#vacation #TimeOffWork #TimeOff #vacations
You may go on vacation to refresh and recharge.
You may take a vacation to catch up on chores at home.
Mostly, though, you go on vacation to get away from work.
Yet, 63 percent of professionals cut their vacations short because of pressures at work.
So says a statistic published by USA Today. It was also published Monday, Nov. 18, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
One can read a lot into that number. The employee may be frightened about losing his or her job. The employer hates it when key employees take time off, so they pile up the work for that employee while he or she is gone.
Or, companies run with so few employees that when one is gone, the whole operation suffers.
Here’s something to ponder, if you are an employee: your employer gives you vacation time as a benefit in hopes that you will use that time to relax and come back raring to perform.
Use that time to its fullest, if you know you will never get it back. In some cases, it may pay off for employees to “save” their vacation time to get a nice payoff when they retire. Most employers, though, don’t offer that. For most, it’s use it or lose it. For those, not using vacation time puts money back in the employer’s pocket.
Still, there could be some very good reasons to cut one’s vacation short. Perhaps there is a co-worker facing a grave illness and doesn’t have enough vacation time to get paid for all the time off he or she will need to fight that illness. Perhaps the healthier workers may want to donate some of their time to that person.
A hurricane or some other disaster could strike your place of business while you are away. It may be important for you to get back and help get the business back on its feet.
But just because your employer doesn’t WANT you to use all your vacation, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. If an employer lets you go because you used your vacation, legal action is possible. Or, better yet, find a better place to work.
What if you could go on vacation worry-free, with no pressure on you to return until YOU want to? One might call that financial independence. There are many vehicles out there that potentially could give you the ability to one day fire your boss, and go on vacation whenever you wish, for as long as you wish.
But, you have to be willing to look at something that may be outside of your comfort zone – something you could do part time, without affecting what you are doing now. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Meanwhile, if you have a job in which you can just be off, where no one really replaces you and there is no pile of work sitting on your desk when you return, consider yourself fortunate. Or, to put it another way, you can perhaps consider yourself expendable and you might need a little more job security.
One of the definitions of job security is whether your boss has to replace you while you are gone.
But regardless of your job situation, using your vacation time is money in YOUR pocket. Cutting your vacation short puts money back in your boss’ pocket.
So, take time off if you can get it. Enjoy. Use all that your employer gives you. It’s time you will NEVER get back.
Peter
Author Archives: pbilodeau01
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
#baseball #BaseballSeason #TroublesInBaseball #HopeSpringsEternal
This time of year, hope springs eternal for every baseball fan.
Spring training has started. The first pitch of the regular season is just around the corner.
Yet, as USA Today columnist Bob Nightengale writes, all is not well in the baseball world. His column on the subject also ran Feb. 22, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
One star free agent, Manny Machado, just signed the richest contract in Major League Baseball history. He’ll play for the San Diego Padres for $300 million.
Still, other star free agents are still unsigned. Some of them, Nightengale writes, have few teams bidding on their services.
And, there’s talk of s players strike in 2021.
Players, and probably fans, wonder why these stars still linger on the market so close to the beginning of the season.
Aren’t the teams still in competition with one another? Don’t they want to suit up the best team at the start of the season so they have a shot at getting to, or winning, the World Series?
Long-term contracts for stars used to be the norm. But with the prospect of injury, a risk that a “star” will not be a star anymore after getting all that security, are keeping owners, in many cases, from betting big on one or two players. They prefer short-term deals, just in case.
Yes, even highly paid athletes undergo on-the-job issues. They may pale in comparison to the issues in your world, but still …
If you find yourself in a situation in which the good times seemed to have disappeared, the ballplayers are feeling the same thing, perhaps on a different level.
The ballplayers may think that going on strike in a couple of years will solve their problems. You may not have that ability.
But you still have to take matters into your own hands.
If your world is no longer what it was, YOU have to change it.
Are you not making enough money? Is your job to your liking? Is your job, and other life events, eating your time alive? Do you long for a different lifestyle?
If you answered no to the first two, and yes to the second two, know that there are many vehicles out there that can put more money in your pocket, and more time in your life to do what YOU want.
To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Remember, times change and, in this day and age, quite frequently. Gravy trains eventually slow, and even come to a stop.
Promises that you perhaps have relied on through life can be broken. What you were hired to do may change.
People need to be open to things they may not have ever dreamed of doing. If they are not, they may be left behind.
So pencil yourself into the lineup and take your turn at bat. You may never play baseball for a living, but you can still make your life a real hit, or even a home run.
Peter
WAGES RISING, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO KEEP UP WITH COSTS
#RisingCosts #WageIncreases #ImprovingEconomy
The economy is improving.
Therefore, interest rates are rising.
Therefore, wages are increasing as unemployment is decreasing.
Therefore, costs of just about everything is rising, which may be canceling out wage increases for many.
In its Weekly Explainer, published Oct. 29, 2018, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution took on this subject, largely quoting economist Aaron Sojourner of the University of Minnesota.
Sojourner spent a year as part of the Council of Economic Advisers in Washington.
The unemployment rate is now as low as it has been since the dot-com boom. Yet, it’s really hard for a lot of people to get a meaningful raise, which is defined as exceeding the price increases of necessities, the article says.
Real average hourly earnings, meaning wages adjusted for inflation, in August for all employees are up 0.1 percent, the article quotes the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall prices have increased by the same amount during the same time period, the article says.
“On average, most workers were running in place,” the article reads.
Moreover, for ordinary workers over the last year, real average hourly earnings actually decreased 0.1 percent, the article quotes the BLS.
If you are an average worker, whether or not you have gotten a raise recently, you probably feel that you can’t get ahead.
Sure, employers are fighting over a finite labor pool, poaching even within a restaurant chain, some of which have eased their rules against that.
So one may end up going from one job to another, doing pretty much the same work, and might see $1 an hour more. But if the cost of what you have to buy is increasing by that much, you may think it’s better to keep up than to fall behind – and it is.
So what’s a person who really wants to get ahead to do? That depends on whether that person is willing to look at things that can put extra money in his or her pocket, without interfering with what he or she is doing now.
That doesn’t mean a second, relatively low-paying job. It means looking at something that could dramatically change your life for the better.
There are many such vehicles out there that potentially can do that. To check out one of the best, message me.
Meanwhile, keep your eyes open for a better-paying job. Look at doing something you may never have thought you would do. Rather than complain about how things are, do something to make your life better.
Though employers may look desperate for help in some areas, there’s only so much they are going to pay for that help. No matter how much your boss may like you, if you threaten to go, there’s only so many inducements he or she will offer to convince you to stay. Try not to make such a decision on emotion. Always have your mind on what would be best for you.
When unemployment is down, wages go up, and prices go up to pay those higher wages. It’s a progression you cannot stop. But you can look at things that, with a little effort outside of your job, and a strong goal for your life, can allow you to reach your dream.
Peter
HIGH STRESS ABOUT FUTURE
#FutureOfAmerica #FutureOfUS #MyPersonalFuture #StressAboutFuture
More than two-thirds of Americans are stressed about the future of the country.
So says the American Psychological Association’s annual “Stress in America” survey.
Isaac Stanley-Becker discussed the survey in a Washington Post article, also published Oct. 31, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Though the article focuses on politics, let’s step back and discuss stress in one’s own life, and how to combat it.
First, we have to know what makes us stressful. Certainly, it can be the political environment, but the country has survived – and thrived – despite any politician.
More likely, though, we have things in our own lives stressing us, and we use politics as a blame outlet.
One stressor could be a job. Some people are overworked, underpaid and have no time to enjoy what really matters to them.
Others worry that a good situation that they have at work – no matter how much they might complain about it – could disappear tomorrow.
Still others are stressed by family or other personal circumstances.
Generally, stress doesn’t get rid of itself. Either the stressor goes away, and is replaced by something better or more pleasant, or the person finds a way to relieve the stress.
For many, when one stressor goes, another steps in. That’s why people can’t depend on good fortune to strip them from stressors, although, if it comes, good fortune is usually appreciated.
Usually, some type of action is required to remove stress, or at least minimize it.
What kind of action? It might be to look for a better situation. Good fortune comes to those who prepare for it, so by looking for a better situation, you are preparing to find it.
Family or personal situations are a bit more delicate. You can’t erase your family. But there may be situations that you can remove yourself from. Then, you have to keep from being sucked back into such vortexes.
If you believe your job is threatened, or if you have a job that is eating you alive, there could be a simpler way of removing that stress.
Look at how you spend your non-work time. Family and recreation can be important stress relievers, but you might consider spending a few, part-time hours a week pursuing a completely different goal.
There are many vehicles out there that can enable a person to supplement, even replace, an income by spending a few part-time hours a week. Though they don’t involve a “second job,” there is work involved. But the rewards can be life-changing for the person who really needs to remove stress from his or her life.
To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
As for the future of America, there is a lot more good out there than bad. Though the bad stuff gets more publicity, and rightfully so, the good things often go unnoticed, at least by a wide audience.
One way to ease any stress about America’s future may be to go look for those good things. Take a walk in the woods, observe the beauty, and see what destination finds you. You may find that walking back to your originating point is completely unappealing.
As you make your journey, take care not to overlook what could be good for your life.
Peter
DRUG PRICES ALL OVER THE MAP
#PrescriptionDrugPrices #DrugPrices #PrescriptionPrices
Stephanie Garman picked up her prescription at CVS one day.
This time, she took a look at the receipt.
Retail price: $355.99
Her amount due: $3.47
In other words, she paid a1 percent co-pay for her relatively expensive drug.
David Lazarus took on this subject in an article for the Los Angeles Times. It was also published Oct. 8, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Someone is obviously benefiting from this, but I don’t know who,” Lazarus quotes Garman.
Garman obviously had good insurance. “The purpose of insurance is to protect patients from the full cost of medical care at the point they need it,” Lazarus quotes Patricia M. Danzon, a professor of health care management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “An insured patient never faces full price,” Danzon is quoted as saying.
Lazarus also quotes Amy Davidoff, a senior research scientist at the Yale School of Public Health, calling drug pricing “a black-box negotiation process” between drug makers, insurers, and middlemen – called pharmacy benefit managers – who haggle behind closed doors over how money changes hands.
Patients who have good insurance can purchase drugs blissfully ignorant of how much drugs cost. Patients without insurance get billed the full rate. If they can’t afford the medication, drug makers often have programs for such people to get their medications at costs they can afford.
We won’t get into the complications of pricing drugs, other than to say that drug makers want to get back the cost of developing the drug, which can take years or even decades, and the cost of getting the necessary regulatory approval, marketing the drug to prescribers etc. – as well as make a profit.
They will hire the benefit managers to negotiate the prices with various prescriber networks, and to supply those networks.
Not everyone is charged the same price. It can depend on volume, which network you are in etc.
Bear in mind, too, that largely happens only in the United States. Other countries with single-payer health systems tell the drug makers what THEY will pay for medications.
Since drug makers make their largest profit in the U.S., they don’t want this system to go away. They know that those who really need their drugs will do whatever they must to get them, even if it means going broke.
This is a tough problem to solve. We want to keep the drug makers actively doing research to find new therapies for various diseases. We want to make drugs as affordable as possible. At the same time, we want to make health insurance as affordable as possible.
One thing the average person can do: look for different ways to make money so that if a big illness requiring expensive treatment hits you or your family, the cost will be less painful. There are several vehicles out there for putting a good bit of extra money in the pockets of those willing to explore them. To check out one of the best, message me.
Meanwhile, we need to continue to look for ways for people to get well without having to liquidate their retirement savings, sell their homes or sell valuable family heirlooms at pennies on the dollar, just to pay medical bills.
With all the ingenuity we have in the U.S., someone certainly can find a way to do that, whi8le satisfying all concerned.
Peter
BANKROLLING ADULT CHILDREN
#AdultChildren #BankrollingAdultChildren #AdultChildrenLivingAtHome
Four out of five parents provide some type of financial support for their adult offspring.
They spend twice as much on them as they do saving for retirement.
Half of parents are willing to draw down savings, and a quarter would go into debt or pull from retirement savings to support kids who’ve left the nest.
These are facts according to a new survey from Merrill Lynch and Age Wave, a research firm, which provided the results to USA TODAY exclusively.
Janna Herron tackled this topic in a USA TODAY article that was also published Oct. 3, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
And it’s not just giving them daily financial report. Parents pay rent for their kids. They pay for weddings and vacations. You might expect parents to pay for college, or loan their child money for a down payment on a house, but they also cover groceries, cell phones and other expenses, the article quotes the survey.
It had been predicted a few years ago that the Baby Boom generation would see the greatest transfer of wealth from their parents, largely because their parents’ houses had increased dramatically in value over their lives.
Now, it appears, that same Baby Boom generation is helping their kids, to a greater or lesser degree, live the lives they want.
As these parents struggle to have enough financial security in retirement, will their children be in a position to repay them for all they had done for them?
As we break this down, it helps to have some perspective. Just a few decades ago, job security was more prevalent. One could rent an apartment or buy a home in most locales for much less than it costs now.
Kids are graduating college with much more debt. They are postponing things like marriage because many of them can’t even afford to move out of their parents’ house. The jobs they have could go away tomorrow – and many have.
On the other hand, lifestyles are more expensive today. Years ago, one didn’t have all the gadgets that make life easier today. Not only do the kids today have them, they need them. It’s tough to survive today without a computer or cell phone, but they make life much more expensive than it was years ago.
If you are a young adult, you should seek to gain independence, financial and otherwise, from your parents.
If you went away to college, you probably had a roommate. Think about a roommate, or roommates, to make living on your own more affordable.
Watch your daily expenses. If you have a $5 a day coffee shop habit, get a Thermos and brew your own. If you buy lunch every day, think about brown-bagging it.
And, thinking further outside the box, think about using a few part-time non-work hours a week pursuing one of the many vehicles that can help you make potentially a lot of extra money. To check out one of the best, message me.
Remember, too, that Mom and Dad deserve the best retirement they can have. If they have helped you in your youth, it behooves you to help them later on, and pay them back.
Life as a young adult is different for you from what it was for your parents. That should not give you license to live off them forever. Because life is different for you, YOU have to learn to think differently.
Peter
WHEN SHOULD YOU TAKE SOCIAL SECURITY?
#SocialSecurity #pensions #WhenToTakeSocialSecurity
Some people may want to take their Social Security immediately upon eligibility, just because they need the money.
For others, waiting may be a better option, even if you have to dip into your retirement savings while you wait.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tackled this decision in an article published Oct. 8, 2018.
In the article, Perry Volpone was determined to take his Social Security as soon as he retired. His financial adviser, Dana Anspach, argued against it. She urged the former retail executive, then 65, to put off applying for Social Security for five more years, because his monthly benefit would increase, the article says.
“(Taking the benefit immediately) would make me more comfortable,” Volpone argued. “The whole thing is just so much more complex than you think,” the article quotes him.
Here are the facts, as stated in the article: For each year past your full retirement age that you put off applying for Social Security, your monthly benefit will increase by 8 percent. That does not include any cost-of-living adjustments the government makes – as it did recently.
Here’s what you have to decide: How much, on average, are you earning with your retirement savings, plus any pension you might be receiving? If your savings – should we say, investments? – are earning you, on average, less than 8 percent a year, can you supplement your income through the dividends and interests on your investments, plus any pensions or other income, to allow you to keep your Social Security “in the bank” for five years or so?
Though that may require some thought, and good advice, as Volpone was getting in the article, there are some no-brainer decisions: if you have little or no retirement savings, and no pension, take your Social Security as soon as you can.
By the same token, if you have a good retirement nest egg, that’s kicking off good earnings that you can tap for living expenses, and/or you have a good pension, postponing Social Security until age 70 is also an easy decision.
If you are married, and both spouses qualify for Social Security benefits, the best decision might be to take the lower-earning spouse’s Social Security at that person’s full retirement age – say, 66 or 67 – and postpone taking the higher-earning spouse’s Social Security until that spouse turns 70. When one spouse dies, the other spouse gets only one check, and the higher-earning spouse’s check is going to be better.
A decision people make rashly is to take Social Security immediately upon qualification, because they believe it’s going to run out of money before they die. Most experts believe Social Security will be around in some form no matter what, if anything, government does to “fix” it.
There is something else to consider. What if there were a way a person, retired or not, could make extra money by committing a few, part-time hours a week working at something that would not feel like a “second job?”
There are many such vehicles out there for those willing to check them out. To find out about one of the best, message me.
In short, most of us dutifully paid into Social Security while working. When it was created, no one predicted the longer life span that medical and other science has given us, so there have been some financial headaches with the system.
Still, most predict it will never go away entirely, though we may see some combination of benefit reductions and increases in the retirement age in the future.
But, Social Security alone will not give you the retirement lifestyle you probably want. It can be part, but should not all, of your retirement income. It’s up to you to decide what kind of retirement you want, and use your working years to save, invest and prepare for it.
The younger you start doing that, the better prepared you will be when you get older.
Peter
WE LOVE VACATIONS, BUT SHOULDN’T WE BE WORKING?
#vacations #vacation #working #jobs
Ah, vacation.
We work so hard for it.
We wouldn’t want to be on vacation all the time, would we?
Brian O’Connor, a philosophy professor at University College in Dublin, Ireland, took on this subject in an article published April 29, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Although annual leave is a right in many workplaces, it is of significant value to employers, too,” O’Connor writes.
Studies urge employers to embrace paid leave, the article says. It refreshes workers, and gives employers opportunities to expose others, who would do the work of the vacationer, to other jobs in the company, thus gaining workers with more diverse skills, O’Connor writes.
O’Connor’s point: vacations are designed as a respite from work, but we all need to be working, rather than being on vacation all the time.
Let’s break this down further. First, as employees, most of us get paid time off in a variety of fashions. There is vacation time, which tends to increase with years of service – up to a maximum, of course.
Then, there is sick time which, in theory, is there to use as needed for illness or other emergencies.
Finally, for those with certain jobs, there is paid time to attend educational seminars, specific offsite training etc.
Some employees will abuse some of this time off, particularly sick time. We’ve all heard the expression of calling in well. Sick time, of course, should ONLY be an insurance policy for illness and emergencies, and should be used only when necessary. Mental health days, unless they are for a specific diagnosed condition, should not be taken. (People with a diagnosed mental condition may have fewer employment opportunities).
Some people don’t get any of this paid time off, despite the encouragement to employers to provide it.
Others are generously paid for NOT using their time off when they retire.
Others, depending on the job they have, are literally punished for taking time off. They have to work extra hours prior to leaving on vacation, and face a huge pile of work when they return. Others can just comfortably go on vacation, without added pressures or work before and after.
With today’s technology, some can take the job with them on vacation. If you are one of those, you may need to set some new priorities.
Though O’Connor’s article argues that vacations are merely a rest from toil, and that toil is something that doesn’t please you, it can be argued that a permanent vacation – or a change in your life – may be needed. There are many vehicles out there that, for a few part-time non-job hours a week, can give you the freedom to change your life for the better. To check out one of the best, message me.
Despite the nobility of labor, if you don’t enjoy what you do, or if what you do does not provide you with the life you want, it may behoove you to look at alternatives.
Your personal goal should be to go on your longest vacation ever – retirement – as soon as you are able. In today’s work world, that decision sometimes can be made for you.
Peter
DOES YOUR PERSONALITY AFFECT EARNINGS?
#personality #earnings #PersonalityAffectsEarnings
Many of us have witnessed people being belligerent a t work. Perhaps they got fired.
We may have seen others who suck up to the boss, and get promoted.
But what about more subtle personality traits? Do they affect how much one might earn?
Tyler Cowen tackles this subject in an article for Bloomberg. It was also published Sept. 17, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Cowen quotes a study by Miriam Gensowski at the University of Copenhagen. She revisited data from California schools, back in 1921-22. She culled out the top 0.5 percent of student in the IQ distribution, meaning they scored 140 or higher on the IQ test.
What did she find? Cutting through a lot of numbers, she discovered that conscientiousness mattered for men. Men who scored higher on the conscientiousness scale earned an extra $567,000 over their lifetimes, the article says.
For women, extroversion correlated with higher earnings – even more strongly than conscientiousness, unlike for men, the article says.
The article quotes the study saying that more “agreeable” men earned significantly less. Remember the saying, “nice guys finish last?”
“One possibility is that more agreeable men self-select into lower-earning, more subordinate professions,“ Cowen writes.
And, perhaps no surprise, the smartest ones among the smartest ones generally earned more, the article says.
OK, so you are who you are. You may think you aren’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, and the study referenced above may not have looked at people like you.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t make it above where you think you should be – if you want to.
Being conscientious will help. If that doesn’t come naturally, work on it – man or woman. Conscientiousness is something that can be acquired with effort, if it doesn’t come naturally.
To a lesser extent, extroversion can also be acquired but, for some, requires a good bit more effort. If you are naturally shy, you can change that, but you have to be motivated to WANT to change it.
Right now, you could be working in a job that you do not believe will EVER make you “successful,” as experts seem to define it, or wealthy. Don’t fret. There are ways out there for people, even shy people, to be successful. You just have to be willing to look for them. And, though you may be shy, you HAVE to be teachable.
If you WANT to change your life and are willing to check out one of the best such vehicles to potential success, message me.
Teachability can compensate for many natural personality traits. Conscientiousness, however, is easy to learn, in relative terms.
The lesson here, perhaps, is don’t let the person inside you take the best out of you. Be willing to find the best that’s inside you, and bring it out.
Sometimes, it takes another person to see the best that’s inside you and help you bring it out. Sometimes, you never know who that person might be. It may be someone you already know. It may be someone you haven’t met yet.
Don’t look at what someone is offering with the person inside you who wants to take the best away from you. Look at that person believing that the best of you has yet to appear.
Peter
HAPPY 2019!
#HappyNewYear #Happy2019 #NewYear
May 2019 bring everyone blessings beyond measure.
The past year has seen many contradictions. Though the unemployment rate is low, the stock market has been volatile.
Bad weather brought on many catastrophes.
Though many are still struggling to recover months later, the country and its communities have shown great resilience in the face of tragedy.
So how is your personal situation now, and where is it headed?
Are you looking for more of what you have now, or are you in need of a change?
If your employment situation is not what you want, there may be no better time to change jobs than now.
Many “We’re Hiring” signs are cropping up at many businesses.
Some may still be discouraged, having never recovered from the economic downturn about 10 years ago. They have lost good jobs, and the jobs they may have gotten since don’t pay nearly what their old jobs did.
These folks might ask, what good are plentiful jobs if most of them don’t pay much?
If you are in that situation, or you have a job that eats you alive to the point where you have little time for much else, there are many ways out there to pick up not just extra income, but potentially an income that could change your life. To learn about one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Meanwhile, take stock of the many good things in your life.
If you want a better 2019 than 2018, start with optimism – a belief that you can make your life as good as it can, or should be.
No matter the circumstances around us, most of us can find some good to celebrate. Focus on that. Your attitude is the one thing YOU can control.
Another thing you can control is how you treat others. Be more of a giver than a taker. Those who take tend to get their hand slapped. Those who give tend to get rewarded eventually.
Instead of looking for fairness, look for goodness. Much of life can be unfair, but amid the unfairness, goodness most likely can be found. If it can’t be found, it can be created. Be one who creates goodness.
Creating goodness helps a person grow. By always creating goodness, a person always keeps growing.
So don’t just wish for a good year, make 2019 a good year.
Wish that others will do the same. Better yet, help others do the same.
Don’t let circumstances dictate your life. Make life better by appropriately dealing with your circumstances.
Here’s to a happy new year that you will create.
Peter