You’ve heard of eHarmony, right?

It bills itself as the “#1 trusted online dating site for singles,” with over 20 million registered users. eHarmony has clearly been successful in the dating space, so what’s next?

Hiring.

The site has announced that it’s developing a program to facilitate matching workers and employers. It shouldn’t be ready until late 2014, but The Washington Post reports that eHarmony intends to approach the hiring process from a more emotional, insightful angle than the existing options, such as LinkedIn or CareerBuilder.

The site facilitates romantic relationships based on a process called “29 dimensions,” which evaluates and matches users based on their answers to questions that cover each dimension. Grant Langston, eHarmony’s vice president of customer experience, tells the Post that eHarmony’s advantage may come from their expertise in “eliciting more honest answers to tough questions.”

RELATED: Why Breaking Up Was Good for My Money: 5 True Tales

Langston tells the Post that he wouldn’t be surprised if the employer/employee matchmaking process takes more than the 29 dimensions used for romantic matches. He says that the nuance of the product will lie in distinguishing between different cultures within larger companies, so as to better match employees to their individual department or team.

The post eHarmony Dabbles in Matchmaking … at Work appeared first on LearnVest.

If you were going to guess which countries are the best and worst to be a mother, what would you say?

Luckily, you don’t have to guess. A new report from Save the Children can tell you.

In their 14th annual “Mother’s Index,” the London-based NGO ranks the world’s countries with populations of over 100,000 (and enough data) in order of best for mothers and children to worst.

The survey looked at five key indicators: maternal health, children’s well-being, educational status, economic status and political status.

As expected, the Scandinavian countries lead the way. The top ten countries in the index are:

1. Finland
2. Sweden
3. Norway
4. Iceland
5. Netherlands
6. Denmark
7. Spain
8. Belgium
9. Germany
10. Australia

The lowest-ranking countries on the list are in sub-Saharan Africa: Niger, Mali, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Democratic Republic of the Congo are the last five.

And where does the United States fall? No. 30, after Luxembourg and before Japan. Save the Children explains that while the U.S. ranks highly in educational and economic status, we have extremely low ratings when it comes to maternal health, children’s well-being and political status. Here’s a chilling stat for you: A child born in the U.S. is three times as likely as a child born in Iceland to die before his fifth birthday.

While the results are deeply discouraging, they aren’t exactly unexpected. We’ve known for a long time that maternity leave in Scandinavian countries far outranks the American version, and that some European countries offer benefits and help to mothers that Americans never see.

To see the entire list at a glance, check out the map created by the Washington Post.

The post Best Places Around the Globe to Be a Mom appeared first on LearnVest.

Don't Be Afraid to ... Let Others Challenge You

You should surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. If you partner with those who can elicit a debate and shed new light on things that you may never have thought of, it will make your idea, product or service that much stronger.

—Marc Sampogna, CEO/founder of Canopy Brand Group

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Don't Be Afraid to ... Ask for Help

I really hate the "I did it all by myself" style of business stories. Everyone either needs help—or has had help at some stage from someone. Years ago, I used to think that I was the epicenter of my success. It wasn't until my business almost wasn't a success that I realized I needed assistance from others. That's when I learned that there's no such thing as self-made. Not only is it important to have your own vision, but it's equally important to understand the vision of those around you.

—Troy Hazard, entrepreneur and author of Future-Proofing Your Business

Don't Be Afraid to ... Take Risks

It may sound counterintuitive, but you can spend years analyzing every detail of your business plan and never pull the trigger. When intuition tells you that you have a winning idea—even if you don't know every single detail—just get going on implementing it!

When my daughter, Ariana, and I launched Superstar Nail Lacquer, I had no idea how to manufacture and package the product. But I still started the business, figuring it out along the way—and it all came together quickly. In the past, I have missed out on some very big opportunities while waiting for the perfect conditions ... but not anymore.

—Stacia Pierce, founder of�Ultimate Lifestyle Enterprises

RELATED: How I Did a Career 180 When I Was Almost 40

Don't Be Afraid to ... Seek Out a Mentor

One of the best ways to get out of a career rut is to find a mentor or surround yourself with highly motivated people in your field. Sometimes all we need is to talk to someone who has been through the same circumstances. Encouragement is a great motivator—and having someone hold you accountable for progress can be the fuel that you need to achieve newer and loftier goals.

—Wendy McMonigle, owner of WM Design House

RELATED: Career Mentors Everyone Needs to Have

Don't Be Afraid to ... Show Your Passion

My motto? "Nothing great in life is ever accomplished without enthusiasm." I pride myself on my passion for my company and the energy that I bring to our office every day. If I’m excited, then I know it will be contagious. I really believe that's what separates someone from being OK to being at a level of greatness.

—Chad Johnson: CEO/founder of Lady Jane's�

Don't Be Afraid to ... Make Mistakes

Entrepreneurs often share stories of how they started a company or organization in their garage—and then it magically became a multimillion-dollar company overnight. But they skip over the hard parts: the sleepless nights, the obstacles and the mistakes made along the way. When I started my company, what kept me going is how I chose to look at those mistakes. A failure is only a true failure if you don't learn from what it has to teach you.

—David Simnick, CEO and cofounder of SoapBox Soaps

Don't Be Afraid to ... Trust Your Instinct

My best advice? Do what feels right for you. Each of us have different motivators that make us happy, and if you understand those, you'll create a career that's meaningful. If it’s money that motivates you, you might make different decisions than someone who's driven by helping others.

RELATED: Paying It Forward: The Power of Financial Good Deeds

You can’t make a bad decision—unless you do something unethical!—so long as it moves you in the direction that fills you up. And if you start down a path that turns out to be wrong, you can always course-correct. That's the power of being fearless.

—Jane Miller, founder of JaneKnows.com

Freeze Drinks Ahead of Time

Caterer and event planner Mary Guiliani shared one of her favorite tips with Elle Decor: Instead of mixing up a giant batch of a signature cocktail, combine everything but the alcohol in advance and then freeze individual servings in an extra-large ice cube tray. When it's time to drink, just add the liquor to the pre-made ice cubes.

Idea Credit: Elle Decor

Image Credit: The Kitchn

Make a Cake Stand With Teacups

Planning to serve cupcakes at your next party? Make each guest feel special by serving those treats on mini cake stands—simply turn a teacup upside down and place a saucer on top.

Idea and Image Credit: All About You

Decant Condiments

To make the table look a little more special with minimal effort, pour condiments into mini bowls, mason jars or even teacups. Add a teaspoon—and your guests are dining in style.

Idea Credit: Martha Stewart
Image Credit: Coupon Clipping Cook

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Use Dishtowels as Napkins

One hot trend in entertaining right now is "texture," whether that's burlap tablecloths or ... dishtowels? Instead of using special-occasion cloth napkins or environmentally unfriendly paper napkins, give each guest a (clean!) dishtowel. When the festivities wind down, use them to clean up.

Idea and Image Credit: The Kitchn

Make the Most of Trays

This tip comes in extra-handy when you're entertaining outdoors: Assemble everything you need for a single course on one large tray, so you minimize time away from your guests.

Idea and Image Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

Scoop Ice Cream Ahead of Time

Instead of wielding a scoop and a pint as your guests look on, pre-portion ice cream into pretty cupcake liners—which you can store in a muffin tin—and pop them in the freezer until it's time for dessert.

Idea and Image Credit: Real Simple�

Use Orange Halves as Bowls

The advantage to using scooped-out orange or grapefruit halves to serve fruit or ice cream is threefold: It looks great, it's environmentally friendly, and you'll do that many fewer dishes post-party.

Idea and Image Credit: Pandora's Deals

Use Mismatched Place Settings

From weddings to birthdays, nothing is more in right now than decorating your table with deliberately mismatched place settings. It's not that you don't have enough matching china for your party of 12—you're actively choosing to mix it up with cool patterns because you're being trendy!

Idea and Image Credit: Apartment Therapy

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Use Frozen Grapes and Berries to Chill Drinks

It's a cardinal rule of entertaining: You can never have too much ice. For your next soiree, up your ice game by using frozen grapes or berries to chill wine, water or cocktails. Bonus: They won't dilute your drink.

Idea and Image Credit: ForRent.com

Use Plants as Favors

Although you want to send your guests home with something to remind them of the good time they had chez vous, you don't always have the time (or cash) to order monogrammed flasks. Opt for an environmentally friendly alternative and hand out tiny potted plants, like cacti or herbs.

Idea and Image Credit: Peacock Photo�

Women in power.

It’s a topic that’s been in the news a lot lately. Women who are already in powerful positions have written books on the subject. The question of whether or not women can “have it all” has been debated ad nauseam. And study after study has tested various aspects of what it would mean to have more women in powerful positions.

In fact, a recent paper on the topic, “Empowering the Third Billion: Women and the World of Work in 2012″ discovered something kind of amazing. According to the paper, if the United States had the same female employment rates that it does for males, our overall gross domestic product would increase by 5%.

Not too shabby.

As if that’s not enough, new CareerBuilder research found that women are more willing than men to learn skills outside of what’s needed in their current jobs, making them good candidates for a multitude of different positions.

So, could hiring more women be the answer to our problematic economy? It certainly couldn’t hurt to try it out and see.

The post Can Women Save the Economy? appeared first on LearnVest.

In the world of retirement health costs, there’s good news and bad news.

We’ll give you the good news first. Fidelity Investments reports that the estimated retiree medical costs for a 65-year-old couple retiring this year dropped by $20,000.

Wahoo!

O.K., now for the bad news. Despite the drastic decrease in price, overall estimates for money needed for health costs through retirement for a retired couple is still a whopping $220,000.

Let that number sink in.

The cost assumes a couple of specific retirement scenarios. For example, that number would apply to a couple who has traditional Medicare, assuming a life expectancy of 82 years for the man and 85 for the woman.

The $220,000 number does not, however, cover things like dental care, over-the-counter drugs or any long-term care costs.

Retirees don’t quite seem ready to take on the burden of such a large cost, either. In fact, half of people from 55 to 64 expected to pay only $50,000 for health care in retirement, according to a recent Fidelity survey.

The post You Need How Much to Cover This in Retirement? appeared first on LearnVest.

For many of us, the word “networking” conjures images of people milling around a conference hall wearing a name tag, making small talk and exchanging business cards.

But a new kind of networking is on the rise —and female executives are at the helm.

They’re known as “stiletto networks,” and the women behind them have been known to ink multimillion-dollar business deals.

We sat down with Pamela Ryckman, an investment-strategist-turned-journalist and the author of “Stiletto Network: Inside the Women’s Power Circles That Are Changing the Face of Business,” to get her insider’s take on the phenomenon.

LearnVest: How did you come across this trend?

Pamela Ryckman: It started a few years ago when I attended a women’s conference in California while working on a piece for The New York Times. I walked into a room of very successful women in beautiful dresses and cute shoes who defied the age-old stereotypes of high-powered ladies. They weren’t in pinstripe suit—they weren’t trying to dress, sound and act like guys.

I wanted to know what enabled all of these women to succeed professionally—and remain comfortable in their own skin. When one of them mentioned her dinner group, I asked who the guests were, and she listed several high-level female executives from companies like eBay, Amazon, Verisign and Marimba. They called themselves “Babes in Boyland.”

I knew that I was onto something, but I didn’t quite know what it was. I’d soon find that all of these groups—stretching from New York City to Anchorage, Alaska—form a powerful nationwide movement.

And what makes these groups unique is the intimacy involved. The women often meet at one of their homes over dinner and wine. And beyond discussing business, they also talk about their fears and their families—and even throw wedding and baby showers for one another.

The post Stiletto Networks: These Clubs Are Blazing the Business World appeared first on LearnVest.

In 2009, I was a very senior executive celebrating my fourth anniversary at a brokerage firm.  

I was working about 70 hours a week, managing 80 people and traveling to the company’s other offices (two of which were cross-country) 3-4 days a week, twice a month. Even when I wasn’t at the office or on the road, my Blackberry was constantly lighting up on nights and weekends. I would estimate I got about 400 emails a day.

But with three children under 10, I knew that years of working at a blistering pace was taking a toll on our family, and I needed to make a change. I set out to find something a little less intense and found a great consulting role in marketing and product development with a small firm.

I was excited to keep up all my professional skills (and get some new ones) at a pace I knew would bring some welcome relief to the crazy of our household. At this new job I would manage only 15 people, largely set my own schedule and truly be offline while I was at home. But to make it work, we had to make some adjustments in order to accommodate my reduced salary.

In fact, it was a big reduction: $5,000 a month, plus the substantial bonuses I would no longer receive. When I did the math, I didn’t think it was even possible to make such a massive shift in our lifestyle—but I knew I had to give it a try if I didn’t want to burn out before I turned 40.

RELATED: Why Women Are Burning Out at Work Before 30

How We Cut $5,500 a Month

The author with her family

My husband Mark and I live in Larchmont, N.Y., a small town about 30 minutes outside of New York City, with our three kids, plus our dog Emily, our cat Nikki and our fish Charlie. It isn’t cheap: The median household income hovers around $160,396.

Mark and I had always been good savers. I grew up in a modest home in a blue-collar town near Detroit, Michigan, but I never felt deprived. My parents taught me to never spend more than you earned—period. And I think that instinct kicked in when I took the new job. I had lived with less before and I absolutely knew I could do it again.

RELATED: How We Started Saving $1,000 a Month

Salary cuts aside, I knew that no matter what, we could make things work as long as I followed my parents’ advice. I was fortunate that along with my new position, I still had the financial advantage of a 401(k) with company match for my retirement savings, and considerable savings. My kids stayed on my husband’s insurance, and I realized it was cheaper to leave them there and put myself on my new company’s plan. That just left our monthly expenses, which had ballooned as our family grew.

After a lot of conversation with my husband and a ton of research, I figured out how to make it work.

The first thing I did to scale back our spending was aggregate all of my accounts with an online tool (the LearnVest Money Center wasn’t around then!) to understand where my pay was going. Once I could see my spending in one place, I sorted my expenses from largest to smallest. I figured if I could make big cuts on the big items, I would have a fighting chance of making it work. I’ve never been an over-spender, but we had a substantial mortgage and a full-time nanny, which topped my list of expenses.

The post How I Cut My Spending in Half to Take a Job I Loved appeared first on LearnVest.

In 2010, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act, a series of regulations intended to facilitate financial reform.

One of the measures instituted by the bill was the mandatory disclosure of CEO-to-worker pay ratios in public companies—how much more a company’s chief executive makes than its workers (as represented by the median salary of all employees other than the CEO).

Bloomberg Businessweek asks the question: Why haven’t those numbers been disclosed?

Since 2010, this particular request has been with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is still developing the standard for calculating and reporting the ratio. It won’t come as a surprise that not everyone is on board with the rule becoming reality. Critics say that the information won’t provide any useful or actionable data for investors.

Instead of waiting for the SEC to develop a standard and for public companies to fall in line, Businessweek went ahead and calculated pay ratios for 250 public companies. They aren’t the first to do this, but they’re the first to take into account industry differences and employee benefits, which actually makes the ratios smaller than they would be otherwise.

The results show that the average CEO from the top 100 companies they analyzed makes 495 times as much as the company’s other employees.

Businessweek found that these 10 companies had the highest pay ratios:

1. JC Penney Co. (1,795)
2. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (1,640)
3. Simon Property Group Inc. (1,594)
4. Oracle Corp. (1,287)
5. Starbucks Corp. (1,135)
6. CBS Corp. (1,111)
7. Ralph Lauren Corp. (1,083)
8. NIKE Inc. (1,050)
9. Discovery Communications Inc. (833)
10. Yum! Brands Inc (819)

Go here to see the full list.

The post The Employee-CEO Pay Gap Mystery appeared first on LearnVest.

The Master Delegator

This co-worker is either always asking, “Can you help me with ... ?” or saying, “I need you to ...” And whenever he’s in charge of a big project, he all-too-eagerly shoves a bulk of the tasks your way. Oh, and he's also quick to say, “I’ve already got a lot on my plate.” But, as far as you can tell, his plate is no fuller than anyone else’s. In fact, with all of his delegating, it’s starting to seem like he’s not pulling his weight.

How This Co-Worker Wreaks Havoc: When he asks for help, your knee-jerk response is often yes—maybe because you’re a people-pleaser who’s afraid to say no, or you’ve already said yes so often that you feel obligated to continue to pitch in. Whatever your motivation, you now habitually land yourself in a pit of prioritizing misery as you juggle his to-dos and your own. Good luck meeting both of your deadlines on time!

What You Can Do: "It takes two to tango," says Dr. David Ballard, Psy.D., head of the American Psychological Association's healthy-workplace initiative. Translation: In order for the delegator to succeed, you have to first agree to help. According to Dr. Ballard, there are two ways out of this tricky situation: You can either decline his request for assistance, citing your own burgeoning workload—or ask a manager to help you prioritize your co-worker’s delegated task and your own to-dos.

RELATED: 9 Ways You’re Being Too Nice at Work

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The Control Freak

You point out a new idea or an improvement—like getting more creative with the wording in a report or tweaking the steps in an old procedure—but she’s determined not to change a thing. With her, there’s little room for input or innovation. Sure, tenacity has its virtues, but her stick-to-itiveness feels more like plain ol’ stuck.

How This�Co-Worker�Wreaks Havoc: You want your job to be a place where you can develop and display your talents and creativity—and nurture your passions. Bottom line: You're happier at work when you’re making a meaningful contribution. But when you’re dealing with someone who insists on calling every shot, it reduces your sense of autonomy. “Research shows that when people don’t feel control at work," says Dr. Ballard, "it negatively effects job satisfaction and engagement."

What You Can Do: "Keep at it," says Dr. Ballard. “But rather than push your own ideas on her, ask creative questions that let her arrive at a new approach one step at a time.” Dr. Ballard advises using team-oriented “we” language, such as “I know you value __ [insert something here that speaks directly to your colleague’s pet interest or personal bottom line], so it might be good if we __ [insert your idea here]. This way, she’ll feel a sense of involvement and ownership in the decision.

RELATED: How to Deal With Demoralizing Bullying—at Work

The Know-It-All

You may also know him as the Super Achiever or the Spotlight Hogger. He’s not always the best or the brightest (often, he’s quite average), but he certainly thinks that he’s top dog. He also expects to lead, not follow. So he's the first person to take the floor, always piping up with a “here’s what we should do” idea in a meeting—even though he doesn’t always have the substance to back up the hype.

How This�Co-Worker�Wreaks Havoc: He erodes other people’s confidence with his overconfidence, and he diminishes the natural collaboration that occurs when great ideas are presented by fellow colleagues. Plus, this co-worker may be so focused on being The One that he even steals your ideas. A possible scenario: The two of you are chatting about possible solutions to a problem in the hallway ... and then he brings up your casual suggestion in a meeting as if it were his own!

What You Can Do: Acknowledge your colleague's valued contributions while also reminding him that an office thrives when there’s a collaborative environment, suggests workplace consultant and leadership coach Sylvia Lafair. Another thing: The next time that you're both in a meeting, don’t be afraid to rip a page from his me-me-me playbook by speaking up about your own brilliant idea before he has a chance to boast about his.

RELATED: Quiz: Would You Make a Better Boss Than Your Boss?

The Procrastinator

His catchphrase: “I’ll get it to you tomorrow.” His schedule is always full of hold-ups, and his emails have plenty of excuses for why something’s unfinished (and possibly not even started yet). Maybe he’s legitimately overwhelmed, maybe he’s lazy—who knows why he’s always late. But you're not the only one who wishes that you could count on him to deliver the goods on time.

How This�Co-Worker�Wreaks Havoc: If you’re working on a project together, his lateness equals your lateness, which breeds anger and resentment—and increases your stress and anxiety levels.

What You Can Do: In this scenario, honesty is your best policy. He’s probably afraid of merely doing good-enough work, says Lafair, so tell him that he always turns in good-quality work, but his tardiness has a way of tarnishing it.

The Whisperer

In her book, "Don’t Bring It to Work: Breaking the Family Patterns That Limit Success," Lafair calls this person the Splitter. Why, you ask? Because this toxic co-worker is an office gossip with a mean streak and bad intentions to create riffs—or splits—in office relationships.

How This�Co-Worker�Wreaks Havoc: The Whisperer sidles up to you to say that she overheard Sara deriding your work—only to sidle up to Sara to tell her something entirely different. Meanwhile, you and Sara build mistrust over time, side-eyeing one another in the halls and second-guessing each other.

What You Can Do: The best way to neutralize a whisperer is to confidently yet gently expose her for what she is. When she offers one of her so-called insights about what Sara “really thinks” of you, Lafair suggests coming back with a quick, “Is that right? I’d love to talk to Sara. Why don’t you and I go over to her right now?” This way, you’re letting the whisperer know that you’re not so easily fooled by her gossip—and her nervousness will likely let you know that Sara isn’t the culprit.

RELATED: Are You Making These Career Mistakes?

The Chit-Chatter

It never fails: When The Chit-Chatter stops by your desk, her “got a minute?” turns into an hourlong discussion. Sometimes you’re both eagerly talking away and lose track of time, but more often than not, you’re just nodding along politely. Either way, it’s a grade-A time suck.

How This�Co-Worker�Wreaks Havoc: The more chatting you’re doing with a colleague, the less actual work you’re getting done. Plus, you may start to avoid this person because her behavior becomes a threat to your time, thwarting your best intentions to stay on track at work.

What You Can Do: Don’t be afraid to say no, advises Dr. Ballard. “And that ‘no’ can be as simple as a redirecting action,” he explains. Translation: The next time that your colleague comes by asking if you've “got a minute,” you should say, “Sure. But I really only have about five minutes.” Then stand up before she has a chance to sit and get comfortable, sending her a clear signal that the clock is ticking.�

Is my generation—Gen Y—insanely entitled as the Time cover story seen round the world argues—or hopelessly misunderstood? A little bit of both, if you ask me.

The world has sold us a bill of goods from the time we were placed in the arms of our loving helicopter parents, and now we’re all a little disappointed that we are no longer getting awards and trophies just for showing up.

We’re also sure our path to greatness is one blog entry, tweet, or LinkedIn connection away, and it won’t come from climbing the corporate ladder, and certainly not fetching coffee. (Woe to those Baby Boomers who want to teach us otherwise.)

Born in 1984, I, too, am a brand ’guru’ and shameless self-promoter who, upon being given this assignment, promptly asked my editor if her web developer would please embed my Google authorship code.

I once stunned a recruiter years back by suggesting she pay me $6,000 a month for an internship position when I was fresh out of college. (Oops.)

I ”microblog.” I do check my Twitter follower count daily. I have a Facebook business page. But I explain to anyone who listens to that I legitimately do such things for others, not just myself, and that’s where a lot of the misunderstanding comes in. Allow me to explain. (And while I do, please do follow me on Twitter.)

Andrew B. Myers for TIME

Defining Narcissism

A few months back, I finished Jean Twenge’s  “The Narcissism Epidemic,” a myth-busting tome by the clinical psychologist whose main area of clinical research has been the me-me-me-ism of narcissism.

Twenge explains that narcissism at its core is not the mere asking for things or even belief in oneself, but that it is over self-entitlement and an ingrained belief that you’re superior to others.

Most people afflicted with narcissism, she says, are the ones whose entitlement goes too far and who are never actually going to be aware of this, since they’ll simply justify their actions.

So is there an ‘epidemic’ among my kind?

The Problem With Gen Y

The problem—as this 29-year-old sees it—is that too many of my fellow millennials were taught that they should not be afraid to speak up and ask for things (and, yes, that they can accomplish anything since they’re so damn smart). Now they’re taking that premise and running with it, public opinion be damned.

So let’s focus squarely on careers, which, let’s be honest, seem to be the biggest source of pain with Gen-Y for everyone. I mean, no one seems to mind our behavior at the local multiplex, but a common lament I hear amongst Gen X and Baby Boomer professionals alike is that of Gen Y’s haughty attitude in the workplace.

Envision this scenario: The average 25-year-old sauntering into an interview late, underdressed, cell phone in hand, and then not even thanking the prospective employer for the interview itself, at a company she didn’t bother to research before showing up.

So whom do we fault for this crappy behavior?

The post Generation Cry: Why I Can (Kinda-Sorta) Defend Gen Y appeared first on LearnVest.

You know it’s coming. You’ve found a job you want—or just one you think you want—and you’re wondering when that tricky money question will rear its head: What are your salary expectations?

Whether it’s a blank field in an online application, or a real, live question from a flesh-and-blood recruiter, what should you do?

We asked several career coaches and recruiters about how to hit this curveball. Here are their tips, slugger:

Consider When It Comes Up

Most HR managers use the salary expectations question as a screening tactic. Some require you to state your pay in the cover letter or an online application to even be considered for the position. In these cases, bite the bullet early and tell the truth.

Of course, being transparent about your current pay and what you hope to make sets you up to be screened out of the interview process if your expected salary is too much. Then again, if your expectations and the actual salary of the prospective job are that far apart, you probably saved yourself a lot of time and hassle. It’s better to know beforehand that you just make too much.

You can give yourself some wiggle room on the question by saying you’re willing to negotiate on “total compensation.” You know, the perks, such as vacation days or flexible work arrangements, that might make the job more worthwhile even if the pay is lower than you want.

RELATED: Quiz: What’s Your Perfect Job?

What about lying? You may be tempted to fib about your salary, but employers can legally find out your base pay at previous jobs. Don’t expect to make the cut for the final interview if your prospective employer thinks you’re bluffing.

When you get the question in a live interview, first try the artful dodge. Alyssa Best, a career coach in Washington, D.C., suggests a line like this: “That’s a great question, but at this point, I’m more interested in learning more about the position and discussing how I can be the best asset to your team.”

Sometimes that works, but usually it doesn’t. Even if it’s not an effective dodge, you will show your potential employer that you’re here not just for the money.

The post The Dreaded Question: What Are Your Salary Expectations? appeared first on LearnVest.

Off the top of your head, which careers earn a million-dollar salary?

Star athlete, celebrity or CEO comes to mind, but we’re leaving out a surprising career path: college president.

The New York Times reports that the presidents of four universities earned more than $1 million in the 2011-2012 fiscal year:  Auburn University, Ohio State University, George Mason University and Penn State University.

In fact, all earned over $1.8 million and two earned over $2 million, including Graham Spanier, the university president who was ousted after the Penn State football scandal. His severance pay of $1.2 million brought his earnings for the year up to $2.9 million.

Even those university presidents who aren’t breaking the million-dollar mark are still making some serious cash. A report by the Chronicle of Higher Education, which provided these figures, finds that the median total compensation for presidents of public research universities is $441,392 (as compared with the last year’s $421,395).

RELATED: When a Recent Grad Dies, Who Should Pay His Student Loans?

Hearing these figures, we can’t help but recall that things aren’t so bright for those on the other side of the administrative doors: the students. For the past twenty years, college costs have been rising two or three times as quickly as inflation, and the College Board reports that one year of tuition for an in-state public college can cost more than $22,000. For private colleges, out of state, the costs are more than $10,000 more.

It’s no wonder student loans are so out of control: The current total for the U.S. student loan debt is about $966 billion, and the graduates bearing this cost report that their debts are keeping them from saving for retirement, buying homes and cars and even getting married.

It kind of makes you wonder: Where does all that money actually go?

The post College Presidents Make How Much? appeared first on LearnVest.

You abandoned them on your way up the career ladder. They sit waiting for your attention. Alone. Sad. Practically orphaned.

We’re not talking about your old work buddies who you haven’t hung out with since you started your new job. (You can call them later.) It’s your menagerie of retirement accounts at previous employers that could be a problem.

According to a new study by Employee Benefit Research Institute, people who own more than one type of retirement account are more likely to invest a higher percentage in stocks than those who don’t.

“Due to the increased participation in defined contribution retirement plans like the 401(k), the manner in which participants allocate assets within these plans could have a significant effect upon the financial resources they ultimately will have available in retirement,” says Craig Copeland, author of the EBRI study.

Translation: Having multiple retirement accounts makes it harder to know if you have the right mix of stocks, bonds and cash in your investment portfolio. That’s important because your asset allocation has a major impact on your returns. And low returns mean you will have to work longer to reach your retirement goals.

Consider clarifying your messy collection of retirement accounts by rolling them over into your new employer’s 401(k) or an individual retirement account.

Pick your new employer’s 401(k) if you like its investment options and the plan has low fees. (Visit BrightScope for ratings on more than 45,000 retirement plans.) Consolidating all your retirement money into one account will make it easier to track.

But if your employer’s retirement plan is not great, an IRA rollover might be a better option.

Check out LearnVest’s step-by-step guide to 401(k) rollovers.

The post How Your Old 401(k)s Are Hurting You appeared first on LearnVest.

These days, job hopping is practically a way of life. Gone is the idea of spending four decades at one company, ultimately retiring with a gold watch and a pension plan.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,  the median number of years workers stay at a given job is only 4.6, which allows them to rack up as many as 10 gigs in a lifetime.

The problem: Many employers still see job hopping as a deal breaker. Nearly 40% of recruiters and hiring managers say that a history of hopping is the single biggest obstacle for job-seekers, according to a recent survey conducted by recruiting software company Bullhorn.

We found four serial job hoppers who were willing to dish about their adventures in the labor market. Then we asked a crack squad of career experts for advice on how these hoppers can find a gig that will make them want to stick around.

Jay Mehta, 36, Unemployed

A few months ago, Jay Mehta was laid off from his latest IT job in Dallas, along with a handful of other employees, because of budget cuts. “The difference is that those guys have been working for the same two or three companies for the last 14 years and didn’t see it coming—I’ve worked for 10 places,” Mehta says, who has been laid off twice, including from his last gig.

RELATED: How to Explain Why You Were Laid Off

Mehta wasn’t always a job hopper. For the first eight years of his professional life, he worked for just two different companies. “I thought that promotions were deserved after a lot of hard work and employer loyalty,” he says. “But I was wrong.” In those two jobs, Mehta’s salary increased only marginally, and he couldn’t seem to save enough money. Then, in January 2002, he was laid off due to downsizing.

Mehta struggled for an entire year looking for another full-time job in IT and the experience changed his outlook on employment. ”I figured it wouldn’t be long before something like that would happen again. Although I wasn’t sure when the next economic slowdown would come, I knew that I wanted to be debt-free and ready for it before I ever got laid off again,” he says.

RELATED: The ‘I-Just-Got-Laid-Off’ Drill

So Mehta shifted his loyalty toward making money, rather than to any one company–switching jobs eight times in the next six years. “I gained a lot by virtue of job changes,” he says. “My salary has increased significantly compared to friends I know who have stayed with the same company.”

The post Confessions of Job Hoppers appeared first on LearnVest.

By now, your high school senior must know a little something about economics and personal finance, right? He’s lived through the Great Recession. He goes to school. He receives an allowance or has a part-time job.

Unfortunately, that assumption flies in the face of a new report from the Department of Education. High school seniors’ economic knowledge in 2012 showed no significant improvement compared with 12th graders in 2006, according to the report.

The one point of good news? The report, derived from testing nearly 11,000 high school seniors, found that more than two-thirds of 12th graders last year agreed that their economics coursework did help them understand the U.S. economy, public policy and personal finance. Those figures were higher than the 2006 percentages.

“People don’t understand the basics about money,” Vince Shorb, CEO of National Financial Educators Council told Fox Business. “In the U.S., it has to do with parents not talking about money, not bringing them into activities that involve money.”

Of course, study after study shows that most parents shy away from talking about finances with their kids because they themselves don’t feel confident when it comes to the subject.

Certain personal finance topics are best covered at a particular age. Take a look at our Money Milestones for Kids Timeline to get started, no matter if your kid is a toddler or a teen.

The post What Did Our Kids Learn From the Recession? appeared first on LearnVest.

The mere thought of receiving severance sends shivers up many people’s spines.

Severance implies termination. Out of work.  No job. And worse—lost wages. But severance also protects both employees and the employer.

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, where companies pursue growth and increase shareholder value through mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, employees continually face the risk of job loss. If an employee is terminated without cause, that worker is eligible for—and should request—severance.

Severance policies protect companies by ensuring that employees make the right business decisions—regardless of whether the decisions result in job loss.

To effectively grow business, companies need to execute strategies that benefit the company, brand, shareholders/stakeholders and key investors, so they institute severance policies to ensure that individuals act in good faith.

When to Ask for Severance

There are three situations when employees can request severance: Upon hire, when you’re asked to sign restrictive clauses, and upon termination.

1. Upon Hire

Ideally, severance agreements should be detailed in the employment agreement (or offer letter) that’s executed upon hire. At a senior level, severance provisions are a normal part of business and are considered a best practice, but severance provisions are less commonly offered in employment letters below that level.

If a potential employer gives you an offer letter that does not include a severance provision, ask for one! You can inquire about how the company handles “termination without cause,” which allows an employer to eliminate a person/position for operational or budgetary reasons—in other words, any reason other than performance.

RELATED: 11 Things Hiring Managers Won’t Tell You

The employer may respond by including a clause in the new hire letter or explaining the company’s severance/termination policies. Bottom line: It doesn’t hurt to ask.

The post Should You Negotiate a Severance Agreement? appeared first on LearnVest.

It’s the quintessential American concept: Start a business from a simple idea, and then watch it explode into a multimillion-dollar corporation.

Of course, most people who decide to become entrepreneurs have a plan. A little money, perhaps. And maybe some contacts.

Mel and Patricia Ziegler, the couple behind the clothing empire Banana Republic, had none of these things. But, in 1978, they did have a vision. “We were both doused with romantic fantasies of Hemingway and adventure,” says Patricia. “We wanted to figure out how to travel and see the world.”

The Zieglers knew it wouldn’t be possible to travel the globe with the paltry salaries that they made working for the San Francisco Chronicle, so they decided to start a business. They just had no idea what it would be.

When Mel came back from assignment in Australia wearing a safari jacket that he’d bought for $5, it dawned on them—with no fashion or business experience between them, mind you—they’d start a clothing store.

The couple’s journey to success is documented in their new book, “Wild Company: The Untold Story of Banana Republic.” LearnVest sat down with Patricia to find out more about the duo’s unconventional business tale.

LearnVest: You were a courtroom illustrator and Mel was a newspaper reporter. What made you think that you could make and sell clothing?

Patricia Ziegler: We were young and having fun, and we kind of felt like we had nothing to lose. Well, except the $1,500 we had in savings between us! Also, it was the late ’70s—not a great time for fashion. Everything was polyester and disco shiny. We were craving clothing with character.

So you decided to make that clothing yourself, based on Mel’s safari jacket.

Exactly. We went to a surplus store in town and spent most of our savings on these paratrooper shirts that were $1.75 a piece. We figured that I could sew a few elbow patches on them, switch out the buttons and then sell them at a higher price at a flea market. The first weekend we priced them at $6.75, and we sold four or five. It was not good. We knew we needed to do something different. So, the next weekend, I put on some tight jeans and heels, along with one of the shirts. I belted it, rolled up the sleeves and put a sign on the table that said, “Short-armed paratrooper shirts, $12.95.” We just about sold out. It was our first big business lesson about the importance of presentation and perceived value, based on price.

RELATED: 7 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Own Business

The post $1,500 and a Dream: The Banana Republic Story appeared first on LearnVest.

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, which means it’s time to start remembering everything mom does for her family.

Cooking.
Cleaning.
Chauffeuring the kids around.

This year, however, amongst all the happy thoughts we’ll be sending mom’s way, there’s a bit of disheartening news out there as well. This year, according to the 2013 Insure.com Mother’s Day Index, the market value of common mom tasks in the home was valued at $59,862.

That’s down from $60,182 in 2012 and $61,436 in 2011.

The index is determined by calculations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from a pre-set list of tasks including things like shopping, planning, yard work, etc.

Perhaps not as surprising is the disconnect between the differing values men and women put on household work. When it comes to tasks around the house, 62% of men set the value for those efforts at under $40,000 a year (compared with 56% of women who said the same).

Additionally, 7% of women valued mom’s household work at more than $100,000 a year, while only 3% of men did.

When it comes to life insurance, figuring out how much mom’s “value” is worth is essential, whether she works outside of the home or not. “Just because someone doesn’t earn a salary doesn’t meant that they don’t make significant contributions to the family that could be costly to replace,” Marvin Feldman, president and CEO of the LIFE Foundation, told Insure.com. “Things like child care, cooking, cleaning, transportation and other household activities are all important parts of a family’s everyday lifestyle.”

The post How Much Do You Value Your Mother? appeared first on LearnVest.

Track Your Activity 24/7

Fitness monitors are all the rage, and the Jawbone Up is at the head of the class. The flexible wristband tracks your physical activity during the day, your sleep efficiency at night, and it can wake you up with a silent vibrating alarm in the morning. Check your progress, and add additional data (meals, your mood) on the iPhone- and Android-compatible app.

Jawbone Up, $129.99

Analyze Your Eating Habits

Think of the HapiFork as your conscience in utensil form. It literally tracks your every bite, alerting you when you’re eating too quickly. All of the data that it collects—including how long it took you to eat your meal, how many bites you had per minute and how long you waited between bites—can be uploaded via USB to your online dashboard.

Hapifork, $89

Take Charge

Who is the NPower PEG’s target audience? Anyone who has experienced that familiar flash of panic when your phone battery dies—and you’re nowhere near an outlet. (In other words, everyone.) This revolutionary gadget charges handheld devices through movement—running on the treadmill, biking and even simple walking—making it ideal for everyone from business travelers to alpine trekkers.

nPower PEG, $129.95 �

RELATED: 7 Ways That You're Wasting Money ... Every Day�

Bliss Out

If you thought inner peace and technology were mutually exclusive, think again. The HeartMath Inner Balance Sensor (compatible with the iPad, iPhone and iPod) gauges the quality of your meditation by measuring your heart rate, pulse and overall coherence. It can also train you to adjust your heart rhythm pattern to achieve a healthier state.

HeartMath Inner Balance Sensor, $99�

RELATED: Insanely Busy? Consider Living 24/6

Create a Playlist—for the Pool

Swimming laps may be fantastic exercise, but it can get a bit repetitive—and the endless whoosh-whoosh you hear underwater doesn’t help. Enter the Speedo Aquabeat 2.0. The waterproof MP3 player clips to your goggles, comes complete with waterproof earphones, and holds up to 4GB worth of songs, podcasts and audiobooks.

Speedo Aquabeat, $119.99

Monitor Your Heart Muscle

Like other fitness monitors on the market, the Tinke measures heart rate, but it also takes the stats a bit further by registering your blood oxygen level, respiratory rate and heart-rate variability. It even has a “Zen Index” that helps to track your stress levels.

Tink�,�$120�

Do Your Body Some Good

The Withings Smart Body Analyzer may look like your average scale, but it’s so much more. In addition to registering your weight, it also analyzes your BMI and heart rate—and can even measure the air quality in your house! All of the data is automatically uploaded to the “Health Cloud,” which you can access on a smartphone.

Withings Smart Body Analyzer, $149.95

Take a Bike Ride Through the Countryside

Ever wanted to ride the Tour de France? With the ProForm Tour de France cycle, you can. The stationary bike has an Android touchscreen console with built-in Wi-Fi that allows you to “ride” anywhere in the world where there’s a Google map. The geodata in the map also automatically adjusts the bike’s incline and decline to mimic the mapped terrain. It’s certainly a splurge—until you consider that you can ride routes in France one day, South America the next, and Australia the third.

ProForm Tour de France Cycle, $1,499

There’s no shortage of tricks to save money on airfare.

Book flights on Tuesdays. Plan 21 weeks ahead. Check multiple airline consolidators.

But the newest strategy to lower the price of your summer travel this year is the easiest yet: Travel within the United States.

After years of price increases, fares to larger U.S. airports are now falling. The Wall Street Journal reports that thanks to more Americans traveling internationally this summer, domestic fares to popular destinations—New York City, Denver, Honolulu, Washington, D.C., and Tampa, Fla.—are going for less than they have in the past.

And there’s more good news: While it’s usually a cost-saver to book international flights months in advance, the window for domestic flights is more like one month.

RELATED: The 5 Tricks of Travel Credit Cards

While many people are traveling abroad, it still all comes down to cost. A survey by travel site Orbitz found that three-quarters of travelers plan to keep their summer travel under $2,500.  And if gas prices exceed $4 a gallon—and airfares increase accordingly—they’re likely to change their plans.

But, the Journal cautions, if you want to travel to a big U.S. city this summer, now is the time to get your tickets, before everyone else rushes the ticket counter.

The post Top Money-Saving Summer Trips appeared first on LearnVest.

How much do you love the company that employs you?

Enough to join in on the occasional staff happy hour? Enough to help plan the next office outing? Enough to ink the company logo somewhere on your person?

For agents with Rapid Realty in New York City, that last one now comes with the added perk of a 15% raise. But if you think it’s a crazy idea, consider this—40 agents have already happily had their bodies permanently stamped with the logo … and even more are on the way.

Perhaps the idea really isn’t so crazy. After all, agents at the company work on commission, which means that the 15% increase in pay applies to each and every deal they make (up to a 40% cap).

The tattoos can be any size, and placed anywhere on the agent’s body for him or her to qualify. In fact, Anthony Lolli, CEO of Rapid Realty, admitted to NBC News that some agents went ahead and got themselves inked even though they were already at their commission rate cap.

Now if that’s not company loyalty, we don’t know what is.

The post Would You Get Inked for a Raise? appeared first on LearnVest.

If you have student loans—or have children who do—you know the cost of college is nothing to sneeze at. For the 2012-2013 academic year, tuition and fees cost $8,655 for in-state public school attendants. The cost for those enrolled at private universities? $29,056 for the year, according to the College Board.

People attend college in hopes that it will give them the skills they need to get great jobs, which will allow them to more than make back the money spent on education. However, current unemployment statistics show that this isn’t always the outcome. According to consulting firm Accenture, 11% of grads from the past two years are unemployed, and 41% are working jobs that don’t require a college degree.

The gobs of money people spend on education may be one of the most significant investments they ever make. So a good investor should try to calculate the return on investment for money spent on college just like he or she would for a stock or bond, right?

Calculating College ROI

Many studies have set out to find the ROI of a college education, and the findings are far from uniform. For example, a study by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce found that the median value for a college degree is about $2.3 million, which is the average amount of money earned by someone with a bachelor’s degree who is employed full time from age 25-64.

Compensation data company Payscale, working with Bloomberg Businessweek, used a more complex equation to calculate the ROI for a college education. They took the total earnings over a 30-year period, subtracted the average earnings for someone with only a high-school degree, and adjusted for graduation rate (since if you don’t actually get a degree, education won’t do you much good) and how many years it took to get a degree.

The result? An average ROI of $353,182. Those writing a big check to Sallie Mae every month may prefer to look at Georgetown’s findings.

Colleges With the Most Bang for Your Buck

There is also variation in ROI from school to school. CNN Money used the Payscale calculus to determine the top five schools for return on investment:

1. Harvey Mudd College
2. California Institute of Technology
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4. Polytechnic Institute
5. SUNY – Maritime College

Is a College Degree Worth What It Used to Be?

Despite allegations to the contrary, a college degree is still worth the investment: In 2011, the median income for a high school grad was $33,176, while the median income for a college grad was $54,756. Additionally, companies hiring for jobs that did not traditionally require a college degree are now seeking only candidates with a diploma.

So if you’re a recent grad, you shouldn’t regret the chunk of change you put toward college. And if you’re a parent, you’re better off keeping your cash in a 529 college savings plan rather than booking two weeks in Tahiti.

The post Best Colleges for Return on Investment appeared first on LearnVest.

In Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, “Lean In“, she suggests that part of the problem facing women in the workplace is reluctance from male executives to mentor younger female employees.

She may be right. A 2010 study from the Center for Talent Innovation (formerly the Center for Work-Life Policy), found that nearly two-thirds of men in senior positions pulled back from one-on-one contact with junior female employees because of fear of being suspected of having an affair. Meanwhile, half of junior women reported being nervous about one-on-one contact with senior men for the same reason.

Call it the Lolita Effect: Could choosing to be—or have—a mentor who’s significantly older or younger really hurt your career? Or is the idea that men and women of a certain age can’t be seen together hopelessly retro?

We asked a few high-powered men and women to tell it to us straight, and also tracked down expert tips on how to find (or be) a mentor in the workplace without raising eyebrows.

Skirting Wrong Impressions

Some high-ranking male executives do own up to worrying about appearances, especially with much younger women. “When I was about 35, there was heightened awareness of sex discrimination and harassment, and the lawyer and seminars scared me,” says Oli Thordarson, 51, president and CEO of Alvaka Networks, an IT firm in Irvine, Calif.

“I wouldn’t want to defend myself against an allegation that I did something and the other party is a woman under 30, especially if she’s attractive,” he says. But Thordarson overcame his fear and mentored a young female colleague. “She proved to have an incredible amount of potential and talent, but I was very careful not to meet in a closed office, or to be sitting around the office with her when everyone else was gone,” he says. “It was as much for appearance’s sake as anything.”

Other execs say they don’t think twice about mentoring employees, regardless of their gender.

The post The Lolita Effect: Are Male Execs Too Nervous to Mentor Young Women? appeared first on LearnVest.

We love her. We hate her. We love her. We hate her.

Since accepting the position as Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer has not stopped making waves. We loved her as a strong, powerful, female CEO of a big, important company … then some were irked when she took a two-week maternity leave after giving birth to her first child.

In February, some were annoyed when she banned employees from working from home in an all-staff memo touting that, “speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.” (Keep in mind: In America, millions of people telecommute for work every single day.)

Now, because of a new family leave policy sanctioned by Mayer, she may be gaining some of her former fans back. The policy allows for moms at Yahoo to take 16 weeks of paid leave with benefits, while dads can take up to eight. Under the old rules, moms were only given eight weeks of paid maternity leave for regular childbirth.

While these policies are set for parents having children via childbirth, the policy also gives parents eight weeks off for new children brought into the family through adoption, foster child placement or surrogacy.

If extended maternity leave isn’t enough, the policy also gives new parents $500 for spending on cleaning, groceries or sitters.

“It’s a smart move,” Rachel Sklar, founder of The Li.st, an organization dedicated to elevating the status of women in media and technology, told NBC Bay Area. “It suggests a long-term strategy. This is a great precedent.”

The post A Win for Parents at Yahoo appeared first on LearnVest.

“We need to talk.”

Generally speaking, no good conversation starts with this statement … except when it comes to finances.

For anyone in a relationship, money isn’t just something that you should talk about; it’s a topic that you need to cover together. In fact, of the many arguments that couples can have, fights over money have been shown to be the best predictors of divorce—even more than spats over sex!

The good thing is that most people in a relationship want to be transparent about their money … they just don’t know how to do it. According to a recent Lawyers.com survey, 40% of couples (folks ranged in age from 25 to 55) agree that financial honesty is more important than being honest about fidelity.

So we asked LearnVest founder and CEO Alexa von Tobel—who just got married this past spring—to share her own strategy for having a productive money talk with your significant other.

Plus, you can also check out LearnVest’s new Love & Money Bootcamp, created in conjunction with Cosmopolitan magazine. The five-day program covers everything from how to successfully combine your money to the best ways to prep for your financially happy future together.

Why the Money Talk Is So Important

“Discussing finances openly with your partner is crucial because money plays into every aspect of our lives, from the jobs we take to the way we raise our children,” says Alexa. “Since it affects so many major decisions, it’s necessary to check in with your partner from time to time to make sure that you’re on the same page when it comes to your finances.”

RELATED: Parents Dish on How They Talk Money With Their Kids

And we’re not just referring to married couples. It’s necessary to have the money talk as soon as you start to get serious with someone, so you can lay the right foundation for further conversations as your relationship progresses.

Don’t know where to start? Here are Alexa’s top-five tips for acing that first ice-breaker money chat with your significant other:

The post Love & Money: 5 Tips for Couples Tackling “The Talk” appeared first on LearnVest.

Loaning money is universally awkward—but especially when it comes to family.

And a close relative asking for a little money on the side to tide him over is more common than you might think.

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling’s 2012 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey found that for 27% of Americans, friends and family members are the first resource they would turn to for help with ongoing debts.

And it’s not just for personal reasons that we request funds: According to a survey by the National Small Business Association, 19% of start-up companies reported tapping family members for a private loan to cover costs.

So how do you avoid becoming the family ATM? We talked to Katie Brewer, LearnVest Planning Services CFP®, and family therapist Retha Buck about the best way to deal with a loved one who constantly drains your finances  … and how to get your money back.

1. Establish Which Type of Loan It Is

It’s important to be upfront from the beginning about the fact that your money is a loan, not a gift. Sometimes you loan money without necessarily expecting to see it again (like spotting someone for lunch), but there’s a difference between a $7 sandwich and a $300 car repair loan.

So, is this money a gift or a loan? If it’s a loan, put your agreement in writing. Make sure you know how the money will be used and the terms for repayment: How will it be paid back? In what increments? How long does the lender have to pay you? Aside from clarity, you’re putting your terms in writing in order to give yourself leverage: The document will allow you to take your family member to small claims court in pursuit of repayment, if need be.

RELATED: 9 Times Being Nice Will Hold You Back

“As awkward as it might be to ask your family member to sign on the dotted line, it protects both you and your relationship if you put it in writing,” explains Brewer. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be a formal contract, although that might scare your borrower into actually paying you back!”

Just signing the back of a flier will do the trick, but you can also use a resource like LendingKarma, which allows you to purchase a contract prepared by an attorney for $15 to $60 and tracks the progress of your repayment, or the $25 software program Family Lawyer.

2. Protect Yourself

A word of caution: When helping out a family member financially, make sure to guard your credit. “I run into people who have really good credit and get sucked into co-signing for a loan, or put their brother on their cell phone plan,” recounts Brewer. “Then their family members default and it messes up their credit.” She advises clients to steer clear of putting their own credit on the line to help a family member.

RELATED: The Mistake That Plunged My Credit Score 200 Points

Also, if your loan is really big (think $11,000 or more), you could face tax implications, which is another reason to put your terms in writing. If the loan is smaller, it shouldn’t be an issue.

Of course, you’ll need an incentive to make sure you’re paid back.

The post How to Stop Being the Family ATM appeared first on LearnVest.

When I was a child, dreaming about being a veterinarian, I believed that my career would be determined by my passions. I thought that whatever made me the happiest would be the way I spent my days.

By the time I got to high school, I was considering business management or marketing—I thought that a substantial paycheck would be the most influential factor in my occupational pursuits.

I had no idea that my career path would ultimately come down to concerns over health benefits and matching 401(k)s, work-life balance and job security. Little did I know that choosing an occupation involved so much more than just passion and paychecks.

The Accidental Freelancer

After college I found my way into data analysis with a midsize alcohol distribution company. The job came with paid vacation time, health care benefits and a generous retirement package. It was a very adult job, with stable hours and a company Christmas party every year. In fact, this grown-up job is where I met my husband. I did my job well and got promoted quickly, taking on added responsibility while still managing to get home every night in time to cook dinner for my family.

Then, during one of my more dull moments at work, I wrote an email to an editor at a fashion website that I read religiously—and I was invited to contribute my first piece about stylish motherhood. In the beginning it was a hobby, writing one piece a week in the evenings after my daughter had gone to bed.

Within a year of that first post, I was writing every day. When the company launched a parenting website, my editor recommended me for a contract contributor position. I spent my lunch hours dashing out stories before returning to my day job spreadsheets. At home, the minute that dinner was done, my husband took over with our daughter, and I sat down to type.

It was a difficult time because I love writing and being part of an internet community, but I felt guilty being so focused on my day job. Writing was a passion that I had never considered turning into a profession—it’s one of those unreliable, creative-type jobs that parents try to lead you away from when you’re a teenager. At the same time, I was beginning to make a name for myself in this highly competitive but rewarding industry.

In 2011, after four months of trying to juggle what had become two full-time jobs, I decided that I had to make a choice. Life couldn’t go on like this.

The post Why I Gave Up Job Security to Go Freelance appeared first on LearnVest.

April is almost over, which means—as you may know if you’re a fan of presidential proclamations—that National Financial Capability Month is coming to a close.

National Financial Capability Month is a special time of year when we “recommit to empowering individuals and families with the knowledge and tools they need to get ahead in today’s economy.”

To celebrate, those party animals at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have published a book by CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton, “Ponzimonium—How Scam Artists are Ripping Off America,” to help investors protect themselves from financial scams.

Financial Scams on the Rise

Despite more public awareness and government action, financial scams persist, especially as the stock market recovers from the 2008-2009 crash. Regulators have worked to crack down on financial fraud since failing to thwart Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme—he ultimately stole billions from high-profile investors.

“We thought all the frauds and Ponzi scams were horrific in the wake of the Madoff scandal, but it is even worse now,” Chilton says.

Chilton identifies five red flags of a typical financial scam:

1. It sounds too good to be true. Like those sneakers that were supposed to tone your hamstrings and calves just by walking, financial scams never live up to the hype.
2. It’s a “no risk” investment. Reality check: Every investment has risks. If you don’t know what they are, you shouldn’t be investing.
3. Profits are guaranteed regardless of what the market is doing. Most investments go through periods during which they perform well and times when they fall short. That’s normal.
4. You can’t understand the investment. Complexity isn’t a sign of investment superiority, but it is an easy way to mask a scam.
5. You have to keep it a secret. Anyone who sells a legitimate investment opportunity should give you written information that you and your financial adviser can review.

Once you know the warning signs, Chilton adds, you can vet a potential investment by asking the salesperson or broker these questions:

• Who regulates or licenses the product or service offered?
• What licenses or registrations do you hold authorizing you to offer or sell this product or service?
• What written information will I receive about the investment before I make a decision?
• What are the risks associated with this investment?
• What are the fees and associated costs, and how are they calculated?
• Are there any restrictions on accessing funds once I invest?

RELATED: Ponzi Scheme Victim Writes Novel About Losing $1 Million

The post How to Spot a Ponzi Scheme appeared first on LearnVest.

The author in Vina del Mar, Chile

I take a sip of chilled Sauvignon Blanc while gazing at the sprawling vineyards below my balcony. With the sun on my face, my husband and I dig into some fresh fruit from the local farmers’ market—crisp pears, figs and goat cheese.

A warm breeze flutters the gauzy fabric of my sundress as we open our laptops to start the workday. It’s 1:00 PM in Santa Cruz, Chile, 9:00 AM on the West Coast in the U.S.—and day 17 of our “workation.”

Six years ago, my husband (then boyfriend) and I set out to find a way to develop our careers while traveling the world—and without breaking the bank.

People told us we were crazy.

During some of our low points—power outages in China, freak storms in Belgium and lost luggage in South America—we thought that they might be right. But the highlights, such as working from a cruise ship that was sailing through Chilean fjords, have made what we have dubbed our “workations” worth the effort.

To date, we’ve taken our virtual office to 24 locations, turning the process of traveling while working into a science. Whether you’re an independent entrepreneur like me or you hold down a regular nine-to-five (the way my husband does as a marketing manager for an education company), you, too, can see the high-rises of Shanghai, the peaks of Patagonia or the beaches in Singapore—all while achieving your career goals.

The Career Benefits of Workations

Before you decide that taking a workation would be the equivalent of committing job suicide, consider these facts:

• Research has found that multi-cultural experiences and exotic surroundings generate more inspired and creative work.
• Workations decrease stress, which increases productivity, and leads to fewer sick days. Studies show that people with high levels of stress spend nearly 50% more on health expenses.
• A study in the Harvard Business Review found that when employees take just one day off per week, they report greater job satisfaction, more open communication with team members and better work-life balance, compared to regular employees.

As long as you do it right, a workation could very well improve your performance. Here are six of my personal tips to help get you on the road to work-travel bliss.

RELATED: When the U.S. Economy Tanked, I Moved to China

1. Take Stock of Your Job

It’s true that workations best lend themselves to certain professions, especially ones that require a lot of computer work. So surgeons or chefs probably won’t be able to pull off a workation regularly, if at all.

But if you do have a job that can be done mostly by computer or phone, you should try to fit workations—even just one every year or two—into your life. As for work tasks that need to be done in person, most can be accomplished virtually on a temporary basis, such as face-to-face meetings via Skype or conference calls conducted using speakerphone.

RELATED: Quiz: What’s Your Idea of the Perfect Job?

For example, my husband is on work video chat from nine to five, so his team can send questions any time—and ask to see the view from wherever in the world we’re working.

The post How to Travel the World … While Working appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/going-on-workation-6-tips-to-work-while-traveling-the-world/feed/ 33 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/the-newest-stock-market-hack/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/the-newest-stock-market-hack/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:37:56 +0000 Jacqui Kenyon Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:37:56 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=205557 You may be able to track the ups and downs with something that you probably already use every day. More

The post The Newest Stock Market Hack appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Jacqui Kenyon ~

Seeing what others are searching for on Google can be pretty entertaining— there’s even an internet meme dedicated to it.

But Google search histories offer more than laughs. A recent study in Scientific Report finds that the dips and spikes in the volume of search terms can affect your portfolio.

CNN Money reports that the study’s researchers examined the popularity of different search terms with Google Trends. The ultimate conclusion? They discovered search metrics can signal when the market is going to rise or fall.

Between 2004 and 2011, when the number of people searching terms like “debt” and “unemployment” increased, the market reflected that sentiment and plunged. When the number of searches for these terms fell, the market rose.

Frequency of search can also indicate when investors plan on parting ways with their stocks. For instance, when many people are Googling “NASDAQ” or “inflation,” it’s fair to expect an increase in selling.

The most telling term in the study was “debt”: When researchers made a hypothetical investment based on the fluctuation of “debt” on Google Trends, they earned a 326% profit.

But don’t give up your day job to start a Google Trends hedge fund just yet. Researchers caution that as new words enter the public lexicon, “debt” and the other terms studied may not have the same market effects they once did. In other words, past performance does not guarantee future results.

The post The Newest Stock Market Hack appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/the-newest-stock-market-hack/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/would-you-wager-to-fly-first-class-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/would-you-wager-to-fly-first-class-123/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:47:26 +0000 Libby Kane Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:47:26 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=205303 Some airlines have started allowing passengers to bid on upgrades. Could it help you save on your next trip? More

The post Would You Wager to Fly First Class? appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Libby Kane ~

There are many well-known tricks to getting upgraded on a flight: Look nice, act nice, use points … bid?

The Wall Street Journal reports that airlines, such as Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand, United Arab Emirates’ Etihad Airways and Israel’s El Al Airlines, have instituted a bidding system for upgrades to coveted business and first-class seats.

It works like this: The bidding opens to select holders of economy or premium economy tickets a few weeks before the flight, then closes 48 hours before takeoff. Airlines are able to choose which passengers get the offer–perhaps people who fly business class when it’s financed by their employer, or fliers who seem like they might be good candidates for more expensive seats in the future. These fliers then put forward the amount of money they would be willing to pay for an upgrade and are notified if they have the highest bid.

El Al Airlines tells the Journal that the average winning bid for a business class seat upgrade is $800, which seems steep, until you know that those seats go for $3,000 to $10,000 more than economy seats if you’re buying upfront.

RELATED: The Ultimate Guide to Buying Airline Tickets

On some airlines, it’s not just a better class of seats that’s up for auction–it’s also middle seats in economy class. El Al says that empty middle seats usually go for about $150 to create a buffer for a traveler looking for extra room.

It sounds like good news, but there’s a downside for travelers. Airlines report that because of the thrill of the auction, flyers end up spending more online than they would have had they been offered an upgrade at the ticket counter.

Regardless, an upgrade auction may be in your future. Plusgrade, a company that provides bidding systems to airlines, says that it plans to work with an as-yet-undisclosed North American airline starting later this year.

The post Would You Wager to Fly First Class? appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/would-you-wager-to-fly-first-class-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/why-breaking-up-was-good-for-my-finances-5-true-tales/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/why-breaking-up-was-good-for-my-finances-5-true-tales/#comments Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:00:26 +0000 Libby Kane Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:06:22 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200793 These five people are better off without their exes ... especially when it comes to money. More

The post Why Breaking Up Was Good for My Finances: 5 True Tales appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Libby Kane ~

If you have an ex—which most of us do—you’ve probably received the “You’re better off without them” speech from a friend.

“You’re too smart/attractive/cool for that person,” said friend will tell you. You always hated their style/dog/way they chew anyway.

And now that you’ve broken up, they’ll say, you look better, feel better and have more time to exercise/score that promotion at work!

But what if the breakup left you better off in other ways?

Say, richer? Or without a significant other who was secretly dipping into your checking account?

That’s just what happened to the five people below. There are many financial red flags in a relationship, and their cautionary tales can help you avoid falling into a relationship you’re—at least fiscally speaking—better off without.

1. “My Ex Was Secretly Dipping Into My Bank Account”

Audrey, 38, New York, NY

“When my ex and I rented our first apartment together, it wound up being way too expensive. We were in our 20s, and our eyes were too big for our budget. At the time, our rent was $2,000 a month, and was in direct violation of the 50/20/30 rule because my portion of the rent represented about half of my take-home pay. For my ex, who was only sporadically employed, it was a lot more.

My ex grew up wealthy and didn’t worry about money, but rarely held a job and wouldn’t ask his parents for help. I wound up covering for us a lot of the time. Basically “our budget” became me paying for things, and him contributing when he could.

RELATED: How Money Is Ruining My Marriage

One day, I checked my bank balance and realized there was several hundred dollars missing. Weird, I thought. We didn’t have joint accounts, but I called my ex and said, “I can’t figure out where this money went.” He said he didn’t know anything, so I called the bank, and they told me that the money had been withdrawn that morning, from the ATM on our corner. I checked and my card was right where I’d left in my wallet. And I hadn’t gone anywhere that day.

When they told me the time of the withdrawal, a cold chill came over me. I realized my ex must have taken my card out of my wallet while I was in the shower and withdrawn the money thinking I wouldn’t notice. Meanwhile, I wasn’t aware that he even knew my pin.

I moved out shortly thereafter, and it made me wonder for months after if he had ever “skimmed” money out of my account before, and I just hadn’t noticed.

The post Why Breaking Up Was Good for My Finances: 5 True Tales appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/why-breaking-up-was-good-for-my-finances-5-true-tales/feed/ 5 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/saving-for-college-is-getting-cheaper/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/saving-for-college-is-getting-cheaper/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:37:27 +0000 Cheryl Lock Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:37:27 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=205028 According to a new report, some popular plans are reducing fees and increasing choices. More

The post Saving for College Is Getting … Cheaper? appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

For many parents, the concept of socking away for their kids’ college education can be a daunting one.

Fortunately there’s a bit of good news on that front this week. According to a new report from investment research firm Morningstar, the popular 529 college-saving plans are actually getting cheaper because of decreasing fees and increasing options.

“[The decline in fees] is a sign that the 529 industry is maturing, and states are being more aggressive in how they negotiate with money managers,” Laura Lutton, director of funds research for Morningstar, told ABC News.

While it’s true that almost every state currently offers a 529 plan, parents should do their research before jumping into one that might not be best for their financial situation. Check out our 529 page for more information on the options available.

You can also check out a full list of the 15 “cheapest” 529 plans available (based on average total expense ratio) at ABC News. The top five plans include:

1. South Carolina’s Future Scholar 529:  Average total expense ratio: 0.13 percent

2. New York’s 529 Program: Average total expense ratio: 0.17 percent

3. Michigan Education Savings Program: Average total expense ratio: 0.25 percent

4. Wisconsin’s EdVest 529 Plan: Average total expense ratio: 0.25 percent

5. Utah Educational Saving Plan: Average total expense ratio: 0.25 percent

The post Saving for College Is Getting … Cheaper? appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/saving-for-college-is-getting-cheaper/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/job-hunting-8-tough-interview-techniques-to-prepare-for/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/job-hunting-8-tough-interview-techniques-to-prepare-for/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:00:45 +0000 Alyssa Goldman Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:17:47 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=202517 Explaining your biggest weakness is easy compared to these new interview challenges. Be ready to impress with our tips. More

The post Job Hunting? 8 Tough Interview Techniques to Prepare For appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Alyssa Goldman ~

Job interviews: Nobody likes them, but they inevitably stand between you and your dream job.

Unfortunately, “What’s your greatest weakness?” is no longer the only hard-to-answer question hiring managers will throw your way.

New techniques, designed to do everything from measure your ability to handle criticism in the moment to downright intimidate you, are now being wielded more frequently by HR managers.

Life and Career Coach Anna Goldstein, founder of SelfintheCity.com, walks you through eight curveball interview techniques you might encounter, and the best way to ace each one.

1. Subtle Scare Tactics

It’s not just in your head: Your potential future boss did not smile at you. And if she’s using intimidation techniques in an interview, she might wait a few beats after you answer a question before responding to what you’ve said.

“These are all external distractions over which you have no control,” says Goldstein, “but what you can do is control how you react.”

First, realize that she’s trying to destabilize you, likely to see how you behave under pressure. To counteract her approach, anchor your feet to the floor and take a deep breath before you answer each question slowly and calmly. The goal is not to let these scare tactics intimidate you, so beware that you’re not playing with your hair, fiddling with your jewelry or shifting from foot to foot, all classic signs of anxiety.

RELATED: The Complete Guide to Body Language

Then, tune into your feelings, and ask yourself if you like the environment or whether you could see yourself working at the company (or for a boss who likes to keep you off-balance). Remember, job interviews are a two-way street–-it’s also an opportunity to see if the company and the position would be a good fit for you.

2. “Stress” Interviews

You’re probably thinking, “Aren’t all interviews stressful”? But stress interviews are a different breed. They could include an interviewer suddenly lobbing an oddball question like, “If you were to get rid of one state in the U.S., which would it be and why?”

Your interviewer might also start rapid-fire questioning or adopt an aggressive or argumentative attitude. And the degree of stress applied will vary: A mildly stressful question might be: “What makes you think you’re qualified for this job when you’ve had minimal relevant experience?” In the most x-treme versions, you might have to react to a response like: “That’s the worst answer to that question any candidate has given.”

What to do? First, don’t just write off the interviewer as a total jerk. Consider that job candidates can predict most interview questions and have a prepared response for each one; by resorting to bizarre questions and comments like the above, they want to see how the “real” you reacts to something.

And, perhaps more important than what you answer is the fact that you’re being assessed on your creativity, your ability to think on your feet and your capacity for handling criticism. Your mantra? Grace under fire.

If you find yourself in this situation, relax. Consider it a challenge—and a chance to impress your potential employer. If you get choked up, take a deep breath and collect your thoughts. It’s better to have a moment of silence than rush into an answer. And above all, don’t become defensive; instead, act professional. Your confidence and composure are sure to impress.

The post Job Hunting? 8 Tough Interview Techniques to Prepare For appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/job-hunting-8-tough-interview-techniques-to-prepare-for/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/why-student-loans-mean-fewer-mortgages-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/why-student-loans-mean-fewer-mortgages-123/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:45:06 +0000 Libby Kane Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:20:09 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=204631 For the first time in a decade, young adults with student loans are less likely to get mortgages ... among other things. More

The post The Student Loan Crush appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Libby Kane ~

Student loans are a big deal. U.S. households borrow more for education than they have in credit card debt or auto loans. Total student loan debt reached $1 trillion last year, and nearly 70% of college graduates have loans.

 

The student loan burden has hurt mortgage lending. A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that for the first time in at least a decade, 30-year-olds without a history of student loans are more likely to own a home (or home-secured debt, which indicates eventual homeownership) than those with student loans.

Fortune reports that while student debt had once been considered a sign of a reliable borrower, it now more likely means a borrower won’t be able to pay back a loan. Thirty-year-olds with student loans have credit scores an average of 24 points lower than those without loans.

RELATED: 3 Readers Speak Out: How Student Loans Have Affected Me

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York points out that it’s not simply a lack of room in the budget that’s problematic for young people with student loans. It’s also that post-recession, lenders have tightened the requirements for a potential borrower—and grads with substantial loans may be disqualified due to an undesirable debt-to-income ratio.

If you find yourself in a tight spot with student loans, you aren’t alone: Our checklist provides a step-by-step plan to help you pay them off.

The post The Student Loan Crush appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/why-student-loans-mean-fewer-mortgages-123/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/the-movers-and-shakers-of-the-freelance-revolution/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/the-movers-and-shakers-of-the-freelance-revolution/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:27:09 +0000 Jacqui Kenyon Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:27:09 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=204883 This group is making significant strides in the tech field—thanks to growth in the contract sector. More

The post The Movers and Shakers of the Freelance Revolution appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Jacqui Kenyon ~

There’s a new playing field where women have taken a commanding lead over their male counterparts: the freelance sector.

As we previously reported, the market for contract workers is growing rapidly, and paying better. Over the past year, paychecks for content writers increased 151%, and earnings for web designers grew 205%.

Women’s paychecks are growing faster than men’s, Rich Pearson, Elance’s chief marketing officer, told Forbes. Earnings for female freelancers grow at an average of 50% per year, while men lag behind with increases of about 40% per year.

New research conducted by Elance, an online freelance marketplace, finds that 74% of women report that access to freelance work that can be done remotely gives them a leg up in the technology field that they wouldn’t have if they worked in a traditional office setting.

At first glance, the advantages of freelance work for women may seem like old hat; working when they can and not having to show up at an office every day makes it easier for women to balance their careers and their roles as wives and mothers. However, 65% of women said that they benefited from working online because they felt that they were offered opportunities that challenged them and improved their skills.

Expectations for more contract work for women remain high. 80% of women surveyed by Elance said they are optimistic about the future success of women in technology. And that’s a good sign that momentum is building for even more gains for women in the freelance sector.

The post The Movers and Shakers of the Freelance Revolution appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/the-movers-and-shakers-of-the-freelance-revolution/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/advice-from-an-insider-how-to-move-up-the-corporate-ladder/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/advice-from-an-insider-how-to-move-up-the-corporate-ladder/#comments Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:00:38 +0000 Colleen Oakley Sun, 21 Apr 2013 22:46:23 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=193977 A former director of Fortune 500 companies explains how to set yourself apart from the corporate herd. More

The post Advice From an Insider: How to Move Up the Corporate Ladder appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Colleen Oakley ~

When Tony Wong’s daughter graduated from college, he did what any good father would—he gave her advice about job hunting.

Then his nephew and niece graduated, and he gave them the same advice. “I noticed that I kept repeating myself over the course of the summer,” he says.

So he started writing his little nuggets of wisdom down, and before he knew it, the former director of such Fortune 150 companies as Black & Decker and 3M had an outline for a book—one that he thought other people would also find useful.

“It became apparent to me that most young people are unprepared for the real world,” he says. “And I didn’t find anything else out there that provided real advice from successful CEOs on how to move up the corporate ladder.”

Wong’s book, Mooove Ahead! of the Corporate Herd, does just that—and it provides sage advice for people who are at various points in their careers.

LearnVest: OK, first things first—why the cow metaphor?

Tony Wong: All great marketers need a catch, right? But, seriously, when I thought of the corporate world, I kept seeing this herd of people: They look the same and wear the same clothes. So why is it that one person becomes a leader? What makes them different? What gives them an edge? Certainly there are people who are born leaders—they just have that spark. But then there are also people with loads of potential who’ve never been given the right tools or guidance to help them get where they need to go.

You talk a lot about confidence in the book, but there’s a fine line between that and arrogance. How do you avoid crossing it?

You can’t … unfortunately, you’re going to cross that line once in a while. The reality is that confident people take stands on positions, they take risks, they put themselves out there—and sometimes that can rub people the wrong way. The idea is to minimize the damage. You can be confident but still respectful of others by listening, taking notes and acknowledging other people’s perspectives.

Let’s talk about social networking. How can people use it to their advantage?

This is a great question. Everyone is on some kind of social network, right? But not everyone really understands how to make it work for them. The biggest mistake that I see is people having 500 Facebook friends or 1,000 connections on LinkedIn—and they think that they’re great at networking. But how many of those people are you actually in touch with?

The post Advice From an Insider: How to Move Up the Corporate Ladder appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/advice-from-an-insider-how-to-move-up-the-corporate-ladder/feed/ 3 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/could-twitter-trump-your-resume/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/could-twitter-trump-your-resume/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:59:23 +0000 Libby Kane Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:59:23 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=204443 Hiring managers increasingly look to 140-character tweets when vetting potential hires. More

The post Could Twitter Trump Your Résumé? appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Libby Kane ~

What constitutes the perfect résumé? Well, it really depends on whom you ask.

Some people swear by sticking to one page and the right-sized margins, while others advocate including your hobbies and interests.

What no one suggests: limiting your résumé to 140 characters or less—but your Twitter activity could make the difference when it comes to scoring your next gig.

The Next Online Hiring Frontier: Twitter

The Wall Street Journal reports that some recruiters are steering clear of traditional job sites to post open positions and solicit candidates through Twitter.

For example, a network-infrastructure firm based in Boston recently asked candidates to express their interest in a social media marketing position via Twitter using hashtag #socialCV.

RELATED: Does the Way You Job Hunt Show Your Age?

The maneuver by hiring managers is likely a smart move: With over 200 million monthly active users, the site provides unusual direct access to hiring managers and applicants alike.

But, given that it’s a relatively new platform, the rules are still unclear. Are recruiters obligated to answer tweets? Must job-seekers tweet only about career-related things or can they also use the same account for personal messages?

Truth be told, there are no actual rules—one woman’s six-second video résumé tweet got her a job as a project manager at a major media company, while countless others tweet in search of a job without the same results.

If you’re going to use Twitter to look for a new position, just make sure that it’s not your sole method. When job hunting, social media is best used in conjunction with networking and paper résumé … with well-spaced margins.

The post Could Twitter Trump Your Résumé? appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/could-twitter-trump-your-resume/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/from-boom-to-bust-and-back-recovering-from-bankruptcy/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/from-boom-to-bust-and-back-recovering-from-bankruptcy/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:00:44 +0000 Libby Kane Wed, 01 May 2013 10:16:11 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=199852 Why do some businesses rebound successfully from bankruptcy, while others abandon ship? More

The post From Boom to Bust and Back: Recovering From Bankruptcy appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Libby Kane ~

In 2009 a Chicago-area transportation company called The BusBank filed for bankruptcy.

The company had been depending on investor funds, which dried up—along with the economy. ”It started getting rough in 2006, and by 2009 we were struggling for cash,” explains Brandon Dudley, BusBank’s director of marketing and operations. “At that time we had over $10 million of liabilities to local bus companies.”

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at their lawyers’ advice—and then set about rebuilding. BusBank changed its focus from getting new customers to being more efficient with spending, which included restructuring the company’s senior management. Each quarter they make a payment (decided in bankruptcy) to the vendors that they still owe.

“Every day was long and stressful,” Dudley recounts. “We didn’t know if we would make it through.”

But today BusBank is still alive and kicking. The company has paid off most of its smaller debts, and it’s even profitable—in fact, BusBank’s 2012 profits surpassed company goals and increased over 1,000%. In 2013 they’re already operating ahead of revenue projections.

Filing for bankruptcy can feel like a hard stop—a failure. Yet the reality is that bankruptcy can actually serve as a clean state to start building a better business model. But what’s the difference between a company that successfully rebuilds, and one that shutters its doors forever?

Bankruptcy Doesn’t Have to Be a Death Knell

One inspiring—not to mention high-profile—case of post-bankruptcy reinvention is Betsey Johnson, a dynamic clothing brand named after its equally dynamic founder. When the 34-year-old company found itself $4 million in debt, it announced, in April 2012, that it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, closing 63 stores and letting go of 350 employees.

Designer Steve Madden, who stepped in to take over a $48 million loan on which Betsy Johnson LLC had defaulted in 2010, now owns the Betsey Johnson license in conjunction with Castanea Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm. Madden explained what ultimately landed the company in so much financial trouble to The New York Times: ”They borrowed a lot of money, they had too many stores and their rents were too high.”

The post From Boom to Bust and Back: Recovering From Bankruptcy appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/from-boom-to-bust-and-back-recovering-from-bankruptcy/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/psst-these-travel-trends-could-make-or-break-your-summer-vacation/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/psst-these-travel-trends-could-make-or-break-your-summer-vacation/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:00:25 +0000 Beth Collins Thu, 18 Apr 2013 22:14:43 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=201674 Changes are afoot in hotel rewards, cruises and more. Make sure they don't derail your summer adventures. More

The post These Trends Could Make or Break Your Summer Vacation appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Beth Collins ~

A week at the beach? A Caribbean cruise? Europe by train?

If you’re like most Americans, you’ve already begun to daydream about your big summer trip. But before you pack your bags, make sure that you’re getting the most for your money—no matter where you’re planning to go.

To help you plan wisely, we’ve rounded up the major industry changes in hotel rewards, cruises and transportation that will affect summer travel this year—some may have you jumping to book that getaway, while others might make a staycation look better and better.

RELATED: Checklist: I Want to Plan a Trip

Hotels That Aren’t So Hospitable

If there were a Sad-Trombone Award for summer travel, this year’s first-place prize would go to hotel rewards points. Three major brands—Marriott, Hilton and Starwood—have increased the amount of points needed to book a free hotel room.

Marriott

Marriott Hotels, which includes Ritz Carlton and Fairfield Inn & Suites, among others, has moved 36% of its properties (more than 1,000 hotels) into higher rewards categories. This means that some hotels that used to require 15,000 points per night to book a free room now require 20,000 points; others that used to require 30,000 points now demand 35,000. What’s more, 13 of the brand’s properties have been placed in Category 9—a new designation requiring 45,000 points for a free room.

If you have points to redeem, and want to get the best deal, book your room now. The changes go into effect on May 15, but all rewards points bookings made before that date will be honored at the price point at which they were booked.

Hilton

Hilton’s most significant changes come in the form of what they’re calling Seasonal Pricing. Previously, the amount of rewards points needed to book a free room was the same throughout the year, but it now varies based on demand. This is good news for people who want to travel during the shoulder season, when demand for rooms is low, explains public relations executive Matt Kochis. “For example, you had to use the same amount of points to stay in Park City, Utah, in the summer as in the winter,” he says. “With seasonal pricing, members have the opportunity to book at a number of hotels using [fewer] points, depending on the time of year.”

“It’s the first partnership of its kind in hotel-airline history,” says Maire Griffin of Starwood’s SPG program.

Although this is true, for those traveling during the summer months when demand peaks, seasonal pricing means shelling out significantly more rewards points as was previously required. The changes span the entire brand, including Waldorf Astoria, Doubletree, Hampton Inn and more.

Starwood

Members of Starwood Hotels and Resort’s loyalty program—including Sheraton, Westin and W Hotels—will notice that 20% to 25% more points and cash are required to book rooms via the brand’s Cash & Points program. For example, before the change, a room in a category 6 hotel, like the W New York in Times Square, would have required 8,000 points, plus $150. Now the same room requires 10,000 points, plus $180. On the upside, the new model lets members use their points for upgraded rooms and suites, an option that wasn’t available before.

The post These Trends Could Make or Break Your Summer Vacation appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/psst-these-travel-trends-could-make-or-break-your-summer-vacation/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/6-money-questions-you-need-to-ask-your-spouse/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/6-money-questions-you-need-to-ask-your-spouse/#comments Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:00:58 +0000 Cheryl Lock Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:00:58 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=190411 An expert weighs in on the best ways to have the money talk, what topics to cover and why it’s so important. More

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]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

When my now husband and I first got engaged, I knew money would be an issue.

Not because either one of us had a particularly large debt, or were “bad” with budgeting. On the contrary, it was more that I love dealing with and talking about money, and I knew I wanted to be 100% in charge of ours.

Obviously, we would need to have a talk about that.

It sounds easy, but when push comes to shove, the conversation can be awkward. Jackie Black, PhD, BCC, relationship expert and author of “Couples and Money: Cracking the Code to Ending the #1 Conflict in Marriage,” and LearnVest Director of Financial Planning Stephany Kirkpatrick, CFP®, gave us some important pointers on the best ways to have the money talk, what topics to cover … and why it’s so important in the first place.

Why You Need to Talk About Money

“People’s pasts deeply affect, and continue to influence, their financial presents and futures,” explains Dr. Black. “Values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors related to money significantly limit people being able to talk about it and make good choices.”

After all, a talk about money is rarely just a talk about dollars and cents—it’s a more intimate reveal of beliefs and values, expressed through how you spend.

Don’t believe us? Consider this question: Is private college tuition worth it? Most couples could debate for hours about whether they’re gunning to send their kids to a an Ivy League or a state school (or whether they’ll foot the bill for college at all), and decisions like that have a big impact on where you put your money and how much of it.

RELATED: 7 Ways Money Memories Can Affect Your Finances

Plus, says Dr. Black, the way you manage money with your partner is a mirror of the ways you handle (or don’t) all kinds of issues in your relationship. In fact, the more a couple disagrees, the higher their chance of divorce: A 2009 study found that couples who disagree over money once a week are 30% more likely to part ways than couples who have those same disagreements once a month.

Knowing that, it’s high time you had the conversation. When you do, here’s what you need to get on the same page about.

The post 6 Money Questions You Need to Ask Your Spouse appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/6-money-questions-you-need-to-ask-your-spouse/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/the-rise-of-corporate-colleges-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/the-rise-of-corporate-colleges-123/#comments Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:03:21 +0000 Jacqui Kenyon Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:03:21 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=203986 Large chains are increasingly offering college-level classes for free to their employees. More

The post The Rise of Corporate Colleges appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Jacqui Kenyon ~

Each year, McDonalds managers and would-be managers numbering in the thousands spend a week at Hamburger University to take classes in business and strategic management.

That’s right. There’s a brick-and-mortar “college” at the chain’s Illinois headquarters, and courses employees take there can be used toward an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree.

And McDonalds isn’t alone. Other corporations—Starbucks, Jiffy Lube and Wal-Mart, to name a few—offer similar programs that include in-person seminars and online classes.

Why Are Companies Investing in Education?

According to CNN Money, the reason for creating such classes is strategic: Companies don’t want to have to wait to hire graduates from independent colleges and universities who possess the skills they need. Another factor? College grads may often overlook chains like Wal-Mart and Starbucks during their job searches.

So which traditional degree programs accept credits from corporate colleges like Hamburger U?

RELATED: Why a College Education Could Be Free Someday

Mary Beth Lakin, director of the American Council on Education’s college and university partnerships, told CNN Money that it’s up to the universities. The City University of Seattle, for instance, accepts credits from Starbucks’s higher education program. And, according to Lakin, about 2,000 other schools are considering accepting corporate credits. A business degree with that double mocha latte, anyone?

The post The Rise of Corporate Colleges appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/the-rise-of-corporate-colleges-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/watch-alexa-and-learnvest-on-hsn-tuesday-at-6-a-m/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/watch-alexa-and-learnvest-on-hsn-tuesday-at-6-a-m/#comments Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:45:41 +0000 LearnVest Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:44:37 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=203119 Find out the special personal finance product Alexa will be selling on HSN this Tuesday! More

The post Watch Alexa and LearnVest on HSN, Tuesday at 6 A.M.! appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By LearnVest ~

While you’re getting ready for work, packing your kids’ lunches or on the treadmill Tuesday morning, make sure you switch the TV to the Home Shopping Network. LearnVest founder and CEO Alexa von Tobel will be on HSN!

You’ve seen Alexa giving advice on the TODAY Show and in a TED Talk, but now she’ll be selling something that will actually help you manage your money better.

(If you can’t tune in, don’t fret. We’ll tell you where to go on Tuesday to see the video and snag the coolest LearnVest product yet.)

To find out what treat Alexa and LearnVest have for you and HSN viewers, tune in during the 6 – 7 A.M. slot.

We’ll see you there.

The post Watch Alexa and LearnVest on HSN, Tuesday at 6 A.M.! appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/watch-alexa-and-learnvest-on-hsn-tuesday-at-6-a-m/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/women-in-asia-dominate-this-financial-field/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/women-in-asia-dominate-this-financial-field/#comments Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:34:26 +0000 Alden Wicker Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:34:26 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=202695 In the rest of the world, it's the complete opposite. More

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]]> LearnVest By Alden Wicker ~

On the heels of Equal Pay Day, many commentators have been tossing around ideas on how to make gender equality in the workplace a reality.

Well maybe they could learn a thing or two from Asia.

Bloomberg News reported this week that in Asia, female private bankers managing the money of the wealthy outnumber male private bankers three to one. Meanwhile, over here in the U.S., men outnumber women in the money management field four to one.

Why Women Manage the Money

There are a few reasons why trading for wealthy clients has attracted so many women in Asia. First, as opposed to investment banking and floor trading, managing client relationships allows for better work-life balance.

And in general, it’s easier for women in Asia’s major cities to have careers. They have access to more affordable childcare assistance and traditionally more family support than in Europe or the U.S.

More importantly, women are a natural fit for the private wealth management industry.  “Because women often come across as sensitive and empathetic, even many men would rather speak to a woman about personal wealth matters than to another man,” an executive recruiter told Bloomberg. Women are perceived be more caring, and have more cultural leeway to do things like send a personal note or a box of chocolates to clients.

And finally, women private bankers can tell when, even though the husband is doing all the talking, it’s the wife sitting next to him who makes the decisions.

The post Women in Asia Dominate This Financial Field appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/women-in-asia-dominate-this-financial-field/feed/ 4 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/planning-to-part-with-your-wedding-dress/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/planning-to-part-with-your-wedding-dress/#comments Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:29:34 +0000 Cheryl Lock Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:04:37 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=202708 This new calculator can help you figure out your gown's current worth. More

The post Planning to Part With Your Wedding Dress? appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

A website dedicated to preowned wedding dresses has launched a new tool, the Wedding Dress Value Calculator, which helps a former bride determine her gown’s current worth based on label, collection year, when it was purchased and how much she paid for it.

While I’m not ready to sell off my own wedding dress to highest bidder quite yet (I just got married in December, can’t I at least keep it for a little while longer?), there might come a day when I’ll be happy to take the cash in lieu of a dress I’ll never wear again.

Lucky for me, website founder Josie Daga has solved the problem of determining how much my dress might be worth, should the day ever come that I do want to sell it. That’s because Daga’s site, PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, has launched a new feature called the Wedding Dress Value Calculator, which would help me, or any prospective dress seller, determine a good estimate for the gown’s worth.

“We always get questions from brides asking, ‘What’s my dress worth?’ ” says Daga. “They’ll tell us the designer and the original price, and then ask about the current value. But the reality is that much more goes into determining what a preowned gown is worth. We just launched the calculator two weeks ago, and it has quickly become a very popular page on our site.”

To use the calculator, you input a few pieces of information about your dress—the designer, the date you purchased it, how much you paid, the condition of the dress and whether or not the dress has been cleaned—and the tool calculates an estimated current value for it.

“Not only does the Dress Value Calculator provide a resale value,” explains Daga, “but it also shows examples of the same or similar gowns currently for sale–or already sold–on our site.”

When I’m ready to part with my dress, I’ll know exactly where to go!

The post Planning to Part With Your Wedding Dress? appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/planning-to-part-with-your-wedding-dress/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/13-free-travel-apps-everyone-should-know-about/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/13-free-travel-apps-everyone-should-know-about/#comments Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:00:14 +0000 Jason Hall Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:17:03 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=197914 These free apps can help you with everything from currency conversion to finding 70% off hotels. More

The post 13 Free Travel Apps Everyone Should Know About appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Jason Hall ~

Picture this: You’re spending a week in your dream city of Paris, when you decide to hop a train at the last minute to see Monet’s Garden in Giverny.

But where will you stay and eat? And is there anything else you shouldn’t miss while there?

This is where the new guard of smartphone apps comes in. There are apps for fun stuff (attractions and adventures), necessary stuff (flights and hotels) and even trip details (gas prices and currency conversion). And the best part about these 13 picks? They’re all free.

Money-Saving Apps

• HotelTonight. Properties work with this app provider to fill vacant rooms, so you can book last-minute accommodations in 12 countries—like Mexico and Ireland—for up to a 70% discount.
• GasBuddy. This app locates the closest gas stations, and also lists the prices you can expect to pay—saving you both time and money.
• Kayak. Their famous slogan “search one and done” means that you can book airfare and hotels, manage your itinerary and track your flight status in one place.
• OANDA Currency Converter. Avoid nasty overspending surprises by using this app to convert prices between different currencies—it even takes into account ATM and credit card fees.

Destination-Finding Apps

• Tripomatic. This app plots out nearby attractions and activities the minute you program a new location into the application. It also lets you share your travels with friends in your social network.
• Trip Advisor City Guides. With this app, you can download maps and city guides onto your phone, so you have them at your fingertips even when you can’t access the Internet.
• TripIt. Forward confirmation emails to Tripit, and the app will organize your trip details into a master online itinerary. It automatically includes maps, directions and weather info, and also gives you the option to book restaurants, entertainment and activities.

Travel Tips Apps

• SeatGuru. This app provides seat maps, photos and comfort ratings for flights from all major airlines.
• GateGuru. Consider it the SeatGuru for airport terminals: The app ranks the best restaurants and businesses in each terminal, and it can be linked to Tripit or Kayak, so you can download your travel itinerary.
• Free Wi-Fi Finder. Having trouble finding wireless? This application helps you locate and connect to Wi-Fi hot spots all over the country.
• Google Translate. This tool quickly translates both spoken word and text, as well as repeats words out loud for you.

Hidden Gem Apps

• Airbnb. This service allows people to rent out their homes to travelers at reasonable prices. (Don’t worry: All renters are reviewed and approved for trustworthiness by the company.) Whether you’re looking for an apartment for the night or a villa for a month, this app allows you to book travel anywhere on Earth from your mobile phone.
• Wikitude. Another great restaurant-and-event-finding app, Wikitude has an added element of cool: If you use your camera phone, the app will superimpose information about what you’re seeing (thanks to GPS) over your image.

Jason Hall is blogger and Brand Manager for Budget Car Hire, Australia’s premiere car rental company. He enjoys writing about trending travel topics, as well as travel adventures. 

The post 13 Free Travel Apps Everyone Should Know About appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/13-free-travel-apps-everyone-should-know-about/feed/ 4 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/this-is-why-women-dont-run-for-office/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/this-is-why-women-dont-run-for-office/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:04:23 +0000 Alden Wicker Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:38:48 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200957 It isn't because they're told to stay out of politics. OK, actually, they kind of are ... More

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]]> LearnVest By Alden Wicker ~

It’s catchy, but let’s face it: Beyoncé’s song, “Who Run the World? (Girls)” is way off.

Women hold just 18.1% of congressional seats, 23.4% of statewide elected positions,   24% of state legislative positions and 12% of mayorships in the 100 largest U.S. cities. It was seen as cataclysmic last fall when 20 women headed to the Senate.

So no, girls do not run the world. And a new report from American University titled, “Girls Just Wanna Not Run” tries to figure out why.

By the time they reach college, young women have often already lost any interest they might have had in a political career. Like with other gender disparities, the reasons are complex, but come down to a mixture of unconscious biases, socialization and the ego gap between men and women. Researchers came up with five main reasons:

 

1. Young men are more likely than young women to be socialized by their parents to consider politics for a career.
2. In school, among friends and when consuming media, young women tend to be exposed less than young men to political information and discussion.
3. Young women are less likely to have played organized sports and developed a taste for winning.
4. Young women are less likely than young men to receive encouragement to run for office—from anyone.
5. Young women are less likely than young men to think they will be qualified to run for office, even once they are established in their careers.

RELATED: Top Job for Women In 2012? It’s the Same as in 1950!

As the report points out, women are actually just as likely as men to win elections once they enter, but they actually have to run first.

To beat the gender gap in political leadership, then, the key isn’t better television ads or media that treats women better during campaigns. The solution is parents and teachers that expose young women to political issues and encourage them to consider politics as a worthy career.

Have you told your daughter that she’d make a good senator lately?

The post This Is Why Women Don’t Run for Office appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/this-is-why-women-dont-run-for-office/feed/ 3 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/why-economists-think-we-should-get-rid-of-patents/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/why-economists-think-we-should-get-rid-of-patents/#comments Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:00:53 +0000 Gabrielle Karol Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:21:21 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200557 As tech titans battle over patents in multimillion-dollar cases, two economists advocate abolishing them altogether. More

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]]> LearnVest By Gabrielle Karol ~

Google’s new promise? It’ll stop trolling.

No, the company, which made this announcement two weeks ago, hasn’t been posting nasty comments on message boards: It has pledged to start the fight against “patent trolling,” which is when companies attack others with lawsuits to defend their patents—even if they don’t intend to do anything with the technology they’ve patented.

So what does this mean for Google? Well, they’re starting out small: They’ve chosen ten patents and said that they won’t sue anyone else for using their patented technology—as long as they don’t get sued themselves. After all, patent fights can get extremely expensive: In 2011, Google spent more on patents than it did on research and development, and it’s not alone—competitor Apple did as well.

Google also urged other tech companies to adopt its “Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge,” in which those companies would also agree not to sue others who had infringed on their patents. The goal is to create a tech community that is devoted to encouraging progress—not defending its territory at the expense of other innovators.

The company’s new stance is one example of a growing chorus of economists and tech innovators who think that patent litigation, in which businesses sue each other for infringing on their patents, is harming the industry. One example comes from voice-recognition technology, such as that which powers the iPhone’s Siri feature. One company in the field, Nuance, believing that start-up Vlingo was encroaching on one of its broad patents, sued, forcing Vlingo to spend $3 million on legal fees. While Vlingo won the suit, the cost proved so great, it eventually had to sell itself to Nuance anyway. Nuance technology is now thought to power Siri, though neither Apple nor Nuance will confirm it.

RELATED: Study Says Successful Startups Are Run by Women

In 2011, President Barack Obama signed a patent reform bill, which grants “first-to-file” patents rather than the previous “first-to-invent” patents, because under the old system, when inventors would come up with an idea at the same time, court proceedings were necessary to grant the patent. But at that time, the Berkeley Technology Law Journal suggested that the overhaul would give more power to big companies that have the resources to file first, stifling innovation at start-ups—and making trolling even worse.

Now, a paper from economists with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis argues that our nation should get rid of patents altogether, in order to spur competition and innovation.

Would abolishing patents—which were created in order to incentivize inventors to invest in research and development—drastically reduce innovation in the United States? Or are the patent system and the expensive litigation that often accompanies it so harmful that they actually hurt the economy?

RELATED: Why We Can’t Grow Our Economy Forever

The Benefits of Patents

Before we dive into all the reasons for eliminating patents, here is some of the conventional wisdom about why patents have been considered productive tools for our economy:

• Patents help inventors profit. Patents give inventors the exclusive right to profit from their intellectual property.
• Patents spur innovation. By providing incentives to inventors, patents are thought to promote innovation and technological advancements. Apple founder Steve Jobs has been quoted as saying, “We’re going to patent it all,” when it came to iPhone technology—and that even meant ideas that the company hadn’t built yet. By patenting its work—even if it never used any of the inventions—Apple could thus justify having its team spend time working on cutting-edge projects.
• Patents help create jobs. Presumably, to turn a profit on an invented idea, an inventor would need a team to execute the concept, leading to job creation.
• Patents spread knowledge. When inventors are granted patents, their innovative techniques and procedures are made public. Thus, patents could help others to innovate by giving them more advanced tools to build upon.
• Patents help companies get funding. Venture capital funds and other investors may be more likely to invest in new start-ups if they have secured patents for their work. The Berkeley Patent Survey showed that 67% of companies’ negotiations with VC firms said that the firms in question had implied that patents were an important part of their funding decisions.

How Patents Hurt the Economy

When it comes to the most recent changes to the patent system in the United States, David K. Levine, one of the economists with the St. Louis Federal Reserve, likened it to “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.”

In “The Case Against Patents,” published in The Journal of Economic Perspectives, he and co-author Michele Boldrin write in their introduction: “There is no empirical evidence that [patents] serve to increase innovation and productivity, unless productivity is identified with the number of patents awarded.” Their research shows that the patent system in the United States is actually stifling innovation, and giving benefits solely to companies large enough to lobby in favor of their own self-interest. Here’s a look at some of their arguments:

The post Why Economists Think We Should Get Rid of Patents appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/why-economists-think-we-should-get-rid-of-patents/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/need-financial-motivation-try-a-phrase-to-save/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/need-financial-motivation-try-a-phrase-to-save/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:00:43 +0000 Betsy Talbot Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:35:42 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=197739 Hear the words that helped one couple save $75,000 to travel the world. More

The post Need Financial Motivation? Try a ‘Phrase to Save’ appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Betsy Talbot ~

Betsy and Warren Talbot sold everything to travel the world, and have been for five years. The following story is an excerpt from their book, “Dream, Save, Do: An Action Plan for Dreamers,” where they explain one of the key strategies used to save for their trip around the globe.

With a $75,000 goal in mind and 25 months to reach it, we knew we had some pretty serious cuts to make in our spending. The more we thought about that number, the “numb”er we felt.

How do you wrap your head around a number that big when you’re thinking about your daily expenses? Is my $20 savings at the grocery store really going to impact a number that big? It doesn’t seem likely. And because of that disconnect it was hard to see how our daily activities impacted our long-term dream. It wasn’t until we made the connection about comparing what we wanted to do on a day in our dream life to what we were currently spending that it finally clicked.

RELATED: 4 Ways Willpower Affects Your Finances (and How to Increase It)

We were walking in our neighborhood when I spotted a gorgeous necklace in a shop window. I’m not much of a fine jewelry kinda gal, but I go weak in the knees at an original creation by an artist I can meet, someone who makes funky art you can wear. This gorgeous piece of personality and bold statement was $100, and I wanted it. As I pressed my face to the glass like a little kid at a toy store, Warren said the words that would lead our saving efforts from that day forward.

“Is that more important to you than a day on the road? Because it costs the same.”

BINGO!

How We Used Our Phrase to Save

What a brilliant concept in such a simple statement. By focusing our saving efforts on a small but easily visualized segment of our overall figure, I could easily admire that necklace from the street and leave it in the store for someone else.

We estimated our dream life would cost $100/day, and instead of saving the full amount – $75,000–we focused on $100 goals. We were finally able to see how our daily saving and spending connected with our overall goal. This concept became known as our Phrase to Save, and we used it every single day until we reached our goal.

“Hey, that’s 1.5 days on the road!” or “We just purchased ourselves a full afternoon on a trip around the world!”

RELATED: Money-Saving Travel Tips Debunked

Each payday we would celebrate our “days on the road” number going into savings instead of comparing how far away we were from the end goal. Imagining our ‘number of days on the road’ made the process more encouraging than it ever would have been just slogging our way to the final number.

Even now, well into our travels, we can’t help but think about how many days of travel we’re giving up to make any purchase outside our daily living expenses. Obviously we do sometimes, but we love it that this mantra still helps us stay on track and remember why we saved all this money in the first place.

Create Your Own Phrase to Save

Remember, the Phrase to Save isn’t there to keep you from spending money; it’s there to remind you why you chose to save in the first place and whether this option in front of you fits in with that dream.

The post Need Financial Motivation? Try a ‘Phrase to Save’ appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/need-financial-motivation-try-a-phrase-to-save/feed/ 21 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/6-ways-to-get-promoted-without-saying-a-word/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/6-ways-to-get-promoted-without-saying-a-word/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:00:17 +0000 Jennifer Merritt Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:36:55 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=201070 Keep these proven body language predictors in mind the next time you're talking dollars and cents with your employer. More

The post 7 Ways to Get Promoted Without Saying a Word appeared first on LearnVest.

]]>

Mimic Your Boss's Body Language ...

According to a study out of Duke University, subtle forms of mimicry can prove useful when you’re trying to win someone over. It’s known as the “chameleon effect” because, in the same way that a chameleon changes the color of its skin to match the environment, people can change behaviors and mannerisms to mirror the person who they’re interacting with. Plus, another study from Nijmegen University in the Netherlands reveals that mimicry increases rapport—and your chances of getting what you want.

... But Be Wise About Your Copying

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego asked people to watch staged job interviews that featured friendly and unfriendly exchanges between a boss and an applicant. Certain “applicants” were instructed to mirror the interviewer's mannerisms, such as chin-touching or leg-crossing, while others were instructed not to. Viewers didn't know which applicants were directed to do what, but they rated those who imitated unfriendly interviewers as being less competent, trustworthy and likable.

The takeaway? Since mirroring can be instinctual, be mindful of how you react to someone who is unpleasant during your annual review or salary negotiation—if other people in the room see you behave in the same way, it could be bad news for your upward mobility. “The success of mirroring depends on mirroring the right people, at the right time, for the right reasons,” says study author and psychology professor Piotr Winkielman. “Sometimes the socially intelligent thing to do is not to imitate.”

Stop Shaking Your Leg

Bouncing your foot or knee up and down can be a habit—or a sign of nervousness. "Shaking your legs while sitting sends a giant message to everyone around you about your inner feelings of anxiety or irritation or both," says Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D., in Psychology Today. "Your legs are the largest area of your body, so when they move, it’s pretty hard for others not to notice."

An easy fix? "Crossing your legs at the ankles is the equivalent to folding your hands in your lap, and doing both at the same time will greatly settle your feelings, while it ramps up your poise factor," Whitbourne says.

Leave Your Neck Alone

The neck is a vulnerable area of the body, and consistently scratching the back of it or putting your hand near your Adam's apple signals that you're uncomfortable—and possibly even lying. Thanks to his years of experience as an FBI and counterintelligence agent, Joe Navarro, author of "What Every Body Is Saying," discovered that neck touching is one of "the most significant and frequent" behaviors we use when responding to stress.

"This area is rich with nerve endings that, when stroked, reduce blood pressure, lower the heart rate and calm the individual down," Navarro says. "Neck behaviors are extremely accurate, and communicate effectively across all cultures, because they are limbically derived and respond to the world in real time."

Give a Firm Handshake

You've likely heard about the importance of a good handshake, but research by the University of Alabama backs up the conventional wisdom. In the study, four psychology students evaluated the handshakes of 112 male and female students; those with firmer handshakes were evaluated as being extroverted and emotionally expressive (those are good things, in case you're wondering).

The study also uncovered another interesting bit of info: “We also found that women who had firm handshakes tended to be evaluated as positively as men,” says the study's lead author, Dr. William Chaplin. “This finding was interesting because often when women have characteristics that are more similar to men, they tend to elicit a somewhat more negative evaluation—simply because it’s counter to the usual stereotypes.”

Turn That Frown Upside Down

It's a clich�, but experts say that smiling during times of stress can improve performance. “No matter what the task, when you grimace or frown while doing it, you're sending your brain a message: 'This is really difficult. I should stop,' ” writes Carol Kinsey Goman, an expert on body language and leadership. “The brain then responds by sending stress chemicals into your bloodstream. And this creates a vicious circle—the more stressed you are, the more difficult the task becomes.”

RELATED: A Free Way to Stress Less

And if All Else Fails ... Fake It

In a recent TED Talk, Amy Cuddy, a professor at Harvard Business School who studies nonverbal behavior, talked about how holding a “power pose” for a brief two minutes could instantaneously boost confidence. In one of a series of experiments that Cuddy conducted on her theory, she found that people who held high-power poses for a few minutes before a fake job interview were given higher marks by judges than those who held low-power poses.

So what are these confidence-boosting positions, anyway? According to Cuddy, anything that opens the torso, such as standing with your legs spread apart and reaching your arms above your head. So the next time that you need an extra dose of confidence, duck into the bathroom or another spot that's devoid of prying eyes to spend two minutes in this "power pose." Then take that newfound power into your meeting—ready to score that promotion.

]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/6-ways-to-get-promoted-without-saying-a-word/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/7-tricks-to-ace-a-remote-interview/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/7-tricks-to-ace-a-remote-interview/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:00:03 +0000 Debbie Swanson Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:51:49 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=195343 Got a job interview via phone ... or Skype? Use these tips to make a great impression. More

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]]> LearnVest By Debbie Swanson ~

Aleksandra Sobic of Mankato, Minnesota was thrilled to interview for a position with a company that facilitates and guides international tours, based out of Thailand.

“I nailed the first round phone interview, and 
then was asked to interview via Skype. I
 dressed in business attire, and did my hair and makeup,” says Aleksandra.

After the interview, she learned she wasn’t the right candidate.

“They were worried I may not be rustic enough for the
 position,” she says. “They felt they couldn’t see me traipsing through the jungle!”

Whether your mistake is not dressing jungle chic enough—or not bothering to get out of your PJs—make no mistake, remote interviews are harder to prepare for than regular ones.

And these days, making a good first—or fifth—impression isn’t necessarily done in person. Remote interviews and business meetings are becoming more common in today’s workforce. According to a 2012 Census Bureau report, about 13.4 million U.S. workers currently work from home. CNN Money reports that the number of people who work at home at least one day per week has increased in 2010 to 9.5%, up from 7% in 1999.

RELATED: 10 Essential Steps to Take Before a Job Interview

Sooner or later, you’ll be involved in a remote interview, or asked to present your points at a meeting you’re not physically present for. Just how do you make a great impression from a distance?

1. Look the Part

As Sobic learned the hard way, gauging the company culture—from afar—becomes a key skill when trying to nail a remote interview. Since you’re not there physically (experts estimate that 90% of the cues we give off are non-verbal), looking the part becomes even more important.

First, do your research: Check out the company’s website, Facebook page and Twitter feed to get a feel for how employees (and executives) dress and behave, then take your cues from that when prepping for your interview.

Next, clean up, says Sherif Hussein, president and creative director of Jinni Communications in Ottawa, Canada. If your at-home appearance leans toward casual, take some time to polish up. It’s always better to err on the side of freshly-scrubbed—even if you’re an aspiring trek leader, carefully dressed in her best khakis.

“I work a lot from my home office,
 so my beard is almost always too long, my hair isn’t combed and I’m not 
properly dressed,” admits Hussein, who makes a point of looking the part when he takes a professional call.

Assuming your bottom half will be hidden under a desk, you may be tempted to wear your favorite sweatpants, but it’s best to dress from head to toe. What if you have to stand up to adjust your equipment? There’s also the psychological aspect: Shedding your loungewear will help switch your mind to professional mode.

2. Prepare Your Surroundings

Whether your call is video or telephone, do it in a quiet, businesslike setting, ideally in a room with a door.

“Look behind you, because that’s what (they’ll) see,” says Hussein. A cluttered background may distract your audience, not to mention send the wrong idea of your organizational skills. Also, rid the area of personal items—no need to share too much information. A blank or neutral background is best, with a well-organized desktop. 

RELATED: The 2-Minute Secret to Acing That Interview

Be sure to inform anyone else at home about the meeting; you don’t want to be interrupted by a sudden blast of stereo music or someone bellowing your name.  Feed and walk the dog ahead of time, and call a sitter (or a neighbor) if you have young children.

3. Practice It First

Your first few video calls are bound to feel awkward as you figure out where to look, what to do with your hands, or how loudly to speak. But it’s easy to work out those kinks ahead of time.

“Conduct a practice interview with a friend, and record it so that you‘ll have an accurate idea of how you come across on video,” advises Cheryl Palmer, career coach and owner of Call to Career, a career coaching service.

Analyze your tape (you can practice using a free service like Skype) and repeat the process until you feel comfortable with the result.

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LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/7-tricks-to-ace-a-remote-interview/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/even-the-rich-fear-bag-lady-futures-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/even-the-rich-fear-bag-lady-futures-123/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2013 20:33:22 +0000 Cheryl Lock Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:33:22 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200628 Almost half of Americans worry about becoming homeless—including 27% of those who belong to this income bracket. More

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]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

If one of your biggest fears is that some day you may become a “bag lady,” know that you’re not alone.

In fact, according to a new survey from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, almost half of American women fear becoming “bag ladies” some day, despite the fact that 60% said they were the primary breadwinners of their household and 54% described themselves as the household CFO.

Perhaps more surprising is that 27% of women earning more than $200,000 a year shared the bag lady fear, as well.

The study, which included more than 2,200 women from 25-75, found that these fears were high in women from nearly all walks of life, with 56% of single respondents, 54% of divorced women, 47% of widows and 43% of married women sharing it.

Bag lady fears aside, something else somewhat more disturbing that came from the study was the women’s feelings about financial empowerment. According to the study, “forty-two percent [of women] said they believe financially independent women are intimidating to men and often end up alone, while nearly a third (31%) said those women are hard to relate to and often don’t have many friends. This feeling was even higher among single women at 47% and 32%, respectively.”

For more statistics from the study, get the full report on the Allianz Life site.

 

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LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/even-the-rich-fear-bag-lady-futures-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/7-money-links-we-love-weird-yet-legit-craigslist-jobs/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/7-money-links-we-love-weird-yet-legit-craigslist-jobs/#comments Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:43:43 +0000 LearnVest Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:43:43 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200839 The five new companies you need to know, an awesomely effective to-do list and more in this week's roundup. More

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]]> LearnVest By LearnVest ~

We’ve scoured the web and brought you our favorite and most useful money-related articles. We read everything, so you don’t have to!

One of the richest men in the world once sought a paltry $15,000 salary. This Is Bill Gates’ Resume From 1974 - Business Insider

This new way of getting organized may be worth a shot. A Better To-Do List: The 1-3-5 Rule - The Daily Muse

The economic downturn put a lot of stress on Americans, but this writer claims that it wasn’t all that bad. What I Miss About the Recession - WiseBread

Yet another gender double standard proven wrong. Expert Busts Myth That Only Women Are Shopaholics - The Jane Dough

Wanted: female social drinkers, gorillas and people who can hold down a cat during a grooming session. 10 Outrageously Weird Craigslist Jobs You Won’t Believe Are Real - InvestingAnswers

When it comes to achieving goals big and small, take a closer look at your mindset. Small Steps to Big Success - Fab and Fru

An app that gives you the equivalent of a credit score for your health, crowdsourced lending and more. The 5 Most Important New Companies You Need to Know - Forbes

LearnVest Stories You Shouldn’t Miss

Rather than waste time mastering golf or bridge in their golden years, many retirees are embarking on totally new occupations. Reboot Your Career: How to Do Your Dream Job in Retirement

LearnVesters shared their worst financial snafus … so you won’t make the same mistakes. Real Readers Confess: My Biggest Money Blunder

Some of your favorite flicks could have decent advice for advancing your career. 7 Networking Tips You Can Learn From the Movies

Have you fallen into the “I’m-going-on-vacation-so-I-need-a-whole-new-wardrobe” trap? 6 Times We Tend to Overspend (and How to Stop)

Work-related stress is a part of life, but when does it cross the line into something more serious? 10 Signs You’re Suffering From Job Burnout

The post 7 Money Links We Love: Weird (Yet Legit) Craigslist Jobs appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/7-money-links-we-love-weird-yet-legit-craigslist-jobs/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/credit-card-delinquencies-on-the-decline-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/credit-card-delinquencies-on-the-decline-123/#comments Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:22:34 +0000 Cheryl Lock Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:22:34 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200616 A new report shows that Americans are being more responsible with their plastic. More

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]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

There’s some happy news out there when it comes to credit cards.

Hooray!

Turns out, delinquencies on credit cards actually sank to 2.47% in the fourth quarter, which, according to the American Bankers Association, is the lowest that number has been since 1994.

According to CNN Money, experts see this decrease as a sign that consumers are making strides in actually reining in their debt. According to the American Bankers Association report, the percentage of accounts that were 30 days or more overdue was about half what the record high was, which was set in 2009.

It’s not just the consumers who are doing their part to try to curb bad spending habits, though—banks are also shifting toward more conservative policies regarding who they approve for credit cards, ensuring that those who they give cards to will be more likely to have the ability to repay their debts.

Of course the credit cards news is optimistic, yes, but it doesn’t come without a reminder that Americans, while they may be honing in on credit card debt, are still woefully behind in a few other key areas. In fact, another report from February by the New York Federal Reserve Board showed that the percentage of student loans delinquent by more than 90 days rose to 11.7% in the fourth quarter of 2012.

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LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/credit-card-delinquencies-on-the-decline-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/reboot-your-career-how-to-do-your-dream-job-in-retirement/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/reboot-your-career-how-to-do-your-dream-job-in-retirement/#comments Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:00:03 +0000 Libby Kane Thu, 09 May 2013 17:07:35 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=194400 Many retirees see retirement as an opportunity instead of an ending. How to pursue the idea of you, 2.0. More

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]]> LearnVest By Libby Kane ~

If you look up the definition of “retire,” you’ll find synonyms like withdraw, retreat and recede.

Um, no thanks.

With Americans living longer than ever, retirement nowadays can easily stretch on for nearly 20 years. And who wants to withdraw for 20 years?

In fact, the AARP has an entire section on their website dedicated to helping readers stay professionally active post retirement. There’s even a word for it: recareering, or switching to an entirely new job path. And retirement is a great time to do it because, let’s be honest, there are only so many great American novels you can read.

Since so many people are choosing to recareer instead of retire, we decided to take a closer look at the trend to see who’s doing it, how it works—and whether you should consider giving the idea a spin for yourself.

The Rise of Recareering

In the next 20 years, 77 million Baby Boomers will retire. These are the same folks who have shelves lined with self-help books, and who tell their kids to “find your passion,” while talking on their cell phones on the way to a business meeting. While Generation Y may be identified with timidity and financial insecurity—along with an ironic sense of entitlement—it could be argued that their Boomer parents are the ones who made them that way.

In other words, they aren’t going to “retreat.”

Instead, many would-be retirees are seeking out part-time work, full-time projects or new careers altogether (teaching, writing, consulting and serving on corporate and nonprofit boards are popular choices). And a new service has risen up to meet this need: retirement coaching.

It’s estimated that there are 48,000 retirement coaches currently in business across the world, but since it’s still a somewhat nascent industry, there’s no hard data on exactly how many people they serve. At New Directions in Boston, one of the most well-established career and retirement coaching services, they work with about 100 new clients each year.

“The people who come to us tend to be highly charged and Type A. They have poured most of their activities and energy into their careers, and they haven’t really had time to think about what else is out there,” explains Samuel Pease, vice president and senior consultant at New Directions. “Frankly, a lot of them are stunned by having all of this free time.”

The post Reboot Your Career: How to Do Your Dream Job in Retirement appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/reboot-your-career-how-to-do-your-dream-job-in-retirement/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/canada-lures-startups-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/canada-lures-startups-123/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 21:08:22 +0000 Jacqui Kenyon Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:08:22 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200660 A new specialty visa makes it easy for entrepreneurs to launch their ventures up north. More

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]]> LearnVest By Jacqui Kenyon ~

Entrepreneurs looking to launch new businesses should look beyond New York City and Silicon Valley—to Canada.

Canada created the Start-Up Visa program in hopes of bringing in “brilliant young people” and the jobs that follow them.

If a foreign national gets funding from Canadian investors, he or she can submit an application for the visa, which, if approved, provides immediate permanent residency—a rarity among immigration programs. It’s a bit of a risky bet, which is why most countries make entrepreneurs wait a few years for residency to prove that their businesses will make a positive impact on the country.

Jason Kenney, head of Canadian immigration, told Bloomberg Businessweek that many of the young entrepreneurs Canada hopes to woo are currently living in the U.S. but can’t get permanent residency here. “We’re very conscious of the presence of thousands of brilliant young IT specialists and entrepreneurs in the States who are on temporary visas, running out of runway,” he said.

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LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/canada-lures-startups-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/shakespeare-was-a-tax-evader-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/shakespeare-was-a-tax-evader-123/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:24:11 +0000 Alden Wicker Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:24:11 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200387 A historical study reveals that the popular playwright was also a profitable (yet shady) money lender. More

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]]> LearnVest By Alden Wicker ~

Even the master of literature had to fund his passion somehow.

Researchers from Aberystwyth University in Wales are calling attention to Shakespeare’s lesser-known ventures, which they say have been scrubbed from history by snobby researchers unable to reconcile “creative genius” with “savvy businessman.”

When the bard wasn’t busy writing dramatic and clever plays, he was also purchasing and storing “grain, malt and barley for resale at inflated prices to his neighbors and local tradesmen,” according to a review of historical literature by the researchers. He “pursued those who could not (or would not) pay him in full for these staples and used the profits to further his own money-lending activities.”

He himself was in turn pursued by the authorities for tax evasion, and prosecuted for hoarding grain during a shortage.

In fact, Shakespeare, far from being aloof from the everyday concerns of his contemporaries, was a man of his time. He lived during Europe’s “Little Ice Age,” when food shortages and famine were common. His plays ”Coriolanus” and “King Lear” reference food shortages and unequal distribution by rulers.

Interestingly, the original Shakespeare memorial erected in 1616 had him holding a sack of grain, instead of the tasseled cushion and quill pen he holds now.

The conclusion of scholars? The greatest writer of all time has to eat, too. And that makes him all the more interesting.

Photo credit: Flickr/Books18

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LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/shakespeare-was-a-tax-evader-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/7-networking-tips-you-can-learn-from-the-movies/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/7-networking-tips-you-can-learn-from-the-movies/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:00:39 +0000 Lisa M. Gerry Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:04:11 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200116 Learn how to get ahead in work and in life from "Almost Famous," "I Love You Man," "The Social Network" and more. More

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]]> LearnVest By Lisa M. Gerry ~

There’s always an excuse for movie night.

This time around, we’re studying some of our favorite films for hints on that valuable but hard-to-pin-down skill: networking.

Of course, we’re also looking to have some fun. While the lessons gleaned from these movies won’t do any harm, take them with a grain of salt. After all, these networkers had a director standing off-screen, determining their every move. In real life, we’re on our own.

On the hunt for some strategies we could execute without that director, we found seven characters who are determined, exacting, bold and brave, which is how we should all be when we’re looking to further our careers. Check out their savvy strategies and decide which one should be your next move.

1. Let Your Passion Show

In “Almost Famous,” William, the 15-year-old wunderkind, had it right. He knew what he wanted: To write about rock ‘n’ roll. He found someone that he admired doing just that: Lester Bangs, editor of Creem magazine. And he figured out ways to engage Bangs and pick his brain: He sent him clips of his writing from his school paper, then sought him out to have a face-to-face conversation. His first assignment came not from asking for one, but by showing Bangs how passionate he was about music and his desire to write about it. With Twitter, Facebook and the blogosphere behind you, it’s easier than ever to get your work out there for everyone to see.

RELATED: Get Networking: Half of Job Openings Aren’t Advertised

2. Believe in What You’re Selling

When it comes to landing your dream job, you are your own marketing team, and the product you’re selling is you. If you don’t believe in your own value, you’re going to have a hard time convincing others of it. That’s the lesson Paul Rudd learns in the bro-mantic comedy, “I Love You, Man.” While it’s actually his friend, played by Jason Segel, who arranges for bold billboards touting his character’s real estate prowess to grace L.A., the lesson is the same for all of us: Believe in what you’re selling, and you’ll see results.

RELATED: 8 Movies With a Hidden Financial Message

3. Contacts Are Everywhere

In “Legally Blonde 2,” when Elle Woods is busy petitioning the Washington elite to stop animal testing, she knows that personal contacts are the way the job gets done. Ultimately, it’s a conversation at the hairdresser, with a fellow sorority sister turned powerful Congresswoman, that lands her her big break in getting a bill in motion. The takeaway? Business is personal, and you never know whether a childhood friend, former neighbor or member of your alumni network will help you reach your goals.

4. Do Your Research

When you finally get that face-to-face with someone who works for your dream company or client, you want to be able to show them that you’re fan of what they do. Know their recent projects, accolades, acquisitions, etc. Remember when Matthew McConaughey’s character in “How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days” was able to rattle off impressive stats about the magazine where Kate Hudson’s character worked? Even the toughest cookies will not only be impressed that you did your homework, but they’ll be flattered that you’re interested in their work.

5. Be Willing to Work for It

Sometimes the best (read: only) way to make connections and show off your skills is to get busy working in whatever industry you’re interested in. This is especially true when switching career paths, and unfortunately, this might mean starting at the bottom. Take, for example, Drew Barrymore’s character in “Going the Distance.” She’s 31 years old, in graduate school for journalism and working for the summer as an intern at a New York City newspaper. And while it can be a bit humbling to be the oldest or most experienced person in your position, if it’s gearing you up for where you want to go, it’s worth it in the end.

RELATED: How I Started My Dream Career After 40

6. Show Your Spark

While Justin Timberlake’s portrayal of Sean Parker in “The Social Network” might have been more than a bit smarmy, Jesse Eisenberg’s Mark Zuckerberg is nevertheless dazzled after their first meeting. And while plenty of business was discussed during that first boozy dinner, its most profound impact was the fact that Zuckerberg left impressed by Parker and open to signing him on in the future. When networking, the goal isn’t just hitting all the right bullet points on your résumé, but demonstrating that you’re personable, engaging and someone that others would like to work with.

7. Know the Players 

If you’re determined to make it in a particular industry, you should know who the important people are, what they do and how they got there. No one understood this better than Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly in “The Devil Wears Prada.” As the fictional Editor in Chief of a fashion magazine, she had her two assistants memorize everyone who would be in attendance at a big, important benefit so that each guest would leave with the impression that Priestly knew them personally. Next time you have an important industry event, lean on LinkedIn to make sure you know how to work the room like a pro.

The post 7 Networking Tips You Can Learn From the Movies appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/7-networking-tips-you-can-learn-from-the-movies/feed/ 2 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/my-abusive-marriage-destroyed-me-and-my-finances/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/my-abusive-marriage-destroyed-me-and-my-finances/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:00:13 +0000 Leslie Morgan Steiner, as told to Cheryl Lock Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:40:51 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=193033 Why him quitting his Wall Street job was the first sign—and how I finally recovered from beatings ... and bankruptcy. More

The post My Abusive Marriage Destroyed Me—and My Finances appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Leslie Morgan Steiner, as told to Cheryl Lock ~

In 1987, I had just graduated from college and moved to Manhattan for my dream job.

I hadn’t dated a lot in college, but New York was different. Suddenly, I was meeting guys everywhere—and going on a lot of dates.

I met Conor on the subway. Although there were no fireworks at the time, he seemed like a nice guy. When he tracked me down a month later, I was flattered, so we started dating.

If you told me then that, within two years, Conor would beat me for the first time, or that in four years I would be filing for divorce, I would have thought you were crazy.

But that’s what happened.

Everyone talks about the physical aspect of domestic abuse—which is, of course, no small thing—but there’s more to it. Conor left me not only physically battered, but nearly bankrupt.

How I Fell in Love With an Abuser

The truth is that I was unimpressed on our first date. In fact, I found Conor, who was 17 years my senior, completely goofy. But he was a smart guy—like me, he’d graduated from an Ivy League school—and as we got to know each other, I fell in love with him.

About three months after we started dating, he confessed that, as a child, he’d been physically abused. At the time, I didn’t know such an admission could be a red flag that was characteristic of abusers. I felt sorry for him, and I was determined to show him what love was really all about.

While the physical violence didn’t start until we were together for two years, Conor set the financial trap early. Eight months into our relationship, he quit his Wall Street job for a lower paying one in a tiny, New England town without ever discussing it with me. He then convinced me to also leave my job and move with him—where we’d be far away from friends and my family. I don’t know for sure that he was deliberately trying to isolate me—at the time, he genuinely seemed to be seeking some kind of inner peace and happiness. But, now that I look back, his actions clearly fall into a classic seduce-isolate-abuse-repeat pattern.

We used the small amount of money my father had put into a custodial savings account for me to buy a house once we moved. We owned one car, which Conor drove to work every day. My new job paid about 75% less than the one I held in New York, so I also had to freelance, which was lucrative but sporadic. Meanwhile, Conor was horrible with money, and splurged on extravagant things—like a Montblanc pen that cost twice as much as our monthly mortgage payment. Pens aside, between the house and the car, we racked up $100,000 of debt.

The post My Abusive Marriage Destroyed Me—and My Finances appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/my-abusive-marriage-destroyed-me-and-my-finances/feed/ 33 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/does-flex-time-stifle-women-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/does-flex-time-stifle-women-123/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:53:46 +0000 Libby Kane Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:53:46 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200371 Family-friendly work policies may help moms balance work and kids—while damaging their careers in the long run. More

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]]> LearnVest By Libby Kane ~

Flexibility is a good thing, right?

Especially in a job—a little flex time can mean the difference between work-life balance and work-work imbalance … theoretically.

Dwyer Gunn of Slate argues that flexible work hours are in fact working against one of the main groups they were instituted to serve: working mothers. A mother herself, Gunn points out that the path to the dreaded “mommy track,” which Sheryl Sandberg denounces thoroughly in her book Lean In, is lined with seemingly good things—namely, part-time and flexible work hours.

Now, there is a distinction to be made: According to Gunn’s argument, flex time harms a mother’s career, not her overall happiness. Countries with infrastructures that encourage more flexible work situations across the board also report higher happiness levels … but the United States isn’t one of them.

Gunn points to research findings that part-time workers are paid less than full-time,  and that some of the reason for this is “occupational segregation,” or the limited careers that facilitate part-time work. “You don’t see many three-day-a-week investment bankers or Fortune 500 CEOs,” she writes. Essentially, the offer of a flexible job encourages mothers to take it, but there’s no equivalent incentive for fathers—and the mothers who accept the offer of flex time are more likely to ease onto the mommy track.

A systemic fix for this problem (such as enforced maternity leave for both parents, or high-quality, universal childcare) would be much more effective than hollow encouragement for working moms to pass up the opportunity for more flexible employment. Gunn cites the case of Iceland, one of the most gender-equal countries in the world, which offers three months of maternity leave for mothers, three for fathers and three to be shared. Once fathers had the non-transferable time off, record numbers of them used it.

But of course, the U.S. has one of the least-flexible maternity leave policies and most all-encompassing work cultures in the world, so the mommy track doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon. Now it’s up to each of us: Will we get on or off?

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LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/does-flex-time-stifle-women-123/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/surprising-occupations-that-pay-a-pittance-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/surprising-occupations-that-pay-a-pittance-123/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:44:56 +0000 Cheryl Lock Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:44:56 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200313 New statistics show that workers in seven of the 10 largest jobs in the U.S. earn less than $30,000 a year. More

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]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

New statistics show that workers in seven of the 10 largest occupations in the U.S. earn less than $30,000 a year—much lower than the nation’s average $45,790.

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that although food prep work is the third most common job in America, workers in that field made the lowest pay—$18,720—in 2012.

And they’re not alone. In fact, workers in seven out of the 10 largest occupations (including cashiers, waiters and retail positions, among others) tend to earn less than $30,000 a year.

The nation’s average annual pay is $45,790.

Of the 10 most popular professions in the U.S., only registered nurses, secretaries and customer service representatives made above the $30,000 mark.

As CNN Money reports, “part of this decline stems from a disappearance of middle-class jobs and an explosion of lower-paying ones. Some 58% of the jobs created during the recovery have been low-wage positions, according to a 2012 report by the National Employment Law Project.”

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LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/surprising-occupations-that-pay-a-pittance-123/feed/ 3 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/does-retail-therapy-actually-work-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/does-retail-therapy-actually-work-123/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 19:35:51 +0000 Cheryl Lock Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:35:51 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=200131 According to a new study, this "I had a bad day at work" purchase really could make you feel better. More

The post Does Retail Therapy Actually Work? appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

I’m not proud to admit that there have been days when I’ve needed to ask my husband to hide my credit card from me.

That’s because I’ve been known to purchase the occasional pair of shoes (or dress or skirt or blouse … you get the picture) when I’m feeling down.

Turns out, the “happy” feeling I get from clicking the purchase button on my computer isn’t all in my head. In fact, new research out of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business discovered that when subjects were shown a video that involved bullying, and were then given an option of buying snacks, those who actually did buy the snack admitted to feeling better than those who decided not to.

The study didn’t end there, though. In a second test, subjects were shown another depressing clip and then divided into two different shopping scenarios—one where they had an opportunity to choose the products they wanted and one where they did not. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the group whose participants had an opportunity to pick which products they wanted admitted to being happier than those who did not.

Of course we wouldn’t be a personal finance site if we simply suggested that you buy things to help curb sadness. In fact, results from the second study seemed to suggest that the “purchases” that elicit these feelings of happiness don’t even necessarily need to be real items—just the option of purchasing something they wanted was enough to make the test subjects happy.

We don’t know about you, but to us that news seems pretty promising. Who knows—maybe the next time I have a bad day and feel the urge to purchase something pretty I can try just putting the item into my virtual basket, and not going through with the process of actually purchasing it.

I’m sure that’ll make my husband happy – I think he’s running out of places to hide my credit card.

The post Does Retail Therapy Actually Work? appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/does-retail-therapy-actually-work-123/feed/ 2 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/need-a-new-gig/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/need-a-new-gig/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:19:10 +0000 Cheryl Lock Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:27:10 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=199616 Good salary, work-life balance, job security—U.S. News and World Report's best-ranked jobs offer these perks and more. More

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]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

Ah, the perfect job. It probably doesn’t exist, right?

While these jobs may not exactly be the perfect jobs, U.S. News & World Report has come up with what they’re calling the “best” jobs of 2013.

So what makes a job “the best”? According to U.S. News, the jobs that made their list “offer a mosaic of employment opportunity, good salary, manageable work-life balance and job security.”

Take a look at the the top 10 jobs here, and head on over to the original report for the full list of 100.

Job	Overall Score	Median Salary
1. Dentist	8.4	$142,740
2. Registered Nurse	8.2	$65,690
3. Pharmacist	8.2	$113,390
4. Computer Systems Analyst	8.2	$78,770
5. Physician	8.2	$183,170
6. Database Administrator	8.0	$75,190
7. Software Developer	7.9	$89,280
8. Physical Therapist	7.9	$78,270
9. Web Developer	7.8	$77,990
10. Dental Hygienist	7.7	$69,280

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LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/need-a-new-gig/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/americans-amp-up-their-tax-game-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/americans-amp-up-their-tax-game-123/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:16:54 +0000 Jacqui Kenyon Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:16:54 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=199946 The I.R.S. found fewer of these common filing mistakes this year. More

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]]> LearnVest By Jacqui Kenyon ~

When you think about tax mistakes, you might be inclined to think that people would accidentally take an extra deduction or claim a little less income than they should.

However, according to CNN Money, the most common tax mistake in 2011—accounting for almost half of all taxpayer goofs—was one related to the Making Work Pay Credit. Many workers were unaware that they qualified for the credit, which is worth $400, and therefore I.R.S. workers had to recalculate those workers’ taxes.

The good news is that tax mistakes are down. In 2012, 2.7 million taxpayer errors were recorded, which is less than half of the 6.6 million mistakes of the preceding year.

Experts credit the wide availability of tax software for the decline in mistakes on tax returns.

“It is a lot harder to make a math mistake when a computer program is doing the work for you,” Thomas Cooke, a professor of accounting and business law at Georgetown University, told CNN Money.

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LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/americans-amp-up-their-tax-game-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/businesses-without-borders-why-these-entrepreneurs-chose-to-launch-abroad/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/businesses-without-borders-why-these-entrepreneurs-chose-to-launch-abroad/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:00:39 +0000 Shannon Smith Sun, 31 Mar 2013 23:55:12 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=199636 India, Africa and China, oh my! See why emerging markets are tempting a new wave of entrepreneurs. More

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]]> LearnVest By Shannon Smith ~

Americans once watched admiringly as celebrities like Bob Geldof and U2′s Bono took the stage to alleviate hunger among the world’s poor.

But today the game has changed: the world’s impoverished economies have become the world’s emerging economies, with growth rates already outpacing the U.S.—and a slew of lingering socioeconomic problems.

This promise of growth and challenge has created alluring opportunities—not only for investors, but also for U.S. social entrepreneurs. Emerging economies like India, China and African nations still face pressing issues like water scarcity and lack of electricity and access to credit. But they also present entrepreneurial problem-solvers with a chance at creating a business and introducing a solution in an unknown market.

“The market for start-ups in many sectors—especially technology—is simply more attractive abroad,” says Steven Koltai of consulting firm Koltai and Company, which works to foster entrepreneurship abroad. “One example is Africa, which accounts for 70% of today’s mobile payments—with 40% of those happening in Kenya.”

Here, we bring you three real stories of social entrepreneurs who are reaping the rewards—tangible and intangible—of launching in lands far away.

Peter Frykman, Driptech

The problem: Lack of simple, low-cost irrigation for small-plot farmers.
The solution: Irrigation that uses the cheapest of materials—plastic—and won’t waste water in regions suffering from water scarcity.

How he did it: “In 2008, while getting my Ph.D at Stanford in mechanical engineering, I was in Ethiopia doing research for a course and saw that small-plot farmers couldn’t water their crops during the dry season. Ninety percent of the world’s farmers are small plot, meaning they work on five acres or less. Drip irrigation, which already existed, is the best solution, but everything on the market was too expensive, costing upward of $1,000 per acre, or too tough to install. We decided to make drip irrigation affordable, easy to install and maintain, functional even with low water pressure, and available locally.

Back in California, we developed an irrigation system that could be deployed anywhere for between one-third and one-fifth of the conventional price, so within months of the Ethiopia trip, I quit my Ph.D and started doing Driptech full time.

RELATED: Quiz: What’s Your Idea of the Perfect Job?

The potential for both financial and social impact is much larger in developing countries than in the U.S. because of the sheer volume of small-plot farmers there. India and China have roughly half of the world’s 500 million small plot farms, which amounts to a $10 billion market.

After a pilot study of 15 farms in Tamil Nadu, India, confirmed that farmers using our system were saving water and labor, and increasing their crop yields, we were ready to start selling. Shortly thereafter, we made our first major sale to a local government in China for 200 small-plot farms.

Explaining drip irrigation to farmers in Orissa, India. (Courtesy of Driptech)

In designing for emerging markets, you have to be excruciatingly sparse: A small-plot farmer can’t waste a cent of his income on a product or service that costs too much or doesn’t do what he needs it to. The “trickle-up” effect applies: If you start with the goal of radical affordability, then it’s easier to make a higher-quality product later.

The post Businesses Without Borders: Why These Entrepreneurs Chose to Launch Abroad appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/businesses-without-borders-why-these-entrepreneurs-chose-to-launch-abroad/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/10-signs-youre-suffering-from-job-burnout/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/10-signs-youre-suffering-from-job-burnout/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:00:38 +0000 Lisa M. Gerry Sun, 31 Mar 2013 23:19:24 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=167785 Burnout can wreak havoc on your health, happiness, relationships and job performance. Here's how to know if you're suffering from it. More

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Take Relaxation Seriously

Whether you take up meditation, listening to music, reading a book, taking a walk or visiting with friends and family, truly think about what you'll do to relax, and designate time for it.

Cultivate a Rich Non-Work Life

Find something outside of work that you are passionate about that's challenging, engaging and really gets you going—whether a hobby, sports or fitness activities or volunteering in the community (along with other items we mention here, like relaxation, being able to "turn off" and participating in rewarding non-work activities).

Unplug

While communication technology can promote productivity, it can also allow work stressors seep into family time, vacation and social activities. Set boundaries by turning off cell phones at dinner and delegating certain times to check email.

Get Enough Sleep

Research suggests that having fewer than six hours of sleep per night is a major risk factor for burnout, not least because poor sleep can have negative effects on your job performance and productivity. It can lead to fatigue, decrease your motivation, make you more sensitive to stressful events, impair your mental function, leave you more susceptible to errors and make it harder to juggle competing demands. The reverse is true, too: We've seen that sleep can actually improve your memory.

Recovering from chronic stress and burnout requires removing or reducing the demands on you and replenishing your resources. Sleep is one strategy for replenishing those resources. For inspiration, check out our tips to get better sleep.

Get Organized

Often, when people are burnt out, they spend a lot of time worrying that they’ll forget to do something or that something important is going to slip through the cracks. Get organized, clear your head, put together a to-do list (or an electronic task list) then prioritize. That way, you don’t have to keep thinking about those things because you’ll have systems in place to remind you.

Stay Attuned

It’s important to tune into the precursors of those conditions, physical signs that you might be under too much stress: more headaches, tight shoulders, a stiff neck or more frequent stomach upset. In terms of mental health, burnout affects depression, and if you’re depressed, that can also affect your level of burnout—it goes both ways. So, if the issues you’re struggling with are really serious and getting worse, you may need to seek professional help. Talk to a psychologist to get help beyond support from just your friends and family members.

Know When It's You, and When It's Them

Burnout is sometimes motivated by internal factors, Dr. Ballard says, and sometimes it really is a symptom of external ones. In the first case, you'll need to ask yourself, "Where is this coming from?" so you can figure out what's stressing you out, and how to maintain your internal resources to keep yourself motivated, doing your best work and functioning well.

Some burnout really is the fault of work. "In a survey we did in 2011, more than two-thirds of respondents said that their employers had taken steps to cut costs as a result of the recession," like hiring freezes, layoffs, cutting work hours, rolling back benefits, requiring unpaid days off, increasing hours, etc. All that increases demands on workers," he says. "Those are the two components that play into burnout: There are more demands and fewer resources." To find out whether it's time to move on, figure out whether your position is a "mismatch between your needs and what you're getting working for that particular organization."

Figure Out When Enough Is Enough

Consider talking to your manager or HR about EAP services, mental health benefits or stress management training—or at least about how to improve communication and create a better, more positive work environment. Angle the conversation about how those cultural shifts will enable you to continue to serve the company and become an even better employee.

"I do think there are times when, no matter what you try to do, the organization is unable or unwilling to make those changes," Dr. Ballard says, "and in those cases, it is just time to move on."

]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/04/10-signs-youre-suffering-from-job-burnout/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/gratitude-included-why-i-loved-being-a-waitress/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/gratitude-included-why-i-loved-being-a-waitress/#comments Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:00:31 +0000 Dina Gachman Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:59:52 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=193273 I’m not saying it’s glamorous, but waiting tables gets an unnecessarily bad rap. Here are the reasons servers everywhere should be proud. More

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]]> LearnVest By Dina Gachman ~

The low point in my waitressing life happened several years ago at a high-end steakhouse.

A party of six sauntered in and crammed into one of the plush, leather booths. High-maintenance from the get-go, they demanded complicated revisions to the menu and asked for their steak well-done. Since 99.9% of all chefs prefer to serve steak bloody and pink, asking them to char the thing is a great way to push their buttons. In other words, the next thing you know, you’re hiding behind the espresso machine, so you can stifle your tears before heading back into the battleground that is dinner rush.

We were already down one server, so after an hour of catering to this table’s every whim, I was elated to see that they’d licked their plates clean. “Can I get you anything else?” I asked, praying that the answer was “no.” Instead, one of the guys declared, “The food wasn’t very good. We want it taken off our bill.”

“Oh, well I wish that you would have told me sooner,” I said as calmly as possible, while eyeing their clean plates. “It seems like you really enjoyed it.” They were a little shifty. Were they high on coke?

“Get the manager,” one of them spat out. I mentally traced a path back to my hiding spot behind the espresso machine, but went to get the manager instead. When we returned, they had vanished—and left me without a tip. My manager comforted me by saying, “You’ll have to cover half of their bill.”

Why You Shouldn’t Look Down on Waitressing

I know. Most kids don’t sit at a restaurant with their parents and wistfully declare, “That’s what I want to be when I grow up,” while watching a server refill their water glasses. Waiting tables is usually thought of as a temporary gig that will help you earn some extra cash as a student or pay the bills when you’re trying to launch a singing career. At the very worst, it’s looked upon as an embarrassing last resort before unemployment.

A Rutgers study called “Chasing the American Dream: Recent College Graduates and the Great Recession” found that four in ten grads were working in fields that did not require a degree, which likely means that there are a lot of well-educated baristas and servers out there. So this doesn’t have to be the Doomsday scenario that the media sometimes makes it out to be.

So despite all of the negative stereotypes that surround waitstaff—and my own challenging moments as a server, as evidenced by the steakhouse eat-and-bolt drama—I can still say that it can be a positive—even a great—experience.

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LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/gratitude-included-why-i-loved-being-a-waitress/feed/ 23 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/the-10-reasons-youre-not-getting-a-raise/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/the-10-reasons-youre-not-getting-a-raise/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:00:04 +0000 Alyssa Goldman Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:06:06 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198296 Here are the top ten reasons you haven’t gotten the salary bump you so desperately want—and how to fix them. More

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You have unrealistic expectations

In 2012, a typical merit raise averaged 1.9 to 2%, while the highest-performing employees received closer to a 4% raise. To determine if you’re worthy of that 4% (or more), it’s vital to check in with your boss regularly so you're on the same page about your performance. Does your boss think you turn in above average work or is there an area she thinks you’re struggling with?

Also, does your company give raises at a certain time each year (say, at annual review time), or are they rolling, based on performance? If it's the former, make sure to time your request for optimal results.

Finally, remember to consider your company’s financial situation. Asking for a big raise when the company is struggling can come off as out of touch.

You didn’t do your research

Before deciding how much of a raise you deserve, look up the standard industry salaries for similar positions on sites like Salary.com and Glassdoor.com. That will give you a point of reference for framing the conversation.

But it's not enough to cite averages—you also have to make a case for your personal performance, and how you're going above and beyond your job duties. Which brings us to ...

You do only what’s expected of you

Doing your job is what you are paid for, whereas a raise is a sign that your boss sees that you're contributing at a higher level than what you were originally hired to do.

One good rule of thumb is to be an employee who makes your boss's job easier: Volunteer to take on additional projects and think about what you can do to lighten her workload. Or notice what she is complaining about, and figure out how to solve a problem within your department.

If you present solutions for her now, you'll find your superior more willing to meet your demands later.

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You don't call attention to your accomplishments ... or you act entitled

Neither of these extremes will help you get that salary bump. And, admittedly, mastering the fine art of self-promotion isn't easy.

First, make sure that your boss is aware of everything you've taken on. And feel free to share your successes—they show that you’re capable and competent. Just be subtle about it: Set up a meeting to discuss the projects you're working on, mention key wins you've had and ask for feedback on how you could still do better.

Another good strategy: Rely on third-party praise. Copy your boss on an email chain discussing a successfully-executed project or forward her a particularly moving compliment from a client.

You're not staying current

Evaluate your skill set: How much has it changed since you started in your industry? In certain jobs, a lack of tech finesse, or the ability to stay on top of the latest trends, can trip you up—and cause your salary to stagnate.

That's especially true for older workers, who, unfortunately, can face age discrimination in the office: In a survey of people 50 years old or older, over one-third of respondents reported that they or someone they know has faced age discrimination at work, and 25% of all complaints filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission involve age discrimination.

But there's no reason to let a lack of skills hold you back. Bookmark and follow industry blogs, and look into workshops and courses teaching the latest industry developments. You can even mention them to your boss and see if the company will foot the bill for your continuing education. Bonus: He'll see that you're trying to sharpen your skills.

You’re unable to problem solve, or love to complain

Be honest with yourself: Is your gut instinct to tell your boss every time an issue arises, or do you try to navigate through hurdles yourself?

If it's an issue that truly needs to be escalated, by all means, manage up. But a broken printer is a good example of what not to kick up the food chain. Also, beware of becoming the employee who's always got a gripe, whether it's about company policy or your coworker you just can't stand.

Ultimately, the people who get raises are the employees who consider it their jobs to provide solutions, not raise problems.

You don’t pay attention to the details

Does your boss tell you to fix the same type of mistake over and over again? Do you constantly need reminders? Do you usually ask the same question twice? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, a raise is (most likely) not in your near future.

Take notes while your supervisor is giving instructions, see if you can find the answer yourself before asking questions, and each time you make a mistake, write down for yourself what it was, why it happened and how you’ll prevent it from happening in the future.

You made it a personal matter

Your argument for why you deserve a raise should be focused on your work ethic, your accomplishments and your value to the company—and those three things alone.

What should be left out of the proposal? Your student debt, your rent, your hospital bills or the fact that you "just can't make ends meet on this salary." Bottom line: A raise will be awarded based on your merit, not your sob story.

You didn’t ask for one

If none of the above eight reasons apply to you, then seriously, ask for a raise. Don’t expect your boss to bring it up.

You were unfairly penalized for being a woman

Unfortunately, even in 2013, this happens: In a study by Harvard researcher Hannah Riley Bowles, participants were shown videos of men and women asking for raises—using the same script. The results: Participants agreed to give the male participants raises, while the women were considered too aggressive and their requests too demanding.

While sexist and unfair, it may still be a reality female employees need to work around. In another experiment, two techniques helped to eliminate the different perceptions of women and men.

First, says Riley Bowles, a woman should focus on how her performance has helped the company, and solicit feedback, with a simple: "What do you think?" It can also be effective to bring a third party into the conversation. For example: "My leader advised me to do this."

]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/the-10-reasons-youre-not-getting-a-raise/feed/ 2 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/companies-embrace-corporate-kindness-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/companies-embrace-corporate-kindness-123/#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:30:19 +0000 Cheryl Lock Wed, 27 Mar 2013 19:05:49 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=199613 The millennial workforce is changing the way big-box companies operate. More

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]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

If you’re one of the 95 million millennials in America, you’ve got a lot on your mind, and being socially conscious is a big part of that.

The buck doesn’t stop with you though–you expect the companies you shop from to follow suit, as well.

For that reason, big-name brands like Starbucks, Nordstrom, Ben & Jerry’s, Whole Foods and others are jumping on the do-good bandwagon. (Well okay, maybe it’s not the only reason, but it doesn’t hurt that brands with social consciousness as part of their mission tend to attract millennials, who make up nearly a third of the population.)

“Companies can’t hide any more,” Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s told USA Today. He also noted that everything a company does is fair game for this social media savvy crew to blog, Tweet, Facebook and Instagram about.

Some experts point to the recession as the reason behind millennials feelings of anger toward consumerism, and shopping with stores that give back is one way they can make a difference and have their voices heard when it comes to social greediness.

Outside of millennials, the shift towards purchasing brands that do good in the world seems to be catching on with others as well. According to a 2012 global survey, 47% of consumers said they bought at least one brand that supported a good cause every month, which was a 47% increase from 2010.

Another 72% of shoppers said they would recommend a brand that supported a good cause, which was a 38% increase from the 2010 number.

“It’s bigger than a trend,” Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at the research firm NPD Group told USA Today. “It’s a powerful marketing tool for brands to use to separate themselves from the competition.”

The post Companies Embrace Corporate Kindness appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/companies-embrace-corporate-kindness-123/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/single-parents-lead-to-lower-income-among-men-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/single-parents-lead-to-lower-income-among-men-123/#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:30:13 +0000 Libby Kane Wed, 27 Mar 2013 19:03:57 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198727 New research finds that the decline in male workers' earnings might be due to a cycle of single parenthood. More

The post This May Lead to Lower Income Among Men appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Libby Kane ~

Remember the “Mancession?”

By now, we all know the drill: More women are graduating from college, more women are getting graduate degrees and more women are in the workforce. So where does this leave our men?

In a conversation that went mainstream with Hanna Rosin’s 2010 Atlantic article “The End of Men,” various explanations have been put forward for the general decline among male wages in recent years. The Wall Street Journal reports that one of the latest theories comes from David H. Autor, a prominent labor economist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose analysis of existing research finds that single parenthood might be largely to blame.

The logic goes like this: Fewer and fewer children live in dual-parent households (the exact stat is 63% of children living in such a household in 2010, compared to 82% in 1970), most of the children remaining are raised by single mothers and men raised by single mothers are increasingly at a disadvantage.

The idea is that these women chose to raise their children alone because the men available to be partners were unsuccessful, and therefore less attractive–but will raise men who are unsuccessful and less attractive to the next generation of women, who will again choose to raise their sons without men. In that way, single parents (specifically, single moms of boys) are creating a self-defeating cycle.

This theory isn’t uplifting by any means, but it is only that: a theory.

The post This May Lead to Lower Income Among Men appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/single-parents-lead-to-lower-income-among-men-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/a-new-career-after-40-meet-3-people-who-made-the-leap/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/a-new-career-after-40-meet-3-people-who-made-the-leap/#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:00:11 +0000 Tamar Zmora Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:18:17 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198032 Ever dreamed of doing a career 180? These three entrepreneurs will show you how to make it happen. More

The post How I Started My Dream Career After 40 appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Tamar Zmora ~

What’s your dream job?

Really, though: What would you do if you didn’t have that student loan debt or that mortgage, or if you weren’t so attached to the sandwich place next to your office?

If you’re already doing it, congratulations. If not, you aren’t alone. Surveys over the past few years have spit out some less-than-encouraging stats—in fact, a 2010 survey found that 80% of workers are dissatisfied with their jobs.

Why do we stay, if we aren’t doing what we love? There’s the steady paycheck, and the logistics of switching jobs or careers—restructuring the budget, creating a new network of business contacts. Change is hard, and as we get older, it gets harder.

So most of us stay where we are. But some of us don’t—some of us realize we want something different, or something more, and set off to create an entirely new path. Below, meet three brave people who decided mid-career, in their 40s, that a new path was the one to take.

Mary Lou Quinlan, New York, NY

On Mary Lou’s 45th birthday, she asked herself, “What do I love to do?” The answer was clear: She loved writing, public speaking and working with women. She took five weeks off from being the CEO of a major New York advertising firm to figure out how she could turn over 20 years of experience in communications and advertising into a new career that incorporated all of her passions.

In 1999, Mary Lou found the answer and started Just Ask A Woman, a marketing and branding consultancy focused on female consumers. She spent the next decade and a half traveling the country, connecting with real women and interpreting their needs for corporate clients. She also authored multiple books on the insights she gained along the way.

When Mary Lou left her job to become an entrepreneur, she was financially prepared. “[My husband and I] never lost the more conservative style we had as newlyweds, where our combined income had been less than $40,000,” she says. “We never adapted to the spending lifestyle that seemed part of New York City living.” She and her husband (who at the time worked for Time Warner, but has since retired and is currently pursuing a masters degree at NYU), spent years saving a substantial nest egg that allowed each of them to forge their own paths without worrying too much about money.

And Mary Lou didn’t stop with one business—around this same time, she lost her mother to blood cancer. She discovered handwritten prayer notes her mother had left in boxes, praying for everyone from her family to people she met in passing. In tribute to her mother’s memory, Mary Lou published a book about her mother’s “God boxes,” and adapted it into a one-woman, one-act play that she now performs around the country. “Performing the play is the realization of a long-held dream and a way to connect with the woman who inspired me most,” she explains. She performs on stages across the country and donates all proceeds to women’s charities.

Where she was once an advertising CEO, Mary Lou is now a communications expert, consultant, actress, and writer who has authored four books and written for numerous national magazines. “I approach life as a student of a dream,” she explains. “I’ve never looked back with regret, and I relish my fresh start and the feeling of freedom that comes with it.”

The post How I Started My Dream Career After 40 appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/a-new-career-after-40-meet-3-people-who-made-the-leap/feed/ 13 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/do-these-jobs-overpay-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/do-these-jobs-overpay-123/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:43:29 +0000 Cheryl Lock Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:43:29 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=199071 Imagine having a job where you were paid too much. Is yours on the list? More

The post Do These Jobs Overpay? appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

Imagine this scenario. You’re sitting around with a bunch of friends, swapping stories after a long day of work. Suddenly one friend sighs. “You know, I just make too much money at my job.”

Haven’t heard that recently? We haven’t either. But maybe that’s because we don’t have friends working in what U.S. News & World Report is calling ”The 10 Most Overpaid Jobs.”

To come up with their list, the news organization analyzed data from PayScale to find jobs with high pay and, allegedly, relatively easy work.

As the site concludes: “This is admittedly an inexact science with subjective criteria. ‘Overpaid’ means different things to different people, and many workers represented on our list have perfectly legitimate jobs requiring skill, talent and training.”

Still, it can be fun to gawk every now and then, right? So without further ado, here are the 10 most overpaid jobs, according to the findings:

Job	Median Mid-Career Salary
Consulting software engineer	$123,000
Brand strategist	$90,700
Interaction designer	$116,000
Marketing research director	$122,000
Accounting consultant	$81,700
Portfolio analyst	$81,800
Wholesaler, financial services	$109,000
Patent attorney	$170,000
Investment consultant	$111,000
Data scientist, IT	$133,000

For more on the job responsibilities that accompany these titles, check out the full list over on U.S. News & World Report.

The post Do These Jobs Overpay? appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/do-these-jobs-overpay-123/feed/ 5 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/what-higher-payroll-tax-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/what-higher-payroll-tax-123/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:42:59 +0000 Alden Wicker Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:42:59 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=199249 Payroll tax, schmayroll tax. An astounding number of Americans haven't even noticed it on their paychecks. More

The post What Higher Payroll Tax? appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Alden Wicker ~

We were over here talking about “surviving” your smaller paycheck.

Joke’s on us–you didn’t even notice.

Some background: The payroll tax jumped from 4.2% last year to 6.2% this year. Starting from January, your bi-weekly paycheck dropped by about the price of dinner. Yes, you can now afford two less dinners per month.

And yet, many Americans didn’t notice, or care.

According to a survey out by Bankrate, 48% of Americans didn’t notice that their paycheck had shrunk. Somebody is not keeping a careful eye on their budget.

While 30% of consumers say they’ve cut their spending, interestingly, the least likely to change their spending habits or even notice the drop in their paycheck were low-income households.

But this proves something we’ve been hinting at for a while now: You often don’t miss a few dollars shaved off each paycheck. So don’t be afraid to increase your retirement savings or send money straight to your savings account every month. If the government can do it without you caring, you can too.

 

The post What Higher Payroll Tax? appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/what-higher-payroll-tax-123/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/a-glimpse-of-next-years-health-insurance-prices-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/a-glimpse-of-next-years-health-insurance-prices-123/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:36:29 +0000 Cheryl Lock Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:36:29 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=199067 Health insurers privately gave brokers and agents the scoop ... and it's not looking good. More

The post A Glimpse of Next Year’s Health Insurance Prices appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

Health insurance has always been a hot button topic in this country, and new information from health insurers is sure to stoke those flames yet again.

The Wall Street Journal reports that some health insurers are warning of potential sharp premium increases next year due to the health-care overhaul law—some potentially to the tune of more than double what they are right now.

Of course this new information goes against what the Department of Health and Human Services has been claiming about the upcoming changes—most notably that they would actually make health insurance “affordable and accessible.”

Jeff Alter who leads the employer and individual insurance business unit for United Health—the nation’s largest carrier—told the WSJ that these numbers were a “high-end scenario,” and not the average. “There are some scenarios in which a member could see as much as a 116% increase or over,” he told the WSJ, while other clients could potentially even see decreases.

As the WSJ reports, some of the differences in reporting are due to federal subsidies. These subsidies are meant to help low-income Americans cut costs on health insurance, but for the most part these types of subsidies are not included in projections from insurers.

Still, in presentations last month, one carrier alone noted that premiums for some consumers who buy their own plans may increase as much as 116%, with small-business rates increasing anywhere from 20%-50%.

To be fair, the company did claim that estimates were so high because of increasing medical costs that were not directly tied to the change in law.

The post A Glimpse of Next Year’s Health Insurance Prices appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/a-glimpse-of-next-years-health-insurance-prices-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/6-money-saving-airfare-secrets/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/6-money-saving-airfare-secrets/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:00:56 +0000 Darcie Connell Mon, 25 Mar 2013 22:41:30 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=172122 As the CEO and founder of a travel website, I've learned tricks that can shed hundreds of dollars off your next trip. More

The post 6 Money-Saving Summer Airfare Secrets appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Darcie Connell ~

Let’s face it: Vacations can be expensive.

From costly flights to overpriced hotel rooms, those travel memories can often be far from priceless. But just how expensive are we talking?

A survey conducted by American Express found that the average person planned to spend $1,180 on a summer vacation … that’s $1,180 per person. By that estimate, a family of four budgeted a staggering $4,720 for a getaway.

But you certainly don’t have to do the same. As the founder of travel site Trekity.com (and the wife of a former travel agent), I’ve learned about budget-friendly airline booking tricks that can shave hundreds of dollars off your next flight.

1. Use Airline Consolidators

These airline ticket resellers work with major travel companies to sell tickets at reduced prices. Think of it this way: Consolidators are wholesalers (much like Costco) who buy in bulk. Due to existing relationships, travel agents can purchase tickets from consolidators and then sell them to consumers. It’s a win/win: Consolidators offload their tickets without dealing directly with clients, and travel agents gain access to rock-bottom fares.

But there’s a catch. Just because a travel agent could pass on these discounts to clients doesn’t mean that they will. When my husband was a travel agent, he couldn’t believe some of the markups on fares by the time they reached an actual traveler—in many cases, it was over $200!

RELATED: 3 Ways to Avoid Hotel Fees

Fortunately, you can bypass the travel agent and book directly with a consolidator to get the reduced rate. Just be aware that the best rates are usually found for international travel, as well as U.S. domestic business and first class flights.

Here are some of my favorite consolidators:

• 1800flyeurope.com
• airfare.com
• airfareplanet.com
• airlineconsolidator.com
• airtreks.com
• bargaintravel.com
• cheaptickets.com
• globester.com
• tfitours.com

2. Book in Advance

When it comes to finding inexpensive flights, the general rule is the more available seats, the cheaper the airline ticket. So booking well in advance is usually your best bet—it’s a good idea to make your arrangements a minimum of 21 weeks prior to your departure date. After that, airlines increase fares incrementally up until the departure date. So the closer your departure date, the higher the price.

However, if your 21 weeks have come and gone, some airlines (full list here) do offer discounts at 14 days, seven days and even three days before a departure date. These discounts are “last-minute” rates that can be an excellent bargain, but also keep in mind that it’s risky to wait until just a few days before your departure to book tickets, especially if you’re flying during peak season.

RELATED: How I Mastered Airline Miles Once and For All

3. Clear Your Web Browsing History

It happens all of the time. You find a cheap flight online, search for it again later that day … and the price has skyrocketed. Why? All booking sites record your web browsing data and some (e.g. Travelocity) use this information to raise prices when you’re interested in a flight. If you clear your web browsing data (known as a cache), there’s a chance that you’ll find the original price.

The post 6 Money-Saving Summer Airfare Secrets appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/6-money-saving-airfare-secrets/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/9-guys-share-their-biggest-financial-deal-breakers/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/9-guys-share-their-biggest-financial-deal-breakers/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:00:39 +0000 Jennifer Merritt Mon, 25 Mar 2013 22:44:00 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198019 Men reveal how they really feel about everything from the "wallet reach" to dating someone with a lot of debt. More

The post 9 Guys Share Their Biggest Financial Deal Breakers appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Jennifer Merritt ~

Money is never a more sensitive subject than when it comes up in relationships. In fact, fighting about money is one of the biggest predictors of divorce.

But it doesn’t have to be: Here we explain how to have the money talk—and why it’s so important.

And—newsflash—not only can knowing how to talk about money make your relationship more peaceable, knowing that you know how to handle it makes you more attractive to your significant other.

Don’t believe us? We asked nine guys ages 28 to 40—some married, some about to be, some on the market, some straight, some gay—to reflect on the financial issues they take into account before getting serious with someone.

Hear how they really feel about everything from the “wallet reach” and cheap tippers to settling down with someone who has a lot of debt.

LearnVest: What do you think of ‘the reach’—when your date reaches for his or her wallet when the check comes?

“It’s appreciated and the polite thing to do. Within the first three dates, the guy should politely say ‘I got it,’ but the woman should offer. It shows she isn’t being a user.”
Kevin, Westfield, NJ

“ ‘The reach’ is a bit awkward—it’s like, ‘I’m going to make a very obvious, slow-motioned movement just to be considerate, but I’m expecting you to pay.’ The gesture is nice in a way, but honestly, I just want a woman to give a sincere ‘thank you’ afterward. I’d prefer she say something like, ‘Would you like me to help pay?’ It acknowledges the elephant in the room in a direct, but polite way.”
Greg, Houston, TX 

“Depends on when it happens in the relationship. A girl can’t go wrong doing the reach early. It’s the safe play. If there was no reach after date number two—or an offer to pay the tip or, ‘At least let me treat next time’ – then that’s a problem and would give me a little pause.”
Brian W., New York, NY

At what stage of the relationship should a significant other start picking up the tab?

“I’m very old-fashioned, and I still think the person who asks someone out should pick up the check. At least on the first date. I think it starts pretty naturally from the beginning of a relationship and gets easier over time.”
Pat, Pittsburgh, PA

“I think the bigger deal is kind of the opposite—I’d know I’m close to ‘something real’ if we stop thinking so much about who gets what and we started thinking more like we’re making decisions like a pair and less like two individuals.”
Dan, New York, NY

“I think after three or four dates, or once it has become an exclusive relationship, it is probably time to start sharing the cost.”
Brian W., New York, NY

How do you feel about dating an over-spender?

“Won’t do it. Not interested.”
Dave, Philadelphia, PA

“If a girl is an over-spender with a ton of credit card debt and a closet full of stuff she never wears or uses, I think it demonstrates an undisciplined ‘live for the day’ type of attitude. I would be fine dating someone like that but that is as far as it would go—dating.”
Kevin

The post 9 Guys Share Their Biggest Financial Deal Breakers appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/9-guys-share-their-biggest-financial-deal-breakers/feed/ 16 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/which-costs-more-being-single-or-married/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/which-costs-more-being-single-or-married/#comments Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:00:42 +0000 Vanessa Van Edwards Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:50:09 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198025 An analysis in The Atlantic suggests singles pay more than marrieds over the course of their lives. More

The post Which Costs More: Being Single or Married? appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Vanessa Van Edwards ~

While nowadays, everyone buzzes about how expensive weddings can be, it turns out the price tag on one’s nuptials is a mere pittance compared to the cost of remaining single.

In The Atlantic Monthly’s “The High Price of Being Single in America,” authors Lisa Arnold and Christina Campbell argue that, compared to a married woman of the same income, a single woman, over the course of her lifetime, could pay an extra $1,022,096—just for being single.

Yes, you read that right.

What, other than a second income, would the single woman be missing out on? Tax breaks and extra Social Security benefits, plus savings in health and housing costs, for starters.

Really? Then why are married people always complaining about the marriage penalty?

Amazed by this figure, I dug deeper, plus found out how these differences play out in the lives of real single and married people—men and women. What I learned is that the calculations are not quite so clear cut.

The Married/Single Tax Divide

The Atlantic authors claim that due to laws favoring married couples, a single peson earning $40,000 a year pays $6,181 in taxes on that income, while a married individual with the same income pays only $5,162—a savings of more than $1,000 annually.

Those calculations do not mention the “marriage penalty,” in which married couples pay more taxes if their newly combined income pushes them into a higher tax bracket.

After marrying in 2008, Laurie Itkin from San Diego began paying more than $20,000 extra in federal and state taxes annually. “My husband jokes that we should get divorced not because he doesn’t love me anymore, but because we experience the so-called ‘marriage penalty’ in filing a joint tax return,” she explained.

RELATED: Should You File Jointly—And Other Tax Questions You Don’t the Answers To

Even though the Itkins are victims of the “marriage penalty,” some couples actually do receive the “marriage bonus” mentioned in The Atlantic’s article, which typically occurs when the income levels of the two spouses are widely disparate. For instance, couples with only one earner almost always enjoy a bonus, because the higher earner’s income moves into a lower bracket.

Take Greg Davis from Los Angeles, California who got married in 2009; his wife’s work as a tutor did not bring in much money, so he enjoyed the marriage bonus. “I save money on taxes now because when my wife and I combined incomes we didn’t get pushed into a higher tax bracket and got much better deductions than when we were single,” said Davis.

Of course, whether or not you pay more in taxes depends on a lot of factors: You can use Tax Policy Center’s Marriage Bonus and Penalty Tax Calculator to see how marriage would affect your tax payments.

RELATED: 11 Things You’re Embarrassed to Ask About Taxes

A Roof of One’s Own: Comparing Housing & Health Insurance Costs

While tax breaks may vary person-to-person, data shows living costs such as housing and insurance—or what we at LearnVest would call Essential Expenses—are almost always higher for singles.

Using averages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a single person in his 20s spends about $9,964 on housing where a married couple the same age averages $8,844. Over 60 years this can add up to over $67,200 in savings for a married couple.

Not only do singles pay more in living costs, but they also don’t have a spouse to help them cover the expenses. Kimberly Michel of Columbia, Missouri said, “All of the home expenses fall to me and my one income. If I were married and my husband also worked, my rent and bills on my two-bedroom apartment would be split in half.”

The post Which Costs More: Being Single or Married? appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/which-costs-more-being-single-or-married/feed/ 5 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/job-hunting-on-the-job-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/job-hunting-on-the-job-123/#comments Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:43:39 +0000 Jacqui Kenyon Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:43:39 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198864 Employees aren't just distracted by Twitter and Gawker while they're working. More

The post Job-Hunting on the Job appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Jacqui Kenyon ~

Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, news sites, gossip sites … there’s plenty out there on the web to distract employees from doing their jobs.

But recent data from Indeed.com, Glassdoor.com and SimplyHired.com indicates that some workers are doing more than procrastinating during the workday; they’re searching for other jobs.

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that site traffic at SimplyHired and Indeed peaks on Monday morning around 11 a.m., and the IP addresses of the computers used indicate that they are office computers. A survey by the management firm Right Management confirmed this fact: 74% of workers admitted to searching job sites during their workdays.

We’d like to offer a few dos and don’t when it comes to job-hunting while you’re still employed.

Do:

• Do your work when you’re at work. They are still paying you, you know.
• Focus on networking with your coworkers and superiors while you’re still there. You never know when you’ll need a great recommendation.

Don’t:

• Use your work computer to search for jobs on company time. Besides being unprofessional, your search history may be tracked and you could get caught.
• Use your smartphone to search for jobs at the office, either. Being disengaged and distracted at work could lead to your dismissal before you find something else.

The post Job-Hunting on the Job appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/job-hunting-on-the-job-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/at-cvs-not-revealing-your-weight-could-cost-you-big-bucks-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/at-cvs-not-revealing-your-weight-could-cost-you-big-bucks-123/#comments Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:40:46 +0000 Cheryl Lock Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:40:46 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198907 Employees are now being asked to reveal their weight and body fat levels, or pay a fee. More

The post At CVS, Not Revealing Your Weight Could Cost You Big Bucks appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

There are just certain topics that seem like they should be off limits to your employer. That lover’s quarrel you had last night. Exactly how much money you spend on candy each month.

Your weight.

That last one has really got people up in arms lately. According to The Boston Herald, Rhode Island-based CVS Caremark has informed its employees that those who are on the company insurance plan must submit to having the company pay for a doctor to record their weight, height, body fat, blood pressure and glucose and fasting lipid levels.

All workers who participate in this “voluntary” plan must sign a form allowing the insurer to give their test results to WebMD Health Services Group, the firm with which CVS works for health management programs.

Oh, and one other thing: CVS employees who forgo this “voluntary” medical screening will see their medical coverage increase by $50 a month—or $600 a year.

Companies having a stake in their employees’ health is nothing new. Weight-loss competitions, company-wide races and free yearly screenings are all pretty much the norm for big companies who try to keep their employees healthy and their health insurance premiums as low as possible. But the $600/year penalty for what is being billed as a voluntary program has people crying foul.

For its part, CVS is calling these measures a health and wellness screening, an action meant to help employees get a firm grasp on their physical health and make any changes necessary to stay on track.

In an email to The Boston Herald, CVS spokesman Michael D’Angelis said, “Our benefits program is evolving to help our colleagues take more responsibility for improving their health and managing health-associated costs.”

He added that CVS bosses would have no access to the workers’ private health information.

The post At CVS, Not Revealing Your Weight Could Cost You Big Bucks appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/at-cvs-not-revealing-your-weight-could-cost-you-big-bucks-123/feed/ 3 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/the-winner-of-the-america-saves-week-challenge/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/the-winner-of-the-america-saves-week-challenge/#comments Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:28:26 +0000 LearnVest Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:34:47 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198286 We challenged our readers to get a savings plan in place in honor of America Saves Week. More

The post The Winner of the America Saves Week Challenge! appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By LearnVest ~

Earlier this month, we held a contest in honor of America Saves Week. Readers were invited to share their saving experiences with LearnVest over the course of the week. The winner, chosen at random, would receive a $250 boost to their savings, courtesy of LearnVest!

We had so many great entries, and we’re thankful to all the readers who reached out.

We’d like to congratulate Jill from Tampa, FL for winning the America Saves Week Challenge!

Jill’s story was so remarkable that we’d love to share it with all of you:

“I am in the first generation of my family to attend college. My parents were not willing to co-sign on my loans, and I made the mistake of supporting my now ex-fiance. In total, I have about $110,000 in credit card and student loan debt. My $90,000 in student loan debt is just for my bachelor’s in interactive media, and $80,000 of that is private loans at 9.275% interest. (Editor’s note: Read about why private student loans are worse than federal loans.) That debt total doesn’t include my current mortgage, either.

“Needless to say, I really need to save!  My goal is to get to at least $1,000 in savings while chipping away at my debt. After doing several balance transfers and calling all my credit card companies to see if my interest rates could be lowered (only one could be cut by 2%), my credit card balances all have a 0% APR or a 9.99% interest rate. But countless times, I have gotten so frustrated with my debt that I’ve drained my savings account to pay off credit cards.

“Thankfully, I’m not defaulted on any of my loans and am paying more than the monthly minimum in most cases. But at the same time, the debt feels like a curse. Financial advisors and debt consolidators can’t do anything for me because I’m not defaulted.

“Meanwhile, I’ve been working on trimming my expenses. A couple months ago, I cut my cable but kept my internet speed high. Last week, I called my internet service provider and asked for the cheapest internet plan. It saddened me to do this because I’m a web developer and gamer, and the majority of tasks I do are online. When the service technician guessed I was doing this to save money, he found a cheaper plan that included local channels—saving me an extra $260 a year.

“I’ve also saved by doing most of my grocery shopping in ethnic markets and a nearby farmer’s market. I buy in bulk, and anything I can’t use immediately, I freeze. I limit my spending to only things I need; I will stand there for as long as necessary while weighing how much I need an item. I even purchased a box of instant Ramen noodles and am prepared to relive college all over again. Dining out has become foreign to me and I’ve started to bake my own breads (yeast and flour! so simple). I even started keeping track of expenses in a Google spreadsheet.

“At the same time, I’ve been trying to earn extra money. I completed my first mystery shop (thanks to LearnVest!). It was nerve-racking at first but eventually I got the hang of it. I hope to complete more of these shops. I’ve also picked up some jobs here and there, anything extra friends or acquaintances need done.

“To be honest, I am very wary of the future. My company does not offer a 401(k) or any type of retirement plan/benefit. My private student loans tell me I still have 26 years of repayment, and I am already 28 years old. I am also stuck in a tax bracket with no benefits of any sort—or at least it feels that way. I feel like I’m floating around with a broken motor. But I’m still truckin’ along. I have to. What else can you do?”

Thanks for sharing your story, Jill. We asked Sophia Bera, LearnVest Planning Services certified financial planner, for her recommendations on your situation, and this is what she said:

• Increasing your income is a great way to get closer to paying off debt—you could try looking for a new, higher-paying job or negotiating your salary. If you decide to search for a new job, look for one that has a 401(k) plan where the company will match your contributions—that’s essentially free money for your retirement!
• You could sell your home and move into a low-cost apartment for a while or in with family until you can rebuild your savings and pay off your credit card debt. Or you could rent out a room in your house for extra income using a service like Airbnb (though be sure to check the legality of that for your city).
• Keep looking for a part-time job or freelance work and split this extra income between building up savings and paying down credit card debt. (Check out how some LearnVest readers make extra money on the side.) Don’t pay extra on your student loans until your credit cards are paid off.
• Set up your student loan payments so that they are automatically paid on time every month. You don’t want to be charged late fees or end up defaulting on these and have them go to collections.
• Look at opening a Roth IRA or an IRA. You may be able to qualify for a tax-deductible IRA since your company doesn’t offer an employee retirement plan.

Keep an eye out for our next contest!

The post The Winner of the America Saves Week Challenge! appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/the-winner-of-the-america-saves-week-challenge/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/7-money-links-we-love-counterintuitive-things-successful-people-do/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/7-money-links-we-love-counterintuitive-things-successful-people-do/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:01:13 +0000 LearnVest Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:01:13 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198722 How to handle lunch with a CEO, unisex buys that can save you cash and more in this week's roundup. More

The post 7 Money Links We Love: Counterintuitive Things Successful People Do appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By LearnVest ~

We’ve scoured the web and brought you our favorite and most useful money-related articles. We read everything, so you don’t have to!

People across the board are feeling the sting of a smaller paycheck, but … Are The Effects Of The Payroll Tax Increase Just Psychological? - MainStreet

Can picking fights and ignoring consensus actually make you better at your job? 17 Counterintuitive Things the Most Successful People Do - Forbes

Here’s what to do before, during and after a meal with the head honcho. Networking Up: How to Handle Lunch with a CEO - The Daily Muse

Our interest was piqued by this gadget that saves your cell phone battery and saves you money on electricity. GreenZero Wall Travel Charger Stops Sucking Power When Your Device’s Battery Is Full - Lifehacker

A recent study that followed people trying to lose weight found that for every 20 tweets, participants lost 1% of their body weight. Why? Tweet Yourself Thin - YouBeauty

You could be paying the government more if you buy sliced bagels, have internet access or even own a pet. 10 Taxes That Could Be Hidden In Your Next Purchase - The Fiscal Times

Nix separate blue and pink everything for your kids, and your wallet will thank you. Encourage Family Sharing and Save Money by Going Unisex - WiseBread

LearnVest Stories You Shouldn’t Miss

Couples fight an average of five times a year about money. We talked to those who’ve made peace to find out their secrets. Long-Married Couples Confess: How We Talk About Money

Before you go out for dinner, ask yourself whether a steak is worth two hours of your hard work. Read on for this tip and more: Spring Clean Your Finances: 8 Reader Tricks to Curb Spending

Some call it daycare with a higher price tag, while others say it’s a crucial part of children’s development. Do You Need to Pay for Preschool?

Haven’t read Sheryl Sandberg’s new book yet? Here’s a quick cheat sheet. 9 Ways You’re Being Too Nice at Work

Contemplating a second career after you retire? This reader brought in a professional to help her make a plan. Why Hiring a Career Coach Was the Best Thing I Ever Did

The post 7 Money Links We Love: Counterintuitive Things Successful People Do appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/7-money-links-we-love-counterintuitive-things-successful-people-do/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/over-half-of-u-s-workers-havent-saved-enough-for-retirement-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/over-half-of-u-s-workers-havent-saved-enough-for-retirement-123/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:45:08 +0000 Cheryl Lock Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:45:08 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198544 Fifty-seven percent of American families reported having less than this amount in total household savings ... More

The post Over Half of U.S. Workers Haven’t Saved Enough for Retirement appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

Ready for the retirement news of the day?

According to a new report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 57% of U.S. workers reported total household savings and investments, excluding their homes, at less than $25,000. In 2008, the number of people who reported having that amount was 49%.

It gets worse—28% of the respondents also said they had no confidence they would have enough money to comfortably retire, which is the highest level this particular study has seen in its 23-year history. (This makes sense, given that the percentage of workers who have saved for retirement has dropped to 66%, down from the 75% who were saving in 2009.)

Of course companies aren’t faring that well in these rough economic climates, either. A report from the Society of Actuaries found that rising life expectancies could cost companies up to $97 billion in pension liabilities.

News of the less-than-stellar retirement savings comes as fewer and fewer Americans have pensions to look forward to in their retirement years. In fact, U.S. workers covered with such plans fell from 28% in 1979 to just 3% in 2011.

The post Over Half of U.S. Workers Haven’t Saved Enough for Retirement appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/over-half-of-u-s-workers-havent-saved-enough-for-retirement-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/the-sequester-stole-my-tuition-active-duty-soldiers-left-high-and-dry-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/the-sequester-stole-my-tuition-active-duty-soldiers-left-high-and-dry-123/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:22:30 +0000 Alden Wicker Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:22:30 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198430 The sequester effects are hitting home for men and women serving in the military. More

The post The Sequester Stole My College Tuition: Budget Cuts Leave Soldiers High and Dry appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Alden Wicker ~

Ten days after the sequester—which forces the federal government to make drastic and draconian cuts to its budget—went into effect, active-duty soldiers in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard and Marines found out that the Pentagon would suspend the federal tuition assistance program.

Many see the suspension of the popular TA program, as it is commonly known, as a PR stunt by the Pentagon (or by the administration who pressured the Pentagon, depending on who you ask) to get angry constituents calling Congress and demanding an end to the sequester and cuts to the Pentagon budget.

And that plan may have worked.

Today the Senate passed a bill that would restore funding to the TA program, and to meat inspectors—a service which had also been slated to be cut from the Pentagon budget. As the bill heads to the House of Representatives, we highlight the personal impact the suspension of tuition assistance would have on two active-duty soldiers.

The Would-Be Data Engineer

Landon Weber probably still would have joined the National Guard if tuition assistance wasn’t included. But getting help paying for college after serving his time was a big part of the appeal.

“I thought it was a good idea at the time, and I needed money for college,” Weber, age 19, from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, says. He signed up for the National Guard in June of 2011. With eight brothers and sisters (and another baby on the way), his parents can’t afford to chip anything in to help him pay for a degree.

RELATED: Fiscal Cliff Breakdown: How the Government Spends Your Precious Tax Dollars

He was planning on attending the Pennsylvania College of Technology—which costs $24,430 in tuition, housing and fees a year—to get a degree in computer networking while participating in the National Guard one weekend a month. Now, he’s scrambling to find another, more affordable college.

“It really sucks because the colleges I’m looking at don’t have the same degree as Penn Tech,” Weber explains. “They have computer programs but they’re not even the same idea at all.” Without the tuition assistance he also might have to take on more student loan debt.

The cuts to the TA program, which provides up to $4,500 a year in assistance, came as a surprise to service members, who had assumed the Pentagon would target other expenditures first.

“We all knew that there was other stuff they could have cut,” says Weber. “We‘re not cool with that. There’s a lot of kids who go into the Army for college benefits, and then they don’t get what they expected.”

The Would-Be Officer

“It’s frustrating, especially because when I enlisted, that was a given,” says Michael Artale, 19, who is attending Liberty University in Virginia while serving in the National Guard. He didn’t sign up just for the tuition, but it’s a big part of his career path. “I’ve always wanted to serve. My goal after college is to go to officer candidate school and work in the Army.”

Artale had been considering transferring already, but he’s kicked his search into high gear, as he verifies which of his credits are transferrable. His current semester’s tuition is covered, but if the sequester isn’t resolved, he won’t get money for next year.

RELATED: Top Student Loan Mistakes to Avoid

He’s considering transferring to Florida State or University of Miami, because Florida is one of the states that—through the National Guard—will cover service members’ entire tuition with no limit. These funds are from the state instead of federal level.

“Otherwise there’s no way I can afford a 4-year out-of-state tuition,” Artale says. Like Weber, he’s paying his own way through college.

What Happens Next?

The political climate favors Weber and Artale getting their tuition back. On March 14th, a petition on the White House website protesting the suspension of the TA program met the 100,000-signature threshold that requires a response from the president.

That response could be Obama signing the bill if and when it passes the House.

RELATED: Why It’s so Hard to See Eye-to-Eye on Entitlement Spending

Members of Congress have also come out publicly against the cuts. Representative Ted Poe, a Republican from Texas, asked why higher education funds were still being sent to Pakistan while we cut higher education funds to U.S. soldiers. He’s preparing a bill that would give “the sequester treatment” to Pakistan education aid, which pays for the training of professors as a form of soft diplomacy.

In New York, state legislatures introduced a bill that would give tuition discounts to active service members who are attending New York state schools.

For now, Weber and Artale, along with their fellow active-duty soldiers, are in a hopeful limbo. “I heard I lot of rumors that [tuition assistance is] coming back, because there’s a lot of angry people,” Weber says. “But I don’t know.”

The post The Sequester Stole My College Tuition: Budget Cuts Leave Soldiers High and Dry appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/the-sequester-stole-my-tuition-active-duty-soldiers-left-high-and-dry-123/feed/ 5 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/9-ways-youre-being-too-nice-at-work/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/9-ways-youre-being-too-nice-at-work/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:00:11 +0000 Amy Keyishian Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:41:16 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198030 There's a difference between being pleasant and going unnoticed. Find out how to tell the difference. More

The post 9 Ways You’re Being Too Nice at Work appeared first on LearnVest.

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The Nice Behavior: Sit Out of the Way
What to Do Instead: Take Your Place at the Table

Sandberg tells several tales of women entering a meeting and, instead of sitting at the main, central table, fading back to sit in the outer ring of chairs so as not to appear presumptuous or to inconvenience any other attendees.

"Because of their seating choices, they seemed more like spectators than participants," Sandberg writes. After the meeting, she pulled the women aside and told them they should have taken their rightful seats at the table.

The Nice Behavior: Be Realistic About Your Shortcomings
What to Do Instead: Fake It 'Til You Make It

"Be more confident" isn't realistic advice—confidence isn't something everyone can summon with a snap of their fingers. But faking it? That's something we can all manage.

Sandberg calls it "fake it 'til you feel it," but the sentiment is the same: Women, more than men, let a lack of self-confidence discourage them from trying for their goals (for instance, they're much more likely to say that their experience doesn't qualify them for a new position, or their particular skills make them ill-suited for a project). Assume you will figure out the bits you don't know, she says, and fake the confidence you need to take initiative.

RELATED:�The 2-Minute Trick to Build Confidence

The Nice Behavior: Follow Instructions to the Letter
What to Do Instead: Bend the Rules to Suit Your Aims

After Sandberg gave a speech on gender issues in the workplace, a young woman approached her to tell her what she'd learned from Sandberg's speech. "I should have kept my hand up," she said.

What did she mean? After wrapping up the talk, Sandberg said to the audience: "Only two more questions." At that point, all of the women put their hands down, while all the men started waving theirs more aggressively. Sandberg wound up taking two more questions. "Even though I had been giving a speech on gender issues," Sandberg says, "I had been blind to one myself."

The Nice Behavior: Sacrifice Your Time for Your Client
What to Do instead: "Bill Like a Boy"

When a male friend of Sandberg's realized that his wife and her female colleagues tended to underestimate their billable hours to keep from over-charging, he told her to "bill like a boy." As he put it, men "considered any time they spent thinking about an issue—even time in the shower—as billable hours."

The Nice Behavior: Wave Off Praise
What to Do instead: Accept Compliments Gracefully

Sandberg tells of a mortifying moment when she was placed on a well-known publication's "most powerful people" list along with formidable women such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—and ahead of First Lady Michelle Obama.

Feeling that she wasn't more powerful than the First Lady, Sandberg spent days removing the list from her friends' Facebook walls, telling anyone who would listen how silly the list was and waving off congratulations from coworkers. Then her executive assistant pulled her aside and told her to cut it out: Her insistence on talking herself down was making her seem insecure and ungracious.

The Nice Behavior: Accept Your First Salary Offer
What to Do instead: Explain Why You Deserve More

Sandberg points out that there is not only a gender gap in wages—there's also a significant gap in how men and women are perceived when they try to rectify it. For instance, research shows that women who explain their qualifications and previous achievements in a job interview are less likely to be hired. (And how are you supposed to negotiate without describing your worth?)

She acknowledges the existing gender bias in a realistic way and presents solutions: A woman needs to justify her requests and she can't seem self-serving. To do this, she can ensure her manager's empathy by saying upfront that she's negotiating harder because she knows that women statistically don't; she can use "we" rather than "I" when describing her accomplishments at her last company to share the credit; she can cite a higher authority, such as a salary database or a previous manager, rather than just asking for a random additional number.

The Nice Behavior: Ignore Coworker Transgressions and Missteps
What to Do instead: Present Problems Respectfully

We often worry about piping up when we think someone is wrong. We could offend someone, we could fly off the handle and become angry or we could just be plain wrong and look dumb.

Sandberg counsels anyone to train in effective communication (she had her team at Google go through a program with Fred Kofman, a communication expert), and to approach any conversation knowing that there are two truths: yours and your coworker's—the real truth is usually somewhere in the middle.

By explaining your concerns using "I" statements and avoiding accusations ("I feel frustrated that you haven't answered my last four emails, which leads me to believe that my suggestions are not important to you. Is that so?"), you can get your message across clearly and effectively.

The Nice Behavior: Wait for Feedback
What to Do instead: Ask for Feedback

We get feedback on our work all the time, in the form of a "Great job!" or "What happened?" It helps us understand how to act and perform going forward. But sometimes, you have to ask. It not only helps you develop better strategies and behaviors for the future, but helps you build open, respectful relationships as well.

Asking for feedback sends a vital message that you take direction, are willing to work, and don't see yourself as a finished product. Ask for things that are hard to hear, and "remember that feedback, like truth, is not absolute," says Sandberg.

The Nice Behavior: Wear a Pleasant Smile at All Times
What to Do instead: Be Genuine

At business lunches, and golf games, and company parties, you can be sure that people aren't talking solely about business. Being genuine and connecting with your coworkers on a personal level (even if it's just "How was your weekend?") makes for a more productive workplace.

Sandberg says that even crying occasionally isn't the disaster it's made out to be—people do get upset at work, and expressing your emotions can help you connect with your coworkers. By extension, you're more motivated to work well with people you care about, and you care about those you're connected to. As Sandberg says "An all-business approach is not always good business."

That's what makes "Lean In" feel like more than a book. It's like a comforting lounge where I can warm myself in the presence of other women who are just trying to get by. I can't wait to stop being nice ... and start being better.

]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/9-ways-youre-being-too-nice-at-work/feed/ 7 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/rising-costs-have-sent-retirees-back-to-work-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/rising-costs-have-sent-retirees-back-to-work-123/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 21:58:33 +0000 Cheryl Lock Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:58:33 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198550 The over-65 set is busy picking up part-time jobs. See why some say it's a necessity, not a choice. More

The post Rising Costs Have Sent Retirees Back to Work appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

For many retirees, the goal of stress-free days spent playing golf, traveling or visiting the grandkids has been replaced with the harsh reality of needing to go back to work.

With the cost of everything from gas and food to healthcare and utilities on the rise, some 16.1% of Americans ages 65 and older were forced to stick to working life in 2010, according to census data.

Only 12.1% of Americans in the same age range were still working in 1990.

“A lot of people that have retired are coming back—I know we’ve got several (clients) in their 60s that are still working,” Steve Neelin, CEO of Quality Recruiting, a Rochester, N.Y.-based company, told Democrat and Chronicle. “They’re not high-paying jobs. The reason they’re working is more out of necessity.”

One other somewhat surprising element that has factored into many of these retirees futures is how their own kids are doing financially. As USA Today reports, “many of those entering retirement age were among the generation that begin waiting until later in life to start families. As those parents creep toward their golden years, their children aren’t as far along in their own lives as they were in generations past.”

That means rising college costs and the potential of having older kids move back home is hitting right when most would be starting to think about their own retirement.

The post Rising Costs Have Sent Retirees Back to Work appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/rising-costs-have-sent-retirees-back-to-work-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/this-helps-women-earn-more-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/this-helps-women-earn-more-123/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:24:28 +0000 Alden Wicker Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:24:28 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198382 College-educated women who wait longer to do this have higher incomes. More

The post This Helps Women Earn More appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Alden Wicker ~

Maybe you shouldn’t just marry him already, especially if you have a degree or two under your belt.

As the average age for marrying reaches a new high of 27 for women and 29 for men, a new report out from the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia shows that college-educated women who marry later enjoy higher incomes.

The average salary for college-educated women in their mid-30s who married after age 30 is $50,415, while a woman in her mid-thirties who married before age 20 on average only earns $32,263. That’s a 56% difference. Female high-school graduates with some college education also have higher wages, though the difference isn’t as stark: $22,286 for those who wait versus $18,234 for those who don’t.

But for less educated women, marrying later hasn’t worked out well. While educated women continue to wait for a couple years after marrying to have their first baby, less educated women are having their first child before getting married—putting themselves in a precarious financial situation.

The Atlantic also points out that men, regardless of education, always benefit from marrying earlier.

Why the Discrepancy?

These stark contrasts could be due to a variety of factors. A woman who gets married earlier might have children earlier, and drop out of the workforce before establishing a strong career.

Societal expectation might also explain the difference between income effects on men and woman. There’s traditionally an expectation that the husband will be the main breadwinner, taking the pressure off of the wife and placing it on him to earn more—hence the uniform rise in men’s wages no matter when they marry. (Ahh, don’t shoot us! We said traditionally!)

Still, the report has some food for thought. So, next time your well-meaning mother asks you when you’re going to get married and give her grandbabies, tell her you’re just making sure you earn enough to support her in her old age.

The post This Helps Women Earn More appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/this-helps-women-earn-more-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/why-school-as-your-kid-knows-it-is-over-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/why-school-as-your-kid-knows-it-is-over-123/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:19:41 +0000 Jacqui Kenyon Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:19:41 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198438 Startups are pioneering a cost-effective new concept that could revolutionize the way students learn. More

The post Why School As Your Kid Knows It Is Over appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Jacqui Kenyon ~

Why should students spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks that will be obsolete by the end of the school year?

A group of startups took this question and ran with it. They’re called “open-education publishers,” and they’re changing the way information reaches students.

These companies—among them, CK-12 and Boundless—utilize free, open-source education materials to build digital textbooks that students and teachers can edit as they go, according to Forbes.  The beauty of this customizability is that teachers can evaluate what concepts students struggle to learn, and amend those chapters accordingly. “Each year, the text gets better,” says David Wiley, a professor at Brigham Young University and leader of the open textbook pilot program in Utah, in Forbes.

The U.S. spends about $7 billion each year on textbooks for students in grades K-12. College students spend an average of $655 a year on books and supplies, according to a 2012 report from the National Association of College Stores. That’s a shocking 812% increase since 1978.

Open-source textbooks cost about $5 each, and that’s only if you use a printing service like CreateSpace to print them out. With budget cuts increasing the squeeze on educational institutions, many school districts and public universities are taking the concept for a test ride.

The post Why School As Your Kid Knows It Is Over appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/why-school-as-your-kid-knows-it-is-over-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/3-things-that-surprised-me-about-sheryl-sandberg/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/3-things-that-surprised-me-about-sheryl-sandberg/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:00:43 +0000 Jacqui Kenyon Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:16:22 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198082 I was skeptical when I went to see Sheryl Sandberg the day her book came out, but she soon had me leaning in. More

The post 3 Things That Surprised Me About Sheryl Sandberg appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Jacqui Kenyon ~

On the day Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” hit bookstores, people filed up escalator after escalator at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in New York City to see her sit down with friend and NBC special correspondent Chelsea Clinton.

An hour and a half before the event was scheduled to begin, three-quarters of the chairs were filled. Latecomers circled like vultures looking for the odd open seat.

I was glad I had shown up early.

The attendees were largely young, stylish professional women, with a smattering of men spread throughout the crowd. All clutched signed copies of Sandberg’s book and many tapped diligently away on smartphones and tablets while we waited for Sandberg to appear.

In “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead,” Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, wife and mother, posits that women unintentionally impede their own career progress by backing away from challenges, risks and assuming positions of leadership when they should be leaning in.

The book—one that a Barnes & Noble manager said reached the sales numbers typically reserved for books about dead celebrities—was the subject of both conversation and controversy in the weeks leading up to its release. My initial appraisal of Sandberg’s views put me on the side of the opposition; I objected to what I perceived as her blaming women for their lack of representation in positions of power in corporate America.

But as the conversation between Sandberg and Clinton got going, I soon found myself nodding my head furiously, and, well, leaning in. The following are a few of the most unexpected parts of Sandberg’s talk, the same ones that made me change my tune.

1. She Isn’t All Business

Based on her credentials, what I’d seen and read about her and what I’d read of her book, I expected Sheryl Sandberg to be a forthright, powerful, strictly-business speaker. “Lean In” is very human and certainly has humorous elements, but it had the overall tone of a serious call to action. I wasn’t prepared for what she’s like in real life.

She was so … bubbly.

The event was Sandberg’s first following the publication of her book, and she didn’t hide her excitement … or her nerves. Once she made her entrance, and the applause died down, she practically squealed with delight over the crowd that had turned out.

I felt a bit disappointed in myself for being surprised at this. On a subconscious level I had subscribed to a stereotype about successful women, when I really know that a woman—or anyone, for that matter—can be both powerful and personable.

2. She’s Guilty of What She Preaches Against

Sandberg admitted to the audience that there are times when she feels like a “fraud” or faces situations at Facebook where she doubts her own capabilities. Are you serious?!  I thought, This woman held top positions at Google and Facebook, two of the top tech companies in the world. 

She, herself, called it “remarkable” that she feels this way, considering that at this point she’s written an entire book about how women shouldn’t. On that same note, despite all of her research and wealth of professional experience, she still struggled to call herself an “expert” during her talk.

But she also made it clear how she’s come to command corporate forces: In fact, Sandberg related a story about a speech her brother and sister gave at her wedding. They described themselves not as her siblings, but as her first employees. “To the best of our knowledge, Sheryl never actually played as a child, but really just organized other children’s play,” they said.

Everyone laughed, Sandberg included, she said, but there’s a part of her that still feels shame about being so “domineering” as a little girl. Being “bossy”—a word that, she pointed out, is almost exclusively applied to little girls—may be funny in retrospect, but is not a desirable quality in a female child. Rather than exhibiting leadership qualities, little girls should be sweet and nice. “There’s something not funny about that,” she said. I liked that she recognized it.

3. She Didn’t Write the Book Just for Women

Sandberg told us she welcomed the media controversy surrounding her book in the weeks before it hit stores because it restarted the conversation about women and work. “I’m worried about stagnation,” she said, “There has been no progress for women in the corporate world for 10 years.” It did frustrate her, however, that out of all the articles she read about her book, she couldn’t find a single male byline.

“Men are afraid to talk about gender,” she said, relating a story about a male colleague who said he would prefer to talk about his sex life in public than bring up gender even in general conversation. In the book, too, she addresses how anyone who starts a conversation about gender in the workplace is “wading into deep and muddy waters.” Her book, she stresses, is an attempt to further women’s progress by starting a dialogue.

One area that Sandberg finds particularly fraught is that of mentoring. Studies have shown time and again that both men and women who have great mentors end up more successful than those who don’t, she explained. But many high-status male professionals are afraid to mentor women because of “how it looks.” As Sandberg put it to us: an older man and a younger man in a bar looks like mentoring, but an older man and a younger woman in a bar looks like an affair.

This had never occurred to me before, and my cheeks burned with frustration as I realized that this has already happened to me. At one of my first gigs out of college, at an auction house in New York City, the owner of the company never wanted to bring the female employees on work errands alone in his car, and thus brought the only male employee every time. It gave the male employee twice the time to form a rapport with our boss than any of the female employees had, which naturally led to the owner selecting the male employee for the most consequential tasks. Sandberg said that the stigma of male-female mentorship must be eradicated: “It should be a badge of honor to mentor a woman,” she said.

Sandberg mentions in the book that she wrote it “for any man who wants to understand what a woman—a colleague, wife, mother, or daughter—is up against so that he can do his part to build a more equal world.” And I believe her.

Image source: Wikipedia

The post 3 Things That Surprised Me About Sheryl Sandberg appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/3-things-that-surprised-me-about-sheryl-sandberg/feed/ 5 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/pretty-women-suffer-discrimination-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/pretty-women-suffer-discrimination-123/#comments Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:47:12 +0000 Alden Wicker Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:47:12 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=198339 A fascinating study shows how differently men and women are treated when applying for jobs. More

The post Do Pretty Girls Finish Last? appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Alden Wicker ~

Here’s something to boost your mood today: You may not be hired to be a Victoria’s Secret model, but a Victoria’s Secret model wouldn’t be ushered in the door at your job either.

Two Israeli researchers studied what happened when job hunters included photos with their CV, which is common in Europe and Asia. They sent two fictional and similar applications to over 2,500 real-life vacancies, one with a photo and one without.

When sending in résumés from fictional men, researchers found that attractive candidates did better than unattractive ones. (Ryan Gosling: If you sent us your CV with a picture, we would definitely call you in for an interview! Just sayin’.)

But for women, it was reversed. Attractive females were less likely to be interviewed if they included a picture. An attractive woman applying directly to a company would have to send out 11 CVs on average to snag an interview, while a plain Jane only had to send out seven.

Is it because people think pretty candidates are dumb? The researchers explored this possibility by having the pictures rated by both attractiveness and intelligence, and found no correlation between the two.

Given that HR departments are currently largely the domain of women (93% of the people choosing the candidates for interviews in the study were female), researchers concluded it was jealousy leading them to trash CVs of attractive females. Ohhh, cat fight.

If that’s true, maybe these HR managers should remember the words of Taylor Swift Katie Couric Madeline Albright: “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”

The post Do Pretty Girls Finish Last? appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/pretty-women-suffer-discrimination-123/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/why-everything-seems-more-expensive-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/why-everything-seems-more-expensive-123/#comments Tue, 19 Mar 2013 14:15:02 +0000 Cheryl Lock Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:06:20 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=197776 From ink cartridges to Big Macs, prices are on the rise. See the everyday expense that's increased 41% in four years—and find out why. More

The post Why Everything Seems More Expensive appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

If you’ve been confused by the news that inflation hasn’t risen much recently (you know, because the prices of certain products still seem to be rising) don’t worry—you’re not crazy.

Inflation, it seems, is more of an all-or-nothing deal. According to Time, “price hikes for a particular item here or there don’t qualify as inflation. If one thing gets more expensive but something else gets cheaper, that’s what economists call a relative price change. Inflation is a simultaneous increase in price across the board.”

Of course this explanation makes the overall “low inflation” news somewhat less exciting for average Americans in our day-to-day lives. For example, while the cost of some important household products, like food and housing costs, have remained relatively moderate, others, like gas and taxes, are growing by leaps and bounds. When the recession ended, gas was $2.60 a gallon, but it’s $3.68 today—an increase of 41% in four years.

One great indicator of the overall price increases, as pointed out by Time, is the McDonald’s Big Mac. The popular sandwich, which is available in many countries and reflects the cost of food, fuel, commercial real estate and basic labor, has risen from $3.57 to $4.37 since the recession ended, or 5.2% a year.

So what’s the takeaway? In general, it’s clear that lower inflation doesn’t necessarily equate to a steady price in everyday products.

 

The post Why Everything Seems More Expensive appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/why-everything-seems-more-expensive-123/feed/ 3 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/long-married-couples-confess-how-we-talk-about-money/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/long-married-couples-confess-how-we-talk-about-money/#comments Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:00:32 +0000 Amy Shouse Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:24:31 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=192778 What is it really like to communicate effectively about money for decades? We asked those who know best. More

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]]> LearnVest By Amy Shouse ~

One of my clearest memories as a little girl was sitting in between my parents in the front seat of our big, red station wagon—while listening to them argue about money.

I remember thinking, Oh, they’ll figure it out. They eventually did, but the lesson that I took away from that experience was that money made my mom and dad mad.

It turns out that my parents were fairly typical. According to a nationwide survey conducted by LearnVest and TD Ameritrade, couples have about five fights a year about finances—and about 20 money conversations a year.

But what is it really like to communicate effectively about money for decades? We asked those who know best: three long-term couples who’ve spent years talking about—and dealing with—money as a team.

Cindy and Mike Harrelson

Bozeman, Montana

For Cindy and Mike, a married couple in their mid-50s with two kids in college, it’s all about being financially responsible.

Married for 29 years, they thrive on living within their means—without debt. They don’t have a dollar of credit card debt, and they own their home outright. This clear vision, which Mike likes to call being “downwardly mobile,” has allowed them to live in more posh locales like Jackson Hole early in their marriage, and Hawaii for two years when their children were young.

Cindy and Mike had hard-working, frugal parents, so they both feel strongly about never buying things simply to fill a void. And money was something that they made a point to discuss early on in their relationship—including on their first date.

“Before we got married, we said, ‘We’re going to need to communicate about everything—especially money,’ ” says Cindy, an academic administrator. “We’re going to need to pool it, and trust each other, knowing that we are sharing everything 50/50.”

“Consequently, the things that we’ve been able to experience as a family, because we are debt-free, have been invaluable,” says Mike, an avid outdoorsman who works in public relations. “Money doesn’t control us.” In fact, Mike recently took a surf trip to Nicaragua, thanks in no small part to the couple’s savvy approach to finances.

And while Mike is the big-picture guy who tends to keep an overall vision for the family, Cindy is more of the pragmatist-spreadsheet person. “She has a clear plan of when things are supposed to happen, which has been a relief for me because I didn’t always have a knack for the right timing like she did,” says Mike. “She’d say, ‘I think it’s time to buy a house,’ and that would feel right for me, too.”

The post Long-Married Couples Confess: How We Talk About Money appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/long-married-couples-confess-how-we-talk-about-money/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/not-all-businesses-are-in-recovery-mode-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/not-all-businesses-are-in-recovery-mode-123/#comments Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:22:15 +0000 Alden Wicker Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:22:15 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=197946 Wall Street has come back strong, but the benefits aren't reaching these key sectors. More

The post Not All Businesses Are in Recovery Mode appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Alden Wicker ~

If you’ve been anywhere near Wall Street in the past couple of weeks, you might have heard the exuberant “ding ding ding ding!” of the stock market pushing past previous records. Large businesses are recovering nicely, it seems.

But on Main Street, all you might hear are doors shutting. According to Forbes, small businesses are still struggling through their own recession, even while big business profits soar. Just consider some of these sobering statistics:

• The number of startup jobs per 1,000 Americans is 30% lower than during the Bush and Clinton eras.
• The number of startups in 2011 was lower than in 1994, when the economy, workforce and population were all smaller.
• Fewer than 8% of U.S. companies are less than six years old. In the early 1980s, after another recession, young businesses made up 12% and 13% of the U.S. economy.

And many small business aren’t optimistic about improvement. Gallup polls show one in five small firms expects to drop their employee count, one in three expect to decrease capital spending and nearly one in three project they’ll be struggling more with cash flow by the end of the year.

Why This Is Worrying

While it’s good that large businesses are recovering—and hence improving the economy—small businesses have traditionally filled the role of job creator. According to McKinsey, if after the recession the rate of startup formation had gone back up to 2007 levels (in other words, recovered the way many corporations have), we would have 2.5 million additional jobs.

Why Are Small Businesses Struggling?

Forbes attributes the lag in small business recovery to several factors. First, Obamacare and rising premium prices have deeply scared and shaken small businesses, who are less able to weather price increases. With tiny businesses often doing their taxes through the individual owner, higher income taxes in California, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Illinois are hitting sole proprietorships hard. Community banks, which typically focus on local businesses, have declined or been sucked up into national banks. Finally, consumer spending is still low.

Forbes also claims that the administration’s weak tax reform, handouts for renewable energy and general closeness with business leaders have largely benefited corporations instead of small, sole proprietorships.

Tell us: Are you a small business owner? What has your experience been?

The post Not All Businesses Are in Recovery Mode appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/not-all-businesses-are-in-recovery-mode-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/gen-y-off-the-savings-track-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/gen-y-off-the-savings-track-123/#comments Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:17:56 +0000 Libby Kane Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:17:56 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=197865 New research finds that younger generations don't measure up to their parents. Here's why. More

The post Gen Y Off the Savings Track appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Libby Kane ~

Ready for some feel-good news?

Then you’ll have to read about random acts of kindness, or things that make us happy.

Because otherwise, we’re talking about the New York Times‘s piece on the difficulty young adults under age 40 are having amassing savings. New research reveals that Americans in this age range have saved less money than their parents’ generation had at the same age—even though the wealth of the average American has doubled since then.

First of all, you can thank the Times for adding fuel to your parents’ “When I was your age …” fire. At least there’s something to tell them in response: It seems that Gen X and Gen Y have been caught in a cross-fire of overwhelming student loans, declining median income, a housing collapse and stagnant pay.

RELATED: The 20-Something Crunch: High Debt, Low Employment

So it really isn’t your fault.

And then there’s the least reassuring sentence ever written about the younger generations’ financial challenge: “The authors [of the study] said the situation facing young Americans might be unprecedented.”

The problem isn’t just that younger Americans don’t have the money to take that cruise around the Mediterranean they’ve been coveting. It’s also that time is a deciding factor when it comes to building wealth. The earlier you start, the better—and by extension, the longer you put it off, the less chance you have to recover.

At least we can find some comfort (there has to be some upside to this) in the fact that we aren’t struggling beneath student loan debt and stagnant wages on our own—we’re all in this together.

The post Gen Y Off the Savings Track appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/gen-y-off-the-savings-track-123/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/americans-are-doing-this-money-dont-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/americans-are-doing-this-money-dont-123/#comments Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:13:50 +0000 Jacqui Kenyon Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:13:50 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=197861 Despite the burgeoning recovery, more and more Americans find themselves taking this financial risk. More

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]]> LearnVest By Jacqui Kenyon ~

The years following the recession have certainly been years of hardship for many American families, and their financial decisions reflect that.

Last year, nearly one in three employees took a hardship loan from his or her 401(k), according to Bloomberg Businessweek. This is in spite of the economic recovery and the hefty fees that often accompany premature withdrawals from retirement accounts.

Those who took these hardship loans largely fell into one of three categories: lower-income workers, young workers and women.

Thirty-four percent of women pulled from their 401(k)s, compared with 23% of men, a larger difference than in the previous year. Forty-five percent of employees with salaries from $35,000 to $60,000 took loans from their accounts, compared to 11% of those earning $200,000 or more. Workers aged 30 to 44 increased the number of loans from their 401(k)s 10% over the previous year, from 27% in 2011 to 37% in 2012.

The post Americans Are Doing This Money Don’t appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/americans-are-doing-this-money-dont-123/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/is-your-doctor-getting-kickbacks-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/is-your-doctor-getting-kickbacks-123/#comments Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:57:02 +0000 Cheryl Lock Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:57:02 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=197773 A new database shows which physicians are paid by pharma to promote their products. Is your doc's name on this list? More

The post Is Your Doctor Getting Kickbacks? appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

Have you ever wondered if your doctor’s making money off the meds she’s telling you to use?

If you have, ProPublica’s new Dollars for Docs database, which compiles information from 15 drug companies on the doctors who receive payments to promote their products, will probably pique your interest.

According to the site, the information compiled represents $2 billion in disclosed payments from 15 companies, which accounts for approximately 47% of the total market share.

All you do is put in the information you wish to search (your doctor’s name, the hospital where you make your visits, etc.) and your state. If your doctor’s name comes up, that means she’s received money from one of the 15 participating drug companies.

According to ProPublica, “payments are legal, so it doesn’t mean your doctor has done anything wrong. But research has shown that drug company marketing can influence what a doctor prescribes, and some experts say it is cause for concern.”

If you do find out that your doctor is on the list for receiving payments from a drug company, it could be worth bringing it up. Ask if there are safe, cheaper generic options, or any other non-drug alternatives to what she’s put you on.

The post Is Your Doctor Getting Kickbacks? appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/is-your-doctor-getting-kickbacks-123/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/i-didnt-bake-the-cupcakes-how-fortune-200-coo-mom-found-balance/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/i-didnt-bake-the-cupcakes-how-fortune-200-coo-mom-found-balance/#comments Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:00:00 +0000 Alden Wicker Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:18:01 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=197322 She led a $22 billion dollar merger and managed to focus on her family, too. How did she do it? More

The post ‘I Didn’t Bake the Cupcakes’: How a Fortune 200 COO & Mom Found Balance appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Alden Wicker ~

It’s the big question that no one seems to have the answer to: How do you raise a happy family, keep your marriage strong and still propel your career forward?

Well, why not ask someone who did it?

Teresa Taylor was the first member of her family to attend college. She rose in record time through the ranks at the Fortune 200 telecommunications company Qwest to become the chief operating officer, where she successfully led her company through a $22 billion merger.

And she did all this while raising two sons with her husband of 25 years.

Fortunately, she’s sharing some of her hard-fought wisdom with us. In her new book, “The Balance Myth: Rethinking Work-Life Success,” out now, she describes her strategies and advice for balancing excelling at both your career and family life. We had a lot of questions for this Wonderwoman, which she was nice enough to answer.

Why did you decide to write this book?

One issue that holds women back is that women are searching for balance. And it’s not there, so women get frustrated or leave [work], or they step back. They don’t take a promotion or they leave the workforce completely. I was hoping to inspire women to stay in the workforce and to be successful in both their work and home life.

What advice do you have for women who feel guilty that they’re not doing enough?

Stay in the moment. When you’re at work in in a meeting, be there. When you’re at home, be there. If you’re in a business meeting, don’t be wishing to be somewhere else. Be present where you are, and don’t feel guilty.

Why do you say women should make their home life a priority?

When I struggled at work, it was a relief to go home. I looked forward to it. So if there is something wrong at home, you need to work it out. It will always be nagging at you at the office. At the end of the day, work is work. You might change jobs, companies, you may not even work at all. But your cornerstone is your home life. It’s a grounding point you can always come back to.

RELATED: Why I Sometimes Regret Being a Stay-at-Home Mom

So do you talk about your kids at work?

When I was coming up in my career in the early 80s, I thought you should keep work and family separate. You certainly don’t bring up kids in business meetings. When I reached the vice president level, it was a disaster. I was missing deadlines, life at home was a mess and I was missing my kids’ things. I was keeping two different Blackberries and two different calendars—one for home and one for work. So I put them together.

Once I put them together, it caused me to start talking about my family at work and integrating my two lives. It’s one life, one calendar. I wasn’t above asking someone to help me, and I would help them, too. I would even ask my administrative assistant to help pick up the kids after work.

People didn’t think that was odd or unprofessional?

I think people had more respect for me, because I was a human being. Other people have families too, so it opened up a conversation. I started inviting people over for a team meeting to my house instead of meeting at a café. I made work events on Saturday afternoon where everyone could bring their kids. That was a clear turning point. The performance of the teams was stronger and things at were home were better. I shared my work with my kids, too. I was working on some ads, so I would show the story boards to my kids. And when the commercials came on they would say, “Mom, Mom! Your cartoons are on TV!”

RELATED: Are You Really as Busy as You Think?

The post ‘I Didn’t Bake the Cupcakes’: How a Fortune 200 COO & Mom Found Balance appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/i-didnt-bake-the-cupcakes-how-fortune-200-coo-mom-found-balance/feed/ 3 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/tame-march-madness-and-win-with-these-4-tips/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/tame-march-madness-and-win-with-these-4-tips/#comments Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:00:00 +0000 Joey Held Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:30:48 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=196660 Joined the office March Madness pool? Here are four tips for filling out your bracket so you come out on top. More

The post Tame March Madness (and Win) With These 4 Tips appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Joey Held ~

March Madness is here, and you’re staring at the bracket with wide eyes.

You’ve decided (or were pressured—either way) to be a part of the office pool, even though you can’t differentiate between Wildcats and Bearcats.

But hey, that bracket has to get filled out, and despite your deepest fears, it’s actually not that difficult. By studying what’s happened in past tournaments, you can win your office pool, and you’ll be celebrating right along with the champions.

So read on for our tips on how to fill out your bracket, and start perfecting your victory dance.

1. Bet on Blue

What do the past nine NCAA champions have in common? They’ve all had blue as their official team color. While this year could pose a threat to this trend, with several top teams donning red and green, schools like Florida, Duke, Georgetown, Gonzaga and Kansas could easily make it an even ten years where blue reigns supreme.

2. 12 Over 5

A major factor of success in the tourney—and, by extension, your bracket—is the matchups. One of the best chances to see an upset is in the 5/12-seed matchup (in simpler terms, a team with a 5 next to its name versus a team with a 12 in front of it). The 5-seeds are always a bit overrated, while the 12-seeds are often unheralded but can more than hold their own on the court.

Since the format went to 64 teams in 1985, at least one 12-seed has beaten a 5-seed in all but three years; that’s 89% of the time. What’s more, half of those winning 12-seeds have won an additional game and made it all the way to the Sweet 16. Since most brackets use tiered scoring, you’ll earn more points for accurately predicting how far these Cinderellas will go. And more points means more money, unless you’re playing in some silly, backwards pool, but you don’t want to be a part of a pool like that, anyway. It’s your job to figure out the right squad(s) to pick—though the best bets are Oregon over Oklahoma State, and possibly California over UNLV, since the game is in San Jose, and is essentially a home game for the Bears.

3. First Four Win More…

The First Four, not to be confused with the Final Four, are the initial four games played to start the NCAA Tournament. They’re essentially play-in games, as the winner advances to play its corresponding opposing seed. Though the First Four has only been around for two tournaments, in both years a team that’s been in the “First Four” has made it beyond the first round; 12-seed South Florida upset 5-seed California in 2012, while 11-seed VCU made it all the way to the Final Four in 2011.

You can identify these First Four squads easily on your bracket, since they’ll be listed next to another team on the same line and separated only by a slash. All of the “slash” teams are the ones playing in the First Four games. Ironically, these teams are usually the last ones selected for the tournament, but maybe that gives them an extra chip on their shoulder. This year, the winner of the Middle Tennessee/St. Mary’s game has a chance of making some noise.

4. But the Top Dogs Make the Final Four

Aside from 2011, which was just a wonky year, at least one No. 1 or No. 2 seed has reached the Final Four every year. Oftentimes multiple 1 and 2-seeds make it, so “going chalk,” or routinely picking the better-seeded teams to win, isn’t a terrible idea. This is a favorite strategy of President Obama’s, though it’s often frowned upon for being boring and predictable. But the Final Four is no time to get cute—save that for the early rounds, make sure the top teams are still standing when the dust settles, and you’ll be alright.

Of course, it’s called “March Madness” for a reason, and this year especially is wide open. So when the games roll around, root for your picks, but enjoy the excitement either way. Good luck!

The post Tame March Madness (and Win) With These 4 Tips appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/tame-march-madness-and-win-with-these-4-tips/feed/ 0 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/sandberg-inspires-male-ceo/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/sandberg-inspires-male-ceo/#comments Fri, 15 Mar 2013 22:34:40 +0000 Alden Wicker Fri, 15 Mar 2013 18:34:40 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=197664 Cisco CEO says he'll "lean in." What's his plan? More

The post Sandberg Inspires Male CEO appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Alden Wicker ~

There’s a lot of women debating Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s message in her new book, “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.”

It’s been called incredibly relatable, a win, inspiring but problematic, inspirational, selfish and elitist, and the latest salvo in the war on moms. Controversy much?

But the latest person to jump in is … a male CEO. And he is nothing if not inspired and a little chastened.

In an internal email posted on All Things D, Cisco CEO John Chambers says, “While I have always considered myself sensitive to and effective on gender issues in the workplace, my eyes were opened in new ways and I feel a renewed sense of urgency to make the progress we haven’t made in the last decade.”

Now he’s instructing his top managers to read “Lean In” and come up with three to four new women-focused initiatives. It probably helped that he had his own little tete-a-tete with Sandberg as well. (We hear she’s a charming lady.)

Cisco is and isn’t an egregious anti-woman offender compared to the broad industry. While it has three female board members and its chief technology officer is a woman, as Chambers pointed out in his memo to company leaders, less than 25% of its top executives and employees are women, and 20% of its million networking academy students are women.

It will be interesting to see if, now that Chambers realized he hasn’t “consistently walked the talk,” what kind of meaningful progress Cisco can make toward raising the profile of women in the company.

Photo credit: Flickr/Orcacle_Photos_Screenshots

The post Sandberg Inspires Male CEO appeared first on LearnVest.

LearnVest is the leading lifestyle and personal finance website for women. ]]> http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/sandberg-inspires-male-ceo/feed/ 1 http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/parents-prioritize-college-123/ http://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/parents-prioritize-college-123/#comments Fri, 15 Mar 2013 21:27:42 +0000 Cheryl Lock Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:27:42 +0000 http://www.learnvest.com/?p=197209 A new survey has found that a third of parents plan to raid their retirement funds to pay for their kids' college educations. More

The post Parents Prioritize College appeared first on LearnVest.

]]> LearnVest By Cheryl Lock ~

How do you plan on paying for your child’s college tuition?

Will it be through your expertly planned out 529 account? A special savings account you’ve set aside for that goal? The envelope of cash you’ve stuffed under your mattress?

Unfortunately, according to a new study from Sallie Mae, the answer for a lot of parents is through their retirement savings. While it’s comforting that more parents reported that they are saving for their retirement than for their kid’s college (remember, you can always take out loans for college, but you can’t for retirement!), it’s disheartening that families said they often draw from those retirement plans to cover college costs.

RELATED: I Want to Open an Account to Save for College

“The economy is putting pressure on families in terms of whether they’re saving, how much they’re saving and where they’re saving,” Sarah Ducich, senior vice president for public policy at Sallie Mae told DailyFinance.

When asked to describe their feelings about saving for college, respondents in the survey said they felt overwhelmed, annoyed, frustrated, scared, or that they didn’t like thinking about it at all.

At the end of the day, 529s offer added tax incentives and a chance to grow the money you’re saving for your child’s future. You can find out more about what 529 plans are, how to set them up and what to look for in a good one here.

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