How to Select a File Format for Your Resume Most employers want a Microsoft Word document or a PDF file of your resume. Some employers may request a plain text (.txt) version, without any fancy formatting or design. However, there are many factors to consider when selecting your resume format. Most Important: Follow the Directions The file format an employer wants may vary based on the company’s applicant tracking system (ATS)....

How To Set Goals Setting goals starts with defining what you want to achieve. For example, if your goal is to “grow your business,” that’s great. But you need to be more specific—and you’ll need a plan. Start by writing down goals that are SMART: SpecificMeasurableAchievableRelevantTime-Bound Goals that fit into this format will be well thought-out. Using the example from earlier, if you want to grow your business, you could apply the SMART format to it make it better:...

Why You Need Financial Goals Setting financial goals allows you to put hopes and dreams into action. It starts with choosing a goal, then developing a plan for achieving it. For example, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advises using the SMART goal-setting system. It requires your financial goals be: SpecificMeasurableAttainableRelevantTimebound Outlining money goals this way can give you the direction and the motivation you need to follow through on them. Here’s what a SMART goal might look like for an emergency fund: If you’re not sure what to focus on with your money goals, there’s a simple way to approach it....

What Is a Hedge Fund? A hedge fund is an investment structure that is typically set up as a limited partnership or a limited liability company (LLC). Hedge funds are similar to mutual funds in that they are pooled investments. However, hedge funds tend to hold alternative securities, like real estate or currencies, and often employ complex investment techniques like leverage and short-selling. They tend to be less popular than mutual funds with everyday investors....

Starting a home-based business can create flexibility in how you spend your time and make your money. But it isn’t a quick process or a guarantee of financial success. It requires a long-term commitment and a clear understanding of the work involved. To create a home-based business with a solid foundation and earning potential, you’ll need to invest time and resources into identifying the right business for you and creating a plan....

While money can be challenging to talk about, it’s key to encourage transparency when discussing financial topics with children. As teenagers get older, it’s important they understand the good and the bad that comes along with managing money. Let’s examine how to go about talking to your teen about money, specifically regarding what you need to share with them about having and managing debt. Talking About Finances With the Family Having regular money conversations with your teens can make the subject of finances generally less overwhelming....

How to Use Life Insurance to Build Wealth When you have money, you might be interested in using life insurance and other products to efficiently maximize the distribution of assets to spouses or partners, younger generations, and favorite charities. A will and/or a trust can assign assets to beneficiaries; however, these estate-planning tools are not designed to create wealth so much as they are to preserve it. If you don’t have a lot of wealth built up or are looking for a plan to build wealth for your family, then a wealth transfer strategy using life insurance products may be one of the few ways to instantly create wealth and increase the amount passed on to a recipient or beneficiary....

While there are many ways to keep track of business expenses, setting policies and staying organized will keep the process smooth and painless for you, your employees, and your tax reporting. In this guide, you’ll learn when and how to write a business expense report. What Is an Expense Report? An expense report is a document detailing the personal cash outlay for qualified business expenses by an owner or employee(s)....

How to Write a One Page Resume In general, most employers want a concise resume without a lot of extraneous information. They only spend seconds reviewing it, so the more compact it is, the easier it will be for the hiring manager or recruiter to review. In addition, many employers use software to screen job application materials, so making sure your resume is focused on the job you’re applying for will help you get chosen for an interview....

But even if you’ve been following the big financial news, you may not know that some large cities are just sitting on huge piles of pandemic aid they got from the federal government. Or that a new scientific study shows that the more agreeable you are, the less money you’re likely to make in your lifetime. To reach beyond the biggest headlines, we scoured the latest research, surveys, studies, and commentary to bring you the most interesting and relevant personal finance news you may have missed....

Learn more about human resources so you can better understand their role in an effective organization. What Is a Human Resource? A human resource is one person within a company’s overall workforce, with each person lending their skills and talents to the organization to help it succeed. Any person willing to trade their labor, knowledge, or time for compensation in an effort to improve the organization is a human resource....

If damages wind up on the high side of that range, Ida would be the eighth-costliest storm to hit the U.S. right after Hurricane Ike, which struck the Texas and Louisiana coasts in 2008, taking a $38 billion toll, according to an inflation-adjusted estimate by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Taking broader economic impacts into account, the hurricane could cost anywhere from $35 billion to $50 billion, Enki said....

Advanced Framing and Other Architectural Features Advanced house framing, also known as optimum value engineering, is a specific framing technique wherein a house is constructed using less lumber and waste. Advanced house framing saves energy by using less wood and more insulation. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, using advanced framing can lower material costs by $500 to $1,000 for a 1,200- to 2,400-square-foot house. It can also cut labor costs by three to five percent and annual heating and cooling costs by up to five percent....

Public transportation tops the list, jumping over 27% since the beginning of the year. The increase was mostly driven by higher costs in airfare, which were roughly 40% pricier compared to January. But not all transportation costs skyrocketed throughout 2022. Intercity transportation such as buses and subways saw fares jump just over 2% since the start of the year, meaning the cost of local commutes haven’t increased too much....

In contrast to internal funding sources are external avenues. Debt and equity financing are probably the most familiar. External funding can come from bank lending or bond issues, and debenture notes. Another, less universal source but frequently used in specific business types is trade credit and factoring. Factoring is the sale of outstanding accounts receivable to specialized lenders known as “factors”. Owner’s Investment At the beginning of a business, most of the funding usually comes from owner investment....

Answering can be tricky. Think of your response as an opportunity to explain why you’re interested in the position, even if it’s a potential step down from previous roles. Plus, look to sell yourself as a candidate, showing how your qualifications will benefit the company. Here’s what you need to know to give a strong response to questions about being overqualified. What the Interviewer Really Wants to Know Interviewers ask this question because they want to make sure the candidate they decide upon will stay in the position and not hop quickly to a job that better suits their experience, skills, and abilities....

If you’re asked about what you can contribute to the organization, you’ll have the perfect opportunity to convince the interviewer why you’re the right candidate for the job. You’ll be able to show the interviewer what you have to offer the company if you are hired. What the Interviewer Wants to Know The company wants to discover how you can help and what you’ll be able to accomplish if you were to be hired....

You can choose from company-specific ETFs or even those that target all of Africa. Here are some of the most popular Africa ETFs that can give you access to the continent. AFK - Market Vectors Africa ETF AFK follows the Dow Jones Africa Titans 50 Index. This index focuses on companies that are located in Africa and are listed on the African Stock Exchange. These companies also conduct 50% of their business in the region....

While most people have a handle on their monthly expenses, far fewer successfully manage expenses that pop up every now and then. This long list of irregular expenses may help you spot some looming problems in your own budget, so check it against this list and make the necessary revisions. Insurance Your insurance expenses may be billed monthly or they may be billed annually or quarterly. If the latter is the case, build these recurring costs into your budget so the premiums don’t sneak up on you....

Supporting your children, whether they live with you or whether you pay child support, is considered a personal expense. It’s not tax deductible. But noncustodial parenthood can come with one or two other possible tax breaks. Here’s what you need to know about how supporting children can affect your taxes. Why Isn’t Child Support Tax Deductible? If you take your child to the mall to buy a new pair of shoes, that isn’t tax deductible....