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.4 Successful Parenting Tips I Learned
From My Harvard Mba Husband
My husband is an insightful businessman
with the unique ability to create something out of nothing, envision the future,
work efficiently and strategically, and quickly get to the bottom line. In his
books and seminars he teaches useful business strategies to high level
executives so that they can grow their businesses successfully. His clients rave
about the results they achieve when they implement his lessons.
Eager to have the same successful
results parenting that my husband?s clients have with their businesses, I have
incorporated four of his business practices into my parenting technique.
Think Strategically
When one thinks strategically he or she
devises a careful plan of action to carry out and achieve a goal. Strategic
thinking is a helpful tool for today?s busy parents who are pulled in many
different directions and pressed for time. Set a goal and devise a smart plan to
achieve the goal. Strategic thinking can be used in conjunction with meal
planning, grocery shopping, leaving the house in the morning, etc.
For example, getting the kids to bed at
the same time every evening is a great goal that can often go awry for many
households. Creating a step by step plan, in this case a bedtime ritual, is an
excellent means towards achieving the goal of consistent bedtimes. As children
become more and more familiar with the bedtime ritual their internal clocks get
set and falling asleep gets easier and easier.
Strategic thinking makes parenting
easier because the whole family knows and adheres to a good plan and with a
minimum of stress, achieves their goals.
Time Management
Good time management asks two questions:
Is the activity of value? If the activity is of value, what is the best way to
do it efficiently? Parents who find that the day is overwhelming, should ask
themselves whether the majority of their time is being spent doing important
activities efficiently.
There are four questions that should be
asked when determining the efficiency of their activities: Should the activity
be done at all? Does the activity need to be done now? Can someone else do it?
Does the activity have to be done perfectly or is good enough, good enough?
A simple example is setting the table
for the evening meal. The answer for most families is, ?Yes, this is an
important activity.? Does mom or dad have to step away from the stove to set the
table now? ?No, a child would feel proud to do it now.? Does it have to be
approved by the Queen of England? ?No, good enough will do and I am proud my
child completed the table, not guilty that it isn?t perfect.?
Create Possibility and Move Things
Forward
Creating possibility opens the future to
bright and wonderful situations and creates opportunity. Moving things forward
happens when the person acts on the possibility created.
Parents should be coming from the
possibility of love for children when there is opportunity to express it. For
example, when a parent is faced with a challenging discipline situation, he can
scream and lose his marbles or he can come up with ideas or possibilities to
express his love while still managing the children?s behavior.
?Maybe my kids are out of control
because we have been in the car all morning, if I take them to the shore and let
them run on the beach for an hour I bet we would all calm down.? Moving things
forward is then simply Dad driving to the beach and having a wonderful time
rough housing with the kids for an hour.
Another way of thinking about this is
Stephen Covey?s concept of choice. As he says in The Seven Habits of Highly
Successful People:
?BETWEEN STIMULUS AND RESPONSE IS OUR
FREEDOM TO CHOOSE. We have self-awareness, imagination, conscience and
independent will. Responsibility is the ability to choose your response. Highly
proactive people recognize that responsibility. They do not blame circumstances,
conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior is a product of
their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their
conditions, based on feeling.?
Manage Risk
With every activity in life there is the
chance that something could go wrong. Putting a baby in the tub and feeding
whole grapes to toddlers are high risk parenting activities. Moving the baby
from the crib to a bed with a rail is medium risk and coloring at the counter
with washable markers is low risk but risky all the same.
Thinking ahead will help parents manage
risk and will minimize the likelihood that something might go wrong. Parents
need to get in the habit of asking themselves, ?If I let my kids do this, what
is the most likely outcome.?
Parents should measure the probability
of something (good or bad) happening multiplied by the negative impact if it
does happen. They should then ask, ?What is the cost of eliminating the risk??
For example: Electrical outlets are
dangerous if a child sticks a fork in one, so parents are willing to go to the
baby store and buy outlet protectors. A child might possibly be able to remove
an outlet cover, but is that slight risk worth the parent hiring an electrician
to come in and move all of the electrical outlets up to the ceiling?
Parents who overestimate the probability
that something will happen, compulsively worry and hover. People who
underestimate risk don?t provide a safe environment for kids. Good parents are
able to correctly estimate risk so that they protect their children when the
risk is too high and loosen up the reigns when the risk is low.
Applying these business management
practices to the everyday challenges of parenting will help give parents tools
to parent more efficiently and with less stress. Parenting thoughtfully and
creatively will model effective adult behavior to children and create a calm and
peaceful home.
Elena Neitlich is the co-owner and CEO
of Moms on Edge, LLC.
Finance guide for
novices and professionals Her company designs,
manufactures and sells creative and effective children's behavioral toys, games
and parenting aids. Moms on Edge also produces a line of handmade luxury bath
and beauty products design
MBA Degree: Waste of Money for Would-Be
Entrepreneurs?
Glenview, IL (PRWEB) January 22, 2008 --
A recent survey of small business owners conducted by SurePayroll, the nation's
leading online payroll service (http://www.surepayroll.com),
found that most entrepreneurs don't believe an MBA is essential to
entrepreneurial success.
70 percent of the small business owners
who participated in the survey indicated that an MBA degree isn't a big factor
in determining entrepreneurial success.
SurePayroll President Michael Alter says
that the survey results are not surprising.
"That's the beauty of entrepreneurship,"
says Alter. "Anybody can go into business regardless of their education. A
person's level of education is isn't a big determinant of success. The things
that matter are having a good business plan, finding a niche, being passionate
about what you do, and working hard and smart to achieve your business goals."
The entrepreneurs who were surveyed
clearly agree that formal education is not an essential ingredient for
entrepreneurial success. Only 44 percent said that formal education is very
important in preparing entrepreneurs for success. 51 percent said that education
is only somewhat important and 5 percent said that education is not important.
In a ranking of entrepreneurial success factors, formal education came in last.
The respondents indicated that having an
undergraduate degree is much more important than having an MBA. 57 percent of
respondents agreed that people who get a college degree will have more success
as entrepreneurs than people who do not.
While the MBA degree did not get much
love from survey respondents, the wrath was especially strong for Ivy League MBA
degrees. 91 percent of the surveyed entrepreneurs said that those who get an MBA
from an Ivy League school have no advantage over entrepreneurs who get an MBA
from another school.
Drivers of Entrepreneurial Success
So if formal education isn't a big
contributor to entrepreneurial success, what is?
Drive and ambition appears to be the
biggest factor, according to the surveyed entrepreneurs. Survey respondents
ranked entrepreneurial success factors in the following way:
1. Person's drive and ambition 27.2%
2. Person's passion for a specific
business venture 14.9%
3. Hands-on experience in the industry 13.5%
4. Easy access to capital to start a
business 13.1%
5. Personal connections 11.5%
6. Family members who are entrepreneurs 10.0%
7. Formal education 9.9%
Educational Advice from Entrepreneurs:
When asked what educational advice they
would give to a high school student who is an aspiring to be an entrepreneur,
a large percentage answered that they would benefit from classes that help
them learn how to think logically and solve problems, such as math and
engineering. Additionally, many entrepreneurs said they recommend reading
self-help books, studying successful business leaders and getting experience
in the field they'd like to enter.
About SurePayroll:
SurePayroll is America's largest full-service
online payroll service. In addition to its payroll and ClickFREE? tax file
and pay service - which allows a user to complete the entire payroll process
in minutes - SurePayroll provides HR and compliance resources, workers'
compensation products and 401(k) retirement solutions designed specifically
for small businesses.
SurePayroll also offers a private-label
and co-branded payroll service (http://www.surepayroll.com)
to accounting and banking partners to offer payroll processing to their
small business clients.
SurePayroll is passionate about small
businesses and their payroll. The company is dedicated to providing an
extremely friendly and simple payroll experience - at a price small business
owners can afford. For more information, visit
The MBA Essay: How to Stand Out From The
Crowd?
If you?re applying to graduate school,
you?ll quickly find out that MBA applications will include a question that
asks about your reasons for wanting to obtain an MBA. Some application
questions will ask you to tie these reasons into your background and your
professional goals. Even for schools that don't offer this specific
direction, you should plan on such a discussion of past and future, as it
provides essential context.
"Why MBA?" is often the first question
asked and without a doubt the most important essay you will write. It
includes essential information about whether you're qualified, whether you're
prepared, and where you're headed. The other essays fill in details about
these fundamental points, but a strong answer about, for example, how you
overcame a failure will not revive a candidacy that failed based on a lack
of career focus.
Every answer should contain the
following elements, unless the application has separate questions addressing
them individually: 1. Your long- and short-term goals. 2. Your relevant past
experience. 3. An assessment of your strengths and the gaps in your
experience/education. 4. How an MBA program will bridge your past and future
and fill in those gaps. 5. Why this particular MBA program is a good match
for your needs.
Occasionally there will be overlap with
other answers, and you will have to use your judgment on the extent to which
you should reiterate important ideas. For example, some schools will ask
about your goals in separate questions. In that case, the bulk of your
discussion should fall under the goals question, but you will have to bring
over key points from that answer to establish context for your reasons for
obtaining an MBA. There are no groundbreaking reasons for pursuing an MBA.
This is not a place to aim for bold originality. Rather, you should focus on
articulating detailed reasons that are specific to your situation. Moreover,
there is plenty of room to distinguish your self when discussing past
experience and future goals; it's just the reasons themselves that come from
a more limited set. That said, you should not try to drop buzzwords for
their own sake. Make sure you tie your specific objectives to other aspects
of your application.
A successful applicant would provide a
unique background and a focused interest in becoming an entrepreneur within
a particular field. He paints a clear picture of past and future before
making the following transition: "In order to accomplish this goal, however,
I must deepen my knowledge of the field. Despite my experience, I still lack
some important knowledge and management skills, especially in finance,
marketing, and entrepreneurship. Since dealing with aspects of international
business will be an integral part of my job as an entrepreneur, it is
essential that I fill in these gaps." Only after an applicant establishes
sufficient context about his personal situation should he attempt to assert
his reasons for pursuing an MBA. This approach ensures that you're not
simply stating the obvious, generic reasons without personal insight.
In another example, an applicant may
begin with an extensive discussion of a specific industry or business
climate before going on to describe the background that makes him qualified
to pursue his vision. In contrast to the previous applicant, he discusses
goals prior to history. Either approach can work effectively; your best bet
would be to start with and highlight what makes you unique, whether it's a
vision you have or a past accomplishment. After that, the important thing is
to ensure that everything is coherently focused.
Each approach mentioned here sets your
MBA essay apart from other applicants and provides meaningful context to any
admissions committee. When seeking prospective student, admission counsels
seek those on the path to a meaningful education that can be applied to the
real world.
Scottrade Launches New Mutual Funds
Center with Easy to Use Research Tools
St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) December 12, 2007
-- Scottrade, a leading branch-supported online investment firm (www.scottrade.com),
is making it easier to research and select mutual funds with the roll out of
a new Mutual Funds Center. The new Mutual Funds Center will be available to
Scottrade customers after the market close on Thursday, Dec. 13.
Features of Scottrade?s new Mutual Funds
Center include:
- An easy-to-use mutual funds
screener that can search funds by availability and other criteria, such as
whether a fund is on Scottrade?s no transaction fee platform.
- Detailed Lipper Leader® ratings for
all mutual funds to help investors select funds that meet their individual
investment styles and goals.
- Detailed expense information.
- Real-time customizable charts, with
Scottrade SmartText?, which describes each chart in plain English.
- A new comparison tool that easily
compares up to five mutual funds at a time.
?Scottrade?s new Mutual Funds Center is
designed to be more user-friendly so our customers can easily identify and
select mutual funds that fit their unique criteria,? said Kevin Dodson,
Scottrade Director of Product Development. ?The new Mutual Funds Center is
one of several enhancements we are rolling out to help investors quickly and
easily find investment opportunities to help them reach their financial
goals.?
The launch of the new Mutual Funds
Center for Scottrade customers coincides with the launch of a new Stock
Market Info & Research section available to all investors on
www.scottrade.com
that includes a stock screener, news and commentary and stock quotes.
Scottrade currently offers more than
10,000 mutual funds, including over 1,100 no transaction fee mutual funds.
For more information about Scottrade?s Mutual Funds Center, visit
http://www.scottrade.com/MediaContent/WebCast.asp
About Scottrade
Scottrade is a leader in online
investing, serving individual investors who are comfortable making their own
investment decisions. Scottrade is unique in the industry because it boasts
low commission rates while offering the largest branch network among online
brokerages, with 328 local branch offices nationwide. In October, Scottrade
was named Highest in Investor Satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates for
the seventh time. Scottrade.com is the online trading site of Scottrade, Inc.
and offers customers the convenience of placing many orders online for just
$7 per trade. In addition to its online capabilities, Scottrade staffs each
easily accessible branch location with a branch manager plus additional
brokers and assistants. For more, visit
www.scottrade.com.
|
Short
Sale Second Mortgage
How To Get Out Of Two Mortgages At The Same Time
Is a mortgage short sale
possible if you have not one mortgage company to deal with, but two?
I am the developer of the
Mortgage Relief Formula home study course. In my work I receive hundreds
of questions from homeowners who owe more than their house is worth and
cannot afford to continue making the payments. They want to avoid
foreclosure appearing on their credit and they also want to do the right
thing under the circumstances.
A mortgage short sale beats
foreclosure both from the homeowner's viewpoint and from the perspective
of a mortgage lender. If you cannot pay on a mortgage, the bank would
rather get partial payment of the mortgage, and not get your house back.
They can in fact deal with
getting your house back because they are set up for it. But when they get
a house back they must add it to their already bulging inventory. They
must insure it. They have to fix it up. They have to put it on the market
and sell it. They are selling into the same terrible market that you are
facing.
But, a mortgage short sale
helps the lender get partial payment on your mortgage and avoid getting
your house.
Let's recap what this type
of sale is. It's when you sell your house for less than the mortgage. The
lender approves the sale and the lender collects the proceeds from the
buyer, whatever is left at closing after paying closing costs and real
estate broker commissions and so forth. They mortgage lender releases the
mortgage so the transaction can close.
The mortgage company now
has a financial loss. They may pursue you for that financial loss, which
they can sometimes do through a civil court proceeding. Sometimes they
cannot pursue you at all because state law prevents them from doing so.
And sometimes you can negotiate with the home loan lender before the sale
goes through, and they will agree in writing not to come after you for
their financial losses.
But be that as it may, the
question we are addressing is how you can do a sale that yields only
partial payment of your first mortgage, if you have a second mortgage and
not just a first mortgage?
What people forget is that
even if they do a sale of their house, the loans go with the house so if
they deed their house to someone else, the loans stay in place. A sale of
a house does not affect the loans on that house.
The reason a short sale
works is that the lender agrees to release their claim on the house at the
closing table. So the new buyer can get the house free from your crushing
mortgage. But if you have two mortgages such a sale is much more
complicated. The buyer will want to be free of both your first and second
mortgage.
That makes it twice as
complicated.
Because if the first
mortgage lender agrees to the sale even though it will not pay off the
first mortgage, that isn't enough. The house will be sold and still have a
second mortgage on it.
A foreclosure sale, on the
other hand, wipes out all the loans on the property. The lender who
forecloses may get the property back through their "credit bid". That is,
if nobody bids higher than the balance on the loan including all
delinquent payments and fees, the lender gets the house back. If someone
bids higher, they will get the house.
Either way, all the junior
loans are extinguished in the foreclosure sale. A foreclosure sale results
in a transfer of title through a trustee's deed or sherriff's deed. A
trustee's deed or sheriff's deed transfers title to either the lender, or
the high bidder if there is a party that outbids the lender. And with that
foreclosure deed, the junior loans are wiped out. So junior loans are not
an issue in a foreclosure and in fact a lot of houses go through
foreclosure in order to wipe out the junior loans.
But what if you want to
avoid foreclosure through a short sale process, in order to help your
credit and the lender? And what if you have junior loans?
There is a way to do it.
Actually three ways.
Is the second mortgage a
piggyback loan? Sometimes the lenders who made the first mortgage also
made the second. Maybe they can allocate the short sale proceeds to
release both loans.
Or, you may be able to buy
out the second. They are in a position where they will get nothing at this
point. If you can offer them a nickel on the dollar of debt, or a dime,
maybe they will take it. That assumes you have a bit of cash. But it may
not take much. After all they are already prepared to be wiped out. If you
do a deal like this, make sure you get the arrangement in writing
including how they will report to the credit bureaus (you want to avoid
foreclosure appearing there) and also that they will not go after you any
more -- this is full payment of the second mortgage and forever wipes
clean that debt.
And there is a third option
for most folks who do not have cash to buy out the second mortgage.
This third option is doing
a deal with the second mortgage holder: They will release the second
mortgage in order to allow the short sale to go through. In return, you
will sign a note for a percentage of that loan.
Such a note is a personal
loan, an unsecured loan, and would be dischargeable in bankruptcy. But if
you can manage the payments this is a good outcome for all concerned
compared to the alternatives. Remember that if they get wiped out, the
second mortgage holder can still come after you in civil court but by
signing a note you make it cheaper for them and either way, something is
better than nothing.
These three options are the
best ones to consider if you want to do a short sale and avoid foreclosure,
but have a second mortgage on the property. I would always recommend you
consult a good lawyer to help you and best of luck. |
