The West Egger

Salary information is probably the most confidential topic that companies try to not share with employees. I’m a firm believer in transparency because it helps me know what I’m working hard to achieve. I saw a news report about a company that published salary information on the intranet. Employees of that company know how much each individual is compensated, letting them know what rewards are awaiting their hard work. Conversely, they know how much someone who is not pulling his/her weight is getting away with.

Overall, I think that knowing salary information can do more good than harm. I have found that Glassdoor.com does an excellent job of sharing real employee salaries while keeping the employees anonymous. To me, it achieves the goal of knowing this valuable information without invading privacy.

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When it comes to New Year’s Resolutions, I’ll decide on something self improving (last year’s was to not snooze the alarm clock) and still find myself unable to keep up by Jan 5th.  This year, instead of resolutions, I have made a plan of action that I know is feasible.

I keep hearing on the news that 2009 is the year credit will dry up. Even with the TARP funds, banks are more conservative than ever before. They are on a path to reduce the amount of credit offered to consumers. It will be harder to get home and auto loans or even increased spending limits on credit cards. I wouldn’t be surprised if consumers find their extended credit on cards is reduced. [Read the rest of this entry...]

I figured this is a unique holiday season compared to previous years. I was thinking about the likelihood of people choosing to re-gift unused gift cards from last year and risks involved.  The re-gifting episode on Seinfeld was funny for a reason. Things don’t always turn out the way you planned. I’m not saying that you’ll give or get a label maker where the labels don’t stick and the post office will keep all your stuff, but what if your old gift cards don’t have as much value as you thought they did?

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I can’t speak for any other generation, but I know that Gen Y college graduates have incurred a lot of debt prior to graduation. Today I’m focusing on the private student loans that helped finance the expensive cost of education.

To be clear, private student loans are usually obtained directly through a bank and are not related to federal subsidized loans.

Examples of private student loans:

• Citibank’s CitiAssist Loans
• Chase Private Student Loans
• Bank of America Private Loans (Note: No new loans were offered this year)

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In honor of Black Friday and the bargains offered by retailers, I thought it would be a good time to address the sweetening of deals through retail charge cards. The extra 10% off, coupled with a rewards program or even the ability to work up to an elite status can be tempting. In addition to these benefits, I enjoy getting cardholder e-mails inviting me to special discounts and cardholder shopping events or free shipping for online purchases.

So what’s the down side?

I have identified 4 downfalls of holding too many retail charge cards. Most people don’t realize that the moment they answer “Yes” when the cashier asks if you would like to open a store card, you are applying for credit. The cashier proceeds to ask for your drivers license and any major credit card.

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As the holiday season approaches, I thought this would be a great time to share the benefits of my favorite airfare tracking site. Last spring, MIcrosoft Corp bought out Farecast.com, a site that monitors airfares to domestic and international destinations, so that you don’t have to. [Read the rest of this entry...]

An article in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, October 21st  titled “The ‘Trophy Kids’ Go to Work” discusses the challenges a traditional company faces with a new generation of employees. The article focuses on individuals born between 1980 – 2001, referring to this generation as “the millennials”. Before you continue, please read the article to form your own opinion.

Being a part of the millennial generation, the article discusses the couple of years I have been in the workforce. Similar to the students in the intro, I never would have guessed that the first impression my peers and I have given upper management is that we feel entitled to anything. [Read the rest of this entry...]

A reader wrote in about the benefits of investing in stable income funds. These types of funds have risk and return a little higher than your average money market fund. The fund’s goal is to maintain the principle of your investment at $1.00, no more, no less.

How does this help me?

In company sponsored 401(k) or 403(b) plans, the employee’s contributions are directly invested into a series of funds, resulting in no option to have a portion of the funds sit in a savings or money market account. A stable income fund your solution to this limitation. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Where is your emergency cash stashed?

At the beginning of September, the unemployment numbers for August were released. The number of people in the nation that were unemployed and actively seeking work was 6.1% up from 5.7% in the previous month. This level hasn’t been reached in 5 years (since 2003) and in my opinion the outlook isn’t very positive.

Considering the current economic situation of the nation, I got to thinking about my own emergency fund and the proper amount that should be stashed away. The first idea that comes to mind is my company’s severance package will take care of me.

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Looking for a new career? Maybe, maybe not. There is a new service available that lets you interview with companies, even if you are not interested in making a move, solely because they are interested in you.

How interested are they?

Enough to pay you for your time.

How much do they pay you?

Your asking price. [Read the rest of this entry...]