SavvySugar

One Man With a Big Goal: 50 Jobs, 50 Weeks, 50 States

SavvySugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:30:24 -0800

The daily grind is pretty predictable for most people, but there's one guy who is trying to make work anything but expected. Daniel Seddiqui has taken his job on the road in a project he calls "Living the Map": The 26-year old is on a mission to try 50 different jobs in all 50 states, in just 50 weeks time.

As a new grad armed with an economics degree from USC, Daniel worked in unfulfilling jobs that didn't pay enough to make a dent in his $60,000 debt load. Frustrated, Daniel came up with his plan and began making calls to arrange jobs in every state. He said he was rejected "a couple thousand times" but eventually met his goal, packed up his Jeep, and hit the road. Currently in week 20, Daniel is nearly halfway to the finish line.

Rather than make it his goal to discover the perfect job, Daniel is trying taking jobs that have some connotation to each state. Although some of his jobs are unpaid, Daniel may just be able to pay off his debt at the end of his journey if any of the book and movie offers he's fielding turn into lucrative deals. Until then, you can learn more about his experiences by checking out his website.

Will You Hit These Money Milestones by the Time You're 30?

SavvySugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:30:52 -0700

Turning 30 can be a dreadful birthday for some reluctant 20-somethings, but no matter how full of dread you may be there's a way to gracefully enter the next decade in regard to money management. In order to set you up for smooth sailing, MSN Money created a list of six money milestones to reach by the time you're 30. Do you think these milestones are appropriate for most people in their twenties? Is there anything you'd add or remove?

Scale back the credit cards. If you aren't able to live on your earnings and are still taking on credit card debt when you're 30, it's going to be difficult for you to save enough for retirement.
Own a home, or have a plan. One expert says that homeownership should be a priority, and to start saving for a down payment.
Have skills. Develop a set of marketable skills by the time you are 30 and try to bring something new to the table.
Give money away. Financial advisor Scott Hanson says, "I think it's financially healthy to give."
Know thyself. Decide what's important to you. Hanson explains, "Start to know yourself and build parameters so your life and money line up with those parameters."
Know smart people. When you need advice, turning someone who's good at their job can save you money in the long run, whether it's a tax preparer, financial adviser, attorney, or insurance agent.

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Young Adult Credit Education: Too Late or Right on Time?

SavvySugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:00:44 -0700

As the government scrambles to prevent our financial system from crumbling to the point of no return, there's a simultaneous effort from the Treasury Department to educate young adults aged 18-24 about the importance of responsibly handling credit. Over the next four to six weeks, video and audio spots will run on donated air time with the warning, "Don’t let your credit put you in a bad place." There's also an online game called The Bad Credit Hotel that is part of the campaign and is meant to teach players about credit scores.

Financial literacy advocates are hoping recent events have brought a new awareness to the dangers of borrowing beyond our means. The campaign is aimed at the 18-24 age group in particular because, as explained by Kathy Crosby of the Ad Council that helped design the campaign, "Our research showed us that there is a sense of invincibility among this age group. Our job was to disrupt this thinking."

Do you think the effort is too late to make an impact, or have recent events allowed for perfect timing in rolling out a financial awareness campaign for young adults?

Twenty-Somethings Still Seeking Parental Aid

SavvySugar — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:30:23 -0700

An MSN Money article asking why Gen Y is broke started out as a typical article, arbitrarily wondering why we're incapable of managing our money (and asking questions like, "Is Gen Y dumb or just lazy?"), but nestled within are a few startling statistics.

This one is particularly striking: According to a recent Pew survey, 68 percent of baby boomers are supporting at least one of their adult children financially. It's hard to believe that only a third of 20- and 30-somethings are financially independent.

The reason for so many dependent young adults becomes clear with some of the other stats the article mentions. The average college debt for recent grads is more than $20,000; those between ages 25 and 34 make up 22.7 percent of all U.S. bankruptcies; the median credit-card debt of those aged 18 to 34 earning low- and middle-income is $8,200.

The good news? The more financial education we get, the less likely we'll be broke in the years to come, and we'll be able to teach our own children important lessons in financial literacy. Are you still receiving some help from your parents here and there?

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Making It Work in the City That Never Sleeps

SavvySugar — Thu, 29 May 2008 04:11:33 -0700

Maybe it's the resurgence of Sex and the City that has prompted all of the profiles of New Yorkers getting by on their salaries in an inflated city, but they seem to be popping up all over The New York Times during the past couple months. The notion of what is fiction and what is reality is written between the lines, though the realities they picture really aren't much different from how 20-somethings around the country try to balance the cost-of-living with having a social life. The most recent piece published in the Times described the money tactics of various NYC newcomers, specifically "those who are neither investment bankers nor being floated by their parents." Discover some of the ways they sustain living in the most expensive city in the US when you read more.

Instead of clothes shopping, one NYC dweller refreshes her wardrobe by having her mom occasionally ship some items from the storage bins that she keeps at her parents' home.
Sharing tiny apartments with strangers.
"Eating cheap lunches and skipping dinners - not just to save money, but so that drinks pack more of a punch and fewer need be consumed."
Forgoing salon hair coloring, manicures and pedicures, and waiting to get haircuts in their hometowns.
Seeking out B.Y.O.B. restaurants.
Stretching lunch into dinner by eating a later lunch.
Drinking at home before going out.
Flirting with men in hopes of them buying you a drink.
One 26-year old woman refuses to give up her Bumble and Bumble shampoo saying, “I don’t do drugstores. I will eat Pringles for dinner instead.”
One 27-year old man has simply sworn off impulse purchases and credit cards, cooks at home, pirates wireless Internet, uses Craigslist or eBay for electronics, and buys his clothes from Salvation Army and retains the receipt to write off on his taxes.

Do you see any of your own tactics in those profiled, and do you have any that you feel are unique, like the Pringles girl? Would you ever consider moving to a city knowing that you'd have to make financial sacrifices?

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Definition: Young and Wealthy But Normal

SavvySugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:02:16 -0700

An acronym that comes from the Sunday Telegraph of London, Yawn stands for Young and Wealthy but Normal. CNN describes Yawns as "men and women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s who want nothing less than to change the world and save the planet." The profile on various Yawns depicts them as despising waste, excess, and ostentation, and having millions but spend far below their means. They're charitable and generous with their wealth, are eco-socially aware, aren't materially motivated, and are focused on putting their money toward environmentally-conscious and sustainable solutions.

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Do You Crave Office Praise?

SavvySugar — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 06:52:46 -0700

There have been columns popping up left and right regarding how demanding Gen Y is, and the newest observation is that we need and expect constant praise because our egos were over-stroked as kids. It's an interesting observation, but I'm left wondering whether or not it's true. Most Millennial focused articles I've read set us up as a group that's needy all around, but the praise issue is one that's more difficult to measure than, say, wanting more work perks. Do you fit in to this praise-craving crowd?

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Abstract Adulthood: The Vague Years

SavvySugar — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:24:32 -0700

A Brigham Young study found that 80 percent of parents don't consider their 18- to 25-year-old college students to be adults. They're calling the group that's wrestling between adolescence and adulthood "emerging adults" and that label doesn't quite sit right with me. I do think there's a real gap between identifying as a teen and calling yourself an adult, but I'm not sure why academics are trying so hard to pin down every year of our lives as one thing or another.

We all have unique life experiences that cause us to feel more adult at times and less so at others, but the whole emerging-adult thing makes me feel like they're making the age group into a product. Responsibility in terms of driving, drugs, alcohol, sex, and language were factors that parents used to determine their children's levels of adulthood, while parents and their kids agreed that accepting responsibility for actions was the most important factor.

I don't think there's an "it" moment when you suddenly become an adult, but I do think it has more to do with paying your own bills and contributing to society than learning how to brake slowly. When did you start considering yourself an adult, or are you there yet?

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Entry Level Hiring Projected to Increase in 2008

SavvySugar — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:34:21 -0800

CollegeGrad.com estimates that employers offering entry level positions will up their hiring by 11.8 percent this year, which would be the biggest increase in entry level hiring in three years. The companies and organizations on the site's Top Entry Level Employers for 2008 vary in size and industry focus, and the list even projects the number of entry level hires each company will make this year. Here are the top ten on the list.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Americorps
Walgreen Company
Internal Revenue Service
Progressive Insurance
Teach For America
Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
Target
Peace Corps
Ernst & Young

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Are the Demanding Descriptions of Gen Y Accurate?

SavvySugar — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:23:13 -0800

New surveys and conversations among human resources execs make it seem like employees under the age of 29 (also known as Millenials and Gen Y) are a bratty bunch. A new CareerBuilder survey shows that we supposedly expect our employers to provide more benefits and other perks than our older colleagues - namely, better pay, a flexible work schedule and company-provided BlackBerrys and cell phones. Additionally, 87 percent of hiring managers say we exhibit a sense of entitlement that older generations don’t.

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