Work

Entrepreneurial Opportunities There are thousands of business ventures out there. So how do you identify one that's right for you? The first step is to take a good hard look at your personal situation. What are your financial needs? Your person...

Practical Concerns When You're Not Working Along with the emotional issues you'll deal with if you lose your job, there will be some real practical concerns, as well. Will you be able to meet all your expenses? What will happen when your unemplo...

How Work Can Affect Your Marriage Although you usually develop your relationship and your career separately, we all know through experience that they are connected. The quality of your love life will affect your work. If you're feeling stressed ...

Financial Strategy Planning after Job Loss It's nice to think you'll find another job within a week or so of losing one, and perhaps you will. Chances are, however, it will take longer than that—maybe much longer—to find a job you want. For...

Downsizing and Other Dirty Words We don't, fortunately, hear as much today about downsizing as we did in the past couple of decades, but, rest assured, it still happens. About 10 million jobs were lost to downsizing between 1980 and 2000, and do...

Involuntary Job Changes While voluntary job changes can be stimulating and ego-boosting, involuntary job changes usually are pretty much of a drag—at least initially. American workers learned this en masse following the September 11, 2001, ter...

Risks of Starting Your Own Business More than half of all entrepreneurial ventures fail. Having gotten that fact out in the open, we're now telling you to ignore it if you're considering starting your own business. Don't Go There Many entrepre...

Your Income: Salaries and Raises Regardless of what your income is, you probably wish it was more. The most frequent job-related complaints don't involve bosses or working conditions—they're all about salary. Living these days costs a lot of m...

Dog-Assisted Therapy If you and your dog both like people and enjoy volunteering, you might enjoy dog-assisted therapy work. Therapy dogs come from all walks of canine life, from the tiny to the tall, from stock dogs and hunting dogs to conforma...

To Stay at Home or Return to Work? Francine Deutsch, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Mount Holyoke College, found that 58 percent of at-home and 53 percent of mommies working outside the home reported feeling frustrated, depressed, hopeless, or...

Disaster Relief: What Your Family Can Do to HelpWhen your kids see people in obvious need of help, they may ask, "Is there anything I can do?" The answer is, yes. When I was a child, I remember the news being flooded with pictures of starving Afr...

Adopt-a-Pet from the Humane SocietyDirections It is not necessary to buy expensive pets from a pet store or breeder. The Humane Society in your town or county has many homeless animals that would make wonderful pets. Visit the nearest animal she...

Senior Center HelperDirections Most communities have senior centers where older citizens congregate, participate in organized activities, and enjoy each other's company. A Center Director usually plans the activities and supervises them. There a...

Holiday BasketsMaterials Basket Ribbon Liner or cloth napkin Assorted holiday foods Assorted small, useful gifts Directions Before you start, contact your local Social Services agency for families, elderly folk, and handicapped people who would...

Talking About Volunteering ON THE MENU: Talking About Volunteering FOR AGES: Five and up There's no doubt about it -- it feels good to give! A recent landmark psychological study shows that people feel the best about themselves and about life whe...

Aide to ElderlyDirections Many elderly people would appreciate help with household chores and errands. Here are some services that you could offer: Taking out the garbageHousecleaning Exercising the dogGoing to the Post OfficeWashing laundrySwe...

Breastfeeding Moms Going Back to WorkGood news: Successful breastfeeding and working do mix. As long as there is a private place for you to pump at work and reliable refrigeration for expressed milk, it's relatively simple to continue providing b...

How to Become a Charitable FamilyGiving your kids a context for giving and making the experience real are behaviors that will help you become a charitable family. Charitable families are highly conscious of opportunities to give, and they make th...