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Are you planning to ask your employer for a raise? Here are some ideas that you can take to the bank! You don't have to wait for your annual review to highlight your value to the company. Approach your employer at opportunistic times, including:

when you accomplish a major task,
after you have been given new duties, or
at the time you assume more work as the result of employees leaving or being laid off.

Make sure that you have done your research before you approach your employer. Show him or her the average salaries of people in your job title (providing that you are making less than the average), and list any financial improvements that your presence has made that may not be apparent to management.

If your employer cannot raise your pay, there are other financial aspects of your work that could be covered, including parking costs, money for college courses, and medical coverage. You could also propose a shortened work week for the same pay. A three day work week could provide you with extra time to do independent work, or give you something that is priceless - quality time for yourself!

hen I was a little girl, I had a paper route. Since then, I have had so many jobs, waitressing, working in a convalescent home, modeling, acting, and now my various product lines. When you begin earning money at an early age, it helps you to learn a respect for it. While I never let money influence my life or decisions, financial fitness -- just like physical fitness -- requires discipline, information, common sense, and planning.

Credit cards

Debt is the number one enemy of financial fitness. Paying for impulse items today with dollars you hope to earn tomorrow is a strategy that will prevent you from accumulating the wealth you need for savings and investment. Too much debt, often caused by credit card over-use, can lead you into a serious situation. Now that the Internal Revenue Service has eliminated credit card interest as a tax-deductible item, credit card debt is especially dangerous to those of us in the United States.

There are, of course, exceptions to the debt-free rule. Mortgage debt (if you research and purchase properly) is not merely an obligation, it is an opportunity. It is a chance to leverage your dollars (usually with a down payment of 10-20 percent) to control a larger investment, such as the purchase of a home. Your investment appreciation is based on the total purchase price, and you will receive the tax benefits of home ownership.

House

With this in mind, if Rule #1 is to avoid debt, then Rule #2 is to strive to invest. The sooner you begin, the faster and more impressive the result. Regular contributions and accrued interest on a tax-deferred basis is critical to wealth-building. The catalyst for a regular investment program is compounded interest.

Let me show you an example. If you are twenty years old and want to have a million dollars by the age of sixty-seven, you need an initial deposit of $2,500, followed by a regular $50 a month contribution. If, over the forty-seven year period, you maintain a return on investment of 10 percent and the vehicle you choose is tax-deferred, by the age of sixty-seven, you are a millionaire! Astounding? I think so, but where do you find the money to contribute, and after you find the cash, which investments do you choose? Those are the kinds of questions we hope to answer with Dollars & Sense.

Dollar sign Our goal in this section is to provide you with the information you need to make better choices. I believe that knowledge is power. In Dollars & Sense, you will find updates that bring you options on investment, savings strategies, and simple ways to cut expenses.

You can take control of your finances. Do not let a lack of planning or careless spending create havoc with your future. This is the philosophy and the commitment of Dollars & Sense. We are open to questions and would love to know the topics you want addressed. We will go to the nation's leading experts to get those answers for you.