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These are files that I wanted to make available to my readers.  If these are of use to you, please share with your friends and colleagues;  I’d appreciate it if you’d mention Practical Hacks when you do so.  Enjoy, and thanks for being here!

There are 20 files, weighing 6.6 MiB with 22,004 hits in total.

Displaying 1 to 20 of 20 files.

Recipes

  Homemade Energy Bars
» 29.0 KiB - 1,798 hits - May 30, 2009
This is the recipe from one of my most popular posts. A simple recipe that makes delicious, healthy energy bars. The recipe is versatile and can be customized to suit your tastes and diet. Please refer to the comments following the Homemade Energy Bar post on this site.

  Homemade Pizza Sauce
» 31.5 KiB - 850 hits - January 3, 2009
Simple but tasty recipe for pizza sauce. A little sweet & a little spicy, and a lot delicious.

  Homemade Raisin Bread
» unknown - 780 hits - December 13, 2008
Baking bread is way easier than you may think. The actual work is fairly minimal - and the result is healthy and delicious. A great weekend afternoon project; kids love to pitch in and help! Enjoy.

  Rustic Italian Bread
» 35.0 KiB - 822 hits - February 11, 2009
A simple (albeit somewhat time consuming!) recipe that produces that classic Italian bakery bread - thick crunchy crust and a light, airy interior. Wonderful!

Personal Finance

  2009 Expense Tracking
» unknown - 1,066 hits - September 12, 2008
An update to the (no longer available) 2008 file; I've cleaned up some minor formatting issues. The key is to write everything down... to facilitate that I usually print out each month in 7-10 day segments and leave it on the desk in our kitchen. Do this for a few months - or better yet, 6 or 12 months - and you'll have a very precise record of where your money goes, and where you have additional opportunities for saving.

  2010 Expense Tracking
» 4.4 MiB - 411 hits - January 1, 2010
A simple update to the 2009 file. Enables you to easily keep meticulous records of what you spend - doing so is a tremendous first step in understanding your spending and identifying opportunities for saving. In actual practice, I print out a spreadsheet for each month and put it in a convenient location so it's easy for us to complete.

  Pear Budget zip file
» 178.4 KiB - 1,224 hits - August 29, 2008
The original Pear Budget. From the authors: When PearBudget started out, it was simply a downloadable spreadsheet. It was easy to use, and it helped a lot of people get their finances in order. We created it because we needed something simple to track our income and expenses. So we made it, and we put it online, for free. People loved it. * It’s been downloaded well over 100,000 times. * It was written up in the Wall Street Journal, in Popular Science, and in the extremely popular blogs Zen Habits, Lifehacker, and Get Rich Slowly, among others. * We received notes and e-mails from all over the world from people who — for the very first time in their lives — were able to understand what was happening with their budgets. When we launched the new, web-based version of PearBudget, we knew some people would prefer the old version. It’s still a really great tool, and it might be just what you need to start budgeting. This is a wonderful budget tool. Read a review here: http://url.ie/nk0

Marketing & Business

  New Business Screener
» 21.0 KiB - 988 hits - September 12, 2008
A simple, customizable template for measuring and evaluating the potential value & attractiveness of new product lines or new businesses. 14 separate criteria are used to measure different opportunities in order to identify the most attractive. You can adjust the criteria and if necessary, weight them differently. I've found it's best to have key personnel perform the weighting exercise separately and then compare notes.

  Project Management Template: Tasks
» 18.5 KiB - 862 hits - July 23, 2009
A simple Excel file I use to keep project team members on task. Task status is conveyed via color coding, and any tasks which are slipping are VERY obvious. The file serves as the focal point at each team meeting, and is updated and sent out after each meeting. I've used this tool - or variations of it - for the last 25+ years with a great deal of success. Try it with your next key project - and be sure to read the Practical Hacks post about this spreadsheet: http://tinyurl.com/kwpl8b

  Simple PowerPoint Business Plan Format
» 136.5 KiB - 1,748 hits - August 29, 2008
A simple 3 page business plan format. Can be customized in whatever manner you prefer. Distill the essentials of a plan down to 3 pages: Where Are We?, Where Are We Going? and How Are We Going To Get There? Marvelously simple and direct.

Travel

  Business Trip Checklist (Men) - pdf
» 83.0 KiB - 1,128 hits - January 10, 2009
Don't feel like bothering with creating your own checklist? This pdf is a simple list for men embarking on a business trip.

  Business Trip Checklist (Women) - pdf
» 99.1 KiB - 741 hits - January 10, 2009
This pdf is a simple list for women embarking on a business trip. Open the file, print it, save it to your hard drive for use in the future.

  Business Trip Checklist input
» 27.0 KiB - 987 hits - August 29, 2008
Enables you to create a customized checklist for business trips by using the "Generic Checklist Generator" at MicaPeak.com - which is available here: http://url.ie/nkk I use this for every trip I go on - business or pleasure; give it a try - it's simple and works great!

  International Travel Checklist - Men
» 105.8 KiB - 414 hits - February 21, 2010
A simple pdf checklist which captures not only what to pack, but what to do 90, 30, and 7 days before your departure.

  International Travel Checklist - Women
» 121.7 KiB - 293 hits - February 21, 2010
A simple pdf travel checklist that not only includes what to pack, but what to do 90, 30, and 7 days before your departure.

  TravelSmith: Carry-On/Checked Luggage Guidelines
» 114.9 KiB - 474 hits - September 21, 2009
Updated! A comprehensive summary of current carry-on and checked luggage guidelines (dimensions & weight) for ~50 U.S. and International airlines.

Interviewing

  90 Day Plan Shell
» 35.0 KiB - 4,922 hits - August 29, 2008
A simple Word-based format which will enable you to craft a "90 Day Action Plan" for presentation during your second interview. Most candidates will never be this prepared or demonstrate this much thought and planning. An easy and very effective way to distinguish yourself from other candidates.

  Using the Social Web to Find Work
» 1.0 MiB - 944 hits - February 18, 2009
A 19 page eBook developed by social media guru Chris Brogan which provides a number of ideas for leveraging social networking sites in your job search. Clear, concise and full of good ideas. You can check out Chris's original post on this subject here: http://tinyurl.com/8y6fcm

Miscellaneous

  Emergency Medical Card
» 30.5 KiB - 1,042 hits - September 7, 2008
Simple Word document - print the document, fill in your name and emergency contact information, as well as any relevant medical information which would be of help to emergency medical personnel. Cover it with transparent tape for durabililty or laminate it. Be protected in the event of a bad accident!

  How to install a Garage Door Open indicator.pdf
» 151.7 KiB - 510 hits - September 20, 2009
A printable pdf of the basic instructions from my popular post: http://tinyurl.com/nuzh7x

PLEASE COMMENT if you’ve used or benefited from any of these files. Thanks!

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-Kevin