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You work hard for your money and, especially in these tough economic times, every dollar counts. Make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck, and staying within your budget at the same time, by following these tips: Don’t buy anything on the spur-of-the-moment – Spur-of-the-moment buying results in unnecessary spending. Resist the initial urge, and see if you feel as strongly about it 24 hours later. Don’t make spending something you do in your spare time – Don’t shop in stores, malls, and online sites just to pass the time. Find free activities to do, and spend your time taking care of the things you already have. Look for less expensive ways to get the things you want – Rent a DVD instead of going to the theater. Shop the clearance section instead of the new arrivals. Also, try generics. Many are just as good as the name brand at a fraction of the cost. Sign up for e-mail coupons and loyalty cards from stores that you frequent – Often, you don’t even need to carry them around in your purse or wallet. Just take your phone with you, and give the sales associate the code when you’re checking out. Remember these three words: Everything is negotiable – Your customer dollars are very precious, to you and to sellers, so always make sure you’re getting the absolute best deal possible. A smart consumer knows how to get the best price by doing their homework, shopping around, and asking for a discount. Never be ashamed to bargain. Clare LevisonCPA and author of Frugal Isn’t Cheap: Spend Less, Save More, and Live Better Clare K. Levison is a certified public accountant and author of Frugal Isn’t Cheap: Spend Less, Save More, and Live Better. Clare has appeared on major radio and television networks across the country discussing personal finance and has also been a contributor to publications such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and U.S. News & World Report. Clare is a national financial literacy spokesperson for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and serves as a member of their National Financial Literacy Commission. She has served as a member of the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA) Board of Directors and was named one of the 2010 Top Five CPAs Under Thirty-Five by the VSCPA. www.clarelevison.com

In celebration of Financial Literacy Month, this week we are focusing on the importance of earning income. Most industries and professions rely on sales to earn income. A well managed sales relationship is crucial for growing revenue and building a successful business. In our BizWorld.org programs, students learn about and personally experience the direct connection between sales, customer relationships and earning income. In our video blog post today our friend, John Enterline, shares his top tips and best practices on how to have a great sales relationship. John is a Division Director at Robert Half Technology, a division of Robert Half International, the world’s first and largest accounting and finance staffing firm. Thank you, John for sharing your knowledge and experience with us.

Ready, Set, Action! By Sherry Rahmani Program Outreach Coordinator, BizWorld.org Last month, I had the privilege of accompanying our BizWorld.org team to Katherine Smith Elementary for their Box Office Day. Having been a teacher in the past, I was thrilled about the opportunity to spend time with the students and to see our BizMovie stars in action. BizMovie is an innovative, project-based program that gives students an opportunity to explore technology, while learning about business, entrepreneurship and finance through building and running movie production companies. During Box Office Day, the students screen their own animated movies to an audience of students and teachers. This experience far exceeded my expectations! I was blown away by the amount of creativity and charisma that came across in each presentation. It was heartwarming to see the level of dedication from each student, and I enjoyed watching them take pride in their movies as they explained their production process to the audience. I also could not help but admire the way the Katherine Smith Elementary teachers collaborated together, joining efforts and supporting one another throughout the day. What a phenomenal team! I left the school with a big smile on my face. Thanks to our generous sponsor, Cisco, and our partner, GoAnimate, for making this incredible experience possible!

Rosio Cervantes, Mother of Dorian, a 5th Grade Elementary Student Last month I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer at BizWorld Academy at Wells Fargo in San Francisco. Watching my son go through this academy to teach entrepreneurship and real-world skills to kids was such a treat. It is so incredible to see the kids and businesses in action. The children get the whole experience of running a business from paying salaries and purchasing materials to keeping track of all their finances. The program is teaching Dorian how to become a good communicator and how to work with other people. BizWorld is all encompassing, and gives so many opportunities to the kids! I am so excited for the spanish version of the BizWorld program to come out. This will allow the organization to teach their programs and philosophies to more spanish-speaking students around the world! Thank you to your team and company for giving our kids this opportunity to learn and think about their futures. Dorian is very happy and I am excited as a parent! Thank you Wells Fargo!

Camp BizWorld Empowers 5th Graders with Entrepreneurship Education (Part 2 of 3) Juanita Flores-Mejia 5th Grade Teacher, Ford Elementary School Last week, I brought my class over from Richmond, CA to San Francisco where BizWorld.org held their BizWorld Academyd at Wells Fargo. The students worked really well together throughout the 2-day field trip. As they learned the strategy of running a business,​ they had to think quickly on their feet…that is a real-world skill! They worked together to ​create a company name, make friendship bracelets, and tap into their creativity to make commercials for their businesses. Our school, Ford Elementary, is a microsociety school where all our teachers run different agencies. The kids learn a lot of new terms and create many things, but we don’t handle funds or money as much. At BizWorld Academy, the students learned so much about finances – how to produce revenue, how to spend less, and how to keep track of it all. BizWorld has also really taught them about the true value of money. It is so important for students to learn entrepreneurship at a young age. Read More: Part 1 Part 3

BizWorld Academy Empowers 5th Graders with Entrepreneurship Education (Part 1 of 3) By Troy French Senior Vice President Corporate Foreign Exchange, Wells Fargo Board Member, BizWorld.org Last week, I had the pleasure of being a guest speaker at BizWorld Academy, a wonderful opportunity that pairs a corporation with a local school. The academy introduced BizWorld.org‘s entrepreneurship programs to a group of bright 5th graders from Ford Elementary School located in Richmond, CA. The academy was held at Wells Fargo in San Francisco, CA. The students asked me a series of questions about my role and what I do at Wells Fargo. They formed their own friendship bracelet companies while learning real-world skills such as leadership, teamwork, and financial management. These students were in the presence of other Wells Fargo employees that taught them about their own jobs, and helped the students to thrive in their roles as mini-executives! In turn, BizWorld Academy gave Wells Fargo and it’s employees an opportunity to give back to their community by involving the volunteers in mentoring the students. It was a positive and inspiring event! The following is a list of questions that the students asked me. Q: What was your 1st job? A: I was a landscaper at age 13. In high school, I worked in a restaurant as a bus boy and then a server. In college I worked in a gym, and then I worked for a stock broker for free to gain some business experience. Q: What do you like most about your job? A: I love working with people! I like working with businesses of all sizes and learning about their products and services. It is very satisfying when we are able to help customers achieve their financial goals. Q: What do you like least? A: The paperwork can get kind of boring. There are a lot of complexities and regulatory requirements in our business that require careful documentation, which may not be the most interesting part of my job but it is certainly important. Q: What countries do you work with and send money to? A: My group sends money all over the world. We do a lot of work with Canada, Mexico, Japan, all over Europe and increasingly in China. Q: Why did you want to come and work at Wells Fargo? A: I was looking for a move back to the Bay Area. I really was impressed with the person that interviewed me from Wells Fargo. She was really smart and had a great personality. I knew that I wanted to learn from someone a lot smarter than me. Fast forward to today, and I have been working for that same person and at Wells Fargo for nearly 18 years now. Q: Do you know a foreign language? A: I wish I did, but I don’t. I wish I knew Mandarin, Spanish, Japanese and others. I would recommend that each of you learn at least 3 languages. Q: What inspires you? My wife and kids. I work hard for them. In addition, I love to learn new things. Read More: Part 2 Part 3

By Shin Noguchi, Marketing Assistant, BizWorld.org Excited and optimistic. These are the words I would use to describe the overarching, heart-warming feeling I got from our BizWorld Academy event last Thursday. I chose these words not only because we are in full swing for the holidays, but because after spending an entire 2 days with fifth graders from Richmond, CA, I felt like I made a difference in many childrens’ lives. We are so thankful to our partner, a leading financial investment management company in San Francisco, who generously sponsored our two-day academy that teaches children all about starting and running businesses. These programs are fun, hands-on and so engaging that the kids love it. They learned how to create a company,design and manufacture bracelets together, pitch their business ideas to volunteer investors, consider the merits of bank loans and paying interest, and sell all their bracelets at an incredible, volunteer-packed sales bazaar. I watched these children become budding entrepreneurs right in front of my own eyes. Amazing! Children are so impressionable and learn so quickly. With programs like ours, we can help children see the many careers and options available to them, the relevance of what they are learning in school, and how exciting hard work can be. That’s the coolest gift of all!

BizWorld.org is excited to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week! Today we celebrate our “International Partner of the Day” – BizWorld Mexico! “As business people with a great interest in the growth of the Mexican economy, we believe the best investment we can make is in our children. With BizWorld.org’s many years of experience in teaching entrepreneurship to kids, we believe they are a great fit for helping us accomplish our goal to educate the next generation of enterprising citizens.” – Roberto Malpica, Chairman of BizWorld.org Mexico

BizWorld.org is excited to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week! Today we celebrate our “International Partner of the Day” – BizWorld Denmark! “Entrepreneurship education has to be introduced at an earlier stage to school children in order to have a greater impact on society.” – Kari Andersen, Founder of BizWorld Denmark

BizWorld.org is excited to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week! Today we celebrate our “International Partner of the Day” – BizWorld Ireland! “Education is seen traditionally as equipping young people with the skills and knowledge to complete a CV in order to get a job, but BizWorld Ireland is sowing the seeds in children to consider creating employment, taking in the CV and giving out the jobs.” – Fiona McKeon, CEO of BizWorld Ireland#entrepreneurship4kids