Jenny

We have all had days when we wished that we had just stayed in bed, right?

Well, today is one of those days.  I am in charge of garnering samples for an important meeting.  I had gotten together almost all the samples except for a few that were part of the new spring collection.  Actually, the samples were not in the office, but after some phone calls, I was told by the assistant of the VP of Marketing that the VP of Marketing was going to be bringing the samples in to the office on the morning of the meeting.  At around 1:00 p.m. my boss comes barreling into my office.  He had seen the sample setup and noticed the missing samples and wanted to know why they were not displayed.  I told him that the samples were not in the office and that the VP’s assistant had assured me that the VP was going to bring them in, tomorrow morning.  Apparently my boss didn’t like that answer.  He called the VP, who off course claimed that she had no knowledge that she was bringing in the samples!! 

Later this afternoon, I received this nasty email informing me that I had to shape up and take ownership of the project, and that I needed to be more on the ball.  You could imagine my shock and dismay.  This was not my first time coordinating one of these meetings.  I had things under control.  But the perception of my boss was that I had completely dropped the ball.  I immediately went in to his office to make my case.  It was not a pleasant conversation, but one that had to be done. 

I still think my boss’s reaction was a huge over-reaction.  Have you ever been in a similar situation, and how did you handle it?

Donna

I hate credit cards. 

It is not that I am against credit cards.  Not at all!  I fully recognize that credit cards are indispensable in today’s “plastic era.”  In fact, I have credit cards and I use them on a daily basis. It’s not that credit cards themselves are all that bad, it’s that most people don’t really know how to use them responsibly (including me). 

The biggest challenge for a credit card holder is how to keep control of all the credit cards they have, how to avoid their high fees and how to avoid running a high balance on every single one of them. 

We all know that we should get rid of some of our credit cards.  But, what do you do when you have a foolish, intense and even extravagant desire to score one of those limited-edition red shoes and you don’t have the cash to get it? 

Credit cards should not be used to satisfy our shoe shopping addiction. Check out the Never Never Credit card video posted on YouTube by KyleChristie and created by/for Oldmanpie.net.

But, if you still want to score those limited-edition red shoes and you are fully aware of the consequences of paying high fees and keeping high balances on your credit card, here are some tips that will help you reduce your credit card cost so that you can swipe the card without feeling that bad!

1. Reduce the number of credit cards in your wallet.  You don’t need two VISAs, two MasterCards, two Discover, one American Express, four department store cards and three gas cards.
2. Cancel credit cards with annual fees.  You should cancel all of your credit cards that have an annual fee, unless you seriously rely on the extra perks that come along with these cards, such as earning miles for free plane tickets.  And, if you do not want to cancel them, give them a call, chances are that they will waive your annual fee if you ask them.
3. Reduce your credit cards interest rate.  You do not have to pay high interest rates.  Call the credit card companies and tell each one of them that you’ll transfer your debt to another credit card unless they reduce the fee.  You’ll be surprised what many are willing to do to keep your business.
4. Cut up 60% of your credit cards today.  You will never lower your balance if you keep using your credit cards.  Unless you absolutely have to use them (and trust me, I understand, I’ve been there) get scissors and shredders ready to take care of the job! 

Donna

Boss: Did you take any messages while I was out?

Young Secretary: No! Why Sir, are there any missing?

Source: Unknown

Jenny

This 1988 movie, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, and Sigourney Weaver is a classic feel good, cheer-for-the-underdog movie.  This is the quintessential “secretaries’ movie” for a girls get together, or just to loaf around on the couch and watch when you are home alone on a Friday night.

Melanie Griffith plays Tess Harper, an industrious secretary from Staten Island brimming with entrepreneurial ideas and of finally moving out of the secretarial pool and into the executive suite.  She has the brilliant idea of putting together a lucrative deal for her company and brings her idea to her female boss (Katherine Parker), played by Sigourney Weaver.  However, two-faced Parker, the ladder climber, is hell bent on cutting Harper out of the deal.  Harper realizes in time Parker’s true intentions, and instead turns to Jack Trainer. Trainer an outside deal broker, who just happens to be Parker’s boyfriend, helps Harper to engineer the deal before Parker can claim it as her own.  In a romantic twist, Harper and Trainer fall for each other as they work together on the deal.

Working Girl is a must see, again and again and again.  So pop some popcorn, blend up some margaritas, and prepare to cheer Tess on as she outwits Katherine Parker in her quest to make it to the executive suite.

GS seal of approval?

Donna

I loved this book, absolutely hilarious. I was giggling from the first page to the last page.  Set in London, Bridget Jones’s Diary follows the life of a young thirty-something year old single woman.  It chronicles her efforts to stop smoking, lose weight, and find true love (sounds familiar?).  The author beautifully draws us into her daily struggles and romantic gaffs as she wrestles with her feelings for her dashingly handsome boss, Daniel Cleaver, and the infuriating, but handsome lawyer Mark Darby. 

I couldn’t put this book down.  It is definitely a page turner.

GS seal of approval?