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In an ideal world, we can pick and choose who we allow into our daily space. Unfortunately, the internal plea for a somewhat decent co-worker may go unanswered. There are some pretty serious characters in the office.

Take a look around your job right now. Can you spot someone that makes you want to flip a table? If these emotions come to mind, you need to figure out a healthy and professional way to release them before an altercation occurs.

No one says you have to be besties with a person that makes you cringe. But to help save your sanity, check out these ideas that will help you to better manage crazy people.

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In 2010, NBA player Lorenzen Wright was shot to death and his decomposed body was found in the woods southeast of Memphis. His ex, Sherra Robinson Wright, who had just divorced the NBA player and was a suspect at one point, received a $1 million life insurance settlement 14 months after his death. According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, she has spent $973,000 of that in 10 months, reports Black America Web. Here’s how she burned through a cool mil: $32,000 for a Cadillac Escalade;  $26,000 for a Lexus; $69,000 on furniture; $11,750 for a New York trip; $339,000 for purchase and improvement to a new home: $7,100 for a pool deposit: $5,000 for lawn equipment; and $34,000 on legal fees. You can’t do anything about legal fees, but that $7,100 doesn’t even cover the whole cost of the pool!

She’s not the first person to waste a large lump sum of money fast. Don McNay, blogging on The Huffington Post, quotes a National Endowment for Financial Education report that found that 70 percent of those who receive a lump sum, from any source, run through it in a few years.

Need another example? New York Knicks center Eddy Curry, who found himself in debt though he had a $60 million contract. He spent $6,000 per month for a chef, $16,000 a month for an allowance that he set aside for friends and family, and had a $570,000 personal loan  he was paying  off that carried an incredible 85 percent interest rate, says the Sports Fan Journal.

“Lump sum windfalls come in many forms: a legal settlement, insurance payout, or an inheritance. Instead of spending frivolously, use a lump sum to improve your family’s financial future,” says Toni Husbands of Debt Free Divas, financial coaches helping men and women address common money struggles.

Here are nine tips on how to manage a financial windfall.

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What if you could set your New Year’s resolution and save money while doing so? Before you go spending more than you need, here’s some money-saving help for five of the top resolutions for 2013: getting organized, establishing a budget, spending more quality time with family, quitting smoking, creating a health and wellness plan.

Getting Organized

For many people staying organized throughout the year can be a challenge; whether it be at home, work office, or even your vehicle. During the month of January, office and home decor stores have their organizational items and tools marked down the entire month of January. You can score planners, file cabinets, folders, calenders, and more for 30 percent to 40 percent off without you needing a coupon!  But, make the deal even sweeter by applying a coupon to your purchase. Typically, these coupons can be found on your favorite store’s website.

Creating a Health and Wellness Plan

Most workout facilities look to capitalize on your new year’s weight loss goals. This time of year, annual membership fees are usually reduced and some completely eliminated. Also, at some fitness centers, instead of a one-week free pass you can get a pass for a free month. If you’re focused on a diet, seek out weight loss programs that offer reduced introductory offers to help you begin your journey to healthier eating. Currently, Weight Watchers is waiving their registration fee if you join before March 16,2013. For those of you who can’t afford a fee-based diet program try a free meal plan guide such as EatingWell.com

​Establishing A Budget

This resolution is usually at the very top of the list for most people. This is primarily due to overspending throughout the holiday season. You can use free online software to help get started with your budget. BudgetSimple.com offers free online software to help you create a budget. This program allows you to allocate your money into separate spending categories. By doing this you set a limit of how much you will spend on your necessities and wants. You can update your information every time you spend money, allowing you to keep track of your spending. Also, there are many money challenges circulating this time of year. (We’ve talked about  The 52 Week Money Challenge previously.) This is where you can commit to saving a certain dollar amount periodically to obtain a money-saving goal at the end of the challenge. Take a peek at to help you get started.

Kicking The Smoking Habit

Not only can smoking be unhealthy for you, it can also drain your piggy bank. Someone with a smoking habit of a pack of cigarettes per day spends around $2,000 annually out of pocket. This is an average of $10,000 over five years. Can you imagine what you can do with $10,000? You could purchase a car, add to your savings, or apply the extra savings towards a new home! Here’s a free quit smoking kit by AAHealth.org to help aid you in kicking the habit.

Spending More Quality Time With The Family

Quality time with family doesn’t have to cost you money. There are a lot of free things you can do with your family. For example, start a weekly movie night.You can rent free DVD’s from  your local library. To keep the fun going, check with your local park district. Typically, there are free events and fairs that your city puts on every month for you and your family to enjoy.

Whatever your New Year’s resolution may be, we encourage you to finish what you start. Are you up for the challenge?

Tai and Tarin Perry, the Double Saving Divas,  are financially savvy identical twin sisters, and investment bankers turned money saving experts. You can also connect with them on their Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube Channel.

And be sure to join us on the Madame Noire Business Facebook page for a live chat with the Double Saving Divas this Friday at 3pm. We’ll be answering your questions about saving money, setting a budget, and sticking to it.

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Stuff is expensive. So where you can cut corners and still live as you like, you should. And in some cases, saving money is so easy, you won’t even notice the difference. Heck, it might even be better than spending the extra ducats.

Here, we offer up some suggestions that will allow you to save some money while hanging on to some of the finer things that you’ve gotten used to. You might even have a little fun while you’re at it.

And let us know about any of your money-saving tips. We’d love to include them in a future story.

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It’s your first day and you’re worried about what to wear, all the new colleagues you’re going to meet, and the new assignments you’re going to get.

It’s only day one, so relax. Everyone will be there to welcome you to the team. However, there are some things you might want to avoid saying and doing right off the bat.

“When you see a coworker who looks like they’re having a bad day, now is not the time to ask 21 questions,” Black Enterprise advises. “Say hello, make small talk, and keep it moving.”

Indeed. For more on how to avoid the pitfalls of a new job, click through to BlackEnterprise.com.

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Probably the toughest part of getting a new job is the interview process. It’s not only what you say during the interview but how you end the interview that can determine if your land the job or not.

According to CBS Money Watch, there are several questions you should ask as the interview wraps up. “Toward the end of a job interview, there’s always a moment when you’re asked if you have any questions. It’s tricky. You don’t want to sound too pugnacious (will they think I’m too aggressive?), but neither do you want to pass on the opportunity (will they think I don’t have a mind of my own?),” reports CBS Market Watch.

The questions you should ask:

1. Why did you want to interview me? Learning specifically what is in your resume that attracted a company’s interest gives you a sense of how the organization, and other potential employers, view your talents.

2. Why is this job important to the business as a whole? This should give you a sense both of the company strategy (if there is one) and of where this job sits in the pecking order.

3. How would you describe the best people you have in this company? This is a covert way of determining company values.

4. Are there any internal candidates for this job? If there are, and you get the job, watch out! If there aren’t, why not? Professional development may not be what this company is best at.

More on Madame Noire Business!

• Forget About Disgracing the Race, Succeed On Your Own Terms
• NAACP Files A Discrimination Lawsuit Against NYC SPecialized High Schools
• The Wealth Gap and Entrepreneurship: Helping Black Businesses Helps Everyone
• Put Your Pride Aside: Why You Should Take The Job You Need Until You Can Get The One You Want
• Unemployed and Undereducated: Study Finds Black Youth Are Disconnected
• Bank of America Sued for Alleged Failure to Maintain Foreclosed Homes in Minority Neighborhoods

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If you want to get ahead in business, networking is a must. But if you are like many people, you either just don’t like to network or your networking skills are lacking.

“Of all the areas where networking can help you, the most important are getting new business, finding a job and having relationships with key people who can help you out in ways you can’t predict yet,” writes Business Insider. “Networking opens up new opportunities for you.”

Here are a few tips on how to network effectively:

1)      Play it natural. “Stumped for something to say? You’re likely not the only one. Walk up and introduce yourself, and then tell people it’s your first time there and you don’t know anyone. People connect with authenticity,” writes Inc.com.

2)      Have a networking piggy bank: “Funnel a certain percentage of your paycheck into a bucket that pays for coffees, lunches and the occasional plane ticket to meet new people and shore up existing relationships,” Inc.com adds.

3)      It’s not the number of people you network with, but how you network. “Focus on quality, not quantity,” said Henry Nelson, vice president and co-founder of New York-based networking organization, 1209 enterprise, LLC. 

4)      Do the soft sell. “Be  confident but not in an arrogant way,” Nelson told us via email. “If you’re not excited about your product our services, why should they be?”

5)      Stop and listen. “Be a good listener, that way you can exactly know what it is that they do and want,” advises Nelson.

More on Madame Noire Business!

• Forget About Disgracing the Race, Succeed On Your Own Terms
• NAACP Files A Discrimination Lawsuit Against NYC SPecialized High Schools
• The Wealth Gap and Entrepreneurship: Helping Black Businesses Helps Everyone
• Put Your Pride Aside: Why You Should Take The Job You Need Until You Can Get The One You Want
• Unemployed and Undereducated: Study Finds Black Youth Are Disconnected
• Bank of America Sued for Alleged Failure to Maintain Foreclosed Homes in Minority Neighborhoods

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Applying  for a home loan can be overwhelming — what with the paperwork, credit requirements, terms and other banking jargon. But don’t be deterred. Just as you would comparison shop for any big-ticket purchase, do the same when it coms to loans. Various banks will offer you different rates and terms. Select the one that’s best for your financial situation.

There are the things you should do before going shopping, according to Charon D. Darris, VP and senior business banker for New York City’s, KeyBank Corp. “Know your credit scores and credit reports,” he said in an email. The three credit rating services are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. “These reports and scores can differ from company to company. It’s important you pull all three to ensure you have a comprehensive picture of your full credit profile and can proactively address any discrepancies you may uncover.”

Darris suggests using “an online mortgage calculator” to first do your calculations at home. “Most banks have a section of their website that will estimate what size loan you can handle given your income, property taxes, and other deductions,” he explains.

And before you hit the major banks, consider the smaller institutions. “Start with community banks. Often people start with the big names like Chase, Bank of America and Citi. However, underwriting standards and pricing are likely to be more negotiable at smaller financial institution,” advises Darris.

Now you’re ready to shop around. Here are a few tips from Darris on what you should ask each bank.
•    Will you cover my closing fees? And if not, do you have a cap on closing fees?
•    What is maximum tenor will you provide  for my loan? (Tenor is the length of time until a loan is due.)
•    What is the minimum down payment I will need to provide and when do I need it?
•    Would an additional guarantor help the bank be more comfortable?
•    Are there any government programs I qualify for?

Armed with knowledge, you’re ready to haggle for the best deal.

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A new study that brought together economic minds from Stanford and the University of Utah found that there are good bosses out there who are both working and teaching.

By bosses, the researchers are talking about supervisors, managers, and mid-level execs… the people who are parodied in movies like Office Space and on shows like The Office. Mimicking the work environment of something akin to a customer service call center, they studied nearly 24,000 workers and almost 2,000 managers. In that situation, productivity varied depending on who was in charge.

“The fact [that] there is wide variation…implies that there is a substantial productivity effect that bosses confer on their teams,” the researchers found. Closer analysis indicated to them that sustained high levels of work output were the result of lessons taught by these managers.

The sheer number of stories about the qualities found in great managers, offering tips for being a good manager, and giving advice about things to avoid so one doesn’t become a bad manager shows that this is top-of-mind for employees around the country. The interaction between supervisors and their staff members is intimate and fraught with the issues that come when strangers are brought together with a common goal (do the work) and one person is calling the shots.

While the research shows that there are good managers out there who are teaching and working well with their staff, the fact that there is variation also shows that some supervisors are better than others. There are a few things that employees can do to maintain positive relationships with their bosses:

-Manage your boss’ expectations. Tell them how long a project will take. Explain all the things you’re working on. Let them know of any changes or shifts that will impact how you do your job. Talking things over with your boss (or putting those issues in an email that can be forwarded to others if necessary) will help them understand what steps they have to take.

-Accept that things won’t always be great. When you’re working hard, you want things to go smoothly. But sometimes, despite your best efforts, you have to work through lunch, stay late, or someone makes a mistake. Take those instances in stride. When you prove that you can handle the bumps in the road, it’s a plus for you, your manager, and your department.

-Bring your sense of humor. Sometimes, the best employee is the one with the best attitude. It helps to build a rapport with a manager (even, in some cases, a prickly one) and it’s good for your own psyche.

Some supervisors are just terrible. But most people want to do a good job. Working well with your supervisor will put you on the fast track to take their job when they move on to the next position.

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“You don’t just show up and sell something,” Edgar Smith Jr., CEO of World Pac Paper tells BlackEnterprise.com. Making the sale is like making a product — it’s a “process.”

Smith proceeds to lay out the eight steps to closing the deal. As with most things, start with a plan. Then think ahead to what the customer is likely going to ask.

“What particular needs and/or solutions will be discussed?  What is the ideal prospect or customer commitment that you would like to gain?  Is there a minimum acceptable commitment?” are some of the questions.

By the time you get to step eight, the sale should be in the bag.

“You’ve got to confirm any and all agreements and mutual commitments around that opportunity and that business, and then you work towards the actual implementation, developing, and executing of the plan and reviewing the results against mutually agreed upon measures, or metrics, of success,” says Smith.

For more, check out the entire story on BlackEnterprise.com.