What Would Your Employer Do?

Published by in Blogging, Career on February 20th, 2012

moonlighting side jobI read an interesting blog post the other day about fear of the blogger’s employer finding out they blogged.  My initial reaction was that I didn’t agree, but after reading through the post, I could see some merit in their thoughts (I would link to the post but honestly I can’t remember where I read it).

So, it got me thinking – my philosophy of developing multiple income streams essentially means work AND do side jobs.  And some employers really would frown on it.  So, I decided to do a bit of research on the topic, and would love to hear your thoughts at the end!

 

Does Your Employer Allow Moonlighting?

Almost all companies require their employees to sign non-compete agreements, or even if you don’t actually sign one, it is usually part of a code of conduct or something similar that you agree to as terms of being hired.

However, when it comes to working a side job that is not related to your line of work, most employers allow it as long as it doesn’t interfere or detract from your ability to do your day job.

The tricky part is making sure that nothing of your side job is related to your employer’s business.  If it is, any work you do for your side job could be considered the property of your employer.  If you think your idea competes, and its just a side job, don’t do it.  If you think it will be the next Facebook, consult an attorney!

 

Just Because It’s Legal, Is It Right?

Just because it is allowed by your employer, should you actually have a side job?  If you already do, should you share with your employer or co-workers?

In most instances, I would refrain from sharing the tales of your side job at work – your employer could mistake your conversation about your side job as lack of commitment to the company.  While they can’t legally do anything, it could breed negative thoughts come review time or if you’re up for a promotion.

 

Some Basic Side Job Rules

If you’re going to have a main job and a side job, here are some basic rules to follow:

  • Full Time Job is Always First
  • Follow All Company Policies
  • Never Compete With Your Employer

If you follow those rules, and your employer allows it, you should be free to take all the side jobs you want!

 

Readers, what has been your experience with having a full-time job and a side job?  Are you worried your employer may find out?

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Want To Save Money? Don’t Gamble!

Published by in Personal on February 12th, 2012

Cruise GamblingI just got back from a great vacation – I took a cruise on the Mexican Riviera!  It was a ton of fun, and it was very reasonable too.  However, I was shocked by a trend I saw all over the ship – gambling.  It was evident in every form: the casino, tables on the pool deck, advertising in room, and even bingo just about every night in the showroom.

What was even more surprising was how easy the ship made it to gamble.  All you needed to do was insert your room key (which, if you’ve cruised, you know also is your ships charge card and key to everything!).  Everyday, you could spend up to $2,000 on your room key card, without even having to be pre-qualified or anything.  Crazy!  On a 7-day cruise, that could add up to over $14,000 without even blinking!

 

Remember: The Odds are NOT in Your Favor

No matter what game you play in a casino, it is essential that you remember the odds of winning are not in your favor.  Casinos are in business to make money, and they are very good at doing so.

Here are some popular games and their odds:

  • Blackjack: Player Win: 44% Dealer Win: 48%
  • Craps: Best House Edge (Pass Line): 0% Worst House Edge: 16.67% (Any 7)
  • Roulette: If Single Zero, House Edge is 2.7%, If Double Zero, it’s 5.26%
  • Slot Machines: Average Payout Ranges from 92.5% to 98.4%

Notice a trend here?  All casino games favor the house.  However, they keep their margin pretty low so that it doesn’t seem abusive.  However, over the long term, the odds are in the casino’s favor.

 

Still Want to Play?

If you still want to gamble, it is essential that you think about it for what it is: entertainment.  If you look at it as part of your entertainment budget, you won’t get yourself into too much trouble.  Just set yourself a limit and go have fun.

The trick is to make your money last.  You don’t want $100 to last you just 10 minutes, or else you may want to bet more to play more.  If you want to make your money last, play a game that has pretty good odds, and gives you control over the bet.  Blackjack is pretty good, and so is craps.

Once you have your game, stick to the minimum.  Try to find a low minimum table, like $5, so you don’t lose your play money too quickly.  It may be tempting to bet bigger if you’re winning, but remember, it is simple odds.  Think about flipping a quarter – how many times will your flip a “head” in a row?  If you’ve already flipped 5 head’s in a row, you may think you odds of getting a 6th head are smaller – but it is still 50/50 every flip.

 

Readers, do you have any advice on making the most of gambling entertainment?

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Bad Credit Cards

Published by in Credit Cards on February 2nd, 2012

bad credit cardsI think almost every post I’ve ever read on personal finance sites talks about the best credit cards, or what rewards to get (I know I’ve done this many times before).

However, I thought it would be fun to highlight some traits of bad credit cards.  There are more of these types of cards out there so be cautious.

 

Common Bad Credit Card Traits

To start, here are some traits of bad credit cards.  Usually, many will have high fees, high interest rates, and charges for every type of transaction under the sun.

Some cards even try to take advantage of consumers.  For example, there are many bad credit credit cards  that are designed to help individuals rebuild their poor credit, but in reality, keep these people chained down by fees or other restrictions.

 

Worst Fee Cards

The worst fee card is the New Millenium Bank card.  This card is a secured card, but it comes with a $59 annual fee, and many other fees just to open an account.  On average, to open the card, it will cost you a whopping $140 dollars – and this is to just get started.

This card also has no grace period (meaning the balance is due in full immediately – where most cards have a 21 day to 30 day grace period).  Finally, the interest rate is high, at 19.5%.

This card is no longer available, but it gives you a sense of what some companies are going.

 

Highest Interest Rate Cards

How would you feel having an interest rate of 79.9%?  What about if you knew the national average for credit cards was around 15%?

Believe it or not, First Premier Bank tried issuing a credit card with a 79.9% interest rate, and if you qualified, a 59.9% interest rate.  Furthermore, the credit line was only $300 – so it is clearly designed for individuals with less than great credit.

The scary thing is that this is completely legal – as long as it is clearly disclosed up front. So, if you’re feeling bad about your 19.9% card, just think you could be paying 4x that amount.

 

Readers, what are your thoughts on these outrageous credit cards?  

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My Monthly Income Stream Report – January 2012

Published by in Income Report on February 1st, 2012

multiple income streamsWow, January 2012 is already over!  I can’t believe how fast this month has gone (I wonder if the rest of 2012 will be going by this fast as well?).  January was a great month to start the year, as I had a lot of new things going on!

 

Important Happenings in January

  • The biggest happening in January is that I started a Writing Service.  I’ve always done some freelance writing, as you may have seen on various income stream reports throughout 2011, but I really formalized it, and took advantage of a giant gap that was created in the market.  I will write more about that this month, but needless to say, it was a great source of income this month.
  • In my December 2011 Multiple Income Stream Report, I made an announcement that I would be writing an article everyday in January at The College Investor.  I’m proud to say that I achieved my goal.  I also have been writing at least once a week at Entrepreneurship Life, and I hope to increase that to twice a week this year.
  • I also launched my eBook at The College Investor.  It is called Student Loan Debt, and just like it sounds, it is all about student loan debt – how to get in smart and get out painlessly.  This has actually been a work in progress for a long time (since middle of last year), and I finally got it done and published.  I’m offering it for free, just sign up for my newsletter!

 

Multiple Income Streams

  • Investments
    • Dividends: $1,374.51
  • Websites
    • The College Investor
      • Private Advertising: $1,770
      • Affiliate Ads: $100.01
      • CPC Ads: $12.51
      • Amazon: $2.83
      • Sponsored Tweets: $3.40
    • My Multiple Incomes
      • Private Advertising: $170
      • CPC Ads: $4.86
    • Entrepreneurship Life
      • CPC Ads: $1.50
    • Niche Site #1
      • CPC Ads: $5.75
  • Other
    • Writing Service: $820
Gross Total: $4,265.37
Difference from December: +$3,022.96

 

What I Learned

1. My biggest learning this month has been time management.  I wrote a post everyday for The College Investor, which was huge.  I also found the time to write tons of articles for my writing service, as well as post here.  What I’ve discovered is that writing a bunch at once, and then scheduling out posts has been a huge help.  I’ve discovered a plugin called Editorial Calendar, which has been very helpful in allowing me to plan and visualize my posts.  I’ve also found that by planning, it allows me to have a cohesiveness across series of posts.

2. You’ve always heard the saying – to get people to sign-up for your newsletter you’ve got to give them something great for free.  That was my strategy with my eBook, and it is really paying off.  I’ve had my current newsletter at The College Investor up for about 6 months, and in the two weeks I’ve had my eBook launched, I’ve been able to double my subscribers!  Insane!

 

One of the interesting things about personal finance is that in the business of blogging about personal finance, January to April is prime time.  As such, I really hope to continue to drive great results across my web properties, as well as through my writing service!

 

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How To Boost Your Salary – Without Asking!

Published by in Career on January 26th, 2012

take a vacationI know the title may sound like a misnomer, but there is a way you can get a raise without asking your boss, talking to HR, or really doing anything – it is taking all the vacation days you’re entitled to.

The average American worker leaves almost 7 days of vacation unused each year.  Not only could that go to waste (some companies don’t allow you to carry vacation over), but you are not taking advantage of a huge part of your total compensation.

 

Vacation is Compensation

If you are an employee, vacation is factored into your compensation plan.  If you don’t take all of your vacation, you are basically leaving money on the table.  Let’s break it down.  I assume that you get two weeks of vacation total, but I will run three scenarios for you.

If you work 40 hours per week for 52 weeks per year, you 2,080 hours per year.  If you make an annual salary of $50,000, you basically get paid $24/hour.

Now, if you work the same 40 hours per week, but only work 51 weeks (you take a week of vacation), you only work 2,040 hours.  At the same salary as above, you just got yourself a $0.50 raise to $24.50 (which is actually 2% more – not as bad in percentage terms).

Finally, if you work the same 40 hours per week, but cut it down to 50 weeks (assuming you take your full two weeks off), you work 2,000 hours.  That lands you at $25 per hour, a whole $1 more per hour than not taking any vacation (and in percentage terms, 4% more).

So, by not taking your full vacation, you are essentially giving yourself a 4% PAY CUT.  Why would you do that to yourself?

 

Taking Vacation is Hard To Do

You may argue that taking a vacation is hard to do because of what your job entails – you’re needed for whatever reason, or whenever you leave, things fall apart.  Well, that may be the case, but if you’re so needed, why are you getting paid LESS to go to work than to take a vacation?

If you still find it difficult, maybe you should consider not going all at once, and spreading your days out.  If you get two weeks vacation, that is 10 business days.  You could use each of those 10 days to give yourself a long weekend by taking a Friday or Monday off.   You could even get more creative and combine it with an existing holiday, and get a 4 or 5 day weekend. Now, nobody is going to fault you for taking a long weekend?

 

Whatever the case, you should be focused on maximizing your multiple income streams, and for most people the biggest income stream is working.  As such, make the most of it, and get paid to the fullest!

 

Readers, what are your thoughts on taking all your vacation?  Are you taking it all, or falling into the vacation pay cut trap?

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