Working Women, Women and Money, Women Financial Advice

10 Ways to Make the Most of Your Staycation

Traveling can take a lot out of you and can even leave you with the need for a vacation to recover from your vacation. It is easy to forget about all of the planning, preparation, and time it takes to get to and from somewhere, especially when everyone you know seems to be posting pictures of their dream vacations on social media. Not to mention that your wallet and energy levels are really the ones often determining your destinations. Contrary to what the exotic travel pictures imply, to achieve optimum refreshment some vacations may best be spent close to home. Consider an official staycation to explore things locally for a fraction of the cost and energy expended. Uncover some of the gems in your own […]

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Student Loans and How to Get Out From Under Them

By Darlene Brock / Work & Money

College has ended. You’ve donned the cap and gown, walked the aisle, and now have your degree in hand. You are ready to face the world, get that grown-up job, and build your future… Except for one, small—or oftentimes, very large—thing. You’re exiting that university with a big bill you have to pay: your student loans. You are not alone. According to the credit reporting service, Experian, 40 million people have at least one student loan with the average debt of $29,000.1 Joining the ranks of borrowing in order to get you through college may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but graduation day (or soon after) the debt you face looks daunting. Like any other financial challenge in life, your next

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5 Things Every Woman Needs in Her Work Wardrobe

By Clare Marlow / Work & Money

I have a good friend who’s a very successful image consultant, and I’ve learned a lot from her about the truth that clothes really do “make” a woman—especially a career woman. The colors and styles we wear not only make us feel confident inside, they also can convey confidence to our clients if they fit us right and reflect our skin tone and personalities properly. However…no matter what your age, skin tone, or workplace environment, there are a few essentials every woman needs that will stand the test of time and work with the more personality-laden pieces in your closet. Here are 5 staple items you need in your work wardrobe: 1. A straight black skirt that hits at the knee 2. Neutral pumps

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7 Time Management Hacks for a Successful Workday

By Clare Marlow / Work & Money

I had been a reporter fresh out of college for a year and I was supremely independent. I had beats to cover, and I spent my days bopping around town interviewing everyone from first-graders to politicians. Week after week I turned in several stories, and within a few days they would show up in the paper. My boss, a good editor and kind man, rarely said anything to me about them though, leaving me to figure that either he loved my stuff or it was so bad he didn’t know what to do. After almost a year, I finally got brave enough to ask. It turned out he was happy with my productivity and my writing, and was spending his time editing

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6 Ways to Help You Get Ready for a Job Interview

By Clare Marlow / Work & Money

I had had a job interview a few years ago for a position I had never heard of in an industry I knew absolutely nothing about. I had just been laid off by a business that collapsed during the recession and I discovered this position when an acquaintance asked me if I’d be interested. It was the holidays and I was a single mom with a daughter in college, so in desperation I replied, “Sure, why not?” Not only was I pretty clueless about what the job entailed, I later learned this industry had a lot of movement among people in the particular position for which I was applying. I was not only unqualified, but also outnumbered, with multiple experienced candidates interviewing

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dream big dreams while still living in the present

Dream Big Dreams While Living in the Present

By Catie Welvaert / Purpose, Work & Money

If you were to take a minute to think about all of the women you know, picturing their various faces, personalities, jobs, and families, then it would become immediately clear: each woman is created to add a specific type of beauty to this earth. Each and every one different, all with a purpose, both shared and unique. Our daily roles and functions often come simple to us. We work jobs to provide. We practice self-care. We use our voices to encourage, to mother, to direct, to teach. Yet when we ponder our whole life’s purpose, it’s complex. We each have interests and hobbies that we are enthusiastic about. Unfortunately, our jobs may only highlight a small fraction of us living into our passions (if at all). Some of us are fearful

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Finding Your Greater Purpose in the World (Video)

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Purpose, Work & Money

Have you ever wondered if there was something you could do to make a difference in the world around you? If you haven’t read about The Purpose Hotel, check out One Man’s Dream Women Can Believe In. Our very own writer, Geinene Carson, has participated in a project to help others who are facing a difficult time. To read more about this project, read Coloring for a Cause: Using Your Talents to Make an Impact. Don’t miss this heartfelt story, One Mother’s Story of Down Syndrome and Joy, and how this sweet, strong mama is shedding light on what it’s really like to have a child with a “different” kind of life. — You’ll also like Married to the Badge: Not Your Typical Life, Because of Skylar, Find Purpose in Every Day

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4 Apps That Will Make the Working Woman’s Life Simpler

By Clare Marlow / Work & Money

I know the first thing you’re thinking is, “Aghh! I don’t need any more apps on my phone!” I get it … I have multiple pages of them that I’m constantly organizing and editing. But hear me out. If you’re a working woman, you are always looking for ways to do literally everything better and faster. And there are some really cool apps out there that can help. Below are 4 apps we’ve found to be time savers, money savers, and—sometimes—sanity savers: 1. Expensify Yikes! You just found a wad of receipts in the bottom of your purse and your expense report is due today. If your handbag or car console is your filing system, this is the app for you. With more

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How to Know if It’s Time to Change Your Job

By Clare Marlow / Work & Money

Some of us love job-hopping. Whether it’s for the sheer challenge, better pay, or a totally left-turn change of career, we find it adventurous and exciting to say good-bye to one employer and hello to another. But for others of us, unless we are being cheated, sexually harassed, or treated unethically in some way, switching jobs requires a lot of preparatory work, planning, and well-thought-out (and sometimes agonizing) decision making. Occasionally we can negotiate with our current employer for changes we need or desire, such as altering our hours or transferring to a different division or location. But when that isn’t possible, it may be time to move on. Go for it! Below you’ll find some fair reasons to change jobs, and below

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How to Have a Beautiful Wedding on a Budget

By Catie Welvaert / Life & Culture, Work & Money

Did the new year bring you a new ring? Or, maybe your Valentine surprised you with a proposal for life-long love. No matter when or how it happened, congratulations! Engagement season can be full of anticipation and lots of growth, but for many couples, finances and the lack-there-of can be a heavy weight anchoring you down from head-in-the-clouds love and bliss. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always end after the “I do” either, sorry. But there can be freedom! Money does not have to be the dream crusher! Your wedding can be beautiful, even better than you imagined in your head, and still your best day ever while staying within your budget, I promise. Plus, wise budgeting for the wedding can prep you and your soon-to-be husband for conversations

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Rising to the Challenge and Earning My Job at ESPN

By Jordan Hawkins / Work & Money

In 2010, Nicki Minaj came out with one of the most empowering songs for women that I’ve ever heard, not like her typical pop-rap about clubbing and dancing, but one that captures the struggles we women face from time to time in a male-dominated society. “Fly” featuring Rihanna will always be one of the most near and dear songs to my heart because it came out at a time when I needed to hear its words most. I hope you, too, will find inspiration and courage from her words and my story. I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise To fly… The year is 1920, and a 70-year-long battle

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We Need a Wife—a Working Woman’s Challenge

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture, Work & Money

It was a weeknight and our family was sitting over another thrown-together meal from whatever I could find in an almost empty refrigerator. The laundry was mounting, the house a mess, and my calendar in hand as I reviewed every event scheduled for the next week. Knowing I had to pack that night for yet another week-long business trip, I was on the verge of a meltdown. It was then that I looked across the table at our two daughters and husband when he calmly made this profound statement to me, “We need a wife.” I knew what he meant: we needed help on the home front! It’s not that he was looking to become a polygamist, adding another female to his household. He wasn’t

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How to Stand out in a Job Interview (Video)

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Work & Money

Going for a job interview soon? Watch this first! You’ll also like 5 Tips for a Great Job Interview, and Five Ways to Make Your Job Sweeter #gritandgracelife

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How to Have a Pretty and Productive Workspace

By Catie Welvaert / Work & Money

Does anyone else remember elementary school—or let’s be real, college—banding together as a class in attempt to sweetly plead the teacher into having class outside? Work is easier when your surroundings are pretty, right? One of my first-week-of-work questions was, “so can I decorate?” Upon approval, I gradually brought in little trinkets, photos, and plants without being the crazy plant lady bringing her garden down the hallway. Even our home office/den is my favorite place to crack a book or pen some articles since I spent some time curating a pretty and useful space. From work to work-outs I have found that when we are at ease and enjoy our space, we tend to be more productive in what we are doing. No matter

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5 Tips When Your Life Takes a Left Turn

By Linda Clements / Purpose, Work & Money

Let’s be honest; there have been times in these last several years that I have been completely overwhelmed. I don’t always do change well and lately my life has been jam-packed with huge life changes: the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’ve had a tornado … or two, wrestled with insurance (Ugh!), become an empty nester (Gulp!), and gone through a car wreck that could have killed my husband but thankfully he was just injured (Yikes!). We’ve dealt with the loss of a job and regular income when it seemed surely the end of trouble would come. Death of dear friends, and watching as my own mother’s battle against cancer failed (Heartbreak!). Our challenges led to lots and lots of packing

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Hired and Fired, Beginning Again in the Workforce

By Tina Brown / Work & Money

I have a hard time slowing down or doing what most people refer to as “relaxing.” I am working on it and making slow progress, but I have a definite struggle with the “busy complex.” As I was nearing the end of grad school, I felt passionate about doing something where I could combine my counseling degree with being outside. There’s nothing better than the great outdoors to soothe the soul; that was my belief. This changed an ocean full of job opportunities into an extremely shallow pool. I’m sure I was a little naïve, but I quickly learned a lot… After graduation I played around for a while. I was working on that relaxing thing I hadn’t done. I traveled, visiting my best

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Beauty School Dropout

By Linda Clements / Purpose, Work & Money

My mother loved to tell the story with great chagrin of how she had to go to the college I was attending in the early 1980’s to beg on bended knee that they not kick me out. They let me stay on with a warning of “Academic Probation.” I was really good at having a very fun social life, and not so great at attending class. I got by the next semester on a wing and prayer while still majoring in social life. I decided to try another route, so I signed up for Cosmetology. I hated it! You see some gross stuff staring down at the scalp of a stranger’s head. I became a “Beauty School Dropout” four months into that program.

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