Are you prepared For Your College Life?

Prepare financially for college

Savings

Think about your future.

 It's never too late to start saving for college, but the earlier you start, the better. You'll thank yourself for it later, when every dollar you save now reduces your student loan debt after graduation. You probably can set aside a specific amount every pay period to build a college fund- but it takes some good planning and self control.

The cost of college

College expenses vary depending on the type of college (public or private, in-state or out-ofstate), the number of courses, your major, and personal lifestyle. Costs can include tuition and fees, room and board, allowance for books, supplies, transportation, and other expenses.

a)      Fees added on to your tuition bill include services such as the health center, library, and student activities. 

b)      Room and board costs can be for on-campus or off-campus housing. It can include meals at the college cafeteria, at a restaurant, or prepared on your own. In off-campus apartments, students can often pay to have meals in the college cafeteria. Living at home and commuting to campus is usually the least expensive option (though you need to consider the cost of fuel, parking, or public transportation).

c)       You also will need to buy textbooks, supplies, calculators, etc. -- whatever you need to complete your courses. You also may need to purchase a computer. (Don't forget the expense of necessary software and applications.) 

d)      Personal expenses can include laundry, clothing, recreation, medical care, insurance, etc. If you plan to travel home often, don't forget to add any transportation expenses.

Other expenses to consider: 

Ø  Utilities (gas and electric) if you're living off campus

Ø   Phone bills (yes, that includes your cell phone)

Ø   Furniture/bedding· 

Ø  Car payments· 

Ø  Car licensing fees· 

Ø  Toiletries/personal care items·

Ø   Clothing (including cleaning costs)· 

Ø  Doctor/dentist visits· 

Ø  Insurance (car, medical, and life)·

Ø   Entertainment·

Ø   Gym memberships·

Ø  Internet access and cable TV·

Ø    Emergency funds·

Financial aid Solution

Yes, college can be expensive, but costs vary and financial aid can make even an expensive college affordable. There are three main types of financial assistance available to qualified students:

Ø  Grants and scholarships

Ø  loans

Ø  work-study

Financial aid can come from federal, state, local, and private sources. Most "free" aid (grants or scholarships) are distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis; so apply early. Remember: During your senior year of high school and every year during college, complete all necessary financial aid forms to ensure you get your financial aid.

Making Business in College?

The Role Model Mark Zuckerberg.

1. Build your business around what you know. 

Instead of venturing off into uncharted territory, make sure that you build your business around your skills and knowledge. The less you have to rely on outside sources the better. When your business is built around your own personal expertise you can eliminate consultants and outside assistance.
Also, having that knowledge is sometimes all that is needed to successfully take the plunge into entrepreneurship.

2. Tell everyone you know what you are doing.

 Inform your family, friends, business contacts and past colleagues about your new business. Call, send emails and make your new venture known on your social-media profiles. Your friends and family members can help you spread the word, and past business contacts can introduce your brand to their professional contacts as well. This type of grassroots marketing can help introduce your company to a much larger audience.

3. Avoid unnecessary expenses. 

You are going to have plenty of expenses, and there are some that just can’t be avoided. What you can avoid though is overspending. Take something as simple as business cards. You could drop $1,000 on 500 metal business cards that give off the “cool” factor, or you could spend $10 on 500 traditional business cards. Being frugal in the beginning can be the difference between success and a failed business.

4. Don’t get buried in credit card debt. 

There is a smart way and a suicidal way to use credit when starting a business. New computers, office furniture, phones and supplies can all quickly add up. Instead of purchasing everything at once and throwing it all on a credit card, use your company’s revenue to finance your expenses. Eliminating the stress and burden of debt will greatly increase the chances of creating a successful business. 

5. Make sure your receivables policy won’t sink you. 

If your business is a retail operation then this isn’t going to apply, but if you are providing services such as consulting or products to retailers you need to make sure that your payment policy is well thought out. Can you remain above water with net-15 or net-30 terms? Don’t base your receivables on what you think your customers will want. Base them on what is going to make your business operate successfully.

6. Build up sweat equity. 

When making your business, you need to worked around the clock, handling every aspect of the business as well as the marketing and growth. All of the hard work and long days that you put in isn’t for nothing. You are building a brand and your hard work is essentially increasing the value of your business. Your sweat equity will come into play if you ever decide to sell off a piece of your company or take on a partner.

7. Take advantage of free advertising and marketing. 

There are several ways to generate a buzz for your business without breaking the bank. Social media is a great way to gain exposure and interact with potential customers. You can also reach out to local media and offer your expertise.Make as many local media contacts as you can and be extremely responsive with their requests. This can lead to them to branding you as the local authority, generating plenty of free press for your business. 

8. Get ready to hustle.

 Hard work is an absolute necessity, but when you are starting a business with little to no capital then you must be prepared to dedicate everything you have into making the business a success. This might mean cold calling, handling customer support, dealing with billing and accounting, and every other working part of your business. You will wear many hats and it will require the majority of your time and energy if you are to make it.Don’t let limited capital prevent you from taking a great idea and running with it. Will it be difficult and will you have some stressful situations? Of course, but that is part of entrepreneurship.

Admin Mirza.

Cc: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/23696

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Time Management.

Time Management. 

Have you ever wonder why i'm not like the richest man in the world or why i'm not being productive today?. One of the key reason is about how you manage your time.

The following are the three simple step that you can follow to improve your quality in your daily life:

STEP 1 (5 Minutes) Set Plan for Day.

 Before turning on your computer, sit down with a blank piece of paper and decide what will make this day highly successful. What can you realistically accomplish that will further your goals and allow you to leave at the end of the day feeling like you’ve been productive and successful? Write those things down.

Now, most importantly, take your calendar and schedule those things into time slots, placing the hardest and most important items at the beginning of the day. And by the beginning of the day I mean, if possible, before even checking your email. If your entire list does not fit into your calendar, reprioritize your list. There is tremendous power in deciding when and where you are going to do something.

In their book The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz describe a study in which a group of women agreed to do a breast self-exam during a period of 30 days. 100% of those who said where and when they were going to do it completed the exam. Only 53% of the others did.

In another study, drug addicts in withdrawal (can you find a more stressed-out population?) agreed to write an essay before 5 p.m. on a certain day. 80% of those who said when and where they would write the essay completed it. None of the others did.

If you want to get something done, decide when and where you’re going to do it. Otherwise, take it off your list.

STEP 2 (1 minute every hour) Refocus. 

Set your watch, phone, or computer to ring every hour. When it rings, take a deep breath, look at your list and ask yourself if you spent your last hour productively. Then look at your calendar and deliberately recommit to how you are going to use the next hour. Manage your day hour by hour. Don’t let the hours manage you.

STEP 3 (5 minutes) Review.

 Shut off your computer and review your day. What worked? Where did you focus? Where did you get distracted? What did you learn that will help you be more productive tomorrow?

The power of rituals is their predictability. You do the same thing in the same way over and over again. And so the outcome of a ritual is predictable too. If you choose your focus deliberately and wisely and consistently remind yourself of that focus, you will stay focused. It’s simple.

This particular ritual may not help you swim the English Channel while towing a cruise ship with your hands tied together. But it may just help you leave the office feeling productive and successful.

Admin Mirza.

Cc. https://hbr.org/2009/07/an-18minute-plan-for-managing.html