Interview With Dorethia Conner of #MoneyChat

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A few days ago we posted a review of #MoneyChat The Book, by Dorethia Kelly Conner. This new personal finance book was born out of the popular ‘money chats’ that Dorethia hosts each week on Twitter.

To coincide with the launch of the book, we are posting a Q&A with the author about the book and how you can take control of your finances.

Why did you write #MoneyChat: THE BOOK?

Before the book was the website and before that the online Twitter Chat – which is the catalyst for the #MoneyChat movement. It is a way to take a conversation that can often be shameful or awkward and make it less #MoneyChat Book Reviewintimidating.

It’s a community, I want people to know we are all in this together and there is no judgment. After doing the chat and workshops for a few years, I decided it was time to put on paper some of the key things that we had discussed , some of the reoccurring topics I heard during the chats and in my financial coaching practice, thus we have #MoneyChat THE BOOK.

How should readers apply this book to their personal finances?

I wrote #MoneyChat THE BOOK in 3 sections based on common themes I was finding in my financial coaching practice. Most people wanted to get out of the debt hole and learn successful money management so that they could save, invest, retire and create college funds for their kids. Throughout each chapter there are ‘how to’s and action plans’. Highlight, dog ear and underline the things in this book that resonate with you and follow the action plans.

What are some of the best tips you can offer people who have tried, but just aren’t good with their personal finances?

First, I’d say don’t beat yourself up, only look toward the future, but do learn from your past mistakes. You don’t want to repeat the cycle.

Second, get back to the basics, a notebook and pencil. List all your monthly income and subtract your monthly expenses. Do this at the start of each month on a new page in the notebook.

Third, there are all kind of websites and cell phone apps that are free! You may have to log your information into them once and then monitor or update. These sites/apps are perfect for people who can’t keep up with a written budget; don’t know their investment status, etc. You can print graphs, reports directly from the sites. It is also easy to update changes in your financial situation.

If none of this works, get help. There are free community programs and you can also hire a financial coach. Financial coaches help you create a financial strategy and teach you how to handle your money yourself with education and guidance.

Your book dives into the topic of Investing. Why is investing important yet intimidates so many people from doing it?

It’s all about educating yourself; people are intimidated by what they don’t understand. In the book I show people how ease into investing little by little, help them understand the basic terms and then dig deeper.

Investing is a viable way to build wealth and is an important key to lifelong financial planning.

You talk about getting out of the hole in the book, what about dating/engaged couples who are both in debt? Should they be out of debt before they get married?

Whether one or both are in debt or facing other financial challenges, I would first ask if the two are on the same page of becoming financially stable. Are they both determined to get out of debt and committed to traveling that path together?

Have they both been completely honest about the good, bad and ugly of their finances? If one is better at money than the other, is the other willing to learn? If the answer is yes, then you can work to get out of debt together after marriage. If there is a continued pattern of poor financial decision making from either or both, I would not suggest marriage until those issues are resolved.

They will only cause big arguments in the marriage.

As we know, student loan debt is crippling a lot of people financially. What can people do to lighten the load?

I believe in accountability, the fact of the matter is that we all signed on the dotted line and used the money for our tuition, books, living expenses pizza, parties, etc. Therefore we are responsible. That said, I do believe the system needs an overhaul, I too am paying back student loans, it’s one of my final debts.

There are various payment options, call your lender to inquire before you start to feel the pinch. There are also forbearance and deferment options. Just be careful, because those only prolong the debt, make sure they are absolutely necessary.

Lastly, there is a lot of legislation being proposed around student loan debt to ease the pain for borrowers. Set up Google alerts so you can receive emails whenever it is mentioned in the news. Bookmark the Federal website so that you know immediately if a new program is implemented that can help you with your student loans.

What made you write about gambling in this book?

I have personally seen how gambling has crippled households, from casinos to gambling house parties. In the book I discuss how one man lost his family over scratch-offs.

It’s a real issue that is rarely talked about in mainstream but people are losing houses, life savings, and families over it. I had to address it and offer help to those who are faced with this struggle.

I also address IRS debt, pay day and cash advance loans because they are a detriment to financial success.

 

If you need help in your financial journey, regardless of your income level or financial knowledge, this book is relevant and essential to help you achieve your goals. I recommend this book for someone who is ready to hit the ground running and begin doing what it takes to get their money in order.

You can purchase the book here from Amazon.

Dorethia Conner KellyDorethia Conner Kelly, MBA is the president of Conner Financial Coaching, LLC, providing results-oriented personal finance and business coaching services. She is also the founder of the popular #MoneyChat personal finance blog, themoneychat.com and online Twitter chat.

Dorethia’s financial expertise has been featured in various national media including Black Enterprise, U.S. News and Nerd Wallet. She lives in Detroit, Michigan with her family.

Connect with Dorethia at @MoneyChatLIVE & @DorethiaKelly Visit www.themoneychat.com and www.connercoaching.com

What To Do When You Don’t Get the Job You Wanted

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Have you ever applied for a job that you were absolutely sure was a perfect fit for you? You met all the qualifications, and the interview went beautifully, but…you didn’t get the job.

How does that happen? Why does that happen?

There may be several reasons:

  • There may be a flood of applicants for the job (which is very typical these days).
  • As qualified as you are for the job, there may be another applicant who has even better qualifications (or an inside reference).
  • You may lack an important skill, or be not as strong in a skill as the employer wants.
  • There may be a bad reference in your past.
  • The interview may not have gone quite as well as you believe it did, at least not from the employer’s perspective.
  • There may not be an actual job – the employer may just be on a fishing expedition for reasons you’ll never understand.
  • The job may have been eliminated before filling it.

As you can see, there are a lot of reasons why you won’t get a particular job. Your one consolation is that it happens to all of us, and usually more than once.

[How to take a tax deduction for your job hunting expenses!]

There’s no point being angry or bitter of the job that got away, but you can find ways to use the situation to your advantage.

Job Search

Find Out The Reason You Didn’t Get The Job

Even if the application and interview process went well, employers will often terminate your candidacy either through a form letter (that gives no concrete information), or they will ignore you completely in the hope you’ll “get the message”. But if you do get the word from a live person, you should get as much information as you can. This will be considerably easier if your application and interview was arranged by an employment search firm. Though the employer may not speak to you, they will usually give information to an employment agent.

Though it may hurt to find out why you didn’t get the job, this information can be critical in preparing you for the next prospective employer. If you are turned down because there was a stronger candidate, or because the position has been eliminated before filling it, it may be unfortunate, but it will not reflect on anything personal about you.

If on the other hand, the employer felt that there was a weakness in your skill set, or didn’t feel as well about the interview as you did, these are things you need to know so that you can make improvements in the future.

But most important – something you absolutely need to know – is if you received a bad reference. Out of fear of lawsuits, most employers will not give references whether positive or negative. But there are some who do, if only in an indirect way. Even more important, you may find that a reference that you gave has less than positive things to say about you. If you find that out, you want to drop that person from your reference list going forward.

Ask For Constructive Criticism

It may be that you came very close to actually landing the job, but failed to get it because you’re weak in a certain critical area. For this reason, you want to get constructive criticism that will help you to learn where you are weak so that you can make improvements in future job applications.

[When is it time to make a career change?]

Ask For Job Leads!

If the person who interviewed you does make contact with you, either by phone, by email, or by written mail, you should seize the opportunity to ask that interviewer for other job leads.

Just the fact that the interviewer took time to contact you to let you know that you are no longer in the running means that you are viewed as a credible candidate. Take advantage of that status – and also the opportunity to play on the interviewer’s sympathies – to ask the interviewer if they know of any competing companies who are looking to fill a similar position where you might be a good fit.

If the interview went particularly well and you built a rapport with the interviewer, you might even ask if they would give you a referral. You may not get it, but it never hurts to ask.

NEVER Let It Get You Down

If you have ever worked in a sales related job, you are well aware that you have to approach many prospects before you actually make a sale. The same is true when it comes to finding a job. You are being a salesman, and the product you are selling is you. It is the reality of sales that you will not be able make a deal with all prospects, or even most of them. For this reason, you should enter the job hunting process fully prepared for rejection.

You will have to be prepared to accept many rejections on the path toward landing a job, but no matter what, you can’t let it get you down. Upon learning of a rejection, you need to immediately spring into action to land more interviews. Getting down about the rejection, or worse – feeling sorry for yourself – will accomplish absolutely nothing productive.

[Tips on finding a job when unemployed.]

When looking for a job – as in sales – you should have “several coals in the fire” at all times. That means that you are working on more than one potential job at any given point. More important, you should never view any single job as a make-or-break situation for you. Sure, you may need a job, but you don’t need any particular job. The right one will come sooner or later.

What do you do when you learn that you didn’t get a job you hoped you would?

photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net