Advancing Your Career With an MBA

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Life's not over until you're dead. Many people don't look at retirement as "giving up," but rather another chapter in their life. If you want to keep working in your "golden years," you'll have to stay competitive. You'll be up against a job force that's younger than you, but you have two strengths: your experience and the ability to get an MBA online. It's not as difficult as you might think.

Assess Your Strengths

The first step in getting your online MBA is to know your strengths and weaknesses. In fact, knowing your weaknesses is probably going to be your greatest strength. Make a set of goals for yourself and write them down. Not only does this make everything objective, but it demonstrates to admissions offices that you are organized and confident about the abilities you have.

Keep it simple. Ask yourself questions like:

"Why do I think a graduate business degree is right for me?"
"What do I have in common with business professionals?"
"What future careers fit my personal strengths and abilities?" and
"What kinds of business schools and companies seem like they would be a good fit for me?"

Most importantly, ask yourself "why now?" You should have a firm grasp on why starting a graduate program makes sense for you now, and why you're willing to go through all of the hard work necessary to get one. After you've written down the answers to these questions, let everything "stew" overnight. Revisit your answers in the morning to see if you agree with what you previously wrote.

Decide On a New Career

MBA applicants that have established firm career goals tend to do better than those who haven't. They also tend to be happier with the outcome of their education and degree. Having a career plan beforehand also makes the job of finding a school easier. Since schools don't allow you to change what you want to study mid-stream, it will also save you a lot of time and frustration (not to mention money) in the long run.

Understand Where and How You Fit

Admissions officers aren't just interested in your academic abilities. An MBA has to translate into real-world usability. You have to be able to succeed professionally. This is where you have an edge over a younger applicant. If you already have some type of business experience, use this to your advantage when applying. One of the most important things you can do when interviewing with a school is to be honest. Admissions officers can tell when an applicant is just telling them what the school wants to hear. Be frank about what you want from your degree.

Another sticking point for some applicants is being realistic. It's one thing to say you want to own a restaurant, but if you've never cooked anything resembling a good meal then it's just not practical to expect to be a successful restaurateur.

Be proactive and demonstrate what you can contribute to your future profession. A lot of folks can say what they want to get from a degree. Few understand what they have to offer the profession as a whole. This is crucial, since admissions wants to know why it should spend its resources on you if you're going to take, but not give back to your profession.

Do some research on the school you're applying to. Don't walk in blind. It's always good to be able to tell the admissions officer what you like about the campus.

Study For the GMAT Exam

The Graduate Management Admission Test GMAT is an exam you don't want to put off. Even if you are nervous about taking tests, you need to buck up and get to studying. Your GMAT score is valid for 5 years, so you have the flexibility of keeping that around for a while if you can't get into a school right away. You can always retake the GMAT too if you don't score high enough. A good prep time is about three to six months.

Choose a School

There are more than 1,900 graduate business schools with more than 4,500 programs. You'll find something. Typically, you'll have the option for traditional 2-year programs as well as accelerated 12-month programs. To apply for business schools, you'll need:

• Undergraduate transcripts 
• Essays 
• Work experience 
• GMAT scores 
• References and a letter of recommendation 
• Extracurricular activities 
• Interviews 

Once you're accepted, classes are done entirely online. You typically communicate with your peers and professors via email and video or teleconferencing. Since you can often dictate your schedule with an online degree, you'll get your MBA on your terms - something on-campus graduates can't claim.

Author Bio:
Guest post contributed by Sarah Rawson. She is currently studying her MBA Finance online and writing as a freelancer. Sarah’s articles mainly appear on higher education blogs.

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Improve Your Credit Score - 4 Effective Ways

Loans (Photo credit: zingbot)Your Credit score is a very important part of every American’s financial life. The Credit score, also known as a FICO score, is what most lenders use as a credit measuring scale. It plays a most significant role when it comes to applying for a loan or refinancing existing mortgage. If you’re planning to make any big purchase like a home or a car you must take care of your credit score and try to improve it as much as possible before applying for the loan.

How to improve your FICO score

Discussed below are some effective tips on how to improve your credit score and become eligible for a loan with favorable loan terms and affordable interest rate.

1. Initiate early – Start repairing and fixing your credit errors way ahead of submitting a loan application. Credit reporting agencies often make mistakes in a consumer’s credit report. You must get copies of your credit report from the 3 leading credit bureaus namely TransUnion, Experian and Equifax, and find out if there are any discrepancies. You may find errors like a missed payment which was actually paid on time or a wrong balance. Dispute the errors with the concerning companies. You may need to furnish supporting documents to get it fixed. Initiate the process as early as possible because it may take a couple of months to get your report fixed. Correcting your credit report would help you improve the FICO score radically.

2. Reduce credit utilization – Credit utilization can be described as the ratio between the credit card balance and credit limit. This is a very significant part of your credit score. Lowering the credit utilization ratio and thus your credit card balance would help you improve your overall credit score remarkably. A 30% ratio would be considered standard. However, don’t close existing credit card accounts hurriedly as it may take some of your credit limit and thus make the ratio ascend. You may ask for a credit limit increase to reduce credit utilization; provided you don’t have a high balance or any red flags. If you have a clean credit history, your creditor is likely to increase your credit limit. But you must use your credit limit judiciously to avoid worsening the situation.

3. Make on time payments – You must pay your bills and make all payments on time to prove your credit worthiness. Even a single missed payment can take 100 points off your credit score. Be careful about your bills, especially medical bills, which may end up in collections. Medical bills often go unpaid and end up in collections. As a result, you may not even know about them until you see it on your report. Therefore, if you don’t get a bill after you've seen a doctor, you must call the concerning authority and ask them about the bill to avoid a missed payment and thus a reduction in credit score.

4. Stay with your current employer, if possible – Job hopping often leaves a bad impression while it comes to your credit profile and credit score. Try to avoid a job change, especially while you’re in anticipation of a mortgage, buy to let mortgages or car loan application. Until your loan is serviced, don’t opt for changing your job and don’t let the lender consider you as a high-risk borrower.

Author’s Bio – Jasmine Jones is the editor chief at Emortgagecalculator.co.uk. She keeps telling her clients to save money and introduce frugality into their life.

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A New Life Full of Debt? How to Cope with Student Loans When Over Fifty

(Photo credit: Occupy* Posters)Student loan payments are an easy way to rack up debt and to feel discouraged about one's financial obligations. New graduates are facing years of hefty premiums to pay off their four years of studying at a local college. 

Even if you over fifty, the prospect of having to pay student loans when you should be enjoying retirement can be daunting. While it is not possible to defer loans, or make them go away, there are some things that you can do to make your life easier. 

The following list will help give you a better idea on how to deal with student loans if you are over fifty.

1) Take Advantage of Grace Periods

Did you just graduate from a program or school? If yes, then take advantage of the grace period you have after graduation to find a job. Even if you already have employment, there are things you can prepare for once the six months are over. 

First, save every extra penny you have. These savings should go back into your loan so that you do not have to worry about scrambling for your first few payments. Also, see if the loan accepts early payments without a penalty. If it does, then pay as much as you can so that you will have a lower obligation once interest starts to accumulate. 

Grace periods are designed to give new students a leverage. This time will allow you to look for work and save money without any faults. Use this period as you see fit in order to make sure you do not fall behind on your first payments. Take full advantage of the grace period because it will not last long.

2) Do Not Stress Out

If you have not found employment as soon as you would have liked, then do not stress out. As you are older than most new graduates, the stress can wear on you particularly hard. It is best that you keep up your health, and do the best you can to pay your bills.

Unfortunately, you do not have the luxury of changing careers every couple of years due to your youth. Thus, it is important to find a career or job that you will love doing as soon as possible after graduation. It may take longer than necessary to find the right position for you. 

In the mean time, take on a part time job or the first offer you get in order to make an income while looking. Thanks to your income you will be able to pay your premiums each month. Once you secure an offer from your dream job, then you will be one step ahead of your financial problems.

Whatever happens, do not worry about paying off your student loans. You will get rid of them sooner than you think as long as you pay on time and in full.

Tyler R. is a freelance writer from Washington D.C and contributor to DegreeJungle's best online college rankings. At the moment, Tyler lives in Europe and speaks 3 languages.

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The Cost Savings of Finding a Realtor Through DoorFly.com

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Today is a tough real estate market for much of the country. With home values on the decline still in many parts of America, homeowners are struggling to make dollar and sense out of selling and buying a home. Sellers have less negotiating room when selling their home and home buyers are more uneasy and have less cash flow as prices for gas and other household expenses are soaring. No matter whether a person is buying or selling a home, the situation is more difficult today in many cases than it was just 4 years ago.

Both sellers and buyers today need to find more ways to cut their real estate transaction expenditures wherever they can in order to make the transaction of buying or selling home a viable undertaking. In some parts of the country, sellers end up taking substantial losses in a sale over the amount they purchased their home for, this is especially true for people who bought their home in the last 10 years. Buyers still struggle even with the lower home prices and low mortgage rates. This is of course due to lower household incomes and higher expenses. In fact, many buyers have struggled to save enough money for a down payment, and are just squeaking by when they make a home purchase.

While this is traditionally more of a buyer’s market, and that means the deals are more plentiful for buyers than sellers, buyers do worry as the expenses of purchasing a home can be costly. In addition because the economy is so difficult, saving money is more difficult as well.

However, the good news is, there are ways that home sellers and home buyers can cut their costs and save money. One of the best ways to do this is through reducing their closing costs of the home they are selling or the home they are purchasing. One of the primary resources to do this is by reducing the fees and commission costs for the sale of the home. DoorFly.com helps buyers and sellers handle the expenses more readily with a rebate or reduced fee structure that is reflected at the closing. With DoorFly.com sellers and buyers can find a qualified realtor in their area and get discounted rates or rebates that can help. Finding a good realtor takes a little extra effort as does saving money. But during these difficult times, the time spent is worth the effort. Saving money for buyers and sellers and finding a qualified realtor that will help make the transaction worth the effort is a significant support for most people in this difficult real estate market.

Buyers and sellers know with DoorFly.com they will be able to shop for a great deal and a great realtor to help them get the very best during their real estate transaction. With DoorFly.com the discount rates and rebates offered can provide hundreds of dollars back to buyers and sellers, which can make quite a difference in the bottom line numbers and make the whole process an easier financial undertaking.

Author’s Bio: Maria Young has the talent of writing excellent contents which made her so famous among her readers. If you want to increase your knowledge about the agents of home buyers and sellers then please visit Doorfly.com

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Find the Best Value for the Money When Shopping for a Car

Ford Fiesta (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The value of a new car can fall quite quickly, which is why it's important to look for designs that will age well and retain their initial value. Although flashy, sleek cars are fun to purchase and drive, those that are most likely to mature and stay in high demand over the years are better value. The following are a few features to look for in a new car when you want to get the most out of your investment. 

Resale Value

One thing to think about is how easy it will be to resell your vehicle. For example, the Ford Fiesta is consistently ranked the most popular car amongst British consumers. When you look at a Ford Fiesta review, you'll usually see mention of this fact, along with the fact that it is moderately priced to begin with. Minis are another enduringly popular car, and they hold 54% of their value after three years. Keep this in mind when you are researching your options, because cars that are popular with consumers in your area will be easier to sell. 

Fuel Economy

Fuel efficiency is a factor that is consistently improving all the time. Choosing a car that offers 30 mpg or better is a good way to save money overall, because you will sink less into the cost of fuel over time. Although hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius offer excellent mileage, there is a wide range of vehicles that meet this need, of all shapes and sizes. The Smart car offers excellent fuel efficiency, as does the Volkswagen Jetta TDI.

By looking at the cost of running a car as well as what its resale value will look like over time, you can choose the best value for your money.

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College Student Car Insurance Tips

(Photo credit: West Midlands Police)

Car insurance for the family has always been a considerable expense so finding the cheapest car insurance possible is a family priority. We have have 3 college students getting close to finishing their degrees. They all use their cars to travel to and from school. Thankfully all of them attend colleges within the state. If you have children attending college out of state there are certain things to keep in mind.

Insurance laws are different from one state to another. If your child is going out of state and taking a car with them you’ll need to get coverage for that vehicle in the state they are living. The rates may be drastically more or less depending on the type of vehicle and the size of the city they will be living. You can’t do much about your child’s age and gender, the two other important rating factors. It’s important to compare rates to make sure you’re able to find affordable car insurance.

Depending if the car is registered in your name or your child's name can make a difference. Insurance companies often have better rates if there is more than one responsible driver. Since you’ll also need to be listed on the policy it can become more affordable car insurance. This will list you as an additional, responsible driver with better classifications than teen drivers. However, this adds additional liability on you. If your child is at-fault for a serious accident so you’ll want to make sure your liability limits are adequate.

If the car is titled in your child’s name only then the auto insurance policy will need to be in their name. Young drivers car insurance, when the young driver is the only person on the auto insurance policy, will have higher rates. If this is your situation, I would recommend an older car that won’t need to have comprehensive or collision insurance coverage. These coverage options cover the vehicle for any damage. If he backs into a light pole then your son can drive a dinged car. The insurance policy won’t pay for those repairs. But, if he hits someone else you want to make sure there’s enough liability coverage to protect him from lawsuits.

Thanks to autoinsurancequotes.net for this guest post.

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