In adulthood comes different obstacles and problems. This past Friday, I was faced with one of the major ones: I was let go from the company after working with them for two years.
The company had been doing very badly in recent months, and we didn't have any projects coming up until November. I had been mentally preparing myself for the layoff, and was actually surprised to have seen my employment follow into the new year.
Yet, regardless of the situation, I am doing very well; I am not stressed or nervous. I am very calm because my bosses have given me the opportunity to work 2 days a week with them while I find a permanent job elsewhere. That, and they have also agreed to continue paying my health insurance.
In the meantime, I'll be babysitting my sisters on the weekends for a few extra bucks, and looking for a new job online. I've already updated my resume during the weekend and sent it off to two job postings I came across on Craigslist. Sebastian helped me out with the update, and made me see that I had many more skills than I was aware of. His feedback truly made me feel better about myself.
I'm also looking at applying for a temporary job as a Census Taker for this year's Census. It offers a very attractive pay rate, and goes for 5 to 10 weeks; And they are really in need of bilingual people.
Luckily I have enough in savings to keep me afloat for awhile, but I also have to set a limit and be realistic in this whole job search. I hope I'm not out of a job for more than a month.
And yes, the gym is still a go!
Showing posts with label finance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finance. Show all posts
Monday, February 1, 2010
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A financial move that really doesn't make sense
The original article was seen on Yahoo the other day: 6 financial moves that sound good but aren't
I regularly read articles about personal finance on MSN and Yahoo. Most of the time, I end up following their suggestions and I also learn new things. #6 listed left me scratching my head:
"Paying Off a Major Loan in One Payment
Advantages: You've been working hard and saving – smart! Before your loans start accumulating interest, or even if they have, you decide to pay them off in one payment. That's a wonderful accomplishment that will save you months', or years' worth of interest.
Downside: If you choose this route, make sure you take a look at your interest rate. Some loans have such a low interest rate that you'd be better off putting your money in a savings account that earns you a higher return and paying off your debt monthly. Keep in mind this is only a good idea if 1) your savings interest rate is higher than your debt interest rate and 2) you are disciplined enough to pay the debt off on time, every month, and not to spend your hard-earned cash on luxuries instead. The bonus? Responsibly paying off monthly debt helps you to establish a good credit history. This is especially helpful if you don't have a credit history (or you are trying to rebuild a bad one)."
Here are some rates from the major US banks. Keep in mind that these rates are for simple savings account, and most banks require a checking account in conjunction.
With Bank of America, "interest is compounded daily and paid monthly." Regular Savings Account Interest Rate is 0.10%
Wells Fargo: 0.05% Compounded Daily. The interest rate increases an extra 0.10% if you have a Prime Checking Account with them, and also an extra 0.40% if you have a balance over $25,000.
J.P.Morgan Chase is a bit more competitive: for balances $0-$9,999 the APY is 0.10%, balances $10,000-$24,999 it jumps to 0.35%, and continues increasing 0.15% each time it doubles the previous tier.
However, the highest I've seen was with Citigroup. They can offer 1.25% APY with a minimum balance of $100.
Now I don't know of a single bank that will give you a loan for under 1%. If you do- shout it out! The only ones that will are for their introductory offers- the ones for 0%, and it's not a loan, it's basically a line of credit that will only last 12 months. Ok, that would make sense, but only until you pay off the balance in full by the end of the offer. And granted you aren't late on a single payment, or else they will rescind the offer, charge with a late fee, and charge you the interest you've accumulated since your purchase. This happened to me with Bank of America. I made the payment on the day it was due, but at 5pm Central time. Their cutoff time was 3pm Eastern time.
I was able to fight off the late payment fee of $39, but I lost my 0% APR offer. You can bet your ass I paid off my balance within 2 months to avoid payment interest when I had the money handy.
So theoretically it is acceptable not to pay off a credit card if its interest rate is lower than what a savings account will give you, but where do you find such a bank??
I regularly read articles about personal finance on MSN and Yahoo. Most of the time, I end up following their suggestions and I also learn new things. #6 listed left me scratching my head:
"Paying Off a Major Loan in One Payment
Advantages: You've been working hard and saving – smart! Before your loans start accumulating interest, or even if they have, you decide to pay them off in one payment. That's a wonderful accomplishment that will save you months', or years' worth of interest.
Downside: If you choose this route, make sure you take a look at your interest rate. Some loans have such a low interest rate that you'd be better off putting your money in a savings account that earns you a higher return and paying off your debt monthly. Keep in mind this is only a good idea if 1) your savings interest rate is higher than your debt interest rate and 2) you are disciplined enough to pay the debt off on time, every month, and not to spend your hard-earned cash on luxuries instead. The bonus? Responsibly paying off monthly debt helps you to establish a good credit history. This is especially helpful if you don't have a credit history (or you are trying to rebuild a bad one)."
Here are some rates from the major US banks. Keep in mind that these rates are for simple savings account, and most banks require a checking account in conjunction.
With Bank of America, "interest is compounded daily and paid monthly." Regular Savings Account Interest Rate is 0.10%
Wells Fargo: 0.05% Compounded Daily. The interest rate increases an extra 0.10% if you have a Prime Checking Account with them, and also an extra 0.40% if you have a balance over $25,000.
J.P.Morgan Chase is a bit more competitive: for balances $0-$9,999 the APY is 0.10%, balances $10,000-$24,999 it jumps to 0.35%, and continues increasing 0.15% each time it doubles the previous tier.
However, the highest I've seen was with Citigroup. They can offer 1.25% APY with a minimum balance of $100.
Now I don't know of a single bank that will give you a loan for under 1%. If you do- shout it out! The only ones that will are for their introductory offers- the ones for 0%, and it's not a loan, it's basically a line of credit that will only last 12 months. Ok, that would make sense, but only until you pay off the balance in full by the end of the offer. And granted you aren't late on a single payment, or else they will rescind the offer, charge with a late fee, and charge you the interest you've accumulated since your purchase. This happened to me with Bank of America. I made the payment on the day it was due, but at 5pm Central time. Their cutoff time was 3pm Eastern time.
I was able to fight off the late payment fee of $39, but I lost my 0% APR offer. You can bet your ass I paid off my balance within 2 months to avoid payment interest when I had the money handy.
So theoretically it is acceptable not to pay off a credit card if its interest rate is lower than what a savings account will give you, but where do you find such a bank??
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