In today’s Consumerism Commentary Podcast, I offer a number of suggestions for students heading back to school, particularly for new college freshmen. Tom Dziubek and I discuss tips that will help students take small steps now to ensure they will start the rest of their lives on a sound footing.
After the discussion for students, we offer tips for teachers with our guest, Danny Kofke. He is the author of How to Survive (and Perhaps Thrive) on a Teacher’s Salary.
To listen, use the player above (Adobe Flash required), download the podcast here, subscribe to the podcast RSS feed, or use the iTunes link. Note: open links in a new window (Ctrl-click or Command-click) to avoid interrupting the podcast.
[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:43] Interview with Flexo about money saving tips for new college students
– [01:45] What new students should be thinking of
– [02:21] Budget planning
– [04:05] Savings and checking accounts
– [06:34] Using a Roth IRA
– [08:36] Acquiring college textbooks
– [16:44] Online budget resources
[18:39] Interview with Danny Kofke, author of “How to Survive (and perhaps thrive) on a Teacher’s Salary”
– [18:53] Danny’s teaching experience
– [19:16] Starting salaries
– [22:09] Ways for teachers to reduce expenses
– [23:32] Danny’s tips from his book
– [25:58] How teachers can increase income
– [26:41] Danny’s experiences teaching special education students
– [28:12] Career recommendations for new teachers
[34:53] End
We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.
Our guest today is Matt Jabs, blogger and founder of Debt Free Adventure, a blog designed to help the author stay accountable for getting out of debt. Debt Free Adventure is one of my favorites among new personal finance blogs.
Today’s discussion focuses on the concept of giving yourself a raise, an important way to improve your financial condition, particularly in an economic environment that is supporting fewer raises from your employer. Tom Dziubek and I explore this concept with Matt Jabs and discover a number of ways you can give yourself a raise today.
To listen, use the player above (Adobe Flash required), download the podcast here, subscribe to the podcast RSS feed, or use the iTunes link. Note: open links in a new window (Ctrl-click or Command-click) to avoid interrupting the podcast.
[00:00] Introduction from Tom Dziubek
[00:33] Interview with Matt Jabs of Debt Free Adventure
– [01:10] Matt’s inspiration for writing about personal finance
– [02:57] Giving yourself a raise at home
– [04:26] How to give yourself a raise
– [08:41] Creating a personal trigger to change your mindset
– [10:24] Living outside the box
– [12:16] Finding and following your passions
– [14:29] The journey is as important as reaching the goal itself
– [15:59] Dealing with customer service reps
– [21:39] Do it yourself
– [25:17] How it adds up
[28:04] End
We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.
For some fun reading, I recommend these articles written recently and published across the internet.
Estate Planning: Are You Ready When Your Time Comes? Lazy Man narrowly avoided death recently, but it is my grandmother’s condition that leads me to link to this timely post. Here, Lazy Man offers several tips to help prepare the loved ones left behind for handling your responsibilities following your passing.
What Works for Me: Debt Reduction Mindset. It’s always fascinating to see someone else’s motivating factors in any task. Motivation varies greatly from person to person. In this article NCN describes what motivates him to getting out of and staying out of debt. You may come away with some suggestions for keeping yourself on the debt reduction path as well.
Want a High Paying Job? Do the Math. Mr. Tough Money Love points out a recent survey that shows that the college majors resulting in the top job offers in terms of starting salary are strongly weighted towards those requiring strong math skills. Most of these jobs are various forms of engineering.
If you happen to be entering college and would like to decide the field you would like your career to be or feel the need to choose a major, you may want to consider a field that has growth prospects over the next twenty years or more. Even if you are already a few years into your career and it haven’t progressed the way you would like, now is a good time to consider shifting to a new direction. It would be impossible to accurately predict the future, but I can select a few careers I think will be growing based on current trends.
Information technology
Information technology (IT) is going to be huge, if not just in the next twenty years, for the remainder of the twenty-first century. While there is a trend of outsourcing jobs overseas, there are many types of careers that must remain local. Technology infrastructure is an exciting field. I expect broadband networks will be expanded to new areas and the populous areas already serviced by broadband will see upgrades. Beyond fiber optics, wireless broadband will be a strong trend as well.
Finance
Over the next twenty years, baby boomers will be retiring. Many still have pensions and many have 401(k) retirement plans. Retirees are going to need to know what to do with their money. Financial planners will have a strong market for their services, and so will investment advisers who sell products like annuities.
Health care
Politicians have their eyes on health care right now, and this is a valid response to the same social condition that requires more careers in finance. As the baby boomers, one of the largest demographics, continue to age, they will need more care. Home nurses will be in demand. Existing assisted living communities will increase capacity and new communities will be built. As an increasing number of people look to medication, more pharmacists will be needed.
Environmental scientists
Companies hire professionals to conduct environmental impact analysis whenever land is being developed. Not only is there still vast amounts of land that will be developed in the next twenty years, the focus on “green” will mean there will be even more work for environmental scientists. Environmental technicians will be in demand as well as entrepreneurs who create and manage the next generation of environmental consulting firms. The economy’s current slowdown means there may be less work now for environmental scientists whose work depends on new development, but I expect that to change when the economy recovers.
Not everyone needs to chase a career or job path that looks like it will be in high demand. I generally believe people should look to their own talents and desires before statistics in determining a course of study or career. I don’t deny, however, that fitting in to a carved-out path based on population patterns is a good idea for some people.
Are there any other careers likely to be in demand for the next couple of decades?
Today’s podcast features an interview with J.D. Roth from popular blog Get Rich Slowly. J.D. talks with Tom Dziubek and me about how he was inspired to begin writing about personal finance and his decision to leave the corporate world behind and take his passion to the next level.
Tom also speaks with Bryan J Busch from Stop Being Broken. Bryan is a usability expert, and Stop Being Broken is a series of videos pointing out problems with a wide variety of user experiences. One such user experience is the budget, and in this interview, Bryan explains what works for him and his wife. Here is the video and Excel spreadsheet mentioned in the interview.
To listen, use the player above (Adobe Flash required), download the podcast here, subscribe to the podcast RSS feed, or use the iTunes link. Note: open links in a new window (Ctrl-click or Command-click) to avoid interrupting the podcast.
[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:48] Interview with J.D. Roth of Get Rich Slowly about following passions
[01:38] — The beginning of Get Rich Slowly
[04:04] — Leaving the box factory to write full-time
[05:50] — The effect of self-employment on social interactions and benefits
[07:37] — How to prepare for leaving a career
[09:07] — Seeking professional advice
[10:30] — The progress of Get Rich Slowly and unforeseen obstacles
[15:12] — Tips that apply to passions other than writing
[16:39] — Pursuing multiple streams of income and the effect of the recession
[19:28] Interview with Bryan J Busch of Stop Being Broken
[20:20] — A family budget system for dual income
[21:41] — Adapting the budget for a single income family
[23:48] — Using joint savings accounts in addition to checking accounts
[25:23] — Alternative approaches to the budget
[27:00] — Automatic transfers based on the budget
[28:44] End
If you have suggestions for the next edition of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, or reactions to these interviews, feel free to leave a comment here or email your thoughts to podcast at this domain name.
In my life so far, I’ve had three major chances to negotiate a starting salary. The first was with a cash-strapped non-profit organization that had enough problems keeping its payroll account funded every other week. The second was with a company in the financial industry, a segment of that industry that is known for being cheap in the salary department, particularly for an operational position rather than a business unit. The third was with the same company in a different location.
In all cases, I didn’t have a lot of room to maneuver. And rather than spending my time outside the office looking for new opportunities, I’m spending my time working for myself. It would be nice never to need to negotiate a salary for myself again; and in fact, it’s possible I’ll be on the other side of the negotiating table.
But I liked one of the ideas offered by Liz Ryan at Business Week for dealing with a hiring manager whose offer is lower than one feels they deserve.
Go back to the hiring manager and say: “Thanks so much for the offer. The job seems terrific, and I’m thrilled to be moving along in the process. We’ve had some kind of miscommunication along the way, clearly. I’m focusing on opportunities in the $XX range, and the offer I’ve received is obviously way below that number. If you’re set on this type of salary range, I’m not your hire, but it may make sense to talk about having me consult with you as you get your new plans under way and your new hire up to speed.”
At first, I didn’t see this as an option applying to any of my situations, but maybe it would have. And maybe this is not a bad idea for winding down my day job to begin focusing on my own projects full-time.
Liz Ryan offered a number of other suggestions, like accepting the job part-time (wouldn’t they use that as an excuse to lower the salary offer?), but I don’t seem them applying to most situations.
Lowball Salary Offers: A Working Guide, Liz Ryan, BusinessWeek via Yahoo Finance, March 23, 2009
In March 2006, my company rewarded its employees for achieving an enterprise financial milestone by offering a company stock bonus, designed to vest on March 14, 2009. The vesting period was perhaps designed to create an incentive for employees to stay with the company. When the bonus was announced, the stock grant was worth about $2,000. At the high point last year, the value of the package approached $3,000.
If the bonus were to vest today, each employee would receive the same amount of shares, but the value would only be about $300. The value of a share of my company’s stock has declined 90% from the high. To reclaim that high, the price would need to increase by 818%. That would be 5% a year for 30 years or 3% a year for 75 years. It’s probably safe to say it will be a long time before we see last year’s prices again, if ever.
I don’t see this price changing much for the better within the next week before the grant vests. I suppose I should be happy that I still have a job, although I’m considering leaving to work for myself full-time, and I should appreciate receiving this bonus in the first place.
Management says that our company’s stock price is sympathetic to the rest of the industry and the decline is not due to internal factors.
Despite the fact that my company is squarely within the financial sector, we have so far been immune to massive layoffs taking place around the country, particularly in this industry. While I have something to “fall back” on — and actually, in terms of pure numbers, I could probably do better by leaving my day job and focusing on my independence more — I’d prefer not to be laid off. I like the people with whom I work, and my management attempts to keep me happy and slightly challenged.
I’m not immune to being laid off if the company decides this is the path to take. I could make myself irreplaceable by hoarding knowledge, refusing to delegate responsibilities, and holding my skills hostage. This irreplaceability is often cited as the best way to avoid layoffs. If the business can’t function without you, they won’t let you go. But when it comes down to the way corporations work, everyone is replaceable, from the mail room letter sorter to the chief executive officer. So forget “making yourself irreplaceable.”
Money Magazine has some suggestions for keeping your job amidst layoffs in a manner that will benefit the employee and the organization in the long run.
- Make sure higher-ups know you by solving problems and taking on high-profile projects.
- Share client leads or ideas to generate revenue even if that’s not part of your responsibilities.
- Hang out with the people the boss respects most. The halo of their good reputation may extend to you.
- Keep on top of advances in your field and expand your expertise beyond your core area.
- Look for problem spots that you can help fix. And pitch in whenever extra hands are needed.
- Volunteering to take a pay cut during an industrywide downturn can make you look like a hero.
Notice that all of these tips involve prioritizing the team ahead of the individual. Rather than thinking about yourself and how to protect your job, these tips focus on increasing your value to the organization. You win not by hoarding knowledge, but by sharing, giving, and volunteering, and by being a “team player.”
It’s possible to take these to the extreme. When you give yourself completely to your company, it’s possible to lose a part of yourself. I’ve seen this happen in the non-profit where I once worked. Our small team was a group of individuals highly dedicated to the mission, but none were more dedicated than the executive director. He had very high expectations for everyone’s dedication. In order to success in this organization, employees were required to live and breathe their job, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It’s impossible to avoid allowing your identity to become nothing but your job under these circumstances. And rather than holding onto the best employees, turnover at this organization was high.
Even when not taken to this extreme, concentrating on the Good of the Company makes it more difficult to concentrate on the Needs of the Individual. You can see this when you are sent to attend classes or seminars. If you find yourself at more management seminars run by Tom Peters, who professes management skills that focus on the organization as a whole, than the classes you attend to foster growth in areas that are important to you, you may be losing balance.
The pervailing thought right now is that those of us who have jobs are lucky, and shouldn’t look to employers for anything other than keeping our jobs. This is certainly do to the economic environment — it is an employers’ market right now. This attitude displayed by employers will backfire when the tables turn and companies begin seeking talented employees again. Workers must adapt to the current environment, and right now that may mean sucking it up and following some of these tips from Money Magazine so they are well-positioned when the job market returns.
Fireproof your job, Donna Rosato, Money Magazine, January 15, 2009.
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