Work & Money

Welcome to Work & Money.
   
Whether you’re just starting out in the work force, juggling work and motherhood, or getting ready to change jobs, or trying to master your money challenges — we’ve got you covered with our Work & Money section. Here, we discuss college, career prep, finding a job, making a living, and how to manage your money so that it doesn’t manage you.
   
Your Work, Your Passion
   
Certainly, work is about making a paycheck and paying those bills (okay, a little shopping too!), but work is also about your passion. Your life’s work should be something that inspires you, something that gets you out of bed in the morning.
   
Easier said than done, right? Well, it’s all about that soul-searching — and maybe a little trial and error! A great place to start is to check out some of the paths of other working women who have been in your shoes before. Who knows? You might become inspired to find your passion as well!
   
Women and Money: Pros & Woes
   
Fortunately, the pros are the ones helping the rest of us out with our money woes. After all, we’re not born with the ability to earn big, save, and invest. This is the stuff you’ve got to learn, and on The Grit & Grace Project, we want you to have the best information possible. While most of all of us are not pros in finance but we willingly share our real life experience, our stories, solutions, the wisdom we’ve gained along with a little bit of information from the professionals. We’re here to offer what worked for us to help you better handle your money — and your debt.
   
From reducing your high-spending tendencies and saving cash with super apps to what to do when you’ve lost a job and being prepared in the event of a financial loss — we offer our very own financial experience that may help you to make smart decisions for you and your future too.
   
It’s all here on The Grit & Grace Project.

5 Ways to Cut Your Monthly Bills

5 Ways to Cut Your Monthly Bills

I recently made the decision to begin searching for a van to purchase. With a growing family, my small SUV wasn’t working so well! However, I knew that in order to get what I wanted I would need to take out a loan. Then I began to consider my budget and exactly what I could afford without being stretched. That’s when I decided it was time to reassess my bills. Maybe it’s time you did the same thing. When evaluating your monthly bills and expenses: 1. Look at the bills that are not utilities. Typically there is car and homeowner insurance, home alarm, cable/internet, and home mortgage. Since we had been loyal with the various companies for several years and always paid on […]

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This Is How to Use Your Gifts to Build Your Business

This Is How to Use Your Talents to Build Your Business

Recently, I learned something that absolutely shocked me: the average American spends 90,000 hours at work over the course of their lifetime. That’s more than 10 whole years of your one and only life—at work! If you love your job, maybe that doesn’t seem like much of a sacrifice. But if you’re among the 70% of Americans who report being unhappy at work, that’s a whole lot of precious time wasted. But here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be that way. Imagine what it would be like to work for yourself. To set your own hours, work from home, earn an extra income for your family, and help people by using your gifts! Sound too good to be true? Well,

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4 Things to Do When Searching For Your Dream Job

4 Things to Do When Searching For Your Dream Job

I walked across the stage at my college graduation, ready to take on the world. I knew I had an excellent “foot in the door” at ESPN from working as a logger for SportsCenter on Saturdays during my last semester at school. However, I had not yet received an offer for a full-time position as I donned my tassel and robe, and little did I know it would be two years before that offer came through. Unfortunately for my fellow graduates and me, the end of our college tenure came right as the market had plummeted, and ESPN’s parent company, Disney, had established a two-year hiring freeze for all of their companies, ESPN included. The job market was seemingly frozen in place,

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Exhausted From Work? 5 Ways to Refuel During Your Day

Exhausted From Work? 5 Ways to Refuel During Your Day

No one had to teach me how to rest. In fact, I could be a professional relaxer (if you happen to hear of any opportunities in this field, please hook a sister up). I’m a beach aficionado and I thrive on Saturday mornings with no alarm and no schedule, just the people, places, and things that fill me up. If only the entire week was made up of Saturdays and Sundays… But there are five other days, and they consist of nearly the exact opposite happenings—work, hustle, errands, lists, spreadsheets, computer screens, phone calls. Are you feeling tired yet? I’m new to the full-time workforce. This will be my first year ever without a summer break (shed a tear for me). While transitioning from free time to full-time,

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How Social Media Impacts Your Potential Employers

How Social Media Impacts Your Potential Employers

There was a time, not very long ago, when the boundary line between your personal life and your work life was exactly as clear as you desired it to be. You had ultimate control over what your boss and co-workers were privy to, and you could be as private or as public as you wanted. Limited to what could be inferred from conversations and workplace interactions unless you desired more, your work persona and private life could very well never intersect. Potential employers, they got even less. Your resume, your interview, references, and the random personality test here and there were the only clues he or she could get into who you really are and how you’d fit into the culture of

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7 Money Tips When You Are Thinking Marriage

7 Money Tips When You’re Thinking Marriage

Before you take the plunge from dating to marriage, there are a few things that you and that “oh he’s so darn cute and sweet—nothing else matters!” guy you’re smitten with need to discuss. One biggie that every couple needs to have a serious conversation about is money. Yep, the subject we all want to avoid… but this is one of the top issues that lead to divorce. So a smart girl takes care of business applying these money tips before it ever becomes a problem. Here are the top money tips you need to know and do: 1. Talk about it! You need to discuss everything before you put on that wedding dress, so don’t avoid this subject; jump in. It

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What to Do When You Need a Change

6 Steps to Take When You Need to Make a Change

One of the great things about the chronological advancement of life is you have brilliant hindsight. As the years pass by, glaring life realizations gain light. The biggest may be that the only time my circumstances ever changed is when I acted. Even though there were many times in life I wished I had a do-over, that cute little reset button, that’s not how it worked. There is nothing that will completely erase the past. There is no miracle cure that will fix the problem and change the future. But, there is always, may I emphatically without reservation repeat the word always, a path to create the change. Forever and in all things there is hope. Maybe I need to scream this

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6 Job Interview Tips to Help You Get the Offer

6 Job Interview Tips to Help You Get the Offer

No matter where you are in your career or how long you’ve been in the business world, interviewing for a new job is intimidating. Just the word alone is enough to strike anxiety right into the hearts of job seekers. And the actual act of interviewing, forget about it. It is a palm-sweating, heart palpitation-inducing nightmare for most of us. And that’s even when it goes well. Everyone needs job interview tips to keep that heart rate down. But here’s the deal: interviews are a part of life. You won’t land the job of your dreams without going through an interview process of some type. (Unless your life is like a romantic comedy where dream jobs fall into your lap. In which

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Have a Dream You Keep Putting Off? Here's How to Make It Happen

Have a Dream You Keep Putting Off? Here’s How to Make It Happen

What have you always wanted to do? What do you dream about doing that you dismiss, put off, or tell yourself that it can’t happen now or you just have to wait until the time is right? Everyone has a dream. Everyone. I don’t care if you are 100 years old. I know you have one. If you think you don’t, you are lying to yourself. I’m just being honest here. I know that we are often too self-critical, but there are parts of our lives where we just flat out lie to ourselves, keeping us from living the life we were designed to live. Our words are the most powerful tool we humans have. So powerful that they can destroy generations—yes,

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Stuck in a Toxic Work Culture? 6 Ways to Make it Better

Stuck in a Toxic Work Culture? 6 Ways to Make it Better

Several years ago I left a job I loved with a team of people that I adored to pursue an opportunity that looked like an amazing next step for me. The new role would stretch me and I was certain I would grow from the challenge. While I learned a lot, it was not the exciting endeavor that I had dreamed of. It turned out to be one of the most difficult seasons of my career. The work itself wasn’t the issue. The fact that my husband and I had relocated and were adjusting to a new community, while challenging, wasn’t the worst. The agony was that I had catapulted myself into a toxic work culture that was draining the life out

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6 Things You Should Do To Protect and Advance Your Career

6 Things You Should Do to Protect and Advance Your Career

Are you struggling to advance your career? The biggest mistake you can make is not something you goof up on the job, like forgetting part of your pitch during a client presentation or getting caught complaining about your boss at the coffee station (although this is a big no-no for every employee). The biggest mistake you can make in your career is the one you make against yourself.  It’s underestimating your value, doubting your ideas, shrugging off praise that’s well-justified, or settling for a lower salary than you’re worth. It’s taking a so-so job when you know your education and experience qualify you for a better one—or jumping on an offer for advancement simply for the title rather than taking the time

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7 Tips to Improve Your Credit Score

7 Tips to Improve Your Credit Score

We recently had to put a new, expensive tile roof on our house, and we didn’t have enough to pay for the entire job, so my husband and I applied for a home equity line of credit. When we went to meet with the banker, she coolly informed us that my credit was better than Kevin’s, so my name would go first on all the documents. Of course, I had to gloat a little. We both have excellent credit, so I’m not sure why my score was over 800, and his was lower (although still excellent), but it was a sweet little opportunity for some momentary teasing. Credit scores, however, are not a topic to be taken lightly. Most of us, especially

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Problem at Work? 5 Tips to Work It Out!

Problem at Work? 5 Tips to Work It Out!

We have a “Go Direct” principle at my office. Here’s what that means: if you have a problem at work involving an issue with someone, go directly to that person and work it out. Don’t spend time talking behind his or her back, sharing your grievance with other people, or “getting advice.” Don’t mull over it; don’t hold onto it. Simply “Go Direct.” Problem at Work? Follow these 5 successful problem-solving tips: 1. Consider a kind, but clear way to address the issue. Think before you speak. 2. Don’t bring other people into the conflict. Doing so may cause your co-worker to feel attacked. 3. Try your best to find a moment of privacy, reducing the risk of other people overhearing the conversation and thus embarrassing your co-worker. This will

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7 Ways to Pay Off Student Loans Like a Pro

7 Ways to Pay Off Student Loans Like a Pro

Do you know what the three scariest words are in the English language? Student Loan Debt! For something as frightening as this, millions of people are diving headfirst into this anxiety-inducing, stress-evoking, overwhelming money pit! But have no fear; solutions are here: ones that can help pay off student loans—or most any type of debt. Many years ago, I started dating an amazing man, the kind of man a girl wants to marry (and marry I did). Along with all his super positive husband qualities came one unfortunate piece of baggage—a whole lot of student loan debt from four years at a private university (you can imagine the dollar amount that can create). But I said to myself, if that’s the only

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Working in a Man's World

5 Tips for Working in a Man’s World

In my careers, I have worked with many more men than women. It seemed I was always working in a man’s world.  For the most part, I preferred that. It seemed as if it was frequently less complicated. What woman in the workplace has not dealt with the “mean girls” at some point in life? Whether in middle school or office cubicles, there is no doubt they exist. But unlike middle school, we are generally much more capable of handling our female co-workers. We know how they work. Yet to be successful in our jobs, working women have to learn how the male population works as well. We must also learn to successfully respond to the nuances of their nature. It was

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20 Things To Avoid Saying in a Job Interview

20 Things To Avoid Saying in a Job Interview

Job interviews can be nerve-wracking, intense, stressful, and, well, downright funny. Whether you’re heading into your first interview or you’ve done this before, always remember the importance of common sense. You’ve probably received tips on what you should say, but just in case you’re not sure what shouldn’t be said, here are a few suggestions… Things you should never say in a job interview: “My last boss was challenging.” While that may be true, no supervisor wants to think that you may eventually paint a picture of him or her that is anything but flattering. “What exactly do you do here?” It’s called research! Most any business will have at least a presence on social media if not a website. Get to

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6 Steps to Prepare for a Potential Recession

6 Steps to Prepare for a Potential Recession

No one wants to live in fear, but the reality is: what goes up, must come down. Growing up during “The Great Recession” in Detroit, the Motor City, I remember what it was like watching all my friends’ parents get laid off and their savings turned to nothing. The recession hit Detroit hard when all the car companies were getting bailed out by the government. Not-so-fun fact: if the government bails out a company, their stock price and 401ks are now worth $0. Multiply that by the over one million people in our city, and a decade later, Detroit was still in recovery. It became very clear to me how important it was to prepare one’s self for the most unforeseen circumstances.

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