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(Or in any economy.)

You’ve probably heard the saying, “It’s not what you know – it’s who you know”, and to a certain extent I believe that’s the case. That’s not meant to be discouraging — you don’t have to know high-powered people in order to find a job.

But it does help immensely if you know someone (and all of us know people.)

It helps not because those someones can necessarily “get you a job”, but because the more people you know and ask regularly about potential job openings, the more likely you are to find out about the potential job openings in the first place. Don’t just ask them once either; ask at regular intervals so they don’t forget that you’re looking for a job.

Once you find out about an opening via someone you know, that person can (if appropriate) submit your name as a potential applicant. This gives you an advantage over someone just applying right off the street.

Which doesn’t mean that you should neglect applying off the street either. It takes some extra time, but it can pay to tailor your resume and cover letter specifically to the job you are applying to. Use the same keywords they do, and use details and action words when describing your experience and why you are a good fit for the job.

Most of us have at least a vague goal of reaching “financial security” at some stage of our lives. But what is financial security, exactly?

We have to know that before we can get there. In fact, defining it is part of the process of becoming financially secure.

Start by thinking about what a financially secure future would look like for you. What would that future include?

It might include things like:

• Having a paid-for house
• Having adequate insurance
• Having a well-funded emergency fund
• Being out of debt
• Having a steady income
• Being worry-free when it comes to money

Once you have things clearly defined, it’s easier to prioritize each aspect of financial security. You can then break them down further into the step-by-step actions you’ll need to become financially secure.

Big goals are most easily achievable when they’re taken in small, day-to-day steps.

The bus test is usually used for business purposes, but it can be applied to your personal life as well. It goes like this: Imagine you got hit by a bus right now. Where would your business (and/or your personal life) be?

Would someone be able to step in so that things could continue to run smoothly while you recovered? (We’ll assume the accident wasn’t fatal.) Or would things be an enormous mess, or somewhere in between?

The point of the exercise isn’t to scare you. It’s to make sure that others know the things they would need to know to keep things running when or if you can’t.

Financially, this means making sure that your significant other knows where things stand. They should know about things like:

• Your investments
• Your bill paying schedule/your normal operating procedures
• When, where and how your income comes in
• How your business, blog, etc. runs
• Your insurance information, medical requests, and will

I realized recently that while I have a good start on many of these things, my system leaves quite a bit to be desired. I may know how and where things are done, but I’ve kind of dropped the ball on communicating it to others. So that’s one thing that I’ll be working on remedying.

Keeping track of your checking account is a good idea for several reasons. So, how do you balance a checking account? Regardless of whether you do it electronically or on paper, the process is the same.

You start by entering the beginning balance. As you spend money (via debit card or check), make a withdrawal of cash (by going in to the bank and withdrawing money or by using an ATM), or make a deposit (in person or via direct deposit) you enter the following information:

• The date of the transaction
• A description of the transaction (the name of the place you spent the money at, who you wrote a check to, or that it was a withdrawal or deposit)
• The amount of the transaction
• A notation about the transaction, if desired. (This is where you can enter a category or other note that explains what the transaction was for.)
• If it’s a check, enter the check number. Otherwise, enter something like “DEBIT” (when you spend or withdraw money) or “DEP” or “CREDIT” (when you make a deposit).

Then you add the amount you entered to the beginning balance if it is a deposit, or subtract the amount from the beginning balance if you have spent or withdrawn the money. (If you’re using a program, the program will do the addition or subtraction for you.)

The result is the new current balance, which you’ll use to add or subtract additional deposits or withdrawals from. Repeat this process whenever you use your checking account.

It’s not as complicated as it sounds. It’ll look something like this example:

At the end of the month, you’ll get a statement from your bank (either online or in the mail.) This is where you reconcile your records with the bank’s records. (If you’re using a program, there’s usually a feature that will help you do this.)

Start by finding the date in your records that’s the same as the statement date (or just before that date, if you don’t have a transaction on that date.) Note the last current balance on your account for that date and compare it with the ending balance on the statement. See if they match up. If they don’t, don’t worry. It probably just means that you have transactions that have not yet been processed by your bank, or that you have some bank charges or interest to enter. We’ll worry about that in a later step.

Next, compare what the statement says to what you’ve entered previously, checking off all of the transactions on the statement to be sure that they match what you entered and checking them off in whatever you’re using to record your transactions (either paper or a program.) If you’re using a program, there’s usually a reconcile feature that will help you do this.

At this point there shouldn’t be too many transactions that aren’t checked off. Take a look at your bank statement to see if there are any fees that you haven’t entered in your account. Enter them, and check them off both places. Subtract the total of these fees from the current balance you are reconciling with.

Now add any interest that the bank might have paid you, check it off both places, and add that amount to the current balance you’re reconciling with.

If everything has been checked off at this point on both your account and your statement, this new current balance should match the ending balance on your bank statement.

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This post is part of a series. See what everyone should know about personal finance for links to additional posts.

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