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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Hear Ye Hear Ye! Companies That ARE Hiring!

You've Got the JobImage via Wikipedia

I was just watching CNNMoney and heard about this article on Fortune.com. Here's an excerpt from an article "They're Hiring!"

"As many big companies are announcing mass layoffs, these 20 top employers have at least 350 openings each right now. Which Best Companies to Work For are doing the most recruiting and what kind of candidates are they looking for?"

Here are the links from each page of the slide show attached to the article. The Companies are:
  1. Edward Jones
  2. Google
  3. Wegmans Food Markets
  4. Cisco Systems
  5. Genentech
  6. Methodist Hospital System
  7. Whole Foods Market
  8. Microsoft
  9. Burns and McDonnell
  10. Ernst and Young
  11. Booz Allen Hamilton
  12. KPMG
  13. Pricewaterhousecoopers
  14. Scripps Health
  15. Mayo Clinic
  16. Baptist Health South Florida
  17. Bright Horizons
  18. Publix Supermarkets
  19. TMobile
  20. Accenture


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A Kiplinger Article - Where The Jobs May Be

My Work SpaceImage by ForestForTrees via Flickr

Kiplinger.com (the online version of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine) recently published a very interesting article - 13 Hot Jobs in Hard Times - on where the jobs may be in a Recession and/or Depression. Check the article out for details on the categories:
  1. Accountants
  2. Education
  3. Entertainment Industry
  4. Utility Companies
  5. Repairers
  6. Energy Industry
  7. Health Care
  8. Senior Services
  9. Law enforcement
  10. "Sin" Industries (see article for their definition)
  11. Clergy
  12. Repossession, foreclosure and debt collection
  13. Government Work
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10 Best Green Jobs For The Next 10 Years

You've Got the JobImage via Wikipedia

Great post!

A green economy means opportunities; many of which are much needed with record rising unemployment. This post about jobs helps people to focus on where those job opportunities may be.

About Economy
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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Friday, January 30, 2009

An invitation for you......

Facebook, Inc.Image via Wikipedia

Join the Earn and Save More Money Community on Facebook:

We'd love to hear your ideas, tips and suggestions!


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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Spend Less on Health Care - 3 Quick Tips

104/365: I love the dentist.Image by Betsssssy via Flickr

No one wants to think about getting sick, but it happens. Plus, there's regular health maintenance all of us have to do - annual checkups etc. One thing we know for sure - health care is very expensive. Here are 3 quick tips to bring down those healthcare costs.:

1. Get health insurance.

For some people it's part of your benefits package at work; while others debate whether or not they should pay the premiums. Well, why do you pay premiums? So that the insurance company will cover the costs of certain covered activities up to the limit of the insurance that you have bought.

Health insurance is worth it, and here's why:

  • Health insurance covers a wide range of things - doctors visits, dentist visit, optician visits, prescriptions, hospitalizations etc. Other than hospitalizations, I think health care provider visits (doctor etc.) and prescriptions are pretty unavoidable for most people. Since you have to spend money regularly on health-care, why not pay the least that you can for each visit/prescription/event?
  • Here's the key: if you have an unexpected health catastrophe at any age, comprehensive major medical benefit covers you so you don't have to look first to wiping out savings, going into debt or cashing in investments.
What do you need to know about health insurance? You pay a fraction of the cost up to a limit.

Consider this.
  • My recent visit to the dentist cost J$6000. BUT, when I took out my insurance card, I actually paid J$1200. That's right. I saved J$4800 just by making sure that I had health insurance and had the card. I paid 20% of the cost that was quoted to me. I saved 80%.
  • Prescriptions with insurance can be hundreds of dollars instead of thousands of dollars.
If American Express would allow me to borrow their tag line, I'd say "I never leave home without my insurance card"

2. Get a NHF card.


A NHF card is a National Health Fund card, and no you don't have to be a senior citizen to qualify. If you live in Jamaica, if you have a NHF card, the government will subsidize the cost of certain prescriptions in certain categories of illness.

NHF and your insurance card work well together. So let's say you need Drug A. Drug A is covered by NHF and the Government pays a portion. Then, the pharmacist will determine if your insurance will pick up another portion, and how much. Then you pay what's left between the original cost and what NHF paid and what your insurance paid.

Now, why get an NHF card? Because it will allow your insurance benefits to last longer - you will take longer to reach your prescription limits and therefore receive more subsidies by using both.

What illnesses does NHF cover? Here's the list (click here):
  • Cardio-vascular: Hypertension, Ischaemic Heart Disease, Rheumatic Fever/Heart Disease, High Cholesterol, Vascular Disease
  • Endocrine: Diabetes
  • Neurological: Epilepsy, Major Depression, Psychosisoptical
  • Optical: Glaucoma
  • Respiratory: Asthma
  • Musculo-skeletal; Arthritis
NHF has a specific list of drugs in each category and the amount of subsidy for each. Here is the link for the Drug Subsidy List. For information about how to apply for a NHF card, click here.

3. Prevention and Wellness

Generally speaking, it's less expensive to avoid illness than to treat it or cure it. Take the time to adopt a healthy lifestyle with proper nutrition, diet, exercise and rest. Besides, the better you treat your body, the more you strengthen it to fight illnesses that you may not have been able to avoid!


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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Reducing Bills! - Electricity Bills, Phone Bills, Water Bills

SAN FRANCISCO - JANUARY 31:  A worker at the C...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I was supposed to be writing about benefits and rewards tonight, but let's have a change of topic.

Anyone catch today's local paper? 15% increases by retailers because of the depreciation of the dollar. WOW! Well, my first thought is that those discounts will definitely come in mighty handy now! If you missed yesterday's post on the value of discounts, check it out here: Earn And Save - Real $$$ with Discounts!

Where else can we can possibly cut some expenses right away. Let's try the utilities - electricity, phone/internet and water.

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Electricity

If you live in Jamaica, you probably think it's impossible to save money here. We all had those astronomical bills earlier in the year. (If you are elsewhere, you may still find this story useful because its about changing consumption habits)

If you already understand your bill, forgive this boring part. Here's what you need to know to manage your electricity bill. The bill is determined by the consumption and the rate. The rate is driven by oil prices and depreciation. By law, JPS (the local utility company) is allowed to request a rate increase. So, when your bill is increasing, one or more of these scenarios if happening:
  • Constant consumption, higher rate due to a rate increase. A rate increase in not something you can control.
  • Constant consumption, higher rate due to oil prices. Oil prices are outside of your control.
  • Constant consumption, higher rate due to depreciation. Depreciation is outside of your control.
  • Higher consumption, constant rates. Rates are outside of your control, but you can do something about consumption.
  • Higher consumption, higher rates. Rates are outside of your control, but you can do something about consumption.
What can you control? Consumption. Reduce Consumption!

So, what's happening now. Well, oil prices are down (YAY!), but depreciation is way above average. So, in November we had a 2% depreciation, in December we had a 3% depreciation and now in January we are at 5.6% depreciation so far for the month. So, should you expect a higher rate? I am. A depreciating dollar means the rate is going up, regardless of what happens to oil prices. And I've also braced myself for the rate increase JPS will ask for in a few months.

So, in anticipation of that, what have we done here at home? Read on.
  • We found out what really uses up electricity in the house. So here's what the electrician told me - the electric stove, toaster oven, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, water heater and air conditioners. Here are some tips 1) use energy saving light bulbs and appliances (turn off the lights when you are not in the rooms), manage your water heater (turn it off when you can, or spend the money for a timer - we just manage ours), manage the use of the stove, the dishwasher and the toaster oven (don't use it if you don't have to, so make sure the dishwasher is full, etc), manage the air conditioners (don't use them when you don't need them, turn them off if no one is in the room and use fans as much as possible if you need a substitute), and manage the iron (turn it on once and do a lot of ironing rather than turn it off and on repeatedly). Even though these are not big ticket items, try to unplug whatever you can when you can. So, for example, when you are not using your cell phone charger to charge your phone, don't keep it plugged in because it's still increasing your consumption!
  • We had a meeting with everyone in the house and decided we would have an "Electricity Police". I appointed myself. As the Electricity Police, I announced that there would a $100 fine for every incident that resulted in wasted electricity. Examples include: leaving on a light, leaving on a fan, leaving on the air conditioning, using the air conditioning unnecessarily etc. Everyone immediately complained - loudly - that the fine was completely unreasonable. To which I responded: "Oh, so since no one objects to the principle of a fine, the fine shall be $10 per incident with possibility of escalation if behavior does not change". The proceeds from the fines shall go into a common pool for all the members of the house. Quick Tip: make sure you agree on what is considered "unnecessary use of electricity" because people will debate fines. We are in our first month, and truthfully, I have relaxed the fines. They are being charged but not collected. BUT, the objective is being achieved - we have been much more responsible in the use of the electricity in the house and I have a log of the offenders for future use. For now, as the Electricity Police, I just turn off the lights etc,. However, if I am not satisfied with the consumption levels at the next bill, then the fines shall be imposed AND collected.
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On to the phone, mobile in particular:

OK, maybe I am alone in this, but I was not the most cost efficient when it came to mobile phones. Prior to my experiments, I had 3 mobile phones - 1 regular mobile phone with carrier "A", a blackberry number with carrier "A" (the blackberry did not work but I never disconnected the number) and a company mobile number. Three phones for someone who does not talk on the phone. No, it was time to look at this situation.
  • Almost all of the people I talk to use carrier "B". I however had a number carrier "A". So minute for minute it was costing me much more to talk to the few people I did. Then I realized that I use blackberry messenger much more than talking, so I got a blackberry with carrier "B" so that would save me and my family and friends money when we did talk on the phone. My plan reflects my usage - I don't talk much so I don't need a lot of minutes.
  • But wait, sounds like I got a 4th phone. I had. BUT, I permanently disconnected the blackberry number from carrier "A" which I was never using but paying for. Saved me thousands of dollars every month. Then, since everyone already know my other number I kept it but revised the plan. Good thing I looked! The plan was the most expensive for the most minutes, but I don't talk on the phone. So I took it to the bare minimum. Saved me thousands of dollars every month AGAIN!.
  • And here's the bonus! My new carrier "B" reduces my bill by $100 every month because I pay online!
Bottom Line: Check your phone plans and get only what you need. Be realistic.

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A quick word on water.

Leaky pipes are an unnecessary expense that adds up. Check your bills every month and watch your consumption. If it seems to be moving suspiciously, you may have a leak that you don't know about. Have an audit done and have it fixed. It'll save you in recurring expenses for an indefinite period. I've seen water bills that had deviations in the thousands of dollars. Left unchecked, that will be thousands of dollars you have to pay every month. Totally unnecessary.

A special plug here for for conservation: The world's water resources are limited. It looks like a lot but freshwater available for potable use for human consumption is about 1% of all the water in the world. And much of it is polluted by human and industrial sources. And the human population has significant demands. So do yourself a favor, literally, and conserve every drop because it is very precious.


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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Real $$$ with Discounts !

The Dollar SignImage via WikipediaMeet your new best friend - Discounts!

Now, I have a confession to make here - until my experiments started, I never asked for discounts. At minimum, Discounts are supposed to reduce the cost of your consumption. However, they do more than that. By reducing the cost of consumption, they leave more money that can earn interest. Also, dollar for dollar, every time you forgo a discount you could have used in 5 minutes, you have depleted more than one whole YEAR's accumulated after-tax interest.

If you are a skeptic - like I was - let me tell you how I was convinced.

First, I realized that in a 5 minute transaction, if I get a discount on $1 of say 10% (the usual discount amount), I would have saved 10 cents. Not worth the effort, right? No, actually.
  • For one, it's very straightforward to get a discount, so it's not really a bother.
  • For two, and this was the clincher for me, I thought to myself, well, how long does it take me to get 10 cents worth of interest on $1? Well, as it turns out, its much longer than 5 minutes. It can even be longer than a year. That's right ONE WHOLE YEAR. That's because the majority of after tax interest rates of saving are less than 10%. So, here came my "aha moment" when I realized that by not asking for a discount, I was negating all the interest I was earning. No, that would not do.
  • For three, the more money that stays in my saving account that is not spent earns interest so why not reduce the cost of consumption if I can.
Let me tell you about my discount experiment:

Because I have car insurance with NEM (in Jamaica), I am provided with a JAA card.
Full Disclosure: I work with JNBS, the parent of NEM and JAA.

Now, JAA stands for the Jamaica Automobile Association (it is affiliated with the International Automobile Associations ). JAA has discount partners with more than two hundred (yes, 200) merchants with discounts ranging from 5%-55%! See list here.

I wanted to see how the discount program worked so one Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago, I went to my regular pharmacy for an item. They had it and the cost was J$500. However, my regular pharmacy was not listed as a JAA Discount Partner - that means I could not use my JAA card. So, I went to the next nearest pharmacy listed as a JAA Discount Partner. They had the item and it was the same price as my regular pharmacy.

Great, I thought! 10% off means I save J$50. In 5 minutes, I would have saved myself what it takes more than one whole year to earn in after-tax interest on savings on a J$500 deposit. AND, if I save J$50, I can continue to earn interest on the J$50. Now, I was really excited.

But alas, there was a hitch. I asked a store employee if I could use the JAA card for my discount and was told no. I said "But, there's a sign on the door". There was. But maybe she didn't remember or was new. So, luckily I had carried my list from the JAA (a multiple page document outlining all the discount partners and the amount of the discount) and showed her that the pharmacy was listed. She was most gracious and agreed to provide me with the discount. So, after my bill rung up, I paid it, said thanks and headed to the door.

Now, I couldn't wait to see the bill as evidence of my experiment! And here's where I learned another lesson: Always Check Your Bills and Receipts. When I checked my bill, my discount was there - but it was on J$750, not J$500. So, I got a $75 discount, but the item had cost me $675 when it should have cost me $450 with my $50 discount on $500. I had paid more than the original $500! Frankly, I was deflated. This was not the way this experiment was supposed to go. BUT, I had learned to check the receipt.

So, I went back to the store employee and asked what caused the price difference. Turns out it was an error and the adjustment was made so that I was charged the price I saw for the item. So I got my discount, and had paid less - that was the point of the experiment and I had achieved it!

Bottom line: You can save some real money immediately by using discounts! Dollar for dollar in 5 minutes, the cost of NOT using a discount can exceed one whole YEAR's worth of accumulated after-tax interest. If you get a discount, the money saved can continue to earn interest! Even if there may be a problem, persist because it is worth it.

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If you are in Jamaica, a JAA card provides a network of approximately 200 local discount partners with discounts ranging from 5% to 55%. It has other benefits too, including overseas discount benefits but let's focus on the local discounts for tonight. Click here .Chances are you will find something on this list already relevant to your daily life. Although the merchants can change at any time - and some of the new ones have not yet been updated on the website, the categories are listed below and I have linked each one to the JAA website so you can see the current list. Click below and see the merchants!!
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Additionally, if you are a member of Jamaica National Building Society (that means you have any kind of savings account with the Society), you have similar access to the 200 discount partner network.
Click here. There are slight differences from the JAA list. To get the discount, you need to show your JN 24/7 ABM card. Chances are you will find something on this list already relevant to your daily life. Although the merchants can change at any time - and some of the new ones have not yet been updated on the website, the categories are listed below and I have linked each one to the JNBS website so you can see the current list:
Two simple little cards - a JAA Card and a JNBS 24/7 (ATM card) - are a great place to start to get those extra $$$$! You can get a JAA card by insuring with NEM, or purchasing membership directly from the JAA (see rates here). Keep a savings account linked to JN 24/7 ATM/Debit Card and receive your card to show for discounts!

Let's talk about benefits and rewards tomorrow!


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Monday, January 26, 2009

More Money - The Basics

Banknotes from all around the World donated by...Image via WikipediaTo get you started, there are 3 basic things you need to remember about money management.

1. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE.

No matter what, you HAVE to save; you MUST save. Saving is not - I repeat not - investing. This is saving - take money and deposit it with a regulated financial institution where your deposits are insured (by the FDIC in the US or the JDIC in Jamaica) up to a limit, and where that regulated financial institution will provide interest at a pre-defined interest rate on that deposit over a period of time.

Why is saving the foundation, the key?
  • When you save, your money earns interest for you. Now, other than working to earn more or receiving a gift, how else do you get "new money"?
  • Save more, earn more interest.
  • Save longer, earn more interest.
  • Save your interest and your interest earns interest.
Saving is the absolute basic minimum you must do!

What is the best way to save?

Heard of the "Pay yourself first" principle? Before you do anything else, as you get a paycheck or a payment for services rendered, take a portion and save it - don't invest it, save it. It would be best if you could get into a habit and decide on an amount and do it by salary deduction. That way you don't agonize over "should I' or "shouldn't I". Trust me, after a while you won't even miss it and you'll be happy to watch those savings grow every month. Remember this if you remember nothing else.

2. SPEND LESS.

Easier said than done, right? If you are in Jamaica, this sounds impossible given the cost of basic necessities. Well, here are some suggestions:
  • Exercise discipline in consumption. Buy what you need, not what you want. Yesterday's post gave you an idea of how that can work.
  • Find out all benefits and discounts available to you and use them. Trust me in 5 minutes what you save by using these discounts and benefits can exceed one year of after-tax interest, dollar for dollar. Come back tomorrow for some specific tips on this one because I discovered big savings and small savings here. Regardless, they all add up.
  • Take on reducing spending in your utilities as a special project - phone, electricity and water. I've done experiments with those and I'll share them later in the week.
What's the one thing to remember with spending less: When you spend less, you have more money to save which earns interest.

3. MANAGE YOUR DEBT.

This needs some clarity. Not all debt is bad. Debt that is unsustainable is bad. Debt that you cannot afford to service is bad. If the price you pay for being completely debt free is depleting your savings, I would say that is too high a price. So let's think of debt as something you manage.
  • First, dollar for dollar interest charges will exceed the after tax interest earned on savings. This means that you are paying out in interest more than you earn in interest. So, if you have debt, the experts advise you to rank them starting with the highest rate and aggressively pay down that one, then the next highest rate etc. Now important: always service all your debts because not only is it the responsible thing to do, if you don't, then you pay penalties and fees, and it's bad for your credit rating. So, when I say "aggressively" pay down debt, it means pay more than the minimum to eliminate it faster.
  • Second, really try to minimize using credit cards. Use cash and ABM cards (fee free preferably). If you can wait, save towards the goal to purchase the item. If you can't wait, remember that you are paying more for the item in finance charges. Would you want that item if it were $150 instead of $100? You may have paid $100, but if the charge sits on your card, then you may end up paying more like $150 (depending on interest rate, time to pay etc.).
What's to remember with managing debt: Less debt, lower rates, shorter time periods means less in interest charges which you could have saved to earn interest. Oh, and pay your debt on time to avoid late fees because those add up!

Those are the absolute basics.

For each category - savings, expenditure and debt - there is much more we can discuss. But we'll get into that later.

Now to get you started on your journey, you need to make an assessment of your current financial picture. What do you earn? What do you save? What do you invest? Did you remember saving and investing are different and do you treat them as such? What are your expenses? Can you track every cent you spend every month? If not, start a log and write it down. How much debt do you have? What interest rates are you paying?

Want to know what I did? I have had an Excel workbook for years, and I have different tabs for different categories and its color coded and everything. I know every single dollar that comes in goes out, and have different scenarios for debt, saving and investing.
  • That means I track my accumulation of savings and make conscious decisions about when and where to put my money.
  • That means that I have an extremely detailed budget and I know all my regular expenses, and make a provision for contingencies
  • That means before I even use a credit card I know what it is likely to cost me even for one month in interest.
  • That means before I decide if I should invest, I know the expected return, I evaluate the risk in terms of the market environment and my own personal finance goals. I know where the funds will come from, and I do not sacrifice my savings goals.
My model is very straightforward and I know where to find everything, and change parameters for scenario planning. I have projected at least 5 years into the future. And it's very conservative. It works for me. Some people prefer to use software. Find what works for you.

Now assess the picture, do you like what you see? Are you saving? Are you saving enough? Do you know what enough is? Have you figured that out? Are you meeting your expenses? Do you see anywhere you could cut expenses? Have you looked at your monthly interest charges on debt? Did you realize that if you paid even a little more in debt payments you could reduce your interest charges, and therefore the total cost of the debt?

Now, don't worry. If this is all new to you, we can walk though all of this to make it manageable. But the very first place to start is with that picture. If you don't know what is broken, you cannot fix it.

As I said, come back tomorrow for some big and small savings I've discovered through benefits and discounts.
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Sunday, January 25, 2009

Getting Started - Earn and Save More Money Now

Cover of Cover via AmazonWhy reinvent the wheel? There are best selling books on Personal Finance. There are countless websites and blogs. Do a little reading and see what is applicable to your situation.

How did I start?

In the first few days of 2009, I read the best seller "Smart Women Finish Rich" by David Bach (don't worry - the information is generic enough for anyone, and he does have different versions). The book was already in my personal library, I just hadn't read it yet. Given the uncertainties we all face, I figured the time was now right. I would highly recommend the book to to help with thinking about saving vs investing (reminder: they are not the same), and also general money management. There is a lot of information specific to the USA, but the general principles are universal, I think.

Next step - application of principles.

For example, that book inspired me to read another personal finance book - but it was a best seller motivational book not a classic "how to" book. Now, I did not have that book in my library, so I went to buy it. But, here's something key, Bach's book had taught me the importance of discipline in spending (which I will get into in a later post), so although I picked up 10 books in the bookstore, I decided that I did not need them - although I wanted them - and decided to buy only the book I intended to buy when I went to the store. By exercising discipline in my consumption of my favorite impulse items, I saved significantly that day! I had saved money by not spending it and not losing savings interest on that money. What's your favorite impulse item or items? Does this story sound familiar - walk into a store for one thing and buy a ton of other things? Now, am I likely to purchase those books later? Sure. But for the time being I can earn interest on that saved money since I am unlikely to read 10 books at the same time :)

Despite the habitual convenience of using a credit card, I used cash to avoid interest charges. This tip came directly from the book, and in a later post I'll get into how to think about various forms of debt. But the main point is that dollar for dollar, interest rate charges will exceed after tax income on savings. So, as much as you save, your net will be negative if you pay high interest rate charges.

Lesson Learned:
  • Learn from the experts and start applying the principles immediately. Make personal finance a lifestyle change
  • Make a list of needs - not wants - before shopping. Take the list. Try to stick to it. With discipline and habit, foregone consumption can add up to real savings which earns interest.
  • Make cash or fee-free ABM cards the preferred payment type. Debt reduction and avoidance reduces the amount of your hard earned savings lost to debt service.

Check back tomorrow for a summary of basic personal finance principles to get you started on your journey!

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Financial Security: Tips + Tools by Deika Morrison is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.