Did Blogging Help My GRE Preparation?
Work . 
Study.
Run.
For the past several months, my life has been nothing but these three things. Last weekend I took the revised GRE and this weekend is a half-marathon race. Needless to say, checking one item off has led to a massive increase in, or an illusion thereof, “free time”.
Despite the scores not being issued until November, I’ve already begun to reflect on my preparation methods and perceived performance. Ranking the sections by relative difficulty, I was actually least concerned about “Analytical Writing” and think blogging is to thank for that!
For background information…
In August 2011, the GRE Revised General Test replaced the GRE General Test*. The major overhaul of the exam incorporated a shift in focus along with structural modifications. The new exam format is broken down as follows:
| CATEGORY |
# OF QUESTIONS |
ALLOTTED TIME |
|
Analytical Writing |
1 essay / task |
35 min / essay |
|
Verbal Reasoning |
~ 20 / section |
30 min / section |
|
Quantitative Reasoning |
~ 20 / section |
35 min / section |
Steps to Take After Getting Out of Debt
If you’re like most Americans, there’s a good chance you are facing some kind of financial turmoil. As a country, we are in debt to countries like China, Japan, England, and Brazil more than we ever have been in our national history.
What if you were able to manage debt correctly and relive yourself of it entirely? If you’re one of the lucky Americans without the burden of debt, a stable source of income, and a renewed position on our investment culture; now is the best time to take advantage of your assets and turn them into high yield dividends for yourself and your family.
Research Investments
Today’s stock market is tumultuous to put it lightly. Every day the news reports about NASDAQ falling 500 points only to rise another 400 within the course of a single day. Everywhere you tune in, there are commercials advising you to invest in shady enterprises such as gold or Alpaca and Emu farms. With so much misinformation and uncertainty, you don’t know who to trust. It is important to conduct extensive research and turn to viable news sources before investing into something you heard about through a paid advertisement.
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Practical Saving Tips for a Rainy Day
We’ve all heard of saving for a rainy day – and many of us will have tried to do it, with varying degrees of success. The current financial climate means that it’s never been more important to have a financial safety net in place, but it’s also never been more difficult to save money.
With this in mind, it’s clear that many people need to adopt a more measured approach to saving, something that factors in the rising cost of living and poor returns of interest on many savings accounts.
From switching savings accounts to getting a better deal through credit card comparison, here’s some of our top tips for preparing your financial umbrella for that rainy day:
1. Shop around with your savings
With many savings options offering poor rates of interest, it’s important to look at other aspects of accounts. For example, some banks offer a service where everything you spend is rounded up to the nearest pound, with the difference automatically deposited into a nominated savings account. However, this will only be worthwhile if the extra spending doesn’t tip you into your overdraft, potentially racking up more charges than the interest you’ll earn.
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6 Easy Tips to Manage Your Money Cleverly
Managing your money doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to live frugally. All it means is that you should think and act and not splurge when it comes to using your money. Money management is not difficult once it becomes a part of your everyday life. Read on to know some simple tips that will help you to save money and thus manage your money well.
1. Pay your bills on time
It is extremely important that you pay all your credit card bills on time in order to avoid late fees. Paying late fees is a waste of money.
2. Cook at home frequently
Eating out at fancy restaurants or even ordering food home from restaurants can cost you a lot. Along with these frequent visits to fast food joints for a burger, hotdog or pizza can make your wallet considerably lighter. It is advisable that you cook at home as much as possible and pack lunch to workplace.
3. Make a list before shopping
It is advisable that you make a list before you go out for shopping. In this way you can stick to the things that you need and not end up buying extra. In fact once you go to the mall and see so many things around you, you tend to feel impulsive. At such times you may even forget to buy what you actually require. Hence you better make a list of your requirements and carry it with you for shopping to avoid these.
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Negotiating Your Salary in a Down Economy
With the dismal career outlook, people are struggling to find new work and even maintain current employment. After days (if not weeks or months) of submitting resumes, tapping networks, attending conferences, or any of the other suggestions out there – job seekers may be content settling for whichever offer comes their way. Although the market is tough, the situation doesn’t warrant forfeiting your opportunity, and ability, to negotiate an offer.
Recently a friend asked for some feedback on his own offer. Foreseeing the near-term end of his existing circumstance, he was excited about the new prospect. Looking for recommendations on the compensation, he outlined the parameters of the position for me to help formulate a counter-offer. Whipping together a simple excel sheet, we discussed the results:
“Probably should ask for 30% more”, I stated.
“Really”, he wondered, “that’s not too much?”
Following our conversation about the job in general, we reviewed the reasons which justified the considerable increase:
1.) Changing Industries
Switching from non-profit work to the private sector, his current salary was likely lower than a comparable position in private enterprise.
2.) Cost of Living Adjustment
Moving from an already high cost-of-living location to an even higher cost-of-living location, accepting the offer as it stood would have been a decrease in his standard of living.
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There’s an Investment Market for Hurricanes?
The answer is yes. There is an investment market for hurricanes but it’s not a market that the average stock market investor knows much about. It’s called the futures market. This market is found in Chicago at the CME or Chicago Mercantile Exchange where everything from gold contracts to interest rate contracts change hands.
Hurricanes are traded in the form of futures contracts along with other weather products. Although you can’t buy or sell a hurricane, there are other reasons that investors invest money in to these monster storms.
Don’t know much about a futures contract and you can’t think of any possible way that investors could possibly trade a hurricane? Keep reading. We’re going to learn everything we need to know about these futures contracts.
