The FMLA has another "loophole" worth mentioning: Yes, the company must have more than 50 employees, but they also must be within a 75-mile radius. So companies with more than 50 employees but 45 in one office and 10 in a satellite office 300 miles away are not required to abide the FMLA. I learned this the hard way.
I would advise all professional women who are planning on having a child to move to another country.
Thanks for all the comments, especially to those few of you who actually read my whole post before responding.
I don't blame people for responding to this information with shock and even anger; the Time magazine article contains from surprising information to those of us who have always accepted that strenuous workouts have tons of health benefits including being the best way to lose weight.
It reminds me of when I first read "The Case Against Breastfeeding" in the Atlantic. (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/04/the-case-against-bre...) At first I was shocked and angry. After the emotion wore off, I realized that although I still felt comfortable with my personal choices, the author was right that the benefits of breastfeeding had been oversold and the hype goes far beyond the breastfeedings research-proven benefits.
The same goes for working out. No one's saying it might not have some benefits, but the benefits are not nearly what it has been given credit for.
I urge those who have not read the Time article -- most people who commented, judging from the confused nature of most of the comments here -- to read it carefully. The biggest point I got from it was not that it's healthy to be sedentary, but that we can glean most of the benefits attributed to working out simply by moving around. It's not necessarily about finding a way to work out cheaply at home; it's about doing physical activity that makes sense for your life and that you enjoy.
To those who downplayed the importance of losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight vs. overall fitness, overweight is the main health problem in the United States today. Experts quoted in the article specifically address diabetes -- working out has not shown to prevent it. Maintaining a healthy weight has.
If someone is overweight, it seems that encouraging them to focus on "overall fitness" and cardiovascular fitness as a first priority would be dangerous and outmoded. People who are facing very real health risks due to overweight need the straight facts about what will help them lose it.
While you can definitely get a head start in mid-July or early August, I don't think it's too late to capitalize on end-of-summer sales. In fact, I've seen even steeper discounts at some of the Big Box stores in the last couple of weeks, making me wish I'd waited a bit longer to buy our new grill (which I purchased in mid-July).
#3 and #4 were how I made it through my 4 year degree in 3 years.
I had a very fulfilling college experience and don't feel I missed out on anything PLUS I saved an entire year's worth of added expenses (housing, food, missed work, etc).
You're correct that a growing number of brokerages allow you to reinvest dividends of ETFs--if there are any.
It's a different process than w/ mutual funds tho. Vanguard says you can set up that request in the default setting for your brokerage acct. Schwab adds that it can be done during the purchase order. Thanks for the clarification.
Last year (end of Sept) hubby and I had been looking for a lawnmower. We managed to pick up an electric mower (removable battery) the reg. price was $450 and we offered the manager $150 (ended up settling on $180) all because it was a floor model and the store really didn't want to have to store it over the winter :) There are deals out there, you just have to keep your eye open, and know what you are looking for.
This article is absolutely ridiculous. Is this really what people tell themselves to get out of exercise? Of course people that work out won't lose as much weight. The reason is because they put on (or don't lose) MUSCLE. You can lose 5 lbs of fat and gain 5 lbs of muscle and still drop down a size or two. Muscle is much more dense than fat so it weighs more. If your goal is to look better, then weight training is essential. The problem with the Time article is that it implied that the main goal is simply a lower number on the scale when nearly everyone's real goal is to look better and be healthier.
Thanks for these tips, I don’t have any tip to give to save while on Disney since this will be our family’s first time to visit Disney. But I do have a tip before going for the trip. I had talked to my kids about going to Disney and let them saved money out of their allowances. We sat down and told them that I will shoulder half of the entrance fee and the other half will be paid by them. The half that I saved on the entrance fee will be used for our expenses inside Disney. This way, we all got our trip and the cost for it while teaching my kids to save for something they want.
I have only one reason that I use to make myself happy with less cost. Make your life simple to be happy. The more complicated you make your life, the more it gets lavish and cost you more. The simpler your life is, the less problem you have and the least cost on your life. I don’t consider that frugality but just making my life simpler to be happy.
"You'll need to keep reinvesting your capital gains and dividends by buying new batches, as they don't automatically do so. "
This is WRONG.
All the major brokerage houses (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, eTrade, etc.) all automatic reinvestment of ETF dividends. It's a "market" order, and you can get hit with trading fees if the ETF isn't that brokerage's own (i.e. Vanguard give no-fee purchases of Vanguard brand ETFs, Schwab of Schwab's ETFs...). So if you stay within one ETF family, the reinvestment options really aren't a reason to not use ETFs.
Great, timely post. I love me some off-season shopping. I bought some inexpensive jeans and sweatshirts early this summer, and just picked up some shorts on clearance last weekend. I didn't think of the linens. I'll have to add sheets to the list along with the grill.
I love ETFs but they are fairly new, so there are some managment firms who are still getting their feet wet. But, sticking with the big boys, I prefer ETFs. My discount broker has its own dividend reinvestment program (that's free - including commission free for the reinvestments), which I'm signed up for, so your discount broker may have a "workaround" for the reinvestment issue.
Crashplan is also worth a look. Lot faster and less buggy than Mozy in my experience. Not to mention you can backup to your own remote location(s) using their interface. Completely painless - best offsite backup experience I've had yet.
One other important feature (for me) is the ability to back up data that is on external drives too. Last time I researched it, many companies (like Carbonite) only backed up the internal storage-- so any data on an external USB or Firewire drives was not backed up.
I ended up going with Mozy because it will back up my external drives too!
i work for a major retailer. Patio furniture, grills, etc. go on clearance in mid july to early august, so if you waited for this article to shop, you are too late.
This little article should be reduced and stuffed in the pocet of anyone in any type of management position. All key points that the majority of managers out there have no clue about. For most, they think that management is about "being in charge" and "telling others what to do".
Those are some great shopping tips! I'm one of those total freaks that clips coupons and keeps them in one of those cute little accordion files. I buy the Sunday paper and toss (uh, "recycle") the actual paper. It's all about the coupons. It's sick, I know.
Great post about online backups.I think online backups are the best solutions for data security in case one has been hit by a calamity or incase one's hard drive crashes.Well i personally use and online backup solution called Safecopy backup for all the backups i need.With Safecopy,everything is just perfect and it is so compatible with both my Mac and Win computers.And they are now offering 5GB free unlimited trial version for a client who joins the face book fan page.But they offer a free unlimited 3GB trial version.I like this because the trial version never expires
I've been thinking about this all week! My first response was the screaming thought in my head..."pay off the debt!!!" Once that initial reaction passed I began to think more about what I really would like. Maybe a million dollars? Maybe more? Maybe something else? It's a great question!
I work at Costco and let me just add a little to your post. I would encourage everyone to look into getting the Executive Membership. You do save 2% on almost all purchases but and there are many benefits only available to Executive card holders (cheaper rates on all of our programs from car insurance to travel) but, best of all, if your renewal time comes around and you get your 2% check and it doesn't exceed or equal the $50 extra you had to spend to get the Executive Membership, just take it to the membership counter at any store and you will be refunded the difference to make up that $50. You can also cancel your Executive right there if you wish.
So next time you go into Costco, stop by the membership counter and ask about the Executive Membership and we will gladly look up your account and even give you and estimate on how much you would get back on 2% based on your spending history.
I live in a psychiatric nursing home. We get $30 in spending cash each month out of our social security income. Meals of course are provided. But everything else is not. People here are always short of money.
So I decided to do something about it.
I created a budget sheet on my computer that was simple and clear enough that a mentally challenged person could use it. It's just a sheet, not a computer app.
There was definitely a demand, and I regularly sell them. Ideally they would know how to copy the master sheet themselves, but they don't so I sell them individual copies repeatedly, as a quarter each. This is not a big money maker.
But I discovered that the staff here wanted to use my budget too! Then I created a different budget with items more for a working person. That sold quite well and at $2.50 each because the staff are able enough to make their own copies.
Now I sell the same budget from a blog, which I will enter at the bottom of this comment form. I charge $10.
The experience of writing a budget for challenged people was a pressure cooker that resulted in an absolutely clear budget for the working man. I call it "The Working Man's Budget".
I read with interest your blog here. Your experience is excellent, your advice well thought out. If it helps people, I am all for it.
I think the bottom line is that we need to quit making decisions that are purely financially motivated and make more decisions that are socially motivated. We just moved to be closer to our kids and took a big financial hit but we have never been happier.
I would love to make sure all school children have a healthy breakfast before school!
The FMLA has another "loophole" worth mentioning: Yes, the company must have more than 50 employees, but they also must be within a 75-mile radius. So companies with more than 50 employees but 45 in one office and 10 in a satellite office 300 miles away are not required to abide the FMLA. I learned this the hard way.
I would advise all professional women who are planning on having a child to move to another country.
Thanks for all the comments, especially to those few of you who actually read my whole post before responding.
I don't blame people for responding to this information with shock and even anger; the Time magazine article contains from surprising information to those of us who have always accepted that strenuous workouts have tons of health benefits including being the best way to lose weight.
It reminds me of when I first read "The Case Against Breastfeeding" in the Atlantic. (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/04/the-case-against-bre...) At first I was shocked and angry. After the emotion wore off, I realized that although I still felt comfortable with my personal choices, the author was right that the benefits of breastfeeding had been oversold and the hype goes far beyond the breastfeedings research-proven benefits.
The same goes for working out. No one's saying it might not have some benefits, but the benefits are not nearly what it has been given credit for.
I urge those who have not read the Time article -- most people who commented, judging from the confused nature of most of the comments here -- to read it carefully. The biggest point I got from it was not that it's healthy to be sedentary, but that we can glean most of the benefits attributed to working out simply by moving around. It's not necessarily about finding a way to work out cheaply at home; it's about doing physical activity that makes sense for your life and that you enjoy.
To those who downplayed the importance of losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight vs. overall fitness, overweight is the main health problem in the United States today. Experts quoted in the article specifically address diabetes -- working out has not shown to prevent it. Maintaining a healthy weight has.
If someone is overweight, it seems that encouraging them to focus on "overall fitness" and cardiovascular fitness as a first priority would be dangerous and outmoded. People who are facing very real health risks due to overweight need the straight facts about what will help them lose it.
While you can definitely get a head start in mid-July or early August, I don't think it's too late to capitalize on end-of-summer sales. In fact, I've seen even steeper discounts at some of the Big Box stores in the last couple of weeks, making me wish I'd waited a bit longer to buy our new grill (which I purchased in mid-July).
Thanks for reading.
-cb
#3 and #4 were how I made it through my 4 year degree in 3 years.
I had a very fulfilling college experience and don't feel I missed out on anything PLUS I saved an entire year's worth of added expenses (housing, food, missed work, etc).
Good advice!
You're correct that a growing number of brokerages allow you to reinvest dividends of ETFs--if there are any.
It's a different process than w/ mutual funds tho. Vanguard says you can set up that request in the default setting for your brokerage acct. Schwab adds that it can be done during the purchase order. Thanks for the clarification.
Last year (end of Sept) hubby and I had been looking for a lawnmower. We managed to pick up an electric mower (removable battery) the reg. price was $450 and we offered the manager $150 (ended up settling on $180) all because it was a floor model and the store really didn't want to have to store it over the winter :) There are deals out there, you just have to keep your eye open, and know what you are looking for.
This article is absolutely ridiculous. Is this really what people tell themselves to get out of exercise? Of course people that work out won't lose as much weight. The reason is because they put on (or don't lose) MUSCLE. You can lose 5 lbs of fat and gain 5 lbs of muscle and still drop down a size or two. Muscle is much more dense than fat so it weighs more. If your goal is to look better, then weight training is essential. The problem with the Time article is that it implied that the main goal is simply a lower number on the scale when nearly everyone's real goal is to look better and be healthier.
Thanks for these tips, I don’t have any tip to give to save while on Disney since this will be our family’s first time to visit Disney. But I do have a tip before going for the trip. I had talked to my kids about going to Disney and let them saved money out of their allowances. We sat down and told them that I will shoulder half of the entrance fee and the other half will be paid by them. The half that I saved on the entrance fee will be used for our expenses inside Disney. This way, we all got our trip and the cost for it while teaching my kids to save for something they want.
I have only one reason that I use to make myself happy with less cost. Make your life simple to be happy. The more complicated you make your life, the more it gets lavish and cost you more. The simpler your life is, the less problem you have and the least cost on your life. I don’t consider that frugality but just making my life simpler to be happy.
"You'll need to keep reinvesting your capital gains and dividends by buying new batches, as they don't automatically do so. "
This is WRONG.
All the major brokerage houses (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, eTrade, etc.) all automatic reinvestment of ETF dividends. It's a "market" order, and you can get hit with trading fees if the ETF isn't that brokerage's own (i.e. Vanguard give no-fee purchases of Vanguard brand ETFs, Schwab of Schwab's ETFs...). So if you stay within one ETF family, the reinvestment options really aren't a reason to not use ETFs.
Great, timely post. I love me some off-season shopping. I bought some inexpensive jeans and sweatshirts early this summer, and just picked up some shorts on clearance last weekend. I didn't think of the linens. I'll have to add sheets to the list along with the grill.
I love ETFs but they are fairly new, so there are some managment firms who are still getting their feet wet. But, sticking with the big boys, I prefer ETFs. My discount broker has its own dividend reinvestment program (that's free - including commission free for the reinvestments), which I'm signed up for, so your discount broker may have a "workaround" for the reinvestment issue.
Crashplan is also worth a look. Lot faster and less buggy than Mozy in my experience. Not to mention you can backup to your own remote location(s) using their interface. Completely painless - best offsite backup experience I've had yet.
One other important feature (for me) is the ability to back up data that is on external drives too. Last time I researched it, many companies (like Carbonite) only backed up the internal storage-- so any data on an external USB or Firewire drives was not backed up.
I ended up going with Mozy because it will back up my external drives too!
i work for a major retailer. Patio furniture, grills, etc. go on clearance in mid july to early august, so if you waited for this article to shop, you are too late.
Use the coupon code AFF15OFF at diapers.com for 15% off your first order and free shipping over $49. Includes diapers, formula and cribs.
This little article should be reduced and stuffed in the pocet of anyone in any type of management position. All key points that the majority of managers out there have no clue about. For most, they think that management is about "being in charge" and "telling others what to do".
It is so much more than that.
Great piece.
Those are some great shopping tips! I'm one of those total freaks that clips coupons and keeps them in one of those cute little accordion files. I buy the Sunday paper and toss (uh, "recycle") the actual paper. It's all about the coupons. It's sick, I know.
Great post about online backups.I think online backups are the best solutions for data security in case one has been hit by a calamity or incase one's hard drive crashes.Well i personally use and online backup solution called Safecopy backup for all the backups i need.With Safecopy,everything is just perfect and it is so compatible with both my Mac and Win computers.And they are now offering 5GB free unlimited trial version for a client who joins the face book fan page.But they offer a free unlimited 3GB trial version.I like this because the trial version never expires
I've been thinking about this all week! My first response was the screaming thought in my head..."pay off the debt!!!" Once that initial reaction passed I began to think more about what I really would like. Maybe a million dollars? Maybe more? Maybe something else? It's a great question!
I work at Costco and let me just add a little to your post. I would encourage everyone to look into getting the Executive Membership. You do save 2% on almost all purchases but and there are many benefits only available to Executive card holders (cheaper rates on all of our programs from car insurance to travel) but, best of all, if your renewal time comes around and you get your 2% check and it doesn't exceed or equal the $50 extra you had to spend to get the Executive Membership, just take it to the membership counter at any store and you will be refunded the difference to make up that $50. You can also cancel your Executive right there if you wish.
So next time you go into Costco, stop by the membership counter and ask about the Executive Membership and we will gladly look up your account and even give you and estimate on how much you would get back on 2% based on your spending history.
I live in a psychiatric nursing home. We get $30 in spending cash each month out of our social security income. Meals of course are provided. But everything else is not. People here are always short of money.
So I decided to do something about it.
I created a budget sheet on my computer that was simple and clear enough that a mentally challenged person could use it. It's just a sheet, not a computer app.
There was definitely a demand, and I regularly sell them. Ideally they would know how to copy the master sheet themselves, but they don't so I sell them individual copies repeatedly, as a quarter each. This is not a big money maker.
But I discovered that the staff here wanted to use my budget too! Then I created a different budget with items more for a working person. That sold quite well and at $2.50 each because the staff are able enough to make their own copies.
Now I sell the same budget from a blog, which I will enter at the bottom of this comment form. I charge $10.
The experience of writing a budget for challenged people was a pressure cooker that resulted in an absolutely clear budget for the working man. I call it "The Working Man's Budget".
I read with interest your blog here. Your experience is excellent, your advice well thought out. If it helps people, I am all for it.
So I wish you good luck with your endeavor.
I think the bottom line is that we need to quit making decisions that are purely financially motivated and make more decisions that are socially motivated. We just moved to be closer to our kids and took a big financial hit but we have never been happier.
Love this article, very well said.
Any chance we can obtain great spreadsheets?