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While We Are All People, There Are Different Types of People

September 16, 2011 By

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with a group in Southwest Florida that does amazing work in its community.  They held a full-day staff retreat to learn about personality types and how different personalities impact customer service.  They defined their customers both internally and externally; i.e., the people inside their organization that they serve along with the people in their general community that are served.

When it comes to customer service, different types of people need different things.  For example,

  • People who are bold, “take charge” people need action; they need to see results … and the sooner the better!
  • Detail oriented people want the facts and the details; they need to see that there is logic and predictability in how their service need is going to be handled.
  • Those who are concerned that whatever solution is applied will make everyone happy need security and reassurance.
  • Individuals who are outgoing and enjoy being the center of attention need to be given the opportunity to express themselves and be heard; they need to recognized and appreciated.

The words that we use when serving these different people make all the difference in the world so, as individuals who serve customers, it behooves us to choose our words carefully and make certain that the words we use convey our desire to satisfy the needs of those customers.  Words, just like the “little things”, can make all of the difference in the world.

Filed Under: Customer Service, Financial Coaching, How personality Type impacts customer service, Personal Coaching, Personality Assessment

Saving Money at the Grocery Store – part 3

September 12, 2011 By

Teaching financial management classes gives me an opportunity to share money saving ideas with many different people; and, as different as all of the people are, they often ask the same question, “Where do you find all of these great deals?”  There is no one answer.  In fact, these bargains are found in many different places.  Here are just few suggestions.

  • Grocery store flyers – every week, the local paper contains an insert that includes the advertisements from the various supermarkets in the area.  These flyers contain not only announcements of sales; but, they also frequently print recipes that use the products that are on sales.
  • Mail – since not everyone subscribes to the local paper, the grocery stores also have the flyers delivered every home along with the mail on the day after the flyers are delivered in the newspaper.
  • Internet – each of the major grocers in my area also publish their advertising flyers on line.  To find them, just do a web search for [store name] weekly circular.  Additionally, there are many websites that offer coupons at no charge.  A few that I, and others, have found helpful are …

─      www.Couponmom.com

─      www.Coupon-lady.com

─      www.Shopathome.com

─      www.Livingfrugal.com

If you have other websites where you regularly obtain coupons, please submit them so that they can be shared with others.

Filed Under: Grocery Shopping Tips, Money Management, Saving Money

Saving Money at the Grocery Store – part 2

September 9, 2011 By

My friend Carol proudly declared herself to be Coupon Clipping Royalty and claimed the title, “Queen of the Coupon Clippers”.  Two questions immediately come to mind when people start talking about coupons.

  1. Can you really save enough money to make taking time to clip them worthwhile?
  2. Where do you find all of these “great” savings?

Let’s take the first of these  questions.

Yes, you really can save enough money to make it worth the time it takes to clip the coupons!  Think of it this way … what is the value of your time? 

If you spent 30 minutes clipping coupons and saved just $10 on your grocery shopping expedition, you’d have the equivalent earning of $20 per hour!  Aren’t you worth that kind of money?

If you spent just 30 minutes reviewing the grocery store advertising circulars to see what kinds of sales you could take advantage of before planning your menus for the week, how much could you save?  To find out, I performed a brief experiment.

I picked up the grocery store flyer for a nearby supermarket and created seven dinner menus using only “buy-one-get-one” items.  I tracked the amount of time it took to complete this exercise here are the results:

  • 2 chuck roasts – one weighed 2.88 pounds while the other weighed 2.82 pounds.  At $4.99/lb., I got 5.70 pounds of beef for $14.37.  The first one was cut into bite sized pieces and cooked with vegetables to make a beef stew for Monday’s Dinner.  The second one was used to make pot roast for Sunday Dinner.  Total spent:  $14.37  Total Saved:  $14.07
  • 2 bags of frozen, boneless/skinless chicken breasts.  Each bag contains a total of 40 ounces of chicken; or, 8 pieces, each weighing approximately 5 ounces.  Four pieces were cut into small pieces and turned into sweet and sour chicken for Tuesday’s Dinner.  Another 4 pieces were baked with some rice, matchstick carrots, and broccoli along with a can of cream of chicken soup to make a casserole for Thursday’s dinner.  Total Spent:  $10.99.  Total Saved $10.99; and, I have the second bag of chicken breasts in the freezer for use next week.
  • 2 packages of center cut pork chops.  The first package weighed 1.29 pounds and was baked for Wednesday’s Dinner.  The second package weighed 1.22 pounds was cut into bite sized pieces and simmered in a plum sauce and served with rice (also buy-one-get-one) for Friday’s dinner.  Total spent on the pork:  $6.05.  Total Saved on the pork $5.72.  Total spent for rice:  $2.99 for a 3 pound bag.  Total saved $2.99, and, I have enough rice left in the pantry for several more meals.
  • 2 jars of pasta sauce (each 24 ounces) and 2 packages of spaghetti (each 1 pound).  One package of spaghetti and one jar of sauce were cooked for Saturday’s dinner.  The remaining package and jar are in the pantry for use next week.  Total spent for both pasta and sauce:  $5.08  Total saved:  $5.08.
  • 2 frozen pepperoni pizzas.  One was baked for dinner on Saturday night and the other is in the freezer for use next week.  Total spent:  $6.99.  Total saved $6.99

Total savings:  $45.84

Time spent:  20 minutes

Per hour “wage” equivalent:  $137.52

I would dare say that most of us, if offered a job that paid $137 per hour, would leap at that opportunity.  This “job” is yours for the taking.  All you have to do is block out a little time to plan the menus and shop the flyers to find the bargains.  You’ll eat well; and, you’ll save money, too!

Coming next:  Where do you find all of those “great” savings?

Filed Under: Grocery Shopping Tips, Money Management, Saving Money

How can I save money at the grocery store?

August 2, 2011 By

Recently, my good friend and client Carol asked me to review her family’s budget with her to determine if there were any opportunities she was missing for saving money and getting the most value for every dollar she spends.

While going through the budget, I noticed that she was spending far less at the grocery store than she had in the past.  I asked her how she had managed to cut her grocery bill while prices seem to keep going up nearly every day.  She shared her strategy with me … here it is.

  • Every Sunday, she sits down and plans her menu for each meal for the week.  Once the menu is set …
  • She creates a shopping list that lists out everything that is needed to put those meals on the table.  She then …
  • Takes the list to the pantry and crosses off those items that she already has.  With the list pared down to the items that she must buy, she …
  • Becomes the “Queen of the Coupon Clippers”.  Finally,
  • Carol goes to the store with her shopping list; and, if an item that looks good is not on the list, she does not buy it.  She sticks with her plan.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it?  Planning ahead helps avoid impulse buying.  It also ensures that all of the required ingredients are on hand when it’s time to make dinner.  Planning also helps save money!

It’s certainly well worth trying … it just might help you get more for every grocery dollar that you spend!

Filed Under: Grocery Shopping Tips, Money Management, Saving Money Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

What happens to my money if my bank fails?

July 21, 2011 By

I had the pleasure of meeting with a group of “adult learners” on Wednesday and was asked a great question by a gentleman we’ll call Rob … “If my bank got shut down, would I lose all of my money?”  The short answer is “NO” … with a few provisos.  Let’s examine a hypothetical situation.

Let’s assume that Rob has a savings account at the Greatest Ever National Bank (GENB).  After his paycheck was direct deposited on Friday morning, the balance is $1,200.

At 6:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, GENB closed and locked the doors as they have always done.  However, this day was unlike any other because at 6:01 p.m., the FDIC came in and declared the bank to be “insolvent” and closed it down … forever.  Now what happens?

The first and most likely possibility is that the FDIC will have a bank that is solvent (called the assuming bank) take over the insured deposits that GENB held … including Rob’s savings account.  We’ll call this assuming bank the First Bank of Deliverance (FBoD).  When Rob’s bank opens on Monday morning, it will be doing business as First Bank of Deliverance and Rob will be their new customer.  For Rob, life goes on as usual with no interruptions to his cash flow … his $1,200 balance is safe and available for him to pay bills, make withdrawals. or whatever else he planned to do with it..

Of course, if no healthy bank is willing to take over the Greatest Ever National Bank’s customers, then the FDIC will issue a check to each depositor for full balance of the customer’s account, up to the insured limit.  The FDIC’s goal is to pay these depositors within two business days.

The current insurance limit is $250,000 per account.  If Rob has more than one account; and, if these accounts have different legal ownership (for example, one account is in Rob’s name alone; and, Rob and his wife have another, joint, account), Rob’s deposits could be insured for more than $250,000 so long as neither account has more than $250,000 in it.

There are some wrinkles if the money is in a trust or is being managed by a fiduciary; but, for most people, the scenarios above answer Rob’s question.  For more information, visit: http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/banking/facts/index.html.

GREAT QUESTION, ROB!  Thanks for asking.

Filed Under: Money Management Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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