<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/tom-huddleston-jr/">By Tom Huddleston Jr.</a> 



Seven years ago, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/19/this-company-brings-in-millions-of-dollars-selling-stuff-on-amazon.html">Larry Lubarsky was unemployed</a> and $100,000 in debt. Today, he&#8217;s a 38-year-old small business owner, running a company that brings in millions of dollars per year by selling thousands of different products on Amazon.



&#8220;I didn&#8217;t have a career, I didn&#8217;t have any money to my name,&#8221; Lubarsky tells CNBC Make It. &#8220;I was living with my mom, I was severely in debt, I couldn&#8217;t afford my phone, my car.&#8221;



His business selling products on Amazon &#8220;saved my life financially,&#8221; Lubarsky says.



Lubarsky buys a wide variety of products in bulk — from electronics and kids&#8217; toys to health and beauty supplies — and then he re-sells them on Amazon, all while trying to turn a tidy profit. He engages in a business model known as wholesale arbitrage, which sees him buying large quantities of products from wholesalers or large brands.



As Lubarsky previously told CNBC Make It, he might see a Nerf gun available for $10 each from a wholesaler, but the product is selling for $20 apiece on Amazon. In that case, he knows that he can make about $5 profit on each Nerf toy after paying the fees that Amazon charges its third-party sellers.



In 2017, Lubarsky&#8217;s business pulled in roughly $18 million in revenue, including a net profit of $4 million, from selling products on Amazon. Lubarsky only launched the business in 2014, and he brought in more than $3 million in that first year, he tells <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/">CNBC Make It</a>.



So, how does Lubarsky do it? Here are a few tips from Lubarsky that reveal the basics of how to be a third-party seller on Amazon.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Start with seed funding</h4>



First things first. You&#8217;ll need money to get started, so you can buy wholesale products to sell online. Lubarsky told CNBC Make It that he pitched his Amazon selling business to a few friends and family members before one friend believed in him enough to invest $60,000. Lubarsky spent about $10,000 of that amount on renting a small office space and on shipping supplies (to ship the products he&#8217;d sell on Amazon). He used the rest of the money of to buy his first batch of inventory, including almost 100 different wholesale products that he knew would sell well on Amazon and return a respectable profit.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">How to get the products</h4>



Lubarsky relies on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-find-a-wholesale-distributor-2531713">wholesale companies</a>, or even large brands, that are willing to sell products in bulk for resale. It&#8217;s the best way to get a large quantity of products at a discounted price, he says.



&#8220;What I basically do is buy directly from big national distributors, or brands direct,&#8221; Lubarsky tells CNBC Make It. &#8220;I open wholesale accounts with them and I basically have access to their products and to their catalogs, and I go through all those tens of thousands of products that I can get my hands on.&#8221;



If you&#8217;re just getting started, though, Lubarsky&#8217;s advice is to stick with wholesalers, versus reaching out to large brands (like Hasbro, which makes Nerf toys) directly. &#8220;For someone new, it is probably easier to source product from large distributors and wholesalers than it is to approach brands directly,&#8221; he tells CNBC Make It, noting that larger retail brands are likely &#8220;being approached by five to 10 different e-commerce people, or Amazon sellers, a week&#8221; trying to establish relationships.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Do your research</h4>



Of course, Lubarsky&#8217;s business only works if people are actually willing to buy the products he buys in bulk — otherwise, he&#8217;s left with unsold inventory. In order to decide what to buy, Lubarsky and his employees research extensively using Amazon&#8217;s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)&nbsp;<a href="https://sellercentral.amazon.com/fba/profitabilitycalculator/index?lang=en_US">site</a>, which offers sales-tracking tools to third-party sellers that can tell Lubarsky how many units of a particular product are typically sold each day.



&#8220;First and foremost, I look for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2014/01/sales-velocity-equation-gp.html">sales velocity</a>, because if I&#8217;m spending money I want to know that, no matter what, I can sell that product and get my money back,&#8221; Lubarsky says. For the most part, Lubarsky is unlikely to consider any product that is outside of the 50,000 top sellers on Amazon&#8217;s ranking. The second factor he considers is the expected return on his investment (or ROI). He wants any product he&#8217;s buying to give him at least a 30 percent ROI, so that if he buys something for $10 per unit, he&#8217;ll make about $3 on each sale. And Lubarsky requires a minimum of $3 profit per item, because otherwise the margin is too small to be worth the effort.



&#8220;I won&#8217;t take a 30 percent ROI on a $2 product,&#8221; he says, because the profit would only be 60 cents.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Plow profits back into the business</h4>



Getting a 30 percent return on a big investment might make you want to kick back and enjoy spending your profits. But Lubarsky says the only way to scale this type of business is to continuously reinvest, which means buying more and more inventory.



The $50,000 that Lubarsky spent on his first batch of inventory returned a $20,000 profit, for a total of $70,000, he says. He took that entire sum and bought even more inventory, which soon turned into a total of $100,000, and so on.



&#8220;When we started the business, we didn&#8217;t pay ourselves. We didn&#8217;t take a dollar for, I think it was like a year, maybe even upwards of a year and a half,&#8221; Lubarsky says. &#8220;We just kept selling stuff, taking the money, reinvesting it into new products.&#8221;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Roll up your sleeves</h4>



Of course, there&#8217;s nothing simple about starting and running any successful business — and, these are just Lubarsky&#8217;s tips on the basics of operating as a third-party seller on Amazon. But, if you&#8217;re looking to follow in the footsteps of someone like Lubarsky, he says his best advice is to be as dedicated to the venture as you would any other full-time business.



&#8220;For people who are completely new to the business and starting out with wholesale, my No. 1 piece of advice to you would be to understand that, like any business &#8230; it requires a lot of work,&#8221; Lubarsky says. &#8220;If you&#8217;re willing to put in that work and build a real business, and grind and hustle, then this business is for you. If you&#8217;re kind of looking for, like, a little side-hustle [or] side gig, wholesale — I&#8217;ll tell you right now — isn&#8217;t really the right thing for you.&#8221;



This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/tips-for-making-money-on-amazon-from-a-seller-bringing-in-millions.html and is republished with its permission.

How to start a successful Amazon business, from a seller who’s making millions

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/emmie-martin/">By Emmie Martin</a>



Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/07/jeff-bezos-accuses-national-enquirer-publisher-of-blackmail-extortion.html">accused the National Enquirer and its publisher, American Media Inc., of blackmail and extortion</a>.



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://medium.com/@jeffreypbezos/no-thank-you-mr-pecker-146e3922310f">blog post published Thursday</a>&nbsp;that included copies of his email correspondence, he wrote that AMI threatened to make public compromising photographs of him. AMI called those images newsworthy because, he wrote, they would &#8220;show Amazon shareholders that my business judgment is terrible.&#8221;



In a statement Friday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/08/national-enquirer-publisher-believes-it-acted-lawfully-on-bezos-story-vows-to-investigate-matter.html">AMI maintained it did nothing illegal</a>&nbsp;but said it would begin an internal investigation.



CNBC&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/08/cramer-on-bezos-blackmail-if-youre-selling-amazon-off--this-youre-really-stupid.html">Jim Cramer has warned investors</a>, &#8220;If you&#8217;re selling Amazon off this, you&#8217;re really stupid.&#8221;



Other analysts agree. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think the allegations have a direct line into the fundamentals of Amazon,&#8221;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/08/amazon-analysts-shrug-off-bezos-enquirer-saga-see-no-impact-on-the-stock.html">said Anthony DiClemente, an internet analyst at Evercore ISI</a>. &#8220;Certainly from a public relations standpoint, I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s ideal. When you look at the fundamentals, it&#8217;s hard to imagine it will have a negative impact.&#8221;



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=AMZN">Amazon</a>&nbsp;shares were down 2 percent in early trading Friday. Still, if you had invested $1,000 in Amazon in February 2009, your initial outlay would be worth more than $23,600 as of February 2019, according to CNBC calculations. That&#8217;s an increase of more than 2,000 percent.



While Amazon&#8217;s stock has performed well, any individual stock can <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/30/how-amazon-became-one-of-warren-buffetts-biggest-investment-regrets.html">over- or underperform</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/03/avoid-these-4-investing-mistakes.html">past returns do not predict future results</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/amazon.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-327890" width="610" height="409"/></figure>



Amazon&#8217;s stock prices as of Feb. 8, 2019, at 11:18 a.m. ET. 



So far, 2019 has been a mediocre year for Amazon. The company is up about 5 percent this year, but it has underperformed the market&#8217;s 7 percent gain.



On the heels of a hugely successful 2018, investors are starting to have concerns about the company&#8217;s spending — but not its founder&#8217;s personal life. In early January,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/jeff-bezos/">Bezos</a>&nbsp;announced that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/09/jeff-bezos-and-wife-mackenzie-are-divorcing-.html">he and his wife are divorcing</a>.



There have been a few highlights, though. In January, the e-commerce giant briefly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/07/amazon-passes-microsoft-market-value-becomes-largest.html">surpassed Microsoft</a>&nbsp;to become the largest publicly traded company in the U.S. by market cap when it hit a valuation of $789 billion and later ended that day at a value of $797 billion. Apple fell to fourth place, trailing both Microsoft and Alphabet.



As of Feb. 8, Amazon has a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=AMZN">market cap of around $775 billion</a>. Microsoft and Apple are in a tight race for first place: Both hold fluctuating market caps of more than $800 billion.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&#8220;If you&#8217;re selling Amazon off this, you&#8217;re really stupid.&#8221;-Jim Cramer, CNBC</blockquote>



Amazon is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/07/amazon-stock-could-surge-20-percent-in-2019-analyst-says.html">expected to see shares surge more than 20 percent in 2019</a>, according to a recent report from Pivotal Research Group.



In the note published in early January, analyst Brian Wieser predicted a $1,920 year-end price target for the retailer. That would mark a 21 percent rise in the price of the company&#8217;s stock and put Amazon&#8217;s valuation close to $1 trillion.



&#8220;Despite its current massive size, we see Amazon&#8217;s opportunities as mostly unconstrained based on a successful track record of capitalizing on consumer and IT department spending,&#8221; Wieser wrote.



The research note forecasts that Amazon&#8217;s digital advertising business will continue to be a major source of revenue growth. In 2018, the sector grew more than 70 percent and earned Amazon the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/19/amazon-third-largest-digital-ad-platform-behind-facebook-google.html">third-most digital ad sales for the year</a>, behind only Google and Facebook, according to market research company e-Marketer.



This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/08/how-much-a-1000-dollar-investment-in-amazon-10-years-ago-would-be-worth-now.html?recirc=taboolainternal and is republished with its permission.

If you invested $1,000 in Amazon 10 years ago, here’s how much you’d have now

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/abigail-hess/">By Abigail Hess</a>



Trendy offices with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/business/media/ad-agencies-need-young-talent-cue-the-bean-bag-chairs.html">beanbag</a> chairs and<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/business/office-building-ameneties.html"> ping pong tables</a> won&#8217;t keep workers from quitting in <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/21/workers-in-2018-quit-their-jobs-to-get-raisesthey-will-next-year-too.html">a tight labor market</a>. According to a new survey, the most coveted work perks let employees control their time — and not all employers have caught up to the demand.



Human resources consulting firm<a href="https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/compensation-and-benefits/popular-perks-incentives-and-benefits?utm_campaign=Press_Release&amp;utm_medium=Link&amp;utm_source=Press_Release">&nbsp;Robert Half</a>&nbsp;surveyed 1,500 workers and 600 HR managers across the country to see which benefits, perks and incentives employees want most and where employers miss the mark.



Overwhelmingly, employees surveyed asked for perks that helped them control their time. &#8220;In the past few years, there&#8217;s been a lot of employee interest in perks that offer greater control over where and when work is done, such as flexible schedules, compressed workweeks and telecommuting options,&#8221; Paul McDonald, senior executive director for Robert Half tells&nbsp;<a href="https://carbon.cnbc.com/103395579">CNBC Make It</a>.



Despite this demand, employers have been slow to meet these needs. While the survey finds that a whopping 88 percent of employees wanted a flexible work schedule, only just 62 percent of their employers offer this kind of flexibility.



The desire for a compressed workweek revealed one of the survey&#8217;s biggest gaps between what employees want and what their bosses provide. Approximately 66 percent of workers said they wanted to work less than five days a week but just 17 percent offer that option.



The tight labor market could force gaps like these to narrow.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jolts.pdf">U.S. workers continue</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/21/workers-in-2018-quit-their-jobs-to-get-raisesthey-will-next-year-too.html">quit their jobs at some of the highest rates</a>&nbsp;in 18 years. Last year, there were more&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/05/there-are-more-jobs-than-people-out-of-work.html">unfilled jobs in the United States than there were unemployed workers</a>.



Says McDonald, &#8220;Besides salary, employees are considering factors such as perks, benefits and incentives when deciding whether to join or stay with a company. And with competition for skilled talent remaining high, today&#8217;s professionals have more options than ever in these areas.&#8221;



&#8220;Savvy employers are catching on to the fact that employees are increasingly demanding better work-life balance and the opportunity to get work done at non-traditional places and times,&#8221; adds Jim Link, chief human resources officer (North America) at global recruitment agency&nbsp;<a href="https://carbon.cnbc.com/1512766">Randstad</a>. &#8220;The four-day workweek is a perfect example of that.&#8221;



Even billionaire businessman&nbsp;<a href="https://carbon.cnbc.com/105625999">Richard Branson has predicted</a>&nbsp;the end of the five-day workweek saying, &#8220;The idea of working five days a week with two day weekends and a few weeks of holiday each year has become ingrained in society. But it wasn&#8217;t always the case, and it won&#8217;t be in the future.&#8221; Branson argues that technology will allow workers to be more productive and to work more flexibly.



&#8220;Offering employees a designated time to take care of personal responsibilities alleviates worker stress, allows them to focus their attention on key projects while in the office and also leads to a decrease in unplanned absences,&#8221; says McDonald.



To be sure, compressed weeks work better for certain types of companies and positions than others, McDonald says. &#8220;The nature of some businesses require staff coverage and customer service during key hours.&#8221;



Still, some experts say this more flexible future is not far away. &#8220;I believe that in this century, we can win a four-day working week, with decent pay for everyone,&#8221; Frances O&#8217;Grady, general secretary of British labor union organization<a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/about-tuc-1"> Trades Union Congress</a> predicted in September.



This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/10/66percent-of-workers-want-a-4-day-workweekjust-17percent-of-employers-offer-one.html and is republished with its permission.

66% of workers polled want a 4-day workweek—why just 17% of their employers offer it

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/theo-neethling-393531">Theo Neethling</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-the-free-state-1944">University of the Free State</a>


Much has been made about China’s role and profile in Africa and the factors <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/africa-in-chinas-foreign-policy/">underlying its activities</a> on the continent. Less debated is the spread and depth of Russia’s contemporary presence and profile in Africa.

There was a strong Russian influence in Africa during the heyday of the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/union-soviet-socialist-republic-ussr-and-anti-apartheid-struggle">Soviet Union</a>. The post-independence governments of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda and Benin at some point all received diplomatic or <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02589008108729373">military support</a> from the Soviet Union. 

But this began to change after the superpower started to collapse in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/the-collapse-of-the-Soviet-Union">December 1991</a>. More than a quarter of a century later Russia’s President Vladimir Putin seems to have new aspirations in Africa. This is in line with his desire to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1478929915623967">restore Russia to great power status</a>.

Putin places a high premium on geopolitical relations and the pursuit of Russian assertiveness in the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1478929915623967">global arena</a>. This includes reestablishing Russia’s sphere of influence, which extends to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/03/06/how-putins-desire-to-restore-russia-to-great-power-status-matters/?utm_term=.766a992f312e">African continent</a>.

Like Beijing, Moscow’s method of trade and investment in Africa is without the prescriptions or <a href="https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:277664/FULLTEXT01.pdf">conditionalities</a> of actors like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. 

Russia is gradually increasing its <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/russia-and-africa-meet-again">influence in Africa</a> through strategic investment in energy and minerals. It’s also using military muscle and soft power. 

Increasingly, the pressing question is: is the relationship between China and Africa as good for Africa as it is for China? The same question applies to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2018/08/04/china-is-treating-africa-the-same-way-european-colonists-did/#729c3b72298b">Russia-Africa relations</a>.

<h2>Energy and minerals</h2>

Interaction between Russia and Africa has grown exponentially this century, with trade and investment growing by 185% <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/russia-and-africa-meet-again">between 2005 and 2015</a>.

Economically, much of Russia’s focus in Africa centres on <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/russia-and-africa-meet-again">energy</a>. Key Russian investments in Africa are in the <a href="http://www.nbs.ntu.edu.sg/NewsnEvents/Pages/Inthemedia-Details.aspx?news=2f0e3381-39a8-4c98-92f1-d54e19799c6e">oil, gas and nuclear power sectors</a>. 

The fact that 620 million people in Africa <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/09/africa-s-energy-poverty-is-keeping-its-people-poor">don’t have electricity</a> provides Russia’s nuclear power industry with potential markets. Several Russian companies, such as Gazprom, Lukoil, Rostec and Rosatom are active in Africa. Most activity is in Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Nigeria and Uganda. In Egypt, negotiations have already been finalised with Moscow for the building of <a href="https://www.power-technology.com/projects/el-dabaa-nuclear-power-plant/">the country’s first nuclear plant </a>.

These companies are mostly state-run, with investments often linked to military and diplomatic interests. 

Moscow’s second area of interest is Africa’s mineral riches. This is particularly evident in Zimbabwe, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and the Central African Republic.

In Zimbabwe, Russia is developing one of the world’s largest deposits of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zimbabwe-mining-platinum/russian-zimbabwean-firm-to-invest-400-million-in-zimbabwe-platinum-idUSKCN1GR222">platinum group metals</a>.

Russia has also been reestablishing links with Angola, where Alrosa, the Russian giant, <a href="http://eng.alrosa.ru/the-deal-to-increase-alrosas-participation-in-catoca-is-approved-by-the-president-of-angola/">mines diamonds</a>. Discussions between Russia and Angola have also focused on hydrocarbon production.<a href="https://www.observer.com.na/index.php/national/item/8142-russians-rekindle-interest-in-nuclear-plant">Uranium in Namibia</a> is another example.

Russia’s current controversial involvement in the Central African Republic (CAR) began in 2017, when a team of Russian military instructors and <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/explainer-what-russian-military-contractors-are-doing-in-central-african-republic/29405290.html">170 “civilian advisers”</a> were sent by Moscow to Bangui to train the country’s army and presidential guard. Shortly after that, nine <a href="https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/russias-new-african-launch-pad-the-central-african-republic/89176">weapons shipments</a> arrived in the CAR.

Interest in the country has focused on exploring its natural resources on a concession basis. The murder of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/01/russian-journalists-killed-central-african-republic-investigating-military-firm-kremlin-links">three Russian journalists</a> in a remote area of the country last year focused the world’s attention on what looked like a Kremlin drive for influence and resources. 

<h2>Military influence and diplomacy</h2>

Russia is the second largest exporter of arms globally, and a <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/russia-and-africa-meet-again">major supplier to African states</a>. Over the past two decades it has pursued military ties with various African countries, such as Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. 

Military ties are linked to <a href="https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/russias-new-african-launch-pad-the-central-african-republic/89176">bilateral military agreements</a> as well as providing boots on the ground in <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2018-08-06-death-diamonds-and-russias-push-into-africa/">UN peacekeeping operations</a>. Combined, China and Russia outnumber the other <a href="http://ask.un.org/faq/14518">permanent members of the UN Security Council</a> in contributing troop to UN peacekeeping efforts. 

Russia has also been actively supporting Zimbabwe. Shortly after it was reported in 2018 that China had placed new generation surface-to-air <a href="https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-143959.html">missiles in Zimbabwe</a>, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that his country was pursuing <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zimbabwe-russia/russia-seeks-military-cooperation-diamond-platinum-projects-in-zimbabwe-idUSKCN1GK2JK">military cooperation</a>. 

Significantly, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said that his country may need Russia’s help with the modernisation of its defence force during a recent <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-zimbabwe-military/zimbabwe-says-it-may-need-russia-to-help-modernize-its-army-ria-idUSKCN1P90QV">visit to Moscow</a>. 

<h2>Russia, Africa and the future</h2>

Both Russia and China are keen to play a future role in Africa. The difference between these two major powers is that China forms part of the Asian regional economy. This will surpass North America and Europe combined, in terms of global power &#8211; based on GDP, population size, military spending and <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/GlobalTrends_2030.pdf">technological investment</a>.

China and India have sustained impressive economic growth over many years. And, their enormous populations make them two world powers of extraordinary importance. Growth prospects for the Russian economy, on the other hand, remain modest &#8211; between <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/russia/publication/rer">1.5% and 1.8%</a> a year for 2018-2010, against the current global average rate of 3.5% a year. 

Still, Russia remains a major power in global politics. For African leaders, the key word is agency and the question is how to play the renewed Russian attention to their countries’ advantage, and not to fall victim to the contemporary <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/russia-and-africa-meet-again">“geopolitical chess”</a> game played by the major powers on the continent.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110930/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/theo-neethling-393531">Theo Neethling</a>, Professor and Head: Political Studies and Governance in the Humanities Faculty, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-the-free-state-1944">University of the Free State</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-russia-is-growing-its-strategic-influence-in-africa-110930">original article</a>.

Russia is growing its strategic influence in Africa, here’s how the country is doing this

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/marianne-hayes/">Marianne Hayes</a>



Student loans are no joke. The average borrower has a<a href="https://www.magnifymoney.com/blog/college-students-and-recent-grads/average-student-loan-debt-statistics/"> debt of $36,614 across at least three different loans</a>. It&#8217;s little wonder that student debt is the second-largest source of consumer debt in the United States, right behind mortgages.



The silver lining? &#8216;Tis the season of taxes, which could remove a sizable dent in your balance. Here are four ways to make the most out of your tax refund and shore up your financial health:



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">1. Pay off high-interest debt</h4>



If student loans are your highest-interest debt, a windfall of cash would be well spent on paying down your balance. This translates to a lump-sum payment you can direct right toward your principal balance.



Keep in mind that logging into your loan service website and making a bigger payment may not be enough. Some providers treat it like an early payment for your next installment due, so that money could end up going toward outstanding fees or interest. And if you have multiple loans, it could spread across all those balances, essentially diluting your efforts. Make sure you double-check with your loan provider that the money will be go toward your principal balance.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">2. Refinance to invest in your future</h4>



<a href="https://www.magnifymoney.com/blog/college-students-and-recent-grads/refinancing-a-student-b-loan1091646352/?utm_expid=85770004-68.mmjBTVE3S0258ndVTgeAGA.1">Refinancing</a>&nbsp;your student loans is a great way to make your payments more manageable. When you refinance, you use one loan to pay off multiple outstanding balances. You&#8217;ll also have new repayment terms and, hopefully, a lower interest rate.



Typically, you can refinance both your federal and private student loans together. (Warning: When you refinance, your new loan will be from a private lender, so you may lose federal protections like income-driven repayment plans, loan forgiveness and deferment or forbearance).



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">3. Pay off loans and still treat yourself</h4>



Being too hardcore about paying off your student loans leaves little room for, well, life. And depriving yourself of little pleasures may actually make you more likely to backslide and slip up. If you can financially afford it, use just a portion of your refund to pay off student debt and the remaining amount for reasonable splurges that&#8217;ll make life an enjoyable experience.



You could even use the money to start a side business or passion project. Whether it&#8217;s selling handmade crafts on Etsy or launching your own blog, you can monetize your hobbies and turn them into long-term passive income streams. Remember: There&#8217;s nothing wrong with treating yourself. In fact, it&#8217;s vital to your long-term success. The trick is to find a healthy balance that doesn&#8217;t derail your big-picture financial health.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">4. Bulk up your emergency fund</h4>



Lastly, it&#8217;s important to note that financial safety nets are vital — even if you have a big student loan balance. The point of having a solid emergency fund is to be able to quickly access it in an emergency (i.e., an unexpected car repair, medical bill or job layoff), so having it tied up in your 401(k) isn&#8217;t ideal. Instead, consider parking it in a high-yield&nbsp;<a href="https://www.magnifymoney.com/blog/earning-interest/best-online-savings-accounts275921001/">online savings account</a>.



Most experts agree that saving up an emergency fund that&#8217;s equal to three to six months&#8217; worth of expenses is a good cushion, butmore is<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/01/david-bach-heres-how-much-money-you-need-in-your-emergency-fund.html">always better</a>. That means if all your monthly bills add up to $3,500 per month, you should aim to gradually sock away $10,500 to $21,000. (Don&#8217;t panic; you won&#8217;t get there overnight. At the end of the day, having just $1,000 on hand could get you through your next hiccup.)



<a href="http://mariannehayes.com/">Marianne Hayes</a>is a freelance writer and content marketing specialist. She covers everything from personal finance to spiritual growth. Her work has been published in <a href="https://www.magnifymoney.com/">MagnifyMoney</a>, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Good Housekeeping and Forbes. Follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/hayesmarianne">@hayesmarianne</a>



This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/07/4-smart-ways-to-spend-your-tax-refund-if-you-have-student-debt.html and is republished with its permission.

South Africa's Quantum Foods warns of 38% drop in first-half profit

South Africa’s Quantum Foods warns of 38% drop in first-half profit. budget_shutterstock_249974521

Stuck in student loans? Don’t blow your tax refund — here are 4 smart ways to spend it

PRESS RELEASE



DURBAN, 7 February 2019: Supermodel, Philanthropist, Activist and
Cultural Innovator Naomi Campbell, will headline this year’s FORBES WOMAN
AFRICA Leading Women Summit, hosted by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government,
taking place at Durban’s Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre
on International Women’s Day &#8211; Friday, 8 March.



“We are truly honoured to be welcoming Naomi Campbell to the fourth
annual FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit,” commented Methil Renuka,
Managing Editor of FORBES AFRICA and FORBES WOMAN AFRICA, and host of this
year’s event. “Having established herself as a global powerhouse in fashion, Naomi
Campbell has used her fame to benefit vulnerable communities, with much of her
charity work also focused on the African continent. We look forward to engaging
with her at this year’s ‘New Wealth Creators’ summit.”



British-born Naomi Campbell was one of five
original supermodels that revolutionised the fashion industry during the 1990s.
Her work on the runway has seen her grace countless magazine covers, as well as
featuring in numerous television shows, music videos and films. Naomi Campbell has used her unique
position in the spotlight to draw attention to several international charities,
among them the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Made in Africa Foundation,
amfAR, and Breast Health International. 



Her charity work started
alongside Nelson Mandela in 1993, with Madiba bestowing her the title of
‘Honorary Granddaughter’ for her ongoing activism. In 2005, Naomi Campbell established her own charity,
Fashion for Relief which has presented shows in New York, London, Cannes,
Moscow, Mumbai and Dar es Salaam, raising millions of dollars for various worthwhile
causes. 



Sihle Zikalala, the KwaZulu-Natal
Minister for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, said: “We
extend a warm welcome to this year’s headline speaker, Naomi Campbell. We look forward to engaging with her on topics
that will extend the positive impact women in this country, and on the
continent, are having globally. Her involvement in this event indicates the
calibre of this summit, and the strides being taken by African women. We are
proud to have been selected as the host venue for the fourth FORBES WOMAN
AFRICA Leading Women Summit as this gives us an opportunity to showcase the
incredible business opportunities and inviting natural beauty of the place we
call home.”



Attendees to the summit, hosted in association with the IDC, will get
the chance to engage with a selection of the continent’s most influential women
through keynote addresses, panel discussions and personal interviews. In
addition to the daytime networking, attendees to the summit are invited to the
FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Awards’ – a glamorous gala dinner celebrating those who
have made a remarkable impact in the business, sports, science, entertainment
and leadership categories. The gala dinner will take place at Durban’s Inkosi
Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre.



Ticket sales for this dynamic day are now open and includes full access
to the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit from 7am to 4pm and the FORBES
WOMAN AFRICA Awards’ Gala Dinner. Tickets are limited so book now!



For more information, visit www.leadingwomensummit.co.za or follow
@LWSummit on various social media platforms (#LWS2019KZN).



The FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit and the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA
Awards’ Gala Dinner will be produced by ABN Event Productions.

Naomi Campbell announced as headline speaker for the 2019 Forbes Woman Africa Leading Women Summit

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/marguerite-ward/">Marguerite Ward</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/kathryn-dill/">Kathryn Dill</a>



You’ve just landed a coveted job at a new company and the hiring manager presents the organization’s offer for your starting salary.



Do you accept the given number or negotiate for higher pay?



The prevailing wisdom says you should negotiate, but according to bestselling management author and CNBC contributor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/11/suzy-welch-the-career-secret-i-wish-id-known-in-my-20s.html" class="">Suzy Welch</a>, the prevailing wisdom is wrong.



“I know not everyone’s going to agree on my advice on this,” she says, “but here’s the advice I give my own kids: If the salary is within 10 to 15 percent of what you had in your head, say, ‘Yes, thank you. I’m excited. I can’t wait.’”



Waiting, she says, will pay off in the long run.



Data shows women negotiate less often than men, and earn&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/04/these-2-simple-language-tricks-could-help-you-get-a-raise.html" class="">less money</a>as a result. But Welch says that asking for a raise at the start could come across as greedy, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/cfawis/bowles.pdf" class="">Harvard research</a>&nbsp;underscores that women are particularly vulnerable to this scrutiny.



“You want to walk in as a team player and be the person who believes that pay comes with performance,” Welch says.



Failing to do so can hurt your career. One woman who Welch describes as “talented” pushed for a 3 percent raise when starting at a new company. But she struggled to settle in and sensed that people were “cold to her in meetings.”



“It wasn’t worth it,” Welch says.&nbsp;Waiting for a raise isn’t just to avoid backlash. It’s also strategic, and “positions you perfectly for asking and getting a significant raise after you’ve done great work.”



Instead of asking for more money to begin with, Welch says you should set up a meeting with your boss six months into the new role. Be sure to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/04/these-2-simple-language-tricks-could-help-you-get-a-raise.html" class="">emphasize your shared goals</a>&nbsp;and how you’ve contributed to the team’s success. Explain how you’ve not only succeeded but over-delivered. Then say, “I hope that will be recognized in my compensation.”



Holding off several months gives you that extra time to show your boss that you recognize pay is performance-driven, as well as build your case for getting a raise. You’ll be more likely to get a larger raise, too.



“Go in with good will, do a great job,” she says, “and in the long run&nbsp;— and usually in the short run too — you’ll see the real reward.”



Suzy Welch is the co-founder of the <a class="" href="http://jwmi.com/?mcv=jdg469">Jack Welch Management Institute</a>and a noted business journalist, TV commentator and public speaker. If you have questions about your own career, email her at gettowork@cnbc.com.



This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/18/suzy-welch-the-advice-youve-been-given-about-negotiating-your-salary-is-wrong.html and is republished with its permission.

Improperly appointed boards spell disaster for organisations

Why the advice you’ve been given about negotiating your salary is wrong

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/cat-clifford/">By Catherine Clifford</a>



Mark Cuban grew up working class in Pittsburgh. His father installed upholstery in cars and his mom worked a myriad of odd jobs. Today, <a class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-cuban/">Cuban is worth more than $3 billion</a>, owns the Dallas Mavericks and is a star on ABC’s hit reality television show, “Shark Tank.”



He chased any number of random side-hustles on his way to the top, including selling baseball cards, stamps and coins. One thing Cuban did not do? Follow his passion.



“One of the great lies of life is ‘follow your passions,’”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Cuban-Insights-for-Entrepreneurs/b?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;node=17395090011&amp;amp;ref=soussoa_mc_auth_insights&amp;amp;ld=SOUSSOA-MC-Auth-Insights" class="">says Cuban</a>&nbsp;as part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/b?node=17395088011&amp;amp;ref_=insights_nav_logo" class="">Amazon Insights for Entrepreneurs</a>&nbsp;series. “Everybody tells you, ‘Follow your passion, follow your passion.’”



Cuban says that’s bad advice because you may not excel at what you are passionate about.



“I used to be passionate to be a baseball player. Then I realized I had a 70-mile-per-hour fastball,” says Cuban. Competitive major league pitchers throw fastballs in the range of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/mets-top-2017-statcast-fastball-velocity-ranks/c-216314410" class="">90-plus miles per hour</a>.



“I used to be passionate about being a professional basketball player. Then I realized I had a 7-inch vertical,” says Cuban. Top contenders for the NBA draft in 2017 each had a&nbsp;<a href="https://stats.nba.com/draft/combine/" class="">max vertical leap over 40 inches</a>.



“There are a lot of things I am passionate about. A lot,” says Cuban.



Instead, pay attention to those things that you devote time to, says Cuban. Double down your investment there.



“The things I ended up being really good at were the things I found myself putting effort into. A lot of people talk about passion, but that’s really not what you need to focus on. You really need to evaluate and say, ‘Okay, where am I putting in my time?’” says Cuban.



“Because when you look at where you put in your time, where you put in your effort, that tends to be the things that you are good at. And if you put in enough time, you tend to get really good at it,” explains Cuban.



When you are good at something, you enjoy it, says Cuban. The effort and skill snowball.



“If you put in enough time, and you get really good, I will give you a little secret: Nobody quits anything they are good at because it is fun to be good. It is fun to be one of the best,” says Cuban.



“But in order to be one of the best, you have to put in effort. So don’t follow your passions, follow your effort,” says Cuban.



“I am going to give you one other secret: The one thing in life that you can control is your effort,” says Cuban.



The billionaire is not alone in his advice.



<a href="https://casper.com/press/jeff-chapin" class="">Jeff Chapin</a>, co-founder of direct-to-consumer mattress company Casper calls passion “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/22/casper-co-founder-how-to-figure-out-what-to-do-with-your-life.html" class="">whimsical</a>. ”



“There are so many things that can captivate you that don’t have to do with your passions,” he tells&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/" class="">CNBC Make It</a>.



And often, hearing the advice “follow your passion” translates into following your hobby. “I love kitesurfing, so I’m going to go start a kitesurfing business,” Chapin says as an example. “The reality is you probably ruined your hobby because now you turned your passion into your job.”



Instead, Chapin recommends identifying a simple problem you have a personal advantage at solving. Start small, solve that problem. Repeat.



“Find things where you can get successes quickly,” says Chapin. “Don’t tackle world peace. Figure out how to get food to the homeless person on the street down the corner. Start local and very small.”



 This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/16/mark-cuban-follow-your-passion-is-bad-advice.html and is republished with its permission.

Billionaire Mark Cuban: ‘One of the great lies of life is follow your passions’

TORONTO (Reuters) &#8211; About C$180 million ($137.21 million) in cryptocurrencies have been frozen in the user accounts of Canadian digital platform Quadriga after the founder, the only person with the password to gain access, died suddenly in December. 



Gerald Cotten died aged 30 from complications with Crohn’s disease while volunteering at an orphanage in India, according to the Facebook page of Quadriga CX, which announced his death on Jan. 14. 



The platform, which allows the trading of Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum, filed for creditor protection in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court last week.



Quadriga has 363,000 registered users and owes a total of C$250 million to 115,000 affected users, according to an affidavit filed by Cotten’s widow Jennifer Robertson on behalf of the company.



Robertson said in the affidavit that Cotten’s main computer contained a&nbsp;“cold wallet”&nbsp;of cryptocurrencies, which is only accessible physically and not online, and his death left “in excess of C$180 million of coins in cold storage.”



Robertson said she was&nbsp;not involved in Cotten’s business while he was alive and did not know the password or recovery key.



“Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere,” she said.



Robertson said that she has consulted an expert who has had “limited success in recovering a few coins and some information” from Cotten’s other computer and cell phones, but the majority remains untouched on his main computer.



Quadriga’s troubles highlight the unique challenges of cryptocurrencies, Dean Skurka, vice president of rival platform Bitbuy.ca, said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.



“This really highlights the need for the government to take action and regulate cryptocurrency exchanges,” Skurka said.



Robertson said in her affidavit she has received online threats and&nbsp;“slanderous comments”, including questions about the nature of Cotten’s&nbsp;death, and whether he is really dead.



Reporting by Tyler Choi; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall

Millions in cryptocurrencies frozen in user accounts of a digital platform after Canadian founder’s death

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/tom-popomaronis/">By Tom Popomaronis, Contributor</a>



When it comes to job interviews, we all want to give answers that make us stand out from the rest of the candidates. That means knowing how to answer each question, including the tricky ones designed to stump you.



But what if you don’t know the answer to a question?



That’s a problem Google CEO Sundar Pichai faced in 2004, when he first interviewed at the company for the VP of product management position. In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2csJXGJ4Gqg" class="">2017 chat with students</a>&nbsp;at his alma mater, Indian Institute of technology, Pichai shared details about his interview experience at one of the world’s largest tech companies.



In the first few rounds, Pichai said the interviewers asked him what he thought of Gmail. There was just one problem: Google had just announced the email service that very same day, on April 1st. “I thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke,” Pichai said.



He responded by saying he couldn’t answer the question because he hadn’t been able to use the product. “It was only in the fourth interview when someone asked, ‘Have you seen Gmail?’ I said no. So he actually showed it to me. And then the fifth interviewer asked, ‘What do you think of Gmail?’ And I was able to start answering it then,” Pichai said at the talk.



Most candidates would have attempted to make something up before trying to move on to the next question. Pichai did the exact opposite and ended up impressing his interviewers (after all, he got the job).



Here’s why his response was so brilliant:1. He displayed “intellectual humility”



More often than not, telling an interviewer you don’t know the answer to something will dock off a few points, but it’s better than coming up with something that may be completely false.



Science agrees, too.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15298868.2017.1361861?journalCode=psai20" class="">Research has shown</a>&nbsp;that people with “intellectual humility” – or, as they say, the willingness to admit what you don’t know – are better learners.



<a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/28/how-to-determine-if-a-potential-boss-is-a-good-fit-during-an-interview.html">Laszlo Bock</a>, Google’s former senior VP of people operations, <a class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=0">calls it one of the top qualities</a> he looks for in a candidate. In an <a class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/business/in-head-hunting-big-data-may-not-be-such-a-big-deal.html?smid=tw-share&amp;_r=1&amp;&amp;pagewanted=all">interview</a> with The New York Times, he said: “Successful, bright people rarely experience failure, and so they don’t learn how to learn from that failure. They instead commit the fundamental attribution error, which is if something good happens, it’s because I’m a genius. If something bad happens, it’s because someone’s an idiot or I didn’t get the resources or the market moved.”



The next time you’re faced with a difficult interview question, stay calm and take a moment to think before you respond. Pichai carefully thought about the question. What could he say about something he hadn’t even seen? Gmail, at the time, was a newly launched, invite-only product, and so he concluded that it was acceptable to not know the answer.2. He had a reason



Instead of simply saying “I don’t know,” Pichai told his interviewers&nbsp;whyhe didn’t know: he wasn’t able to use the product. By doing so, he expressed curiosity, which is a trait employers always love to see in a candidate.



Pichai recognized his advantage in the scenario: for every “I don’t know,” there lies an opportunity to learn. And by the fourth round, his interviewer decided to demonstrate the product.3. He redirected the conversation



After asserting what he didn’t know, Pichai redirected the conversation to assert what he&nbsp;did&nbsp;know.



Getting a glimpse of Gmail gave him a clearer understanding of the product. This allowed him to display the forthrightness and intellect that he would go on to become so famous for at Google.



The takeaway is that giving an honest answer doesn’t happen in a vacuum where you score virtue points. The value of being intellectually honest is that it gives you the opportunity to show what you do know.



Pichai demonstrated the best-case scenario – being well-prepared, but also managing a dynamic situation with respect and candor. In a moment of uncertainty, he grabbed the bull by its proverbial horns, adapted to the challenge, and it paid off in a big way.Find your inner Pichai



Out of the millions of applications that Google receives each year, you have at least a&nbsp;<a href="https://qz.com/285001/heres-why-you-only-have-a-0-2-chance-of-getting-hired-at-google/" class="">0.2 percent chance of getting hired</a>. If you’re lucky enough to make it through the rounds and get invited to an in-person interview, think about how you can stand out. Make it count and claim your place in that 0.2 percent.



Tom Popomaronis is the Senior Director of Product Innovation at the <a class="" href="https://rhawkinsgroup.com/">Hawkins Group</a>. His work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company and The Washington Post. In 2014, he was named one of the “40 Under 40” by the Baltimore Business Journal. Follow him on Twitter at .



This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/01/how-google-ceos-brilliant-answer-in-a-job-interview-helped-him-get-hired.html and is republished with its permission.

15 years ago, Google’s CEO had a brilliant response to a tricky interview question – and it helped him get hired

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/elizabeth-schulze/">By Elizabeth Schulze</a>



Elon Musk showed off videos of the first test firing of SpaceX’s Starship Raptor engine in a series of tweets late on Sunday.



SpaceX’s Starship is a rocket the company is designing with the goal of transporting humans and cargo to Mars. SpaceX is currently building a prototype of the rocket at its facility near Brownsville, Texas.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">At <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> Texas with engineering team getting ready to fire new Raptor rocket engine <a href="https://t.co/ACFM8AtY8w">pic.twitter.com/ACFM8AtY8w</a>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1091958352513425408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>




<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">First firing of Starship Raptor flight engine! So proud of great work by <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> team!! <a href="https://t.co/S6aT7Jih4S">pic.twitter.com/S6aT7Jih4S</a>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1092268892339273730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>




In a tweet, Musk said he was “so proud of great work” by the SpaceX team. Musk is CEO of privately-held SpaceX as well as electric vehicle company <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=TSLA">Tesla</a>.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><a href="https://t.co/ChEGbjTGKZ">pic.twitter.com/ChEGbjTGKZ</a>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1092270756715737088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>




<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><a href="https://t.co/yFhNx3fiOD">pic.twitter.com/yFhNx3fiOD</a>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1092272377889738753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>




 This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/04/elon-musk-tweets-spacex-starship-raptor-rocket-engine-firing.html and is republished with its permission.

Billionaire Elon Musk posts video of the first firing of the new SpaceX Raptor rocket engine

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/tom-huddleston-jr/">By Tom Huddleston Jr.</a>



<a class="" href="https://buffett.cnbc.com/warren-buffett-archive/">Warren Buffett</a> has been working with his long-time friend and business partner, Charlie Munger, for over 40 years. The two men have experienced unparalleled success together, building an investment business with more than <a class="" href="http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/qtrly/3rdqtr18.pdf">$736 billion</a> in assets. And, perhaps even more impressively, they’ve never had one argument.



“We’ve never had an argument in the entire time we’ve known each other, which is almost 60 years,” Buffett said of Munger in an interview with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/07/full-transcript-billionaire-investor-warren-buffett-speaks-with-cnbcs-becky-quick-on-squawk-box-today.html" class="">CNBC’s “Squawk Box”</a>&nbsp;in 2018.



Munger, who is Buffett’s right-hand man in his role as the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (Buffett is the chairman and CEO), has known the billionaire investor since 1959. The two men have worked together since 1978, when Munger left his own investment practice to join Berkshire Hathaway. More than a decade earlier, Buffett had convinced Munger to leave his law practice (Munger co-founded the law firm Munger, Tolles &amp; Olson), because “it didn’t use his full talents,” Buffett told CNBC.



Buffett and Munger both grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, (hence Buffett’s nickname, the “Oracle of Omaha”) where they both worked at a grocery store owned by Buffett’s grandfather, though they did not work there at the same time. They didn’t get to know one another until a mutual acquaintance <a class="" href="http://www.omaha.com/money/buffett/warren-buffett-and-charlie-munger-billion-dollar-partnership/article_2819b16e-1933-51a7-b14b-002d9bb918de.html">brought them together</a>, when Munger was 35 and Buffett was 29. The two men had dinner together and quickly bonded.



“We went to dinner and in five minutes, Charlie was rolling on the floor laughing at his own jokes — and I do the same thing,” Buffett, who is now 88,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/26/berkshire-hathaways-warren-buffett-remembers-meeting-charlie-munger.html" class="">told CNBC</a>&nbsp;in 2018. “We knew we were sort of made for each other,” Buffett added about Munger, who is now 95.



Those feelings turned out to be correct, as the two men have stayed close friends ever since. And, even after being friends for about 60 years, and working together for more than 40 years, Buffett still says he can “always learn something” from spending time with Munger.



That could explain why the two friends and partners have never had an argument — though that doesn’t mean they agree on everything. “We are strong-minded, we disagree on a few things,” Buffett said. At the same time, though, Buffett added: “We agree on most things and we have a great time together.”



The fact that Buffett and Munger enjoy each other’s company seems to have strengthened their working relationship, and that’s also likely why they don’t argue.



“We’ve got an extremely good partnership and business is more fun — just as life is more fun — with a good personal partner and to have great business partner,” Buffett said. “You know it’s just — we’ve accomplished more but we’ve also had way more fun.”



Their strong bond is also a result of mutual respect. Munger&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/06/warren-buffett-and-charlie-munger-the-omaha-ties-that-bind.html" class="">told CNBC</a>in 2016 that he and Buffett “don’t agree totally on everything, and yet we’re quite respectful of one another.”



There are “not too many people I listen to,” Buffett told CNBC. “But, Charlie, he’s given me a lot of good advice over time. And, I may hate to take it to a certain degree, but sometimes — but my decisions have been better. I’ve lived a better life because of Charlie.”



Clearly, their relationship has been a successful one, judging by Berkshire Hathaway’s amazing track record of <a class="" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2018/03/06/a-foolish-take-warren-buffett-has-crushed-the-market-for-more-than-half-a-century/110859108/">outperforming the overall stock market</a> every year going back to the 1960s. As a result of their success together, Munger is now worth about $1.7 billion, according to a recent estimate by <a class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-munger/#25905cb4697a">Forbes</a>, while Buffett has a net worth of more than <a class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/warren-buffett/#890eafb46398">$84 billion</a>, making him the third-wealthiest person in the world.



This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/31/warren-buffett-on-his-successful-relationship-with-charlie-munger.html and is republished with its permission.

Billionaire business partners Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger haven’t had a fight in 60 years — here’s why

The Forbes Billionaires List: Africa’s Billionaires 2019

By Carolyn Sun, CNBC Contributor 



There’s a free tool that can help all job hunters give their careers an important boost: email.



While unemployment is currently low, competition is always tougher at top companies and for any role considered a “dream job.” Getting into the inbox of the right people can help you create important relationships and stand out among a sea of talented applicants.



Furthermore, some of the most successful leaders and entrepreneurs have proven that the right emails can yield some surprising results.



Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey once cold emailed a dispatch company in New York as a college student in Missouri. He found a bug in the company’s web site and also mentioned he wrote software. The CEO wound up talking to Dorsey and eventually offering him a programming job,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/04/jack-dorsey-201104" class="">according to a 2011 article in Vanity Fair</a>.&nbsp;



Emails can also expand networks and get important conversations started. Birchbox CEO Katia Beauchamp had no experience in tech or beauty before launching her startup in 2010.&nbsp; “I cold-emailed every CEO of the beauty industry you can imagine,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/10/birchbox-ceo-sending-great-cold-emails-was-how-i-first-found-success.html" class="">Beauchamp said in 2017</a>. “And it worked.”



Emails that get results have key features, according to Beauchamp. They have compelling subject lines, a simple message and ask for favors that are hard to say “no” to.&nbsp;



Those basics, coupled with these expert-approved templates for some of the most common situations, can ensure you’re writing job hunting emails that get opened.&nbsp;1. When you want to email your dream company



This email’s four-point structure is simple and can be adapted for a range of purposes. If you’re writing this email, you’ll cover the following:&nbsp;



<ol class="wp-block-list"><li>Prove you have three tangible skills that the company needs.</li><li>Establish three ways you are mission-aligned with the company (possibly by sharing any relevant work or volunteer experience).</li><li>Explain that while researching your field, you came across their company and realized you could do more together.</li><li>Request an opportunity to talk or meet.&nbsp;</li></ol>



Dev Aujla, the CEO of recruiting firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.opencatalog.co/" class="">Catalog</a>&nbsp;and the author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/50-Ways-Get-Job-Unconventional/dp/0143131532" class="">50 Ways to Get a Job</a>, calls this the “magic bullet” email.&nbsp;



Preparing for this email forces you to do some essential thought work that will help you better understand what companies and jobs you should apply for. It can also help shape future answers in interviews.&nbsp;



Most importantly, the research helps you understand what you want and how you will fit into this company. Those steps will set you apart and make results more likely.&nbsp;



Dear [NAME],



I’ve noticed that [COMPANY OF INTEREST] has been a nominee for Best [NAME OF CATEGORY] for the past five years straight. I’m interested in that level of excellence and finding out more about [DEPARTMENT OR JOB YOU ARE INTERESTED IN].



I have [NUMBER] years of experience working with [RELATED SKILL], [RELATED SKILL] and [RELATED SKILL]. I am hoping to learn about [WHAT TO LEARN] from some of the best in the industry, and in my research, I came across [COMPANY OF INTEREST]. Our goals and interests are so aligned, I think we’d both accomplish more if I took my research and resources to your company.



Here is my LinkedIn profile [INSERT PROFILE LINK].



I’d love for an opportunity to meet and talk further about how we may work together. Sincerely,



[YOUR NAME]





2. When you want to tap your network for an introduction



It’s smart to tap your network for introductions, but do your legwork first. Be sure you can explain why you’re a good fit for a connection. You don’t want to make your contact feel foolish for making the effort.



Give your contact context for your request. In the event you’re a recent graduate and don’t have a lot of work experience to discuss, reference the years you’ve spent studying your area of interest and the people or internships that stoked that interest.



Also, include your LinkedIn Profile,&nbsp;<a href="https://workology.com/tag/email-to-recruiter/" class="">advises</a>&nbsp;Jessica Miller-Merrell, CIO of&nbsp;<a href="https://workology.com/" class="">Workology</a>, a recruitment and HR resource. It can help update your contact on your most recent experience and make a connection more likely.&nbsp;



Dear [NAME],



Earlier this month, I made the decision to begin looking for a new career opportunity. It’s been a great [NUMBER] years working at [COMPANY NAME] as their [JOB TITLE]. I’m looking for a new company to challenge me and grow my skill set in [SKILL NAME], [SKILL NAME] and [SKILL NAME].



I wonder if I can get an introduction by email or phone to [NAME OF PERSON] for [THIS REASON].



Please include my LinkedIn Profile in your introduction [LINKEDIN PROFILE LINK].



Thank you so much for your assistance. Let me know how I can help you.



Sincerely,



[YOUR NAME]3. When you need to email someone you don’t know



When emailing someone you don’t know, research is just as key, says Aujla. Study that potential contact’s online presence, career highlights and any recent newsworthy career moves or developments.



Then, craft an email that shows you share some common ground. For instance, you might explain that you’re both alumni of the same school or belong to the same professional organization.



Your connection might even be as simple as liking the same article on Twitter or LinkedIn, but make sure make that link clear.&nbsp;



Dear [NAME],



My name is [YOUR NAME], and I noticed your work experience with [NAME OF COMPANY]. I follow you on [SOCIAL MEDIA SITE] and noticed and we’re both are interested in [TOPIC]. I find your posts insightful and helpful.



I’ve been a [JOB TITLE] for the past [NUMBER] years, and I’m looking to get an introduction to [COMPANY NAME] where I want to learn more about [SKILL NAME], [SKILL NAME] and [SKILL NAME].



I wonder if I can get an introduction to [NAME OF PERSON] for [REASON]. Here is my LinkedIn Profile [LINKEDIN PROFILE LINK] for you to include in your introduction. If you would prefer to speak to me before making an introduction, I am at your disposal on [DAYS] next week from [TIME SPAN WITH TIME ZONE]. You can email me at [EMAIL ADDRESS] or by phone at [PHONE NUMBER].



Thank you.



Best,



[YOUR NAME]





4. When you want to keep the conversation going



This technique was dubbed the “<a href="https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/ramits-definitive-guide-to-building-your-network-with-scripts/" class="">Closing The Loop ”</a>&nbsp;email, by Ramit Sethi,&nbsp;the New York Times best-selling author and founder of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Will-Teach-You-Be-Rich/dp/0761147489" class="">I Will Teach You to Be Rich</a>. ” The technique creates a reason to stay in touch follow up with a person of influence you care about. Your email should let your contact know you are grateful for any advice and are keeping this person “in the loop” about something you’d discussed.



Hi [NAME],



Just wanted to thank you again for speaking with me earlier. I’m definitely going to follow up and reach out to [NAME OF PERSON] like you recommended. I’ll keep you in the loop, and of course, please let me know if there’s anything I can do to repay the favor.



Sincerely,&nbsp;



[YOUR NAME]5. When you want an informational interview



Asking for an informational interview borrows from some of the same techniques as other cold email templates, as this template from&nbsp; “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Will-Teach-You-Be-Rich/dp/0761147489" class="">I Will Teach You to Be Rich</a>&nbsp;” shows. While you’ll do the basics (stating who you are and what you want while asking for a convenient time to meet) composing this email requires you to know enough about someone’s career that you can demonstrate why you respect them and why their advice is important to you, adds Aujla.



Dear [NAME],



My name is [YOUR NAME]. I’m a [YEAR] grad from [NAME OF SCHOOL]. (I know you were a few years before me), and I came across your name on our alumni site.



I’d love to get your career advice for 15-20 minutes. I’m currently working at [COMPANY], but many of my friends work in consulting and each time they tell me how much they love their job, I get more interested.



Most of them have told me that if I’m interested in consulting, I have to talk to someone at [NAME OF COMPANY]. Do you think I could pickyour brain on your job and what motivated you to choose [NAME OF COMPANY]? I’d especially love to know how you made your choices after graduating from [NAME OF SCHOOL].



Would it be possible for us to meet? I can work around whatever works for you.



Thank you.



Sincerely,



[YOUR NAME]6. When your first email got ignored



If you haven’t heard back after one cold email, don’t lose hope. Wait two weeks before following up and craft a new email.



In your new email, make a point to mention a topic this person discussed during a meeting you both attended or a news article that might have quoted this person. You might even send an update on a topic you think this person might find interesting. Write the email as if you’re continuing an ongoing conversation.



Repeat your request, whether it’s for an in-person meeting or news on a job interview. Most people don’t follow up on an email that has been ignored once, and doing so you will make yourself stand out from the crowd,&nbsp;<a href="https://50waystogetajob.com/" class="">says Aujla</a>.



If you haven’t heard anything after attempt three, move on.



Dear [NAME],



I was so excited after meeting you at the [EVENT] at [LOCATION] where you spoke about [TOPIC]. I’m making a point to learn more about [TOPIC] as well and have been reading this fascinating book [TITLE] by [AUTHOR]. Would love to fill you in and hear your thoughts over coffee. Would it be possible to meet for 20 minutes? I can work around whatever works for you.



Sincerely,



[YOUR NAME]





7. When you want to let your friends know you’re looking



Select five close friends to email, people who are connectors or work in the industry or type of job you’re considering. Let them know you’re looking for opportunities, suggests Aujla in his book “<a href="https://50waystogetajob.com/" class="">50 Ways to Get a Job</a>. ” The email will enhance your job prospects through leads and introductions. It will also kickstart your job hunt and expand the types of opportunities you might consider for yourself.



Dear [NAME],



I’m looking for my next gig at the intersection of [TYPE OF INDUSTRY] and [TYPE OF INDUSTRY]. I haven’t left my job yet, but I’m ready to wrap up my time at [COMPANY] doing [JOB]. Would love to chat with you and fill you in on what I’m thinking about and hear the latest from you. Here is my LinkedIn profile [INSERT PROFILE LINK].



It would be great to catch up.



Best,



[YOUR NAME]





8. When you want to say “thank you” after an interview.



Keep the “thank you” email short. And make sure to send it soon&nbsp;­— within two hours of the interview, recommends&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/perfect-interview-follow-up-email/" class="">Sethi</a>. Swiftness shows you’re responsive, courteous and know how to take action.



Keep in mind that the email should be specific enough to trigger the hiring manager’s memory. Make sure to mention something you spoke about&nbsp;­—whether it’s the company ethos or a common interest, like the fact that you’re both competitive triathletes.



Hi [NAME],



Thanks for taking the time to chat today. I especially enjoyed talking about [SPECIFIC TOPIC].



I really think this is a great fit for the both of us. Hope to hear from you very soon.



Sincerely,



[YOUR NAME]9. When you want to let a recruiter know you applied



HR recruiters get flooded with emails, so it’s important to find common ground to gain their attention, says Miller-Merrell. Research the recruiters’ or hiring managers’ online presence, so you can mention a post they published on LinkedIn that you enjoyed or a sports team that you both follow.



It also helps to use multiple platforms. Most of us get email fatigue. If you emailed your job application, use LinkedIn to follow up, and make sure your email requests a time and date to schedule a call and talk about the position.



Dear [NAME],



I recently applied for a job opening at [COMPANY NAME] for the position of [POSITION NAME] on your online career site. The position fits perfectly with my experience in [EXPERIENCE], [EXPERIENCE] and [EXPERIENCE]. You can learn more about me by viewing my LinkedIn Profile [LINKEDIN PROFILE LINK].



I recently followed you on [SOCIAL MEDIA SITE] and appreciate the valuable resources you are providing for job seekers and interact with candidates. Also, I’m a fan of [COMMON INTEREST] too.



I’d love to set up a time to schedule a call and talk about the position and my experience. I have some availability on [DAYS] next week from [TIME SPAN WITH TIME ZONE]. You can email me at [EMAIL ADDRESS] or by phone at [PHONE NUMBER]. I look forward to scheduling some time with you.



Sincerely,



[YOUR NAME]





10. When you need a reference



To get a reference that will help land you the job,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-ask-for-a-reference-that-lands-you-your-dream-job/" class="">Sethi suggests</a>&nbsp;you give the person from whom you’re requesting the reference the right ingredients to not only articulate why you’re a good fit for the position but also get excited to give you that reference.



Make sure to share why you’re interested in the new company. Even if someone knows your work intimately, don’t hesitate to give specific talking points.



Dear [NAME],



The hiring manager for [COMPANY] might be calling you to do a reference check. If they do, they’ll probably contact you in the next few days wanting to chat about our relationship and my use of [SPECIFIC STRENGTH in YOUR CHOSEN FIELD].



I’m applying for [POSITION] at [COMPANY] because [LIST REASON].



Here’s a few achievements from my career (something for you to work off of):



● [ACHIEVEMENT 1]



● [ACHIEVEMENT 2]



● [ACHIEVEMENT 3]



If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know. Thank you.



Sincerely,



[YOUR NAME]



P.S. I’ve attached my resume to this email for easy reference and here’s a link to the job description [JOB DESCRIPTION LINK].



As you approach your job hunting emails, take careful consideration with your subject lines, according to Danny Rubin, email expert and author of “What, How do I Write This Email?”



Note the position you’ve applied to or your email’s purpose, he suggests. If you’re writing a networking email, make sure to mention where you’ve met someone or any connection you have in common that you’re trying to leverage.



While you write, remember to keep things in perspective, suggests Aujla in his book “50 Ways to Get a Job.” Not every email will yield a meeting with a dream connection or an eventual job offer.



Before you send an email, “release yourself from expectations” and remind yourself that the insights you’ve gleaned from your research have already given your job search a powerful boost.&nbsp;



And don’t forget to show your excitement. If this process seems tedious or boring, you’ve likely picked the wrong people or companies to email. If you find that’s the case, “find new people you are actually excited to learn about, hear from and talk to,” writes Aujla. “The choice is yours.”



This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/30/10-email-templates-every-successful-job-hunter-needs.html and is republished with its permission.

Are you job hunting? You could land the job with these 10 excellent email examples

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/ali-montag/ ">By Ali Montag</a>



Amid headlines of turmoil in the stock market, heightened global trade tensions and political tumult, it may seem like the safest place to store your money is in a savings account.



But actually, just holding your money in cash is a bad idea, according to billionaire hedge fund magnate Ray Dalio.



“That’s the worst thing you could do because it is the surest tax on your money,” Dalio tells&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/" class="">CNBC Make It.</a>&nbsp;“You will bleed slowly to death, because the after-tax returns are lower than inflation by a little per year.”



Here’s what he means: Over time,&nbsp;<a href="https://stats.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/consumerpriceindexhistorical_us_table.htm" class="">inflation</a>&nbsp;causes the goods and services you buy every day to become more expensive relative to the value of the dollars in your wallet. For example, it would take saving over $1,495 in September 2018 (the latest data available) to match the buying power of $1,000 in January of 2000, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm/" class="">BLS’ Inflation Calculator.</a>



And over the long term, inflation becomes increasingly powerful. It would take about $10,742 in September 2018 to match the buying power of $1,000 in January of 1950, according to the calculator.



Although you do earn interest on money deposited in a savings account at a bank, the amount is far too low to keep up with the negative impact of inflation, Dalio points out.



“When you put your money in cash or short-term deposit, look at the interest rate you’re getting in relationship to the inflation rate,” Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, explains. “You will see that your after tax return will be below the inflation rate. That means that you’re experiencing a tax on that [money] equal to that difference. So you can’t keep your money in cash. If you think that’s safe, you’re looking at it wrong — it’s a sure losing strategy.”



Right now, the national average interest rate for a savings account is only 0.09 percent, according&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/rates/" class="">to data from Bankrate.</a>&nbsp;Meanwhile, the&nbsp;<a href="https://stats.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/consumerpriceindexhistorical_us_table.htm" class="">Consumer Price Index</a>&nbsp;— which measures inflation —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/13/us-cpi-aug-2018.html" class="">rose 2.7 percent</a>&nbsp;in the past year.



Since keeping your money in a savings account is a guaranteed way to lose money, you have to turn your savings into investments, Dalio says. Then, your money is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/28/how-much-money-millennials-need-to-start-investing.html" class="">growing while you sleep</a>.



“Over a longer period of time, equities [or stocks] will have a higher return, bonds will have a higher return, real estate will have a higher return than cash,” he explains. While there are no guarantees in the stock market, from 1928 through 2017, the S&amp;P 500 index produced a 9.8 percent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/18/the-sp-500-has-already-met-its-average-return-for-a-full-year.html" class="">average annualized total return</a>.



“People with great ideas create productivity and get paid for it,” Dalio says. “It is better to invest in productivity than to not invest in productivity, because otherwise your money will lose buying power.”



 This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/13/bridgewaters-ray-dalio-saving-in-cash-is-the-worst-thing-you-can-do.html and is republished with its permission.

Why Billionaire Ray Dalio says saving in cash is ‘the worst thing you could do’, here’s what you should actually do

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/kathleen-elkins/">By Kathleen Elkins</a>



In 2016, Chris Reining quit his IT job <a class="" href="https://chrisreining.com/retiring-early/">at age 37</a> with more than $1 million in the bank by <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/10/this-mindset-shift-helped-chris-reining-retire-early.html">living a modest lifestyle</a>, saving and investing more than half his income and putting his money to work. For nearly three years, he’s been living comfortably off of his investments in Madison, Wisconsin.



Achieving such a high savings rate didn’t require that he follow a strict budget, though. In fact, “budgets don’t work,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/12/5-investments-that-made-me-a-millionaire.html" class="">the self-made millionaire</a>and early retiree&nbsp;<a href="https://chrisreining.com/tracking-finances/" class="">writes on his blog</a>. “I don’t believe in them mostly because people can’t stick to them.”



He compares budgeting to dieting: “How many people do you know that are always going on new diets, trying this and that, and never succeeding?”



Doing what actually works can require a mindset shift, he says. “Reaching financial independence, like dieting, is about being conscious, making changes slowly, setting yourself up for success with measurable and attainable goals and making this your lifestyle.”



That’s why, instead of creating a highly-detailed budget that allocates money for different categories, he recommends tracking your money — what’s coming in and <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/14/giving-up-starbucks-for-a-year-could-make-me-17000-dollars-heres-why-i-refuse.html">what’s going out</a>.



Reining, now 39, has been tracking his income, spending and investments in a&nbsp;<a href="https://chrisreining.com/cnbc/" class="">spreadsheet</a>&nbsp;since 2006. He’s also been graphing what he calls his “cross-over point”: when monthly investment income crosses above monthly expenses. “When this point happens is when you can seriously consider retiring because you are officially financially independent!” he writes. “No more income is needed from a job.”



Turning your financial goals into something visual such as a graph is crucial, says Reining, because “it drives home the point that you can, in fact, retire early.”



He tells CNBC Make It: “Once you start tracking this stuff and seeing it month to month and then year to year, you really start to understand, ‘If I spend less, that means I’m saving and investing more. And if I’m saving and investing more, I’m going to be able to walk away sooner. I’m going to be able to have financial independence sooner, because these numbers all work together.’”



Experts agree that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/23/experts-agree-you-dont-need-to-budget-as-long-as-you-do-one-thing.html" class="">budgeting may not be mandatory</a>. You can take control of your finances in other ways.



As long as you establish how much you need to save each month for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/12/heres-how-much-the-average-american-family-has-saved-for-retirement.html" class="">retirement</a>&nbsp;and other major purchases, and you actually set that amount aside, you don’t have to budget at all, says&nbsp;<a href="https://www.betterment.com/resources/author/nickholeman/" class="">Nick Holeman</a>, certified financial planner at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.betterment.com/" class="">Betterment</a>.



Set your goals, make sure that you’re saving enough to reach them and don’t worry about the day-to-day expenses, he <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/23/experts-agree-you-dont-need-to-budget-as-long-as-you-do-one-thing.html">tells Make It</a>: “As long as you know how much you need to be saving and you’re saving enough each month, who really cares where the rest of the money goes?”



Kimmie Greene, money expert at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.intuit.com/" class="">Intuit</a>&nbsp;and spokeswoman for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mint.com/" class="">Mint.com</a>, offers similar advice: “People can get really hyper-focused on spending and think, ‘How much am I&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/05/i-spent-almost-700-on-uber-last-month--heres-how-i-plan-to-quit.html" class="">spending on Uber</a>&nbsp;versus taking the bus?’ Or, ‘<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/14/giving-up-starbucks-for-a-year-could-make-me-17000-dollars-heres-why-i-refuse.html" class="">How much am I spending on coffee?</a>’ ” she tells Make It.



Rather than scrutinizing daily expenses, she encourages people to keep the big picture in mind. Tell yourself, “as long as I can save this much per month or quarter or year, it doesn’t really matter how I spend my money. I just have to know that I’m getting to the savings goal that matters for me at this point in my life.”



As long as you’re reaching your savings goal, feel free to spend on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/11/everyone-says-cut-the-morning-latte-heres-why-i-still-buy-one-without-guilt.html" class="">lattes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/18/the-best-90-i-ever-spent-was-on-my-feet--and-for-my-career.html" class="">shoes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/08/ramit-sethi-why-you-should-spend-a-lot-of-money-on-your-wedding-.html" class="">a big wedding</a>&nbsp;or whatever brings you joy.



If you think you need to budget to limit your spending, rather than sitting down and outlining one, try “the envelope system,” says Reining: “Let’s say after a few months of tracking your dollars you now have a pretty good handle on how much you’re spending. And you’re shocked to find that you’re spending hundreds of dollars on clothes. Here’s what you do: you give yourself $50 a month for clothes and put that cash in an envelope with the word ‘Clothes’ written on it.



“You can do this for all your expenses. Have an entertainment, food and household envelope each with the amount of dollars in it that you want to spend every month. When the money is gone from the envelope, that’s it.”



This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/26/39-year-old-retired-millionaire-budgets-dont-work-do-this-instead.html and is republished with its permission.

39-year-old retired millionaire: ‘Budgets don’t work’—do this instead

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/zameena-mejia/">By Zameena Mejia</a>



If the thought of going back to work on Mondays makes you anxious, you’re not alone. Eighty percent of professionals say they’ve felt “<a class="" href="https://blog.linkedin.com/2018/september/28/your-guide-to-winning-work-decoding-the-sunday-scaries">Sunday Scaries ” or “Sunday Blues</a> ” after thinking about the work week ahead, a 2018 LinkedIn Survey found. Luckily, experts say there are simple strategies that can help anyone cope.



Steven Meyers, a clinical psychologist and professor at Roosevelt University in Chicago says Sunday Scaries reflect a condition called “anticipatory anxiety.”



This worry or dread occurs in advance of a particular event. While its impact can be less severe than a full anxiety disorder, the Sunday Scaries can add to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/14/the-harmful-effects-of-stress-at-work-and-what-you-can-do-to-beat-it.html" class="">chronic stress</a>&nbsp;which, if not addressed, can lead to serious problems ranging from depression and high blood pressure to other health issues.&nbsp;



Such anxiety can be even worse for Millennial and Gen Z workers. According to the LinkedIn survey, the Sunday Scaries were felt by 91 percent of Millennials and 94 percent of Gen Z workers. By contrast, only around 70 percent of Boomers and Gen X workers reported worrying about the week ahead.



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Sunday.png" alt="" class="wp-image-327049" width="655" height="514"/></figure>



Younger workers “haven’t had years to get past the mental rebellion that often accompanies return to work,” says psychologist Randy Simon. These younger workers, many who spend&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/22/millennials-spend-more-time-on-their-email-than-any-other-generation.html" class="">hours more on tasks like email</a>, are often still developing strateges to balance their work and personal lives.



“Weekends are a time of rejuvenation and rest, something most people look forward to throughout the week,” Simon tells CNBC Make It. “Sunday is typically perceived as an end of this free time, provoking feelings of anxiety about the week ahead.”



If you’re facing the Sunday Scaries, these five strategies can help.



Check in on your priorities



Fight against the Sunday Scaries throughout your work week. Dedicate two 10-minute slots&nbsp;at the beginning and middle of your week to review how you’ve been spending your time each day, recommends&nbsp;<a href="https://leahweissphd.com/" class="">Leah Weiss</a>&nbsp;a Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer and expert in careers and mindfulness.



One window should be focused on looking ahead and setting intentions for the meetings, events and projects you’ll be engaging with over the course of the week. Make sure that your events and appointments match your priorities.&nbsp;



“Many appointments are not relevant,” Weiss tells CNBC Make It.&nbsp;



The second window should be spent reflecting back over the week that you have just completed, identifying the most purposeful moments. “Which were draining and which were the most invigorating? Understanding what did — and did not — create a sense of vitality can then inform your choices going forward,” says Weiss.



Question your doubt



If you have an anxious thought, “identify it and argue with it,” says Simon. For example, if you have a presentation coming up and are nervous about it, don’t let negative thoughts consume you. Reassure yourself with thoughts about how it will go well.&nbsp;



“Anxiety is future-oriented. It is about ‘what ifs.’ When [people recognize] that they are having an anxious thought about the week ahead, they can take a moment to notice what is happening right now, in the present,” says Simon.Get planning



Instead of ignoring what needs to get done, get proactive and start planning. Take a moment to craft a to-do list that keeps your priorities top of mind, says Simon.



Your busy work week will “then feel more manageable,” says Simon.



Once you’ve finished, stop thinking about the week ahead, he suggests, “Set the list aside and go back to being present.”



Start a gratitude journal



Take 10 or 15 minutes of your Sunday to write down what you’re grateful for in a journal. This practice can help you remember what’s most important to you.&nbsp;



According to Weiss, it can also quell your fears for the upcoming week since gratitude pulls your attention from fear and anxiety. 



Keep busy and keep motivated



If possible, Meyers recommends keeping busy on Sunday nights so you have fewer opportunities to experience worry or dread.



“Ideally, this involves doing something enjoyable, like a hobby or connecting with family or friends,” says Meyers. “Even ordinary distractions can help to shift your focus.”



He also recommends planning something fun mid-week. Give yourself something to look forward to, he suggests. “These small treats and events boost motivation.”



 This article was first published by CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/28/how-to-get-over-sunday-scaries-according-to-psychologists-stanford-experts.html?__source=newsletter%7Cmakeit and is republished with its permission.

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