The job I had before was with a small company (~20 employees), and was still a pretty young consulting company. The new offer came from one of the largest businesses in the world (~100,000 employees), a major oil company. The consulting company offered me a project manager role, a nice promotion with lots more responsibility, where as the oil company offered me a data analyst position, which is basically what I’ve been doing for the last year. The salaries were comparable, so how was I going to decide??

I decided to go with the big oil company. Ultimately, it came down to the benefits, and potential career growth.

The project manager role would have been a fantastic promotion, but there wouldn’t have been much room to grow after that. At the oil company, I may have less responsibility at first, but two years down the line, my options are almost limitless. They have opportunities on 6 different continents, in just every aspect of business. I know people who work there now that have taken 2-3 year assignments in remote parts of Alaska, the middle east, and all over Europe. I’m working in the Environmental department now, but I could easily transfer to a process control group, health and safety, or any number of different departments.

As for benefits, I had to make a spreadsheet listing all the benefits and do a side by side comparison. The big oil company had a huge advantage when you looked at the standard medical and retirement benefits. They matched 7% of the 401k contributions (vs. 3%), they’re about $100 cheaper per month for health and dental insurance, and, amazingly, they have a pension plan. They use a strange formula to calculate contributions, but for my salary and age, I would be getting over $4,000 per year, free. Of course I couldn’t touch it for 40 years, and it doesn’t vest for 5 years, but thinking long term, that’s a huge advantage.

There were also some fringe benefits I had to examine. For example, as a consultant, I’d get to work from home 3-4 days per week. That would save me about $200 per month on gas and car expenses. The consulting company also pays for my telephone and internet connection, another $70 or so a month. On the other side, the oil company has a 9/80 work schedule, which means I’d work 80 hours every 9 days, which in other words, I’d have every other Friday off. They’re also flexible with the day off, so if you time them around holidays, you can easily get 4 day weekends pretty routinely. The other benefit of the 9/80 schedule, is that my girlfriend works a 4/10 schedule, so she gets every Friday off, and I would definitely spend more time with her.

The biggest factor, which trumps everything above, is that the oil company will pay for my MBA. Specifically, they will pay 90% of tuition, books, fees, etc, with no maximum. That means if I decide to go to either of my top choices, Pepperdine ($60,000) or UCLA ($80,000), I would only have to pay $6,000 or $8,000. That’s a huge advantage in my book.

So there you have it. I gave both opportunities a chance, but when I calculated everything out, the choice became pretty obvious. Hopefully this will give other people an idea of what things to look for when they’re deciding between jobs. I have another week and a half at my old job, and then I’ll start at the big oil company the first week of July. Wish me luck! Our online pharmacy is the perfect resource for people to get their drugs without any hassles or awkwardness. buy cialis We work hard to make sure you save money every time you shop with us. buy levitrabuy soma At our online store, you pay less and get more. buy viagra

After I calmed down a bit I made the $390 minimum payment and gave Citi a call. I explained the situation, how my records show I had made the payment, but neither Citi nor my bank showed the payment. He told me they might be able to give me back the 0% promotional offer, but I would have to call back the next day, after my payment had posted.

The next day, I made another call to Citi and explained again. The payment had gone through, and I asked about returning to my 0% rate. He put me on hold to talk with a manager. After about a minute of the most intense telephone on-hold experience of my life, the service rep came back and told me that, only this once, they could restore my 0% rate. Thank God. I asked about the finance charges or the late fee, and he basically said, ‘Too bad.’
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So, please let this be a lesson to everybody out there. Don’t forget to make your minimum monthly payments!! I think I got VERY lucky this time, and I only escaped with $140 in finance charges and penalties. That will cut into my profits this round, but I’ll still end up positive, so long as there aren’t any more mistakes.

Automobile : Gas $ 212.59
Automobile : Registration $ 244.00
Automobile : Car Payment $ 500.00
Automobile : Parking $ 28.30
Banking : Fees $ 7.25
Bills : Telephone $ 63.63
Bills : Electricity $ 54.43
Bills : Gas $ 34.34
Bills : Rent $ 652.00
Bills : Cable TV/Internet $ 89.81
Bills : Cell Phone $ 50.53
Business : Traveling $ 215.35
Food : Groceries $ 122.66
Food : Dining out $ 157.04
Food : Booze $ 158.16
Gambling $ 200.00
Healthcare : $ 10.00
Homeneeds : Clothing $ 201.25
Insurance : Auto $ 103.42
Leisure : Dodger Tickets $ 335.00
Miscellaneous $ 19.80
Total $ 3,981.21

Ouch. First month this year that I operated at a net loss. I had a few big purchases out of the ordinary. The Dodger tickets, at $335 was the biggest out-of-ordinary expense. I also had my car registration due ($244), and business trip related expenses ($215). The business trip will be reimbursed this month, however. Then of course, there’s the trip to Vegas, which set me back a couple hundred bucks between gambling losses and eating out all weekend. I also made a pretty big clothing purchase. I had a 20% off coupon for Old Navy, so I bought 9 new shirts, a pair of shorts, and a jacket.

My ‘Booze’ category was way too high last month. I’m glad I stopped including booze in the ‘Miscellaneous’ category, so I can really see how much I spend on alcohol. $158 in a month is obscene. Granted a bit of that was in Vegas, but still, I need to cut back. I’m making a goal this month to get that number under $50.

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6 whole cents!! If I invest my 6 cents in the stock market, averaging 10% return over the next 40 years, I’ll have built up $2.71!!

Can you even buy anything anymore for 6 cents???

The budget took a hit this weekend in Vegas. Gambling losses totaled around $200, plus another $150 or so on food and drink. I have a stack of receipts I still need to go through before I know the final totals. Actually, the totals were right around what I had expected to spend, although it would have been nice to win some money for a change. It was a fun weekend though, even if I gained 15 pounds, my feet hurt from walking too much in sandals, and my stomach has felt like a nuclear bomb went off.

We were able to find free parking for our first Dodger game last week. We got to the game only 20 minutes from the start, and we were still able to find a spot in our first free parking choice. It only took us 15 minutes (albeit up a hill) to get to the stadium. We made it just in time for the first pitch. We were quite pleased with the results. Now we just need to start bringing our own food, and we’ll be set. We have two games this weekend to practice again.

I decided on Liberty Mutual for my car insurance. They were about $400 less than everybody else, and I’ve heard nothing but good things. I’m filling out the paperwork now. The other nice thing, is if you sign up for electronic withdrawals, there are no finance charges for paying month by month. So instead of having to dish out $1,500 this month, I only have to pay $120 or so each month. Not a huge deal, but I can keep all that $1,500 in my savings account and earn a bit of interest.

I’ve also applied for that new job. It’s basically the job I’ve been doing as a consultant, but as a full time employee at the company. I hope to hear about interviews in the next week or two. Keep your fingers crossed.

In addition to all of that, I’m considering switching jobs. I’m currently in the consulting business, and one of my clients wants to hire me on full time. They just posted the job opening. I would be one of the top candidates, as I’ve been doing the job for the past 7 month. I also had input on the job description and requirements. The main reason I’d switch would be purely the compensation package. They offer 7% 401(k) matching (versus the 3% I get now), employee stock purchase plan, pension plan, and, most importantly, they’ll pay 90% of tuition and school expenses if I decide to pursue an MBA. If I end up going to a UCLA or Pepperdine, we’re talking 90% of $60,000-$80,000. Not to mention there would probably be an increase in salary,a greater potential for bonuses, and an almost unlimited growth potential. Wow, when I write it all out, it seems like a no brainer. The downside would be working for a GIGANTIC company and all that comes with it (politics, strict rules and regulations, slow moving, etc). Plus I really like where I’m working now, and theres a good chance the company could really take off. If nothing else, I’ll apply and interview for the job. It’s never bad to have options. If/when they offer me a job I can consider all my options again. That said, I somehow need to update my resume in order by apply by the deadline on Monday.

So, I told you all of that, to tell you that things might be a little slow on the blog over the next week. I’ll try my best, but I have a lot on my plate right now. So, in the mean time, check out some of the fantastic links over on the right. Now would also be a good time to subscribe to Budget Freak, so you always have the latest posts.

I’m the proud new owner of Dodgers season tickets. Well, half a season at least. The roommate and myself went in on four tickets for 40 games. They’re not the best seats (the very top deck), but they were a really good buy. At least we’ll be able to see the entire field. I found a picture of a view from our seats:

Just kidding… sort of.

This isn’t something I was planning on purchasing, so it definitely wasn’t in my budget. It is something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile, however, and it’s nice to treat yourself every once and awhile. I’m probably not going to be able to go to every single game, so I’ll be able to give some tickets away as gifts to friends or co-workers to earn a few extra points.

The only problem I’ll have to face is the price gouging at the stadium. $15 to park, $10 for a Dodger Dogs, $12 for a beer, $5 for peanuts. I could easily spend $50 a night at a game. To combat this, I’ll just have to plan ahead. I know there are places you can park for free near the stadium and walk (the roommate and I are going to scout it out this weekend), so that’ll save $15 a game, plus give us some much needed excercise. You can also bring your own food in, provided it’s not in “bottles, cans, coolers, or thermoses.” They also permit “unbroken, factory sealed plastic bottles of water and other non-alcoholic beverages of 1 liter or less.” We could easily bring a bag full of sandwhiches, peanuts, and a few cokes for each game for a fraction of what they’re charging.

First game is on Wednesday. Go Dodgers!!!

If you’ve missed anything in the past two months, here’s what I’ve done to help myself out financially:

• Saved $75 using coupons
• Saved $300 canceling my gym membership
• Opened up an interest earning checking account at ING
• Lowered my credit card interest rates and increased my credit limits
• Started earning interest borrowing $16,800 from credit card companies for FREE, taking advantage of 0% balance transfers
• Checked my free credit report
• Opened a ROTH IRA and maxed out my 2006 contribution
• Opened a Washington Mutual Savings Account earning 5% interest
• Will save $500 a year by driving slower
• Participated in my first Blog Carnival
• Will save about $400 a year by shopping around for car insurance
• Managed to grow my net worth by 33%

I’d say I’m off to a pretty good start. So thank you all for reading and commenting, and here’s to many months to come!

For the first quarter of this year, my net worth is up 33.8%. I enjoyed 3 positive growth months of 12%, 6%, and 14%. Most importantly, my retirement assets almost doubled, growing 82% in 3 months. Funds went from $6,800 in December 31st, to now $12,500 as of March 31st. This was mostly due to increased contributions to my 401(k), a $4,000 contribution to my ROTH IRA, and a little help from the market.

All told, I’m moving in the right direction. I’m spending less than I earn, and stocking as much as I can towards retirement. I’m still working on getting my spending down, but if I can continue these double digit growth months, I’ll be happy.

So, this month I’ll recieve 6 weeks of pay, a company bonus, and my tax return. I wish every month was like this. Part of the money will be going towards my car insurance, which is coming due next month. Part will go to service on my car (30k mile service), and registration, another $500. The rest, I’m probably going to invest. Stay tuned for that.