Norman was experiencing sticker shock. After years of career success in the corporate world, he had accumulated a healthy nest egg.

But now Norman faced a midlife career crisis. He had just learned his division would be shutting down. To keep his job, he would have to relocate to a distant part of the country. Finding a new job meant fighting age discrimination.

So, Norman thought, why not launch an Internet marketing business? He began exploring and collecting information.

Norman first encountered sticker shock when he learned about the world of Internet marketing seminars.

Over seven hundred dollars for two days? Thats outrageous! he exclaimed.

When youre facing a major career crisis, its hard to evaluate prices. I like to draw an analogy with getting a flat tire in the middle of the night. You havent bought tires for years and have no clue about whats realistic.

Worse, you feel stranded. You feel you have to make decisions right away.

And you feel like money keeps dripping away. For career change, the expenses add up. Travel. Moving. Resume Services. Business Start-up.

But I take a different view. I encourage clients to banish words like cheap and expensive from their vocabularies -- forever. Instead, I encourage everyone to respond to sticker shock with three questions.

(a) How does this price relate to the market?

Maybe youre paying too much. Maybe not.

Before hiring a consultant, attending a seminar, choosing a moving company or buying computer equipment, do some research. Learn the going rate.

Sometimes youll get increased value by paying more. Sometimes you wont. But you should be suspicious of offerings that are way below or way above market price.

Author Barbara Ehrenreich, posing as a corporate job hunter, hired a resume coach who charged by the hour. As reported in her best selling book, Bait and Switch, Ehrenreichs bill grew larger and larger as the coach found more and more ways to make the resume perfect.

Had Ehrenreich checked the market, she would have learned that many resume consultants charge a flat fee, not an hourly rate.

(b) Will you get value for your payment?

Spending a thousand dollars seems like a lot of money...but not if its the best way to earn two, three or even ten thousand dollars.

But throwing money at a career or business challenge wont work either. You have to choose resources that make sense for you as an individual. I know lots of career changers who invested big bucks in education and training only to realize the promised opportunities didnt fit their unique profiles.

Normans seminar actually was a good value because comparable seminars cost at least twice as much. And a seminar would save him months of research time as he explored new business opportunities. He would meet a dozen experienced, successful entrepreneurs all potential mentors and role models in one location. To get comparable value, hed have to travel all over the country or rely on phone and email connections.

(c) Are you throwing money at your crisis like coins in a fountain?

Most clients lose money by trying to move too fast not by paying for coaches, consultants and seminars. They dont invest time in researching options.

And lets face it: If you havent dealt with a career crisis for a long time, you may not know where to begin. Youre like a motorist who has never had a flat tire someone whos misplaced the auto club number or even let the membership lapse because this will never happen to me.

One client spent a significant sum to have her resume blasted to a thousand employers. She actually was harmed because her name became associated with a company that was distrusted by most legitimate recruiters in her field.

Another client reacted to job loss by calling real estate agents to sell his house. I need a change of scene, he declared, making more calls to moving companies.

Six months later, he felt stranded. Someone suggested he give me a call. I thought Id love living here but I hate it, he said. I didnt even know what questions to ask before I came.

Bottom Line: Expensive and cheap have new meanings during a career crisis. To transform breakdowns to breakthroughs, we need to discover new ways to think about money.

Based on Transform Dollars to Dreams
http://www.cathygoodwin.com/moneybook.html