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You already or in the future might have a relationship with the government and the laws. Like needs, welfare, laws and etc.
This power point will explain all about it

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Different types of trust in government and laws

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You want a healthy relationship between co workers, students, teacher and etc. Like in school you want your student to behave, so you want to be understanding as possible but don't it will backfire for your part. At work you want your boss to understand why are you late for work or others thing, but don't you have a good bond  might cost your job.

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Without eyes in the back of their head not to mention a few more hours in the day - how are busy, spread-thin managers expected to see and recognize the achievements of all their people?

There is a solution to this common recognition problem: Use your team.

For the last two decades, my co-author Adrian Gostick and I have researched, written and trained more companies than we can count on the power of appreciation. We found that, when people feel appreciated and valued, productivity goes up as well as engagement and morale. And when the whole team understands the concept, everything accelerates. Peer-to-peer recognition, when done right, can make a dramatic difference in the engagement of people in your care. First and foremost, it encourages teamwork. An employee we spoke with recently told us, "Peer recognition has brought everybody closer together. Everybody seems to have a better attitude, and we are starting to trust each other more."

It's an astute comment. This employee understands what a lot of managers miss: the link between recognition and trust. In fact, in our workplace surveys of more than 850,000 people, we've found that among the main deterrents of trust in a corporate environment is when a manager either takes credit for an employee's work or doesn't give the person fair acknowledgment for their contributions.

In addition to building camaraderie, peer recognition also helps make recognition accessible to 100% of your staff, not just those in highly visible jobs.

Here's one simple idea we saw once at McLane Company, a supply chain services company, where we spoke and trained over the past few years. The team took one of the stuffed carrots we throw out in keynote speeches and began sending it from teammate to teammate. Team members could send the carrot to whomever they'd like, thanking the person for whatever reason they thought was important. The carrot came with a recognition log, detailing where it had been and why each person on the log was deserving of the "trophy." It was the first time people were excited to check the interoffice mail.

With that said, it's important to note that peer recognition is a supplement to, not a replacement for, above-and-beyond awards from a manager. So please listen the next time an employee tells you how Aaron had to stay at the job site an extra three hours every day last week, or how Susan turned an angry customer into an upsell, or how Monique got that important project back on track. It's important for a manager to remember that these moments aren't part of their regular jobs and they deserve a more tangible award from you, their leader.

Our research from The Carrot Principle shows that in the most productive workplaces, appreciation is expressed by a manager to an employee or an employee to and employee at least once every seven days. Of course, there's no way to make that happen without leaning on your team members. They are the best resource to learn what others are accomplishing.

Dan Helfrich, principal and partner at Deloitte Consulting, came to see the power of peer-to-peer recognition as an attribute of a healthy team culture. The leader of the firm's 8,500-person Federal Government Services Practice told us he conducted an experiment not long ago. "I knew our people were doing great things for each other every day, so I sent an email asking them to reply with the story of someone who had helped them, and to copy the person. In one week, we had a thousand recognition emails. I realized, 'Holy cow, our culture is so supportive of one another.' But I also realized we had tapped into a nerve of people who wanted to say 'thank you' more and weren't."

Helfrich said he was awed by "the swelling of pride that our people felt from a three-line email that was copied to the overall leader of the business saying, 'Robin did something amazing last week.' It was this spontaneous thing that started an amazing conversation in our team about the power of gratitude."

These are just a few of the ways we've seen managers get peer-to-peer recognition rolling. We'd love to hear what works - and doesn't - in saying "thanks" in your culture.
Note: Adrian Gostick contributed to this article.

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Why The Power Of Peers Is So Important For Building Trust In The Workplace

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Without eyes in the back of their head not to mention a few more hours in the day - how are busy, spread-thin managers expected to see and recognize the achievements of all their people? There is a solution to this common recognition problem: Use your team.

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It true when they say" family always go first". Because, when your friend leave you. Your family will help you out better than you friend ever could. But, if you cut bonds on family member you will be in deep trouble in the future.

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family, a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household and interacting with each other in their respective social positions, usually those of spouses, parents, children, and siblings. The family group should be distinguished from a household, which may include boarders and roomers sharing a common residence. It should also be differentiated from a kindred (which also concerns blood lines), because a kindred may be divided into several households. Frequently the family is not differentiated from the marriage pair, but the essence of the family group is the parent-child relationship, which may be absent from many marriage pairs.

At its most basic, then, a family consists of an adult and his or her offspring. Most commonly, it consists of two married adults, usually a man and a woman (almost always from different lineages and not related by blood) along with their offspring, usually living in a private and separate dwelling. This type of unit, more specifically known as a nuclear family, is believed to be the oldest of the various types of families in existence. Sometimes the family includes not only the parents and their unmarried children living at home but also children that have married, their spouses, and their offspring, and possibly elderly dependents as well; such an arrangement is called an extended family.

Socioeconomic aspects of the family

At its best, the family performs various valuable functions for its members. Perhaps most important of all, it provides for emotional and psychological security, particularly through the warmth, love, and companionship that living together generates between spouses and in turn between them and their children. The family also provides a valuable social and political function by institutionalizing procreation and by providing guidelines for the regulation of sexual conduct. The family additionally provides such other socially beneficial functions as the rearing and socialization of children, along with such humanitarian activities as caring for its members when they are sick or disabled. On the economic side, the family provides food, shelter, clothing, and physical security for its members, some of whom may be too young or too old to provide for the basic necessities of life themselves. Finally, on the social side, the family may serve to promote order and stability within society as a whole.

Historically, in most cultures, the family was patriarchal, or male-dominated. Perhaps the most striking example of the male-dominated family is the description of the family given in the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament), where the male heads of the clans were allowed to have several wives as well as concubines. As a general rule, women had a rather low status. In Roman times the family was still patriarchal, but polygamy was not practiced, and in general the status of women was somewhat improved over that suggested in the Hebrew Bible, although they still were not allowed to manage their own affairs. The Roman family was an extended one. The family as it existed in medieval Europe was male-dominated and extended.

In the West, industrialization and the accompanying urbanization spawned-and continue to spawn-many changes in family structure by causing a sharp change in life and occupational styles. Many people, particularly unmarried youths, left farms and went to urban centres to become industrial workers. This process led to the dissolution of many extended families.

The modern family that emerged after the Industrial Revolution is different from the earlier model. For instance, patriarchal rule began to give way to greater equality between the sexes. Similarly, family roles once considered exclusively male or female broke down. Caring for the home and children, once the exclusive duty of the female, is often a shared activity, as, increasingly, is the earning of wages and the pursuit of public life, once the exclusive domain of the male. The structure of the family is also changing in that some couples choose not to marry legally and instead elect to have their children out of wedlock; many of these informal relationships tend to be of short duration, and this-as well as the rise in levels of divorce-has led to a rapid increase in the number of one-parent households.

Especially in Western cultures, the modern family is today more of a consuming as opposed to a producing unit, and the members of the family work away from home rather than at home. Public authorities, primarily governmental ones, have assumed many of the functions that the family used to provide, such as caring for the aged and the sick, educating the young, and providing for recreation. Technological advancements have made it possible for couples to decide if and when they want to have children.

Family law varies from culture to culture, but in its broadest application it defines the legal relationships among family members as well as the relationships between families and society at large. Some of the important questions dealt with in family law include the terms and parameters of marriage, the status of children, and the succession of property from one generation to the next. In nearly every case, family law represents a delicate balance between the interests of society and the protection of individual rights.

The general rule in marriages until modern times was the legal transfer of dependency, that of the bride, from father to groom. Not only did the groom assume guardianship, he usually assumed control over all of his wife's affairs. Often, the woman lost any legal identity through marriage, as was the case in English common law. There have been exceptions to this practice. Muslim women, for instance, had considerable control over their own personal property. The use of dowries, an amount of money or property given to the husband with the bride in compensation for her dependency, has long been practiced in many countries, but it has tended to disappear in many industrial societies.

In general, modern marriage is best-described as a voluntary union, usually between a man and a woman (although there are still vestiges of the arranged marriage that once flourished in eastern Europe and Asia). The emancipation of women in the 19th and 20th centuries changed marriage dramatically, particularly in connection with property and economic status. By the mid-20th century, most Western countries had enacted legislation establishing equality between spouses. Similarly changed is the concept of economic maintenance, which traditionally fell on the shoulders of the husband. Though many laws still lean toward this view, there was increasing recognition of a woman's potential to contribute to the support of the family. At the beginning of the 21st century, family law and the notion of family itself was further complicated by calls for acceptance of same-sex marriages and nontraditional families.

Dissolution of marriages is one of the areas in which laws must try to balance private and public interest, since realistically it is the couple itself that can best decide whether its marriage is viable. In many older systems-e.g., Roman, Muslim, Jewish, Chinese, and Japanese-some form of unilateral divorce was possible, requiring only one party to give notice of the intention, usually the male. Most modern systems recognize a mutual request for divorce, though many require an attempt to reconcile before granting divorce. Extreme circumstances, in which blatant neglect, abuse, misbehaviour, or incapacity can be demonstrated, find resolution in civil court. Many systems favour special family courts that attempt to deal more fairly with sensitive issues such as custody of children.

The issue of children poses special problems for family law. In nearly every culture, the welfare of children was formerly left to the parents entirely, and this usually meant the father. Most societies have come to recognize the general benefit of protecting children's rights and of prescribing certain standards of rearing. Thus, more than in any other area, family law intervenes in private lives with regard to children. Compulsory education is an example of the law superseding parental authority. In the case of single-parent homes, the law will frequently provide some form of support. Legislation on child labour and child abuse also asserts society's responsibility for a child's best interests.

The succession of family interests upon the death of its members can be considered a part of family law. Most legal systems have some means of dealing with division of property left by a deceased family member. The will, or testament, specifies the decedent's wishes as to such distribution, but a surviving spouse or offspring may contest what appear to be unreasonable or inequitable provisions. There are also laws that recognize family claims in the event that property is left intestate (i.e., with no will to determine its distribution).

Alan John Barnard

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Family | Definition, Meaning, Members, Types, & Facts

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Family, a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household and interacting with each other in their respective social positions, usually those of spouses, parents, children, and siblings. Learn more about families in this article.

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First, it will be hard and you need the individual to forgive to give a second chances. Last, you need to fix the problem or tell them "please forgive me". But, it the individual choice to forgive or not.

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Forgiveness can be challenging, especially when the offending party offers either an insincere apology or nothing at all. However, it's often the healthiest path forward.

A prominent model, put forth by psychologist Robert Enright, delineates four steps of forgiveness. The first is to uncover your anger by exploring how you've avoided or addressed the emotion. The second is to make the decision to forgive. Begin by acknowledging that ignoring or coping with the offense hasn't worked, and therefore forgiveness might provide a path forward.

Third, cultivate forgiveness by developing compassion for the offender. Reflect on whether the act was due to malicious intent or circumstances in the offender's life. Lastly, release the harmful emotions and reflect on how you may have grown from the experience and the act of forgiveness itself.

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Forgiveness is the release of resentment or anger. Forgiveness doesn't mean reconciliation. One doesn't have to return to the same relationship or accept the same harmful behaviors from an offender. Forgiveness is vitally important for the mental health of those who have been victimized.

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It can be when you get married, new jobs, and kids etc. Always work backwards and not forgetting what it is or you the plan will crash.

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Long-Term and Short-Term Goals | MyMnCareers | CAREERwise Education

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A short-term goal is something you want to do in the near future. A long-term goal is something you want to do further in the future.

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This goal is like 12 months to do Example, getting new house, move to a nicer neighborhood, or just a project that need to be done less then a year. But, don't use long terms goal like getting married. Because it might not worked out as attended.

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Long-Term and Short-Term Goals | MyMnCareers | CAREERwise Education

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A short-term goal is something you want to do in the near future. A long-term goal is something you want to do further in the future.

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If. you keeping escaping your problem like not paying the rent, getting married or etc. That can let your goal out of the window. Like not paying rent could cause to be kick out of your home.

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Real Estate News and Advice | Realtor.com®

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Facing eviction? Chances are, you've seen it coming for a while. Maybe tension between you and your landlord is at an all-time high, or you're running a few months late on rent, or they finally got wind of your banned-per-your-lease puppy. You're not alone-it happened to 3.4 million tenants in 2014.

Whatever the reason, your landlord can't just show up one day and dump your things in the street-there's a legally determined process for evicting a tenant.

First of all, be sure that your landlord's gripe legally qualifies as grounds for eviction. What valid grounds entail varies slightly from state to state- here is a general resource to consult for rules, although we recommend getting in touch with a lawyer or your local tenants' organization-but most evictions occur due to either nonpayment of rent or breaching the lease.

Here's what to expect if you're getting evicted.

Step 1: First notice

If your landlord tries to force you out by changing the locks or shutting off your utilities, stand your ground.

"There has to be notice given," says Sandy LeVan, a housing counselor for the United Tenants of Albany, who acts as a mediator in court. "The landlord can never take matters into their own hands."

That notice comes in a few forms:

30-day notice to vacate, which can be issued without cause on a month-to-month lease. If you dont comply, further eviction proceedings will occur.

Pay rent or quit notice, which (depending on your state) gives three to five days to pay rent or get out.

Cure or quit noticelike the pay rent or quit notice, this gives you a few days to stop violating the conditions of your lease.

Unconditional quit n otice, which requires the tenant to leave immediately.

Step 2: Summons

If you don't follow the terms of the notice, things get murkier. Generally, a landlord will serve you with an official summons to bring you to eviction court. There, you'll have the opportunity to argue your case in front of a judge. Most of the time, you'll receive either a monetary judgment or an eviction order.

"Don't ignore the court papers," LeVan says. "Don't blow it off. You can go and defend yourself." She recommends calling the local bar association, legal aid, or tenant's rights organizations, which can provide mediation and advocacy in court.

Step 3: Court

Outside help is your best chance of fighting the eviction, but if that's truly a luxury you cannot afford-and, if you're behind on rent, it very well might be-bring any supporting documents to court and spend some time formulating your argument. (Pine Tree Legal Assistance offers a comprehensive list of winning arguments.)

If you were withholding rent for a valid reason, like the landlord not making necessary repairs, you may have a strong argument in court. Even if it's just life that's keeping you from paying rent-you lost your job and unemployment is taking a while to come in-tell your story to the court.

Step 4: The judge's decision

"The judge listens to both sides," LeVan says. "Sometimes, courts will work out payment plans and hold off evictions as long as payments are made. No one is trying to make anyone homeless."

These payment plans are far superior to eviction, so if you're offered one, take it without hesitation. But say you do lose: Either you're ordered to pay back rent or the landlord gets the eviction order-or both.

If the court issued just an order for money, there are sources that can help you. Don't give up just because the amount you owe seems overwhelming.

"Social services is the first place to go to," says LeVan. If you're working or have a job lined up, often they'll provide help paying back rent. Otherwise, your local legal aid society and tenants' organizations might be able to assist.

Step 5: The eviction

Your landlord can't evict you himself: Your local sheriff or marshal will come by to escort you from the property. "It's not a comfortable thing," LeVan says. "The sheriffs change the locks, the kids are crying, and it's always very stressful." Typically, you'll have some notice before law enforcement comes-most experts recommend leaving of your own volition beforehand to avoid the stress.

What happens next?

Unfortunately, an eviction can affect your job and apartment search, as well as your credit score. Many states have searchable eviction databases that landlords and employers can access, and your credit report will register on the public record as a ding on your account.

"It doesn't mean the tenant was wrong," LeVan says. "We always caution landlord that the record doesn't mean you'll be a bad tenant." Maybe you were withholding rent but agreed to leave-it still shows up the same way. If this is your situation, keeping thorough records of the case can help if you need to prove your trustworthiness to an employer or future landlord.

How to avoid eviction

When you're first served notice, comply immediately. If possible, pay back rent (with the help of legal aid, if necessary); stop violating the lease; and, if a 30-day notice is served, use that time to arrange housing so you won't overstay your lease.

If your credit has been dinged, be prepared for a few tough years on the rental markets. You may have to pay higher security deposits or more in rent, or work with a rental brokerage service. But even in the worst circumstances, an eviction isn't life or death-you can get through it with your dignity intact.

Jamie Wiebe writes about home design and real estate for realtor.com. She has previously written for House Beautiful, Elle Decor, Real Simple, Veranda, and more.

The realtor.com® editorial team highlights a curated selection of product recommendations for your consideration; clicking a link to the retailer that sells the product may earn us a commission.

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So You're Getting Evicted. How's This Going to Go Down?

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Facing eviction? Chances are, you've seen it coming for a while. Maybe tension between you and your landlord is at an all-time high, or you're running a few months late on rent, or they finally got wind of your banned-per-your-lease puppy. You're not alone-it happened to 3.4 million tenants in 2014.

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Blaming others for not reaching your goal.

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Blaming others for not reaching your goal.

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First, that can damage you relationship and It won't get you nowhere in life. So, please try you best to be proactive then reactive.

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This article discusses 25 tips on how to be proactive at work. Being proactive is a desirable trait.

Bosses, colleagues and customers all like and appreciate employees who are proactive.

Your level of self-confidence, happiness and satisfaction at work increases when you are on top of things and are handling your tasks in a timely, deliberate and efficient manner.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines proactive as "acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes." It is further defined as "controlling a situation by making things happen or by preparing for possible future problems."

Being proactive means anticipating what might happen, planning ahead, preparing in advance and acting ahead instead of simply reacting to circumstances.

Being proactive builds your personal brand and reputation at work. People can count on you for your reliability.
A proactive employee thinks ahead, acts ahead and gets ahead. You can quickly skim all the 25 tips on the table of contents below and then click on any tip to read further details. Please enjoy reading. Thank you.
1. Responding to emails promptly

When you receive an email you can quickly determine if the email is just for your attention and no action is needed, or if it is for your attention and action is needed either immediately or later.

If it is something you can quickly answer, provide your response straightaway.

If it's something you will work on or research on before answering later then send a brief email confirming you will send feedback by a certain time or date.

Acknowledging receipt enables the recipient to know that you received their email and when they can expect feedback.

People appreciate prompt responses to their emails. You could win new business by being first or fast in responding to a customer.

Do not ignore replying. If you happen to forget an email, apologize and reply as soon as you can.

Always include an email subject and begin by thanking the sender for reaching out.

For external emails make it a practice when replying to include your email signature with your name, title, company and contact details.

Also respond to everything that has been asked on the email rather than answering just a few parts.

At all times verify if you have included an attachment. Go an extra step and open up the attachment to double check it is the right one.

Additionally, take a moment to double check whose email address is on the 'reply to' line. Sometimes the autocomplete can populate the wrong email address.

Block specific times during the day for when you respond to emails.

Routinely check your spam or junk folder to verify that legitimate emails did not end up there. Also use great judgement before selecting the "reply all" button.

It is a good idea to know your company's policy for response time for emails. Strive for relevant and brief responses to emails and proofread your emails.

At a minimum respond to emails within one day, for urgent emails respond sooner.

2. Responding to phone calls quickly

Critical aspects in responding well to a telephone call include:

how soon you answer when the phone rings,

your tone of voice,

how you introduce yourself,

referring to the caller by name sparingly,

having empathy and

repeating back critical information such as names, numbers and addresses.

A challenging part for callers is when they are transferred from one person to another.

Manage this process well by letting the caller know you are transferring them to a specific person and explain why you are transferring them for example that person is a specialist who can assist them further.

Master the operations of the phone system and use its various functions seamlessly.

It is also helpful to know the roles of different people in the company and keep an internal phone book nearby.

When responding to calls from colleagues, bosses or customers, speak in a clear and upbeat voice, and be ready to offer help and resources e.g. links to websites.

Make a mental note of the key points during a phone call or you can write them down.

If you have kept someone on hold while you verify something or do quick research, reassure them from time to time that you are still on the line and working on their request.

If you tell someone that you will call them back, make it a point to do so.

3. Addressing requests and complaints swiftly

Requests and complaints can come from multiple internal and external sources such as colleagues, supervisors, vendors, suppliers, customers, shareholders etc.

Handling requests and complaints in a timely manner is vital for good customer satisfaction.

Begin by understanding what the request is, what is needed and by when. Then assess how to handle the request and what resources, if any, are needed to comply with the request.

The keys to addressing requests properly include:

being available to handle the request,

doing your homework,

following instructions well,

knowing when to refer up,

personalizing feedback,

providing clear well thought out answers and

providing additional tips that might be helpful.

On the other hand, complaints are an ever present aspect of work.

One of the most important things to note is the use of tone when responding to complaints, whether it is a response via email, phone or snail mail.

Responsiveness to customer complaints breeds loyalty.

Some tips to keep in mind when handling complaints include: handle everyone with respect at all times, being firm but friendly when rules cannot be broken, not over promising, being sincere and polite, being patient and controlled, listening well, being perceptive or understanding, having a positive outlook and don't take it personally.

Other tips when responding to complaints include: owning up and apologizing when something goes wrong, providing clear instructions, checking in, offering high quality customer care and negotiating and persuading.

4. Having a to-do list

Get into the habit of writing a to-do list for the things you want to focus on each day. This is an efficient system of planning your workday.

The ideal time to write a to-do list is at the end of a workday when you review what you have done versus what you had planned to do.

Also assess additional new tasks that that have been added to your plate. Then develop a draft to-do list for the following day.

You will leave work knowing what your priorities are for the next day and when you arrive in the morning you simply review your tasks and begin working.

The best part of having a to-do list is checking off an item after you have completed it.

A to-do list gives you a big picture overview of what you are supposed to be working on.

It helps to keep you on track and reduces the risk of forgetting to do something that you were supposed to work on.

5. Prioritizing tasks

Prioritizing begins by writing a list of all the tasks which you need to do then ranking them according to importance.

Mark items as urgent vs. non urgent and work immediately on the most pressing items first.

Estimate how much time it would take to complete tasks to have an idea of how your day would look like and stay focused as you complete the tasks at hand.

Give yourself a cushion to cope with unexpected situations, surprises and last minute requests.

Communicate key priorities with your boss or team so that they know when to support you or steer clear to give you room to work.

Use deadlines to plan and manage priorities.

Break down big projects into small tasks and assign mini deadlines for each task.

6. Developing your efficiency methods

To be more proactive at work, develop simple methods that can aid in doing your work faster and more efficiently.

Simple efficiency methods to adopt include: documenting your major duties and operations for others to have during your absences; knowing your company's policies and procedures; knowing what other units are working on to avoid duplication and waste of time and resources and collaborating with others.

Other methods consist of: developing flowcharts for critical procedures and operations; developing work plans and Gantt charts to track projects; preparing standard operating procedures; writing manuals, guidelines and handbooks and creating FAQs for commonly asked questions.

Developing how to videos and explainer videos; preparing step by step screenshot explanations to make it visually faster for others to understand processes and developing indexes, executive summaries and table of contents for documents to make them scannable or skimmable.

Properly filed and well labelled documents; factoring review periods or quality control for work done; scheduling regular status update meetings and having standardized scripts for repeatable processes such as sales calls.

Outsourcing labor intensive activities e.g. events management and using customer friendly systems such as online chats on websites to help customers and provide them with a transcript of the online chat session.

Additional efficiency methods include regularly reviewing existing processes to make changes as appropriate and identifying what is working and what is not working; designing a map of the office layout showing where different staff are located; providing good training for new staff and interns and maintaining good posture and comfortable seating.

Maintaining an organized work space, desk, email, computer folders and hard copy files to enable easy document retrieval. Being organized is good for your well-being.

Having a tidy work area and knowing where everything is, is liberating and helps boost your productivity and responsiveness.

Make an effort to regularly declutter your desk.

7. Managing your calendar

How do you keep your calendar under control?

If you don't keep an eye on it, your calendar could get out of control leaving you running around in circles.

Utilize your calendar as a deliberate scheduling tool.

It is a good idea to have all your meetings and appointments in one calendar and look at it every day.

If you have the luxury, you can start off by booking work blocks when you intend to fully focus on projects.

Schedule times during the day for when you will look at emails and provide feedback be it simple responses or in depth answers.

Book recurring meetings and leave open slots on your calendar where others can book meetings with you.

Take into account time zone factors which can affect meeting times especially when international meetings are planned, the time differences can be significant.

Schedule time off and vacations on your calendar because burnout and fatigue affect your responsiveness. Being well rested and alert helps improve your response time.

8. Honoring your commitments

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines commitment as "an agreement or pledge to do something in the future."

Keeping promises you have made strengthens your credibility.

One reason why commitments are missed is simply because they were forgotten.

Make it a point to note down the major commitments that you have promised others. What was the commitment specifically? When is it due?

Assess your capacity to enter into new commitments.

Estimate how long it would take, identify the steps needed to fulfill the commitment and remind yourself what the commitments are.

Work your commitments into your daily routine.

Plug your commitments into your calendar and monitor your progress as you work towards meeting the pledges.

Give an early heads up over any anticipated setbacks or delays.

9. Anticipating problems and problem solving

Think ahead and address problems before they arise to the greatest extent possible.

Ways of anticipating problems include conducting surveys to find out undercurrents, analyzing recurring or cyclical events that have been problematic in the past and zooming in on those areas prone to breakdown before they do so.

Additional methods are staying ahead of what needs to be done, envisioning the project in your mind and asking others how they have handled similar problems in the past.

Other ways of anticipating problems include reading online reviews about your company - what are the complaints and how can they be handled?

On the personal side of things, review your to-do list regularly to see if there tasks or items that you are avoiding or procrastinating.

Typically a task that is being avoided has the potential to be problematic when the deadline is looming closer and the work has not yet been done or even started. These have potential of causing problems down the road.

Waiting to do things at the last minute can become an ingrained behavior that is self-defeating.

Be proactive in finding solutions to problems. Troubleshoot problems and identify when they started, diagnose and find the underlying cause quickly.

Develop solutions, back-up plans and be comfortable making decisions.

Develop steps for either preventing problems from reoccurring or steps for handling problems when they occur again.

10. Having a routine for how you work

Having a standardized routine for your workday is beneficial. It helps to boost your productivity.

By having a routine, you will have charted a familiar path which you can keep on repeating and improving each day, while at the same time being aware of the typical turbulence that can throw you off course and what corrective action you need to engage in to get back on course.

Develop a routine for doing tasks and then keep improving your routine and performance.

A sample routine for a work day could be as follows:

Tidy up your work area in the morning.

Write your to-do list.

Prioritize your tasks.

Do hard tasks first then easy tasks.

Or do easy tasks first to build momentum then do the hard tasks.

Do one task steadily until you complete it.

Check off items done.

Respond to email requests, telephone calls, colleagues, meetings etc.

Take short breaks.

Have lunch.

Review the work done at the end of the day.

Add new tasks and draft a plan for the next day's work.

11. Working well with others

Having a friendly attitude goes a long way in strengthening relationships at work and how people respond to you.

Support others in their projects especially when they ask for your help and you are in a position to assist.

Endeavor to participate in brainstorming meetings to help come up with ideas to improve the company and support customers better.

Be known for submitting work on time and even for submitting work earlier than anticipated. Develop the capacity to work efficiently under pressure.

Be flexible and open minded. Listen to other people's opinions, suggestions and viewpoints.

Practice being consistent and build the capacity to think on your feet especially when dealing with surprises.

Get along well with colleagues by being collaborative, setting a good example and sharing the credit with others.

Be compassionate, polite and kind. Have energy and enthusiasm. People will respond to your enthusiasm.

Have passion about what you are doing. Give your best efforts at all times and take pride in doing a good job.

Also have a winning mentality and think of possibilities.

Carve out time for socializing with coworkers during company events and have a sense of humor.

Look neat and presentable at all times. Treat everyone with respect regardless of their rank or titles.

Take time to deliberately and sincerely praise others for doing things well.

12. Following up

The art of following up is part of the arsenal of a proactive person. Following up and being persistent are ingredients for success in one's career.

It takes will power to constantly follow-up especially when you don't receive any response.

Follow up is needed in instances such as scheduling meetings or invitations, after meetings, after events, job applications and generally when you have sent someone an important email and they have not responded.

You can also follow-up when sending reminders ahead of important deadlines, events or meetings.

Additionally when thanking your customers and also when sending reminders for subscription renewals.

When following up, personalize your email and refer to any email or communication you had previously sent.

Following-up can be done through different avenues such as email, telephone, text, snail mail, meetings or social media.

One way of going the extra mile is checking in on clients a few weeks or months after you have delivered a project just to see how things are going. It is granted to make the clients or customer pleasantly surprised.

13. Not over committing yourself

Spreading yourself too thin is a recipe for dropping the ball. Being over committed affects one's ability to be proactive.

It is necessary to have a good idea of what your current commitments are at all times to enable you assess whether you can take on additional work.

If you are unable to honor a commitment, it is best to say no and offer a polite explanation that your plate is currently full.

You can also have negotiation discussions to agree on later deadlines, revised or reduced scope of work.

14. Adapting to change

There are constant changes in the world of business. The ability to adapt to change easily affects one's capacity to be proactive.

When confronted with change take time to analyze and understand the reason for the change, the impact of the change and how you need to adjust seamlessly moving forward.

If you are the one initiating the change, it is critical to communicate the change well to others.

Ideally involve them in every step of the change and let people understand the reason why the change is being introduced and the potential benefits.

15. Using auto-responders

Be proactive by using auto-responders appropriately.

Auto-responders that you can use to increase your efficiency include out of office email notifications and voice mail greetings and notifications.

When you are away from the office for a meeting, training, vacation etc. it is a good practice to activate your out of office email.

This should have a brief message mentioning the dates when you are unavailable, when you will be available, who is to be contacted in your absence as well as their contact details or alternatively specify when you expect to read emails.

Set up the auto responder with a specific start and end date and time. When you are back in the office double check to ensure that your auto responder is not sending emails, it can make you look disorganized.

Similarly out of office voicemail can serve the same function as out of office email notifications. Remember to deactivate this once you return to the office.

Additionally setup a standard voicemail greeting. The tone of your voicemail greeting should be friendly.

State your name, title, company, department and a brief message for callers to leave their name, contact details and a message mention you will get back to them as soon as you can.

You could also state what your normal business hours are to give callers an idea of when they can expect to reach you or hear from you.

Check your voicemail on a regular basis and respond to voicemail as soon as you can.

16. Providing timely updates

When working on a project, update your boss, your team, client and other relevant stakeholders on the progress at regular intervals and also once the activity is completed.

Complete the project on time.

If you are not able to provide updates as earlier envisioned, let your boss know in advance.

In addition let your boss hear your mistakes from you first or any potential holdups.

17. Acting on feedback

It is important to receive feedback because it measures how you are performing.

Demonstrate a willingness to learn and desire to be corrected when you are wrong. Ask feedback from colleagues, supervisors and customers.

Feedback can come from multiple sources such as performance reviews, suggestions, complaints, listening to ideas and asking good questions.

The next step after receiving feedback is to reflect on it and put it to use.

What are you doing well? What should you continue doing? What areas and skills should you improve on? What behaviors or actions should you stop doing? What new things should you start doing?

Good feedback is timely, actionable and specific. You should also welcome constructive feedback that is aimed at making you better, more efficient and proactive.

Remember to thank those who take time to give you feedback.

Just as it is important to receive feedback, it is equally important to give others feedback.

Give others feedback in a specific and respectful way. Think of what information and suggestions you can share to help others improve their behavior and succeed at work.

One more form of feedback is letting employees know or see the results of their work i.e. who benefits from what they do and how they benefit.

18. Managing time and meeting deadlines

Since time is a non-renewable resource, we should utilize good methods to maximize the time available. Time is limited.

Time management entails doing the most amount of productive and efficient work within the shortest time possible.

The emphasis is on efficiency and not jumping from task to task or never ending busyness.

The foundation of time management is in knowing what you want to do, why you should do it, planning how to do it and doing it in the best way possible.

A broad formula for time management is to map out the daily tasks to do, begin each day by doing the most important tasks, have a time-frame for how long to work on a task and review it after you have completed it.

Deadlines are important too.

Stay on top of deadlines by writing down the deadlines, breaking projects into small tasks, setting-up reminders, staying focused, eliminating distractions, monitoring progress and wherever possible completing tasks ahead of the deadline.

19. Planning ahead

Plan what you want to accomplish then take action.

Planning ahead entails knowing what you want to achieve and then structuring your activities in a systematic or sequential way around the time available.

At the end of the activity, examine what you did against your initial objectives.

Understand the big picture of your company and how your work supports the overall organizational vision. Know how the moving pieces are connected.

Know what others are working on and how you can support.

Get into a good rhythm at the beginning of the day.

Part of planning involves knowing your most productive periods during the day.

Periods when you are really energetic, focused and your engines are revving and endeavor to do your most creative and productive work around those times.

20. Improving work processes

On a regular basis iterate, improve, refine, reduce, modify, redesign and recalibrate your work processes.

Always be on the lookout for a better way of performing your work.

Some easy steps of improving work processes include: reducing steps for accomplishing daily projects without compromising the quality of the output, delegating certain tasks to others, automating tasks, using checklists, developing standard operating procedures and designing forms and templates for everyday use.

Others include preparing manuals, templates, responses to frequently asked questions, setting up reminders, avoiding scheduling back to back meetings and scheduling short meetings.

Preparing agendas for meetings and following the agenda, unsubscribing from email lists to control your inbox, checking emails at specific periods during the day rather than continuously working on email all day long and crafting standard email responses for questions you respond to over and over again.

21. Participating actively at work

Ways to participate actively at work include contributing and speaking up during meetings and giving your suggestions, opinions or recommendations, participating in brainstorming sessions, volunteering, helping out the team and going the extra mile.

Other ways include teaching others, having initiative, participating in external activities and events, conducting and reviewing customer surveys, listening to customer feedback and complaints then identify any trends and visiting customers on their premises.

22. Learning from mistakes

Even with our best intentions to work as best as we can and be highly proactive, inevitably mistakes do happen.

What should you do during these instances?

Instances where someone drops the ball include missing a deadline, forgetting to do an important task, making a major mistake, being late for an important meeting or forgetting the meeting altogether, or when you don't have an answer during a telephone call.

Options for when you fall behind in your work: working remotely, working earlier, staying late, asking for help, renegotiating deadlines, putting up a do not disturb sign, seeking cooperation of colleagues, working weekends, temporarily saying no to new tasks and compressing time by forcing yourself to work faster.

Fight procrastination by forcing yourself to do those tasks you have been avoiding or postponing.

Also become better at estimating the time needed to complete tasks.

Take ownership when you make a mistake.

Be a student of innovation, not all strategies will work out but keep innovating and improving.

23. Building-up your skills

What are your strengths and weaknesses? What do you excel in doing? Which tasks do you enjoy doing the most? Which ones do you least enjoy?

Be on the lookout for potential slip ups in tasks that you don't enjoy but still have to do. Focus more energy and be vigilant on these areas.

Aim to stay up to date on skills necessary to succeed and advance in your line of work or career. Observe trends in your industry. Read articles, news reports and industry publications.

Sharpen your technology and other skills through avenues such as watching "how to" videos, free online courses, paid courses, research, following trendsetters in your industry on social media, learning from peers and investing in continuing education.

24. Communicating well

Taking time to listen attentively and taking good notes helps in how you respond to others.

Ask good questions to gain deeper understanding or to clarify instructions and assumptions.

When writing, use simple and easy to understand sentences. Avoid jargons.

Choose the correct medium to communicate depending on the situation - email, phone call, face to face, fax, snail mail, chat, text, video, social media etc.

When involved in a critical telephone call, it is a good practice to write a summary of the phone call and share it with the parties involved as reference notes for what was discussed.

Similarly during meetings it is helpful to take down the key points and circulate your meeting notes with the participants to ensure that you are all on the same page.

A challenging scenario that arises from time to time is the ability to know when to switch from endless back and forth emails to resolving an issue via a phone call or face to face meeting.

It pays off to know at what point you need to simply pick up the phone and discuss further.

25. Handling interruptions at work

Interruptions are unavoidable parts of the work processes.

Think through a typical week, what kind of interruptions do you get at work? It could be a flurry of emails, telephone calls, colleagues chatting with you or an emergency deadline or project.

It could also be distractions such email or text message notifications, cell phone, browsing the Internet or social media and checking email constantly.

How you respond to interruptions when you are busy has an impact on your work output. The impact could be negative or positive depending on the situation.

For example if the issue arising is a sudden deadline that needs your attention or assistance, your swift response is paramount.

If a colleague needs your input you can let them know you are pressed for time but can spare a few minutes to listen to and address their issue.

If they need a more comprehensive response you could request them to either send you an email or you can have a meeting later on.

If it is colleagues passing by your desk just to chit chat then this can eat up your time and cause you to fall back on your work schedule.

At the same time it is important to nurture work relationships with colleagues and not brush them off when they want to talk to you.

Work place friendships are important in boosting job satisfaction, morale and productivity.

You could try one of two approaches, firstly let your colleague know that you can't chat now because you are working on a project but you will pass by their desk later or secondly you can later on mutually plan a group lunch together at convenient times just to catch up.

Conclusion

What is the next step after being proactive? Taking initiative is the next logical step after being proactive.

Being proactive means thinking ahead, planning ahead and acting ahead.

Whereas taking initiative means going the extra mile or going above and beyond your normal responsibilities to make things happen.

Learn more about taking initiative by reading our in-depth article on 17 Tips on How to Take Initiative at Work.

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Additional Articles on How to Be Proactive At Work

1. 5 Tips for Being More Proactive at Work

2. 8 Ways to Become the Most Proactive Person You Know

3. 10 Ways Employees Can Be More Proactive At Work

4. How to Be Proactive in the Workplace

5. 5 ways to help employees be more proactive at work

6. 7 Habits to Work Proactively, Not Reactively

7. How to Be a Proactive Employee

8. 6 Tips to Shift from Reactive to Proactive Customer Service

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25 Tips on How to be Proactive at Work - ThriveYard

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Learn solid tips on how to be proactive at work to help propel you further in your career. A proactive employee thinks ahead, acts ahead and gets ahead. Being proactive builds your personal brand and reputation at work. People can count on you for your reliability plus bosses & customers appreciate proactive employees.

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It help you to make a decision  on individual or a group like budgeting, retirement and planning. without these things you will be extra weight for people who cares about you.

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Personal Finance Guides & Financial Advice | US News Money

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US News is a recognized leader in college, grad school, hospital, mutual fund, and car rankings. Track elected officials, research health conditions, and find news you can use in politics, business, health, and education.

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You want to have a good credit or you might not get a house or something what you want. So, very good relationship to the bank is very important. Anyway just don't use credit, or thing you know that you can't pay back.

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Americans have more credit card debt than ever before. According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. households collectively hold over a trillion dollars in credit card debt. The average American family owes $8,377.

"America's credit card balances have never been higher," Matt Schulz, CreditCards.com's senior industry analyst tells CNBC Make It, "but there's no reason to think they won't just keep climbing."

If you're one of the hundreds of millions of Americans with outstanding credit card debt, you may be tempted to ignore your credit card bills. People like James Altucher may even tell you to never pay off your credit card debt.

But after working as both a debt collector and a credit counselor, Bruce McClary says that the best way to face credit card debt is head-on. Today McClary is vice president of communications for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a nonprofit organization that provides free credit counseling services.

Here is exactly what will happen if you don't pay off your credit card debt, and why you should make paying it off a top priority:

Nicholas Eveleigh | Getty Images

Before you miss a payment

"If you think you are not going to be able to make a payment on time, the best course of action is to reach out and be proactive," says McClary. "Time is not your friend in this situation, it is your enemy."

When contacting a creditor, McClary says borrowers should mention four things: "Let them know that you might miss a payment, let them know the circumstances, ask them if there's anything that you can do to avoid having this show up on your credit report and ask what you can do to avoid any late fees or any penalties that might result from missing a payment."

Being proactive can pay off big-time, because creditors are more likely to work with you if you start communicating early. And many creditors have policies to help borrowers who are worried about falling behind.

"Some creditors offer skip-a-payment-plans or interest-only-payment-plans to help you buy some time," he says. "Those things can keep the account from showing up as delinquent on your credit report and they can also help you avoid costly penalties."

30 days late

When you begin to miss payments without informing your creditors, you start to face increasingly serious consequences. "If you happen to be in a situation where you weren't proactive, then the tables turn and the creditor reaches out to you," says McClary.

If you are 30 days late on a payment, your creditor will likely contact you via phone, letter or email. McClary's advice is to face these communications head-on instead of ignoring them: "Do not duck the call or letter or email. Open it, read it, respond."

Caiaimage/Paul Viant | Getty Images

"Avoiding their communication at this stage doesn't make it go away. It only makes things worse."

Responding as soon as possible will make creditors more sympathetic to your situation. By working with your creditor, instead of hiding from them, you're more likely to find some leniency. "It is a very soft contact at that point. They are not so demanding and they are still open to helping you find a way that you can affordably get up to date. Things are still fixable at that stage," he says.

60 days late

After missing a second payment, you begin to face some of the financial consequences of not paying off your credit card debt.

Your interest rate will likely increase to the penalty interest rate agreed upon in your contract. The increase can be dramatic. "I have seen interest rates go from 8 percent to 20 percent to 29 percent and even 36 percent," says McClary.

You will also be charged a late fee, typically between $20 and $30, and your credit score will be negatively impacted. Over time, these late fees can add up to be a serious burden and a low credit score can make it difficult for you to achieve your financial goals, like owning a house or buying a car.

90 days late

If you miss a third payment, your account will likely be shut down completely and you will be expected to pay the balance in full. Most creditors will sell your debt to a third-party collection agency. These agencies often pursue the harshest possible legal actions, which vary from state to state.

In some states, you can be sued. In others, a lien can be placed on your bank account. But nowhere in the country can you be imprisoned for missing a credit card payment. "You should never worry about going to a debtors' prison," says McClary. "What you do have to worry about is the mounting cost and the financial damage."

"Time is not your friend in this situation, it is your enemy." -Bruce McClary, National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC)

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Here's what happens if you don't pay off your credit card debt

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Americans have more credit card debt than ever before. According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. households collectively hold over a trillion dollars in credit card debt. The average American family owes $8,377. "America's credit card balances have never been higher," Matt Schulz, CreditCards.com's senior industry analyst tells CNBC Make It, "but there's no reason to think they won't just keep climbing."

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You need insurance. without it you might break the law and that not a good relationship. Like car, house, etc to keep you stuff safe or replace

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Purchasing a life insurance policy is important for anyone who has a spouse or young children who depend on them financially. However, life insurance can also help older adults better plan for their final expenses and burial costs.

6 reasons life insurance is important

When you purchase a life insurance policy, your insurance company agrees to pay a death benefit to your appointed beneficiary upon your death, assuming you fulfill the terms of your policy.

Although your beneficiary can be anyone, policyholders commonly choose to have the death benefit go to a family member, business partner or dependent. Below, we examine six reasons life insurance is important.

1. It can help replace your income

If you are the primary earner in your family, losing your income can negatively affect the financial future of your loved ones. Even if you aren't the primary source of income for your family, they may depend on you for domestic tasks and household needs, such as cleaning, cooking, laundry and childcare.

A life insurance payout can help cover these costs and help ensure your family's quality of life is maintained.

2. It can help cover funeral and burial costs

The average funeral can cost between $7,000 and $10,000. Without life insurance, your family would likely have to pay these expenses out of their own pocket. A life insurance policy can help give you peace of mind that your affairs are taken care of.

3. It can help pay off outstanding debts

Most of us have some debt, whether in the form of a mortgage, auto financing or credit card debt. If you were to die unexpectedly, your loved ones could be responsible for these payments, which could cause serious additional distress. A life insurance policy can help pay for these debts.

4. It can help plan for your child's education

If you're a parent (or planning to be) you might want to make sure your children are afforded the best education possible. If you are planning to pay tuition and other educational expenses for your child or other dependent, life insurance can help cover these costs.

5. It can help keep your business afloat

Life insurance is important for business owners because it can help protect the business from financial loss, liabilities or instability in the case of an owner or business partner's death. You can name a business partner a beneficiary to help them maintain the business and keep operations going.

6. It can help protect your retirement savings

Buying a life insurance policy can help ensure that your family doesn't have to rely on your retirement savings for financial support. If you pass away unexpectedly and your family has to dip into savings, your spouse won't have those funds to rely on down the road.

Having a life insurance policy in place will help allow your family to make the most of other savings opportunities and use those funds how they were originally intended.

Get a life insurance policy quote today

A licensed insurance agent can help you explore your life insurance options and match you with a policy that makes sense for you.

Speak with an agent at 800-390-3019 for your free life insurance quote.

Source: https://www.parting.com/blog/funeral-costs-how-much-does-an-average-funeral-cost/

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Agency services provided by AIG Direct Insurance Services, Inc. ("AIG Direct"), CA license # 0B57619 and AR license # 0100105378, a subsidiary of American General Life Insurance Company ("AGL"), Houston, TX and an affiliate of The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York ("US Life"), New York, NY, all members of American International Group ("AIG").

Policies issued by: American General Life Insurance Company (AGL), Policy Forms: ICC15-15532, 15532, 15532-5, 15532-10. Rider Numbers: ICC15-15200, ICC15-15201, 15200, 15200-10, 15200-35, 15201, 15201-9, 15201-10 and 15201-35except in New York where issued by The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York (US Life), Policy Form Number: 15532N. Issuing companies AGL and US Life are responsible for financial obligations of insurance products and are members of American International Group, Inc. (AIG).

Products may not be available in all states and product features and rates may vary by state. Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Each issuing insurance company is responsible for financial obligations of their respective insurance. For all companies mentioned, their financial professionals and other representatives are not authorized to give legal, tax or accounting advice. For advice concerning your individual circumstances, consult a professional attorney, tax advisor or accountant.

AGLCXXXXXX ©2018 AIG. All Rights Reserved.

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Purchasing a life insurance policy is important for anyone who has a spouse or young children who depend on them financially. However, life insurance can also help older adults better plan for their final expenses and burial costs.

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Investment require a lot of trust or a good relationship. Because, nobody will give you money if you have a bad relationship. Even it means the good for people. still nobody will give you money.

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It's the dawning of a new year and you finally have some money to invest. Perhaps you just got a raise. Or, maybe an end-of-year bonus is burning a hole in your pocket. Either way, you need to be smart about investing if you want those extra dollars to count.

The problem is, you have no clue where to invest your cash. While you're aware of the myriad investing options available, the sheer number of possibilities is overwhelming.

In the investing world, this is called "paralysis by analysis." You spend so much time analyzing your options that you wind up putting it off and never investing at all. And eventually, the extra cash you set aside gets consumed by bills or unexpected expenses. In other words, life happens.

4 Investments You Should Absolutely Make in 2018

If you want to make sure your extra cash doesn't disappear, you need to invest it right away. A certain amount of analysis is fine if it helps you find the right investment options for your goals, but you still need to act fast.

With that in mind, I wanted to share what I believe are the four best ways to invest your excess funds in 2018.

#1: The Stock Market

While "invest in the stock market" is some of the most basic advice you'll ever read, please hear me out on this one. While everyone knows that investing in the stock market has historically paid off, there are far too many people who don't trust the financial markets and choose to sit on the sidelines altogether.

Then there are people who think the stock market is so overvalued right now that they would be crazy to jump in. But, here's the thing: Nobody is telling you to pour every extra cent you have into stocks. Instead, I'm suggesting you invest small sums of money over time using a method called "dollar cost averaging."

Dollar cost averaging requires us to trickle our money into investments over any length of time. It could be 12 months. It would be 18 months. Heck, it could be five years.

Colorado financial advisor David Henderson of Jenkins Wealth goes further to explain how dollar cost averaging works: "When the market is high, you buy fewer shares and when the market is low you buy more shares," he says. This means that, over time, you will have a lower average share price using this method. Obviously, it's easy to see why this would be beneficial.

Now that we've talked about the importance of investing in the stock market, let's talk about exactly where to invest your money. What are the best tools and vehicles we can use?

This is yet another situation where the options are overwhelming. Still, I typically suggest people get their feet wet with mutual funds or ETFs.

If you have a financial advisor working on your behalf, they may be able to weed out the well-performing actively managed mutual funds from the ones that aren't doing so great. Otherwise, you can invest in index funds, which are not actively managed but have a long history of solid returns.

If you have a brokerage account already, then you may want to stick with it. Otherwise, you'll need to find a new place to help you invest your funds. One company I always suggest is Betterment. With Betterment, your money can be invested in ETFs and they don't charge a fee for managing these for you. Plus, they actually pick the ETFs you invest in based on your appetite for risk, investing goals, and other factors.

What does that mean? That means that you can invest your hard-earned money, then sit back and enjoy the returns and let them do the hard work.

If you want to have more control on your investments, online brokerage firms like Ally Financial, TD Ameritrade and E-Trade make it easy to stay in charge with low fees and easy-to-use platforms. Plus, there are a multitude of other " robo-advisors" to choose from.

As a final note, there's one more simple way to invest in the stock market with even less effort - boosting how much you contribute to your work-sponsored retirement account. Arizona financial planner Charles C. Scott says this may be your best option yet - especially if you're not contributing enough to get a match from your employer.

"Every dollar you contribute could get a dollar match," says Scott. "That's a 100% return on your investment."

If you're not making the most of your 401(k) or contributing enough to get a match, then you're probably best starting there.

#2: Peer-to-Peer Lending

A second place to stash some of your excess cash this year is in peer-to-peer lending platforms like Lending Club and Prosper. With these companies, you're able to loan money to individuals in small increments as if you were the bank. The best part is, you get to earn a pretty decent rate of return - usually upward of 6% or more.

As an investor in peer-to-peer lending, you're investing in other people and their goals. It's comforting knowing you aren't lending people you don't know large sums of money. Instead, the money you invest is split up into increments as small as $25 over hundreds or even thousands of loans.

While it may seem strange to hear a financial advisor suggest people invest in peer-to-peer lending, I'm not the only one who sees the value in these platforms. Kansas City Financial Advisor Clint Haynes told me he supports peer-to-peer lending as an alternative to the stock market for a few reasons. First, these companies make it easy to sign up and get started. Second, your rate of return can range from 5 - 7 percent for safer loans and even more for riskier loans. Last but not least, you can typically open a new account with as little as $1,000.

#3: Real Estate

In addition to the stock market and peer-to-peer lending websites, a third investment strategy to consider this year is real estate. The thing is, I'm not suggesting everyone run out and buy an investment property. After all, not everyone is cut out to be a landlord.

I'm certainly not. I tried investing in physical real estate seven years ago and almost lost my shirt. I learned a lot of lessons from my foray into becoming a landlord, the biggest of which was that I don't need that kind of stress in my life.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to invest in real estate without dealing with a physical property. One option to consider is investing in real estate notes. I got started investing into real estate notes because a really good friend of mine was crushing it with real estate and offering his friends the chance to invest.

He would buy a pool of real estate properties, and then investors like myself would invest money into his project. From there, he would manage the properties and pay me a dividend or interest off that money. For me, this has been an attractive way to invest money without having to be a landlord or deal with tenants.

Obviously, there is a ton of risk in a situation like this. You have to have a lot of trust to invest in real estate notes offered by an individual.

The good news is, there are other ways to invest in real estate outside of real estate notes. One option I'm really excited about is a company called Fundrise. Fundrise offers an investing scenario similar to the one above. They buy commercial properties and allow investors to invest small sums of money. Obviously, this is yet another hands-off investment. You may own part of a commercial real estate project, but you don't even see or deal with the property itself.

Like Lending Club, Fundrise requires an upfront sum of around $1,000 to get started. Once you invest, however, Fundrise mostly lets you "set it and forget it." Even better, you may receive a pretty hefty rate of return through this platform. On the company website, Fundrise claims its returns have averaged between 8.76% up to 12.42% over the last five years. Not too shabby.

Obviously, there is risk investing in a platform like this one, too. First off, the company is newer so it doesn't have decades of data to share. Second, you're letting a third party choose buildings and investments on your behalf, which means you've given up all control.

Regardless, I think it's pretty cool that technology has allowed investors to get access to commercial properties in a way we haven't been able to in the past.

#4: Invest in You

This last investment option might sound cheesy, but it's one of the best investments anyone can make. By investing in yourself, you are improving the biggest asset you'll ever have.

Believe it or not, there are a ton of ways to invest in yourself that don't cost a ton of cash at all. One of the best ways to improve yourself could even be free if you have a library.

That's right; read a ton of books! But, how many should you read? Minneapolis Financial Planner Morgan Ranstrom says that reading three to five books on successful personal finance strategies or leadership skills will absolutely make you smarter over the course of a few months.

If you have more time, you could read even more than that. If you're not sure what to read, you could even consider signing up for Leaderbox - a monthly subscription service that includes books and leadership strategies curated by thought leader Michael Hyatt.

It's been stated that CEOs of major corporations read 60 books per year on average. These guys and gals are managing businesses worth millions or billions, and they can still read 60 books a year. Imagine how busy they are. Now, ask yourself how busy you are.

If you dedicate yourself to reading just one book a month - 12 books per year - I promise you will be amazed at the results.

Of course, reading isn't the only way to invest in yourself. Another investment you can make into yourself is in courses or investing into material that you can learn from other people. Trust me; everyone has something to learn.

Personally, I have found a lot of success via learning from others in my niche. Recently, I even paid $3,500 for a course on how to launch a successful YouTube channel. That might sound crazy to some people, but I have made investment back and then some already.

A third way you can invest into yourself is through personal coaching. I've done a few different ways. I went to a business and entrepreneurship coach for five years and spent a ton of cash that I could barely justify. The thing is, this investment paid off in spades - even though it was expensive.

You can also hire a personal coach to help you with whatever your goals are. There are career coaches. There are business coaches. There are fitness coaches. There are life coaches.

While coaching is expensive, it's amazing what you can accomplish when you have someone to be accountable to.

Last but not least, don't discount the idea of going back to school. Brian Behl, a Wealth Advisor with Bronfman Rothschild tells me he feels too many people overlook this option when it might be their ticket to long-term wealth.

Let's say you could spend $10,000 on a designation or advanced degree but it increases your annual income by $10,000 or more. That's an incredible rate of return, says Behl, but it becomes an even better investment when you consider how much more you'll earn over 20 or 30 working years.

"While it would be great to invest these funds in your portfolio, there is no investment which is likely to pay off in this way," says Behl.

And if you think you're too busy to go back to college, don't forget about online degrees says, Orange County financial advisor Anthony Montenegro of The Blackmont Group.

"Many of the country's top-ranked schools also accommodate the busy professional by offering certificate and degree completion programs online," he says. "If you're interested in becoming more marketable to your current employer or want to explore opportunities with a competing company, consider carving out time to study for a graduate degree or specialized designation for your industry."

Investing in yourself might sound cliché, and it is, but it's a bet that could absolutely pay off. And if you want to make the most of your investments this year, betting on yourself is one of the smartest moves you can make.

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It's the dawning of a new year and you finally have some money to invest. Perhaps you just got a raise. Or, maybe an end-of-year bonus is burning a hole in your pocket. Either way, you need to be smart about investing if you want those extra dollars to count.

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Believe in someone or something

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Management with money even it little money.