Wed 24 Oct 2007 – 12.54
This sounds like the sort of fishy pseudo-science that can be used to bolster spin and skew data for government grants. I saw we investigate the allegations of WebMD (via CBS news)and their study of how most Americans enjoy their work.
Since 1972, an average of about 86% of Americans say they are satisfied with the work they do and nearly half of them say they’re very satisfied with their current job. In contrast, only 4% say they are very dissatisfied with their work.
I honestly find that shocking. Having read in publications such as Wired Magazine about “duppies” (Depressed Urban Professionals) and with movies like Office Space becoming the battle cry of our generation, I don’t see how so many folks can enjoy their job.
Perhaps ignorance is bliss:
Workers in South Central states from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee had the highest rates of job satisfaction.
By the same logic, I suspect that New Yorkers are unsatisfied because this city lives up to my motto: “Satisfaction is the death of desire.” Draw your own conclusions.
posted by Scott in careers, personal finance.
Mon 08 Oct 2007 – 15.16
Now’s the time, folks. Stash that cash so we don’t find ourselves S.O.L. many years from now. You know, with Social Security going to fund the war in Iraq and all. From ZenHabits comes a list of tips for saving for retirement. Most of these have to do with where to put your money, implying that your checking account is not a good place — under your mattress is a worse place. Here’s a sample:
7. Emergency fund. The recommended 3-6 months of expenses for an emergency fund is a good guideline, but if you don’t have any emergency fund, you should save up at least $1,000 (to start with). Without an emergency fund, you will cut off your retirement contributions anytime an emergency comes up. You absolutely need to start saving an emergency fund today if you want to prepare for retirement. Set up regular transfers to a savings account today.
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posted by Scott in personal finance.
Sun 09 Sep 2007 – 18.24
From ZenHabits comes a new list of 50 tips on how to save money. Yes, we’ve read many of these before, but if you learn one extra tip that saves you a buck, isn’t it worth your time to read? Here’s on that I have personally found to be extremely significant:
Eat out less. One of the biggest expenses in our daily lives is eating out — the average person spends well over $2,000 a year on eating out. Restaurants are expensive, including fast-food (not to mention the health hazards). It’s much cheaper to cook your own food. Our family creates a weekly menu, then we buy the groceries, and cook dinner (and lunch) each evening. Lately I’ve even been prepping it in the morning, so it’s a snap when we get home.
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posted by Scott in personal finance.
What Dating Teaches Us About Money
Sun 26 Aug 2007 – 19.48
Money matters and dating advice in the same post? Yup, it seems that Alan Haft is more clever than the writers of this here site. Using the eternal power of metaphor, these are nice little tid-bits for how to be a wise investor, and at the same time make sense of the dating scene. Slightly.
Pretty sound advice, and taken out of context makes the analogies that much sweeter. For example, “Cut the losers, ride the winners”. Nice choice of words.
posted by Scott in personal finance, relationships.
American Workers Give Aussies Bleak View
Wed 01 Aug 2007 – 16.06
Three low-paid American workers have travelled to Australia to tell Aussies about the dangers of non-unionised working conditions, and to scare them into a better future by avoiding the whole poor-workers-in-a-rich-country thing that has many Americans by the bollocks.
The three Americans were an example of what Australians could expect in the future… Australia is becoming more and more like the United States and these workers are here to tell us how hard it is to be a low paid worker in a rich country … they provide a warning that life could get a lot tougher for Australian working families if the Liberals are re-elected and they make further unfair changes to the IR laws.
That’s funny because here in the States it’s the exact opposite where the conservatives, not the liberals, are the ones promoting the free-for-all economy (at the expense of workers). Ok, no politics on this site, just pointing this out as a commentary on American working life.
posted by Scott in careers, personal finance.
Sun 29 Jul 2007 – 10.13
This one’s all about saving money on everyday things. Now, most of this is common sense, but there are a lot of folks out there who are, in terms of sense, far from common. MSN Money has the article.
Take a read, do stuff like this:
Never pay retail. “Everything’s negotiable,” says Bach, who learned this money lesson from his grandmother. “Almost everywhere she went, she could talk the price down,” he says. And that’s still perfectly acceptable in many retail situations, he says.
posted by Scott in personal finance.
16 Ways to Eat Healthy on the Cheap
Sat 28 Jul 2007 – 10.25
Most twentysomethings do their own grocery shopping. In case your mother didn’t tell you, you realised it for youself at some point — healthy food costs more than junk food. Just compare the price of Tropicana OJ to Coke on a per-volume basis. OJ is about 20x the price, considering you can get a 3L for $1.29.
From a cool blog called Get Rich Slowly, comes a series of tips on how to save cash at the supermarket while not resorting to a diet of Ramen noodles and those mini jugs of coloured sugar-water. Here’s one I’ve been doing for years:
6. Tuna Cans. Canned tuna is cheap & contains as much protein as meat. Alternate tuna with eggs, meat & whey. You’ll easily get to your daily amount of protein.
posted by Scott in health & fitness, personal finance.
Mon 02 Jul 2007 – 10.54
From one of my favourite sites, the Consumerist, comes the 10 Commandments of Credit. Mainly rules for how to avoid debt and live a healthy life — economically speaking.
Here’s one to get you started. The site has more details.
9) Thou Shalt Not Cancel Credit Cards, Thou Shalt Try To Keep Them Open So As Not To Shorten Thine Credit History.
posted by Scott in personal finance.
Sun 24 Jun 2007 – 10.46
Also from ZenHabits comes a list of ways one can help keep the dragon of debt at bay, at least for a little while. Some of these are very useful, but I’m afraid most are obvious, such as:
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1. Don’t get into debt. Use cash for all your purchases and don’t take on any debt except home and auto.
2. Spend less than you earn.
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posted by Scott in personal finance.
Mon 18 Jun 2007 – 11.45
Not Clay Aiken
I didn’t know you could make $100,000 doing that. The purpose of this Forbes.com slideshow list is to make us say hmm, and perhaps revise our own career choices. Then again, most of these I would never want to do, even for $100,000 a year.
posted by Scott in careers, personal finance.