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10 Ways to Fall Back in Love With Your Job

Posted on February 20, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

The 9 to 5 grind can wear you down, and some of you may start to feel that all you’re doing at work is counting down the hours till you can clock out. Don’t let work get you down, and read on for ways you can fall back in love with your job again.

RELATED: 5 Little Tips to Help Kick-Start Your Work Week

Find a Mentor

Sometimes finding a career mentor can make a huge difference in your attitude and view towards your work-life. Some companies have their own mentoring program, which can either provide the employee a lot of guidance or none at all. Finding a mentor is something that generally happens organically, and you don’t necessarily have to find one that works at your company.

Try to put in some effort into finding your career yoda, and you might just find work more enjoyable. There’s nothing more inspiring than learning from someone who has been there and done that.

Build a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Burnout may be causing you to lose some love for your job. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial to success and happiness at your job, because if your job starts getting you down, you’re going to end up dreading it.

Read these 15 tips for a better harmony between life and work.

Start a Volunteer Initiative

Giving back to society can create a great sense of well being. What better way to start then by organizing a volunteer initiative at work? You’ll be bonding with your coworkers and doing something meaningful at the same time.

Find out how you can start volunteering with your office, and read these five fun office volunteering ideas you can do.

Strengthen Your Work Friendships

Friends are what make the world go around, and the same rule can apply to your working world as well. Try to build up better working relationships by doing things such as attending more company events and having a friendlier attitude. After all, it’s the people at work that contribute the most to workplace satisfaction!

Plan Your Career Goals

If you haven’t written out your five-year career plan yet, do it now. It’s really helpful to put your goals into writing, because it really keeps things in perspective. Having everything on paper will add to your drive at work since you know what you should be working towards. And trust me, there is no greater feeling than crossing the items off your list.

Negotiate Better Perks, Salary

It’s time to put your negotiating skills to good use, and try to get better perks and a raise. If your company is unwilling to budge on a salary increase, figure out what makes you happy and aim for negotiating for those perks instead.

Perhaps more PTO days are what you need, or you would like to work from home more. Plan your strategy and set up a meeting with your boss.

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Communicate With Your Boss

Better communication with your boss makes for a happy worker. Set up a time to check in with her, and ask her for some feedback. If there is anything at work that you are unsatisfied with, express your misgivings to her, but remember to keep it professional.

If you don’t already do this at work, try to establish regular one-to-one meetings with your manager.

Have a Positive Attitude

A huge part of happiness is mental, and if you stay positive, your attitude towards work might improve as well. Try to distance yourself from negative co-workers (if you have any), and focus on the things you love about your job, instead of lingering on the negatives.

Destress with your friends if you’re having angst about your work, and try to do nice things for people in your work life. You’ll be surprised at how being nice can get you ahead in your career.

Meet Passionate People in Your Industry

Start branching out and attend professional mixers and networking events. Passion can be very contagious and if you surround yourself with people who truly have love and dedication for their jobs, you might rediscover your own love for your job.

Search for a Job You Love

If you discover that no matter what you do, your job still leaves you unhappy, maybe you can chase your dreams and switch careers. Make sure you have thought it through carefully and that you’re willing to take on the financial risks that come with this big change. You can transition into a new industry by either temping, taking on freelance jobs, or going to grad school.


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Reverse Bucket List: Look Back Before Looking Forward

Posted on January 23, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

Everybody has a bucket list — a random list of things we’d like to do, be, or have before we “kick the bucket.” Some people make due with rough mental compilations, while others prefer their bucket lists typed, formatted, and prominently displayed. (See also: Goal Setting, Defined and Deconstructed)

But what of the bucket list? Where is the context? How satisfied will we feel about our lives today if we’re constantly studying a list of things we haven’t done? Where do we even begin with a list like this, instigated no less by a big clock in the sky counting us down towards an unknown “bucket date?”

I get panicky just thinking about it.

Although a bucket list can be motivational, I believe that in and of itself it can be more crippling than empowering. In order for a bucket list to reach its true potential, I think we should first start with a Reverse Bucket List.

What’s a Reverse Bucket List?

In order to gauge where we’re going, it’s always good to know where we’ve come from. Creating a context of our journey thus far is imperative to understanding why we want the things we want, and ultimately, how to get them.

A Reverse Bucket List is a list of things that we think are “bucket list worthy,” but that we’ve already done. It’s a creative way of reflecting on your life thus far and taking note of the some of the experiences that really sang to you.

Not only is it fun, but you might be surprised by what you’ve already done in your life. (Conversely, you may realize you need to get out of the house more.)

Either way, it’s all good.

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Reverse Bucket List Exercise

You may want to structure the exercise of making your Reverse Bucket List using the method for devising 100 ways to change your life.

By doing it as a fast-paced brainstorming exercise, you may be surprised at what makes its way on to your Reverse Bucket List. There are no right or wrong answers — only your own answers. It’s your life, and your reverse bucket list; write down as many things as you can, without worrying about what you’re actually writing. We’ll get to that later.

Here are a few general ideas to get your reflective juices flowing:

  • Achievements or awards you’ve received
  • Fears you’ve conquered
  • Careers you’ve had
  • Friends you’ve made and people you’ve met
  • Places you’ve traveled to
  • Anything that’s worthy of a story you tell other people
  • Goals and milestones you reached
  • Childhood dreams (no matter how silly in retrospect) you achieved
  • Bizarre or fun things that have happened to you or that you’ve done 

What to Do With Your List

This isn’t a pesky to-do list or a vision board that requires prominent display as a reminder of what you need to do or where you’re going.

Instead, it’s more in the act of constructing and initially reviewing your Reverse Bucket List that you will see the benefits.

Once you’ve finished writing out your Reverse Bucket List, read through it. What do you think? Do you notice any themes? Are there any gaps? How does reading this list make you feel?

Regardless of whether you feel there’s too little or too much on your Reverse Bucket List, you might discover some of the things on it are surprising, even illuminating. And they might lead you to your next step.

The Next Step

Using the observations you made above, now is a great time to project your Reverse Bucket List forward. To reverse the Reverse Bucket List, as it were.

Here are some exercises you can do from here:


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Chase Freedom Visa Review: $200 Cash Back Bonus

Posted on January 14, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

I have been a Chase Freedom credit card holder since 2007. I use the Chase Freedom card for my day-to-day spending and always pay it off in full each month. Based on these six years as a cardholder, here are my thoughts on the card — including The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The Bottom Line. (See also: 5 More Ways to Earn Cashback Rewards)

The Good

Here’s what I like best about my Chase Freedom card.

Rewards Percentage Back

The Chase Freedom card offers 5% back in several categories every quarter and 1% on everything else. (Read about the rotation scheme below.)

  • January – March 2012, the card offers 5% back at gas stations and on Amazon.com.
  • April – June, you’ll get 5% back at movie theaters and grocery stores.
  • July – September the 5% back is good at restaurants and gas stations.
  • October – December (just in time for holiday shopping) 5% back at Best Buy and Kohls, and on hotels and airlines.

5% back is a great percentage back that few credit cards can beat. 

Cash Back Rewards

The Chase Ultimate Rewards program is truly one of the most flexible rewards programs that I’ve seen. I almost always use my points for cash back, in the form of a check or a statement credit. The ratio of points to cash is 1/1 (so for every $ 100 you spend on 5% category items, you get five points — which then you can use for $ 5 back.). The rewards programs also offers redemption for gift cards, travel, and products. And if you have multiple cards earning Chase Ultimate rewards points, you can combine the points from both cards together to redeem for a higher priced reward.

Visa Is Accepted Everywhere

Let’s face it — Visa truly is “everywhere you want to be.” Any place I’ve ever been that accepts credit cards takes Visa. It’s nice to carry a card and not have to worry that the cashier will say “Sorry, we don’t take that card.”

Occasional Bonuses and Coupons

Several times a quarter I receive coupons in the mail that I can use if I use my Chase Freedom card at a merchant. For example, in the past few months I’ve received coupons for $ 10 off of $ 50 at Old Navy and 10%-30% off at Barnes and Noble. While these aren’t places I frequently shop, occasionally the coupon will be for something I need at that time, and I will take advantage of it.

Easy-to-Navigate Website

I’ve had bank accounts or credit cards with nine banking institutions in the past 10 years and do 95% of my banking online, so I have a good sense of what makes a good banking website. The Chase Freedom site is overall very easy to use. It’s simple to login, set up payments (automatic or regular), track your spending, and generally do anything that you need to do on your credit card’s website. I appreciate not having to click around to find what I’m looking for each time I sign on.

Great Sign-Up Bonus

You can almost always get a great sign up bonus when you sign up for a new Chase Freedom card. When I signed up, I got $ 250 and $ 200 (respectively) back. That’s a nice chunk of change just for getting a new card.

The Bad

Despite all the positive aspects to the Chase Freedom card, here are a few things that I’m less than happy with.

Rotating Rewards

I am not a fan of the rotating rewards. While it’s nice to get rewarded for different categories of purchases, I would much rather have consistency in my rewards. I don’t do much “rewards hacking” — using a different card for different purchases in order to get the highest reward — so I would rather just know that I will always get a set percentage back no matter what month it is. I have enough else on my mind that I don’t want to try to remember which categories are worth more at that time. That said, I look forward to getting 5% back at Amazon, which I won’t get anywhere else.

Fewer Protections Than Other Cards

The Chase Freedom is a regular old Visa card. It doesn’t offer the high caliber of credit card perks that American Express cards or Visa Signature cards do. These perks include purchase protection if a recently purchased item gets stolen or damaged within a certain time frame after purchase and price protection if the price on a recent purchase drops. Because of this I always use my American Express Zync card (which offers these protections) when buying tangible things and not consumables like gas, meals at restaurants, or groceries. The Chase Freedom still offers some perks (like car insurance for rental cars) but I know that my other credit cards do better.

The Ugly

The “bad” items listed above are minor annoyances, but here are the two things I truly hate about the Chase Freedom card.

Opting In to the Rotating Rewards

Not only do the 5% rewards change every quarter, you must also re-opt in each time. If you don’t opt in, you don’t get the 5% in those categories. Granted, Chase makes it easy by sending you an email with a link that requires just one click, but still, I find it absolutely obnoxious that I have to re-opt in each quarter just to get the higher rewards. I’m guessing they do this because there’s a psychological/marketing principle that says that when you have to opt in or interact with something, you value it more and are more likely to use it. Regardless of the reason, I’m not a fan of the opt in rewards.

Changing the Game on Customers

I previously held a Chase Ultimate rewards card that paid 5% back at grocery stores, gas stations and pharmacies — all of the time. Unfortunately, the Ultimate Rewards card was discontinued last year, and the account was transferred into the rotating Chase Freedom rewards. Similarly, the original Chase Freedom card that I have had since 2007 changed their rewards program for the worse last year. When I first signed up for the card, I always received 3% back on the highest categories of spending in any given month. So, for example, if my highest categories in a month were restaurants, utilities, and pets, I would get 3% back in those categories. If during the next month my highest categories of spending were restaurants, utilities, and clothing, I would get 3% back in those categories. Previously, I earned about $ 400-$ 500 a year in rewards. Unfortunately, the program was changed — now I get a higher percentage back (5%), but only in set categories. So, now in the past year I’ve only received about $ 175 in cash back rewards. I don’t appreciate having something changed on me after I’ve signed up and been a loyal customer. But, I guess that’s business.

The Bottom Line

ChaseDespite the shortcomings of the Chase Freedom credit card, I would still recommend it as a rewards cards for someone who is looking for an everyday cash back card. I use it as my everyday card for mundane purchases like gas and groceries. The Chase Freedom card is an excellent rewards card for the reasons I’ve previously listed, especially because:

  1. Visa is accepted everywhere
  2. The rewards redemption (including for cash) is excellent
  3. Even if you don’t shop in the 5% category, you are always guaranteed 1% back

Current Promotions

Click here to apply now and get a $ 200 cash back bonus

Note: Some links contain affiliate codes.


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5 Best Cash Back Credit Cards

Posted on November 19, 2011 by admin| Leave a comment

Many people prefer cash back rewards to other credit card perks such as frequent flyer miles. Cash has the advantage of being readily liquefiable and universally accepted. Unlike points and miles, cash back rewards earn interest when unused and is not subject to the constantly changing terms and conditions of corporate loyalty programs.

Furthermore, cash back rewards are considered to be a discount on a purchase, not income that needs to be declared for tax purposes.

My family is a perfect example of how you can use credit cards to receive cash back. Using our cards for day to day purchases, we may spend as much as $ 2,500 with them each month. When we are not looking for travel rewards, we use a card that returns 2% on all purchases in order to earn an additional $ 50 a month in cash back. That equals a return of $ 600 each year that we can add to our discretionary spending or apply to our savings.

Just one word of caution — cash back credit cards should only be used by people who have always paid their credit card balances in full and on time. To do otherwise virtually ensures that you will owe more in interest and penalties than you will ever receive as cash back.

Once you have decided to earn credit card rewards in the form of cash back, you should definitely consider one of these top five cash back rewards cards.

The Current Top Five Credit Cards Featuring Cash Back Rewards

In my research, these are the best cash-back cards currently available.

AARP Card From Chase

AARP ChaseAARP recently jumped into this market with a co-branded card from Chase. In order to make a splash, they are offering an incredible 5% cash back on all purchases for an introductory period of six months. Even for a family of modest means that uses its card for everyday expenses, this offer can translate into hundreds of dollars in cash back. For business traveler with who can charge thousands of dollars in expenses each a week, this card offers an even greater windfall of additional, tax-free compensation. After the introductory period, this card still returns a respectable 3% cash back on travel expenses and 1% on everything else. There is no annual fee for this card, but you will need to join AARP for $ 16 a year. Fortunately, associate membership is open to people of all ages.

Click here to apply now

Fidelity Investments Rewards American Express

Fidelity AmexOutside of a promotional offer, the highest cash back rate available on all purchases is 2%. Fidelity Investments’ Fidelity Rewards American Express Card offers unlimited cash back at that rate with no annual fee. Your card must be connected to one of their cash management or brokerage accounts, but there is no other catch. You can also use this card as a savings instrument by directing the funds to a Fidelity IRA. Finally, they even offer a version that funds a 529 college savings account.

Click here to apply now

Capital One Spark Cash Business

Capital OneLike the Fidelity card, Capital One also offers a 2% cash back rate, but in a Visa that is more widely accepted than Fidelity’s American Express. This is a business card, which is a great product for people who do some work on the side and want to separate out their expenses. Nevertheless, anyone can apply for this card as a sole proprietor and use it just like other credit cards. There is a $ 59 annual fee, but it is waived the first year. Another nice benefit is that cardholders will not be charged any foreign transaction fees, which normally run 3% on most other cards.

Click here to apply now

Amex Blue Cash Preferred

Amex Blue CashThis card offers an outstanding 6% cash back on all purchases from grocery stores. It did not take many credit card holders long to figure out that they could better reap this benefit by purchasing other merchants’ gift cards at the supermarket. Even outside the grocery store, this card still returns 3% on purchases from gasoline stations and department stores, as well as a decent 1% on all other transactions. There is a $ 75 annual fee for this card, which is what users will earn when they charge just $ 1,250 at their grocery store.

Click here to apply now

Chase Freedom

Chase FreedomThe Chase Freedom card is an underdog that makes the list due to its generous sign up bonus of $ 200 in cash when you spend $ 500 in the first three months after opening an account. Think of it as a 40% cash back rate of return! Card holders are also eligible to receive 5% cash back on their first $ 1,500 of spending on different categories of merchants that change every quarter. All other purchases return a standard 1% cash back.

With its significant cash sign-up bonus, but less-competitive standard rate, this card is best to maximize rewards for those who only charge a few hundred dollars a month to their cards, or customers who will only use it for purchases in the bonus categories that return 5%. There is no annual fee for this card.

Click here to apply now

Within the credit card industry, the term “deadbeat” is used as slang to describe customers who always pay their balances in full and on time. These customers don’t provide the banks with any profits from interest payments or late fees, but they are still valued customers due to the merchant fees their spending generates and their impeccable payment history. If you are a proud member of this group, and you have no interest in travel rewards, you should be using one of these cards that offer the maximum cash back for your spending.

Back to the Credit Card Guide


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