money

Don’t Forget to Make Your Offering to Uncle Sam

by Emma / April 12, 2011 / 6 comments

Dont Forget to Make Your Offering to Uncle Sam

U.S. readers: Your taxes are due April 18, 2011 (not the normal date, April 15).

For the first time ever, I did my taxes wayyy early — a few months ago. I used TurboTax, like always, and it was super easy.

If you want to take a stab at doing them completely on your own (no tax software, just you and the old tax code), there are some resources to help — here and here.

In law school, I took Tax I and II. Tax I is all about income tax. So back then, I figured — I can do this myself! I don’t need tax software, leave that for the amateurs!

I ended up doing my taxes myself, pencil and paper… and then I decided to check it against TurboTax, since it’s free until you actually file. Yeah, I was off by a couple hundred dollars. Whoops. Guess I’m not so smart, after all.

Anyway, I’ve been searching for some post inspiration lately. It seems that some weeks, I feel like I have too many posts, and others, I can’t think of anything to say! Hopefully, inspiration will strike soon. It’s too bad this is a career blog, because I have plenty to say these days about shopping for vintage items on Etsy (I just bought some great pieces), planning travel in Europe, and the Real Housewives of New York City.

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Negotiating Your Starting Salary

by Emma / April 6, 2011 / 2 comments

Negotiating Your Starting Salary

In my post law school life, I’ve worked only for the federal government and a large law firm as an entry level attorney. Both have set starting salaries, with no room to negotiate. In my jobs before law school, it never occurred to me to try to negotiate. I had to take what I could get, right?

Wrong. I realize now that I could have negotiated to get, at the least, a small bump in pay. Going forward, I plan to negotiate. But how do you go about it?

The Wall Street Journal has offered some good advice for those entertaining a job offer, on how to negotiate higher pay and better benefits, in five steps:

1. Research salaries in your industry. This information will arm you with a justification for your salary request. Check out Salary.com, Payscale.com, and Glassdoor.com.

2. Don’t propose the first number. Many job applications will ask you what your salary expectations are. The WSJ says to avoid this at all costs — it gives the employer the upper hand in negotiations. If possible, right N/A on your application. If pressed, give a salary range with about $15,000 between the numbers.

3. Don’t lie about your current salary. It’s a risky move to get a boost in the negotiations. The employer could find out about the lie and retract your offer.

4. Don’t take the first offer. According to the WSJ, a good rule of thumb is to ask for 10% more than the offer entails. Apparently, most employers expect this, and work the possibility of a counteroffer into their initial amount.

5. Once you’ve got the salary down, go for benefits. This is a good opportunity for asking to work from home a day a week or a couple days a month.

via The Wall Street Journal.

Have you negotiated your salary? What tips do you have?

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I Have a Confession to Make

by Emma / March 3, 2011 / 16 comments

I Have a Confession to Make

Last month, I spent $900 on food and alcohol.

Yes, that’s insane.

I realized it when I finally took a look at “Budgets” in my Mint.com account. Mint automatically sorts your purchases for you by category (you can tweak the categories; sometimes it makes mistakes). After realizing that my plan of saving more wasn’t going too well, I figured it was time to face the music.

I spent: $162 on Alcohol & Bars, $48 at Coffee Shops, $23 on Fast Food, $255 on Groceries, and $431 at Restaurants. Yikes.

There is some explanation for this high number (I “only” spent $600 the month before). My boyfriend and I turned a wedding a few weeks ago into a mini-vacation, and we indulged in some nights out. But we also go out for food multiple times in a given weekend anyway, and I go out to dinner at least once during the week with friends.

BYO restaurants are also big where I live, so a large chunk of the $162 spent on Alcohol & Bars was stocking up on bottles of wine that will last me for two months or so.

But it’s obvious some changes need to be made. I always thought that I would save a lot while I was young for a larger pay-off later, and that’s not happening.

[read on]

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A Year of Living Frugally

by Emma / March 1, 2011 / 0 comments

A Year of Living Frugally

Angeline of The New Professional

Angeline, blogging at The New Professional, this past year went on the Great American Apparel Diet. The “diet” was to abstain from purchasing new clothes for one year. Angeline’s tally? 362 days purchase-free. That’s pretty darn good.

She posted some great advice for those who want to start their own shopping diet:

Set parameters. Are you abstaining from clothes, shoes, accessories, or all of the above?

Set a timeline. That way you’ll know when you’ve succeeded. Start small if you have to. My first shopping diet was for a quarter in college (10 weeks), and then I did 6 months in 2009. Baby steps.

Unsubscribe to retailer and sale emails or delete them immediately. DO. NOT. OPEN.

Ask for help and support from your friends and shopping buddies. It helps.

Swap and accept. Whether it’s permanently (through a swap event), borrowing clothes from a friend, or scouring your mom’s closet for hand-me-downs, there are several ways to work new pieces into your outfit without spending a dime. Even if they’re not your style at first glance, try it out. You can always give it back or pass it on.

Check out Angeline’s blog for more on the challenge.

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Spreading the Budget Love

by Emma / January 20, 2011 / 2 comments

Spreading the Budget Love

Designer Luc Latulippe tapes this simple spreadsheet (that he designed) to his fridge, and he and his partner jot in their expenses as they arise throughout the month. For example, after coming home from dinner, they can write in the bill in the “Restaurants” category. It’s a low tech, but effective, way to stay on track.

He’s sharing his budget chart eye-candy with the rest of us. You can head over to his blog, and download the chart in PDF or Excel spreadsheet.

Thanks for sharing, Luc. It’s really quite genius!

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Learn the Stock Market Ropes without the Risk

by Emma / October 25, 2010 / 1 comment

Learn the Stock Market Ropes without the Risk

When I was growing up, I’d observe my dad checking the stock tickers and talking about his investments. I was used to the idea of putting extra money into the stock market for long-term investing.

Now that I’m an adult, I’ve traded some stocks with my own money, but I can’t pretend to be an expert. There’s still tons I don’t know and that I’d like to learn. That’s why I was happy to see Mashable’s list of 5 stock market games that serve as tutorials for beginners.

[read on]

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How Much Should You Spend on Rent?

by Emma / July 30, 2010 / 14 comments

How Much Should You Spend on Rent?

I’m taking a new job in a new city in September. With that, comes a new paycheck. In a week I’ll go check out housing options and hopefully sign a lease on an apartment, but in the meantime I need to figure out my budget.

So I’ve been researching how much I should spend on housing, and here’s what I’ve found.

Find out the conventional wisdom →

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Five Quick Ways to Earn Extra Money Online

by Emma / July 6, 2010 / 0 comments

Five Quick Ways to Earn Extra Money Online

Not wanting to allow Mary J. Ashton to one-up me (the go-to entrepreneurial guru for the 19th-century set), I’ve focused my efforts on compiling ways the 21st-century woman can earn some extra cash (and don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to enter questionable advertisements on Craigslist).

And I actually managed to come up with a pretty decent list. These ideas aren’t going to earn you millions of dollars, but they are ways to bulk up next month’s paycheck.

[read on]

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Why You Should Start Saving Money Now

by Emma / July 2, 2010 / 2 comments

Why You Should Start Saving Money NowIf you’re in your mid-twenties, the idea of saving for retirement now may seem like a joke. You barely have two nickels to rub together after paying for rent, food, clothing, your iPhone bill, weekly pedicures, and Spot’s dog treats.

But I’m here to tell you that you should find ways to cut expenses and redirect that money into investments. Now. Because there are some advantages to investing early that are really too good to pass up.

[read on]

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