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The New Rules for Getting Ahead at Work
Tweet Share on Facebook January 30, 2012 CommentWhen Lindsey Pollak’s popular book, Getting from College to Career, first came out five years ago, social media barely existed. Now, Pollak considers Twitter an essential tool for job seekers, along with LinkedIn, Skype, Facebook, and Google Apps. (She serves as a spokeswoman for LinkedIn.) The job market was also bustling five years ago; now, it’s harder to find full-time employment. That’s why in the latest edition of her book, Pollak delves into alternatives that can boost one’s pay while on the job hunt, including freelancing, interning, and project-based work.
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What the New Airfare Rules Mean for You
Tweet Share on Facebook January 27, 2012 Comment (2)Here’s some good news for air travelers: It just got easier to know how much you’re paying to travel and compare prices in advance. That’s because new rules from the Transportation Department that go into effect this week require airlines to include all of the required taxes and fees, as well as any baggage fees, when listing airfares.
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How to Save Enough for Retirement
Tweet Share on Facebook January 24, 2012 Comment (1)Most Americans realize they aren’t saving enough for retirement. According to the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute, about 1 in 4 workers describe themselves as “not at all confident” about retirement. A study by 401k.org shows that on average, Americans with 401(k)s contribute between 5.5 and 7 percent of their pre-tax salaries into those accounts—far less than most people need to replace the recommended 80 percent of their working salaries during retirement.
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Should You “Tweet” at Your Bank?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 18, 2012 Comment (1)If you use a big bank, it’s probably tweeting at you, even if you don’t know it yet. Major financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo have set up Twitter accounts that alert customers to any announcements and respond to customer questions and comments. The problem? Their answers aren’t all that helpful.
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Zappos Customers: Change All Your Passwords
Tweet Share on Facebook January 17, 2012 CommentAs news broke over the weekend that Zappos had been hacked, customers of the popular online retailer were left asking themselves what they needed to do to protect themselves. The popular company, which is owned by Amazon, says it is sending an email to customers urging them to create new passwords, but as of Monday morning, this customer has yet to receive one.
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How to Solve Any Customer Service Challenge
Tweet Share on Facebook January 10, 2012 Comment (7)Jon Yates wants to help you. As the official problem solver at the Chicago Tribune, he specializes in getting companies—and government bureaucracies—to do what customers want. Whether you’ve been over-charged by a credit card company or are still missing a tax refund from last year, Yates can probably help.
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Rich People Stressed About Retirement, Too
Tweet Share on Facebook January 9, 2012 Comment (1)Their concerns might be laughed (or booed) out of an Occupy encampment, but affluent Americans are also feeling the pinch of hard times, especially when it comes to retirement. A new survey by Wells Fargo found that even wealthy Americans are increasingly worried that they won’t be able to comfortably retire.
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Do Impatient People Have Lower Credit Scores?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 5, 2012 Comment (1)Impatience, it turns out, can be costly. New research suggests that people who opt for smaller rewards today over bigger rewards later also tend to have lower credit scores. In the study, co-authored by Columbia Business School professor Stephan Meier, the most impatient people had credit scores below 620, which means they pay more for loans.
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Gen Y Saving More for Retirement
Tweet Share on Facebook January 4, 2012 Comment (1)Many young people are double-dipping when it comes to retirement accounts—and that’s a good thing. A new survey from TD Ameritrade found that one in four 20-somethings funnel money into not one, but two different types of retirement accounts, a 401(k) or 403(b) as well as an IRA.
