When it comes to money, planning plays an important role. Take help from elders to manage your finances and advice when it comes to spending. Before you purchase a credit card, understand how it works. Know the methods of payment and the time allotted to make the payment. In addition, it is good not to be greedy and have more than one credit card. When you swipe your card make sure it is for a genuine need. Try to use hard cash as far as possible. Also, be aware about the time when you need to make the payment without having to pay the credit card company interest on your outstanding loan amount. Not being able to pay credit card money will earn you a bad history, which can spell big trouble later on.

It is good to know that you cannot spend more than the amount you get as pocket money or salary. Spending more than what you get is a clear way towards debt unless your parents get you out of it. It is good to put some amount in your savings account, spare some for any emergencies, and then spend the remaining amount. This will save you from falling into debt and would add money to your kitty.

Drafting a budget always helps. Jot down your monthly expenses, the amount that you can put in bank, and the amount that you can spend. Try to stick to your budget unless an emergency occurs. To come up with an exact budget, you can observe your expenses for a month and then come up with it. This will also help you realize if you are spending more and accordingly take measures to cut down your expenses.

If you plan to take a loan, make sure you use it only for your college needs. Do not take a loan to spend lavishly on non-essentials, as this will only get you into a debt trap making it difficult to come out. Before taking a loan, it’s wise to involve your parents in the decision so you make no mistakes. Use loan amounts only to pay for your fees, books, tuition fees, and other expenses relating to your education. Remember, you need to pay an interest amount on your loan and if you spend it on foolish things, you will simply invite trouble.

Once you start saving and spending in an appropriate manner, you will never have trouble managing your finances. This way, you can do more in the near future with your saved amount and would not have to worry about a bad credit history. So, have fun and make the most of a well-planned financial future, now.

If you’re like most people who are running a business, as an owner, an executive or an independent professional you get so immersed in the doing you miss your own graduations.

Two of my clients are graduating this week.

“Judy” has been studying how to run her professional services firm in a more productive and profitable way for over 6 years. “Michael” has been getting a masters degree in marketing his business.

Don’t let appearances fool you! They aren’t in formal school environments. Yet I know from personal experience how powerful the recognition of being finished with one stage and moving on to the next can be. The characteristics that mark your advancement in school are just as appropriate for our advancement in your business lives.

There are specific ideas you can learn from graduations that will have you advancing from your old habits, old decisions and old actions.

Step 1 – Identify What You Need To Know

I know – it seems obvious when I say it. But most entrepreneurs I work with are so busy in the ‘doing’ that they never stop and ask “What do I need to know to accomplish my goals?” Successful leaders and managers spend time figuring out what their staff needs to learn. You need to ask yourself what information or capabilities you need.

When you commit to finding out what you need to know your attention shifts from ‘what I now know,’ to ‘what I’m ready to know now.’

Step 2 – Find A Source To Learn From

Marvelous things happen when you declare you want to know – new people and new sources of information suddenly present themselves as your perfect source of learning!

I’ve learned over the years from comments made by more experienced professionals, from books and articles, from conferences, teleseminars and from formal educational programs. And at times I even learn what I need to know through the internet or someone sitting next to me on a plane. And let’s not forget there are informational interviews, golf buddies, vendors and magazines.

Step 3 – Calendar It To Get It Done

Deciding to get information is not enough. We’re all living very busy lives and we need to use the tools that keep us moving from idea to action!

Pull out your calendar and block off 15-minutes to start your search. Once you’ve started it you can calendar the next block of time and the next until you’ve found your source, and probed for the information you need. That may be setting a date with yourself to read, to go to a conference or to sit with an expert to get answers directly from them over their desk or a cup of coffee.

Step 4 – Put The Information To Use

The best schools are those that not only share the information but also give the students the opportunity to apply it and learn from the results.

The same holds true for you in your business. To get High Payoff results, you need to put information to the test by using it, tweaking it, modifying it until it proves to be a tool that will make your efforts more productive and profitable.

Step 5 – Celebrate It

Re-balance your life! Don’t just cross things off that To Do list. Our daily lives are filled with To Do lists. Hour by hour we stare at To Do lists that are the same as declarations of everything that needs doing, that hasn’t been solved yet, that’s a problem or challenge.

Our souls need moments of acknowledgment for what has been accomplished. That includes learning, applying new information, getting new results. Each of these is a mini-graduation as you increase your ability to create High Payoff results.

Get the proportions shifted to give more attention to what has been accomplished, learned, applied, created, achieved! Announce what you’ve learned to other people at work and at home. State it specifically in meetings. Report on exactly what you did in each of those first 4 steps AND the result that you’ve created.

Make these steps techniques that you use and you’ll soon find yourself giving more and more attention to ideas and actions that will move you forward to your next level, and your business success along with you. You’ll have ongoing opportunities to bathe in cheers and to share them with others around you.

Congratulations on your graduation!

Scholarships tied to release of new title, Where’s the Map? Create Your OWN Guide to Life after Graduation

There is an emerging trend in the US of high school graduates taking a gap year before they enter college. The New York Times has recently published several articles about this trend, and Princeton University announced that it is developing a gap year program for incoming freshmen.

The Hoods encourage young people to spend time focusing on their goals and life plans before making any major college or career decisions, and they see a gap year as a perfect opportunity to give graduates a chance to take this necessary time to sort out these decisions. The picture seems ideal for many students who are not ready for college and need time to recharge their batteries, clarify their vision for the future, and explore the freedom of being on their own. But is taking time off a luxury only rich kids can afford?

“There is a stereotype from a previous era that pegs gap years as being frivolous globetrotting by children of the wealthy, at their parents’ expense. This is no longer the case. For years, the concept of a gap year has been encouraged in countries such as Canada, England, and Australia as a way for graduates to clarify their future goals, provide volunteer service, and become global citizens,” said James Hood.

Many gap years now involve internships, volunteer work, caretaking jobs, apprenticeships, or specialized training programs. There are opportunities available in the US and abroad that provide not only room and board, but also a stipend to participants. Some national service organizations even offer a living allowance, health coverage, and an education scholarship award after successfully completing a term of service. The Hoods both participated in a service gap year after college, building low-income housing with Habitat for Humanity through Americorps.

In support of such opportunities, James Hood said, “It’s easy to find scholarships for college, but pretty rare to find someone who will give you money to participate in a gap year. We’d like to start a new trend.”

For additional information about the Gap Year Scholarship Program or a free chapter of Where’s the Map?, contact authors Beth and James Hood, or visit wheresthemap.com. Applications for the scholarship are due August 1st, 2008, and will be awarded in September. Scholarships are available for high school graduates, college students and college graduates between the ages of 18-25.

Plan in Advance

1. Browse online for bargains.  It takes time to hunt for the best deals. You should be able to find the same or a similar item in a wide range of prices.  If you give yourself that extra time, you can obtain samples, judge the quality, and determine the best value.

2. Avoid rush orders.   Remember, it usually takes longer for a company to create custom personalized reunion favors, than it would be to obtain a ready made item.  If you wait until the last minute, you might get stuck paying a fee to speed up your order.  At the very least, you’ll be paying extra for faster shipping to get your reunion favors on time.

Do The Math

3. Watch for hidden fees.  Yes, you might be able to purchase those imprinted pens for 53 cents each.  But before you rush to order, find out what is the minimum amount you need to buy.  If the company’s policy is that you have to buy at least 300 pens and you only have 80 people planning to attend your class reunion, then you’ll have 220 pens left over.  So, it’s really not that good a deal.  You would be better off paying a little extra for an item with a business that allows you to order only what you need.

4. Check to see if there’s a set up fee.  Many times a company will advertise a low price, but then hit you with a hefty charge for designing your custom reunion favors.  Make sure you read the fine print.

5. Pay close attention to the sliding scale in prices, based on the amount that you are purchasing.  Some companies charge you less if you buy in greater volume.  Let’s say you found personalized class reunion magnets for $1.75 each if you are ordering less than 100 favors.  However, these same magnets are only $1.50 each if you buy more than 100 favors. You need 90 magnets as giveaways for your reunion.  If you ordered exactly 90 at $1.75 each, your cost would be $157.60.  However, if you order 100 at $1.50 each, your total would be $150.  So, in this case, you would save money, $7.60 to be exact, if you purchased 10 extra magnets.  If you want to save, then crunch the numbers.

Handmade vs. Custom-Made

6. Beware the handcrafted money pit.  If you’re trying to save money on these giveaways, you might be thinking of making reunion favors yourself or delegating the task to a group of volunteers.  But before you stock up on supplies at the craft store, add up the cost for each of the elements of your favors.  Craft supplies are not cheap.  You might be surprised at what you’re paying for your handmade creations.  It is possible that you could save money by purchasing ready made or custom made favors from a company that specializes in them.

7. Check out cheap do-it-yourself alternatives.  Not all handmade items are expensive to make.  You can make your own class reunion candy bar wrappers, for example.  There are free, printable chocolate bar wrapper templates online.  Or, if you know someone creative, he or she can design a candy bar wrapper with your personalization and school colors.  You have to pay for the candy bars (a 5 oz. Hershey bar is a nice size) and the printing, but it shouldn’t break your budget.

8. Consider the wow factor.  You can get away with spending very little money on class reunion favors, if you purchase giveaways that make an impression.  You can find items such as personalized reunion bookmarks or pocket notebooks with fun facts from the year you graduated for a couple of dollars or less.  Or, take a group photo at the reunion party and print copies of it on the spot with one of those portable printers.  Then give everyone a copy to take home with them.  You could even add a dollar store 4 x 6 inch frame, and your total cost would still be low.   Use your imagination and go for unique.

9. Can’t afford to give it away? Sell it!  Imprinted t-shirts and personalized tote bags are great reunion items, but they’re expensive.  You can take orders for these from your reunion website and sell them at the event itself.  Your classmates will love them and it will help you pay for the reunion favors that you give away and for other things.

So, take some time to check out all your low cost options for class reunion favors.  Go over the price to get the best value and make sure you know what you’re paying.  Then choose something cheap, but unique.  Your classmates will love their class reunion favors, and they’ll never guess how much money you saved.

Preparing for your high school graduation is actually a lot more than just choosing the invitations and the color of the balloons for the party. It’s realizing that this is the final step into adulthood and into the stressful but rewarding world of responsibilities, duties, and obligations. Learning personal survival skills are as essential in preparing for your high school graduation as are getting good grades and SAT scores. Although, getting good grades and taking as many electives as possible without compromising those grades is a great way to prepare yourself for graduation, and ultimately, for college and life in the “real world” as an adult.

Personal survival skills are those vital, necessary tasks that self-sufficient people must do for themselves in order to survive. Some of these include getting a part-time job before graduation if possible, getting a driver’s license, volunteering in the community, and learning the basic financial skills needed to function in life such as balancing a checkbook.

A “part-time job” can include household chores and various tasks such as babysitting, mowing lawns, shoveling snow and doing odd jobs for friends and neighbors. Many high schools offer work-study programs that are beneficial to students in that they allow them to earn money while working toward their graduation and college goals.

Once a graduate-to-be is sure that they are capable of taking care of themselves without help from their parents or family, they should be confident in their abilities to succeed in college as well. By learning the basic skills that are necessary to function as a responsible adult before graduating from high school you’ll be prepared for college, work, and life in general. You’ll also be able to attend your graduation with the confident knowledge that you’re ready to successfully take on all of life’s exciting challenges.

There are other parents whose children are also graduating high school this year but they are not that excited for the day. The reason was that they don’t have enough money for the preparation of graduation ceremony. There is couple of things that you need for the day and after:

A sober set of cap and gown for graduation because without it the school will not allow the student to attend the ceremony.
A gift for the graduate to acknowledge his success.
A proper announcement card to tell people that the person has graduated.
Fund to host a graduation party on the success of the student.

All these require a lot of money which out of budget for some parents. They feel helpless and desperate to give a grand treat to their child but things are out of their hands. There are many steps that can be taken by the school and the students to ease the burden of these parents.

The school normally has a database of old students. These students can be contacted and requested to lend their old graduation caps and gown. Many students will come forward to help the school.
Many a time schools keep a stock of graduation caps & gowns which they rent it out to the students in the graduation ceremony. The school can come forward and lend the cap and gown to the needy student without charging anything from them. It is an easy thing and can be followed by the school every year.
Every school has some funds that they collect from the students, in the form of late fees, fines, etc. This fund can be used and a small portion of it can be given to the parent. The parents can return the money in small installments in a relaxed period of time.
The parents who are planning for individual party can act a little generously and allow the needy parent to host their party also. Both parents can then distribute the expenses among themselves.
If hosting the party together is not possible then there is just no need of giving a graduation party. Those expenses can be saved and later used to buy something more useful for the child.

In the days of recession when he prices of everything is going up, you do not need to waste money in showing of. That money can be wisely on something more fruitful and productive things.

You must be wondering what kind of gift would be ideal for a graduating student. Following is a list of high school graduation gift item ideas that you may consider. And this list contains many more items than just students’ laptops.

When price is no bar, you can gift your graduating son or daughter big ticket items like students laptops or college laptops or VGN laptops, money (though I will advise against hard cash), a car, a travel or vacation tour, CD or DVD or stock, a cellular phone with a prepaid plan (it is best if you ask your son or daughter to sponsor his/her own phone bills).

Other big ticket items are baby refrigerators that your teenaged darling will find very useful if living in a dormitory at college or furniture. If your graduating child is moving out of your home, then furniture like a single bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, study table and chair, dining table and living room sofa set will be the most useful items for him/her.

Now let me give you a list of mid priced items that cost between $50 and $250. Here the choice will be huge. You can gift him/her a digital camera, set of luggage, toaster oven or microwave oven, watch, clothing gift card, briefcase, ipod, DVD player, television and so on.

Your daughter will just love the shopping spree a clothing gift card will allow her to indulge in – it will be like retail therapy to her. Television or different kinds of cooking appliances are ideal for those teenagers who are not allowed such things in college dorms.

If your graduating child wants to be independent and self sufficient while attending college you can gift him/her the excellent present of a packaged resume writing service that will help him bag a job.

Some other gifts you may consider are leather wallet with some cash in it, a money clip along with money in it, a money tree, some kind of a personalized graduation item, engraved jewelry, tool box with basic tools, printer, stereo, a coin in pure silver or gold along with the year of graduation engraved or embossed on it, a book shelf or cassettes/CDs/DVDs and recorder for recording lectures.  

Now you must be wondering where you can purchase or browse through so many student’s gift items. In the world of the internet, there are plenty of student websites which exclusively sell only the most superior quality student gift items online. If you visit a site like this, you will get to browse through all the items mentioned above and more in one single place which will take care of all your student gift needs.

Be Practical

Class reunion favors are meant to remind your guests of rekindled friendships.  So, you don’t want to get anything that is likely to end up in the trash or stored in a box in the attic.  Look for items that will be used and appreciated.  Anything from an inexpensive, imprinted pen in your school colors to a more pricey tote bag with your school logo fall into this category. 

And don’t rule out reunion magnets.  They may not be as functional as an imprinted bottle opener, but everyone will put them on their refrigerators.  It would be a memento they would see everyday.

Think nostalgia

The best class reunion favors will inspire spirited discussion at the party about the good old days.  How about retro candy from your youth?  You can find online companies that specialize in nostalgic candy.  If you want to splurge, you could place the old fashioned sweets in an imprinted mug or glass.

If you went to high school in the 60’s or 70’s, then think tie-dye and day-glo items (with optional peace signs) imprinted with your reunion message.  For the 50’s you could go with do-wop, fuzzy dice and juke-box theme.  Look for imprintables like t-shirts, caps and bandanas with these symbols.

How about a blast from the past with year you graduated class reunion bookmarks?  These inexpensive bookmarks are in your school colors, contain your reunion personalization, and are filled with prices, top songs, TV shows, news and events from your graduating year.  They can be real conversation starters.  Besides bookmarks, you can find the same information printed on certificates and magnets.  You can even find custom year you graduated pocket notebooks, for a unique spin on these reunion favors.

Another idea is a CD with music from the year you graduated.  Some companies provide the songs for that year.  With others, you have to first burn the songs you want onto a master CD and they’ll reproduce it.  Either way, they will design and print a label with the song list and a cover with your reunion information.

Make it sweet

Besides the retro candy, there are other options for a sweet reunion favor.  You can order custom M&M’s imprinted with the “Class of __”.   Or you could buy or make your own candy bar wrappers personalized with your reunion message.   For something really unusual, check out online businesses that will print your school mascot directly onto the surface of chocolate or cookies with safe, food-dye based inks. 

How about mint tins customized for your graduating glass?  You can even get these little hinged mint tins filled with gourmet chocolates for a surprising treat for your classmates. After the candy is gone, the personalized tins can be used for holding or storing other little things for a lasting souvenir.

Imagine the possibilities

Just about anything can be personalized.  Your class reunion giveaways could be imprinted staplers, tape measures, pocket mirrors, beach balls, pencils, mugs, Tshirts, mousepads, golf tees or keychains to name just a few examples. You could scan old high school yearbook photos and arrange for a business to make custom calendars for your guests. 

So, don’t limit your ideas.  There are so many unique favors available. Do a little browsing online and you’re sure to find just the right class reunion favors that your classmates will treasure.

The very first thing that you have to do is to send announcement card to everybody. By doing this, you can attain full support from all your relatives in preparing for your graduation day. They can assist you finding the accurate graduation caps and gowns for you. Your preparation will be a lot easier, and you don’t have to organize each detail by yourself. As a graduate student you have to organize a lot of things aside from your graduation. There are other things in school that you have to complete such as special projects and term papers. You can effortlessly perform all of these things if you will request some help from your relatives and friends. They can give you excellent ideas on someplace to purchase nice graduation caps and gowns. Send all the invitations earlier, for them to make travel plans, some of your relatives may be coming from diverse faraway places. Inside your invitation, you can write down asking for some help in finding the right graduation cap and gown for you. Perhaps you have friends other relatives who have graduated ahead of you. You can lend or buy their used graduation caps and gowns for reasonable price. Ensure that you keep sufficient tickets on your graduation ceremony. As your many anticipated days have to draw closer, ensure that you arrange your graduation caps and gowns a day prior to your real graduation day. This can avoid having too much pressure on your very special day. Make sure to flatten your graduation caps and gowns appropriately. Get rid of all creased and added a needless thing on your graduation caps and gowns. You have to get ready for your graduation photo. This is the most enjoyable element of graduation, picture the taking. Organize your underneath dress for your photos to appear good. Your underneath dress have to go with your graduation caps and gowns, if you desire to appear at your best on the graduation photos. You have to think about putting some makeup or not. If you decide to show off some makeup, put daylight colored makeup. The makeup should not over rule your graduation caps and gowns. He dressed in the correct and suitable shoes for this event; shoes will definitely show up underneath your graduation caps and gowns.

Wear proper graduation caps and gowns to be the best graduate students in your batch. Relatives and friends will all be pleased to take part on your utmost accomplishment in your life.

Greeting cards can also be a good option if you are to print on them the memorable moments of your high school life with the one you are sending the greeting card. The card can be custom made and can personalized to be in the most suitable way. These high school graduation invitations are just like any other invitation such as that of a wedding. Invitations should be sent to the recommended number of people only as per the limit of the school. The announcements could be of any informal method as the announcer chooses as per his/her liking. There is no restriction although one could have the high school graduation invitation in a formal way.

Things hang from the people’s mirrors

The graduation ceremony is the event where commencement speaker tells many students to get dressed in the identical graduation caps & gowns, which ‘individuality’ is a key to the success. Types of the academic gowns vary depending on type of the degree, which is earned and more understated variations in the style & cut indicates type of the diploma received and for example the bachelor’s gown is totally untrimmed, and has got the pointed sleeves, as well as reaches just to knees. It is well designed to get worn closed & is not worn at time other than the commencement. Master’s gown is as well typically untrimmed, however has closed sleeves in shape of the arc.

Master’s hood is generally three and half feet long & six inches shorter than hoods of the scholars who generally hold the doctorates. Lining of your hood is an official color and colors of university that is conferring degree & velvet trim color that indicates discipline where degree was earned.” Though bachelor & master gowns are much alike, full length sleeves of master’s gown are been characterized by the long crescent shape that extends below cut at a base of sleeve itself. The master’s gowns, like bachelor’s is generally of black & are worn open and closed. At times it is generally worn as a part of the teacher’s daily dress in the academies and the formal events like commencement. Thus you need to pay proper attention to all these things.