Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2006! As always, our January 2006 newsletter is filled with interesting articles, tips, suggestions and news about Almeda University. If there is a topic of interest or curiosity to you, drop us an e-mail and let us know about it. We may even include your comment or suggestion in our next newsletter.

Attention Alumni! With the New Year finally arriving, many of you may be looking for a change of career. Make sure to stop by our Career Center for help in your job search! Please log into your alumni status page for more information. Alumni Login

Give Me a Break
Smart software can help you fight for your money this tax season.
By Mike Hogan

Congratulations. You've survived another battery of holidays. Now for the most challenging season of the year--tax season. It's time for your annual game of Texas Hold 'Em with your Uncle Sam.

Before you sit down at the table this year, there's something you should know about your kind, old uncle--he cheats. Well, not technically. But what would you call it when the guy across the table owns the house, owns the cards, pays the dealer, writes the rules, and then rewrites the rules after just about every hand?

Tax "reform" legislation is intermittent, but the rules of play change every year. Tax increases are permanent, take effect immediately or...Read full article

15 Tricks to Take the Chill Out of Your Fuel Bill
By Jonathan Small

Ah, winter. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, and...heating bills wreaking havoc on your bank account! That may not be how the song goes, but it might as well be these days. According to the Energy Information Alliance, a typical household heating with natural gas can expect to pay $350 more this winter than last (about $378 more if you use oil). And the burn doesn't stop at the home front. Jump in your car, and you can expect to rack up record-breaking costs: This year, passenger-car drivers will spend approximately $1,160 more on gas than last year; SUV drivers will pay $1,470 more. What does this mean for newlyweds? 'Tis the season to start saving some serious cash. Here's how... Read full article

Baby Boomers, Beware! Don't Let Your Resume Outdate You
By Elizabeth McAloon, CPCC

If you're a job-seeker of the Baby Boom generation, you may be feeling a little left out by the job market. You're certainly not ready to retire, but the young recruiters you send resumes to don't seem to respond to your skills and experience. If you're experiencing symptoms of age discrimination, you should know that your resume could be the culprit, categorizing you as out of date and over the hill.

There are three ways your resume can put you in the over the hill category. Your resume is due for an update if it contains:

1. Outdated technology skills
2. Outdated industry or occupational terminology
3. Outdated resume trends

Don't despair if your resume is out of date. You can perform an extreme resume makeover by using the tips... Read full article

"Help!" With New Year's Resolutions
By Ellen Corsi

Another year has come and gone, and whether or not we want to reflect upon it, we very rarely can avoid evaluating our life during the past year. The holiday season is a time to celebrate, but is also that time of year where we start looking back and reflecting upon what we have or have not accomplished. We also may not even remember what we decided to accomplish as a New Year's resolution from the previous year. That happens a lot with the New Year's resolutions game.

You may have made a great career move last year, or bought a condo or a new house, or paid a lot of bills off to ease your wallet, or maybe you just basically did what you usually do, which is to go with the ebb and flow of life, and take what comes to you.

New Year's resolutions are a tricky thing. They start out with wonderful intentions, but as time passes... Read full article

Here we go again! Another New Year means another round of New Year’s Resolutions—setting goals and trying to keep them. Or maybe not. In fact, if you’re like most people—70% according to the Harvard Business School—you don’t even have any goals. Another 25% have goals, but only 5% have goals and write them down. Amazingly enough—or perhaps it’s no surprise—those 5% who write their goals down enjoy greater professional and personal success than the other 95% combined. Wow... Read full article

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