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PallaDinero

Personal Finance, Budgeting, Retirement, Student Loan & Lifestyle Advice and Commentary

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Emergency Fund

Emergency Fund

May 5, 2017 by palladinero Leave a Comment

Saving money for a rainy day is a tenet I have heard since childhood. I always saved any money that I got for Christmas, my birthday or any graduation. I would often save to buy a video game or a movie, so I didn’t spend it on anything important or extravagant, I guess I’m still the same way.

I think saving extra money is necessary, however, I am not a big believer in having a large emergency fund. What is the difference if you keep money in a savings account and then having a substantial amount that is strictly labeled as a dedicated “emergency fund”. You may fall into the trap of never touching an extra $10,000 when you can invest that into a home or your retirement.

What I do recommend is a smaller emergency cash fund kept in your house or apartment. A car repair, blackout or any other emergency are reasons to have cash on hand. Bad and unexpected things happen all the time and we need to be prepared.

Wakeup Call

During Superstorm Sandy my neighborhood was without power for several days, so stores only accepted cash for purchases. Fortunately I had a few hundred at home so I didn’t have to worry about money that week. A few years prior would have been bad news for me. In my early 20’s I would only keep about $20 at home, which was not a smart idea. I never thought about bad things happening to me or my neighborhood. But that’s a typical mindset at that age.

How much do you need?

If you do not have a car and rent I would recommend $500. That should be more than enough to cover food, local transportation, clothing and supplies for a week.

If you own a car or a house I would recommend $1,500 because, as some of us know, car repairs can be costly and it helps to pay in cash because it may be cheaper. And this amount will allow you to at least put money down so that the mechanic will start working on your car. This will also work with home repairs. Also carpenters, plumbers and handymen will start work if you give them cash as a show of good faith. 

Rules to adhere

Sock away a minimum $100 a month until you reach your goal. And remember that this fund is only for an emergency and not meant for weekend fun. Should you ever have to use the money for an emergency, remember to replenish it. At this time you should kind of think of it as a company petty cash, which needs to be replenished to ensure that it’s fully funded. Again, put at least $100 a month back into it until fully funded.

The amounts that I mentioned can and should be adjusted to your individual needs. My recommended amounts might be too low or too high for some of you. I believe this is a reasonable amount to have and fully understand why people do keep larger funds. But I am not convinced that is the best way to go about it.

When did you feel the need to have an emergency fund? How did you calculate how much you need?

Mike

PS: I can be found on Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook

Personal Capital – Before Personal Capital, I had to log into 5 different financial institutions to track my account balances. My finances were scattered but that is no longer the case. Now I can just log into Personal Capital to see how everything is doing in one place. Some of you might need some organization and Personal Capital will help you with that.

MDD Hosting – I am big proponent of using MDD Hosting as my website server. Their tech support is helpful, especially if you are a newbie to website building. I could not be happier with their service and so will you.

StudioPress – I bought the Going Green theme from this site because I loved the layout and colorization. It is advertised for Environmentalist organizations but I loved it because it’s the color of money. There are many other Themes to choose from, so take a tour and see if any of them can help you with your site.

Budgeting Tagged: Budgeting, Emergency Fund, Home Ownership, Rent, Renting, Savings

Happy Anniversary 2017

Happy Anniversary 2017

May 2, 2017 by palladinero 2 Comments

I know that I took some time off from when I started this site, but I did want to celebrate its 1 year anniversary.

When I started this site I envisioned writing 2-3 articles every week and interacting with my followers on a daily basis. Unfortunately that did not happen last year and I’m determined to maintain that schedule this time around.

What happened was that after I got married I got caught up with being a newlywed and ignored the site. I should have devoted at least one day a week to update the site but never did.

Since restarting this last week I have gained 25 followers on Twitter, 100 followers on Instagram, 10 followers on Pinterest and zero followers on Google +. I need to figure out a way to increase interactions and traffic on Pinterest and Google +. I only update them whenever I have a new post and I never had much interaction on those 2 sites. Any suggestions for Pinterest and Google +?

I also have Snapchat and Facebook profiles. I’m not sure how Snapchat will help me because I am not used to using video in my personal life, I prefer pictures. How do you use them? Do you get a lof interactions?

I am satisfied with the number of comments, likes and messages that I have received so far. Taking a year long break was not the best way to maintain followers and interest from the ones that I had. I’m grateful for all of you who did not unfollow my social media profiles. All of you provide such good content and feedback. I am especially inspired by the sites on my blogroll. I read them every day and try to participate in the comment section.

Thank you for all of your support and feedback.

Do any of you reflect on your sites’ history? How was your fist year running a site/blog? Did any of you take a break from writing?

Mike 

PS: I can be found on Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook

Personal Capital – Before Personal Capital, I had to log into 5 different financial institutions to track my account balances. My finances were scattered but that is no longer the case. Now I can just log into Personal Capital to see how everything is doing in one place. Some of you might need some organization and Personal Capital will help you with that.

MDD Hosting – I am big proponent of using MDD Hosting as my website server. Their tech support is helpful, especially if you are a newbie to website building. I could not be happier with their service and so will you.

StudioPress – I bought the Going Green theme from this site because I loved the layout and colorization. It is advertised for Environmentalist organizations but I loved it because it’s the color of money. There are many other Themes to choose from, so take a tour and see if any of them can help you with your site.

Student Loan Tagged: Blog, Blogging, Palladinero, Social Media, Writing

College Graduate Employment

College Graduate Employment

May 1, 2017 by palladinero 2 Comments

Getting your first job is an exhilarating feeling, well at least it was for me. When I got my job off from Big Retail it was a feeling that I will never forget. During the interviewing process I felt like I did well and showed enthusiasm for the job. I received formal letter on company letterhead saying that they wanted me to work for them. Amazing. I felt like an adult because I would not need to rely on parents for financial and residential support. 

Back in 2000-2004

The job market for a finance major back in 2000 was strong but I had some cold feet due to stock market instability and “irrational exuberance”. So I decided to take a chance with Big Retail and work on the selling floor as a manager. I lasted over 4 years and was able to get promoted to Corporate Life and haven’t looked back. 

After 9/11 quite a few of my fellow college graduates lost their jobs due to the financial insecurity several big companies felt. At my company we hired more seasonal workers than usual to help out the NYC economy. So I was fortunate to have some level of job security for a few years.

What I see now

Nowadays college grads face numerous obstacles getting their first job. It’s not enough to have a bachelor’s degree anymore for some fields. Employers want work experience, a paid internship and/or a degree from a prestigious school. 

I see plenty of college grads working as baristas, sales associates or low level administrative jobs. However recent data does show an uptick in salary. Graduates with degrees in engineering, computer science and accounting are getting better starting salaries than in recent years. Graduates with liberal arts degrees are having a harder time though. As I reference earlier, liberal arts majors are having a harder time finding higher wage employment.

The one thing that I have to mention is the effect student loan debt has on recent graduates. I cannot imagine having a $100,000 debt right after graduation. 

Advice for upcoming Grads

If you graduating in the next couple of years my advice would be to get an internship and network with with alumni groups and recent college grads in your social circle. I would also clean up all social media accounts and get rid of all embarrassing photos and political posts. Create a LinkedIn profile to highlight your skills. Be persistent and send out resumes to every company your interested in your field. 

How was the job market when you graduated? Did you get a job right away right away?

Mike 

PS: I can be found on Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook

Personal Capital – Before Personal Capital, I had to log into 5 different financial institutions to track my account balances. My finances were scattered but that is no longer the case. Now I can just log into Personal Capital to see how everything is doing in one place. Some of you might need some organization and Personal Capital will help you with that.

MDD Hosting – I am big proponent of using MDD Hosting as my website server. Their tech support is helpful, especially if you are a newbie to website building. I could not be happier with their service and so will you.

StudioPress – I bought the Going Green theme from this site because I loved the layout and colorization. It is advertised for Environmentalist organizations but I loved it because it’s the color of money. There are many other Themes to choose from, so take a tour and see if any of them can help you with your site.

Career Tagged: Career, career advice, employment, First Job, internship, LinkedIn, Resume, Student Loan

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