emailprintHow many of you have opened up your 2008 401(k) and IRA statements and seen a 30-40% drop in your assets? (Fortunately, I got out in May, 2008, so it wasn’t much of a shocker…) Too many of us have lost almost half our retirement savings — and along with it, the thought of retiring… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Personal Finance
2008: End of Company Retirement Plans Begins
While many look forward to the new year, there is at least one item from 2008 that merits attention. It may be the year that the end of company retirement plan support begins. It all started with companies eliminating pensions, of course. That part is old news. The new news is that more and more… Continue Reading
In 2005, we wanted to privatize Social Security
It is worth remembering that government counts and impacts Cubicle Warriors. In 2005, George W. Bush wanted to privatize Social Security — because the returns in the stock market would be so much better than what government could provide. He made a serious run at turning the responsibility of getting Social Security returns to the… Continue Reading
Don’t invest in your company stock
Do you remember Enron? While many will remember the fraud that was done in the energy markets, I remember the thousands and thousands of employees who lost everything in their 401(k)’s because they had invested all of it in Enron stock. In a period of just months, they lost everything they had saved. I thought… Continue Reading
4 Ways Career Management is Personal Finance
People stare at me when I tell them that career management is also personal finance. They either get a “deer in headlights” or a glazed look over their eyes when I bring the subject up. Not that I provide financial advice, mind you. No, just the importance of a few principles about why personal finance… Continue Reading
Career Management is About Money
When business evaluates a project, they use a variety of measurements to determine if they will invest the time and effort to achieve the result. Business managers use measurements like Return on Investment to help them reach an investment threshold. If the return hits the threshold, they move the project forward. If it doesn’t, they… Continue Reading
Getting to one year’s take home pay in the bank
Yesterday, I wrote about the need for Cubicle Warriors to have a year’s worth of take home pay in the bank. From a career management perspective, these savings represent your ability to search for the right next position in your career in case of a layoff. Most people would take one look at this advice… Continue Reading
Career Management Requires Financial Management
Can we make an assumption that at some point in your career you will be laid off? We change jobs often. Company competition, especially global competition, is fierce. We may not by unemployed, but the corporate churn in terms of reorganizations is unrelenting. The probability of something bad happening to your position goes up every… Continue Reading
Transition Checklist
When you are in the processes of changing positions to another company there are things that need to be done to ensure that the transition is managed well. Here’s a suggested checklist — do you have any items to add? Networking: Get personal e-mail address and cell phone numbers of those you want to stay… Continue Reading
