Posts made in April, 2012

You Should Quit Your Job! 5 Signs That It Is Time To Move On

Posted by jefferson on Apr 30, 2012 in Career Advice | 27 comments

The writing is plastered all over the wall.  This job is going nowhere fast, and you are starting to seriously question what kind of a future you will have your company.  Believe it or not, this happens to everyone at some point, and you will soon after find yourself wondering if it is time to start looking to see what else it out there.  Sometimes this happens because your position with a company is eliminated, but more often– people start looking because they are just wanting to address dissatisfaction with their current role.

According to research, the average person will have 7-10 jobs in their lifetime, and the median years that a person stays in a job is 4.1 years.  With this amount of turnover going on, you shouldn’t be surprised or upset if you find yourself getting the itch.  If you work in a large corporate environment like I do, you live in a world where there are constant re-shuffles and re-alignments.  Managers and employees alike, are cycled from team to team, and job functionality and responsibilities can shift like the weather.  This level of turnover can sometimes lead you to falling into a no-win situation.  Staying in a bad situation can actually be very detrimental to your career, as you don’t want to stay on a sinking ship.

Luckily, there are some warning signs that you can look for to know when it is time to move on.  If these sound familiar to you, you don’t necessarily need to leave your company– but you should probably at least consider trying to move to a different team:

1. You Are Not Getting Invited to Meetings

Being asked to participate in important discussions is an important indicator of how much your management values your opinion.  If you find yourself on the outside looking in, don’t be afraid to reach out to the meeting organizers to see if you can get included.  However, if this pattern continues and especially if your entire team seems to have this issue– I would be concerned.  If you are slowly slipping into irrelevance, you need to be taking steps to reverse that trend.

 2. You Don’t Have Anything to Do

If management refuses to give you any meaningful work, this can mean a variety of things.  Perhaps there are company changes on the horizon or maybe they are waiting on a big project to start.  However,  if you find yourself doing more browsing than working, day after day,  then I might start to get worried.  The truth is that in most corporate environments, there aren’t enough people or hours in the day to do everything.  I have often joked that I could work for 96 hours straight without stopping, and still not tackle everything “on my list”.  Companies these days like to run it lean and mean, so if you find yourself on a team where there is no work available,  it is a major warning flag.  If the company does decide to make cuts, the teams that contribute little to nothing will be first to go.

3.  Your Job Has Taken Over Your Entire Life

This is the opposite situation as the one just mentioned.  If your work responsibilities have consumed you entirely, and you don’t have any time left for yourself or your family,  please realize that this isn’t the norm– and you are being taken advantage of.  All employers know that they are under some obligation to provide you with a work-life balance.  You shouldn’t have to work every day and every night for long periods of time.  There may be situations, as deadlines approach, where everyone has to hunker down and put in extra hours to make sure that projects get completed.  But if this is the situation, week after week, month after month, then your employer is obviously understaffed and needs to being in some extra bodies to help alleviate the pressure.  You will burn out quickly, if your job takes over your life entirely.  You must tell yourself that other people, who probably make the same money as you at different companies, are not being put through the same ringer.  Don’t be afraid to branch out and see what else you can find, if your employer insists on running things like a sweatshop.

4. You Don’t Get Along With Your Boss

It is normal to have some resentment towards your manager, it kind of comes with the territory.  It is their job to tell you what to do, and you don’t like to be told what to do.  But for you to be successful at work, you are going to need to have a positive working relationship with them.  You can’t forget that when you work for a large multi-tiered company,  one of your top responsibilities is to make that manager look good and to give them success stories to talk about in their meetings.  If you have an unhealthy dislike for them– this is going to be difficult for you.  Bad managers can come in all shapes and sizes, and you will surely come across a few in your day who are clearly out of their league.  If your boss’s approach or decision making  is causing you fits, you should be able to express your concerns to them.  If they wont talk to you or won’t make changes to improve the situation, you have to be willing to walk away.  I know people that have a very passionate hatred for their bosses, and it seems to totally consume them.  Having that much hatred for anything is not healthy, and you shouldn’t subject yourself to that many negative emotions.  Complaining to your manager’s boss may be an option for you if the problems are well documented, but it may also backfire on you and make you look like a whiner.  The better approach may be to see if you can find a different team and thus a different manager.

5. You Don’t Get Along With Your Co-Workers

One of the most important factors in how satisfied people are with their jobs, is their relationship with their co-workers.  You don’t have to be BFFs with the guy in the next cubicle, but you need to have a healthy respect for them.  I have worked on many different teams over the years, and the dynamics can very wildly.  The best kind of team is one where everyone can work together and contribute ideas to the complex problems of the day.  However, if people on your team rarely talk to each other outside of meetings, and the dynamic is one of mistrust and suspicion, things can get dicey.  If you find that you have a damaged relationship with one or more of your co-workers, you should see if you can take some steps to improve the situation, knowing that it may not work with everyone.  I have been on teams where the fact that I was dedicated and hard-working seemed to cause some resentment from a few, but I didn’t dwell on them.  The problem comes if you have a tense relationship with most or all of those around you.  If this sounds like your situation,  it is probably time to locate the exit sign.

Applying Blackjack Strategies to Your Finances

Posted by jefferson on Apr 27, 2012 in Eliminating Debt | 17 comments

I recently was offered the chance to go to Las Vegas for a large work-related convention.  It is a great opportunity, and I will get a ton of great information from some of the top experts in the industry.  I am very excited about it, because I haven’t been to a conference of this kind, and because I haven’t been to Vegas in many years.  But while I am there– I will have to do my best to avoid the allure of the many blackjack tables that seem to be EVERYWHERE in that city.

Blackjack is my favorite game in the casinos, because the odds are only slightly tilted in the favor of the house, when compared to other games.  Before everyone starts waving their personal finance fingers at me,  please note that I don’t have any willpower issues when it comes to gambling.  I have always been good at math, and I understand the games and how the casinos make their money.  When you visit a casino, it is obvious that the vast majority of folks that walk in, don’t walk out happy.  There are a number of casinos in the town where we live, but I have only been in a casino maybe 20 times in my life, and have never lost more than $25 in a visit.

That said, the times that I have visited a casino– I quickly learned that I have the ability to play blackjack at a $5 or $10 table indefinitely and stay pretty close to even money.  Proper blackjack strategy has been tested with complex computer simulations involving millions of hands, and if followed correctly– changes the house advantage from 5% to 0.5%.   The strategy goes against logic at times, like when you have to “stand” after being dealt a 12 (against a 4-6 showing from the dealer, for example),  but you have to keep the faith that the math is on your side.  You can’t get too excited when you go up or down,  either, because the tried and true strategies will almost always level everything out in the end.

Digging deeper, I think that it is possible to apply some of these same blackjack strategies to the world of personal finance.  Dedication, persistence, and patience are requirements for success, and here in the real world- the end goal is so much more than $100 of potential casino winnings.

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BlackJack Strategy:   Double Down on Ten or Eleven
Finance Strategy:      Keep Your Eye Out for Opportunities

The odds in blackjack tilt towards the house only because you, the player, have to go first.  On many hands, players will bust before the dealer even has to do anything.  This is just part of the game.  The best way to even the playing field is to jump in when the getting is good, and double up when the situation is favorable (like when you have drawn a ten or eleven).

To be successful with finances, you have to take the same approach.  Life will present you with opportunities to improve your financial situation; you just have to be open to them when they arrive.

If a credit card is charging you a ridiculous interest rate, don’t be afraid to transfer it elsewhere (we did this recently with the Discover 0% card with no transfer fee).  Keep an eye out for promotions where banks are offering free bonuses for signing up, and always search for a coupon before you buy anything.  Don’t be afraid to take side jobs or do online surveys to help bring in extra cash.

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BlackJack Strategy:   Stand When You Have 17 Or Higher
Finance Strategy:      If You Have Debt, Pay it Off Before Investing

In blackjack, the dealer has to keep taking cards until they get to 17.  So if your hand is already there– it isn’t wise to continue and risk taking on more cards.  Doing so will more than likely lead to you “busting.”   When it comes to finances, your goal should also be to avoid busting, which in the real world means bankruptcy.

If you are carrying credit card debt, you know that the dealers (the banks) already have a good hand.  What you need, is a good hand to match them.  It can be a long and tough road to get out of debt, but the payoff at the end is certainly worth it.  While you want to be open to opportunities, you can’t take unnecessary risks that could potentially lead to disaster.  If you still have debt, instead of investing and hoping for a big win, you need to focus on getting rid of your high interest credit card debt first and foremost.  Don’t keep piling on more debt, hoping for a quick fix.  Doing so will just get you closer and closer to busting.

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BlackJack Strategy:  Always Split Aces and Eights
Finance Strategy:      Diversify Your Assets

Blackjack really gives you two methods to even the playing field.  The first is doubling down, which we already talked about.  The second is splitting your hand into two (which requires doubling your bet).   Splitting Aces is an easy one, because it gives you two hands starting at 11 (which is the very best number to start at).  Splitting 8′s is a little bit tougher to swallow, because it involves doubling your investment into a not-very-good hand.  But you will almost never win starting at 16, so splitting is the better option in the long run.

Financially, you can’t be afraid to split your assets into multiple strategies.  You shouldn’t just rely on your 401k for your retirement.  Instead,  setup a Roth IRA and further diversify your investments into bonds and mutual funds.  You shouldn’t just keep your savings in a high-yield account somewhere.  Invest in a home for your family and add some real estate to your portfolio.  By splitting your aces and eights in life, you lessen the chances that you will take a major hit from a market downturn.

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Disclaimer:   Since many of your come to See Debt Run for financial advice, I should note that I don’t advocate gambling as a hobby.  Even utilizing the best possible strategies, if you play long enough– you will lose money.

I Ain’t Sayin’ She’s a Gold Digger

Posted by michelle on Apr 24, 2012 in Minimalism | 31 comments

For the past few months, my husband and I have been working on lightening our load in our home by decluttering, aka throwing away junk that no one uses or even cares about.  There were a few points of contention you may remember, but that minor setback thankfully did little to deflate our esteem.  Just last night, I was going through our Great Works Of Art bin and tossing artwork, drawings, and writing of my boys’ past.  Some things were just too cute to toss, though.  In Kindergarten, my middle child wrote a daily journal with topics chosen by his teacher.  There was so much adorableness contained between the handmade covers of that book that I could barely contain myself.  One particular day’s writing, however, made me question how my child sees his loving mother when the topic was money.  ”I have $115!” he writes.  He goes on to describe his feelings about money; “I like having money.”  There’s nothing wrong with that.  I think, deep down, everyone likes having money.  That part didn’t bother me in the least.  The part that pulled at me was when he went on to talk about me; “My mom loves money!”

What did this mean?  Does my child think I have an unnatural love for the green stuff, or was he just thinking about me in an innocent way and wanted to incorporate his sweet, loving mum-mum into his entry?  I mean, of course I love money!  Doesn’t everyone?  I just don’t know why he thought to write that since I don’t spend a lot of money.  Why not “My dad loves money!” or “Everybody loves money!”  Jeff is the one who actually makes decent money after all.

The sad thing is that he’s right.  I not only love money, but I often worry that we will never have enough.  I recently read (sorry for not giving credit, but I honestly can’t remember where) that Americans feel that making $150,000/yr made you rich.  Upon reading this, I felt a twinge of snobbery flood my veins.  Sure, that’s quite a bit more than we make, but it’s not completely unattainable with some time and hard work.  I started to shake away this silly feeling.  I wondered if this meant per person, and not per household since even at that larger amount, I don’t think I would feel rich.  I definitely couldn’t travel as much as I wanted, buy a yacht, nicer cars, the luxuries for my children including all the sports and ballet lessons my kids would eventually want to try.  In fact, even at $200,000, would we even be able to afford private schools, a weekly maid, tanning and nails, to eat out whenever we had a whim?  Not that I want these lavish luxuries, but isn’t that what rich people do?  Don’t they get to have fun with all that money?  Personally, I don’t care about most of those things, but I do hope to be able to one day save up a decent amount for my children’s education and wedding funds, but unfortunately the prices of both seem to be sky-rocketing at a much faster rate than the economy.  Could even $200,000/yr be enough to fund those coming-of-age adventures for three children with enough to spare for their first cars, their activities and interests?

Yes and no.  Yes, if I’m smart with my money and careful not to let our spending continue to rise with our income; No,  if I decide that I deserve to live like a Real Housewife.  This isn’t so difficult.  If you look at people who actually have money and substantial retirement and savings for their children, they tend to be pretty frugal people.  You’d have to be!  If you plan to retire at the age of 66, but want to live until you’re 86, you better get to work.  I, for one, don’t want to ever become a burden to my children.  I never want them to worry about what to do with mom who spent all her money years ago.  Because of this, I know that I will probably never own a yacht.  I will probably never own a car that costs more than $25,000.  I will probably never own a bigger house than the one we have now.  And you know what?  I’m okay with that and already feel like the richest girl in the world.