How Leadership Impacts All Aspects of Life

 

No matter what your goals are in life, you can likely benefit from having the confidence to achieve these objectives. Whether you want to feel less awkward in social situations or want to be bold enough to ask your boss for a raise after you’ve worked hard to enhance your skills, you need to have the confidence to make the most of these situations. Confidence can even motivate you to try a new hobby or make more of an impact in your community.

You also need confidence when it comes to being a leader. You’ll have to exhibit leadership skills at some point in life, whether you’re in a personal or professional setting. Looking out for the well-being of others and having the surety that you can protect the people you care about with good decision-making skills is an essential part of confidence.

Here are some ways being an effective, confident leader can affect all aspects of your life.

Leadership Inspires You to Take Initiative

When you know you’ve got people depending on you to give them direction or meet financial goals, you’ll likely be more motivated to take charge. Take the initiative to start a new project or improve your home and work life. People will be more likely to follow your lead if they see that you’re proactive when you see a problem and want to find a solution as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Leadership Skills Improve Your Negotiation Tactics

When you’re a good leader, you want to do what is beneficial not only for you but for the people who are trusting your leadership. Learning to negotiate in a way that can benefit all involved parties shows that you may have to be firm and direct, but you’re also fair and unselfish.

Being a Better Leader Improves Your Character

Effective leadership is influential. When you’re focused on being the best leader you can be, you’ll have to develop more patience, integrity, determination, and self-discipline. Leaders have a deep love and respect for the people they lead to increased productivity in work and family environments.

These skills will come in handy whether you’re at the dinner table, in the boardroom, or interacting with friends. As you grow in leadership, your overall confidence will improve as well.

Article originally published on MatthewLittlemore.com

Types of Credit and What They’re For

 

When individuals are trying to establish or improve their credit, they may not be aware of all of the different types of credit available to them. There are three different types of credit, and to achieve the highest credit score possible, consumers need to have the proper mix on their credit repair. Here’s more information about them and what they’re used for.

Open Credit

This type of credit generally doesn’t appear on a consumer’s credit report. Open credit mainly consists of utility bills like cable, electric, gas, or water. However, if a consumer doesn’t pay these bills, it may end up on their credit report if their debt gets sold to a debt collection agency.

Revolving Credit

Credit cards are the most common type of revolving credit accounts. They consist of a credit limit that the consumer can borrow against. Most credit cards don’t require that the individual has to pay the total amount back quickly as they usually only have to make a minimum payment each month that’s just a fraction of the balance. 

However, it’s not uncommon for a lot of credit cards to also have a high-interest rate. This means that it can be challenging to pay off the balance if the consumer just makes the minimum payment every month. In addition to credit cards, a home equity line of credit is also considered to be revolving credit. Like credit cards, they can be paid back slowly as well.

Installment Loans

This type of credit often involves a large sum of money for an asset or educational purposes that can be paid back over time. Installment loans include auto loans, student loans, and mortgages. It can take years for an individual to pay off an installment loan. However, this can have a significant impact on their credit score if they always pay these loans on time. Many individuals do have more than one installment loan on their credit report.

Consumers need to know the different types of credit available and how they are used. This will help them make intelligent decisions regarding their credit and borrowing money.

Article originally published on MatthewLittlemore.net

Social Security Basics to Know

Social Security is a critical part of a person’s retirement income, but it is often misunderstood. It is difficult to understand what Social Security will provide for you in the future because it is a complicated program. 

The most important thing you should know about Social Security is that it does not replace income. Here are some things you should know about Social Security:

How your Social Security Benefits Are Earned

If you worked at least ten years of covered employment and paid the required Social Security contributions, you will get both a retirement benefit and a disability benefit. Your retirement benefit covers the retirement income you will receive when you retire – it’s your regular monthly payment. The disability benefit provides financial support to help pay for living expenses if you cannot work because of a temporary or permanent disability.

How Your Monthly Benefit is Calculated

Your monthly benefit is based on the money you earned in covered employment and how long you worked. Your retirement benefit is based on the highest 35 years of earnings, up to a maximum of 40 quarters of coverage – or 35 years and two months. However, if you did not meet the minimum quarters’ threshold, your retirement benefit will be based on all years of covered employment, up to a maximum of 42 quarters.

How to Increase Your Retirement Benefit

You can increase your retirement benefit by working longer in covered employment, earning additional benefits from other sources such as pension income and other Social Security programs (e.g., Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicare), or applying for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. A benefit increase is only available if at least 36 quarters of covered employment have occurred.

Social Security’ Full Retirement Age’

When you reach age 66, you can start receiving benefits without considering any benefit reduction for early retirement. This is referred to as the “Full Retirement Age” or FRA.

Social Security Spousal Benefit Reduction

When you file for divorce, your former spouse may be entitled to receive a Social Security spousal benefit to provide their retirement benefit – known as a “reduction.” In general, the higher earner is to receive the more significant reduction. However, that decision is made when each individual applies for Social Security benefits.

Article originally published on MatthewLittlemore.net

Boosting Communication as a Leader | Matthew Littlemore

 

Successful leaders understand that continued success means continually striving for self-improvement and ways to be better communicators, regardless of their industry. The three primary forms of communication in this day and age include verbal, written, and visual. Becoming the best leader starts by having a good communication plan in place.

Verbal Communication

Verbal communication includes any form of oral speaking in front of another person or a group of people. The most important tip is to plan every speech ahead of time. Some people are good at improvising when public speaking, but it helps to provide an outline of every main point that needs to be covered. This comes in very handy if you lose your place or find yourself getting distracted.

Written Communication

Leaders need to master all communication forms, which include articulating their messages in typed or printed format. Written communication consists of the use of emails, letters, memos, text messages, and direct mail materials. Some leaders communicate more through writing emails than by meeting people in person, so knowing how to compose and respond to emails is especially important. Being prompt when responding to emails is just as important as writing in a professional and considerate tone.

Virtual Communication

Due to the ongoing pandemic, more professionals are working on virtual platforms, such as videoconferences, live chats, and email messages. Because of this, the new trend nowadays is to improve virtual communication skills at all levels. Modern-day leaders have to know how to use essential video conferencing software tools and provide stable Internet connections. This is an entirely different method of communicating online, so new etiquette guidelines must be followed. When hosting a virtual meeting, the host should prepare ahead of time. Since time lags may occur with several software programs running simultaneously, patience is required. In addition, it’s harder to control a group of people when each person is in a different location and being distracted by his or her surroundings, so enforce the rules set in place to make sure that every person is paying attention.

Communication is the foundation of all forms of effective leadership. Without it, a leader cannot get his or her message across to help people understand, admire and follow.                                                     

 This article was originally published at https://matthewlittlemore.com/

How to Keep Your Money Safe in the Digital Age | Matthew Littlemore

 

Cyberspace is real, and so are the risks that come with it. A few years ago, it was possible to store a lot of money in a bank account and have nothing to worry about. But in an era where almost everything is done online, the damages resulting from cybercrime have increased, and the risks have gotten increasingly higher. The surest way of ensuring the safety of personal finances is by keeping passwords secure and confidential. This includes keeping them away from those who shouldn’t have them. Below are some of the tips on how someone can keep their money safe in the digital age.

Avoid Clicking Unknown Links

With the advancement of technology, most attackers have pushed their game to a higher level. For instance, by clicking on an unknown or suspicious link online, a person may unknowingly have spy software installed on their devices. It’s through such apps that hackers steal bank details and passwords and use them to steal cash. The first tip is to never click on any suspicious links through texts or email.

The other trick for keeping passwords safe is using very long and strong passwords. Simple passwords aren’t a great idea because they’re easy to steal and use. So the passwords should be long and have a mixture of numbers and letters, both upper and lower case, as well as special characters. Some people prefer to store passwords on a local file that is then kept secure. There are also a variety of free downloadable storage apps for passwords for Android and iPhone devices.  

Properly Dispose of Personal Files, Damaged Devices, or Hardware

Contrary to popular belief, the act of throwing away damaged hardware does not keep your personal information safe. The truth is that hackers can still retrieve the data and use it to steal money from accounts. Make arrangements with an e-waste management company that will appropriately destroy and dispose of the materials.

Check Your Credit Reports Regularly

Regularly checking credit reports may sound a bit awkward, but it could pay off significantly in keeping money safe. By law, reports from all three major credit agencies are allowed once a year. The scores should be up-to-date and accurate. Any abnormality needs to be reported to the relevant authorities immediately.

The safety of one’s money in the digital age lies in their hands. Keeping personal account details safe and proper disposal of files are among the best ways of survival.

This article was originally published at https://matthewlittlemore.net/

Why Comparing Yourself to Others Can Ruin You as a Leader | Matthew Littlemore

 

The old adage that comparison is the death of joy exists for a reason. Both Mark Twain and Theodore Roosevelt were right when they cautioned against this way of thinking. Comparing oneself to another can have multiple negative consequences, especially if the other person is in a leadership position. Presenting confidence is a crucial factor when interacting with others, and making comparisons can undermine anyone’s performance in that regard. Leadership takes a particular skill-set that requires communication. Working well with others can stimulate the brain in multiple directions. Comparing ideas and comparing people are two very different perspectives when taking the next step forward.

What Is A Leadership Role?

Leaders exist in a variety of roles. Being the leader of a family, for instance, may have different duties than leading a company, but the expectations are relatively the same. A leader guides one or more people through an obstacle safely and efficiently. One trait many successful leaders have is the ability to think independently. By trusting one’s gut, a leader can follow through despite what anyone else has previously accomplished. Blazing one’s own trail is a way of learning new techniques while getting the job done. This cannot happen if a leader compares themself to others.

The False Comparison Trap

How others present themselves to the outside world may not be the same as what’s happening behind closed doors. Many people have social media accounts where they can scroll through pages of photos from friends and colleagues. These photos typically consist of birthdays, holidays, exotic vacations, or beautiful houses. It can be easy to compare one’s life to what is presented on the screen, even if it’s inaccurate. This can also occur when somebody of a much younger age compares their successes to somebody who has retired. No two people have precisely the same circumstance, and because of this, comparisons can misrepresent somebody’s life or lifestyle.

Leadership Takes Confidence

Making comparisons can reflect poorly on one’s self-esteem. When constantly comparing goals, lifestyles, and accomplishments, others may sense insecurity. How a leader views others can say more about them than the person they are judging.

Confidence usually stems from experience. While not every leader will have experience in the same quest they’re taking on, they most likely will have experience in handling an uncomfortable situation. By staying calm and rationally breaking a problem into manageable pieces, teamwork can solve most issues.

This article was originally published at https://matthewlittlemore.com/

Finance Tips for Early Retirement | Matthew Littlemore

 

Since the Great Recession, an increasing number of people have been looking into the concept of early retirement. Less than one percent do so before the age of 50, however, and the average retirement age continues to fall between 62 and 65. Retiring early requires some serious financial planning, and here are some tips that can help make it happen.

Start Early

Those who are interested in retiring early will want to make sure that they start the process early. Starting early provides more time for the power of compounding interest to work its magic. Those who have 20 or 30 years until retirement will see their money turn over several times. On the other hand, those who wait until a decade before they intend to retire might only see their initial investments double once or twice.

Live Frugally

Common sense dictates that spending everything that comes in will not lead to retirement riches. This means that those who want to retire early will want to cut expenses as much as they reasonably can. Every dollar that’s not spent is a dollar that can go into a retirement account.

Invest In Retirement Accounts

Many early retirees are able to amass a large sum of money because they leverage their retirement accounts. Many employers will match employee contributions. Additionally, it’s possible to put off some of the taxes that would otherwise erode a retirement nest egg’s value using tax-advantaged retirement accounts. This defers tax payments until a future time and rate.

Pay Yourself First

Most people pay their bills and then save and invest what’s leftover. These people will find that there’s usually little leftover. Those who retire early follow the advice to pay themselves first, within reason. They save and invest before paying other bills, and if there’s a shortfall, they find a way to fund it creatively.

Look At Side Hustles

Many jobs pay the bare minimum that people need to exist. This can make it hard to save for early retirement. Finding a side hustle or a second job will go toward retirement savings. With the advent of technology, picking up a side hustle has never been easier.

Early retirement is a goal many people have. However, relatively few are able to achieve it. Those who put these recommendations into action are more likely to retire early with a comfortable nest egg.

This article was originally published at https://matthewlittlemore.net/