industry. Years ago, programmers were very careful in how they wrote software. The code was very tight and there was concern over efficient use of machine resources. But as disk space, memory, and processor capabilities grew, programmers became less and less concerned with machine efficiency. I remember just a few years ago I was able to install IBM’s OS/2 operating system on a PC with 50mb of disk space, and it ran just fine with plenty of room to spare on my hard drive. But the times have changed; hardware improvements and the Internet have seen to that. But the programming is getting sloppier and sloppier. If you have tried to install a word processor or a graphics package lately you know what I mean.

I can’t help feeling this is all a grand scheme to build-in obsolescence into our computers. Slowing down software means purchasing additional hardware. Understand this, a computer is considered an antique when it reaches three years old. We would probably hold onto our computers longer if we didn’t have so much bloatware running on them. But I guess that wouldn’t be good for the economy.

OCTOBER 31, 2005 – GUESTIMATE

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is the word “Guestimate.” I have been involved in the IRM field for a long time now and it has always bugged me how people try to invent new words in an attempt to appear cute and clever. One such word is “Guestimate” which tries to imply that performing an estimate is simply a guess, to which I have to give a big DUH. Estimating is fundamentally an effort at projecting the future. Like all projections, the more facts and information available, the better the estimate will be, but rarely is it ever perfect. There is a natural human tendency to avoid making estimates because estimates are expressions of commitments, and people tend to shy away from commitments and accountability, particularly when they are not sure of the facts. Look, lets keep it simple, an estimate is an estimate and a guess is a guess, let’s not create any more 3rd grade words such as “guestimate.”

Another word that bothers me is “reiterate” and you hear it just about everywhere these days. Think about it; what does it mean? The word Iterate refers to the repetition of something. So what do we mean when we say RE-iterate? An infinite loop? The language in the IT industry is sloppy enough without us having to add new words to our vocabulary. But I guestimate I am reiterating myself.

NOVEMBER 7, 2005 – COMPLICATIONS

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is entitled, “Why do we make things more complicated than they really are?” Over the last 30 years I have been fortunate to travel the world, visit with

many corporate customers, and hobnob with gurus in the field. One thing I’ve always found fascinating is how the IT industry tends to make things more complicated than they really are. For example, building systems and software is really not as complicated as they appear to be. Systems consist of business processes, procedures and programs. We also have inputs for collecting data, outputs for transmitting information, files for storing data, records, and data elements. Period. It has always been this way and it will always be this way. But the IT Industry seems to reinvent itself every five years or so. We now like to talk about apps, agile programming, data mining, SOA, business rules, meta data, and things that go bump in the night. The only rationale I can give for changing the vocabulary so often is that it must sell a lot of books and magazines. Either that or people use it to make themselves look smarter than they really are. The sad part is that this new vernacular is creeping into college studies and we then have to spend the next several years debriefing the kids. I don’t know, as I get older, I find the better things in life are the simple things. I guess I’m surprised that more people don’t challenge needless complexity.

NOVEMBER 14, 2005 – SNOWBIRDS

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is entitled “Snowbirds.” November marks the beginning of the snowbird migration. This is where northerners, predominantly retirees, begin to make their annual trek down here to Florida. Sure, their money is nice for our economy but we have to contend with some God-awful drivers. There are New Yorkers in SUV’s who think they own the road, people from Ontario who believe they are always driving in a school zone, and others from the midwest who are just plain lost. It sure would be nice if we had a national driving standard. It would make it a heckova lot easier and safer down here for all of us if we did.

NOVEMBER 21, 2005 – SMOKING

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is the Great American Smokeout sponsored by the American Cancer Society last Thursday, November 17th. As many of you know I enjoy a good cigar. I never acquired a taste for cigarettes but I definitely enjoy a good cigar when I’m going about my business. I don’t bother anyone with it. Its just something I do on my own time. Yes, I am aware of the dangers of smoking, as I am sure all smokers are. And, No, I do not consider myself a smoking advocate. Having said all this, let me just say to all the Anti-smokers out there: Will you please get off our backs! Being a smoker doesn’t mean we’re demons or some misguided fools, but we sure get characterized this way. The Anti-Smokers are making it harder and harder to find a venue for us to enjoy our pleasure, everything from airplanes and airports, to restaurants and bars, the workplace, even cars. Next, will be our homes where I
definitely draw a line and tell them to mind their own business. I will continue to enjoy my cigar regardless of the browbeating I may take from the Anti-Smoking lobby. I don’t think they realize that as they become more obnoxious in their campaign, it stiffens my resolve to enjoy a good smoke.

I will also remind you of one of my more memorable Bryce’s Laws that says, “Never trust a person who doesn’t have at least one known vice (e.g., drinking, smoking, swearing).” I have always found that such a lily white person always has a dark side or something they are trying to hide. As for me, I’ll continue to enjoy my cigars and keep my vices aboveboard.

NOVEMBER 28, 2005 – MICROMANAGEMENT

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is “Micromanagement.” Today we live in a Theory X world where managers like to dictate the specifics of any given task which is commonly referred to as “micromanagement.” Employees are told what to do and when to do it, without any interest in their input. Such an approach is basically saying to the worker, “Look, you’re not smart enough to do this right so I’m going to tell you how to do it.” Consequently, micromanagement tends to irritate and alienate people. More recently, I’ve noticed this same phenomenon occurring in nonprofit volunteer organizations, such as homeowner associations, clubs, school organizations, sports associations, and even church groups. The people that run these groups may have the best intentions, but rarely do they know how to actually manage. Sadly, some people get involved with such organizations to satisfy a petty power trip they are on. They have little regard for organization and adherence to policies and rules. Instead, they try to micromanage everything. People, particularly volunteers, have a natural aversion to micromanagement and quickly lose interest in their work.

Instead, I recommend an approach where you delegate responsibility and hold people accountable for their actions. I refer to this as managing from the “bottom-up” as opposed to

“top-down.” By treating workers like responsible adults, there is a tendency to accept responsibility and see a task through to its successful completion. As President Ronald Reagan said, “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.”

Basically, Reagan said, “Don’t micromanage; empower your staff and get out of the way.”

DECEMBER 5, 2005 – RERUNS

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is “Reruns.” Last week it was announced that the Rolling Stones were going to perform the half-time show for the 40th Super Bowl next February in Detroit. I found this announcement somewhat amusing in that Paul McCartney of the Beatles provided the half-time entertainment in the last Super Bowl. Its not that I have anything against these aging rockers, as I have been a big Beatles and Stones fan for the last 40 years, I’m just wondering where the new talent is or if there really is any talent to replace my generation’s music. We hear a lot about Rap, Hip-Hop, and Country, but who are the musicians who truly define this generation? Frankly, they’re not our there. Oh, I’m not suggesting the talent doesn’t exist, for I believe it does, but it is being tightly controlled by marketers who engineer every note being recorded today.

In the old days, it was not uncommon for artists to write their own music, sing their own songs, and play their own instruments. This is hardly the case any more. Instead of developing a generation of craftsmen like the Beatles and the Stones, the current wave of musicians are simply marketing “flash in the pans” that have no staying power. The Beatles and the Stones are great, but ultimately their music represents reruns which is indicative of the artistic void that has been created by the media moguls. Take Hollywood for example; How many times are we going to remake King Kong, the Pink Panther and just about every TV show from the 1960’s? Instead of computer generated graphics, how about some creative plots and well written scripts? I can’t believe we’ve run out of ideas in Hollywood, so much so that they find it necessary to reproduce old stories. Does the younger generation really lack any form of creativity? I seriously doubt it. They’re just not being allowed to express it and, instead, we have to sit through reruns. I’m becoming increasingly concerned what effect this stagnation in our culture will ultimately have on us. To me, it represents complacency and signals a decline in our ability to strive to achieve. It also represents another indication of the “micromanagement” going on in the corporate world. Consider this, if the Beatles and Stones were to emerge in today’s world, they probably wouldn’t be allowed to practice their craft.

Oh well, I guess I’ll go home, turn on the television and listen to Led Zepplin sell Cadillacs.

DECEMBER 12, 2005 – SERVICE (THE LACK THEREOF)

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is “Service” (the lack thereof). Recently I stopped by a new cigar shop to buy some cigars. I went into their humidor and checked their inventory. There were several custom-rolled cigars made on the premises as well as the usual commercial cigars from the Dominican Republic and the Honduras. I happened to find my favorite (which is a Hoyo de Monterey, Sultan/Maduro) and took a dozen of them up to the cashier for purchase. Ahead of me in line was a gentleman also purchasing a dozen cigars all of the same kind. I noticed the cashier was painfully slow in scanning and recording each cigar. Next to her at the counter was the shop owner who was preoccupied reading a magazine. There were other customers also in the shop, all of which were of no concern to the cashier or owner.

What should have been a simple transaction for the guy in front of me took at least ten minutes. Fortunately, I was in no hurry, but I was starting to become impatient nonetheless over a simple purchase. When she finally finished the transaction, the cashier greeted me, took my cigars and began the laborious task of scanning and recording my order (again, a simple transaction turned into a lengthy task). As she processed the last cigar, I pulled out my wallet and presented her with my credit card. She looked at it and said, “Oh, I’m sorry our credit card machine is down right now, do you have cash?”

Of course, I didn’t and suddenly I realized that after waiting twenty minutes to make a simple purchase I had come to loggerheads with her over the purchase.

I said, “Is there nothing that can be done?”

“No sir, we need cash.”

Interestingly, the shop owner who had been listening to our banter simply kept flipping through his magazine.

I asked, “Can’t you take an imprint of my card and process it later when the machine is back up?”

“Oh, no sir, we can’t do that.”

“In other words, instead of trying to find a way to make this sale happen, you’re telling me that I just wasted twenty minutes of my time in your store.”

She looked at me dumbfounded and the owner turned another page in his magazine.

I told them this was the last time I would frequent their establishment and stormed out without any cigars. Frankly, I don’t think they cared one bit.

I’m sure we have all seen similar situations where there is a lack of decent service, whether it be in a retail shop, restaurant, automotive repair, in the corporate world, or wherever. People are becoming less and less sensitive to customer service. Its like they come down with a bad case of the stupids when dealing with customers.

As I was growing up, I was always taught that the customer was king; that if you took care of the customer they would return the favor with repeat business and provide sparkling references of your business to others. But evidently, the times are changing and teaching good customer service is becoming a rarity. For those of you who really don’t care about the customer, I would

remind you that everything beg
ins with a sale and the customer should never have to wait to pay the bill. Instead of finding ways not to make a sale, here’s an idea; why not try to find ways to make it happen. But I guess that would require a little personal initiative which is something that is also sorely lacking these days.

DECEMBER 19, 2005 – HOLIDAY MADNESS

My “Pet Peeve of the Week” is entitled “Holiday Madness.” December is the month where we celebrate a lot of things:

Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, although the exact date of His birth is questionable.

The Jews celebrate Chanukah which represents a lengthy battle where the Syrians were driven out of Israel.

Kwanzaa has been around since 1966, and unlike Christmas and Chanukah that are religious in nature, Kwanzaa celebrates African culture.

We then celebrate the end of one year, and the birth of a new one.

There is so much to celebrate during December that I always felt sorry for those people who were born during this month and are typically gypped out of the parties and presents they deserve.

Comedian Lewis Black recently commented on the encroachment of Christmas on other holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Halloween, that the retailers won’t be happy until the Christmas season encompasses Labor Day and the 4th of July. Lewis has a point. It is simple economics that drives this year-end holiday frenzy and little else. You don’t really believe those people fighting in WalMart over a DVD player, digital camera, or iPod are really thinking about “peace on earth, good will towards man” do you? Hardly. The holidays bring out both the best and worst in all of us, which is a shame as this is not what they were intended for. It is supposed to be a time of reflection and renewal, not traffic jams and chaos in the shopping aisles. Ever wonder what these year-end holidays would be like if the exchange of gifts were removed from the formula? They would probably be as subdued and respectful as Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day. But this will never happen as the retailers and the media holds us in their tight grip. We’ll now spend the next 90-120 days paying everything off. I’ll just be happy when the tinsel comes down, the house is cleaned up, the relatives go home, and everything returns to normal. At least until April 16th which is Easter Sunday and the sales cycle starts all over again.

You can tune into “Management Visions” at:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/mv.htm

Tim Bryce is the Managing Director of M. Bryce & Associates (MBA) of Palm Harbor, Florida, a management consulting firm specializing in Information Resource Management (IRM). Mr. Bryce has over 30 years of experience in the field. He is available for training and consulting on an international basis. His corporate web page is at:
http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/

He can be contacted at: timb001@phmainstreet.com

Copyright © 2006 MBA. All rights reserved.

Random Posts

• blacberry pearl: How to turn off the auto word for text messaging?
• Find1.mobi, the Leading Mobile Search Portal Announce the Launch of Hotel1.mobi With Free Listings of 63,519 Hotels in Usa and Canada
• how do i sync a blacberry pearl desktop manager with vista’s window contacts program?
• Skins Promotions Account for Increased Brand Interest Among Consumers
• what are some good cell phone plans out there?

Lets take a look at these mistakes as they apply to the computer repair business in particular. Computer repair businesses fall under the services category, even though many might sell some equipment both for replacement parts and new models.

Since start up and operating costs are the first areas most new owners try to address, that’s a good area to discuss first. It’s easy to overlook some of these start up costs until you actually start working in your business. That’s the number one mistake.

Start up costs can be very reasonable for a non-retail computer repair business. If you plan on going retail, you will need a pretty good chunk of money for the initial lease, build out, and signage. But we’ll save that scenario for a different article.

Since the owner/operator will be going to the client (instead of the client coming to a retail location), a reliable vehicle is a must. And with gas and vehicle prices being what they are, transportation costs should include fuel and maintenance in addition to the purchase or ongoing payment cost.

A good transportable tool kit, maybe some common repair parts, and other basic accessories are also necessary. You might even consider a smock of some type to protect clothing (I can’t tell you how many shirts I’ve lost to toner, dirt from shop areas, and other unknown threats).

Administrative costs should include items like cell phone, invoices, business cards, insurance (both health, auto, and liability), accounting advice and software, any local licenses, and reference materials (manuals, etc.).

We’ll break out any advertising or marketing costs due to the fact that they will be ongoing and not just start up requirements. Depending on the market area, and what methods are planned, advertising and marketing costs can be considerable.

The next biggest mistake falls under both the sales and revenue projections and operating expense and cash flow. These two areas go hand in hand due to the relationship. You cannot bill 100% of your time, end of story.

If you bill 60% of hours, you are doing well above the national average of owner/operator type businesses. There are several reasons, but the biggest is that you get to change roles many times during working hours. So figure on 35-40% billable hours. You can obviously work 60 hours (and I often do) so that 35-40% can represent more hours.

Along with the number of hours, due to the nature of the business, you really don’t know how many service call requests will come in during any period. After doing this for 30 years, I still don’t know. Of course the more long-term clients you acquire, the more ongoing activity you will have.

Cash flow can always be an issue. The more ongoing clients you get, the more you will carry receivables. Short quick service calls (under $200) should be invoiced and collected on the spot. Larger and ongoing projects should be billed upon collection and if you offer terms, make sure you can live with them.

It’s very easy to get to a point where you get to spend office time chasing receivables. It’s not fun, and takes away from billable hours. You can also get burned from time to time. I offer terms, but only after a client has paid for the first time and established that the amount of work and billable hours will be worth the headaches.

And the third, and probably the most important to keep your business providing revenue, is a realistic marketing plan. You will need new clients every week, and should implement methods that are ongoing. The accordion effect is difficult to avoid in any small business.

That’s where you get too busy doing service calls and let your marketing efforts slip. When you get over the busy period, you sit there since you quit marketing and there’s a time lag to get new business. So no matter how busy you get, save some time for your ongoing marketing.

One way I’ve figured out to help overcome this situation is to have some flyers printed up that I send out everyday. When I go to a new service call, I jot down 10-15 businesses name and addresses near the new client. When I get home or before I leave for work the next day I grab the flyers and put the past days addresses and drop them in the mail.

And if you want to get a little more cost effective, you can wait a day or two until you have enough ready that you can use the lower bulk mail rate. Either way, you can’t go wrong if you adhere to this system.

Starting any small business is a challenge. The Computer Repair Business is no different. But it is one of the few service type businesses that you can start with a very small investment. The key to success is not making the common mistakes above.

Pay attention to details, be aware of the pitfalls, and try to compensate for the known problems. Having your own Computer Repair Business can be quite profitable if you can overcome these common mistakes.

John Dow has been in the Computer Repair Business for over 30 years. You can learn more about starting your own computer repair business here: Starting Computer Repair Business.

Random Posts

• Motorola W375 – The Latest Camera Phone From Net10 and Tracfone
• Vertu Cellphones?
• Has anyone used the Mobile VPN service for the new Samsung Blackjack? How does it work?
• Can i purchase an AT&T tilt smart phone and use a pre paid or go phone sim card?
• Shopping for Mobile Phone Accessories

Let’s step back a moment in time. I always considered the Yellow Page book the bible for the consumer searching for a local business, especially during an emergency. Suppose you go to the garage and the car won’t start. Where do you turn? You can call your car dealer and discover they can’t get you any help unless you can tow it in. So you grab the YP book and find a mobile repair service that can come to you. Fast forward to today. Sure, you can sit in front of the computer and try a local Google search, but there are a few issues; Internet issues.

Do you have fast broadband and an always-on connection? When the merchant’s ad comes up on the computer screen, does it show only the name, address, and phone number like with lots of Internet listings?  At www.104Inc.com, the large ads are filled with tons of information from your logo, maps, coupons, pictures and much more. Also, where do you write the relevant info you need? On the screen? At 104inc.com you can save it right to your favorites or even email it to yourself.  Also, how many listings can you see at one time on the web? When you visit 104inc.com you will see only 10 listings at a time with very user friendly search functions. That way, you can see all the choices. Sometimes I even print out the ad to take it with me.

You see, the net has many advantages to the yellowpages. The book is always slower to access and probably has outdated information. You can even access 104inc.com from your cell phone. That way I can find a towing service if I break down on the road. Try that on your Blackberry or iPhone. I still get the printed newspaper and some magazines. Yet I do massive amounts of research on the Internet. They are both useful tools for the consumer.

And if you are a business-person reading this article, I imagine you are wondering if your YP dollars should be going to the printed page or the net. I would have both. Refer you to the www.104inc.com website. The whole world is Internet savvy and has quick Internet speed. If you still need to reduce your Yellow pages costs, let 104inc design an effective ad for less.  You can save 50-75% off your advertising budget and the best part is, you can use the 45 day free trial and never spend a single cent.  That’s over a $150 value! All this information could be found on their website, so don’t forget to visit them today.

Our story at 104Inc is simple: We like to help others. Imagine a team that consists of family and friends who all have the same passion in life. Imagine a group of individuals who sacrifice so much everyday in-order to attain their goal and one day live their dream. Now, imagine the amount of effort, motivation and discipline it takes for ordinary people like us having a burning desire to accomplish something extraordinary. Here at http://www.104Inc.com, we have the opportunity to do all of that. We have, the aspiration, the zeal and the motivation to help others in areas where they are less fortunate, including our own family and friends. It’s Simple. It’s 104Inc Approved.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• does yellow pages still work

Related Posts

• 10 Things to Do With Your Blackberry – No Not The Recipe
• Blackberry Curve 8900 Vs Nokia E72
• iphone 3g gps, do you need internet?
• Apple iPhone 3g GPS.Does it work?
• How to download applications and games on my blackberry storm (vodafone) without the wire?

In 2007, having a credit card is no longer a luxury or even a convenience – it’s a necessity. You can’t rent a car, check into a motel, or order online without a credit card. If you want a cell phone, you’ll probably have to purchase prepaid minutes – at a premium – unless you have some plastic with your name on it. And without a credit card, you either have to carry around a lot of cash, make frequent trips to the bank, or hope that the stores you patronize will accept your personal checks.

Credit Cards Can Be Lifesavers in the Case of an Emergency

Worst of all, people who lack sufficient access to credit are the most likely to use payday loan services. Later in this series we will explore this subject in depth, but for now, just consider this: If a single mother is hit with a sudden, unexpected expense – say a car repair for $600 – what can she do if she doesn’t have the money? She needs the car to get to work, and she doesn’t know anyone who can afford to lend her the money out of friendship. So she decides to use the local payday loan shop and ends up paying a 530 percent APR (annual percentage rate) interest. If, instead, she had a credit card with at least $600 of available credit, she wouldn’t have had to use the payday charlatans, and would have paid a much, much lower interest rate. Many people who use payday loan services, even once, fall into an inescapable spiral of debt, where they work all week to pay back their payday loans, and then have to take out new payday loans to meet their weekly expenses. People who use their credit cards responsibly never fall victim to this scenario.

Credit Cards Can Help With Budgeting

Credit cards help spendthrifts easily track their expenditures. One simple technique is to use one credit card to automatically pay your recurring monthly expenses (phone, cable, utilities, etc.), another to buy your groceries and gas, and a third for all other expenses (entertainment, eating out, etc.). When you get your bills each month you can compare how much you spent on your wants versus your needs and make adjustments as necessary.

Protections Offered by Credit Cards

Although the media likes to focus on the “epidemic” of identity theft, the truth is that using a credit card is much safer than using cash, a check, or virtually any other means of exchange. If you’re carrying cash and your wallet is stolen, you’ll never see a dime of your money. If a merchant cashes your check and refuses to grant you a refund, chances are, you’re out of luck. But in either scenario, using a credit card would have offered you protection.

If, for example, your wallet full of credit cards is stolen, you will not be liable for any more than $50 of fraudulent charges, per card. This is the legal limit, but in reality, most card issuers don’t even hold you liable for the first $50 – they just stick the merchants with the bill. And if a merchant refuses to give you a refund that you deserve, you can file a “chargeback,” in which the credit card company will side with you 99 percent of the time. Paying in cash or with a check offers no such protections.

Your Credit Card – Don’t Leave Home Without It

Credit cards are ideal for traveling abroad because they automatically convert to the local currency. This means you won’t have to waste time with the money changer or carry around several foreign currencies, and of course, not carrying cash makes you much less susceptible to pick-pocketing.

This concludes the two-part introductory series to the course. In the weeks to come, we will examine the consequences of bad credit and how to repair it; learn about credit agencies and credit reports; examine the various types of credit cards and credit card alternatives, and we’ll take a deeper look at some other consumer finance topics. The main thing to understand is that credit cards can be wonderful tools that greatly enhance our lives. All that we need to do is be informed, active, and responsible users of these powerful little pieces of plastic.

Stay safe.

Sincerely,

James

http://www.CC-Yes.com

Random Posts

• Undecided! What are the pros and cons for the Blackberry Curve and Palm Treo 680. Which one is best?
• How do I find out if my AT&T Nokia Mobile phone has a tracking device in it?
• Can you transfer your cell phone service onto a phone you buy from a different store or business?
• what is a rebate/ reffering to cell phones?
• Where can i download a FREE MPT 4 or mobile phone tools to put ringtones on my ic502?

Loan brokers want us to borrow up to 125 percent against our home equity. Even the federal government just had its first balanced budget in a generation and now faces the enormous task of paying off over trillions of dollars in debt.

Yet not everyone is in debt. Many people know how to deal with money. Their debts are manageable, and they have money in the bank. That sounds nice, doesn’t it money in the bank? That is what you deserve. In order to get there, however, you are going to have to change some of your thinking about money and learn a few new methods of dealing with it.

Why Are You in Debt?

People who are not in debt think about and treat money differently than the rest of us. They know a few things about money and debt that escape the rest of us. Let’s call them the “financially literate.” If you can begin to relate to money as they do, you will be well on your way to a life that is not only debt-free, but also prosperous. What we hope to do in this book is to show you some of their secrets so you can adapt a few of these ideas and tools to help you get out of debt.

Do not feel too badly if you are not good with a dollar, a lot of people aren’t. Money literacy is not taught in schools, and too often parents are too busy trying to dig themselves out of their own financial hole to help much either. Yet, unfortunately for many of us, we learn more about money from our parents than anywhere else. The good news is that learning how to get out of debt and become more financially literate is not all that complicated.

The first step in the process is to figure out how you created so much debt, because if you don’t figure out how and why you got yourself into this pickle, you might get out of debt, but you certainly won’t stay out. So the first question to ask yourself is: Why did you go into debt in the first place?

Sometimes going into debt is unavoidable, but often it is not. When money is tight, you have several options; going into debt is just the easiest. Instead of choosing more debt, you might have decided to work overtime and make more money, or possibly you could have tightened your belt and spent less money. Debt was not your only choice.

There are many reasons people go into debt: some are good reasons, and some are bad. It doesn’t matter. Did you buy luxuries you could otherwise not afford? Did an illness or a divorce set you back financially? Was debt your way of dealing with some other sudden, unexpected expense? When you look at the reason why you went into debt, the important thing is to notice whether your spending habits follow a pattern. If you can see a pattern, you need to address that pattern as much as the underlying debt.

Consider Mark and Diane. They both make a good living: he’s a psychiatrist, and she’s a psychologist. They have two kids to whom they are devoted. They send both to private school, which costs a total of $15,000 a year, and both kids go to summer camp. This expense adds up.

Mark and Diane don’t buy luxuries, they don’t travel much, and, except for the kids’ expenses, they are very frugal. Yet the only way they can pay for everything is by going into debt. They use their home equity line of credit and credit cards to stay afloat. Although they would like to move to a less expensive neighborhood, they can’t because they have no equity in their home, so they are stuck.

What are they to do? If they are going to get out of debt, something in their lives is going to have to change. The private school is going to have to go, camp may be out, or they are going to have to start making more money. The same is true for you. If you want to get out of debt, you are going to have to identify why you went into debt and change that behavior or pattern.

Good and Bad Debt

Debt in and of itself is not a bad thing. Both of us (the authors) were able to start our own businesses because of debt; Steve began his own law practice, and Azriela began her own entrepreneurial consulting business. So we understand what debt is and why some debt is great debt.

Debt allows you to do things you otherwise normally could not do, such as start a business, go to college, or pay for a home. Debt constructs buildings and funds investments and entire corporations-even the government is funded by debt. The trick is to foster debts that help the cause and banish the ones that don’t. Not all debts are bad debts.

Good Debt

Debt that helps you, enriches your life, is manageable, and is not a burden can be called good debt. For example, student loans are good debt if they enabled you to get through school and further your life goals. They are bad debt if you dropped out of medical school after one year to become a writer. A good debt helps; a bad debt hinders. We want to help you get rid of that bad debt.

Other examples of debt that may be considered good include:

1. Home loans. A mortgage can be a great debt. Not only does it permit you to own your own home, but it also allows you to build home equity. People who are financially savvy earn interest and equity. People who are not financially savvy pay interest and create money for others. For example, charging groceries means that you will pay about 17 percent interest on items that will be consumed within a week. A financially literate person would never do that.

2. Car loans. A car loan can be a fine debt because you get something long-lasting out of the debt. If you need a nice car for your job (if you are a real estate agent, for example), a car loan may be considered good debt because it helps you in your career. However, a car loan that you cannot afford is a bad debt because it detracts from your life.

3. Business loans. If you can service the loan, and it helps you make more money, the loan is good debt, but if the loan is nothing but a source of problems for you, the debt is bad.

4. Credit cards. Credit cards are fantastic. They are convenient and easy. They can help finance a business or even medical emergencies. The problem with them, as you probably know only too well, is that it is too easy to fall under their siren spell and get in over your head before you know it. That’s when they begin to hurt your life more than help it.

Bad Debt Blues

How do you know if your debt is good debt or bad debt? Easy. Bad debts cause stress. You sleep poorly because of them. They cause fights and foster guilt. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell was once asked to define obscenity. Hard-pressed to come up with a definition, Powell uttered the famous line, “I know it when I see it.” The same could be said for bad debt: You know it when you see it, and it certainly can be obscene.

Bad debt seems impossible to pay back. You create bad debt when you charge things you don’t need or when you borrow for things that you consume quickly, such as clothes, meals, or vacations. The things quickly disappear, but the debt has a nasty habit of sticking around, seemingly forever. Bad debts can become very bad debts because of interest and penalties. For example, if you buy a CD player for $200 and don’t pay it off by the end of the year, and your credit card company charges a usurious 20 percent APR (20 percent per year), you owe $220 by the end of the year. If you do this with five items, you owe $1100, and that’s a lot of money.

Money Talks

Tight for money? Here are some simple ways to save a little extra: Don’t use ATMs at other banks and avoid $2 user fees; cancel your movie channels on cable and save about $20 per month; put all of your change at the end of the day in a jar and save about $50 a month; hold a garage sale and make about $200; cancel your cell phone and save $50 a month.
/>
You can create bad debt when you agree to pay these crazy interest rates that some creditors charge, because the debt seems to grow exponentially. Credit cards are the prime culprit, but they are by no means the only one. High interest can also come with personal loans, business loans, or unpaid taxes.

You know what the bad debt dance looks like, anyone reading this book does: New bills are coming in before you’ve cleared out those from last month. You’re surprised to find that the phone bill is still unpaid. Somehow the dentist was never sent his check. You know what past-due notices look like. Your Visa and MasterCard bills include late payment penalties. The hardware store sends a letter telling you you’re past due and requests that you send a check at once. There is more month left at the end of your money, and payday seems far away. Worst of all, these things don’t surprise you anymore.

Avoidance is a common coping mechanism to deal with a budget that doesn’t balance. The problem is, it can create even more problems than you already have:

Your property could be repossessed. The finance company can come take your car. The electronics store can come take its TV back. You could get sued. If that happens, your wages could be garnished, or your bank account could be levied upon. Imagine your surprise when you go to get that $1,000 out of your checking account to pay your mortgage and you find that it has been seized by one of your creditors.

A lien can be placed on your real estate. Failure to pay a bill now means that a creditor can get a judgment against you and force you to pay it later when you sell your house, only then you will pay it with 10 percent interest per year.

Loss of services. You could lose your insurance or your utility services if you avoid paying those bills.

Yet, as much as you have been avoiding the problem, the truth is that your debts are neither crushing nor hopeless. They are simply a problem-one for which there is a solution. But no one ever eliminated a problem until he or she recognized and admitted that there was a problem. You began to do that the moment you read this articles. As you read it, you will need to begin to formulate a debt-reduction plan that will work for you. As you do, you need to determine which debts are necessary and which are not.

Debts You Want to Keep

Steve, one of the authors of this book, is a bankruptcy attorney. One day, an old acquaintance named Bill came into his office and said that he needed some help getting out of debt, but he also wanted to avoid bankruptcy if at all possible. They talked, came up with a plan of action, and Bill went on his way. About four years later, Steve ran into Bill again and asked how things were; Bill relayed the following story.

Bill had $30,000 in credit card debt and was behind two months on his mortgage when he left Steve’s office. That day, Bill finally decided that something had to change. He wanted to pay everyone back, put some money in savings, and keep his house. His mortgage was his largest, and favorite, debt because he loved his house.

Bill’s first order of business was to prioritize his debts. Wanting to save his house, Bill called his lender and found out that it had a program that would enable him to roll his mortgage arrears onto the end of his loan. He was therefore able to keep his most important debt and focus his energies on getting rid of the debts he didn’t want anymore.

Bill put together a credit card repayment plan. He started living a bit more frugally, making some extra money by moonlighting, and paying more on his credit cards than the minimum. He was diligent, but not always perfect. Although it took him several years, he finally did get out of debt. He also kept his house and even created a little nest egg. Bill did it, and you can too.

Debts to Get Rid Of

If you want to prosper financially, there are plenty of debts that you will want to wipe out. The most obvious are those where you are paying high interest and penalties, things such as credit cards, lines of credit, taxes, or any other debt that is much higher than inflation. In this articles, you will see how to formulate a plan that will enable you to get out from under these burdensome debts. But as you contemplate this plan, you also need to prioritize certain debts and pay them on time:

1. Rent or mortgage. Make paying your rent or mortgage a top priority. Payments on a home equity line of credit or second mortgage are also essential because you can lose your house if you don’t pay.

2. Car payments. Make the payments. If you don’t, the car will be repossessed.

3. Utility bills. These services are important, and the bills usually have heavy late payment penalties.

4. Child support or alimony. Not paying these debts can land you in jail.

5. Taxes. Taxes may be put off for awhile if necessary, and we show you how to do so later on in the book, but if the IRS is about to take your paycheck, bank account, house, or other property, you should set up a repayment plan immediately.

The First Rule of Holes: Stop Digging!

The goal of this articles is to help you get out of debt within the context of making your life work. You will not be asked to make radical, unreasonable changes in your life because doing so rarely works. Instead, important, sometimes gradual, small but significant changes can make a big difference.

If you are going to start getting out of debt, you have to stop going into debt. One way to start is to begin to wean yourself from the credit card teat if you think that is part of your problem. You don’t have to cut up all your credit cards; that would be impractical and unreasonable. Start slowly, but build up to it and get strong. You can do it. The only way to stop going into debt is to stop going into debt. You might as well start now because the sooner you start, the sooner you will get out of debt. The longer you wait, the longer it will take.

We will show you how to easily trim your budget (well, almost easily) so that you need not incur more debt to stay afloat. But begin now. You are going to have to stop sooner or later. Down the road you will see that this is one of the most important steps you can take in getting out of debt. You will thank yourself for this gift. Remember the first rule of holes: Stop digging!

Long-Term Goals

Now is the time to begin to think about your long range financial vision. What is it you hope to accomplish by getting out of debt? Changing some habits?

Paying off your MasterCard? Probably what you really want is a less stressful life, one that’s free from money worries. But you can have even more. Getting out of debt is one thing, but prosperity is another thing altogether.

You have read this once already, and you will read it again in this book: If you don’t begin to do some things differently, to change the way you think and treat money, you might get out of debt, but you won’t stay out of debt. If you do make some simple changes to your thinking and your behavior, not only will you get out of debt, but you also will get ahead. You will get what you deserve: a life of abundance.

The Least You Need to Know

1. Going into debt for essentials makes financial sense; doing so for nonessentials does not.

2. Not all debt is bad debt.

3. You may want to keep debts that enhance your life and get rid of the rest.

4. Stop adding to your debt right now.

5. Cultivate a long-term plan of action.

www.Citicredit.asia offers comprehensive guide to credit reporting, including information on repairing or rebuilding your credit history.

 

 

 

 

 

www.Citicredit.asia offers comprehensive guide to credit reporting, including information on repairing or rebuilding your credit history.

Random Posts

• Cell Phones and Land Lines – Getting the Best of Both Worlds
• If I buy one of those verizon prepaid cell phones, can I call and activate it for my plan?
• Motorola – The History
• IPHONE QUSTION: Can i own and use the new 3G Apple iPhone, without acctivating the phone itself?
• does any one know where to get free mobile phone games that you do not have to download to computer?

 

2) Speeding – Even eating too fast can cause indigestion. Excessive speed on the road can cause a terminal case of heartburn

 

3) Sneezing – Okay, we actually have never seen a statistic on this, but it must cause a few accidents.

 

4) Rushing To Find A Turnoff With Toilets – How many times have you gone a little faster to find a fast food stop to use the bathroom?

 

5) Ignoring Warning Signs – Sure everyone knows those conservative warning signs to slow down because there’s a curve ahead, but way too often, they can be nasty if you don’t heed their warnings

 

6)Slamming On Your Brakes When You See A Cop Ahead – Sure we all do it, but for crying out loud, look in the rear view mirror before you do it.

 

7) Talking To Passengers – How many of us have been with drivers who absolutely can’t drive and talk at the same time without nearly running red lights. If you are with a driver like this, ask to be let out at the next corner.

 

Singing – Especially if you sing off-key. Dogs will chase your car, the engine will not work efficiently and windshield wipers will refuse to work. Singing is for the shower. In your car, it’s a distraction.

 

9) Trying to Beat Train Signals – Here’s a smart one. Just take a guess who will come out on top in a crash if you don’t beat the signal. Clue – the winner has a locomotive engine.

 

10) Cell phones – We’re not talking when you have it up to your ear. We’re talking about when you have it in your lap now and have to hide the fact you’re using it in case any cops see you. Now you have to look down from the road to your lap. This is not good.

 

Here are ten useful tips of advice from a personal injury lawyer to follow if you have been in an accident. You can also learn more about how to handle a personal injury in Santa Monica, or any city, by calling the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers which can be found on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learning how we can assist you.

 

Obviously, if you have had an accident, and you are reading all of this advice, it may have been a few hours since the accident. However, if you ever have another accident, or if it’s only been a few hours since you were hurt, here’s what you should do from the start.

 

First, take a look around and determine if you or anyone, are hurt. If so, taking steps like trying to prevent further injury or loss of blood are the most important thing you can do. Even if some other driver caused you to be injured, it’s just good manners to help the other driver if they are hurt. They may even be so thankful that they admit their fault to you. The worst thing you can do is get angry or start a fight.

 

Second, make sure everyone is safe from being injured further. If you are in the middle of traffic, and you are dizzy, sit down away from traffic. If your vehicle is a traffic hazard and you have accident warning devices like flares or triangles, put them out on the road to warn other drivers and get away from the car. Let the police an other emergency personnel investigate the scene with the vehicles in place and move them more safely at a later point.

 

Third, call the police. Accident reports are extremely helpful if the police will do such a report. Let the police know you are injured immediately. Answer the police questions honestly. But if you are dazed or confused, let them know you need medical treatment and answer only what you feel sure about. Remember, your statements can and will be used against you if you admit fault, and it will be too late and too fishy to later say you didn’t know what you were saying at the scene. Police know that your best recollection is immediately after an accident.

 

Fourth, get the other driver’s information including their names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, make and model of their vehicles, license plate numbers, and their insurance company name and policy number. If there are witnesses, get their names, addresses and telephone numbers as well. If the other driver makes any admissions of fault, write those down as well.

 

Fifth, if you have a camera on your cell phone or in the car and you aren’t too injured, take some photos of the vehicles and the scene. If you can’t do it right away, do it after you are released from the hospital.

Sixth, if you are hurt, obtain medical treatment. Don’t decline the ambulance or hospital examination to save your insurance company money or to be stoic. Take your valuables out of your car if you can and get checked out at the hospital. If you are not hurt, don’t get treatment you don’t need. However, remember, after an accident, you may feel a rush of adrenaline that causes you to only start feeling symptoms of pain a few hours later. If you have a health plan that requires you to obtain permission first, call them and find out where you are allowed to seek treatment.

 

Seventh, call a good personal injury attorney as soon as you have had your initial treatment, so the lawyer can gather other important evidence and prevent the insurance company from taking advantage of you and obtaining such things as recorded statements that you feel fine, when many of your symptoms have yet to manifest themselves. A good personal injury attorney can save you from making a great deal of mistakes and can shoulder much of the hassle of knowing what to do about car repairs, car rentals, medical treatment, witness statements and the like. If you think you will save money by not having an attorney, think again. A good personal injury lawyer can almost always obtain much higher settlements, obtain reductions of medical bills and insurance liens and prevent you from making costly mistakes. Also, most personal injury lawyers advance costs of obtaining police reports, medical records and the like and are paid and reimbursed for these costs only out of any settlement.

 

Eight, you will need to report the accident to your insurance company, but since they will want to take a recorded statement from you, just like any other driver’s insurance company, it’s good advice to retain an attorney first. And if the other driver did not have insurance, remember that it is your own insurance company that will be your adversary. You will also need to report the accident to the Department of Motor Vehicles and your lawyer can give you the form for this.

 

Ninth, do not agree to settle your claim privately with the person at fault for the accident. This almost never works out to your advantage. Don’t agree not to call the police. Police reports that determine the fault for an accident are golden. Your agreement to not involve the police only affords an opportunity for the other driver to change his story and blame you when the police will no longer investigate the accident.

 

Tenth, don’t pay a traffic ticket without a fight if you weren’t at fault or agree to accept a small payment for your vehicle repairs without knowing that the amount will in fact cover the cost of all the repairs.

 

If you’ve had a personal injury in Santa Monica, Long Beach, Carson, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard, Cambria or San Luis Obispo, or anywhere in Southern California, we have the knowledge and resources to be your Santa Monica Personal Injury Lawyer and your Long Beach Personal Injury Attorney. Be sure to hire a California law firm with auto, motorcycle, truck, bicycle, pedestrian, car, bus, train, boat and airplane accident experience, wrongful death experience and insurance law expertise who can ensure you are properly represented and get the compensation you deserve.

 

If
you have a personal injury legal matter, a dog bite or if you’ve lost a loved one in a wrongful death accident, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com  and learn how we can assist you.

The Sebastian Gibson Law Firm serves auto accident victims in Santa Monica, and motorcycle and truck accident clients in Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Hermosa Beach, Ventura, Oxnard, Cambria and San Luis Obispo. We provide excellent representation to bicycle, pedestrian and car accident clients in Orange County, Newport Beach, Anaheim, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Santa Ana, Orange, Fullerton, Costa Mesa, Westminster, and Buena Park. We also have the knowledge and experience to represent clients from Palm Springs and Palm Desert to Indio, from San Diego to Carlsbad, from Newport Beach to Anaheim, Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga, from Palmdale to Victorville, and all of Southern California.

Visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com if you have a personal injury legal matter of any kind. We have the knowledge and resources to represent you as your Santa Monica Personal Injury Lawyer and Long Beach Personal Injury Attorney or your attorney in and around the cities of Oceanside, La Jolla, Del Mar, Chula Vista, El Cajon and Escondido. We also serve Corona, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Vista, San Marcos, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carson, Torrance and Manhattan Beach.

• Motorola V3 – Enrich Your "Motto"
• Which cell phone service provider will provide me the best service at the most nominal charge?
• I have heard that Nokia N95 8GB is a trouble making phone?
• Ozfree’s Guide to Buying Mobile Phones Online
• 10 Advantages of Buying a Cell Phone Online

There are two sides to the savings coin. First, there are those that are willing and ready to take the drastic route. This route includes cutting out all unnecessary spending, and finding ways to invest wisely (a difficult task). Next, there are those that have devised savings plans that include cutting back on expenses conservatively, while still saving a few extra dollars each month.

Author Judith Levine recently wrote a book entitled “Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping.” There’s no doubt that Levine took the drastic route. Through avoiding unnecessary spending (including spending necessary for social engagements), Levine was able to save $8000. Some of the things that she did included cutting out all forms of entertainment; clothing purchases; restaurant expenses; and daily household items that weren’t really necessary (expensive air-fresheners come to mind).

Following Levine’s train of thought, some additional expenses that can be eliminated include cable, satellite, and other television packages; cell phone plans; phone plans; daily beverage expenses; and various other items that really aren’t crucial to existence. Then again, there is a certain quality of life that comes with attending social engagements and relieving stress through entertainment.

If you aren’t willing to go the drastic route, then there are still things that you can do to save some of your hard-earned money. Nearly every utility company offers some type of bundle plan, and this is a great place to start. Call your television, phone, internet, and cell phone providers. Find out if you can get all of these services for one “bundle” price. This will likely save you at least $20 per month (if not more).

Next, take a good hard look at your debts. Would a debt-consolidation loan help your situation? Even though traditional lenders are not giving out a lot of loans these days, a private lender is a great solution. Private asset-based lenders often offer debt-consolidation loans, and they don’t base your loan application upon a poor credit history – in this economy, bad credit is entirely common.

Finally, hold onto your current vehicle for a little while. Presently, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to purchase a new automobile. The current job market is still hanging in the balance, which might mean that your job is no longer as secure as it once was. Instead, consider making needed repairs to your car, truck, or SUV. If you don’t have the cash flow to repair your car, then you’ll be happy to know that car repair loans exist.

Lenders offering car repair loans are actually becoming quite popular with many consumers. These loans work in much the same way that private debt-consolidation loans do, and they will help you to hang onto your existing car until the economy gets back on its feet.

For more information on whether a car title loan is right for you, please visit our website at http://www.bhmfinancial.com

Random Posts

• How is the Blackberry Storm and is it compatible with mac laptops and itunes?
• Nokia N99i Software?
• What iPhone 3G accessories come with a dock adapter?
• 3g iphone GPS cost extra money?
• Can you transfer your cell phone service onto a phone you buy from a different store or business?

Another method for helping the phone dry out (if you do not have any rice on hand) is to put it on top of the vent on a monitor or a television for at least 24 hours. The low amount of heat put out by these devices should be enough to gently dry out the phone.

If you are the kind of person who keeps the silica packs that come packed in electronics, coats, shoes, and etcetera, you can put the phone into a plastic bag with a couple of these and let them absorb the moisture over a couple of days. If you do not have these on hand, a local craft store should have a flower drying kit that will contain a silica sand-type mixture. Put it in a Tupperware dish, use a dryer sheet, lay the phone on top of it, and seal it.

Corrosion is a definite threat to cell phones and other electronics and some people have suggested that you wash the phone in distilled water to wash away any kind of minerals that might have existed in the water or other liquid the phone was originally submersed in. If you choose to try this, do it only after you have removed the SIM card and battery.

If the battery is wet, do NOT heat it to try and dry it out. Batteries, especially lithium-ion ones, are quite sensitive and they very well may explode if you try to speed up the drying process in this manner.

If you choose to use alcohol to clean off parts of the phone that are sticky with soda or another similar liquid, do not apply heat to the device in any way. Do not reattach the battery until the smell of alcohol is completely gone.

This might also seem like common sense, but do not put any electronic device into the microwave. You will probably destroy not only your device, but even your microwave could be put at risk.

You should be aware that most phone warranties do not cover water damaged phones and that most phones today have special stickers inside them (only one visible to you) that will tell a technician if the phone has come into contact with water or even just too much humidity. Be careful when taking your phone outdoors when humidity is very high. It is possible to void your warranty.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood and water damage cleanup and
water damage restoration> companies across the united states.

Related Posts

• Your Cell Phone, Water, and a Sticker
• You May Be Able to Save Your Cell Phone If You Accidentally Dropped It Into Water If You Act Quickly
• You Only Have 20 Seconds To Save Your Cell Phone From Water Damage
• How Can I Fix My Wet Cell Phone