Career

Parade Magazine, (the insert in the Washington Post), has a couple of interesting articles this weekend, included under the heading What People Earn. The first article: How Did You Do? compares the salaries of every day people against celebrities, politicians, and athletes. In addition it provides some interesting comments about the average workers perception of … Read more

My father retired from his job at the age of 55, without a magic retirement number. He was offered a high-paying but temporary job, realized he had enough years to claim full pension benefits from the job he’d worked for nearly 30 years, and retired. When the high-paying, contracting job, ended two years later he … Read more

I captured the following statistics from a recent Real Simple article currently on news stands. Surely, we know that women don’t all work 9-5 jobs, but I found the following numbers pretty interesting: 15% of women work at home 32% of women work part time. 28% of women age 25 – 64 stay home. 46% … Read more

Yesterday my boss informed me that he might take a new job in the new year. He said he’s working on a succession plan and recommended me for his position. Sometimes the stars align in ways that make you wonder. I mean, here I am, writing posts for the past two days about the importance … Read more

It seems Eric Tyson, the creator of Personal Finance for Dummies, agrees that a big salary may not be the most important factor in choosing a job. (See yesterday’s post for my original post on this topic.) In an interview Tyson said, “Don’t practice financial envy. Our culture too often focuses on getting ahead, promotions, … Read more

When I first began my career I thought salary and recognition were of the utmost importance. I often worked 8 – 10 hours a day in the office, sometimes failing to eat lunch. More often than not I arrived home, shoved down dinner, then went back to work until 1 or 2 in the morning. … Read more

I came across this list of leadership observations from Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson and couldn’t resist sharing them. You’ll nod your head at many, chuckle at a couple, and find inspiration in a few. It is easier to get into something than to get out of it. If you are not criticized, you may not … Read more

I was watching Food TV one lazy Sunday afternoon a long time ago and came across a story about a woman who had opened a store that would allow you to create pre-prepared frozen meals. The business owner of the store used to make a week’s worth of dinners every Sunday afternoon. That way her … Read more

My open enrollment is set to begin on Monday. I have taken a look at the current medical insurance rates and it looks like I can spend $116.44 a paycheck for a PPO, $95.38 for an HMO, or $64.81 for a High Deductible Health Plan. If you have read my previous postings you are aware … Read more

I work 37.5 hours a week for a total of 1950 hours a year.At $100,000 a year I make $51.28 an hour. Now figure in the 11 federal holidays and 4 1/2 weeks of vacation.And that $51.28 an hour changes to $59.00 an hour. Now add in my employer’s 401(k) match of $3000.00, a $5,000 … Read more