In Case You Missed it: March Recap
All of the Articles From March & Everything In Between
I Challenge Everyone to Start Budgeting Their Money. Here is How to Begin!
Budgeting is a key element to achieve financial growth
What is Budgeting?
The first question we must answer is, what in fact is budgeting? Budgeting is the allocation of funds to specific areas of your life. We all have an income that we then disperse into many different fields of our lives. To lump it all into a finite word, let’s call those specific areas of life, expenses.
Expenses are the things you pay for month to month that can range from rent to dining out. We all have varying types of expenses and that is why budgeting is a great way to gain a better understanding of how you spend your money.
In this article I am going to break down how you can take a simple excel sheet and turn it into your financial budgeting planner for everyday use. Seriously, guys, this will take maybe ten minutes and then you are good to go for tracking your money for the rest of your life. Just do it.
This process may raise some eyebrows as you go through and manage your money. You will either be shocked at how much you are spending or be very impressed with yourself on how much you are saving. Either way, it is time to put on your big-kid pants and take a hard look at yourself.
Setting up a Spreadsheet
When you start setting up your budgeting template, you will want to cover three sections: income, expenses, and the difference between the two. Luckily for you, I have created an example of how you can set up this document! I put in random numbers just for the sake of the example so no roasting me for miscalculating what expense numbers would be.
Income
For the income section, calculate what your monthly salary would be based on your state’s taxes and place that below what your yearly salary would be. Tracking money month to month is a good cadence for financial security and growth.
Expenses
When it comes to expenses, this is where everyone will be different. Start a list of everything you pay for each month. There are some expenses such as rent and memberships that will be the exact same dollar amount each month, so there you go, those are done. For expenses such as dining out and utilities that do not have a set value month to month, try and set an average number to start just so you have a general starting point. This section is crucial for you to be honest with yourself. If you are a serial online shopper (like my girlfriend) and you love to buy a new dish towel for every holiday (also like my girlfriend), allocate enough money in your “fun stuff” funds for the lifestyle you know you live. Being able to see the whole picture is very important, as then you can start cutting down on things you either do not need or should not be buying so regularly (like a new dish towel for St. Patrick’s Day).
Difference
Once you have your income and expenses calculated, include a section calculating the difference to see how much money you have left over after all is said and done. This money is going straight into savings, investments, or towards something you really need.
Defining your Net Worth
Everyone has a net worth, and everyone should be calculating theirs monthly. Why? Because this will give you the full picture on whether your budgeting, investments, and assets are paying off, or if they are hurting you. Create another page in the excel spreadsheet looking something like this:
How to Calculate your Net Worth
All you need to do is use this simple formula:
Assets – Liabilities = Net Worth
Examples of Assets:
Bank accounts
Investment Accounts
Cash
Retirement Accounts
Examples of Liabilities:
Mortgage
Student Loans
Car Loans
Credit Card Debt
Budget and Net Worth Benefits
The great thing about setting up each of those trackers is you can now see a zoomed-out version of your life and expenses. Most importantly, you will be able to see whether you are trending upwards or downwards (hint: you do not want to be trending downwards). Humans are visual creatures, and this will give you an actual monthly picture of how you are doing rather than guessing or being completely in the dark.
Once you calculate your net worth for the month, you can then go back to your budget and adjust accordingly to what your goals are. This is important stuff, people! Being responsible for your own life and your own funds is one of the most valuable skills a person can have. So, now that you are done reading this newsletter, get out of bed and figure out what your financial situation looks like.
How to Break Free from a Fixed Mindset and Move Towards a Growth Mindset
Turning your desire of trying to look smart to truly pursuing knowledge
A Journey You Didn’t Realize You were on
As humans, we wake up every day and make choices that affect each and every aspect of our lives. We develop routines, we explore new activities, and at the end of the day, we always try to do what is best for us. But do we always succeed at this process?
Carol Dweck breaks down this concept into two parts. Fixed or growth. These are two mindsets we can choose to live by each day. This new way of life we have been living for a year has many of us in a personal or emotional rut. I, like many others, have probably let myself sink into a fixed mindset.
And that is ok! 2020 and now 2021 have been challenging to say the least. This past year has tested human biology, psychology, and will-power more than most years would.
Let us take this article as a way to push ourselves to get back to where we want to be, a growth mindset.
Where School Messed Up
The process of thinking and developing mindsets are not well taught in schools or even at all in some places. The purpose of school is to teach students how to think rather than what to think. The real hard-hitting question that no one wants to answer is, are schools successful at teaching their students how to think?
I would argue, no.
In school, we find ourselves saying things like, “I’m not good at this” or, “I just can’t do math.” Those are examples of a fixed mindset. Instead, we need to strive for, “What am I missing?” and “I might not be good at math right now, but if I keep practicing then I know I can learn it.”
These simple changes in perspective and mindset can take us further than we realize.
Let’s dive into a full breakdown of fixed vs growth mindset.
Fixed vs. Growth
The infographic below is a perfect depiction of the human mindset. I am going to break down how I would take on each of these themes and share any tips and tricks I have been using to shift my mindset from fixed to growth.
Challenges
Facing challenges is something everyone can relate to. Humans do not get to hand pick the obstacles place in front of them. You never know what challenge might face you today, if it will be the same tomorrow, or if the solution will be the same. What we do have, however, is a choice on how we handle challenges.
We can choose to embrace it or avoid it.
If you avoid it, growth will not ever come. You might be comfortable, but you will not see much return. Taking the challenge head-on, however, will give you access to your confidence that you have never seen before. If challenges are inevitable, why not challenge them right back?
Obstacles
Obstacles and challenges go hand in hand. They need each other. Anyone will tell you in challenging time, there are concrete obstacles in your way. Perseverance is always the move. In times like these it is easy to sink into “give up” mode, but it is important to be self-aware and consciously bring yourself back up into a positive, growth mindset rather than a negative, fixed mindset.
My best tip for obstacles is, remember to take time, some things cannot be solved off the top of the head. Taking it another step further, you can even put this task on hold for a day to come back with a fresh perspective, especially if you had been working on it for a while – tunnel vision and writer’s block are real, people!
Effort
Giving effort is something everyone can and should do. Even if you do not know how to do something, applying effort will take you farther than anything else.
Your perception of effort is what differentiates a fixed vs growth mindset. Do you think effort will lead to mastering something or do you think it will lead nowhere? Your answer shows you whether you need to realign your thoughts on effort.
The best thing I do when I am feeling low on effort, is I pick a time to dedicate my full attention and effort to that task. Trying to just start giving effort without a plan can be hard, so find a direction you want to go and map it out. I promise you will see an uptick in your effort from that alone.
Criticism
You know who loves being critiqued? Successful people! You can read just about any biography about your favorite person, and they will all have a chapter on how they took on the challenge of criticism.
At face value, criticism sucks. We have all been there and know what it feels like. It is simply human nature to want to succeed and be competent and do something right. When that thing gets broken down and flipped on its head, it can really throw a wrench in our mindset.
That is where this chart comes in! When shifting your mindset away from pity party and letting criticism demotivate you, you must refer to what that shift looks like. The goal is to reach a growth mindset where you take the criticism head on and utilize it to better yourself and your performance for next time.
The best things in life are when criticism and feedback help to open your mind to new opportunities.
The best tip I can give you to help change your mindset is to think of it as an opportunity to make your project or work that much better. If you think about it, that could be the best thing for your project because we can all develop a tunnel vision on things. Fresh perspectives are game changing, and you should always learn to embrace it.
Success of Others
People can find this to be the trickiest. When things involve other people, it is easy to bring jealously, assumptions, and sometimes anger to the table. That is where you need to change your mindset.
When it comes to other people’s success, you should always take it as a learning opportunity. I know that it can be hard because sometimes people’s success could seem invalid or confusing, but if you have that mindset, you are only hurting yourself.
Instead, focus on what you can do now to keep growing. Find some inspiration and run with it. Use these people as resources!
Successful people do one thing that many people overlook. Before they were successful, they too looked up to successful people. The only difference between you and them is:
-They took action
-They found inspiration
-They took on the journey of growth
Conclusion + Takeaways
All in all, life is a journey. Mindsets can change with the seasons. This past year has been hard on us all, and therefore it is time for everyone to take a step back and reevaluate their mindsets. A light at the end of the tunnel seems to be coming closer. That means there is no better time to start shifting your mindset.
Growth Mindset = Will lead to levels of achievement not first imagined.
Fixed Mindset = Will lead to less achieving and a plateau effect.
Let's Break Down Email Etiquette
Tips and tricks to make sure you are sending professional emails
Before we Begin
I have written three previous articles breaking down the most important things that connect to this topic. Check them out here before continuing on to this one:
How to Network on LinkedIn…. And Hopefully Land a Job:
https://inbetweennewsletter.substack.com/p/how-to-network-on-linkedin-and-hopefully
LinkedIn 101: Everything You Should Be Doing on LinkedIn to Grow Your Personal Brand:
https://inbetweennewsletter.substack.com/p/linkedin-101-everything-you-should
How to Work from Home Effectively:
https://inbetweennewsletter.substack.com/p/how-to-work-from-home-effectively
Emails
This article is great for people with all levels of emailing experience. Whether you have never sent an email in your life, or you send 50 emails every day, this article will give you great insight on the “dos” and “don’ts” of writing the perfect email.
Email etiquette has changed throughout the years, but the key principles have stayed the same. The biggest principle to remember is that emails are not social media. Yes, it might be an app on your phone just like the others, but it holds more weight than sending a tweet or a Snapchat.
Let us all dive into the best principles I have learned throughout the years of sending emails!
Professionalism
If you are on the younger side or just have not updated your personal email address, now is the time. You do not want to be sending resumes and report documents to your boss from doggiesRcute8989@yahoo.com. Trust me, you don’t. If you are able to change your existing email address, do it. If not, start a new email account and make the address short, clear, and concise. Here is an idea, maybe just make it your name!
The best emails I have seen keep it plain and simple with the recipient’s name. Here are a few examples:
You can add whatever symbol or even a number to help give it a little personality, but overall if this is going to be used for professional emailing, I would keep it as simple as possible.
The great thing to is if you work for a company, there is a good chance you will get a basic email address already set up with the company: name@company.com
Email Signatures Are Key
So, you think you have a great email address now, eh? Now time to set up a great signature!
The email signature is what will appear at the bottom of the email acting as your closure and contact. This space is where you can set up a short bio about yourself. They are usually not more than three lines and can be personalized with a different font than the rest of the email, maybe a small logo, and possibly colored text. For most businesspeople I would keep it very simple. Three lines is all you need breaking down these three items:
1. Name (different font, larger text, etc.)
2. Job Title/Position/Major in School
3. Company/Organization/School
Below is an example of an adequate email signature if you are in school:
Griffin Prock
Communications Major
Washington State University
Below is an example of an adequate email signature if you have a job:
Griffin Prock
eCommerce Coordinator
The Stable
Subject Lines
Remember in high school when our teachers would tell us our writing needed to be clearer and more concise? Well, get ready, because you are actually about to apply something that you learned in high school to a real-world situation. An email subject line is crucial and sets the tone of the email. Think of the subject line as the one statement summary of what you are trying to communicate with the person you are emailing. Do not make it a long sentence, but instead focus on what the recipient needs to know. If you formulate an email subject line correctly, the recipient should not even have to open the email to know what the contents will be.
Examples are: “Meeting Summary Notes” or, “Griffin Prock Application Resume 3/20/21.”
Things to Stay Away From
This list is things you need to cautious of when writing a professional email. It can be easy to forget that this is a professional form of communication. You don’t want to become so comfortable when emailing that you start becoming more causal.
Exclamation Marks
When using exclamation marks you want to make sure you have a clear understanding of what your working relationship is with the person being emailed. If you are sending an email to your work BFF, sure maybe throw one in there. If you are emailing your boss, I promise he/she will not read it the way you intended. Just don’t do it.
Your tone will change depending on who you are emailing, so just test out the field before ending every single sentence with an exclamation mark! See, that was weird, wasn’t it?
Humor
Everyone loves a good joke. But not in an email.
Humor can be very hard to read sometimes, especially in a professional setting. It can be misinterpreted or come across as rude. So, just keep it simple, and stay away from humor.
Now don’t get me wrong, in an in-person setting, humor is a great tool you can use when having a face-to-face conversation because it will be easier to pick up on the joke. Email is just not the place for it. As much as you might want to, don’t bring texting language into an email as a way of incorporating humor. That means stay away from “lol” and “haha.” Plain and simple, it makes you look immature and unprofessional.
Hi, Hey, Hello, Yo
When starting the email, of course you want to begin with a form of greeting. The most common greeting is hi or hello. Those two options are the agreed upon forms of saying hello in a professional scenario. Using “hey” can be causal. Only use this if you have developed a long-term, probably personal, relationship with this coworker. Similar to exclamation marks, get a read on how the person uses these things before you use them.
Lastly, and most importantly, stay far away from “Yo.” I should not have to even explain why that is not going to fly in a professional setting.
All in All
Emails are a part of everyone’s lives at some point. Use this guide as a great place to start. A place where you can start with the basics and grow from there.
If I could give one more pearl of wisdom that encompasses all of my tips and tricks, it would be this: Watch how the other person emails you and mirror your email style to theirs. That way you will always know that your emails are coming across in a way they find professional.
Thank you all for reading, I am so appreciative and blown away by the reactions of my readers. Thank you for the support and space to write about what I love. Now, go edit that email sitting in your drafts so it doesn’t sound like you are DMing your friend on Instagram.
You Should Definitely Share: The In-Between Newsletter
This newsletter has been growing so much since I started it in August! We are already up to 179 subscribers. Let’s keep the momentum going!
I want this newsletter to be for anyone, all ages, and all backgrounds.
Like I said above, I feel like the public school system does not always teach us some of the most important information we need to be ready for the real world. And so, The In-Between Newsletter was born. I write about topics ranging from career, finances, personal development, and everything else in between that I think everyone would benefit from.
So, if you know anyone that would benefit from a weekly newsletter written by a great, humorous, overall exceptional writer, then share the link and just put in an email!
I appreciate all the endless support and look forward to growing this thing even bigger.