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Originally posted in the BFC Newbies Thread Yet Another Idiot Who Spent Age: 29 Income: Call it $38k annual. $36,582.70 base salary, $350/mo potential performance bonuses (I average around $150-200), occasional side business cash (maybe $1k-$2k annually) Assets:  Goal: Eliminate $9,000 CC debt Secondary Goal: Actually properly budget I could attempt to justify my poor CC spending habits over the past couple years but we all know that's a fallacious and ultimately irrelevant line of reasoning. Of course, we're going to go straight to the spending habits and budgeting solution. Part of the reason I'm in this hole is because I ceased active budgeting sometime in 2016. When I had no CC debt and was simply using it as a spending card, I became complacent. Then a few expenses came along that I hadn't budgeted for, and I told myself I would get clear with my bonuses. Then I just turned a blind eye to it like an idiot aaand we're in the justification argument trench  Anyway, I have now got on board with nYNAB after getting over my initial distaste, and after some tinkering I have become more comfortable with the program. I still don't like the subscription model, but the YNAB model, interface, and principle is familiar enough that I would like to stick with it. I'm open to superior alternatives. Additionally, it's just as "expensive" as Prime or my AAA subscriptions. Those provide value in excess of the expense, and I'm certain nYNAB will as well, what with making me stick to budgetary commitments instead of trying (and failing) to keep a purely mental budget. Once I get a good idea of where my money is going, I'll start making cuts of any superfluous subscriptions and limiting the dreaded "miscellaneous spending" that is responsible for this whole mess.Solution 1: Liquidate some investments I've not really asked my friends and family about how to best use these resources to resolve this issue because I'm incredibly embarrassed by the situation; I'm generally regarded as the "good with money" person. My personal gut feeling is to leave them be, as I think they'll be more valuable as long term investments for retirement than as an immediate debt resolution tool. I'm including them in the discussion because I might be very wrong about this. I could knock out one hell of a chunk, or all of it, but I'd probably get my rear end beat on taxes. Looking for expert advice/opinion here, or some reading material if you folks don't want to  Solution 2: Balance Transfer Card One of the things I was just looking at in the forum (and what prompted this post) is opening a "Balance Transfer" credit card for the purpose of moving my existing debt and avoiding the monthly assessment of CC Debt interest fees, which at my current debt level are just over $200/mo. At the moment, I don't really have a good idea of monthly budget cuts I could make, since I only restarted tracking/budgeting on the 10th. However, I do know that some of the cards I looked at on Nerdwallet offered free balance transfers and no interest for the first 15-18 months (AmEx EveryDay, BankAmericard, Discover it). 9,000 / 15 = $600 a month to kill the debt, which is a bit of a daunting number ($100 short of my mortgage payment). However, that bit of interest relief makes that $400, which is slightly less so, and "every dollar counts!"  . Please point out the caveats (other than the obvious; that I don't pay off in time and start getting hit with interest again; running up debt again without paying off old debt), because this seems a little too good to be true and I'm wearing the easy-button blinders. Same thing here, looking for expert opinions, advice, and/or reading material.Solution 3: Leverage Home Equity I've got $20k-ish of home equity (mostly accrued due to low short-sale pricing). However, this is not my forever-home; it was more of an advantageous investment purchase that also got me out of renting, and I'd rather utilize the equity for an improvement loan for when I get around to planning and executing that process. Other Solutions: Second job (low viability): my primary job keeps me busy enough as it is, and the schedule fluctuates based on what I need to do. It's great for my own personal flexibility, but for keeping another job it's not compatible. Sell poo poo (viable, but not preferable): I've got a motorcycle I got a very good deal on that I could sell to a buddy literally today for $2k. I'd rather not sell it because I'll not find another deal like it. However, reducing my debt and getting the interest monkey off my back will likely lead to more future purchasing power. Sentimental value etc. but whatever. I could do it. I've got a bunch of firearms as well. Some are rather unique, and all of them are worth more than what I paid. Sentimental/cool factor value also applies here. I could, but I'd part with the motorcycle first. Not Happening Selling the Honda Fit and getting something cheaper for cash: This is the most reliable car I've ever had, it's up to date on all maintenance (I'm my own mechanic), and it's my autocross car (AutoX being one of the only things keeping me sane at the moment). I think this would be a poor long-term decision. Plus I just flat-out don't want to do it, unless all other options prove demonstrably less favorable. Selling the PC: Another sanity item. Yeah it's valuable (probably $2000 worth of rig and peripherals selling on craigslist and whatnot) but I like games when I'm not autocrossing or studying. I'd sell the Fit first. Selling the house: To save money I'd have to get roommates. I would really prefer to not have roommates again. 1-bedroom rentals around here would cost me drat near what my current living expenses do, if not more. Absolutely my last resort. Doesn't have to be any single solution; combine and cherrypick as needed, I'm just spitballing and polling better minds than I before I commit to something I can't go back from. Halp 
Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Apr 13, 2018 |
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Apr 13, 2018 18:36
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Doccykins posted:jfc $200 a month on interest! Absolutely the best option to go for is the balance transfer card just so you're not spending 6% of your monthly income on paying a credit company. The catches with them tend to be that the transfer itself involves anything from a 1%-3.5% fee so look for a 0% interest card for 12 months with a lower transfer fee over a 0% interest for 18-36 months with a higher one. 9k over 12 months would be $750/mo, 18 would be $500. Month 1 also pay whatever fee then treat the debt payoff as a utility bill and set up a monthly debit from your checking on payday SlapActionJackson posted:Beach Bum, how did you come to hold two individual stocks? Regardless of your debt pay down strategy, you should also work on moving those to tax sheltered accounts, invested in something more diversified, like Vanguard lifestyle fund or total market. I edited the image to better reflect the type of each tracked asset  I only have Publix stock as described below.Space Gopher posted:What does your monthly net income look like? If you're not cash flow positive, then anything you do now is barely even a band aid while you're bleeding out; if you are cash flow positive, then it's just a matter of figuring out the timelines. 22 Eargesplitten posted:I’m not exactly a BFC success story yet, but I say definitely sell the stock. You don’t know if Publix is going up or down, but you know that card is going to keep charging interest. Re: Publix stock; it was part of an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). When Publix and I parted ways, I got to keep my stock according to the terms of the plan (though somehow my 401K got liquidated immediately  ). As far as the mobility of that stock and moving it to a tax-advantaged space, I have absolutely no idea. The quarterly dividends get deposited in my USAA Savings account and I move them into my R-IRA. Are you saying I could move that stock somewhere that would exempt me from taxes on those dividends? It's only about $30 gross income per quarter, but I'm the kinda guy that chases single dollars on annual taxes. Here's a thread I found about the subject with some quick googling: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=140084My 401(k) is already on Vanguard 2055 (because I don't want to gently caress with it). Net Monthly will have to be calculated; I was going to let nYNAB run for at least a month to improve clarity, again before I do anything irreversible. Right now I suppose we're just seeing how much dirt's in the buckets and comparing that with the size of the holes (and how fast I'm still digging). AutoX Monthly cost: $30 registration, $10 fuel. If I have to get a hotel (because I'm either working a major event or school) I'm reimbursed by the Club. I run on take-offs, which cost me about $50 per set, which I can then use for about a year. (11 events/year). So, about $500/year // $41/month. I'll be making a thread for BFC entertainment purposes, though I hope I won'e be good Bad With Money fodder in the future now that I've removed the blindfold and the problem is screaming in my face. GoGoGadgetChris posted:If the debt is 4% and the stock yields 3%, I got a slam dunk idea for you Yeah, that was a thought I've had as well, but if I had good ideas or the surety of experience, I probably wouldn't have had to ask  (Sincerely though, thank you)Beach Bum posted:Re: Publix stock; it was part of an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). When Publix and I parted ways, I got to keep my stock according to the terms of the plan (though somehow my 401K got liquidated immediately Space Gopher posted:I'm saying that, as long as the Publix stock is in some kind of taxable account and not some weird ESOP-specific retirement account thing, then you can liquidate it and use the proceeds to help kill your credit card debt. Yes, it sucks to have to sell investments, and you'll probably get hit with some capital gains tax, but you're in the hole. I wouldn't get rid of tax-advantaged space so easily, but if it's liquid and not tax-advantaged then it's probably one of your least-bad options. Duly noted. 22 Eargesplitten posted:Yeah, there’s no way you’re making more from that stock than you’re losing from the CC. Correct. Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Apr 13, 2018 |
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Apr 13, 2018 18:36
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but coming back to them each month can land you in good stead and/or show you what a moron you were for loving up and relapsing on bad habits
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I'll likely sell the bike next week. Buddy will have a cashier's check for $2000 on Monday.No Butt Stuff posted:Sell the stock and pay your CC debt. Space Gopher posted:Careful with this - there's likely to be a chunk of cap gains tax on that stock sale, and it would be important to set that aside. I will start looking into this and see what kind of a capital gains tax hit I'm going to take. Space Gopher posted:Brake pads/rotors/fluid? Suspension? Good point. I did the rear brakes a few months ago, they're set for another 50k-100k miles. I burn a set of front pads (Wilwood DPHA calipers [CAME WITH THE CAR], BT-20 7812 pads [$70/set]) about every 10k miles, AutoX included. Current rotors are $200/set, but I've had the current set for 20k miles, and at current wear rate, I expect another 40k or so before minimum (yes, I pad slap, and yes, I know they're expensive, but as often I was replacing $80/set Carquest blanks (20k), I get better $/mile out of them). For reference, in 2017 I did 39k miles for work alone, but 2018 is turning out to be much better (tl;dr we had a mutiny due to lovely working conditions and understaffing and the director was ousted). I pour a quart of ATE Type 200 through it every 6 months, that's $20. Suspension is set and will not be hosed with further, barring alignments, checked whenever daily tires are replaced, and it's held through the last two sets of street tires. I did just replace the front swaybar endlinks because the clunking was driving me up the goddamn wall. Call it $60/month, $40 of which is reg/fuel (120mi round trip, 30mpg). Everything else I count as regular maintenance, since it is still a daily driver. I'm planning to budget about $50/$100 a month for maintenance; this may be lower than most because I do all my own work and have a hookup for parts and tires. Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Apr 13, 2018 |
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Apr 13, 2018 19:40
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Okay, balance transfer ideas (Solution 2). Nerdwallet lists three cards under the "Balance Transfer" title: Amex EveryDay Relevant Benefits: 0% Intro APR for 15mo on purchases/balance transfers (14.49 - 25.49 regular) 0$ balance transfer fee (must be req. within 60d) No annual fee Caveat: Max balance transfer limit is the lesser of $7500 or 75% of credit limit. Bank Americard Benefits: 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers within 60d (13.49 - 23.49 regular) 0$ Intro balance transfer fee (after: 3% or $10, whichever is greater) No annual fee Caveats: Something in the agreement about "You accept that on a periodic basis your account may be considered for automatic upgrade at our discretion." I feel like this means they could "upgrade" me out of this program and smack me with the APR on whatever they "upgrade" me to. Additionally, I regard BoA as a rather slimy company; my father had a whole drat file drawer of lawsuits with them. Discover it Benefits:0% APR 18mo from date of first transfer for transfers that post before 10 July 2018 (13.49 - 24.49 regular) Caveats: "You may transfer any amount, up to your credit available for transfers, which may be less than your total credit line." Also, "The minimum payment requirement can cause promotional balances to be paid in full prior to the end of the promotional period." What the gently caress does THAT even mean? Also they don't post a full cardmember agreement anywhere I can get to it; have to apply to get even a smell of it. I'm considering this option because it will immediately get the interest monkey off my back without moving on to liquidating investments (which will still remain viable). That's an immediate $150/mo off of my monthly costs (I thought it was $200 at my current balance but I was wrong; I just got smacked with it today). There's still the application process to see what kind of limits I'm offered. If I get one that can cover my current balance, great! If not, there's still the $2000 from the bike to get down to $7000. Also, I need to see how much money I can throw at this over the next 15-18 months, which is going to require either a manual examination of my statements or a month of nYNAB usage. If it's enough to cover the balance over 15-18 months, I can pause on the investment liquidation. Any card I get and transfer a balance to is getting buried under the house or similarly put out of reach. The payment required to hit 15 or 18 month payoff will be automated as well to keep me from doing anything stupid. For now I think I'm going to wait a month to develop a sharp picture of my monthly expenditures (as well as the aforementioned sale of the motorcycle). Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Apr 13, 2018 |
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Apr 13, 2018 22:01
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ma i married a tuna posted:Sell the stock and kill your debt, but also... Regarding "expensive hobbies"; absolutely! That's not in question at all. The reason I'm in this situation is because I stopped budgeting and instead coveted the shiny things. When confronted with hard data I usually act according to that data. When I stop budgeting, poo poo flies out the drat window. I think the house at age 27 is a pretty good indicator that when I keep my poo poo together and stick to a plan, I'm alright. It's when I stop budgeting and give myself a fallacious justification to ignore good financial sense for lack of that budget that I have problems. Single homeowner making drat near 40k/year has got no drat reason to be in this situation other than pure lack of sense. As for the assessment of AutoX cost being off "by a factor of ten or so"... I had something lengthy written but I'm not going to argue any which way until the first month is done and I have some reports to look at. I don't trust myself to objectively examine the situation. Instead I will acknowledge your concern and address it as the picture develops. moana posted:Probably you don't live in a tourist destination if your mortgage is 80k, but airbnb can bring in some short term income. Yeah roommates suck but guess what, so does being in debt. Surprisingly the market for rental rooms around here (Tallahassee, FL) is pretty drat good, it being a university city. A friend of mine currently rents a bedroom with attached bathroom for $400+. I'm told that's apparently cheap. I suppose it'd only be for a year or two right? Ugh... Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Apr 13, 2018 |
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Apr 13, 2018 23:36
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Haifisch posted:If you don't sell [the PC], the second best thing to do is not spend more money on it until it's actually obsolete for playing new games(which takes longer than you'd think, especially starting with an expensive rig like the one you've got). You're not going to spontaneously combust when the day comes where you have to play a new game on the second-best graphics settings instead of max settings. It's entirely possible you might not notice a difference, even. Gaming doesn't have to be an expensive hobby, but it's easy to trick yourself into thinking you need a bunch of expensive crap for the full gaming experience(you don't). Veskit posted:I saw the 2000 dollar computer but how much are you spending on games a month? $2000 was a wild-rear end-guess and it covers the whole lot, not just the box. i5 3570K, 1070Ti, 16gB ram, a few drives, couple 1080p IPS monitors, HD558 cans, and a 5.1 system I bought off craigslist a decade ago for $100. That's about it. I can't remember the last new game I bought (Edit: Yes I can, it was Doom 4, and it was excellent, and it's probably what killed my 660Ti). I'm pretty set with the current stable of what I've had; CS:GO, Overwatch, HotS, old emulated console games, some BF4 from time to time, PoE, Diablo 3. I don't go looking for new games when I'm bored, and nothing new has really caught my eye for years. I'm not one of those mega-gamers that always has to have the best of the best every release cycle, I make do with what I have. As for the machine itself, the last things I bought were a 1070Ti ($500) to replace that finally dying 660Ti. I definitely don't upgrade very often; this is only my third motherboard since 2005. I think this is only my fourth GPU, (6800GT, GTX260, 660Ti, and the 1070Ti). I pretty much run poo poo 'till the smoke comes out if I can get away with it. The days of there being a advantageous difference between 30 and 60+ FPS in a game are long behind me at nearly 30. Duckman2008 posted:Ok, so I don’t know cars at all, so I have these questions for the OP: Ritznit posted:People have already said a lot of good stuff, so I just wanna add that selling your motorcycle is a great start with evaluating those expensive hobbies. You admit to coveting the shinies, which are those and what tempts you about them? Generally, it's not great to deprive yourself of ALL enjoyment especially if you are prone to giving in and then escalating the spending. Instead, be smart about your hobbies and make a plan about what you currently do that costs money, what you like about it and how you could replace the hobby entirely or at least reduce the cost involved. Everyone indulges and it's fine, but your goal should be to make any indulgence a safe one you don't have to feel guilty about. Honestly, I'd like to retract the statement about "shinies"; I don't do decorative or ephemeral, I do practical. I think it's more accurate to say that if I buy something, it's going to be of high quality, and it's going to be useful, and it had better last. That makes for front-loaded expenses. That goes for parts and components of any kind, tools, shoes, clothing, and the like. I bought the 1070Ti because I knew I would get more time out of it. I buy quality automotive parts. I buy Levi jeans instead of Walmart brand because they last longer and fit better. I've had the same pair of Chuck Taylors for like two years and kept them cobbled together with ShoeGoo (though the soles are just about wore plumb-the-gently caress-out at this point). If something is going to make some aspect of my life easier and more efficient, or with regards to clothing, improve QoL (see: decent shoes, jeans, underwear), that's when things get serious. Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Apr 17, 2018 |
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Apr 17, 2018 04:48
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Spokes posted:I know you’re tracking stuff in ynab and everything so that’s good. It’s hard to say “you must sell your computer/motorcycle/cars/stocks/guns” without knowing what your monthlies look like, so we should have better advice once data’s available. Are you married? Kids? Single, no kids, with a mortgage and a car payment. That's pretty much the extent of my hard obligations.
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Apr 17, 2018 09:48
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:the thing I would absolutely 100% be the most concerned about in your position is that you are in a dying industry and your lack of qualifications is going to really hinder your ability to switch industries - have you though about this? That's one of the reasons I'm rebooting my education. First, I have to clear this.
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Apr 17, 2018 18:40
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Ugh bike sale just got called off. Buyer really wants a dual sport. I could cancel insurance, at least.
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Apr 17, 2018 19:02
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SiGmA_X posted:Ah, I only looked up the processor cost on CCC, which is where I found $3-400 - I was only looking at the last year, not 5yrs ago, you're much closer on historical price than I. I had to file an extension because the IRS still hasn't (EDIT: hadn't) gotten the new mortgage insurance premium deduction form out I don't get refunds anyhow, I usually write a small check. EDIT2: I have an extension but I did just see they've issued an updated 1098. Finally. I can polish this turd and send it off now. Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 19:41 on Apr 18, 2018 |
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Apr 18, 2018 19:26
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So, an update. You're all going to be very disappointed in me, I'm sure. There's some pros and some cons. I did not sell the bike. However, that kinda saved my rear end. I was tinkering with the Fit, chasing down a noise, and it turned out both of my strut mount bearings had failed. Local auto parts stores could not get the mount kits. I had the car up on stands for 6 days waiting on Rockauto. With the bike, I was able to get to work and whatnot without adding any additional stress to me or my family/coworkers. I did not cash out the Publix stock. I spent $1500 or so getting my A/C repaired. It's Florida, it's summer, and sometimes I have to work at night and sleep in the daytime. However...  This is where we're at. We were at -2206.81. We are now at -1882.64, and that's with $1500 thrown at the house. I filled up one of my empty file cabinets in the office with snacks, and have been eating the poo poo out of Nature Valley bars and hard-boiled eggs instead of hitting up Jimmy Johns or Subway or the local bar we call our "satellite office." I have also quit smoking. That was huge, both for my finances and for my health, though I quickly gained and dropped ten pounds and ate myself out of vegetables in a single weekend. I've been doing a shitton of side work as well, total profit of about $400. Progress. I feel good. I would be at -382.64 for the budget accounts had my evaporator not poo poo the bed.
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May 18, 2018 21:41
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Weatherman posted:So OP you're still posting but not in this thread so can we assume you've given up? Lol. I'll write an update today. I'm Edit: I didn't see your earlier post on the 7th, oops. I've been kinda checked out on the new PoE league (before anyone who may be uninformed blows a gasket it's FtP)Anywho, since it's apparently a point of contention, do you guys need biweekly check-in's or is monthly sufficient? Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 11:59 on Jun 15, 2018 |
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Jun 15, 2018 11:36
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Do whatever you want, it's your thread Fair enough. So, update. My auto insurance company dropped me (let's not even go there, please), and I had to find new insurance. For the same reasons I got dropped, I had to front nearly $1200 for a 6-month policy, and that was the lowest quote. I was not given the option to pay monthly. Because I know y'all'll ask anyway, there are no DUI's, but there are tickets and one at-fault, though I've been clean since 09-2016. Why I've been dropped 18 months later without any further fuckups is a bit irritating, but whatever, you gotta own it and deal.  So here we are. Overall negative for the journey at the moment, but I've got also got $300 in cash in my desk drawer right now from a couple side jobs, and I've not stopped hustlin' on that front. May was a good month for it but my client base is rather small. Anyhow, that $300 is there because I'm wanting to change local banks; CCBG stopped offering free BtB xfers, and they won't issue free bank checks to use for mobile deposit, so I need to hunt down a basic free-checking deal so I can write my own drat checks to move money around without hitting up friends for checks. I still haven't bought any more cigarettes  TL;DR CC balance is still trending downward, I just don't have as much liquid as I did in the previous update, due to the aforementioned insurance thing. Oh and just for fun: Next update will be on 29 June 
Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 13:33 on Jun 15, 2018 |
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Jun 15, 2018 13:29
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SiGmA_X posted:I'm so confused by your bank issue. And insurance. USAA didn't charge any extra for monthly payments. Progressive doesn't afford the same perk to their clientele, so I paid the biannual (not that I had a choice). I should be back with USAA in November, a bunch of my poor driver record goes away after that. At least that's the assurance I got from my rep. My bank situation is due to the fact USAA has no local branches. If I weren't dealing with cash it wouldn't be a problem, since my salary is deposited with my USAA Checking. It's highly unlikely I'm going to be switching away from USAA. I'm well adapted to their apps and their interface, and thus it's just more comfortable and convenient for me to continue to utilize them, even with the issues I'm having to deal with due to my side job stuff. Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Jun 16, 2018 |
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Jun 16, 2018 02:24
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Moneyball posted:Where is your update? oh gently caress me running. Just been busy with 7-day weeks at work and getting my classes straight and I whiffed on this. Drop the hammer and I'll re-up and post tomorrow evening.
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Aug 19, 2018 04:24
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Sunday afternoon after getting home from AutoX I parked the car in the driveway and collapsed after a shower and a whiskey. Apologies for the tardiness; poo poo's been interesting. TL;DR I've not incurred any additional debt but I didn't make much progress either.  First, I was informed I was getting a lovely 0.5% raise. Yes, half a loving percent. At $37k that's a whole $185 per year. Truly a fair exchange for the work and time I have invested in the Company. Compounded with the poo poo I went through in 2017, I'm not putting up with it anymore. I've been getting readmitted to the local community college so I can work on bettering my education, and sending off resumes to try and find work that doesn't destroy both my psyche, my personal time, and my vehicles. With my experience in operations, logistics, and general management over the last 7 years I'm shooting for at least $40k. It's been 7-day weeks for at least a month now; yesterday and today are my first days off in awhile (meaning: I can't remember the last day off I had). I've been driving 800-1000 miles a week, which makes for a soaring fuel bill ($382 for August so far, July was only $308), add to that the work schedule means I have to pay someone else to work on my vehicles; an engine oil change, valve adjustment, serpentine belt, filter change, and transmission oil change cost me $400 and that was a friend doing it. Had a bit of a pucker moment on a rainy day and discovered I hadn't kept up my tire rotations so I had to replace a couple tires, there's another $200. It's been a lovely fuckin' few weeks. I did ditch my former local bank. I'm now with a local credit union on a free Checking/Savings, and holy mother of god they have ATMs that take cash, so when I do some side work I can just drop by the branch on my work commute without having to wait around for normal people to start working. Their online banking is just as nice, and with a checkbook I can draw my local deposits into my USAA account without hassling Dad for a check.
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Aug 20, 2018 09:40
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fatal oopsie-daisy posted:Stop doing the AutoX poo poo, it's ruining your car and it's an unnecessary cost. Go running or lift buckets of water instead, it's free and will improve your body and is a better hobby overall. 1) No, what's ruining my car is driving 1000 miles a week. 2) That was a gift bottle for my birthday, also fuckin'  I've purchased alcohol precisely zero times since this thread was made. That should give you an idea of my consumption rate.3) Trust me, my direct supervisor is well aware of my gripes and my imminent departure. We have a solid professional and personal relationship. I hope my next supervisor is half as good. Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 12:02 on Aug 20, 2018 |
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Aug 20, 2018 11:53
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Nothing missing. My direct supervisor is not the one signing off on my raises. I think Regional VP three levels up from me gets to make that call. The conversation was at my house on the front porch, and quite brief (as I was pissed). His commentary was "It's loving bullshit, it's a loving insult, and I'm not happy about it either." I have already escalated to the director (superior to my superior) and made the same known to him, and that if that's the way things are going to be, I'm out. The VP knows and they're not willing to do what needs to be done to make it right and retain me. That says all I need to hear about the Company and the overall attitude regarding employee advancement, satisfaction, and welfare. As for your earlier questions, my apologies for overlooking them. This newspaper I'm with is the only game in town, really. I'm applying for operations and contract manager type stuff. I don't have the breadth of knowledge to really pin down something specific outside of my own industry. If things got really desperate I'd go for any of the dozens of retail manager postings but that's neither playing to my strengths nor something I really want to do. The Department of Management Services has a few of these types of positions, but so far the only callback I got was for a 40k Contract Manager (the lowest base I've applied for). When I asked about the compensation on the phone I got a laughable lowball of 32k, again for a position listed at 40 starting. We'd had a good conversation before that as well 
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Aug 20, 2018 15:48
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Leng posted:Hmmn. I still think we're missing some big pieces of the puzzle. I don't mean it in the sense that you're hiding something, but in the sense that I'm not sure of the entire context. It costs a LOT to hire an employee to replace someone, so if you are really delivering value to the company, then it's an odd situation for them to voluntarily not want to do something to retain you. That means there's 3 possible reasons: 1) you are not in fact delivering something the company perceives to be of value; 2) you have annoyed somebody somewhere; or 3) the company has a different agenda. Good question. The short is answer is "sorta". Last year we received a 1% raise. Compounded with the absolutely abysmal working conditions we were under that year as a department, there was an outright mutiny. All the salaried staff made it very clearly known that if things did not change for the better, and drat quick, we were all out the door and filing constructive dismissal claims. This didn't go past the former director, and when my direct supervisor eventually kicked it past the director, it became news to the VP and his at-the-time-subordinate (i.e. our former director had not been passing on our "concerns"). This eventually resulted in the: 1) addition of a flat $1000 per annum to all of our salaries (around about 3%) 2) booting of the director and the subsequent elimination of the position, which pissed off both me and my supervisor, as the path of ascension in that regard has been all but set in stone. That's not even addressing that this year he's been de-facto director at our site anyhow, since director-in-fact lives and works at a site three hours away. 3) addition of two part-time assistants for the salaried staff We collectively made it known that 1% was unacceptable. To get half that the next year is doubly unacceptable. There was also the occasion two years ago (or something like that), where I applied for a position outside of the VP's area of responsibility, and I was subsequently discouraged from taking the position, because this VP allegedly wanted me for a department manager position (when one should open up, that is; only that was two years ago and still ain't lookin' real bright). Leng posted:- Did you set concrete goals and check in on those throughout the year? This is a solid "Yes." My supervisor and I speak at length each year regarding my evaluation; what my accomplishments have been, what I need to work on, and what knowledge and experience I need to acquire to further my advancement within the Company, and how to go about learning and doing the same. Leng posted:- Have you been able to articulate in quantifiable terms (not merely "I work really hard" but "if I hadn't done XYZ, the company would have lost $Y amount of money") that mean something to the Regional VP, a person with whom you have no direct relationship? Yes. Not so much "company would have lost "$X", but in terms of service levels, contractor retention, staff training, and exceptional contingency development and problem solving, I'm above and beyond, and have been for the last 5 years of my now 7 year tenure as a DM. That's not even addressing the multitude of secondary duties I was finally able to delegate to one of the assistants we got last year. This is all backed up by the performance metrics in my own area of responsibility, as well as direct notification up the chain from my super that "This dude is working way below his level of aptitude and you need to find him something to do because of these things he's doing or he's gonna walk." KPI's which I affect are pretty simple; service errors and contractor churn, which are things I have kept to a minimum. Both my super and I are in agreement that the Company is not doing what it needs to do to retain me, but these are excellent points I'm going to bring up next time we get a chance to have a discussion about my retention. Thank you. Leng posted:What do you consider your strengths? And can you describe more specifically how you are approaching your job search? Strengths. I've re-written this twice because it keeps sounding like resume corpo-speak. I'm good at solving labor problems, I can direct staff well and earn respect for my effective decision-making and contingency development. I effectively "train" contractors and ensure that they are aware of what's expected of them and how to best meet those expectations. I handle pressure and deadlines well. I'm somewhat of a local wizard/power-user regarding our computer systems, though that's not going to impress anyone on this forum since we're mostly a bunch of nerds who grew up with computers. I've trained the entire department on all of them and I'm the go-to guy for systems questions, anyhow. I pick up on that sort of stuff very quickly. I also take pride in my work ethic. If it's needed, there's not a whole lot I won't do to get the job done, whether it's loading a truck, working the distribution dock, forklift operator, fixing broken equipment, whatever. As much as I bitched about what a lovely year 2017 was both above and to my boss, I did the best I could to make it work with what I had at the time and still met my performance metrics at least 2/3's of the time. As for the job search; I'm looking at whatever pops up under "general/operations/contractor manager", reading the job description, and firing off a resume if it sounds like a position in which I'd be effective, sufficiently compensated ($40k+ at the moment), and, uh, emotionally satisfied? I want to be happy to go to work and do a good job, or at least be mildly pleased. I usually tailor my resumes to the job description, drawing parallels between what I'm doing now and what the employer is looking for. I'm going to be picky while I can still afford to, as I would like to be able to establish a career path without necessarily having to finish school. Regarding the compensation inquiry; I probably won't do that again, but I did feel like the caller and I had a very positive conversation about what they were looking for and how I fit well into that requirement. I felt really good about getting the job up until the lowball. Sorry for the novel, but I appreciate the help. You asked some very pointed and thoughtful questions and I wanted to respond in kind. Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Aug 21, 2018 |
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Aug 21, 2018 16:04
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