New part-time job… working the night shift?

If I ever wanted to work a part-time job with serious income potential this is it. The New York Times puts a lens on a “Night Shift | Day Trader”. Martin Morse is a young man who works as a commodities trader on the London exchange at night from home, then on the New York Mercantile Exchange during the day.

My question is – when does Mr. Morse sleep? Needless to say, I’m impressed.

Switching jobs? Make sure you read the fine print…

When considering switching jobs, especially within the same field, make sure you read the fine print of your employment manual. This would include ALL clauses especially those about non-competition and disclosure agreements.

Wikipedia on Non-Competes

Also be sure to understand how your state views non-compete agreements.  For example the state of Washington FAVORS the employer, NOT the employee (the state of California favors the employee rather than the employer).

An Example of different states’ views for non-compete agreements

Be sure to look over and read carefully what kind of agreement you are about to sign prior to ANY employement agreement. This can save you many headaches down the road. Leave nothing to chance and if you have any questions ask a trusted attorney.

When looking for an attorney I recommend hiring someone specializing in corporate law. They should also have some experience with non-compete agreements and they should be able to tell you exactly what you are about to sign. If your employer values you as a future employee, they will give you time to double check any and all binding documents prior to employement.

Good luck with the continued job search, and ALWAYS keep your eyes peeled for the fine print! ~ Iam

Prosper.com borrowers also hit by credit crunch

If people can’t pay their mortgages, why on earth would they pay back their Prosper loans? Evidence to this is my own Prosper.com portfolio, which is a mix of credit ratings:

Prosper portfolio status

And this is exactly why I am taking money out as fast as it gets paid back (which isn’t very fast at all!).

How is your Prosper portfolio doing?

529 Plan, Revisited

This is a follow-up to a previous post, 529 Plans: Another Way to Save. The day after posting I opened an Oregon 529 plan. Thus far, things have been working great. I’m automatically deducting $25 from my checking account the 15th of every month, an amount I barely notice.

Even though my portfolio is down 10.6% in the last 3 months (50/50 split between the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index and Vanguard Total Int’l Stock Index) it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside to know that I’m getting a small tax benefit this year and saving for something way, way in the future.

Washington Mutual – the next big bank to go?

If you’ve been paying attention to the US banking system you’ll know things are a mess. With IndyMac failing, a projected $4 – $8 billion, or roughly 10%, of the FDIC’s reserves will go bye-bye. Several large near-term failures will whomp the FDIC and leave citizens wondering – is my money safe?

Washington Mutual is in line to be the next big failure. Even though the bank came out today and said they were fine, Wall Street didn’t necessarily agree. The shares ended down 34.8% at $3.23. Tomorrow morning’s action on WM will shed a lot of light on what Wall Street thinks, after investors have had some time to digest everything.

My prediction? If Washington Mutual doesn’t fail by Friday, none of the big banks will. Why? Because either (1) someone bought up Wamu’s assets for pennies on the dollar or (2) the Fed stepped in (again) to provide another source of easy capital. Given the system-wide situation, I believe (2) is the likely candidate.

Let’s see what happens…

You’re not getting the job — 25 reasons why

A friend sent me this article ( LINKY ) and I thought it was great. Personally I do try and accomplish all 25 of these reasons. I will list them quickly below:

The first steps

1. Not keeping track of your accomplishments

2. Leaving on a bad note

3. Not networking

4. Only using the Internet

5. Only searching for the perfect job

The résumé and cover letter

6. Writing a generic cover letter

7. Typos

8. Including your current work info as the best place to contact you

9. Focusing on yourself and not on the company in the cover letter

10. Not targeting your résumé to the position

The interview

11. Showing up late

12. Dressing for the wrong job

13. Not asking questions

14. Badmouthing a former boss

15. Not paying attention

16. Not researching the position

17. Not researching the company

18. Forgetting common etiquette

19. Forgetting you’re being interviewed from the moment you walk in

20. Bringing up salary too soon

After the interview

21. Not sending a thank-you note

22. Being over-aggressive in follow-up

23. Not learning from your mistakes

24. Forgetting where you’ve applied and interviewed

25. Stopping your job search while you wait for a response

Admittedly, I am not an expert by any  means, however, I do feel that I have done quite well for myself for just starting out my career. Personally I think the “Interview” should be the easiest steps listed above. The information is in my opinion, common sense. As is the “Post-Interview” section, but always a good idea to re-read both and refresh.

I think that the first steps are THE MOST IMPORTANT. This is the foundation that everything is built upon. Minus my first job all of the other career opportunities have come through my ‘network’ of associates. Up The Ladder has said this before, but network, network network! Especially first starting out. Besides networking, I like to ‘update’ my personal resume every couple of months. This allows me to keep track of my work history and accomplishments while they are still fresh in my mind.

I would also have to agree with points 4 and 5, however, I would like to expand on those a little bit further. I spent 3 hours a night for about 9 weeks on Careerbuilder, Monster and other job search engines prior to graduation. For the amount of time I spent on those websites, I do not think it paid off well. Yes, the thousands of applications did lead to several interviews, but by the time someone had called me back, I had totally forgotten and lost which position I had applied for (also see point 24). This was not only embarrassing, but also my first and very large strike for that first and ONLY ‘first impression’.

Again, my network has produced more career opportunities than I ever thought imaginable. Please, keep track of your accomplishments, NETWORK, leave on not on a good note, but a great one. Your employer should shake your hand and wish you the best of luck on your next ‘journey’. If they do, you know that you have made a great impression, and well, maybe in the future your paths will cross again.

Use common sense for an interview, be on time, shower, prepare some simple questions, and pay attention. These few minutes could lead to thousands of dollars, how is that for time well spent!?

Finally, DO send hand written thank you notes (use the white pages to find an address and write down your interviewer’s name and also if you can the manager you may be working for). Never stop looking.

Happy hunting and good luck!

~ Ian

One of my favorite blogs

I love reading the “Millionaires In the Making” blog on cnn.com ( LINKY ). I really enjoy reading this blog not only because it is great to see others who are on a similar financial track as myself, but also for the simple yet informative advice at the end of each post. Again, the advice may not be earth shattering, but as I have said before, it is always good to keep your goals as a daily reminder. If you have some extra time, please give it a quick read and maybe we will be reading your story soon!

~ Ian

Simple, yet good foundational advice…

I stumbled across this article this evening as well. The article does not offer any revolutionary advice, but we should always keep that retirement carrot dangling out in front of us. I know I do. Squirrel away some money now, and hopefully retire well beyond my planned date of 2033. =)

http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/105110/Answers-to-5-Burning-401(k)-Questions;_ylt=Aupfrozzhz3x3SUln7.nvq67YWsA?mod=retirement-401k

Calendar Year Country Fund Returns: 1997-2007+

Another great article that displays country fund returns. Again, as I have mentioned before EWZ still looks pretty good. Beware however, Brazil has been getting a lot of attention and in my opinion is running the risk of being overbought.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/77694-calendar-year-country-fund-returns-1997-2007

Get a credit card, now, and use it ‘wisely’!

A few friends have asked me about my thoughts on credit cards. It is a love hate relationship, however, when used wisely credit cards can be your friend. Yes, read that one more time, credit cards CAN help your current credit score. How is this possible you wonder? Well it is important to understand your credit score.

Brankrate.com recently posted a great article here. From the chart below you can see how your personal FICO score is calculated.

If you notice that 50% of your credit score is based upon your payment history and the length of your accounts. What does this mean? It means, you need to go open a line of credit yesterday, and make timely payments on that line of credit consistently. This is where the love/hate relationship shall ensue. You have a large amount of money ‘available’ for your disposal, however, please use it responsibly. As seen from above 30% of your credit score is based upon how much you currently owe or are ‘leveraged’. For a more detailed article on your FICO score check out the following link.

If in the market for a new credit card (because you do not currently have one, or you are looking for a card with more options) I would look here (creditcardratings.com).

I like this site because it allows me to browse several cards based upon certain criteria (low APR, rewards, or cash back) all at the same time.

So, if you are in the market for a credit card, or have wondered about how those late payments may be affecting you later, I hope the above articles helped. ~ Ian