These contact-less payments are meant to make it easier for consumers to pay, even at brick and mortar locations. Convenience is the key, and it might even lead to more spending. According to a recent study of contact-less payments by MasterCardAdvisors indicates that those who don’t have to swipe spend almost 30% more than someone who has to swipe. The ease of payment means that it’s easier to spend more money.

Could this Mean More Spending and Debt?

For card issuers, this is great news. The MasterCard study divided spenders into three groups: low, medium, and high. However, it didn’t matter which group the user was in; there was a lift in spending across all groups. There have already been studies that indicate that consumers spend more money when they are using cards as opposed to counting out cash at the register. Psychologically, it seems less painful to swipe a card than to count out the cash and physically see what you are spending.

And, from this most recent study, it appears that it might be even easier to just wave a form of payment in the direction of a terminal and then forget about the charge. Convenience plays a role in our spending decisions, and it looks as though we are willing to spend more if it’s more convenient to pay for it.

Consumers, of course, could find themselves spending more money and even getting into debt. Increased spending can mean fewer financial resources going to pay off debt or save up. The encouragement to spend is a prime motive for card issuers and retailers alike. The next evolution in payment technology could be a push toward increased spending by consumers. For those who don’t track their spending very well, this could also lead to an increase in debt.

Pay Attention to Your Spending

In the end, though, you are responsible for your own spending habits. Even though there are marketers and others trying to increase your purchase rate, it doesn’t mean you have to play along. Make sure you pay attention to your spending. Record each transaction in a personal finance application, or in a paper ledger. Either way, making a record of your transactions can help you spot spending patterns, and help you recognize how much you are spending — and what you are spending it on. This is important knowledge if you want to avoid going into debt. Watch your spending, and stick to a financial plan, and the type of payment method you use won’t matter as much.

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1. Where to Put Money You Are Saving For a Down Payment
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Could Easier Payment Methods Lead to More Spending and Debt? originally appeared on StupidCents on May 16, 2012.

Every few years, someone in a high profile position gets busted for embellishing his or her resume. This year, it’s Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson. Thompson claimed to hold a bachelor’s degree in accounting and computer science from Stonehill College when he only had an accounting degree. What’s surprising is that this wasn’t revealed in a background check, it was brought up by an activist shareholder group, Third Point, who called for Thompson’s ouster. The sad reality is that his degree probably had little to do with his hiring. His experience is both extensive and impressive, as he was the President of PayPal, after being a senior vice president and CTO. The only surprising part about this whole story is that Thompson hasn’t stepped down as CEO, but the director who led the search committee has said she would step down at the end of her term.

Instead of lying, here are a few resume tips that can help your resume stand out without any extra flair:

Tailor Your Resume. As you would with a cover letter, tailor your resume to the job you are applying for. It requires a little extra effort but given the tough job market, you’ll want to give yourself as much of a legitimate advantage as possible. Write a new “objective” that matches the job description and order your experiences by relevancy, not chronologically. If you worked a similar job several years ago, put that ahead of what you’ve been doing last year if it’s less relevant. Review the most common interview questions and try to find a way to integrate answers into the resume – like examples of strength and where you want your career to go. (and you do not have to list every job you ever had, but be prepared to explain any gaps)

Update Any Computer Skills. This is especially true for software developers but in a keyword based resume world, make sure that your resume is up to date on the skills you have, especially computer skills. If you can the space to qualify your proficiency, do so. The last thing you want to do is get into an interview about C/C++ when your only experience was an introductory class ten years ago. It will be uncomfortable and you probably won’t get the job anyway, which is a waste of everyone’s time. A good rule of thumb is to be able to back up each skill with a job experience listed on your resume.

Be As Specific As Possible. You want to give the person reading your resume as clear a picture as possible, so be specific without embellishment. Let’s say one of your jobs was in procurement and you were responsible for negotiating large contracts with a variety of vendors. Try to come up with a job title that accurately reflects what you did, rather than use the generic one you were given. Instead of saying “Associate in Procurement,” use one that makes sense. Do not use terms like director, vice president, manager, or other obvious keyword terms unless it was in your original title. Think of it as a title to your short story about that job, not what is written on your business card.

List Your Achievements, Not Your Responsibilities. When writing about your experiences, share what you accomplished and not simply what you did. If you saved your company a significant sum of money, share that on your resume. If you built something that generated a lot of income for the company, be sure to include it. When you do include your list of achievements, be sure to use as many numbers as possible in order to give the reader an idea of size.

Update It Regularly. Be sure to update your resume regularly, especially if you have a job. I try to review mine every three to six months and add any recent accomplishments. The last thing you want to do is update it ten years later, after potentially forgetting some great accomplishment seven years ago.

What the Yahoo CEO’s case, and other cases like this, teach us is that not only should you avoid lying on your resume, you’re probably going to get caught. With as much social media and technology out there, it’s only a matter of time before researchers will be able to discover your lie – especially if you have enemies. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but fate has a way of rearing its ugly head after you’ve been tapped as the CEO of a major company!

Jim writes about personal finance at Bargaineering.com, where he tries to distill complex personal finance topics into easy to understand nuggets that everyone can decipher. He’d love you to join him!

Related posts:

1. A Simple Resume Can Get You the Job
2. Creating a Resume that Works

Don’t Lie On Your Resume! originally appeared on StupidCents on May 14, 2012.

Nowadays it seems like every store has a credit card to offer you.  The Simple Dollar explains why you Don’t Sign Up For Store Credit Cards Just For That One Time Bonus.

Getting a bit of the spring cleaning bug?  Get Rich Slowly shows you How to Do a Wallet Audit.

The Canadian Finance Blog tackled a difficult question this week when they asked, Should You Donate To The Homeless?

This week the Five Cent Nickel wrote a very informative article that explains How to Close an Ally CD Early?

It’s nearly Mother’s Day and that means brunch!  Thankfully Mint Life shared some tips for it: How To – Mother’s Day Brunch on a Budget.

We’ve all seen the ads and the men holding signs, but Money Ning wants you to know exactly why you should be Avoiding the Payday Loan Trap.

If you’ve been considering going down to one car, you’ll enjoy this post by Man vs. Debt that discusses 5 Things We Love About Being a One-Car Family.

This week Smart on Money listed 3 Roth IRA Rules Benefiting Military Personnel.  Are you taking advantage of these rules?

In a slightly unusual post this week, the Financial Samurai shared How To Outperform The Stock Market And Make Ladies Love You.

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Weekly Common Cents originally appeared on StupidCents on May 11, 2012.

If your employee is injured or killed as a result of negligence on the part of anyone involved in the business (including their own, if they were inadequately trained or supervised) then you could be held liable for their injuries or death and sued accordingly.  Defending such a claim is a costly affair that could run into thousands of pounds.  You might never see that money again, and even if your employee lost their case and were ordered to pay your costs, you would still have to pay a hefty fine for not having Employers’ Liability Insurance in place.

Such fines are charged on an accruing daily basis.  The UK government is serious in wanting to protect employees’ rights, hence the obligatory nature of Employers’ Liability Insurance.  If there were no policies in place, chances are there would be insufficient funds to meet an employee’s claim for compensation, which would rather make a mockery of the whole point of employees being able to sue for damages in the first place.

The minimum cover for Employers’ Liability Insurance that you must have in place is £5,000,000.

Of course, the best thing would be to avoid accidents or injuries in the first place.  Remember that your employees can suffer mental as well as physical injury, so make sure that you have strategies and procedures in place to alleviate or deal with stress at work.  Similarly, make sure that all your staff members are adequately trained in using their equipment or doing their jobs.  Carry out regular health and safety checks of your equipment and premises, and of employees’ work stations.  Make sure that if they are using a keyboard, for example, that their wrists are properly positioned to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injury.

If your business also requires public liability insurance and/or any other type of cover (such as business vehicle or business premises/equipment cover) then it might be cheaper to buy Employers’ Liability Insurance as part of a bundle of policies rather than individually.

Related posts:

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Do You Need Employers’ Liability Insurance? originally appeared on StupidCents on May 10, 2012.

Plenty of Opportunities

One of the great things about opportunities on the Internet is that they are easy to find. Sometimes you can simply be “discovered” through hard work and persistence. Sarah Phillips started out making comments in the forums of a popular sports betting web site, Covers.com. After a short period of time, the Covers.com owners and editors noticed her, and invited her to write a column for the web site. That’s pretty good for someone who is a relative unknown. The Internet offers you the chance to make a name for yourself, and garner notice for your hard work, since the audience is wider, and more people are likely to see what you are doing.

The story got even sweeter for Phillips, though. Not many months after she started writing her column for the sports betting web site, an editor at ESPN.com saw her work. Phillips was invited to become an ESPN.com columnist for Playbook (formerly Page 2). That’s the sort of opportunity that is rare even in the Internet world. But it still emphasizes the point that there are opportunities out there for just about anyone.

Watch Out for Scams

The story seems like a feel-good story: Young college co-ed makes gets a great side gig. But things started to get weird when people started accusing Phillips (and a “shady” associate) of fraud. One was someone she had exchanged communication with from her Covers days. He said that she claimed to be starting a web site, but that she needed money to get things going. Phillips allegedly promised to allow him to be a part of it, and that he gave her money.

But some of the more shocking allegations come from those who claim that Phillips and her associate convinced them to turn over their own popular (and possibly profitable) social media accounts over in exchange for a chance to be involved with a web site that Phillips insisted that her friends at ESPN were just waiting to buy. The owner of the popular NBA Memes Facebook page turned over admin credentials to Phillips and her associate. And the parody Twitter feed Condescending Wonka (OhWonka) similarly gave up control.

Supposedly part of the reason such scams work is because it seems like it could actually be true. Phillips had an ESPN.com byline. Her associate claimed to be gunning for a VP position at ESPN. Phillips’ byline made it plausible to her dupes that she might actually have something in the works, and that they were dealing with the real thing. Unfortunately, that just wasn’t the case. As this story shows, before you do business online, make sure you look deeper. Look beyond the superficial story, and try to independently confirm the facts. You’ll be in a much better place, and less likely to fall for scams.

Related posts:

1. How To Earn Money Online

Opportunities Online Abound, But Watch Out for Scammers originally appeared on StupidCents on May 8, 2012.