How are you investing in your future?

When many people hear about investing in their future, they often think about investing in their children or their community. Most of us, as far as I've seen, do little to help our community, but for the most part, the government should be taking care of that. After all, that's what taxes are for.

I'm not talking about investing in the community, or even your children for that matter. How are you investing in yourself?

There are many people in this world who are worried about their image, the clothes they wear, the car they drive, and the technology they have. As was proven during this past recession, those probably aren't the things that got you through it, if you got through it at all. When you lose your job, your car isn't going to help you to get a new job and it's not going to be in the interview questions. Though the clothes you wear makes a statement, they aren't the things that will get you the job; and that technology helped you to know the interview was there, it probably didn't make a difference that your iPhone had quick internet while you were trying to convince the company to hire you.

Many people don't want to go back to school and spend thousands of dollars on tuition. The motivation just isn't as great as it used to be for many people. Those years are over. By this point, you probably have children and perhaps are even a single parent. Things are pretty rough and the job you have isn't quite cutting it and the costs are only going up. How can you regain those years that you lost while you sat idle doing the same job for so many years?

While I've been going to my university, I recognize that it doesn't have the best schooling in the country, and that was my fault for not caring about grades in high school. I made a mistake early in my life that will change the course which I follow, or will it?

Since I've started school, I've always had a job. I've taken at least twenty-one credit hours a semester and made sure that I graduate with no debt. Most of the time, it is because we lose faith in ourselves that we let ourselves go. It would be easy for me to take out loans and just be like every one else, but in the end, you've got to learn to stand apart. This isn't about bragging about my school or how good I am, but it's about how to stay in front of the curve.

First off, arbitrary grades aren't everything. Though many institutions across the country enjoy having the bright individuals attending their universities, many of these people are simply good test takers or are able to finish their homework. Those aren't really the people that you want to be. It's the innovators that you need to find.

Who are the people that take a bad idea and make it better? Most of the time they are the people who spend most of their day tackling problems in their lives. They've learned from that experience what to do in certain situations. I'm not saying that you shouldn't study, but do beat yourself down because you have a bad GPA or didn't graduate the top of your class. The point is to be marketable. What have you done that is noteworthy? How have you been a leader throughout your community or what have you taught yourself on your own time to set you apart?

Recently I was doing job interviews for new candidates for a job. The job offer was placed after a previous employee stopped coming to work because he had found another job. With no possible way to cross-train, we had to find someone new who we could use. The job was posted on the bulletin board and candidates came for an opportunity to work in the IT department. The job description was very specific in the skills and abilities which were required. And interviews began.

On an aside, the first thing that I do when I see a job that I want, is to make sure that I can do everything that the job description describes. This not only impresses the employer, but sets you apart from the guys which I'm about to describe.

When the people came into the interview, many of them had little to no experience on the subject. They hadn't taken the time to study the topics and didn't ask good questions. Many of them contradicted themselves during the interview process and were not a good fit. My boss took a moment to think about how everything was going and looked at us and said, "Maybe we're looking at this in the wrong way."

He was right, for the most part. Many of the skills which were posted on the job description were things that entry-level individuals have probably never used or had the opportunity to use. We thought about which of the employees could be trained the quickest and who would do the best at their job. The problem was, we still weren't 100% confident that anyone would fill the role properly, but we settled on who we think would be most motivated to do well in the job.

This brings up an important point. Are you preparing for future jobs, or are you trying to hold on to the one you have? Mind you, doctors and people in developing fields always need to learn, but many people think that they've escaped school and that they need to make it to retirement and they're fine. But how many people lost their jobs recently? How much are you going to risk by setting your job and your future on the line?

In order to stay at par with the rest of the country and world in terms of education, I make sure that I am learning every little thing that the students at MIT and Harvard are learning. I'm not going to let my surroundings dictate who I am or how I'm going to live. I will be competitive and make a difference in my life. You need to develop the confidence to do anything and continue learning. That is what will be the best investment you can make in your future.

I might not get into grad school because of less than stellar grades, and I might not get the internship I want because people have higher GPA's, but when I do, I'm going to make whatever job I get flourish. That's what you should do too.

Are you using Google Right?

For most of the world, including many of the people that I go to school with, Google is a search engine tool that you can use to find anything you want in the world by typing in a search and finding resources. How much are you overlooking? There is a valuable resource at your disposal which you aren't even aware of. It's like when you buy a phone and never figure out how to use the built-in camera.

One of the most ironic things is the fact that Google is able to boost it's rating by using your own faults. Many people know how the rating system works for internet sites, and if you don't then don't worry about it. Most of the people that I know use Google Chrome, even though they are starting to hate it. When you are looking for a page in the address bar, Google has the nifty little feature that when you type in an address wrong, it will search for the site using Google Search. So, basically, using Google Chrome or any of these explorers that have this feature built in will go to Google and boost their ratings. That's why "Google" is the most searched for item for people using Google. Ironic, right?

Google has many built in gadgets which we pass by everyday when we are going through the process of searching for things such as the newest gadgets, even those which are right under our noses. In fact, if you go to Google right now and look at the top of the screen, see how many of the tools on the ribbon you can identify.

Everyone knows search, image and maps. We've all needed to get somewhere or wanted to save an image as our desktop, but what is Google play? YouTube is familiar to all of us, but then you get to the very obscure ones. Google news, Drive, Calendar are all things which don't seem utilized by the average guy each and every day. But wait, there's more?

You've got Google translate, mobile, books, offers, wallet, shopping, blogger, finance, photos, videos! And yet, there's more!

Google has spent millions of dollars establishing these resources which are going underutilized by the public. This isn't because they aren't useful, it is simply because no one knows what to do with them. When was the last time that you used or even heard of Google Trend? Have you ever thought of making a call with your computer through Google? There have probably been times that you have wanted to print something off while you were away. Yep, Google can do that too.

Unfortunately, this isn't something that is going to fix itself overnight and there are many people who won't even bother going through the list. Granted, many of the things are cool, but not useful to many of us. But there are many things that we never consider using.

My advice: Take a moment and explore Google. It's not one of the best companies in the world for nothing.

Are Stores Manipulating You?

It isn't uncommon for people to complain about rising prices at the store. It is something that you hear everyday. Mostly people blame the economy, but have you ever considered that the store is manipulating you?

People have been taught by their parents, and their parents by their parents, that buying in bulk in cheaper. Normally this can be true, especially when you have the American mentality of shopping one time per month and spending upwards of $300 at one time. It would be hard to admit to yourself that this wouldn't always be true, and, in fact, it ins't.

You see, stores know that people are trained to shop in bundles, unless they simply can't afford to do so. Generally, bundling helps people spend more by causing them to question whether or not they really need the bundle. It is a method of revealing how much we are willing to spend on a certain product. Many of us aren't swayed by a three cent or ten cent sale, but a dollar may do it. So what do stores do?

Think of cereal. When you buy cereal, you might buy the huge bags of cereal which might feed a village for a week. When you first go into the store, you might check the price to see what the price really is and if you suppose it's worth or your child is screaming loud enough, you might buy it. Over time you get accustomed to the price without even checking. It is at these moments when the store makes the move. When sales of a product is high, it is easy for the store to raise prices without making much fuss, because people rationalize the increase, but in fact, with the price increase, it is cheaper to buy the smaller box. This isn't because of a change in demand and more people wanting to buy it, the static statistic over time of purchases make it clear that this option is available.

Wait. Wouldn't you notice that the price changes? Some people do, but the trick is product placement and we're not talking about in the movies. By placing similar goods at different places in the store, people who might notice don't take the time to shop, but simply purchase. The distance is enough either for them to forget or "not bother" because they don't want to take the item back, unless you have a child to take it back for you. Though this might not seem like a big deal to each individual shopper, hundreds of people like you are going through the store and rewarding the store for doing this.

The pattern will continue, however, where people may move to the cheaper item; however, this will not happen over night. If the store has a good economist, it will be simple to determine when to make the switch back. When enough people start purchasing the cheaper item, profits from the change begin to drop and the price of the one may increase to recycle the process to the other item which is now cheaper. This is one method of using sales to get people hooked on buying an item.

In other words, pay attention to what is happening around you! It is easy to get in the habit of buying certain items and not caring about the prices. With effective shopping, over time you might make a significant difference in your standard of living just by being aware.