It’s been interesting lately. For some reason pundits have decided that the one measure of the job someone is doing happens to be the Dow. Which is kind of silly. Even as a measure of the economy, I’m not sure how much credence we should lend the Dow. After all, it is a reflection about how Wall Street feels. And, quite frankly, I’m wondering if Wall Street is a little upset that instead of focusing mainly on big firms, Obama seems determined to do something for the middle class as well. Sure, he’s still throwing money at the banks. But in smaller amounts, and he’s tossing a few bones to the rest of us as well.

Another thing the stock market doesn’t like right now: The acknowledgment that things aren’t going to magically get better immediately. Obama has been saying this for quite some time. Perhaps the reason his approval rating is relatively high amongst the rest of us (60%) is due to the fact that the man is actually telling it like it is. There is no quick fix to our economic problems. But Wall Street doesn’t want to hear that. Wall Street wants to hear that government coffers will continue to be open the big guys, and that loads of taxpayer money will be at their disposal to try to turn things around quickly.

Helping forestall foreclosure and putting money into infrastructure and into education will help things in the long term. Sadly, Wall Street is all about the short term. Wall Street doesn’t care about the long term. Obama at least seems to be trying (whether you think he’s right or not) to do what he thinks is best for the long term. So maybe it’s not the end of the world that Wall Street doesn’t approve.

I think Jon Stewart is spot on.

What do you think? Should Obama be judged by the performance of the Dow?

Earlier today, I wrote a post about how encouraging educational efforts can aid in the fight against poverty. But there are plenty of other personal finance blogs out there with great Blog Action Day posts addressing the issue of poverty.

Here is a sampling of some of the other personal finance blogs involved in Blog Action Day:

• That One Caveman: Educating the future
  
• Free From Broke: Causes of poverty
  
• Moolanomy: War on poverty
• Get Rich Slowly: What you can do
• Free Money Finance: You can help
• My Investing Blog: More on poverty
• Girls Just Wanna Have Funds: Women and poverty
• Cash Money Life: Poverty in America and abroad
• Wisebread: Poverty fighting superheroes
• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity: Food banks
• My Two Dollars: Conversation about poverty
• Green Panda Treehouse: Microfinancing with Kiva
• Gather Little By Little: Poverty is our responsibility
• Bible Money Matters: More on microloans
• Personal Finance Corner: Help others help themselves

Also, there are other b5 Media folks participating. Here are some of the blogs on b5 joining Blog Action Day efforts:

• Just Make Money Online 
• Help My Hurt
• Filipina Soul
• Pink Ribbon Review
• Breastfeeding 1-2-3
• Franchise Pick
• Medium Dreams
• Simply Thrifty
• Leadership Turn
• Tree Hugging Family
• Solo Mother

Yesterday, we had a Business Channel wide look at experience. It was great. There are plenty of fabulous posts to consider. Kelly Phillips Erb points out a little about each participating post:

At Slacker Manager, Phil and David tackle the question head on: Experience or Attitude: Who would you rather hire? Similarly, at Leadership Turn, Miki notes that most managers look first for direct experience when interviewing, but is that a good thing?

At One Vote Matters, Thursday jumps into the fray and asks whether Palin’s lack of foreign policy experience matters in the presidential race. At Interview Chatter, Darlene reminds us that the question comes down to what is most important when filling a position - even if that position is the most powerful in the country.

Also tying in with the elections is the question of whether businesses ought to share their thoughts and experiences as it relates to politics. It’s important to remember that not all businesses are created equal. When it comes to tax-exempt businesses, like churches, taxgirl reminds us that sometimes it’s best to keep quiet - especially at election time.

At Daily Blender, Jennifer questions whether “other experience” is enough when it comes to running a restaurant. Maybe some jobs are a bit tougher than you think…

When it comes to new jobs, Jean, at Small Business Boomers, believes that experience does matter. She shares five ways you can use your experience in a new career.

Don’t get too hung up on experience, though. At Home Biz Notes, Mary Emma mentions the fact that if you don’t have a great deal of experience when starting a home business, at least arm yourself with all the knowledge you can and gain from others who are more experienced. Miranda echoes this statement at Yielding Wealth: you can learn to manage your own finances even if you do not have professional financial planning experience. Find out how.

And when it comes to providing an experience, shouldn’t you focus on the consumer’s point of view? At Behind the Buzz, Rachel lists her pet website design peeves that impact on the customer experience. In keeping with the consumer experience theme, at Brandcurve, Susan shares a montage of Mac Guy vs. PC Guy commercials demonstrating relationship and experiential branding at work and asks if she should let herself fall for it and buy a Mac (um, Susan, you should, types Kelly from her MacBook).

Chris, at Doing Biz Abroad, jumps on the Mac bandwagon and argues that the best travel experience for the business traveller can be gained by using a Mac. Is he for real - or just trying to get his wife (ahem) to buy another computer?

Guest poster Ellen Barks at Biz Chicks Rule discusses how your everyday experiences can affect your business success. She wonders: what did you learn this summer?

Of course, learning from others’ experiences may be the best lesson of all. At Successful Blog, Liz questions whether its more fun to solve other people’s problems.

Can you think of a time when experience matters? What about when it doesn’t?

There are many excuses people give for not budgeting their money, or for being poor financial managers:

• I’m no good at math. How can I possibly create a budget?
• I just don’t know how to manage money.
• I don’t have professional financial experience. How can I be expected to know what to do?

However, these excuses sound pretty lame when you think about it. The fact of the matter is that you can manage your own finances. You don’t need professional experience, and you do not have to be good at math. But you do need to be willing to learn, and willing to show some discipline.

Here are some things you can do to increase your knowledge of personal finances — and find ways to better track your income and expenses through budgeting:

• Be willing to learn. Read books, blogs and attend workshops about personal finances.
• Get personal finances software. There are a variety of programs out there that can help you track your spending and income. No math required.
• Find a budgeting program. Many personal finances software programs also include budgeting functions. These can help you visually see where you can improve, and can even help you budget better.
• See a professional. Set up a time with a fee based (not a commission based) financial planner. He or she can help you create a plan, teach you the basics, and generally get on track with your finances.

With a little effort, you can learn to manage your finances and become better at budgeting.

One of the most powerful tools we have today is the power of networking. Today’s B5 Promo Day addresses that very thing. My post was from a couple of months ago, on using networking to fund a college education.

But there are many things that networking can help you with:

• Getting a new job.
• Finding new clients.
• Finding money-saving programs.
• Meeting new people.

How do you use networking?

image credit: sxc.hu

This week’s B5 Media Business Channel Fun Friday Post has this theme:

Your business epiphany: What one moment influenced your career or business more than any other?

I can come up with this one rather easily. Instead of rushing off to an “assistant editor” or a “local news reporter” position like nearly everyone I knew in my Master Degree program at Syracuse University, I tried to “make it” as a writer using the Internet. Mainly because I wanted a way to support my husband while he finished school without having to work long hours outside the home, away from my son.

As you might know, this path is a tough one. So I had to resort to such sites as Associated Content in order to make a quick buck. I made it a goal to post two or three articles a day for the (pittance) $$$. One day, Robyn Tippins noticed that I posted quite a lot — and regularly — on Associated Content. She knew that blogging required dedication and regular posting (she is a blogging expert, after all). Robyn introduced me to the world of blogging for pay.

This was just before blogging really took off as a marketing campaign strategy. So, I was fortunate enough to get in on the ground floor, and have been making about 80% of my income from (mostly corporate) blogging ever since.

The moment that Robyn contacted me about blogging, my career has never been the same. I went from having a vague notion that blogs were about teenage angst to knowing that they are so much more, and that they can have a profound impact on lives — including my own.

Have you had a career epiphany? How about any epiphany? Please share!

Our channel editor, Kelly, has a great list of the highlights from Friday’s B5 Blog Off.

Enjoy!

Today’s B5 Business Channel Theme Day is “New Beginnings in a Challenging Economy.”

As the economy gets a little more challenging, it is time to rethink the way you do things, and to make a new financial beginning. Consider some of these “new beginnings” for your financial life:

• Re-evaluate your wants and your needs and cut back on some of your wants.
• Start a savings plan to build (or pad) your emergency fund.
• Make greater efforts to get out of debt.
• Begin living within your means.

The old way of doing things in the “easy” economy was spend, spend, spend and do it now, now, now. That way is unsustainable.

If your personal finances need a new beginning, now is the time to start — so that you are ready when things get even more challenging.

image credit: sxc.hu

In addition to a great tongue-in-cheek personal finance tip (#3: Don’t Let Congress Be Your Example from Miki Saxon), I got some good comments on some of my Blog Off posts. I offer the highlights.

Sean Kelly at Franchise Pick, offered some ideas for guest posts he would be willing to write:

“How I cut THOUSANDS from my gasoline costs with a $1.00 plastic tube.”
And: “Who says field corn’s not edible?”
Also, consider getting up real early, reading your neighbor’s paper, then putting it back before he wakes up.

Another great quote came from Donna Jackson at Digital Money World:

“If you owe your bank 100 dollars you have a problem, if you owe your bank 1,000,000 dollars, it has a problem!”

Donna also offered this intriguing tip: “Use your credit card as a 20 day interest fee loan and settle it in total before the due date.” I like that, because you get the reward points, but don’t pay the fees. Of course, you have to have discipline to make this work properly.

Finally, Vered at Mom Grind offered this great piece of advice:

I am trying to be more mindful of the language I use and to try to avoid saying that I “need” something when in fact I just WANT it.

What a great point! Thinking about how we express ourselves with regard to money can help us correct poor habits.

With all this focus on personal finances, and saving money, you need to also keep in mind that healthy finances include:

Enjoying your money.

But this should be done in a responsible and goal-oriented way. My husband and I each have a little money that we can use on small pleasures. We save up for big things (like vacations and PS3s). You have to occasionally spend money on “fun.” Otherwise there really isn’t a point to having that money anyway.

This post is part of the b5media Business Channel Great Blog Off!  Find out more about the Blog Off here: http://www.b5media.com/b5media-blogs-for-a-cause-and-raises-money-in-support-of-charity/

The Business Channel is supporting Accion International for the Great Blog Off. You can make a donation directly to Accion (http://www.accion.org/b5media).  Donations are tax deductible.