Going cashless - against the grain

Forever the contrarian, it seems.  While others are opting for cash only transactions to avoid credit card balances, I am doing just the opposite.  I have streamlined my wallet to include only my ID, one credit card, an ATM/Debit card and a couple of insurance information cards. 

I have a few reasons for making this change:

• Thinner, smaller wallet that is easier to conceal and carry
  
• Faster transactions
• Cash back on card purchases means more money in my pocket
• Eliminate hassle of carrying change coins

 Some other potential benefits:

• Reduce chances of overpaying.  For example, handing over a 20, but receiving change for a 10
  
• Eliminate the handling of tainted and/or counterfeit bills

And of course, some of the cons might be:

• Credit card not accepted everywhere
• Vendor refuses transaction due to low purchase amount
• More people handling my credit card could increase chances of ID theft/fraud

I decided to put the new system to test this past week while on a three day business trip.  At first, it seemed a little strange to use a card to pay for a 2 dollar and 17 cent item.  However, the cashier didn’t hesitate at all when I handed over a credit card.  The best part is that the deal is cleaner and much faster, since a signature is not required on transactions less than $25 and some vendors accept even larger amounts.

It all went smoothly, except for a couple of instances.  In one case, I stopped at a kiosk for a newspaper and coffee in an airport.  Payment was on the honor principle!  The kiosk had a container with a slot and a sign “please pay with correct change”.   Since I was so impressed with the fact that anybody would use an honor system in a large city airport, I just had to participate.  By throwing a couple of bucks in the pot, I wanted to show the vendor and the world that there is some hope for the future of humankind!  That’s right, some folks will pay for services simply because it’s the right thing to do, not because it’s the law. 

Fortunately, I didn’t do this cashless experiment cold turkey.  I had three dollar bills and a twenty – just in case.

The next cash only situation occurred at my hotel. The hotel offered complimentary breakfast buffet and it was so good and the waitress so friendly that I wanted to leave a tip.  I could have asked to have a tip placed on my room bill, but who knows if the waitress would have received that?   Leaving cash on the table was the best way to make sure she got the tip.

From this trial, I can see that I still need to stash a few bucks for tips, especially when I travel.  So, my wallet may not be as thin as I would like, but then again, I just found another way to eliminate my ATM/debit card by turning my drivers license into a debit card!

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Did your pay raise beat inflation?

In 2008 the average pay raise in the USA was 3.7%. That was 1.8% over the projected rate of inflation. So the effective pay rate increase was (3.7-1.8) = 1.9%. Unfortunately, those projections for inflation were low.

In reality, the actual inflation rate, year to date, is up 5.6% from its level a year ago. And that is the government’s calculation of the inflation number -which always seems lower than the effective rate.

Just out of curiosity I checked my budget expenses in MS Money and calculated my own inflationary rate for gas and food. For the year to date, I have spent a whopping 34% more on gas and another 30% more on groceries compared to last years expenses.

What can we expect for pay raises in 2009?

According to this Wall Street Journal article merit increases for next year are expected to average around 3.7%. Given these numbers, it seems there is no correlation between the average pay increase and inflation. The old cost of living adjustment, COLA, has long given way to performance only raises, which has conveniently ended any ties to inflation. A raise is only a raise when it exceeds the rate of inflation. Anything less and you are losing ground.

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My New Money Market Account is paying 4.76% APY!

Drawn by their pledge to beat the money market rates of the top 5% of competitive institutions and of course the 4.76% APY introductory rate, I opened an account with Everbank. I searched and read everything I could find about the bank until I felt comfortable sending the initial deposit. It's one thing to mail a check to Fidelity Funds or Vanguard, institutions that have been around forever, and quite another to send a check to a fairly new, unfamiliar entity, like Everbank.

Lots of questions come to mind; like why are they able to pay such high money market rates? Their website clearly states that they don’t engage in the subprime mortgage market, but what about other speculative markets? Where are they physically located? Are the deposits FDIC insured, etc. Obviously, the current financial crisis has made me more cautious and that is usually a good thing.

I completed the application on line, printed it out, signed and mailed it in with a check. The 4.76% APY rate is for the first three months and then the rate reduces to 3.51% APY, which is still a very competitive rate and beats my Vanguard prime money market rate. APY stands for annual percentage yield and includes the effects of intra-year compounding. Not to be confused with APR, which is the annual percentage return, and is the straight rate over one year with no compounding. Unless you plan to skim the interest rate payment out of your account each month, you will automatically have this payment added to your investment and enjoy the higher APY rate.

The Everbank pledge money market account looks to be a good parking spot for some of my emergency cash funds. I always keep a couple of years expenses in a steady, easily accessible cash account. Check writing privileges at Everbank (allowing 3 per month) should give me quick access to the cash. I would prefer to ladder some of this money in CDs, but money market rates are beating CD rates, right now, so I have not been buying any new Certificate of Deposits. Fortunately, Everbank has a very informative web page that lists all of their rates for their products - that should make it easier for me to keep an eye on any rate changes that may come along.

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Meeting with the County Tax Appraiser

Going in to this, I really wasn’t too worried. I felt confident. I had a reasonable and logical argument. LOL.

I mailed in a protest of my property taxes on June 2nd. I then received a hearing notice set for July 16th. I called the county appraisers office and was surprised to hear that I would only get 5 minutes to talk about my case, then the appraiser would defend the county’s position for 5 minutes then the board would discuss it for another 15-20 and deliver a decision. The clerk encouraged me to come in ahead of time to settle this with an appraiser. I agreed.

At the appraisers office, I made my way to the fifth floor, signed in and waited in a line of 4 or 5 others. My appraiser, Jack, called me to his office. He looked all the part of a beaten down government worker with a dry sense of humor.

I began by comparing land values based on price per square foot. He would have no part of that. He said he couldn’t change the valuations and I would have to take it up with the board at my hearing. I complained that #1 - I didn’t want to make another trip and #2 - I was told he could make such judgments. He told me that all of the lots were set at one price and my lot was at a 30% higher premium because it has a creek running through it. What a shocker! This “creek” is actually a mosquito infested, beaver swamp and I am being charged extra for it? He said, “it’s all in how you look at it” This was going nowhere.

So, I switched tactics and showed him an estimate for repair on a retaining wall. He balked a little at first saying they don’t normally accept that kind of thing. I explained that the wall was critical to the home foundation. Since I had taken the trouble to get the estimate, he agreed to take the cost of the new wall off the market value of the house. He then asked me if I was going to come see him at the mission when he loses his job for doing this?

Believe it or not, I felt sorry for the guy.

Even so, I pressed on and showed him an estimate for the cost of replacing my roof. I told him what the insurance company had paid me and what it was going to cost me. He quickly agreed to slash that amount from the house value. He said that they would probably re-appraise the house later when the roof was replaced – so expect it to go up next year. Fine, I will take my chances on that.

All told, I was able to get my appraised house value decreased by $25,370. Based on my local tax rates, I figure I will save about $600/year. The county typically appraises every three years, so I will probably reel in about $1800 in savings from this little protest. Not bad for a few hours of my time.

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Selling a car on Craigslist

I finally came to the conclusion that I no longer wanted to mess with trying to fix my Toyota Supra. I had spent some time investigating the issue and narrowed the problem down to one or two possibilities – both of which are more costly to repair and more trouble than I am willing to take on. Plus, in the back of my mind, I kept thinking that when you are dealing with a 20 year old car there is always going to be something that needs repair. I started dreading doing any work on the vehicle and got to the point where I was ready to part with it. So, just like that I wrote up a description, slapped a price on it and posted it with some photos on Craigslist.

The listing was free and very easy to execute. I wrote a quick paragraph describing the car, submitted it and few minutes later received an e-mail from Craigslist with a link to be used to publish the listing. The same link can be used to edit or delete the post at a later date. The listing runs for 45 days.

It didn’t take long – within three hours I had a couple of e-mails with phone numbers of the interested party requesting to set up a viewing time. I knew right away I had a really good hit. The first guy to respond actually rebuilds Supras and was looking for a car just like mine to use to rebuild his damaged racing/show car. I liked the idea of only showing the car once; the fewer strangers visiting my house the better! We arranged a date and time set for three days later for him to “meet” my car. In the meantime, I received many more e-mails from people interested in the car. Most folks wanted to trade. I had offers for vans, cars, two motorcycles, a fish/ski tri-hull boat and a registered yearling quarter horse. I rejected all offers to trade, as I was trying to get rid of something and didn’t want to add any more stuff to my collection.

The Craigslist site does a good job of warning sellers about common scams. For instance, cashiers checks can be easily faked and the individual cashing the check is held responsible! The only way you would want to take a cashiers check, nowadays, is if you called the bank and verified it on the spot.

I also read through their scams FAQs and it really made me wary of even cash! It’s not that hard to counterfeit bills and since I don’t deal with cash on a regular basis, I don’t have a counterfeit bill detector pen. Even so, it probably would have been worth it to pick one up for a few bucks just for the peace of mind.



In preparation for the showing, I found a bill of sale form on the internet and an application to transfer the title. As usual the buyer tried to low bid my price, but I held firm. The car had generated a lot of interest, so I knew I could sell it given more time. He finally relented but had to go to an ATM to get the remaining cash. Evidently he was confident he could talk me down, because he had initially arrived with $500 less than I was asking.

I signed over the title, completed the bill of sale and made copies of both. He arranged to pick up the car the next day. It was obvious that he was excited about getting the car, so it made me feel good that I had found the right home for my Supra. In fact, its got a whole new exciting life ahead for it as a model show car!

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Bracing for higher prices and lower sales

Want a bicycle? Consider buying now, as prices are on the rise. According to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, which is America's leading source of cycling industry developments, the country’s economic situation is about to hit the bike shop. It is expected that bike prices will rise by 10-12% and other cycling equipment will increase 10-20% in the coming month.

The cycling industry is citing the economic downturn, falling dollar and rising energy costs as the primary factors behind this jump in prices.

All of this sounds familiar. Similar price hikes are on the horizon for other items that are made in China, such as toys, footwear and clothing according to this NY Times article. The article warns of the impact of the falling dollar in addition to the result of China’s changes to labor laws, increased labor rates, increased regulation and higher prices of raw materials.

All of this has contributed to escalating inflation in China, which in turn is predicted to result in 20-30% boosts in prices for Chinese made goods purchased in the US.

How will Americans react? Will we tighten the belt? Cut the TV cable? Trade in the cell phone for a cheap, prepaid tracfone? Commute by bicycle? or sign up for another credit card?

It’s my observation that people have already begun to be more careful about spending money and they are putting off large purchases. A bigger concern, given higher prices and the soft economy, is how are all these local bike shops (LBS) and other small retailers with razor thin profit margins going to weather reduced sales?

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In Search of the Savings “rush”

When I find a product that works and I like it, I try to stock up on the item. You just never know when you will find something that good again. For example, I have a pair of Columbia sandals that are the best river running sandals I have ever owned and I don’t want to wear any other sandal or wet shoe in the water. So when I found another pair on sale at Sierratradingpost online, I pounced. Of course, I also found a pair of nylon river shorts that looked great. Both items were on sale and at a good price, but before I checked out, I cruised the net for a coupon. I tried three different sites and several coupon codes before I found one at Retailmenot.com for a whopping 20% off. Awesome.

Some may say that it was not cost effective to spend 10 minutes on the search, but that little boost of “feel good” that accompanies getting a discount on a product is precious. The savings amounted to $9.20.

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Are ebaY and PayPal making sellers more susceptible to scams?

It was not even one day after reading this article from the Consumerist, which exposes the vulnerabilities of ebaY sellers, that I was confronted with a similar issue.

ebaY/PayPal allowed the buyer’s funds to be drawn back out of the seller’s PayPal account after the seller had shipped! I had no idea that was possible. And yes, I am a very trusting individual that is obviously naïve to such shenanigans.

It seems to me ebaY/PayPal let the seller down. I hold both accountable, after all they are one and the same company after ebaY’s recent purchase of Paypal.

Evidently, many ebaY scammers use fake addresses such as unattended homes to hide their identity. Of course, they probably don’t even need to do that for small transactions. Given that most ebaY sales are for less than a couple hundred bucks, it would be nearly impossible to re-coup that loss without incurring more costs in time and lawyer fees with no guarantee that you will ever get anything out of the jerk.

Even if the scammer is identified and PayPal freezes their account, they can just open another one.

The scam is simple. Once you ship to the bogus address, the buyer disputes the sale to PayPal, PayPal reimburses them from your account and then the scammer simply watches for the item to show up at the abandoned home address. He gets a freebie.

I took the article to heart and vowed to never ship to any buyer that does not meet PayPal’s verification requirements and fall under their Seller Protection Policy. This policy protects the seller from being held liable if the buyer files a claim or chargeback indicating that they didn’t receive the item or the payment was not authorized. PayPal claims to cover the costs associated with these types of claims or chargebacks.

Not one day later, I get tested. I had an item sell on ebaY and received a notice of payment from PayPal. PayPal informs me that the buyer has an unconfirmed address and anything shipped to an unconfirmed address is not covered under the Seller Protection Policy.

I contact the buyer directly via e-mail requesting a confirmed address. The buyer replies stating that his ship-to-address is a PO box in the US, but he lives in Canada. He pleads his case by pointing out all of his good ebaY ratings, over 100 stars, that he has accumulated. This does still mean something, but it won’t be long when ebaY’s new policies take effect and no one will be able to leave negative feedback.

I contemplate taking a hard line and cancelling the transaction. A couple of other mischievous thoughts cross my mind.

1. Sweep my funds from the PayPal account to another bank. However, I suspect PayPal will not allow this when a transaction is pending, but I don’t know.


2. Rely on shippers insurance. I have shippers insurance for $100 that covers the cost of the item. If I ship and the buyer pulls his funds, I can file a lost/stolen item complaint with the shipping company and get reimbursed. But is that right? It doesn’t seem ethical. The shipper has done no wrong; they may have even delivered to the correct address. Besides, theft from a PO Box would be difficult to believe.

Meanwhile the buyer presses me for a ship date. I give him one. But, I am still undecided and will most likely let the date slip by without shipping. Why not test him? My only risk is negative feedback on ebaY and with all of the new, upcoming non-seller friendly ebaY rules, I am less inclined to use their service in the future, anyway. What would you do?

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Saving Money begins with a State of Mind

If you adjust your mindset to a saver's mentality instead of a spender’s, you too can save money! Below are a couple of ways that I saved money this week.

It just so happened that I received in the mail a $10 coupon for a gift card to Target in exchange for getting a prescription filled at the pharmacy the same week that I needed to fill a one time prescription. What are the odds?

Once I confirmed that Target was a “participating pharmacy” in my HMO, I headed straight over there on the way home from work to take advantage of the offer. The script by itself was only $10 bucks, since it was a generic. Not too bad - spend $10 to get $20 worth of goods.

I also traveled with work for a one day meeting/boondoggle. Since, I was traveling with a group; I went along to a restaurant serving entrees starting at $25 a plate. That took a pretty big bite out of my per diem. However, the next day the balance turned - breakfast was complimentary at the hotel, lunch was brought in by the company, and since I flew first class home I had airline food and wine for dinner. The whole day was a free food day! All in all, by my calculations, I pocketed $64.75 from the trip.

I really don’t consider myself a penny pincher and I’m not as cheap as all this sounds. ;) For instance, I didn’t even think about this free food day until it was over. It just happened without my planning for it. But that is not the end of the story.

Funny thing is that when I mentioned to a co-worker that we had avoided spending money that day – the dollar signs started spinning in his head and he immediately started plotting what he could buy with this new found money!

It seems there are two types of people in this world - those who look for ways to spend money and those who look for ways to save money.

My total savings for the week was $74.75.

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Unclaimed Lottery Winnings swell into the Millions

Another unclaimed prize, a mega million ticket worth over $250,000 has been added to the Texas lottery unclaimed fund this past week. Winners have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim their prize. Evidently, this occurs quite often. In 2007 a total of $58.9 million in winnings went unclaimed! And since the lottery was initiated in 1993, a whopping $676 million has gone unclaimed.

I have only bought a handful of lotto and scratch off tickets and I thoroughly checked each one of them, over and over for a winner. How is it possible that so many winners are never collected? Here are some of the reasons commonly cited for these huge neglected sums:

1. Scratch games are too complicated for the players to readily see that they won.

2. The terminals are failing to show tickets as winning tickets when they are in fact, winners. Often times store clerks don't allow the terminals enough time to respond when checking a ticket and will run the ticket through a second time. This causes the print-out to show the ticket is not a winner even though it may have been.

3. Winners don’t check their own tickets . Players have no idea that they have a winning ticket because they don’t check their own tickets but rather depend on the terminals and store clerks to tell them if they have a winning ticket.

What becomes of this unclaimed money? The first $20 million of unclaimed prizes is transferred to the Texas Department of Health for further distribution to hospitals and health care. Anything beyond that $20 million is up for grabs - it flows into the general revenue fund. Unfortunately, this is contrary to the initial premise that all lottery proceeds would be directed to the education fund.

It seems the state has very little incentive to improve the terminals and/or make the scratch offs less complicated since the majority of this unclaimed prize money is funneled into the general tax fund for politicians to spend as they please. Why would they want to pay out more, if in the end they get access to the unclaimed money?

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Getting over Sticker Shock & Allowing myself to Spend Money

I despise spending money. And every time, I must go through the same tedious process of justifying my expenditures. Obviously, I have a great deal of respect for money. I prefer to have money working for me all of the time and trading it away is essentially trading away some time on my early retirement dream.

Of course, we must all spend some money, after all there are items that we need and must have, but what about the stuff that we would just like to have? How do we rationalize that?

I am currently struggling with the decision to remodel a shower. It’s 21 years old. It’s lots of hard-to-clean tile and glass with a rusty frame, stubborn glass door and cheap plated plastic faucets. I want it out of my life. But…it still works, no drips, no leaks, no serious issues.

I can not justify the purchase based on the fact that it will add value to my home. Such renovations almost always lose value because the money gets eaten up in labor costs, materials, depreciation, etc. The only way something like this will pay off is as a long term investment. The general rule is that you will only recover about 40% of the cost of the work done, with kitchen and bathrooms having the highest return for your money.

No, this remodel is being done for me, because, well, I deserve it. It’s that simple.

Last week I got a couple of estimates for my shower remodel. The estimating took 1.5 hours each, so I have already invested over 3 hours of my free time in this project. The contractor bids came in at $4950 and $6300. It’s difficult to imagine spending that kind of money on a shower. Just to get this in perspective, I listed some other things that I could purchase for $5000.

New Plasma TV: A real nice Samsung 63" Widescreen Plasma HDTV would look sharp in my great room for only $4400.

New asphalt shingle roof: My insurance deductible is $5000, so that would be my cost. Yes, it’s a high deductible and because I have owned the house a long time, I have come out ahead thanks to the much reduced premiums.

New hot tub: what a nice luxury that would be after a long bicycle ride. I’ll never forget how great a hot springs feels after spending a day hiking or biking. The hot soak just takes it all away and your legs are new again for the next day of hiking. It could be mine everyday for five grand.

Those are all nice things that I would like to have, but with the exception of the new roof, I will probably not purchase any of them any time soon. I figure the shower is one of those luxuries that I will give myself and most importantly I will never have to look at that old shower again and fret over what I need to do about it.

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A little Humor in the PF World

Humor is something we don’t find very often in personal finance. And that is probably for a good reason. As my grandmother would say “T’ain’t funny McGee”

If you have never heard that phrase, it comes from the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show that was broadcast in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s! Molly (Marian Jordan) would use the expression to deflate Fibber McGee (Jim Jordan) after Fibber had told one of his stale jokes.

While I got a chuckle out of the comic below, I could not help but think “T’ain’t funny McGee”

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Starting Salaries are not all created the same

You might not get rich with a career in engineering, but you can get very comfortable. Starting salaries for engineers with a Bachelors degree are in the $50K to $65K range. Several factors will determine whether you start at the top of that range or the bottom. Here are a few that make a big difference: GPA, CO-OP experience in engineering and/or intern experience, and believe it or not - alma mater.

That's right, getting a degree is important, but where you get that education also makes a difference. And probably not for the reason you might think. Sure managers like to hire from their alma maters, but that doesn't justify adding more money to the starting salary. Without a doubt, some universities have higher quality engineering departments than others, but not all companies are willing to pay for that upfront. No, the reason some schools garner a premium is because those schools are designated as target schools. That’s an inconspicuous way of saying the company wants to hire people from a small select group of schools over all others to enhance diversity.

These types of practices seem to shock the average employee when they first learn of them. Most folks are aware of affirmative action and the push to hire more minorities, but very few realize to what extent this policy has been expanded at many companies nationwide. If this practice is to improve the quality of the workforce, why isn’t this information more widely discussed/published? Good ideas typically withstand scrutiny.

Everyone should know that new hires from target schools command more money, 1000's more, right from the start. If you were a high school senior and you knew that new hires from school A get $5000 more in salary and possibly a couple thousand dollars more in starting bonus than a similarly qualified new hire from school B, which school would you pick?

It's not quite that simple - because of course, you must also be a minority. Not much you can do to change that circumstance in life, however, all is not lost as you can address some of the other salary boosters.

For one, if it is at all possible, get a summer internship at an engineering company. The experience may help you decide your future career path or at least weed out a job that you know you don’t ever want to do again! Another option is to join a CO-OP program - working one semester and then returning to school for the next and so on. Most companies will reward that experience with a higher starting salary.

This past week, I participated in the Carnival of Financial Planning. My article "How much Employer Stock is too much?" was included.

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This Week’s Edition of Money $aving Stories

This can be addictive. I have discovered that because I report back to this blog every week, I have a little more incentive to look for ways to save money. Another pleasant surprise is that I have found it’s much easier than I ever thought to find new and different ways to save.

This past week I drove my Toyota Tundra to Jiffy Lube for a safety inspection and oil change. I normally change the oil, but since I must go in for the inspection, I splurge and “let” them do it for me.

When I arrived the place was empty, no other cars. Highly unusual. I asked for the inspection first since that can be done in only one bay and typically has a line of cars waiting. The attendants wanted to do the oil change first. I relented, grabbed a seat in the waiting room and started reading the paper.

My truck was moved off and parked when they finished the oil change. Just then, another car pulls in for the safety inspection. Several minutes later, one of the guys asks if I also want the truck inspected. Argh! He then pulls it in line and waits. Finally the whole process is complete and the attendant wants to settle the bill, but he can’t find it on his computer/register. The manager must re-enter the data on another computer terminal.

While I wait some more, the attendant gets nervous and repeatedly says he’s sorry for the wait. Eventually he gets the data and relays the total amount of the bill to me. I decide to ask – can you give me a coupon/discount for the long wait? No problem. The manager immediately takes $10 bucks off the bill.

In the past, I seldom asked for a discount. It just isn’t something I like to do, but with a little practice, it is getting easier.

And lastly, one more savings was found at the local Walgreen’s. Thanks to My Money Blog
for tipping me off about the free ink refill coupon for printers. I dropped the cartridge off at lunch time and went back to pick it up the next day. The coupon claimed the service was a $10 value, but the last time I tried to buy a cartridge it was $26 plus tax. I will use the $10 figure assuming Walgreen’s will refill it again for that.

My total savings for the week $10 + $10 = $20

Be sure to tune in next week for more high adventure in Money $aving Stories....

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How to get a better Raise and Advance your Career

You may have all of the tools and skills to do your job, but to get ahead sometimes you need to do more than just keep your head down and work harder. Below, I have listed some steps that should help get you going in the right direction to improve your future salary increases and start working on that next promotion.

1) Find out how the system works. First thing, ask around to learn about the process used to set raises at your employer. For instance, does only one person, your boss, set the raise amount or is it by a group of managers and senior leads. As simple as this sounds, you would be amazed at how many people do not know who has input to their raises. Just because you receive work assignments and provide status to one lead does not mean he/she is your spokesman at raise time. Find out who is involved in making those decisions.

2) Get the word out. Once you know who the key player(s) are, make sure they know what you are doing. Obviously, you do not want to go around or bypass any managers, but do look for ways to ensure those key players are aware of your work. For example, when you send out important e-mails and/or weekly status reports to your manager, you could also CC the other key player(s).

3) Two voices are ten times more powerful than one. Two people singing your praises to a group that is deciding your raise is much more credible than just one. Get to know as many of those key players as possible. Work multiple projects to get more exposure, attend company functions, seek leaders in the company and ask questions, get a mentor. All of these things will get your name out there. Even if a lot of these folks never see your work, they may remember you in a favorable light due to your friendliness, cooperativeness, and company spirit!

4) Get to know your manager. Some mangers are terrible about talking with their employees; some barely know their people and rarely take the steps to improve that relationship. Many times it is up to you. Take the initiative, find something in common with your manager that he or she likes to talk about. It takes effort but really it’s just the application of the golden rule – treat others like you would like to be treated.

5) Be accessible and responsive. Make sure your manager and supervisor can reach you at any time. The last thing you want is for them to be searching for you and calling around trying to locate you. And when you do get paged or e-mailed, make it a priority to answer as soon as possible. That seems pretty obvious, but I know of many co-workers who put off returning calls to the boss because of fear of the unknown or just not wanting additional work assignments!

6) Think like a manager. Try looking at the job situation from your manager’s point of view. For example, why do you think a manager gets upset if you are unresponsive to his/her calls or if the manager can not locate you? Perhaps, the manager needs a quick answer to give to their boss. Perhaps they need to locate you for a drug test, a security interview, etc. It can be embarrassing for the manager and you, if they can not quickly locate the employee. Besides, by informing your manager of your whereabouts, you convey that your presence is important. You are basically implying that you know you are a critical part of the organization and will be available, if needed.

7) Be at the right place at the right time. Good luck with this one, right? Some people just have a knack for being in line for the big promotion or to head up a new project, etc. They are always right there when the door opens for a new assignment or whatever. Maybe it seems that way because they are always ready. You can do the same. For instance when your lead is scheduled to give a presentation, make sure you know the material and could step in comfortably, if asked. Most people in the audience will be ready to give you a break in that situation, they will have low expectations, but if you have done your homework and are ready, you could knock their socks off with a great delivery.

8) And lastly, Dress the part. People are quick to judge others on first impressions and you never know when you might run into some high ranking mucky mucks at work. Some even go so far as to say that you should dress like your manager. Perhaps that can be interpreted as some sort of flattery? If that is not right for you, at least dress for the position that you desire. Whether it’s fair or not, people will have a hard time thinking of you as executive material if you are always wearing jeans and sneakers.

While there is no substitute for hard work, it can be beneficial to incorporate a few of these tips to get a boost up the career ladder.

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How I $aved Money and Made a little extra Cash this past week

Last week I was paid to eat, lodge and drive anywhere I needed to go. I was on travel with work. ;) A lot of my co-workers complain about losing money while on travel, but, if you play your cards right, you can actually rake in some cash.

For starters, I used a lot less gas in my own vehicle. Because I didn’t drive, that saved $30 this week. Also, my employer pays me the full per diem amount for my meals. Any money that is not spent on food can be pocketed. It isn’t a lot, but it does make the hassle of travel a little less taxing.

I traveled to a mid-sized city where the per diem rate was $44/day. My average daily food expense for the week was no more than $12. So, over the course of 4 days, I will pocket somewhere in the neighborhood of $128.

Obviously, I am trying to keep my meal prices down. Breakfast is typically provided by the hotel and most of my other meals on the road consist of items like the asian chicken salad from McD’s for lunch and then maybe a hamburger or chicken sandwich for dinner.

This is far different from most of my co-workers. For them, dinner is an event. It seems they live to eat and use the per diem meal money to splurge on a much more expensive meal. I might do that occasionally, but it certainly is not the norm.

My total savings (money not spent) for the week $30 + $128 = $158.

Wait. I almost forgot the per diem money is tax free. So, given my most recent effective tax rate of 20%, I would need to make $160 before tax to net the $128 cash. With savings like that, maybe I shouldn't be so relunctant to travel!

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The Real Cost of Outsourcing Tasks

Sometimes it’s just so much easier to pick up the phone and call in someone else to do a job. They have all the right tools, they will get it done faster and you will free up some time to do whatever you would like. Sounds like a winner, right? For those of us with limited resources, in other words, those of us who are not handy or just don’t want to learn any skills other than our 8 to 5 jobs, it may be the only way to get something done. I hear and read about a lot of folks, even PF bloggers, who rationalize away such tasks by stating that their time is worth more, etc. That’s fine, just be aware of the added cost and the impact to your wealth building dreams.

What most people forget is that by hiring someone else to take care of a task that you could do yourself you are paying a premium for that work. Most of us earn money in pre-tax dollars, but we pay bills in after tax dollars. Therefore, when you pay a $500 landscaper’s bill, it really costs you much more depending on your effective tax rate.

If you have completed your taxes for the year, that rate should be fresh in your mind. My rate, for instance, came out around 20%, which means I must make 1.25 to keep one dollar. It also means that I will give up $625 to the landscaper for a job that I could do myself. Think about this a little deeper. If I did the work myself, I would be receiving the equivalent of a $625 raise.

To take this even further, we need to look at the wealth building power of that $625. When it comes to investing, you have probably heard that it takes money to make money. By hanging on to the $625 and investing it, instead of spending it, it will grow into something much more. At a 6% rate, it will double in 12 years.

To demonstrate that I am not just blowing smoke or preaching hot air, I will share a real life example. Not long ago, I needed to replace the faucets in my house. They were cheaply made, contractor selected faucets, that still worked after 15 years, but looked terrible. The plating was cracked and peeling off the plastic parts, some of the drain plugs would not seal and some had leaked/dripped water in the cabinet under the sink.

I had never done much plumbing work, but the cost of hiring a plumber to replace five faucets was daunting. One estimate for labor only was $150 per sink or $750 for the whole job. I decided to give it a try. If I couldn’t get the job done, I would bring in a professional. How tough could it be? After all, each faucet comes with instructions for installation and there is a ton of “how to” info on the internet.

The first one was a challenge. I started having my doubts. The cabinets under the sink were cramped and dark and I didn’t have the tools (like a crows foot wrench) that fit into small spaces. As with most tasks, there is a learning curve. I eventually figured out what needed to be done first, second and so on and how to make do with the tools that I had. Each night after work, I removed the faucet and drain apparatus from one sink, cleaned the sink surfaces and prepped for installation. The next night, I installed the new hardware, cleaned the area and repainted the cabinet under the sink. By the third sink, I was very comfortable with the tasks at hand and actually enjoyed the work. It provided a sense of accomplishment and was a real confidence builder.

The bottom line is that by developing and growing our own resources and learning new skills, even if they are fairly simple skills, we will be able to do more things for ourselves and hang on to a lot more of our hard earned dollars. And by investing the money that you saved, those dollars in turn will work for you. In the end, developing your resources can help lead you down the path to true wealth.

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Springtime Money $aving Stories

My “big” savings for the week was at Home Depot. A local car dealer mailed a coupon flyer to me that included a $10 Home Depot Gift card with a purchase of $49.95. I took the opportunity to get ready for Spring and stock up on things like lawn fertilizer, garden mulch, seeds, pepper and tomato plants. At the checkout, it wasn’t clear how the Gift card was going to work, but no worry, the teen at the register didn’t even bother to read the coupon. He just shrugged and gave me $10 bucks off my purchase on the spot.

Perhaps the growing illiteracy problem reported by the local schools is not the concern I thought it was (sarcasm). Today, it appears this has worked to my advantage!

I also brought a sack lunch to work. Whoopee. This doesn’t register with me much since I think it’s worth $5-6 bucks for lunch to get out of the office for 45 minutes everyday and experience the outdoors, feel the weather, breathe fresh air, or at least see something other than cubicles and conference rooms. Anyway, I brought my lunch not so much to save money, but just so I could work through the lunch break and check out a little earlier to take advantage of the warm, sunny Spring day.

And finally, I washed my own truck. Of course, I always wash my own truck. Just like I always mow my own yard. And I plan to do these things until the day I croak – regardless of how much money I have or don’t have.

I don’t know what the going rate is for truck washes, but I can’t imagine spending $10-15 or more for something that I can do very easily and conveniently in my own driveway. Besides, it’s the principle of it all - you don’t really own something until you wash it and clean it yourself. That’s when the true costs (time and money) become evident, which ultimately serves as a great deterrent from collecting more things that would require maintenance and cleaning. If I paid someone else to do these things, I might be tempted to take on a lot more stuff and that is the last thing that I need or want.

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This week’s Money $aving Stories

I have enjoyed reading Single Guy Money's blogging series describing the ways he has saved money over the past week. In fact, I like the concept so much I decided to write a post this week about a couple of recent purchases.

To start the weekend, I stopped into the local take n’ bake pizza place with a coupon (mailer) for a free medium pizza. I upgraded to a large size for a dollar. I got four meals out of that one pizza. Not bad! Tasty 25c meals are hard to beat.

Now for the bigger purchase. Tires. Tires can be a major expense. I checked my MS money history and found that it ranks as one of my most costliest one time expenses. Of course, tires usually last a few years, so to be fair the price should be pro-rated.

Anyway, it’s a chunk of cash to layout at one time. To start the ball rolling, I did some internet research to find tires with the best tread wear, traction, temperature and good reviews. Then called my local tire store for a price. I mentioned another internet store’s price that was slightly lower and asked for a discount. The clerk shaved $14 off each tire and gave me a price of $581.77 to get out the door with my preferred tires. I noted this information and the clerks name on a print-out describing the tire.

I was surprised by the amount of markdown and how readily he offered a discount.

The next day I headed to the tire store. I showed the clerk the print-out of the tire I had chosen. He asked about the $581.77 scribbled on the page. Surprisingly, the tire was not in stock – perhaps it sold out in the past day? I had noticed on their website that it was low in stock.

He suggested an alternative. I pointed out that the ratings were similar but the alternative tire was higher priced. Of course, he countered that it was a better tire. He then offered to order my preferred tires or give me these “better” tires that were already in stock for the $581.77 price - which was quite a discount from the stated price of $690.02.

Evidently, moving stock out of their store is a pretty important factor. He was willing to sell a more expensive set of tires for $108 less than sticker to avoid shipping another set.

Most internet tire sites will provide general information on stock quantities at your selected location. It makes sense that the store would want to move inventory, so once you find out a tire is out of stock or low in stock – ask for that tire to be ordered. The clerk just may offer you a better deal on an in-stock tire!

Below is a summary of some tips to help save money on big ticket items.

• Research the item before going to the store (get a grasp on prices)
• Call or e-mail the store (they will bargain more on the phone to entice you into the store)
• Ask for a discount (don’t be shy, they can only say “no”)
• Get a price quote and a clerks name (write it down and take it with you)
• Leverage low stock inventories to your advantage (they want to move inventory and don’t want you to leave without buying)

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Turning a Golden Egg into a Golden Goose

Have you ever dreamed of managing a large sum of money? I am sure many of you would like to give it a try. How tough can it be to manage Paris Hilton’s fortune? Bill Gates’ billions? Most people trivialize such situations probably because they have never seriously considered themselves in such a position. Dreaming about winning the lottery rarely includes dreaming about the financial management side of the story.

I got a sense of the anxiety that can accompany such responsibility when I first hit a big financial milestone. Even though I had been slowly accumulating this money and watching it grow for quite some time, once the amount hit six figures, I started to feel uneasy over managing a sum of this magnitude. Somehow, when it was a lesser amount say $70,000 or even $95,000 it was not an issue, but once it climbed over $100,000 dollars, the panic switch flipped and all of sudden I realized that I had more money than I had ever had.

My plan was working perfectly as I had accumulated a nice nest egg to provide substantial financial security. That was the main goal.

But this money was destined for more than just security it was to be the seed for growing my future early retirement income. It was very important that I invest it wisely. Of course, I had been doing that all along, but for some reason hitting that amount triggered some hesitation. I began questioning whether I possessed the expertise to invest so much money. Most of the people I knew at the time that had anywhere near that much cash also had financial planners. Did I need one now?

I have never employed a financial professional to manage my funds. I have never hired an accountant or CPA, rather I prefer to calculate my own taxes even though they have grown increasingly more complex. I am definitely a DIY’er. And I wanted to remain that way. I had to find a way to get over this new perceived fear that might cause me to freeze up when making financial decisions.

The first thing I did was to organize my accounts so that it was easier to focus on the percentages and not the dollar amounts.

Then, to get everything into perspective; I determined the potential passive income that this lump sum could generate. After all, that huge lump sum really didn’t matter, because it wasn’t going anywhere. In fact, I may never spend that money. What does matter is the amount of money generated by the lump, also known as passive income.

That passive income will one day become my primary source of income in retirement. Looking at it that way, I realized that $100,000 really wasn’t that much money at all. Invested at a conservative rate such as 6%, it would only produce $6,000 a year before tax. I still had a long ways to go and this first $100,000 was just the beginning in my financial future.

This was an important step. I had transitioned from seeing the money from a viewpoint of what it could buy me right now to what it could generate for me in the future. Some see money as a tool to buy things and never reach this next level where money becomes a different kind of tool. Money can become a tool that keeps on giving. It’s no longer the golden egg, but the golden goose.

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