Hope for Millennials?

I was recently inspired by this article highlighting the future planning tendencies of the millennial generation, a generation in which I find myself in towards the upper echelon.  The article explains how the millennial generation is turning out to be much more forward thinking in terms of finances than their parents, and are at least planning for retirement now.  With all the hate from TIME Magazine, it’s nice to see some bright spots about my peers. 

Some encouraging stats from this article indicate that a full 91% of millennials with jobs earning at least $50k contribute to their employer’s 401k plan.  Since this is essentially free money, I was shocked to think that 9% don’t.  What is even more shocking is at that age and demographic, only 40% of Baby Boomers were contributing to their 401k!

I think there is a couple things going on here that might explain this situation.  The article touches on one of them, and that’s that this generation has lived through 2 big economic crashes which leaves a lasting impression on individuals just entering the job market.  Watching their parents go through some despondent times can make one want to be a little more careful with their hard-earned funds.  The second theory I have is that Baby Boomers were always lead on to believe that their company’s pensions would take care of them just like their parents.  As globalism kicked into full steam, many were shocked and horrified to see their pension plans dissolve.  Millennials were never brought up in a world where a pension was even an option.  On top of all that, social security might not even be available, or at least not in the robustness it currently stands at.  Millennials therefore have to save on their own if they are going to have any sort of future retirement. 

A healthy savings rate is crucial to the stability of any economy.  I hope that if you are currently not participating in your employer’s 401k plan that you would reshuffle your budget and start contributing now.  You are leaving free money on the table.

Overall, this article left me hopeful for the future, and I hope it did for you too.

Wonderful Moment of the Day: Lying in the grass.

Home Owner's Shenanigans Conclusion!

Finally, it's all over and I can continue with my life!  If you are not familiar with the slightly dramatic saga of my home owner's insurance policy, then feel free to read here and here.  Needless to say, it was quite a bit stressful and I finally got my act in gear to get everything taken care of.

If you recall from my earlier posts, I had a series of fixes that needed to occur on my property in order for my insurance company to renew me for another year.  Not wanting to have to go through with the burden of finding another insurance company again at the nice price I currently had, I decided that it would make sense to follow through with the fixes.  Besides just complying with the insurance company, the fixes seemed reasonable and were probably needed anyway.  Well, in my blunderous nature, I mistook the due date that these improvements had to be completely as the date that my insurance policy would be canceled.  I actually completed all these requests about a month ago and thought I had until July 1st to get the paperwork in.

Then I got the letter in the mail; "Your policy is being canceled for failure to comply".  Panicked, I called the insurance company, informed them of my situation, and was promptly told that I needed to mail in proof of these repairs ASAP.  At least this type of work is where I excel.  I took some pictures, copied receipts, and put together a 3 page PowerPoint detailing the repairs.  I then expedited the mailing and just received notice that the Insurance company has forgiven me and will renew my contract.

In all this hustle and bustle  I've learned two very important lessons; the first being to read a little more careful, and the second being to never underestimate the power of organization and human intervention. Believe it or not, there is usually a person behind every bill you pay, and it's worth it sometimes appealing to the human side of the company.  At least now, I can sit back and relax knowing that in case of fire, my financial life is not destroyed.

Wonderful Moment of the Day: Got out of work 2 hours early!

Happy Mother's Day Plus Twins

Even though it's the day after Mother's Day, all you Mother's out there should get another greeting since you went through so much raising your children.  With that in mind, I have my own special news in that my Wife and I will be expecting our first children come December!  When I say, children, I found out a couple weeks ago that it is actually twins!  You can imagine my surprise.

As you can believe, I'm the planning type, and with this special news, it throws all my plans around like a brick in a dryer.  Needless to say, I think some of my skills will come in handy over the next 6-7 months.  Foremost, are my research skills; I've already started scoping out the best strollers, car seats, and so forth.  I feel that when the time comes, I'll know as much as possible on the subject.  Secondly, my planning will come in handy for financial means.  Two added mouths and all the stuff we will need to purchase will put a whole bunch of pressure on our wallet.  Luckily, we've got an emergency fund, and there is enough time for me to start saving for all this expense.

With all this in mind, we'll see how everything goes.

Wish me luck!

Wonderful Moment of the Day: Do I need anymore?

Rolling with the Punches and Dealing with Stress

What stress’s you out? When you think about your life, and all your experiences, what is the one or many instances in which you were so stressed, that you wanted to scream at the top of your lungs?  Some people might list such events as fighting with your spouse, kids, getting into a car crash, or especially having to call the cable company.  Whatever it might be, learning what stresses you and how to deal with it is a skill that is easy to learn but takes a lifetime to master.

It’s funny how my Wife and I have such different ideas of what makes us stressed out.  For her, it’s the big things in life.  A few years back, she was side-swiped in a car accident which caused her some very stressful nights.  Other things include paying the bills and financial management.  Luckily, I don’t mind most of this stuff and gladly manage it for our family.  It’s these large (and hopefully rare) disasters which stress her out the most.  I can totally understand where this is coming from, but for some reason, I don’t usually get too bothered by these.  She has even commented to me in the past “Why are you so calm about this?”  In my mind, these type of disasters are largely unavoidable; there is nothing you could have done to not have this situation happen.  For me, stress is all about woulda, shoulda, and coulda.  I could have studied a little harder for the test.  I should have cut that tree branch down before it fell on the house, etc…  In cases like a car crash, there is very little you could have done to make the situation safer and change the other driver’s habit. 

What stresses me out to no end are the little things in life like leaving the kitchen counter dirty.  These things just grind at your soul and are completely avoidable; there is no reason to ever have to worry about this stuff.  All this is a character flaw of myself and I acknowledge it.  What is important is that I don’t lose perspective in these situations.  What you are complaining and raging about is really a minor problem in the scheme of life.  Bumps and hiccups will come along the road of life, and what truly defines you as a person is what you do and how you handle yourself in these difficult situations. 

Whenever you are stressed to no end, take a mental step back and look at the big picture.  Does your problem seem that important now? 

Wonderful Moment of the Day: Happy Graduation Weekend to all you college graduates out there!

Getting Focused

With all the possibilities that life holds for you in your future, one of your biggest enemies in your quest for greatness is closer to home than you may think.  Procrastination is a terrible problem that if left unchecked will deny you from living to your potential; promotions will be passed over you, and opportunities will be missed.  With that in mind, here are some ways I've managed to maintain focus in my own career.

1.) Vary the assignments: You've been working on this big report for the past two hours and now feel drained.  For some reason, you just can't seem to get around to finishing it.  It's quite possible that you're just bored from working on the same thing for so long.  Instead, try mixing things up for a bit and work on another assignment for 30 minutes or so.  This will allow your brain to switch gears and hopefully get that much needed kick start so that you can return to your original assignment with verve and vigor.

2.) Get up and stretch: If you have the privilege of working in a sedentary job, then you might be forced to sit at a cube all day.  May sure you get up and stretch at least once every hour.  You need to get blood flowing back into your legs and other extremities, otherwise over time you could develop blood clots.  One way to give yourself an excuse to get up is to drink a whole bunch of water which will make you go to the bathroom.  Hopefully your bathroom is on the other side of the building.

3.) Listen to some music:  Sometimes your work environment can be distracting with the noise of multiple conversations, computers humming, printers printing, and telephones ringing.  This can cause a type of dissonance in your mind which may be very distracting.  Try listening to some music (preferably via headphones).  Music will not only cut out the cacophony, but will allow you to focus more on just one noise.  This often clears my mind and lets me focus on the task at hand.

4.) Take a walk: Finally, when all else fails, I need to take a walk.  A walk is a chance to literally and figuratively take your mind away from the situation at hand.  It gives you a chance to contemplate your problems before you and explore solutions that you might have not otherwise thought of.

Don't let procrastination rule your life.  Try some of the above tactics next time your having problems with getting things done.

Wonderful Moment of the Day: Playing with my cat in the yard.

Causes of Trouble When Starting a Business

If you ever think about starting your own business, well then I salute you good sir, because you are an enterprising individual!  Often times, entrepreneurs don't understand the common causes that may give them trouble in the near future.  When assessing your opportunity for a future business, it helps to know the issues that could cause problems in the future.  With that said, here's a pretty exhaustive list of potential ways entrepreneurs can get in trouble:

Strategic Issues:
1.) Misunderstand market niche
2.) Mismanaged relationships with suppliers and customers
3.) Diversification into an unrelated business area
4.) Mousetrap myopia: Starting a firm around an idea instead of an opportunity
5.) The big project: Company gears up for a big project without first examining the cash flows of the initiative
6.) Lack of contingency planning

Leadership Issues:
1.) Lack of leadership skills, experience, and know-how
2.) Weak finance function
3.) Turnover in key management personnel
4.) Big-company influence in accounting: focus on accruals instead of cash

Poor Planning, and Financial Controls:
1.) Poor pricing, and over-extension of credit
2.) Poor cash management
3.) Poor management reporting
4.) Lack of standard costing

As a potential business starter, its important for you to foresee these issues and approach them head-on.  If you do, your enterprise is far more likely to succeed and may even thrive.

Wonderful Moment of the Day: Spring tulips

Sell in May and Go Away

The old stock market adage of "Sell in May and Go Away" has its roots in the idea that many wall street traders and other money managers will usually take a vacation in the Spring/Summer months and therefre returns are far less in that time frame than the November to April returns.  With the advent of automated trading and discount online brokerages, this saying is far less true, but there are some aspects that should "go away".

One way to approach the concept of May is to "Go Away" from all the investing and financial planning you ususally do.  What I mean by this, is that you should pretty much have your retirement planning on autopilot, and shouldn't have to do much in this regards besides the occasional portfolio rebalancing.  With that in mind, it is definitely harder to stay indoors when the weather is nice out.  So, wait until November to rebalance your portfolio or make a bulk contribution to your IRA. 

All work and no play will leave you drained.  Everyone tries to take a vacation when the weather is nice, but intead of asking yourself where you want to go, think of a vacation that will provide the least amount of stress.  Booking airfare, traveling, and seeing family can all be great sources of stress to different people.  If you are living an active and busy life, finding time to unwind and de-stress is a rare opportunity.  Instead, think of a vacation that will leave you reenergized and ready to come back. 

Summer time is also the perfect time for our teenager or child to start to learn about the working world.  Many times, parents will leave their teenager to their own devices to find a summer job.  These kids have never had to find a job, and usually don't know the first thing on whether there are good opportunities out there.  You should take the time to help your child find a good job or internship.  It my seem like a mild source of improvement now, but it will pay off later in life.

Whether you go away in may literally, financially, or even mentally, the late Spring and Summer weather gives plenty of opportunities to reenergize your life.  Think smart, focus on a couple, and improve your life!

Wonderul Moment of the Day: Just bought a rope chain saw, and am excited to cut down some high over-hanging branches.