Ever since I started working, I would buy lunch on site or go out for lunch. It was rare that I brought my lunch to work. For two summers in college, I worked at Sea World. I ate lunch on-site because my co-workers did. Buying lunch was the social thing to do. At my part-time job during college, I bought lunch because I felt I had the money to pay for the convenience of not bringing my own lunch to work. At my current company, I bought both breakfast and lunch for convenience. But what was the price of convenience?
When eating out, breakfast would cost anywhere from $1.50 to $5, with the average being around $3. When eating out, lunch would cost $4 to $10, the average being about $6. Each week, I would spend an average of $45.
Ever since December, I've been on a mission to save more, and I first targeted food, my biggest expense. I joined thegrocerygame.com which is site that combines grocery sales in addition to coupons for top savings. Sometimes items are even free. I usually spend about $30 a week on groceries, and that not only covers my food for just working hours, but for every meal and snack for 7 days.
Buying groceries and bringing my lunch to work saves me $15 a week, or $780 a year. Besides the money savings, I also save time and make my life more convenient. When I bought lunch went out, I had to drive somewhere, find parking, wait in line to order, eat, then drive back. The gas is not free so driving costs me money. When I ate at the on-site cafeteria, I had to walk to another building, look around for something to eat, wait in line, wait for my food to be prepared, and wait to purchase my food before I can finally eat. The whole process for buying lunch could take an hour. When I brought my lunch to work, it takes maybe 5 minutes to prepare my food if I had to use the toaster oven or microwave, and I would not have to deal with waiting in lines, wasting gas, and wasting time. I would only spend 10 minutes preparing my lunch the night before but I had the convenience to do that at any time. So the "convenience" of fast food and paying others to prepare my food wasn't really all that convenient after all.
One last area of savings of groceries purchases versus eating out was credit card rebates. When I would eat out, I used the Chase Freedom Visa, which would give me 3% cash back. When I shop with groceries, I would use my American Express Blue Cash, which would give me 5% cash back.
By buying items according to thegrocerygame.com, my groceries vary from week to week which forces me to try new buy familiar foods. I even the the equivalent of fast food places for cheaper. My favorite sandwich at Quiznos was the Turkey, Bacon, Gaucamole, better known as the TBG. I make the exact same thing with their same ingredients: whole wheat bread, deli turkey, bacon, guacamole, mozzarella cheese. I even toast it using the toaster oven at work to get the same crispy texture. My only regret for bringing my lunch to work is that I didn't do this sooner. I would have saved thousands over the last few years.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Yearly review, annual raise, and bonus
Today at work, I had my annual performance review. It's a review of my performance as it relates to goals and milestones I established for 2007. The performance is weighted by several categories. 70% of the performance is related to meeting defined goals. 15% of the performance is related to job specific competencies. The last 15% of the performance is related to core competencies as it relates to our company's vision and quality goal. Within each of those categories are more specific sub-categories, but I will not go into those.
For each sub-category, I am given a rating by my manager. It can be one of the following: met expectations, exceeded expectations, needs improvement, or no feedback. Based on a scale of 4.0, I would receive a 3 for every category that met expectations. Therefore 4 means I exceeded expectations and a 2 means I need to improve in the area. Overall, I exceeded expectations in 5 categories, met expectations in 12 categories, and needed improvement in 1 category. Overall, I received a weighted score of 3.22 out of 4.
So what do those numbers mean anyways? Well those numbers directly affect my annual raise and bonus. Each year, the company sets a new baseline percentage that is standard raise if someone met expectations for every category. So, if they set the baseline raise percentage to be 5%, someone who received a weighted score of 3 would receive a 5% raise. A higher weighted score would receive a higher raise than 5%, and a lower weighted score would receive a raise lower than 5%. This year, the baseline was set at 4%, which is lower than previous year. Coupled with my 3.22 weighted score, I had an effective raise of 4.3% to go into effect later this month.
There are three factors in determining the annual bonus. They are individual performance, company performance, and bonus target percentage. Individual performance is taken from the weighted score. Company performance is similar to calculating the goal category for individuals. Bonus target percentage is the percentage of last year's salary that I can receive as a bonus if everything else met expectations. So if my bonus target percentage is 5%, I have the opportunity to make 5% of last year's salary as a bonus.
The bonus target percentage is differs for each position in the company. The breakdown is as followed:
15% - Directors and above
5% - Managers
3% - Supervisors and below
The equation is calculate bonus is complicated to explain, but for simplicity, the equation to calculate the bonus equals (individual performance) x (company performance) x (bonus target percentage).
I fall into the 3% category, so coupled with my weighted score of 3.22 and a company performance of 133%, I am receiving a target bonus equal to 4.2% of my salary last year.
In terms of actual dollars, my salary is now $51.8k, up from $49.6k, and my annual bonus is $2.1k. I'm not that happy with the actual numbers, but until I'm 100% vested in my 401(k), I will stick with my current company. I will try to find a higher paid internal position, but if that does not happen, I will look for career opportunities elsewhere.
For each sub-category, I am given a rating by my manager. It can be one of the following: met expectations, exceeded expectations, needs improvement, or no feedback. Based on a scale of 4.0, I would receive a 3 for every category that met expectations. Therefore 4 means I exceeded expectations and a 2 means I need to improve in the area. Overall, I exceeded expectations in 5 categories, met expectations in 12 categories, and needed improvement in 1 category. Overall, I received a weighted score of 3.22 out of 4.
So what do those numbers mean anyways? Well those numbers directly affect my annual raise and bonus. Each year, the company sets a new baseline percentage that is standard raise if someone met expectations for every category. So, if they set the baseline raise percentage to be 5%, someone who received a weighted score of 3 would receive a 5% raise. A higher weighted score would receive a higher raise than 5%, and a lower weighted score would receive a raise lower than 5%. This year, the baseline was set at 4%, which is lower than previous year. Coupled with my 3.22 weighted score, I had an effective raise of 4.3% to go into effect later this month.
There are three factors in determining the annual bonus. They are individual performance, company performance, and bonus target percentage. Individual performance is taken from the weighted score. Company performance is similar to calculating the goal category for individuals. Bonus target percentage is the percentage of last year's salary that I can receive as a bonus if everything else met expectations. So if my bonus target percentage is 5%, I have the opportunity to make 5% of last year's salary as a bonus.
The bonus target percentage is differs for each position in the company. The breakdown is as followed:
15% - Directors and above
5% - Managers
3% - Supervisors and below
The equation is calculate bonus is complicated to explain, but for simplicity, the equation to calculate the bonus equals (individual performance) x (company performance) x (bonus target percentage).
I fall into the 3% category, so coupled with my weighted score of 3.22 and a company performance of 133%, I am receiving a target bonus equal to 4.2% of my salary last year.
In terms of actual dollars, my salary is now $51.8k, up from $49.6k, and my annual bonus is $2.1k. I'm not that happy with the actual numbers, but until I'm 100% vested in my 401(k), I will stick with my current company. I will try to find a higher paid internal position, but if that does not happen, I will look for career opportunities elsewhere.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Giving financial advice to my boss
So as the work week was winding down and 30 minutes until I could go home, my manager asks me if I'm good with investments with regards to our 401(k) plan. It was kind of weird for her to approach me about finances. Even though she knows how much I make, I'm not sure how she knows why I would be good about that stuff. Maybe she heard from my co-workers. Anyways I agreed to help her out.
My manager was getting worried because nearly every investment offered in our 401(k) plan was negative for the year. I had to tell her not to worry because now she is able to buy shares of those investments for a discount. If we are in a recession, all we have to do is stick to a good asset allocation and continue to contribute no matter what the condition of the stock market was.
Principal Financial, the company that administers our 401(k), recently added target-date funds. The funds automatically change your asset allocation from high risk growth to low risk funds as you approach the target date of your retirement. I asked my manager when she planned to retire. She was aiming for 2017. Looking over the target-date funds, the target dates were spaced every decade. If she chose the 2010 target-date fund, her asset allocation would be too conservative from 2010 until 2017 while she continues to work. If she chose the 2020 target-date fund, her asset allocation might be slightly riskier for the first three years of retirement. To immediately address her needs, I suggested a 50-50 split of both the 2010 target-date fund and the 2020 target-date fund. The combined asset allocation of both target-date funds should be equivalent to a 2015 target-date fund.
The whole conversation took about 5 minutes. I was straight to the point and confident in my decision. When I met my manager at her desk, she had a printout of the performance of the 24 funds offered in our 401(k). I did not look at a single number. I do not need numbers to tell me how good a particular fund is. It would have been hard to individually choose the good funds from the list, since all year-to-date changes were negative. To get the best performance with as little risk as possible, it was more important to pick an asset allocation with risk that she can tolerate.
The only thing I could have done better was pick a better ratio of target-date funds. A 50/50 mix of 2010 and 2020 target-date funds would have an asset allocation equivalent to a 2020 target-date fund. I should have calculated a ratio that would have given her the asset allocation of a 2017 target-date fund. In that case, a 30/70 mix of 2010 and 2020 target-date funds would have given her the proper asset allocation.
My advise to my manager does not directly help me career wise yet. Especially since I gave her advise in the area of personal finance and that I work in the chemistry lab. She already knows my expertise with chemistry, computers, technology, and writing, that contribute to performing more than what is expected of my position. A knowledge in finance might be another area that adds value to my versatility of my position. It possibly might lead to a pay raise to keeping me around. Another possibility is getting promoted into a supervisor or managerial position because of my knowledge of finances, budgeting, and discount purchasing.
My manager was getting worried because nearly every investment offered in our 401(k) plan was negative for the year. I had to tell her not to worry because now she is able to buy shares of those investments for a discount. If we are in a recession, all we have to do is stick to a good asset allocation and continue to contribute no matter what the condition of the stock market was.
Principal Financial, the company that administers our 401(k), recently added target-date funds. The funds automatically change your asset allocation from high risk growth to low risk funds as you approach the target date of your retirement. I asked my manager when she planned to retire. She was aiming for 2017. Looking over the target-date funds, the target dates were spaced every decade. If she chose the 2010 target-date fund, her asset allocation would be too conservative from 2010 until 2017 while she continues to work. If she chose the 2020 target-date fund, her asset allocation might be slightly riskier for the first three years of retirement. To immediately address her needs, I suggested a 50-50 split of both the 2010 target-date fund and the 2020 target-date fund. The combined asset allocation of both target-date funds should be equivalent to a 2015 target-date fund.
The whole conversation took about 5 minutes. I was straight to the point and confident in my decision. When I met my manager at her desk, she had a printout of the performance of the 24 funds offered in our 401(k). I did not look at a single number. I do not need numbers to tell me how good a particular fund is. It would have been hard to individually choose the good funds from the list, since all year-to-date changes were negative. To get the best performance with as little risk as possible, it was more important to pick an asset allocation with risk that she can tolerate.
The only thing I could have done better was pick a better ratio of target-date funds. A 50/50 mix of 2010 and 2020 target-date funds would have an asset allocation equivalent to a 2020 target-date fund. I should have calculated a ratio that would have given her the asset allocation of a 2017 target-date fund. In that case, a 30/70 mix of 2010 and 2020 target-date funds would have given her the proper asset allocation.
My advise to my manager does not directly help me career wise yet. Especially since I gave her advise in the area of personal finance and that I work in the chemistry lab. She already knows my expertise with chemistry, computers, technology, and writing, that contribute to performing more than what is expected of my position. A knowledge in finance might be another area that adds value to my versatility of my position. It possibly might lead to a pay raise to keeping me around. Another possibility is getting promoted into a supervisor or managerial position because of my knowledge of finances, budgeting, and discount purchasing.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
March Net Worth
I just logged into Yodlee Moneycenter to check my net worth for March. Here are the figures.
Total Net Worth: $73,337.00
Total Assets: $84,241.07
- Banking: $19,615.75
- Investments: $64,625.32
Total Liabilities: $10,904.07
- Credit Cards: $10,904.07
Overall my net worth from February to March went down from $84.7k to $73.3k. That is a decline of 13.5%. My banking and credit cards remained relatively the same. The drop in my net worth is due to the investment categories. The investment category includes 401(k), Roth IRA, bonds, mutual funds, individual stocks, and stock options. I am currently not balanced with a proper asset allocation in the investment category.
My investment category is heavily weighted with one company. It is for the company I work for because of all the stocks I accumulated from the employee stock purchase plan and also from stock options. So when the market took a tumble, so does my company, and so does my net worth. But when the market increases, so does my net worth. It is a risk I am willing to take right now. As prices increases, I do sell off company shares and move it towards better balancing my asset allocation.
Total Net Worth: $73,337.00
Total Assets: $84,241.07
- Banking: $19,615.75
- Investments: $64,625.32
Total Liabilities: $10,904.07
- Credit Cards: $10,904.07
Overall my net worth from February to March went down from $84.7k to $73.3k. That is a decline of 13.5%. My banking and credit cards remained relatively the same. The drop in my net worth is due to the investment categories. The investment category includes 401(k), Roth IRA, bonds, mutual funds, individual stocks, and stock options. I am currently not balanced with a proper asset allocation in the investment category.
My investment category is heavily weighted with one company. It is for the company I work for because of all the stocks I accumulated from the employee stock purchase plan and also from stock options. So when the market took a tumble, so does my company, and so does my net worth. But when the market increases, so does my net worth. It is a risk I am willing to take right now. As prices increases, I do sell off company shares and move it towards better balancing my asset allocation.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Creatively using Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
2008 is the first year I decided to sign up for the company Flexible Spending Account (FSA). It is an account that is designed to deduct a fixed amount of money each pay period, in which the total amount can be used for most medical, dental, and vision expenses. From that statement, there is no benefit over just a regular savings account, but I will get into the benefits to use to your financial advantage.
Like a 401(k), the amount deducted from a Flexible Spending Account is pre-tax. That means if I make $1000 in a pay period but elect to deduct $50 towards an FSA, then I will only be taxed on the remaining $950. A 401(k) contribution defers taxes for federal and state, but a Flexible Spending Account deduction defers taxes for all taxes - federal, state, social security, and Medicare.
The contribution of a 401(k) can be changed anytime during the year from $0 to the maximum annual limit. With a Flexible Spending Account, the total amount a person wants to contribute has to be decided before the year even starts, and the amount deducted each week is the total amount divided by the number of pay periods. I decided that I wanted to have a total of $250 of Flexible Spending, and because I get paid bi-weekly (26 pay periods per year), I have $9.62 deducted bi-weekly towards my Flexible Spending. But say I want to use $200 of my $250 that I want to contribute to an FSA, and it's only February. At most, I've had about 4 pay periods with a total contribution of just under $40. One good thing about FSA is that you can spend the total amount you elected to deduct for the entire year, even if you haven't contributed to the full amount yet. So I could go ahead and make that eligible $200 purchase towards Flexible Spending. If I left the company, I would not have to pay the difference either. But with one good benefit comes one disadvantage.
Flexible Spending Accounts have limits to when you can use them. The funds do not rollover from year to year. They have the "use it or lose it" rule. Whatever funds that do not get exhausted from Flexible Spending are lost and do not get returned to the recipient. But most plans have a grace period. In my case, the 2008 FSA is good for the entire 2008, plus 3 months grace period until about March 15. The grace period is similar to contributions to an IRA, which can be made to the prior year until taxes are due.
My $250 total Flexible Spending is small because I am single without dependents. I will primarily use it for prescriptions every now and then, but mostly for contact lens solution and accessories. My vision plan at work should cover the cost of contact lenses, otherwise I would have budgeted those into my FSA contribution. Last year I spent about $600 out-of-pocket on prescription glasses. If I had an FSA setup, I would have $150 on federal taxes alone being in the 25% tax bracket. I still would have saved on state taxes, social security, and Medicare.
There are many items that Flexible Spending can be used on - from co-pays to deductibles, to prescriptions, to dependent-care, to medical, dental, or vision. The list is big, and mostly consists of needed medical expenses. Cosmetic enhancements, if not a necessity, are not covered. Some companies even have a debit-card program, so the funds are available to spend right away. Companies that reimburse funds are not the most convenient, but reimbursement method can be used to the advantage of the user.
With my Amex Blue Cash, I get 5% cash back on drug store purchases. So if I had in $50 prescriptions, I would use my credit card to pay for it and receive $2.50 (5%) in cash back. I would then submit my receipts for reimbursement and get back my original $50. I would have made $2.50, for buying something I would have needed anyway.
One of my prescriptions always comes with a rebate. It is a $30 rebate for a very expensive drug. My prescription co-pay is either $10, $20, or $30 depending on the brand, and for the expensive drug, it is $30. I would put the $30 on my credit card, get 5% cash back, submit a copy of my receipt for $30 FSA reimbursement, and submit another copy of my receipt for $30 rebate. Now I just made $30 + 5%.
Today I came up with another technique to use to my advantage. My sister frequently buys prescriptions for her daughter. Her husband's company does not offer Flexible Spending so obviously she can't get reimbursed for her prescriptions. But she can give me the receipts, and I can submit them to get reimbursed for her purchase. I would get the reimbused money back, but because I did not actually pay for my sister's prescriptions, I could use the money for whatever I want. In essence, I received money earned from work tax-free. Now my goal is to get any receipts with Flexible Spending items from other family members. Most of them pay in cash, so credit card names wouldn't show up on the store receipt.
Next year, I will have to increase my Flexible Spending Account to a higher amount to include eligible purchases from my family, that I can use to claim for myself. Just a nice little loophole to avoiding all taxes.
Like a 401(k), the amount deducted from a Flexible Spending Account is pre-tax. That means if I make $1000 in a pay period but elect to deduct $50 towards an FSA, then I will only be taxed on the remaining $950. A 401(k) contribution defers taxes for federal and state, but a Flexible Spending Account deduction defers taxes for all taxes - federal, state, social security, and Medicare.
The contribution of a 401(k) can be changed anytime during the year from $0 to the maximum annual limit. With a Flexible Spending Account, the total amount a person wants to contribute has to be decided before the year even starts, and the amount deducted each week is the total amount divided by the number of pay periods. I decided that I wanted to have a total of $250 of Flexible Spending, and because I get paid bi-weekly (26 pay periods per year), I have $9.62 deducted bi-weekly towards my Flexible Spending. But say I want to use $200 of my $250 that I want to contribute to an FSA, and it's only February. At most, I've had about 4 pay periods with a total contribution of just under $40. One good thing about FSA is that you can spend the total amount you elected to deduct for the entire year, even if you haven't contributed to the full amount yet. So I could go ahead and make that eligible $200 purchase towards Flexible Spending. If I left the company, I would not have to pay the difference either. But with one good benefit comes one disadvantage.
Flexible Spending Accounts have limits to when you can use them. The funds do not rollover from year to year. They have the "use it or lose it" rule. Whatever funds that do not get exhausted from Flexible Spending are lost and do not get returned to the recipient. But most plans have a grace period. In my case, the 2008 FSA is good for the entire 2008, plus 3 months grace period until about March 15. The grace period is similar to contributions to an IRA, which can be made to the prior year until taxes are due.
My $250 total Flexible Spending is small because I am single without dependents. I will primarily use it for prescriptions every now and then, but mostly for contact lens solution and accessories. My vision plan at work should cover the cost of contact lenses, otherwise I would have budgeted those into my FSA contribution. Last year I spent about $600 out-of-pocket on prescription glasses. If I had an FSA setup, I would have $150 on federal taxes alone being in the 25% tax bracket. I still would have saved on state taxes, social security, and Medicare.
There are many items that Flexible Spending can be used on - from co-pays to deductibles, to prescriptions, to dependent-care, to medical, dental, or vision. The list is big, and mostly consists of needed medical expenses. Cosmetic enhancements, if not a necessity, are not covered. Some companies even have a debit-card program, so the funds are available to spend right away. Companies that reimburse funds are not the most convenient, but reimbursement method can be used to the advantage of the user.
With my Amex Blue Cash, I get 5% cash back on drug store purchases. So if I had in $50 prescriptions, I would use my credit card to pay for it and receive $2.50 (5%) in cash back. I would then submit my receipts for reimbursement and get back my original $50. I would have made $2.50, for buying something I would have needed anyway.
One of my prescriptions always comes with a rebate. It is a $30 rebate for a very expensive drug. My prescription co-pay is either $10, $20, or $30 depending on the brand, and for the expensive drug, it is $30. I would put the $30 on my credit card, get 5% cash back, submit a copy of my receipt for $30 FSA reimbursement, and submit another copy of my receipt for $30 rebate. Now I just made $30 + 5%.
Today I came up with another technique to use to my advantage. My sister frequently buys prescriptions for her daughter. Her husband's company does not offer Flexible Spending so obviously she can't get reimbursed for her prescriptions. But she can give me the receipts, and I can submit them to get reimbursed for her purchase. I would get the reimbused money back, but because I did not actually pay for my sister's prescriptions, I could use the money for whatever I want. In essence, I received money earned from work tax-free. Now my goal is to get any receipts with Flexible Spending items from other family members. Most of them pay in cash, so credit card names wouldn't show up on the store receipt.
Next year, I will have to increase my Flexible Spending Account to a higher amount to include eligible purchases from my family, that I can use to claim for myself. Just a nice little loophole to avoiding all taxes.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Career or financial decision?
Yesterday, I was browsing the career sites for Pfizer (PFE) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). I used to own shares of Pfizer but sold them when they were not profitable to me. I still regularly invest in Johnson & Johnson by purchasing shares through a DRIP. Anyways, there was no jobs suited for me at Pfizer in La Jolla. There was one position open at Johnson & Johnson that is exactly what I am looking for. Career wise, it would be perfect for me to apply and get the job. Financial wise, I might be throwing away potential money I would have made just by staying at my current job.
At my current job, I invest in the employer stock purchase plan (ESPP) and have received stock options. At its highest point in the last 6 months, my ESPP was worth about $15k and my stock options were worth about $20k. Because of the volatility in the stock market right now, the ESPP is worth $12k and my stock options are worth about $10k. If I changed jobs, I could easily keep the $12k in ESPP because I already own the stock, but I would have to exercise the stock options and only receive $10k gross (~$7k post-taxes). I would lose out on a potential of $10k that the stock options could appreciate to in a bull market.
Comparing salary between my current job and Johnson & Johnson, a former co-worker in my department who made 20% less than me got a job at Johnson & Johnson and immediately made 6% more than me. So in the salary sense, a career change would be an immediate boost.
My 401(k) plan is another issue. I am not fully vested, so if I left before I am fully vested, I do not receive the entire company match. The way my 401(k) vesting schedule works, I get 25% of the company match after 1 year of working, and it increases monthly so that another 25% is vested by the 2nd year. It would take 4 years to receive 100% of the employer match during those 4 years. I am not due to hit the 4 year mark until May. I do not want to throw away retirement money that the employer gave me.
Finances aside, the career change would be a position with higher responsibility in a company that is recognizable around the world. In my current position, I have to explain in detail what my company does because it is not a consumer brand. With Johnson & Johnson, people immediately think "No More Tears" baby shampoo but also realize they make Accuvue contact lenses, Listerine mouth wash, and many other consumer products. In the R&D position, I can help change lives with my knowledge that can help bring a product to market.
Right now, I will hold off on applying to Johnson & Johnson. I will wait until May so that I can receive 100% of the employer match in my first 4 years of working. From now until then, maybe I can find another position within my current company to allow me to grow in the direction that I can see myself still doing in 5-10 years. That will allow me to hold onto my stock options and exercise them when they are valued higher. My former co-worker at Johnson & Johnson is one of my best friends. Ironically, I was her reference when she got the job there. When I do apply, I will ask her to submit my application internally because that has a better chance of getting reviewed since she can vouch for me.
At my current job, I invest in the employer stock purchase plan (ESPP) and have received stock options. At its highest point in the last 6 months, my ESPP was worth about $15k and my stock options were worth about $20k. Because of the volatility in the stock market right now, the ESPP is worth $12k and my stock options are worth about $10k. If I changed jobs, I could easily keep the $12k in ESPP because I already own the stock, but I would have to exercise the stock options and only receive $10k gross (~$7k post-taxes). I would lose out on a potential of $10k that the stock options could appreciate to in a bull market.
Comparing salary between my current job and Johnson & Johnson, a former co-worker in my department who made 20% less than me got a job at Johnson & Johnson and immediately made 6% more than me. So in the salary sense, a career change would be an immediate boost.
My 401(k) plan is another issue. I am not fully vested, so if I left before I am fully vested, I do not receive the entire company match. The way my 401(k) vesting schedule works, I get 25% of the company match after 1 year of working, and it increases monthly so that another 25% is vested by the 2nd year. It would take 4 years to receive 100% of the employer match during those 4 years. I am not due to hit the 4 year mark until May. I do not want to throw away retirement money that the employer gave me.
Finances aside, the career change would be a position with higher responsibility in a company that is recognizable around the world. In my current position, I have to explain in detail what my company does because it is not a consumer brand. With Johnson & Johnson, people immediately think "No More Tears" baby shampoo but also realize they make Accuvue contact lenses, Listerine mouth wash, and many other consumer products. In the R&D position, I can help change lives with my knowledge that can help bring a product to market.
Right now, I will hold off on applying to Johnson & Johnson. I will wait until May so that I can receive 100% of the employer match in my first 4 years of working. From now until then, maybe I can find another position within my current company to allow me to grow in the direction that I can see myself still doing in 5-10 years. That will allow me to hold onto my stock options and exercise them when they are valued higher. My former co-worker at Johnson & Johnson is one of my best friends. Ironically, I was her reference when she got the job there. When I do apply, I will ask her to submit my application internally because that has a better chance of getting reviewed since she can vouch for me.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Shareholder meetings
Publicly-traded companies have an annual meeting of shareholders to discuss the year ahead and to vote on items on the ballot. Each share of a company is worth one vote, and the vote can be placed by absentee ballot or in person at the shareholder meeting. Anyone that owns stock directly in the company can attend these meetings. Stock ownership through mutual funds do not count.
Even though the company I work for holds its shareholder meeting in the same location I work at, I have never attended one. Maybe because the industry that I am in, it isn't that exciting compared to larger companies that the public would recognize. I own exactly one share of the Walt Disney Company (DIS), which I bought through OneShare. That one share I own is not for investing pictures, but I like the art of the stock certificate itself. I have it framed at work, and everybody always asks me about it. Last week, Disney sent me their 2007 annual report and a ballot for items to vote on. Their shareholder meeting will take place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 6, 2008.
I have no intention of going to the Walt Disney Company shareholder meeting, but in the past, they are known for giving away free items. When the shareholder meetings regularly took place in Anaheim, they would give away tickets to Disneyland for each shareholder that physically showed up to the meeting. They have done away with that in recent years, but if they had the shareholder meeting in southern California, I would take my chance at a nice freebie, whatever it may be.
At shareholder meetings, Disney has been known to show upcoming previews of their films. Disney characters also show up for autographs, but photography is not allowed so there is no way to capture that Disney moment, albeit in a corporate setting.
I do not own any of the shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A and BRK.B), but one day I will purchase their B shares. Even though their shares are costly, it is like buying a mutual fund with a basket of stocks because Berkshire Hathaway is just a shell corporation that owns stock in other companies. Buying individual stocks of Berkshire Hathaway is like automatically buying a diversified portfolio of stocks. Many shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway make the annual trip to Omaha for the shareholder meeting. They come to hear the the words of the world's greatest investor, Warren Buffet. That is something I want to do soon because it is unknown when Buffet will step down as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Even though the company I work for holds its shareholder meeting in the same location I work at, I have never attended one. Maybe because the industry that I am in, it isn't that exciting compared to larger companies that the public would recognize. I own exactly one share of the Walt Disney Company (DIS), which I bought through OneShare. That one share I own is not for investing pictures, but I like the art of the stock certificate itself. I have it framed at work, and everybody always asks me about it. Last week, Disney sent me their 2007 annual report and a ballot for items to vote on. Their shareholder meeting will take place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 6, 2008.
I have no intention of going to the Walt Disney Company shareholder meeting, but in the past, they are known for giving away free items. When the shareholder meetings regularly took place in Anaheim, they would give away tickets to Disneyland for each shareholder that physically showed up to the meeting. They have done away with that in recent years, but if they had the shareholder meeting in southern California, I would take my chance at a nice freebie, whatever it may be.
At shareholder meetings, Disney has been known to show upcoming previews of their films. Disney characters also show up for autographs, but photography is not allowed so there is no way to capture that Disney moment, albeit in a corporate setting.
I do not own any of the shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A and BRK.B), but one day I will purchase their B shares. Even though their shares are costly, it is like buying a mutual fund with a basket of stocks because Berkshire Hathaway is just a shell corporation that owns stock in other companies. Buying individual stocks of Berkshire Hathaway is like automatically buying a diversified portfolio of stocks. Many shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway make the annual trip to Omaha for the shareholder meeting. They come to hear the the words of the world's greatest investor, Warren Buffet. That is something I want to do soon because it is unknown when Buffet will step down as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
