Category Archive

A couple weeks ago, a former coworker of mine told me about his new business he was starting, and he invited me to consider being a part of it.

I got a chance to see a Webex presentation of the current status of the project. It was pretty interesting, not just the technical aspects, but he also went through some of the business aspects. I don’t know much about corporate finances or start-ups, but they hoped to raise $200,000 and thought that would last over a year. This means that the salaries probably are low and more in the form of stock options.

I’m really torn. On one hand, it sounds exciting, and Kevin would be a great guy to work for. Plus, extra money (yay!), more experience, a little extra security in a somewhat scary time at my employer (my cube neighbor was laid off and I get to overhear his struggles. Yuck.) It sounds like a pretty good deal. Also, one awesome perk of this assignment–free Macbook Air. Or maybe it was just a regular mac, I’m not sure. I mean, it is nothing to fall over about, but it is a neat perk.

I recall Krystal asking her readers, “Would you take on a second job?” and I (along with many) answered with a resounding NO. But I had in mind mindless jobs not related to my field, not some consultant work on the side. This is entirely different.

I’m going to speak with T about this and see if he can help me decide. We have similar educational backgrounds, so he really is my most trusted source of information on good steps for my career. My parents just don’t have the background to give sound advice, and neither do my friends.

I think I’ll send Kevin an email and sort of let him decide. I’ll tell him the situation–I’m really excited about it, I’d love to work for him, but I’m nervous about over committing myself. I can only promise 10 hours a week, but say that I could probably offer more in these initial months before school starts. I’m not sure if that is worth it to him, and I’m not sure how much he really could use my help. I know he thinks I’m a good worker, that I can take on challenges and get things done. But he also is in contact with many other people who might have more time and experience. So, if it is not worth it to him, the decision is made. I do really want to do it, but I don’t want to commit to more than 10 hours a week.

If it is… then we will talk money and I am leaning towards doing it. He said the employees will be set up as consultants…. That is a whole new thing to learn about. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Work has been really busy lately. This is good. It keeps me engaged. My mind has been on work when I’m out of work, which is ok. I can push it to the side when necessary, but it keeps my wheels turning and my mind active. I like it a lot. Since work is on my mind, and work is how I earn my money, I am going to write about work issues today.

I’m working with six people on my current task. Three of them I think are quality employees and I enjoy working with them a lot. One of them is probably a good employee, but he seems more “politic”-y, and it annoys me. Someone has to make status charts for managers, and I guess I’m glad it isn’t me. Another one seems to lack the skills and understanding of the task, or she’s been busy with another project. I can’t tell which it is.

The one I’m working most closely with consistently drives me crazy. He seems nice (I think–I can’t tell with those quiet ones. Sometimes they are secretly not very nice.), but he’s done so many things that irritate me. One day he said that it became apparent that “his part” would include X, Y and Z functions, which was essentially the whole task (or all the interesting parts) leaving me with the crap work. (I insisted we stick to the original plan of splitting up the functionality because it wasn’t that hard to do.) He did his part slightly wrong, and I noticed it first and asked him to make a quick fix. I thought it would take an hour. He fixed it wrong, then sat puzzling about how to fix it properly until I told him exactly what to do. Also, he is always asking me so many questions! It isn’t that I am unwilling to answer them, but usually they aren’t anything I know anything about, or that he should expect me to know anything about. I’ve only worked on this task like 3 days longer than him, so it isn’t as though I’m some magical expert.

In a way it is good, because I am a bit of a control freak, and being marked (unofficially) as the lead gives me more control. I can make sure things are done to my standards without worrying about him. It is also annoying because he asks me questions and expects me to figure out the answers, when he has the same capability as I do. I am not senior. I am new to this task too.

So, if I only really enjoy working with half your team, are they the problem, or is it me?

I hope I get a chance to give his manager some sort of feedback about his work. At my last job, we got to fill out evaluations for some of our peers to help with the salary/performance review process, which I think is valuable. Of course, the only people I filled them out for were people I really liked, and the one guy that wasn’t very good at his job must not have put my name down as someone who worked with him closely.  Even though I did, for several months.  He was a real pain to work with, stating in a meeting that he was providing me with updates to the model to test when he hadn’t even talked to me in like 2 weeks.  And he was supposed to test his on dang model.  Loser.

Anyway, I probably won’t ever get to provide any feedback on this coworkers performance. It isn’t as though I can whine to managers that I don’t like working with him. Then I look like the difficult employee. It wouldn’t reflect well on me.

What do you think? How do you handle difficult coworkers?

I met up with a coworker, who we will call Kevin, from my former job this week.

“So what are you in town for? Vacation?”
“No… Sort of for work.”

I looked at his outfit (casual) and unshaven face, perplexed. My old company does have customers here, but I didn’t think he’d be here by himself. Certainly not by himself and without a razor! Apparently, since we’d last talked (January) he had quit his job at our old company, went to Europe for two weeks, traveled around the US a little, moved to the SF Bay area, and is in the process of founding his own start-up. Wow!

He semi-offered me a job, though he seems to be in the very early stages of the start-up. Some capital but probably not enough. A few people, but maybe not enough (he seemed to many good contacts, but few commitments). I couldn’t tell for certain if he was offering to hire me because we were meeting for a friendly lunch, of if he was offering it because he really wanted to invite me to be a part of it. I suppose you don’t just invite anyone if you don’t mean it. It sounds like he had a list of people he wanted to recruit, and I think I was on it, but maybe not in the top “must-have” section.

It is worth noting that Kevin is someone I really admire, both in business and as a person. He’s smart, he’s got a good “get things done” sort of attitude, and he works hard. He wasn’t my manager, but my manager basically pawned me off onto him, and a lot of my assignments were directed by Kevin. His idea is good, but the whole prospect frightens me. Higher risk, higher returns (or no returns…) He has the entrepreneurial spirit that I just don’t seem to posses, and it’s inspiring.

The whole thing sounds a little crazy, especially to someone like me. (If you can’t tell, I like security and stability.) Of course, I couldn’t quit my full-time corporate stint (could I?), but with all the layoffs around here, it is nice to have someone desiring my skills. He mentioned part-time, especially in this initial phase. Now that is something I may be able to get on board with. I could make some extra cash this summer and work on something interesting and rewarding. I don’t mean to get ahead of myself (only had a one hour conversation about it!), but it is an option worth considering. This would be a new step for me, both in personal finance and personal growth.

My initial thoughts:

• How many hours? Do I really want to make this kind of commitment? Start ups are intense (or so I hear) but fun.
• How much money, and how to go about negotiating? Start-ups really seem to be a different breed, one I’m not very familiar with.
• The ideas: I’m supposed to listen to a 1.5 hour webex pitch next week, and I’ll get a firm picture of what Kevin is proposing, his various ideas, what I think the viability of them is, how inspiring they are, and where I might fit in.
• The people: Who else is involved that I know (at least one from my last job), who is involved that I don’t know? How many people?

I am not going to go further than that with my analysis yet. A high percentage of start-ups fail (over 80%, maybe), and this is a very green idea and his first start-up attempt. A real analysis of how much capital is involved and the business plan would be in order if it was a choice of whether or not to quit and chase him. My exposure to that risk is lowered if I am doing this part time. Part time is still a huge time commitment though, and I wouldn’t want to get involved if I would disappoint someone I really respect. That would be the biggest risk at this point.

But the potential rewards? The (statistically) most likely scenario is that the business fails after some period of time, and I walk away with some amount of cash for my part time work, and life goes on. Another option is that the company is successful and I can be a gazillionaire due to stock options. Hehe, ok, probably not. Seriously though, another option is that the company is viable and I can work for someone I respect on something I enjoy, away from the reins of the big corporate companies. [Disclaimer: I like my company, and I respect my manager. The idea of working for Kevin just sounds nicer than my cubicle, but less practical.]

If anyone has done a lot of freelancing, consulting or worked at a start-up, please chime in with your experiences and thoughts!

P.S. - Sale on summer clothes at Banana Republic… I think I’m going to resist, though I have a $25 card so we’ll see.

I finally got official word that I was accepted to the graduate program I applied to! It is somewhat anti-climatic for two reasons. First, since my employer is paying I wasn’t hoping for funding and my credentials were quite strong, I sort of expected to get in. Second, several weeks ago, I asked T (who attends this school as a full time PhD student with funding) to check on the status. He found that I had been recommended for admission, so it was a waiting game, really. But a long waiting game, considering they told me I would know in 2-4 weeks in February!

What does this mean for my finances? Not a whole lot, actually. It’s a part time program, so I’ll continue to work. I’ll be really busy starting this fall, so maybe I’ll save even more! Also, I’ll be considered a half time student so my student loans will go into deferment. Since they are subsidized, the rate will be 0%. That’ll free up $141 each month for savings, but I think I’ll continue to put $70 into my student loan payoff account. (This month, only $65 of my $141 payment went to principal!)

Long term, a M.S. degree in my field translates to roughly $10k-$15k more than a B.S. with similar experience. It’ll increase my expertise and help me advance more quickly. It’ll open more doors to have a top school on my resume. I also get some sort of stock options when I complete it, but they vest slowly, so I can’t count on that. I already have 9 credits at a lesser (top 50) institution, so I should finish in less than two years if they accept 6 credits.

T thinks I should take the next step and apply for a full time Ph.D for Fall 2009. I don’t even really want to go for my Ph.D., but I’m laid off in January and the economy is still poor, it is a reasonable back-up plan. Obviously, I wouldn’t go without funding. I know that graduate school should be a passion, not a back up plan, so I’m hesitant. While I may be able to pull off a Ph.D. acceptance, I’m less confident that I could pull off funding at this particular university. My previous graduate university offered me funding for my M.S., which is unusual, so there is a chance. However, the competition is extremely stiff at this level.

I suppose I have until fall to think about it. I have my GRE’s, my professors have electronic letters of recommendation that could be revived easily. No need to decide today.

Instead I’ll relish in my acceptance and enjoy my summer before my free time dwindles to zero!

P.S. - If I hadn’t banned myself from the grocery store, I would make Fettuccine with red pepper feta sauce, complete with homemade whole wheat pasta. The only ingredients I’m missing are chicken stock, eggs, and red peppers. It sounds like a meal T would enjoy as much as I would. He sometimes thinks my ideas of a good recipe to try are odd. I suppose it can wait a few weekends!

P.P.S - Sorry if all the food talk is too much. I am not talented enough to start a food blog, so I just sneak my food thoughts into my personal finance blog!

I bought fig jam at Whole Foods yesterday ($4), so I’m down to $30 in groceries for the rest of the month. Why fig jam? I was in Phoenix last weekend and ate at this cute restaurant that served various bruschetta, and I thought I’d recreate their apple, brie, and fig jam version. I still should be able to meet my $145 goal if I can control myself. I’ve been really into trying new recipes lately, but with just $30 left, I think any new creations will have to wait until next month. I’m certainly not acting like someone who is participating in a grocery challenge! (I also want to make this, but I’m unwilling to purchase a tart pan at this point.)

Oh, I also made this cold Tomato and Avocado soup earlier this week (alas, in my blender–a food processor just isn’t in the cards right now). The grocery cost was probably about $15 (avocados were expensive) and it made a huge batch. I’ve ate it for lunch every day, along with some other things (namely Trader Joe’s meatballs). It’s healthy and light, but not quite filling enough for a complete meal.

I have not yet signed up for the June dining out challenge (just procrastinating I guess), but I suspect that it will be pretty easy for me. Lately I’d rather cook than go out to eat. I think I’ll set the bar at $60 (down from original $75), which will allow me to treat T and I to at least one average meal out, then maybe some random Subway or In-N-Out if we get lazy.

Regarding yesterday’s post about layoffs, my manager stopped by yesterday and specifically told me that I would not be subject to layoff at this time (or any time in the near future). From what I gather, this issue might come up again in January, but that is far enough away that I can’t spend time being anxious about it now. The notices are also 60 days, which isn’t that long, but long enough that looking for a new job before you receive one might not be necessary (do you agree with that thought?)

I sit near to two managers and the walls are thin (earplugs are necessary at times). I overheard two people from other groups get layed off late yesterday afternoon. It was quite an unsettling way to end the day (and very distracting).

Well, it is time for me to leave for work. I hope I don’t have to hear that again today.

My division recently announced that they plan to lay off what I calculate to be roughly 10% of our division over the next couple months. (My calculation could be off, as I’m not sure the size of our division beyond what a webpage states.) They will try to place people in other divisions around the state and the country, offer long notice time, and help with placement. My specific department won’t be heavily impacted, but any impact is a little scary.

What am I thinking about?

Economy: The economy stinks and it wouldn’t be fun to be out searching for a job. This round of layoffs has little to do with the recession (or economic downturn, or whatever) but it is much easier to find a job in a good market than in a slow market.

Network: One of my former coworkers was classmates with a manager at a neighboring company doing work similar to my last job. My former coworker would speak very highly of me. However his praise would have to be so incredibly glowing that it would overshadow the fact that I accepted then backed out of a previous job offer at that company. (Ahem…, oops.) Possible, yes, but not incredibly likely. I have an old friend at another company in the area who may be able to refer me, but doesn’t work directly in the area I’m in. I have another contact who may be able to refer me to the same company through a less direct route. I also have the option of trying to work remotely for my former company (they offered this when I left, but I think it an unlikely option). T has a lot of contacts from grad school that at least could put my resume into some hands.

Resume: My resume is relatively up to date, as I just started in January. If I were to be layed off it would be less than an hour to get it polished up and ready to tailor to specific applications.

Education: Having my M.S degree in hand would open more doors, but I can’t continue until fall. I’m pretty impatient on this, but there isn’t much more I can do. I have unofficially been accepted to the new program I applied to. Other than that, I could sign up for a second leadership course over the next month or so to network and expand my workplace knowledge.

Work: Work as hard as I can, try to increase my reputation. Keep my ears and eyes open and learn as much as I can. Try to provide as much value as I can on the task that I’m on.

In reality, my job is safe, at a minimum through December according to my manager. At that point, It is possible that we will eventually lose the program I’m on, and perhaps that will require another round of lay-offs. And maybe I’ll be saved, maybe I won’t. You just never know. My finances are in order, I have a marketable skill set (I hope), and there is no reason to panic at this point.  Focus on the job at hand.

Still, it is impossible to hear news like this without getting a tiny sinking feeling in the stomach. I’ve never worked at a company that wasn’t in hiring/growth mode, so things are bound to be a little gloomy for awhile. I’m relatively new here, and I still occasionally have a hard time grasping the bigger picture of the company, though I have caught on to the small picture I need to do my job. At any rate, I’m glad that they have kept the employees well informed about their plans so we don’t have to guess what might happen.

Have you ever heard of a starter city?  Much like a starter house, it is not your dream city, but a city you can start out in before you can get to where you really want to be.

I am interested in the concept because I inadvertently picked a job in a starter city before moving to Los Angeles. City life has appealed to me for as long as I can remember, and my first taste of a big city (Chicago) left me exhilarated. After loving life in a major world city for six months on study abroad, I settled into my first job in a small city (about 130,000) in the Midwest. My reasons for doing so were primarily personal: driving distance to my family, reasonably close to the boyfriend, and I already had friends there from my internship. However, there were many positive financial side effects.

Benefits of my starter city

• Very low cost of living. For $575 you could get a nice one bedroom apartment. If you wanted roommates, you probably could get by on $300-$400 a month.  A lot of people my age rented 2 bedroom apartments by themselves and used the spare room as an office.  I can’t imagine having 2 bedrooms all to myself here!  Though the salaries are slightly lower, it certainly isn’t directly proportional to cost of living. I could live better there than I can here, even though my salary is higher here. This allowed me to pay of all of my private student loans, and boost up savings from about -$500 to almost $10k. Gas was cheaper, insurance was cheaper, and even the movie theaters were cheaper ($4.25 during certain hours!)
• My company was much smaller (though still very much a corporate environment), which was a benefit for me. There was a lot of opportunity for a young employee to jump in and get good assignments, and the competition was less stiff. I could have easily moved into management (eventually) and truly became a key member of my team and a top performer in just over a year and a half. I got a lot of great experience.
• The company had really good benefits in order to entice their young employees to stick around. They knew they were in a less desirable location. I had a full 5 more days of vacation at my last job and the bonuses were slightly more generous.
• Much less traffic and much closer to work. I could easily get by on one tank of gas a month if I didn’t go out of town.
• Less fashion/image conscious. It was much cheaper to be one of the best dressed in the office!
• Lower cost of living = lower salary, which makes it easier to qualify for certain tax benefits that are based on MAGI (Roth IRA, student loan interest). I’m in no danger of disqualifying myself for a Roth, but I may not be able to claim the student loan interest deduction this year.  Even though I have considerably less money to spend on fun stuff.
• Clean air. Well come on, I had to say it. I live in L.A.

Disadvantages of my starter city

• Some may argue against this, but there are reasons for it being cheap: no one wants to live there! The weather was bad (I had to scrape ice off my car window regularly. The culture was lacking, even though they tried. Some people argue that there was more nature around… but while it has some nice parks, there are no mountains, no lakes and certainly no oceans.  Despite air quality issues, there is much better nature/outdoors things here.  [This isn't true for all less expensive cities, just the particular one I was in.]
• Better for families than young people. Most people were married, even a good percentage of those who were my age. Besides going out to the bars, there wasn’t a lot of entertainment for 2osomethings (though some argue there is if you are creative about it).  I have nothing against bars and I had some good times at house parties or tailgating at the college games, but… there just wasn’t that many options.
• Since salary was a little lower, any 401k matching was also lower since it is percentage based. However, the difference is less than 1k each year.
• If my company went under, job prospects were slim.

My move to L.A. was also primarily for personal reasons, at least the timing and the location.  I always intended to move FROM my starter city to somewhere more to my liking (at least for awhile, who knows where I will settle).   I really should have stayed one more year to get the most out of it. My savings could have been increased further, and more importantly, I would have been able to be promoted into the next pay grade for my new job (I fell short on experience).

I’m quite obviously coming out behind financially here, though I’m not struggling. Rent is the biggest increase, but gas and insurance aren’t insignificant either. Still, there is much to be said for loving where you live, especially when you are young.  Personally, I love it here and while my former city was nice, it wasn’t for me.  Despite the financial benefits.  There are a ton of factors that go into a person’s choice of where they settle, and money often turns out to be a pretty small piece of the pie.

I ran across an interesting guest post over at Consumerism Commentary where Penelope Trunk claims Generation Y is already recession proof.  I already wrote before that I don’t believe in recession-proofing, or at least, I don’t believe that it is much different than being financially responsible in the first place.  Her article explains why the recession may pass by without too much harm for me and many in my generation.

Like many my age, I don’t own a home, so I’m not losing any equity.  Despite my worries about my job, it is completely true that the industry really needs to get us young people trained, and I don’t seriously think that my job is in jeopardy.  While I am not sold on her suggestion of changing jobs every two years, I do agree that there is little company loyalty and one layoff doesn’t mean your life is over.  [My dream is to work at my company the next 4 years, then T and I will move abroad for awhile. If my company has international openings, I'm not unwilling to stay longer. ]

Our generation certainly isn’t completely recession proof, but we are better off than many others.  It may still be hard to find a job in a down market, particularly if you are brand new to a career.  Even with the demand for young talent, it seems my department has slowed down their new grad recruiting for the time being.  Fellow 20somethings, have you noticed any “recession” in your life?

I did want to point out this article, but I also wanted to say this:  After the Baby Boomers, they couldn’t think of a name for the next generation, so they called them Generation X.  We still didn’t have any ideas for their offspring, so they are generation Y.  At least a few sources tell me that the following is Generation Z!  It seems we are going to have to come up with an actual name for the next generation!

The class I longed to skip a few days ago turned out quite fun.  It came about that a lady at my table received her layoff notice that very day, and she shared her story with the group.  She also mentioned that financially, she did not need to work, which made the lay off a bit easier to take, though I’m sure she still felt quite rejected/hurt/awful about it.  Having money in the bank makes those blows sting a bit less.

She went off on a bit of a tirade, claiming that the company was a sinking ship, that our prices were too high, that we could no longer compete.  We also have lost two large contracts recently, though none in my division.  My department in particular is awaiting awards (or downselects) for several contracts.  While I do think her tirade was more emotional than factual, there was some truth there.  It scared me, at least a little.  What if we do lose all the contracts that are in the air?  What are the chances of that?  Do we know how we stack up when compared to our competitors?  Someone does, I’m sure, but not me.  If we win the program I’m on, it is the future of the company.  If we lose it, I’ll have to get on board with something else.

I’ve never worked at a company that wasn’t in a bit of a booming phase.  That isn’t saying much, since my professional experience just started a couple years ago.  When I left my last company, the program I’m on was going downhill.  We were way over budget (and had not yet revealed the extent to our customer) and a little behind schedule.  Still, I felt even if we lost the contract, I’d be able to market myself elsewhere in the company fairly easily.  I had connections.

Is my job secure if we lose the program I’m on?  I really don’t know.  I think it is, but I’m not completely confident.  Honestly, there isn’t much I can do about it if it isn’t.  I’m saving money, being prepared, and doing the best I can.  I’m young, hardworking, and bright.  I’ll be fine.  Right?

We have monthly staff meetings where the boss provides lunch.  They are not mandatory, but I think they are strongly encouraged.  My department is really trying to cut back all time charged to overhead, which is why they are held over lunch.  We are to consider it our lunch break.  It is good business sense–I’m sure 1.5 hours of my time billed to overhead costs a lot more than a sandwich, drink, and cookie.

The annoying part is, they are scheduled for 1.5 hours.  I take a half hour lunch each day, maximum, so I have to stay at least an hour later than usual to make up for this.  I really shouldn’t complain about “free lunch”, but they should either keep them to an hour or actually present useful information for the whole time.

Company culture here seems to promote 2 hour meetings as the standard, with everyone showing up several minutes late.  For my first few weeks (ok, even now sometimes) I was always awkwardly early/on time.  I just don’t understand lateness.  If I ran my company, everyone would be prompt to meetings, and whoever was running the meeting would be a few minutes early to set up.

Anyway, from my quick internet research, it seems the check engine light is often nothing to worry about and even if it is an intermittent problem, it won’t shut off until you read the code.  I’ll head to Autozone after work to see what they say.

P.S. - Just received confirmation that I’m registered for sailing class starting the last day of March!!

A couple weeks ago, I was lusting after a cute work outfit that Banana Republic emailed me about (aug, did I really give them my email address?), and showed it to T saying that I really wanted the brown jacket ($150) and also would also like a few new shirts to go under it. I have a lot of pairs of nice dress pants, but I’m really lacking in good work tops. Seeing that I set my clothes budget at $50 each month, I’m quite obviously not getting the jacket. Even though they just emailed me a 20% off coupon.

He agreed it was nice, and went on to suggest that I eliminate all my “extra” stuff in my wardrobe, because I really only needed a few nice pieces. Which, to an extent, is true. Actually, it’s more NOT true than true. I don’t really need any nice pieces. My work place is not that formal and I don’t dress up on the weekends. I would like some nice things, I would like to wear nicer things to work…. but I also can get by without them.

However, the main thing he missed was the fact that cleaning out my closet and eliminating things does nothing towards acquiring the nice things. Emptying my closet is easy, but refilling it with better quality? That takes $$$$$ that I don’t want to spend right now.

From now on that $50/mo is going to go towards quality stuff (hopefully found on sale). I’ve read a few articles, in blogs and in print, about how to build a professional wardrobe for X amount dollars. There always are some great pieces in there that I covet. The problem was, it never really is a whole wardrobe. At best, it is one weeks worth of outfits. When I first started out building my professional wardrobe, it would have been impossible to fill it with “nice” stuff without going broke. I was also getting settled into my first apartment and buying furniture, so my clothes budget was not huge. I bought things that were nice enough to get by and cheap enough that I could by more than one shirt. I have the basics, now I’m going to build up the quality. Mix in some inexpensive “trends” and I’ll be good to go.

For other young professional females, do you have any recommendations for stores to shop at? JCrew and Banana Republic seem ideal, but I still can’t stomach the price tags for non-sale items. Even sale items sometimes! Also, I worked in retail once upon a time (Abercrombie & Fitch, if you can believe that! I swear I’m not rude like half their employees!), and there were certain times of the year when there was huge sales, usually about four times a year. When is the next big sale? I’m thinking the spring stuff came out a few weeks ago, so there should be some good sales in about a month….

I signed up for a free class offered by a local university through my workplace. The class is about office politics and was brought in by the women’s leadership group. Being one month into my job, I’m not in a leadership role, nor do I have a short term goal to be there (or long term, for that matter). Still, I had a lot of reasons for signing up.

• I am addicted to learning and can’t start my “real” technical classes until fall.
• Office politics? I’m young and I’m more technical than political, so I figured it would be good to expand my horizons
• A chance to network with other women in a male dominated company
• Something to keep me busy and get me more involved in my company
• Might look good on a development plan
• 100% free to me–Never turn down free education!

I got to the class on time and took a seat at a table with a couple other women. By the time the class filled up, I noticed I was at a table with women in their 40s or older, while the table to my left had several people closer to my age. I thought, “drat. I wanted to meet some people my own age. I sure picked the wrong table.” Halfway through class I changed my mind. As a young employee, the best thing I can do is network with those who have more experience. My table seemed somewhat amused by my presence, and called it “cute” that I had signed up for the class even though I’ve only been here a month. I could take offense at the use of “cute”, but I laughed about it instead. See how cute they think I am when I politic my way up to CEO! Kidding…

We had one naive young lady who asked, incredulously, “Wait, so you mean to say that people aren’t promoted just on the basis of their hard work and talent? I find that really disturbing.” I found it surprising that anyone still believes that. Of course, hard work is quite important, as is talent, but there is more to your career than that. You don’t have to like office politics, nor do you have to play them, but at the bare minimum you should be aware of them.

It is a four session class with 3 hours in each session. We got a binder of class materials and a book. You know you have been spending too much time thinking about personal finance when you think to yourself “Sweet, free book! I wonder if I could sell it on Amazon…” (yes, for about $2) . Also, there was free snacks that counted for most of my dinner.

After this class, I plan to start a sailing class in April. Then I’m going to try to figure out if I can find a way to pay for a surfing class.   Once I do continue on with my Masters program, I’ll have no time to pursue these California hobbies.

My new job has been making me really anxious. Being new is never fun, and the learning curve is extremely steep. I’m not certain what I’m supposed to be accomplishing on a daily basis. While the overall goal of our project is somewhat defined (though not concretely), where I fit in isn’t. And where I fit in today most certainly isn’t. Worse, I’m not sure who to turn to in order to find out. It is really frustrating.

I have started a new job before, and I have felt this way before–like I’m not being given appropriate tasks and goals. It is frustrating to not be immediately talented at (or even capable of) my job. However, at my last company, I never felt so much like I was thrown in the deep end without a goal or a life raft. Sink or swim! Here is what I”m doing in order to, hopefully, swim.

Hanging in there: This is my current strategy. I’m going to the meetings, and my name is attached to a block diagram I’m supposed to produce by Friday. I feel lost, but at least I have a task this week. Each week is slightly better than the last. These waves of anxiety hit hard, but I have to remember that this feeling is normal in a job like this. When I left my last job, my manager kindly stated that I was one of the top performers, despite having these similar feelings a couple months into my job. It will get better!

Seek Help: I need to do more of this. I have task lead, and even though he seems somewhat inaccessible, I really need to get more direction from him. I also need to work more closely with those on my team–there are some really smart people that I’m working with. I also need to find a mentor (informal or formal)–perhaps the woman I mentioned in this post, truly a self made success. She seems very smart and nice–I think if I offered to buy her a coffee once a month in exchange for some advice, she’d be up for it. It is a little awkward to approach someone and ask for a formal mentorship, but it could pay off.

Find a better fit: The management structure is set up in a way that if this project ultimately does not work out for me, I can talk to my manager and ask to be moved to something else. They had a spot for me to do more traditional work on another program, but I opted to work on this. If we win, this program is the future of our company and I have the chance to get in on the ground floor. This task is a pain, but the whole program is really key to our company. Still, I can’t help but wonder if I would be making more of a meaningful contribution on the other (easier) program. I recognize that this specific task is only through June. If it doesn’t work out, we will find something that does.

Recognize that I’m learning: I’m stretching the limits of my knowledge, and learning about an area I’ve always been interested in. It is stressful and hard, but when/if I get a handle on things, it will be extremely rewarding.

Did you ever feel like this in your job? Did I miss any other things I should be doing?

RacerX and Single Ma both say they won’t (at least not 100%). Shuchong argues that her parents paid for hers and figures it was a good investment for the doors it has opened in her life. I find the whole debate a bit perplexing. It implies that most people have the choice, which I don’t think is the case. Trent makes some points on why you shouldn’t pay, but the only one that holds up as a rule is that it is a burden on the parents. Most parents will help their kids to the best of their ability, and if parents can’t afford to, what is there to argue about? What are we really debating?

Paying for your kids college will no doubt give them an edge in the early stages of their life, and maybe beyond. I find that is difficult to argue. If you take two identical high school senior and pay for Student A’s education at the best school he can get into, and send Student B on his own, in most cases Student A will come out ahead.

But who cares? We’re never talking about two identical students, but individual students with unique talents, goals, and personalities. I want to emphasize that kids can be quite successful in life even if parents “choose not to” (can’t afford to) foot the bill.

Here are my tips on how to make college affordable and still be able to compete with those who had an advantage. These tips are geared at those students who, given different financial circumstances, might have found themselves at a top school. These thoughts are not new, but I want to emphasize that they really do work and won’t put you at a huge disadvantage in life.

Scholarships/Financial Aid
This is obvious. Apply for all the scholarships you can, fill out the FAFSA, and with any luck, you won’t need to do any thing else on this list! However, don’t be fooled–it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Most students will get some help, but few will get everything provided.

Get a job while in college
Working full time is not ideal–school really does have to come first. However, in my part time jobs I never had a problem getting off of work when I needed to study. I hate hearing “my parents really wanted me to focus on school and be involved on campus, so I didn’t work.” My parents also wanted those things for me, yet I still had jobs throughout college and had a great experience. You can “do it all”, so to speak.

Very few kids who didn’t work spent more time studying than I did. For the most part, they just spent more time relaxing and goofing off with friends (which may have it’s benefits, but doesn’t further education/career. You can still “network” without having excess free time.) The worst cases simply spent a lot of time partying or smoking pot.

After the jobs related to my major, waitressing was a the best college job I had. The most money could be made on Friday or Saturday nights, and you would be done in time to go out with friends. Even if you havea job, make time to be involved in campus activities. Even if you are an officer in an organization, being involved on campus isn’t that time consuming. As an added bonus, you can add a nice bullet on your resume: “Maintained a [X] GPA while working 20 hours a week.”

Take Out Student Loans
I’m also tired of “I’m so thankful I’m not burdened with debt”. My $133/mo really is not burdening me, especially when I think of the opportunities it provides me. Don’t be scared of loans, but don’t be careless with them either. You have to be smart about this, but student loans can be a good tool. It is silly to go into a bunch of debt to get a degree that won’t earn you much money. However, it is equally silly to forgo a low interest loan (especially subsidized) if you’ll have a strong earning potential once you graduate.

Pick a marketable major
There is something to be said for studying what you love, but understand the implications. I am not arguing that the world doesn’t need majors in comparative literature. However, studying something that has lower earning potential is a luxury. If you can get scholarships to do this, wonderful! If your parents are footing the bill, great! Have fun! Just don’t go $120k into debt to become a pastry chef (true story, saw it on Suze Orman). You’ll regret it, even if you love baking. (I do love math/science, but not everyone is a nerd like me.)

This isn’t to say you are limited to majors that lead directly to a lucrative career. If you are majoring in something impractical (or actually, anything) have a plan and be able to justify any money spent on that degree. Truly loving what you do can be justification enough, as long as you can afford to pay back any debt you incur.

Don’t go to a “brand name” school (unless financial aid makes it worth it)
I am going to admit it–a good school helps your resume for your first job. I doubt my current job would not have hired me based on my college resume, solely because my undergrad school is unrecognizable outside of the region. However, I’m less than two years out of school and working primarily with people whose college educations cost a lot more money than mine did (and getting an M.S. at top university fully paid for).

Without a brand name school, good grades are especially important. If you have mediocre grades at a mediocre school, you won’t stand out. If you are a bright student at a mediocre school, take advantage of it. Get high marks and get to know your professors. They might be able to hook you up with a grading or TA job, or they may have connections in industry. Be involved on campus, become an officer, and be an outstanding well rounded student.

After college, get your first job at the best company that recruits at your school. Do well in it, get some good experience. Perhaps you’ll find you really like your job and you are well paid, so no need to move on. If not, with a little experience you will have a good chance of getting in to any company you want to work for.

Bottom Line
Kids whose parents pay for college (especially fancy ones) simply do not have to be as motivated and outstanding those who are on their own. I’m not saying that they aren’t (there are many talented and motivated students everywhere). However, average (and below average) students at those schools will likely do better than equally talented students elsewhere simply because of the parental advantage. Doors will be opened for them more easily, but you can open your own doors. If you are committed, hardworking, motivated, and have some sort of aptitude in something, you should be able to do just as well, even without your parents financial support.

What I’ll do for my kids
I’m not sure yet. I’ll help them to the best of my ability if they show the motivation and aptitude for college. If I can’t afford much, I’ll help them in ways my parents did–encouragement and support. I’ll also help them in ways my parents didn’t (because they didn’t know). I’ll be sure they apply for every scholarship they are eligible for. (I would have qualified for free tuition based on my ACT score had I taken them in the right month!) I’ll have solid advice about the admissions process and show them outstanding schools that provide excellent financial aid. I’ll also help them navigate the financial aid office and truly understand any loans they take out. They will be personal finance experts by the time they graduate high school! And I’ll tell them everything I just wrote here (provided it still applies when my theoretical unborn children go to college!)

Wednesday was not my day. Well, it was better than Tuesday, where in a meeting full of my new coworkers I somehow knocked the “master” outlet and shut down the computer during a (admittedly quite boring) presentation. That was slick. I was so embarrassed I could have crawled under the table (where I could have had a nice nap, because I was extremely tired and trying not to fall asleep, which probably caused the whole incident in the first place).

Moving on. This gas station I drive by all the time is consistently about $0.20 cheaper than anywhere else, including the station just a block or so away. On their signs it says “EC Unleaded” and “EC Unleaded Plus”. I have no idea what the EC stands for, and Google did not help me. In Iowa, the gas contained ethanol and was cheaper, but these pumps don’t say anything about ethanol. Is it the same? If so, why does it designate that it is “EC”? Anyway, so still mystified, I decided to put the gas in my car anyway. Except they said their would be a .45 fee on my credit card. Weird, right? Then it asked for a pin. So it turns out, they don’t accept credit cards at all, so I had to go down the street and paid $.20/gal more for the gas. However, due to the cheapness of their gas, I may start getting cash just for that purpose. Or maybe buying a gas card from them. (Ok,Google to the rescue. It is an ARCO station, and it supposedly gives you worse gas mileage, but that may be a myth. Now I’m more confused.)

Next, I tried the post office. I had four letters I wanted delivery confirmation on, because they are for rebates and the company seems sketchy. The lady in front of me got delivery confirmation on a small package for $1.65. The man told me for letters, I’d have to use certified mail for $2.65 each. I know it was a difference of $4, but I said screw it, and just stuck on four stamps and crossed my fingers. Which incidentally were the forever stamps that I paid (I think) $0.41 for. Stamps would be a good investment–they are up 7% for the year, the S&P is down. (Joking, of course, but take a look at historical stamp prices.)

In other bad news, my package of drawer organizers for my dresser still weren’t here, and I feared them stolen as packages are just left at my door. The company responded to my inquiry, and said they should arrive tomorrow. I’m doubtful, as the tracking number provided shows them to still be in Kansas, but… we’ll see. They were ~$30 (including shipping) for two sets, but the happiness they will provide to my socks/underwear drawer is well worth it.

Good news is, despite the gloomy weather, both Thursday and Friday are looking better. Thursday is recruiting day, so I don’t have to bring a lunch, I get to look at resumes, and I get to talk with some other younger employees. Thursday night I should get to spend some time with the boy, and he’ll probably provide dinner at his place. Oh, and it is payday.

Friday, my dad may be coming into town to “sign the books” which has something to do with him being in a union and the fact that he and my mom may be here for a few months to work. I don’t really know what books these are, but whatever. If so, I said he could use my car while I’m at work, and asked if in return, he’d get my smog check done so I can license my car in California and become all legal and stuff. He agreed, and I secretly think he might fill it up with gas to be nice. We’ll see.

After that, it is the weekend–it looks like the worst is over, provided I can refrain from derailing any more meetings.

PS - If you have an opinion on how much you think a blogger (ie, me) should write posts, please comment and let me know.

I read a lot of personal finance blogs. I’ve read many great articles from young women my age who talk about how to build a quality professional wardrobe.

I’ve sort of lucked out with my current job. The standard dress code is “business casual” but it definitely leans much further towards casual than many companies. There is a loose policy of “jeans Friday” but many many people in our department wear jeans every day. While I did have to buy new clothes for a new job (my college gear really couldn’t even stack up to business casual), I didn’t have to invest in business suites or expensive shirts and trousers.

To top it off, I work in in a midwestern city with terrible shopping. We have Gap and Express (which both occasionally have decent work clothes), but no Banana Republic, no J. Crew. There are also some upscale department stores, but they just aren’t worth going to. (And that is just my complaints about work clothes, don’t get me started on finding stylish outfits.) I’m not saying everyone at my work place lacks style… But come on, we are engineers and there is exactly one other girl under 30 on my team, so I really don’t have a lot of competition.

Where is my wardrobe from? I have two nice pairs of dress pants from Gap outlet, one from express, and two that were handmade for me when I studied abroad in Hong Kong. My jeans come from Old Navy, American Eagle, or Gap. My shirts are mostly from Old Navy, H&M, Target, or Kohls. My shoes are from all over, but none were very expensive.

The great thing is, I’ve gotten complements on my wardrobe more than once from my coworkers. “You don’t shop around here, do you? You always have such cute clothes and shoes.” It’s flattering–I can pick out stylish and work appropriate clothes without spending a lot of money. But, like I said, our office is pretty casual. Most people won’t wear sweatshirts (note that i said MOST), but you don’t really see ties either.

Will I be able to get away with this wardrobe at my new job?

Maybe, at least some of it. When I interviewed the dress seemed pretty casual, but I think that since the shopping will be much better, it might be wise (or fun) to invest in a few nicer pieces. I still will look for good deals, but I’ll definitely focus a more on quality for non-trendy items. (For example, Forever 21 is off my list of stores I’ll buy things from. I know they are cheap, but the only two items I purchased from them broke. The strap on a cheap party dress broke and the buttons on a cute dress shirt all fell off.) I’ll try to survive on what I have initially, and get a feel for what the other young women in my department are wearing, then if necessary, purchase some new things.

I had my last day at my old job yesterday. Mapgirl, a blog I read regularly, also recently switched jobs. She put together a series of posts on how to leave your job, financial and non-financial aspects. I had planned to do the same, so here are my tips from my last days on the job.

General

• Give appropriate notice. Two weeks is minimum, longer if you think you can. I told my boss about a month in advance, and we told the rest of the group about a week later. For your own sanity, don’t tell them TOO soon. I’ve been plotting my move for well over six months, but I didn’t want to end up on a “short timers” list, given crappy assignments and having my work affected by knowledge I was leaving. So I kept my mouth shut for quite some time.

• Consider timing. I chose to leave in mid-January for several reasons. First, I wanted to be reimbursed for my tuition from the semester ending in December. Second, we have holiday shutdown from December 23rd-January 1st, and I thought being paid for my Christmas break would be nice. Also, bonus are given in December, though I only would have had to stay through the end of the fiscal year to be eligible for it. It isn’t always worth waiting for things like this, but sometimes it is.

• Stay motivated up until the end. This is much easier said than done! While I met my commitments and did my best to transfer knowledge to my coworkers, I have to admit that I was a little less of an achiever in my last few days. It is hard to ignore that little voice in your head saying “Well, what are they going to do, fire me?”

Staying in Touch

• Be sure to get any contact information of people who you may later want as references. The boss I had for the majority of my time at the company recently transfered to a new location, and I emailed him and requested a personal email address, in case I need it in the future.
• Leave your contact information with anyone who might want it. I wrote a quick email to my group thanking them for making my time with my company be pleasurable, and included my gmail address at the end.
• Say your goodbyes! You likely will not see most of these people again

Benefits/Money

• Ensure that your last paycheck will find you, either through direct deposit or however else they do it.

• Ask about your vacation hours. I believe companies are required by law to pay them out to you, but that may vary state by state. My company said they would include them in my last paycheck. All 10 hours of it, ha. (I use up my vacation as soon as I earn it!) If that isn’t the case, then talk to your boss about the possibility of using most of it before you leave.

• Check on your 401k. If you have a really small balance, they can require you to take it out of the plan. In most cases, you can leave it there at least for awhile. I plan to roll mine over eventually, just not right away. You my have some funds that require a waiting period to avoid fees.

• Make sure you know what portion of your retirement is vested. I became fully vested after three years of service. Luckily, the count the start of that from the first date I did my internship. Even though I only have worked there full time 1.5 years, I got to keep the company match. It amounts to about $6000.

• Your medical plan will likely go through the end of the month. After that, you may need COBRA or other insurance if your new job doesn’t offer insurance on day one. Consider using your insurance, if you already haven’t. I was sure to order contacts (my company pays for $120 if you do a buy-up on the vision plan.) If you have a flex spending account, you also can use it, even if you haven’t contributed it yet. It may be a bit unethical to knowingly do this, but it is legal.

I’ve never left a full time job before. When I left my internships, it was a given that I’d be heading back to school, so there were no explanations needed. I felt a little guilty “abaondoning” my team, especially as we were kind of at a make or break stage of our program. However, my reasons were mostly personal, and I left on good terms.

I’m relocating from an inexpensive Midwestern city to Los Angeles. I have received two very similar job offers.

The first offer came in at $65k with a relocation package that included a $2000 tax assisted lump sum. I thought the offer was a little low, so I negotiated $67k and a $3k signing bonus. The pay includes up to 7% in 40k matching/contributions by the company and 12.5 days of vacation the first year. Bonuses were not explicitly mentioned, but I would imagine they do some kind of incentive bonus.

The second offer came in at $69k with a very similar relocation package (except $1000 non tax assisted lump sum rather than the $2000), a $3k signing bonus, and 10 days of vacation the first year. They also explicitly mentioned sick leave, at 8/hrs a month. They match up to 6% of 401k contributions, and have some sort of pension plan. I assume you have to work there some minimum amount of years to be vested in the pension. They mentioned bonuses when i was on-site, which this year was “ten days of pay.”

My current job will be paying about $58k as of next year. I get 15 days of vacation per a year, and sick leave is not really an issues. You are encouraged to make up any hours that you are sick, but it is not an absolute requirement. I get 6% in a 401k match. I also got a 9% bonus this year.

All things considered, my current job is really the best financial deal, taking the cost of living into consideration. The pay increase is nearly a 20% raise. However, my rent is going to MORE than double, and I will be paying an extra $9,600 a year in rent. That practically wipes out the entire raise! The vacation is better, the bonus is better, and I would most certainly get promoted to “Grade 2″ next year. I’m not sure how long it will take me at my next company.

However, the whole point of the job search is to relocate. So, which of the other two is the better offer?

Despite the extra relocation money from the first company (and the extra 2.5 days of vacation) the hard salary numbers will be what my future salary will be based off of. I think the second offer is better, though I’m going to miss that extra week of vacation. Is vacation negotiable? The second offer is only slightly better, but the job itself is more appealing, which really seals the deal.

My next thought is, should I negotiate the second offer? Am I worth more? I don’t want to come across as arrogant to the company–I’m not even two years out of school, and I didn’t go to a fancy big name school. But if I am worth more than what they offered, I don’t want to sell myself short. I don’t know. I think it is a fair offer. I liked the company a lot. But the boyfriend insists it doesn’t hurt to ask. Thoughts?

I accepted a job for January 2008 back in early September. This may come as a surprise to anyone who noted that I was in Los Angeles last weekend interviewing for a (different) job.

To my credit, I did stop applying for jobs when I accepted my first offer. Company A just moved very quickly, while Company B moved very slowly. I sought advice of those in industry (an experienced mentor) and others who love me (parents) and was told that I should go on the second interview, and really, do what was best for me. If nothing else, I could use the weekend to find an apartment.

I have not received the formal offer from Company B, but notification that HR is putting something together. I anticipate it will be similar to the other offer–at least as good, maybe slightly better.

Here is the thing: I want to work for Company B significantly more. I met a lot of great people and liked the atmosphere a lot more. However, I have committed to Company A with a start date of late January.

I do know it is unethical to back out of my first offer, but I think I will do it anyway. I will allow myself this mistake in my career, and will never do anything like this again. I will keep myself out of this position. It is a bad place to be in. At the same time, I have to do what is truly best for me. If the company lost a contract tomorrow, they wouldn’t feel bad about calling me up and saying “Never mind, you aren’t hired”. Still. It is not something I am proud of. I just want to say, I’m not asking advice over whether or not to do this, just HOW to handle it.

I’m drafting a letter of “resignation” (or rather, “renege-ation”). For the sake of getting the information to them as quickly as possible I probably will man up (woman-up?) and call them, as unpleasant as that may be. Ok, let’s be realistic–I probably will send them an email? I will also send a formal letter (I think). I don’t know how to handle this situation, because it is not the types of situations I usually get myself in.

Please offer any suggestions on how to handle this. Here is my first draft:

With great apologies and regret, it is necessary to inform you that I will not be starting employment with Company A this January 2008. I understand that backing out of my commitment is disrespectful to you, and I have wasted the time of you and your company. I am truly sorry for this and will not make this mistake again with any company.

I do not wish to start my career with Company A only to leave for something that is better fit after a short period of time, and waste more of your time invested in me as an employee. With this in mind that I have chosen a different path. My choice was not for monetary reasons, but simply I felt that the job was a better fit for me. Of course, I stopped applying for jobs at the time of my acceptance, however the process moved very slowly with the second company and I’m only now finalizing my decision. I understand that accepting an offer that I was not entirely confident in was a poor choice on my part. I should have, at the very least, requested more time to consider all my options, before making a commitment that I could not keep. Again, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience I have caused for you.

Thank you for the time you have already spent on me as a candidate and for your gracious offer of employment. I can not apologize enough for backing out of my commitment.

Sincerely,
Me

This was not only the most satisfying thing to put on my to do list, but also the most satisfying to check off!

Actually, I really like my job. They don’t discriminate based on age and experience–if you are good, you will be given good tasks and responsibility. In my short time there (1.5 years), I was able to be recognized as a “high performer” and given a key role on my team. Which is really great–you don’t have people forcing you to “pay your dues”. If you can do the task, your dues are considered paid and you are thrown in there. There are several young employees (under 30) that have really big leadership roles in our group, and I don’t think I am too far behind. Besides that, I have gotten to work on challenging and rewarding projects and like my coworkers.

I’m resigning because I’m relocating to Los Angeles (for personal reasons) and the branch in that area really doesn’t do any interesting work. I was very nervous about putting in my notice, until my manager informed us all that he had been promoted and would be moving to a branch in Texas. That made it easier for me. I set up a meeting with my manager, which I titled “Short Discussion”, which I assume made it obvious what it was about. I don’t usually schedule meetings with my manager, and a vague title usually means the employee is quitting. He said he knew when he got the invite.

So, I resigned, effective January 11th. I gave them about a month’s notice, which maybe is more than “standard” but I felt it was appropriate, considering we get a week and a half off for Christmas.

Today my manager presented me with the idea of working remotely from Los Angeles, with a salary differential for cost of living figured in. I was really surprised by the idea, and felt it showed they really appreciate my work. Ultimately, it probably won’t work out. I don’t think I’d do well working in isolation. At this point in my career it is best for me to be surrounded by really brilliant people and learn as much as possible from them. Not to mention, how would I meet new people if I worked alone? I expressed my concerns, and really, I don’t think it would be best for the company either. He was fine with that, but said he just had to discuss it with me.

Tomorrow, we can tell the rest of my team.

Many people fret about asking for their first raise at work. My company is fairly large and structured with raises, so I didn’t have the issue of how to begin the process.

Performance reviews are given in October. Prior to the review, each employee is required to fill out a self review, stating accomplishments and noting how we met our “goals” of the performance review. This year we also had to name 3 coworkers that we wanted to fill out evaluations for us, and we also filled out at least 3 reviews of others (I did five!). Our managers then compile the information into an overall “score card”, and we are given an overall rating of 1 to 3 in two categories. They roughly are “what you do” and “how you do it”, but they have some HR-type names. HR imposes rules that disallow managers from rating everyone too high or too low.

The process is structured, and seems very fair. Good raises don’t just go to those who gather up the courage to ask. They go to those who can list accomplishments, whose peers speak highly of their work, and who’s manager is impressed with them.

My review went really well, I was rated a 3 and a 2.9 in the two categories, and my manager talked about getting me into some leadership classes in the coming year. I was hoping to be promoted to the next grade, but I do not have the 2 years of full time experience that they generally require. So I wasn’t. I received a great review this year, yet still got “only” a 4.5% raise. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t great. I really need to get moved up to the next pay grade level in order to get a larger raise, which would probably happen next year.

The best advice I heard about reviews was to step up your level of effort a bit for the two months before the review. People’s memories are short, and that is what they will remember. I didn’t do this. However, not long before my review I was in a meeting with my manager (along with about 7 others) and was speaking up and questioning why we were doing something, if it was “value added” (no I didn’t use that jargony word!). In my review, he specifically commented that he had noticed that I was speaking up and expressing my opinions and questioning the process when necessary. I didn’t do it to impress him, but I don’t have a lot of direct interaction with my manager, so this probably helped give me a slight boost.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, perhaps) there is nothing that takes the place of solid hard work. If people are requesting you to work on projects, leaving you good feedback, and entrusting you with responsibility, you should make sure your manager knows it. But if they aren’t, no amount of effort on a self evaluation review will make a difference. Perhaps some clever wording and bragging can separate those in the middle a bit, but they can’t separate the good from the great.

My year and bonus is based on many factors about how the company performs. The base rate for non-senior professionals is 5.5%, and we can earn from 0 to 200% of that. This year the company did well and we earned 170%. That means I will get a check for over 9% of my salary! This is the first year that I was employed for the full fiscal year, so my first year getting such a generous check. My manager, I think, has a base rate of at least 10%, so he’ll be getting a huge bonus.

I was counting on this bonus, and I will need it if I have any hope of meeting my year end savings goals. I’m kicking butt on my investing goals, but my savings isn’t growing the way I wish it was. I still need:

• 2k payback for student loans
• 2.1k stashed in HYSA

I can definitely make it, but it is a bit dependent on my relocation situation. I have no idea what the costs will be, but I probably will have to pay rent in two places for January, and come up with a significant deposit. My current apartment had a $100 deposit, so even if I do get it all back… that really just isn’t going to do much. I’ll take that in consideration when I figure if I met my goals or not.

I have 3 paychecks plus this bonus to do it in. I also have to buy Christmas presents, gas for a road trip home, and come up with around $500 in spending money for my New Years vacation. Yikes! It’s going to be close!

My company came out with a new policy this year. We are required to either take a online personal health assessment and fill in data from our “biometrics” (cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.), or pay an extra $125 (per person) in health care premiums. They offered several sessions at work where they would take them for free, and the numbers were self reported.

Being young and relatively healthy, I wasn’t opposed to the idea. Some of my middle aged co-workers were much more wary. Wasn’t this a little bit too “Big Brother” for the USA? One could speculate where they are going with this approach. Next year, they might require those who have high cholesterol to reduce it, or else pay $125. Get your BMI within the healthy range, or else pay $125. Commit to exercise three times a week, or else pay $125.

If they do charge more for people who refuse to make an active commitment to improving bad health, is it fair? No one seems to dispute smokers surcharges anymore. The difference is that some of this is genetics, and can’t be helped. I have naturally high cholesterol, and while I can improve it with diet and exercise, 2/3 of the number is made up by genetics. I would hate to be charged extra for something I have little control over.

The premise of the approach makes me a bit uneasy. However,it also seems like, done the right way, it might be something that will help alleviate health care costs for the country as a whole. You can’t force people to chose healthy lifestyles, but one way to persuade people is to hit them where they will notice–their pocketbooks. If you could lower your premiums by improving your health, or having a legitimate reason why you can not improve, would you? Doesn’t it seem fair that taking care of yourself would lower your premiums?

One immediate benefit of the program was that some people were made aware of their health status. This was particularly helpful for us young people who hadn’t had our blood work done yet, but also for those who are a little afraid of the doctor. Sometimes seeing the numbers is enough to make a small difference.

I’m leaving my company shortly, so I won’t know how this all will play out long term. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this trend continue in my future employer.

This is a money making trick that doesn’t work except in a very special circumstance–negotiating a job offer.

I’m in the process of relocating to California, primarily for personal reasons. I had an interview last week and received the official offer today. My current salary in a low cost of living midwestern city is about 56k. I was offered 65k to move to California (plus relocation costs!). I was excited to get the offer, but I immediately asked if that was negotiable. I had anticipated an offer in the 70-75k range. (Some random cost of living calculator states: To maintain the same standard of living, your salary of $56,000 in XXXX should increase to $103,122 in XXXXX, California. I think that is a bit high, and certainly less than I would expect them to offer me, but at least, a point of reference.)

The HR rep seemed surprised (which surprised me!), and said something like “Well, it is a 15% percent increase, but if you have justification, I can talk to the hiring manager.”

Luckily, I wasn’t negotiating for the sake of negotiating–I had my reasons ready to go:

• The position is typically entry level, I have 1.5 years of directly related experience and am on the verge of a raise/promotion at the end of the year
• I am 1/3 of the way done with my Masters Degree
• I already have my security clearance (something that costs them several thousand to get!)
• The cost of living is significantly different

The HR lady then called the hiring manager, and then called me back about 10 minutes later. She only could offer me an increase of salary to 67k, but they would throw in a 3k signing bonus. She reminded me that performance reviews happen early in the year, and that there would be tuition reimbursement.

The offer is much more attractive. I got enough money to fully fund a 2008 Roth IRA, just by listing a few reasons.

I have a phone interview tomorrow with another company for a different type of position. I think that the offer I already have seems like a more appealing job, but I want to see what this other position really entails.

This is the first time I’ve negotiated salary, and I’m quite proud of myself!