Greek Gods Defending Their Roles in the Current Economic Crisis
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How I Got Rich Working at the Mall (Just Kidding)
This series is brought to you by TurboTax Federal Free Edition.
My first mistake was working at the mall, obviously. My second was working at a store in the mall about which I had once said: "I want everything in this store so bad that it physically hurts." My mom totally saw this train wreck before it hit. "Are you sure you'll be able to resist the temptation to spend all your money on clothes?" she wanted to know. I smiled and answered, "What money!" And then we laughed, because I had no money, which to my mother meant I was going to have to use the [...]
139
Birthdays at the Office
This series is brought to you by TurboTax Federal Free Edition. On my eighth day of work, the cupcakes showed up.
I had just started a job as an editor at a startup run by a bunch of 20-year-olds. At the time, our CEO was 25, the startup didn't have a name yet, and we were all working out of a makeshift office near Times Square at a computer learning center called New Horizons. We were barely paid, but the recession had just hit, and we were all just glad to have health insurance and a place to go to every morning. There were also free cookies, [...]
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Young Adults
"In a 1993 Newsweek poll, 80% of parents with young children said children should be financially independent from their parents by the age of 22. Today, only 67% of parents hold that view. Three-in-ten (31%) of today’s parents say children shouldn’t have to be on their own financially until age 25 or later." —The Pew Research Center published a bunch of statistics yesterday on young adults in America. If you read that and immediately thought of Charlize Theron and then went "Wait, but she's South African. No, wait, that's a movie." then you're hopefully on the same page as the rest of us by the end of [...]
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The Magic Salary
"The research found that an annual salary of $50,000 represented a significant tipping point in determining happiness and personal satisfaction."
If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, make $50K a year. See also: The Medium Chill.
308
How to Bring Your Lunch to Work: A Guide
This series is brought to you by TurboTax Federal Free Edition.
Bringing your lunch to work sounds so simple, but it's actually almost impossible. Or, it was, until I cracked it.
Step 1: This is the easy part. Pick something simple that you'll eat for lunch every single day, and buy supplies to make that thing. Yes, marinated vegetables and goat cheese on gently toasted focaccia with a side of quinoa salad does sound delightful, but that's not what you will be eating. Instead, try this: Peanut butter. Loaf of bread. Apples.
Step 2: When home, unload apples, bread, and peanut butter and leave in conspicuous area, [...]
154
Asking for a Raise: A Series of Conversations
This series is brought to you by TurboTax Federal Free Edition.
November 9th, Gchat
Me: So I just met with BOSS and he's giving me a lot more things to do because DUDE left. I'm doing three people's jobs now. I should negotiate a raise, right?
PROJECT MANAGER: yes, I think you should try. tell him that the situation was different when you accepted your position and at this point you're absorbing two jobs. you def have to make your case….tell him you've made plenty of sacrifices (shortening your vacation after DUDE left) and that you're ready to step up but that you have to be compensated.
[...]102
Life and Taxes
The average US tax refund check is almost $3,000. That is a surprising amount of dough the IRS is over-taking from you each year, but what can you do? (Move to the Cayman Islands where they don't have income tax and also it is sunny and beautiful and there is Tortuga rum cake which you could try approximating with this recipe — use prepackaged yellow cake mix for yet another shortcut — but those of you who've had the real deal will definitely taste the difference.) Did you spend yours in your head yet? Reuters suggests "having fun" with your return by buying five shares of Apple stock or 600 mocha [...]
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The Importance of Having a Job
The triumph of women in the workplace has been one of the great success stories of last 100 years. … The triumph of female employment and opportunity is quite possibly the most important economic story in the world.
The Atlantic has an interesting (and triumphant!) piece about working, women, wages, and the world.
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Recalled Transcripts of My Salary Negotiations
This series is brought to you by TurboTax Federal Free Edition.
Babysitting "We'll pay you $8 an hour to hang out with our baby and then watch HBO until we come home." "You don’t have to pay me! I'm your neighbor and friend!" "Kid, take the money." "Okay."
"We want you to babysit our daughter, who is well-behaved and will sit in the corner reading until she goes to bed by herself. Also, please help yourself to all of the treats in our house, including the tray of brownies I made for you and also every flavor of Capri Sun. What are your rates? ” "The other [...]
