They have finite years in the industry before the work gets to much, and trying to save money, pay off a mortgage, raise kids on that kind of money is not an easy ask. And, in my experience and flying in the face of the practice of many employers, properly paid staff are a business’ best asset. A staff member who is paid award wages, feels appreciated and can see long-term benefits of their job will work harder, be more willing to help out when needed and will be less likely to find a new job.

Times like these, with European credit ratings being slashed, America tipping towards some pretty serious times financially, and our own retail slumping, is often a time when the tension between employers and employees becomes more obvious, more keenly felt.

Tighter times can have serious consequences, for businesses and for workers. So how can we find jobs, or negotiate working conditions, that fulfill all those criteria? How can we get the most of out of our work, financially, emotionally and beneficially for the long-term?

Know Your Rights

It is in the interest of the employee that their employer continues to do well. Secure employment and regular hours are the cornerstones of our financial health. Some businesses, however, seem to feel that this all-in-together need should extend to employees giving away some of their rights. People are kept off the books- avoiding tax payments, certainly, but giving away their right to superannuation. Penalty rates aren’t paid, older staff members are given fewer shifts as they’re too expensive, overtime isn’t ever rewarded with days in lieu. Know your rights as an employee. Enterprise agreements are online, and you should check the stipulations before you sign a contract. If something isn’t right, query your employer. If, as so many articles are claiming this week, it’s a matter of employer ignorance, this will give them plenty of opportunity to correct the error. After that, you’re entitled to lodge a complaint with Fair Work Australia.

Negotiate

Once upon a time, every one belonged to a union and the union would negotiate for employees. And while a lot of people are glad monopoly has ceased, there have been some fairly disastrous consequences for employees. It’s important to negotiate whenever you start a new job, and essential to have it in writing. Confirm days in lieu, or discuss the possibility of a higher superannuation contribution from your employer. I’d suggest discussing an upper limit of hours per week, and drawing up some boundaries about the best ways to contact you outside of work hours. After three months or six months, write down your daily tasks and check them against your grade of pay. If you’re completing tasks from a higher grade, discuss it with your employer.

Keep Tabs

Check every pay slip and file it in it’s own folder. Call your superannuation fund and discuss with them the arrangement of your super portfolio. Check and re-check your employer is paying the correct tax from your pay. The threat of rising unemployment levels shouldn’t be a way for employers to skimp on employee wages and benefits, and knowing the ins and outs of your finances, and your rights, is your best defense.

Higher Salary

People often change jobs in order to bag a higher salary, and that’s a great feeling. But a good job is about a lot more than salary, and deciding to move on solely on that criteria might not be the best financial decision. For instance, if the job pays more but has fewer advancement options, then it could be a short-sighted move. Similarly, if you’re happy in your current employment, I would be loath to mess with it. The grass might be greener, but a job you don’t mind showing up to every morning is nothing short of a blessing. There are a lot of considerations; location, hours, additional training or skill development, how it fits into your long-term career plans. Weigh all these up before moving on.

Negotiate Your Right Price

We are no longer sixteen year olds, willing to take any hourly rate at the local eatery. Employers understand and respect the fact that negotiation is part of any job deal, which doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll bend to all your wishes. An important bargaining tool is setting the bar in the right position; you don’t want to undermine your finances by selling yourself short, and you also don’t want to lose an opportunity to driving too hard a bargain. Check job advertisements and see what salary people in similar positions earn. Discuss the full spectrum of the package, and pay special attention to super.

Don’t Be Hasty

Quitting your job in a fit of venomous spleen might be something you fantasize about around 3pm every afternoon, but it’s a short-sighted financial decision. Take it as a slow process. Spend one hour writing down the three key ingredients you need for your next job. They can be practical or intellectual, but know what you want. Next, write out a list of contacts you might be able to help you find work that fulfills your profile. Put out some feelers, spend some time discussing your options and make the choice that works best for you.
Sometimes, it doesn’t all go to plan and we find ourselves having an unexpected time adrift from the work market. Don’t panic. Hopefully, you’ve been working on your emergency fund for times exactly like this. An emergency fund will stop you from making rash decisions and getting a job that isn’t right.

Just So Super

Changing jobs can often be the time things like super arrangements get confused. Work out whether you’re happy with your current provider or have a discussion with your new employees about what they’re super fund has to offer. It’s also important to check what insurance comes with your position; if you were insured at your previous job, you’ll want to know you’ll be similarly covered in your next one.

Crafty

Etsy pulled something out of the box, and it ain’t going back in. People love crafty items, and are not always able to get them. I’m wearing cardigans my nan made in the 60s, using a tea cosy she made in the 70s and adore the felt earrings she made for me last year. If you’re crafty, you’ll need to set up a payment method and postage materials, and get out there.

Freelance Business

I’m very lucky, having a job I could easily continue should I have children, and with a bit of imagination, lots of people could be in the same boat. Know a topic inside and out? Why not look at writing some articles and getting paid for them to be published? Or doing photoshop jobs for friends without the time or know-how? Get yourself a website to celebrate how you decorate cakes, make unique gift wrapping, whatever.

Tutor Or Teach An Instrument

There are always more jobs for tutors than there are applicants, and a quick ad in your local paper could easily give you a tidy supplementary income. If you’re good at maths or science, there is an especially big demand, but any skills are good. If you know how to play guitar or piano, there’ll be plenty of willing students. Even drawing could have some interested parties.

Babysitting

You’re clearly spending significant time looking after children, so why not extend it into the workforce? It doesn’t even have to be a huge process, looking after some of the kids on your street a couple of days a week would be more than enough to bring in some extra income. A lot of parents have to work, so having their kids with someone they know who can feed them something healthy at night before they get home would be a huge weight off their shoulders.

Office Support

People who can work as customer service agents to answer the phone, or handle basic data, are always in demand and can often work virtually. There are, of course, a million scams that offer ‘huge’ money to work from home, which necessitates you paying them some costs up front. To avoid that, why not get in touch with your local businesses, and see if any of them would like some additional office support?

Home Beauty

Invest in yourself and train up as a masseuse or learn how to do manicures. This venture will require some up front investment, you’ll need a room in which to work and is professional. It can be great for the punters as well- close to home and reduced prices for a high quality product.

Breaking It Down

Social media has been described as savior and Satan, and not just for business reasons. Have you noticed in the past years that Twitter was simultaneously regarded as a crucial positive factor in the Arab Spring and the resistance in Iran, and a crucial negative factor in the London riots? As significant in the Obama election and a total flop for Kevin Rudd? Social media is a tool like any other, it can be used effectively but it won’t win the war. And the problem facing small business is that the prominent social media tool of today is likely to be redundant by the time you’ve invested in it. Myspace is a great example. It’s still used by a lot of people, but has fallen by the wayside when compared to Facebook. Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIN are all still being used, but that can change quickly. Which is a good reason to diversify your social media marketing plan; different age groups use different social media, so diversifying your presence is still imperative. It’s possible to set up social media syncing, so you don’t have to spend your entire life, going from page to the next, updating the different websites.

Start A Convo

Obama’s social media campaign was effective because it engaged a group of formerly disengaged voters and gave them something to talk about. Personally, I would say it also significantly tapped into their feelings of detachment and allowed them to feel part of the process. It is the home run of any campaign- to make your customers feel personally involved and invested. Social media can be a marketers dream, as in- if effective- it will spin itself without any further cost. If someone likes what you’re saying, they’re likely to send it on to a friend. A great YouTube video is a perfect example- some are so good, they’re impossible to resent when eventually outed as advertising.

Deliver It

The way you deliver your message is, obviously, pretty important. A necessary rule, especially when targeting the younger generation, is to to keep it genuine. Cliched messages or obvious advertising talk will turn them off so quickly, it’ll give you whiplash. The Yahoo! personal finance article suggested the ‘Three I’s’. Interesting, informative and interactive and in that order. In an age of interactivity dependence, the attention to being interesting can sometimes get lost. Twitter is a great venue to widening your promotions beyond simply advertising- tweet other things you are interested in, or different experiences you have as a small business. It’s a very humanising tool. Use locator services, like FourSquare and Facebook, to start showing the buzz around your product. Tailor your promotion to the media- no use having a stiff synopsis of your product on a blog, which is meant to be engaging. And if you can’t write, get someone to do it for you.

Monitor

Research is the base of all great business. Don’t just put your message out there, consistently check how it’s being received, what is working and what could be improved. There are a gazillion tools online to help you monitor your social media marketing.

Everything we do in life seems to have a cost implication. By not knowing our daily, monthly and yearly expenses that arise from working, how can we truly be sure of our actual annual salary?

Let’s take a look at the costs that arise from our daily job and look to find ways to reduce them in order to boost up the money in hand we have each month and in turn year.

For the sake of discussion, let’s assume we are talking about a salary of $40,000 + super. Taxes on this salary amount to $5,550 – meaning we have $34,450 as a starting salary.

Daily expenses that dramatically reduce your salary

Each day I buy a coffee and toast at work. That is $5 so I can simply get away from my desk in honesty and costs me over $25 per week ($1200 annually on a 48 week work schedule).

Our salary is now $33,250

On top of this, I tend to spend at least $10 per day on food – once again due to laziness of not making at home and wanting to get away from my desk.
That is $50 per week and $2400 per year.

Our salary is now $30,850

Each day I also catch the bus to work (or train depending on how late I am). This costs me around $8 per day, $40 per week and sadly $1920 per year.

Our salary is now $28,930

Each week the average Australian spends a further $30 on alcohol or even more when attending drinks with friends and work.

On this basis we are spending around $1560 on alcohol a year.

Our salary is now $27,370

Assuming we spend a little money on entertainment each week, say a budgeted $50 which is still quite conservative, our salary reduces even further.

$50 a week means $2600 annually.

Our salary is now $24,770

Do you still feel comfortable about your salary?

After doing these calculations for myself, I sure didn’t. Every time I purchased something I would tell myself that is only a fraction of my earnings. In truth, it was much more than a fraction. I was spending far more money than I realised in just simply existing in my daily grind.

Getting a pay rise isn’t so hard now

Do the calculations for yourself, using both the above and other costs you likely have. If you can find a way to reduce just a few of those items, it means thousands more dollars in your hand per year.

A nice and easy way to give yourself a pay rise. As we say at Savings Guide, ‘it isn’t about how much you earn, it’s how smart you are with your money’.

Day Job

I run a small business, and in order to do so, I work three days a week in a different field. For people in the creative industries, that’s our reality. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Lenders are looking to see alternate forms of repayment- after all, 80% of small businesses will fail within the first couple of years. They’re more likely to look favourably upon you if you have other means of paying back the loan, should business become a bit slow. It might take you a couple of years longer to get your small business up and steaming, but slow and steady can win the race when it comes to setting up your big dream.

Value It

To get a small business loan, chances are you’ll have to have a source of collateral before you get your hands on some moula.The expert quoted in Yahoo! Personal Finance suggests that collateral is especially necessary for those applying for working capital, inventory or equipment. It’s important to put things on the line when starting up a small business, but ensure that you haven’t exposed yourself. If the business fails, you don’t want to be in an untenable position.

Keep Your Records

Although websites promise an instant loan approval with one click, it’s not a reality for small business loans. Expect to be asked a million and one questions, and to have to provide documentation to support it. You’ll also probably be asked to share personal financial records and your recent tax statements.

Map It Out

Waltzing in, asking for a big amount of money, and expecting a resolute yes in response is living in la-la-land. If you’re at the point of looking for capital, then you should be well past the point where you have a thorough business plan. How will the business run? Who will run it? What are their qualifications to do so? What are your contingency plans and goals? You will be relying upon it in your business anyway, let alone your application.

Character Reference

It always matters how you come across, and anyone who tells you different is lying. If you are not confident or articulate in interviews, it doesn’t mean you’re out. Your history speaks for itself; ask former and current employers to write references. Pull together your educational history and business experience. If you’ve taken the long road- taken a couple of years out, had some setbacks- explain how you overcame them. Lenders are interested in people who have a proven record in achieving their goals.

]]> http://www.savingsguide.com.au/5-tips-to-help-get-a-small-business-loan-2/feed/ 0 http://www.savingsguide.com.au/your-job-health-productivity-part-2/ http://www.savingsguide.com.au/your-job-health-productivity-part-2/#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:23:49 +0000 Fran Sidoti http://www.savingsguide.com.au/?p=3253 The second part on how workplace issues can be costing you, in terms of productivity and health. What really resonated with me in reading the Yahoo! Personal Finance article was that the cost of bad workplace situations doesn’t rest with the individual alone, it can cost the business huge amounts of money. So the following instances are ones a business would do well to address, as well as individual employees.

Workplace Incivility

Hospitality is a fast-paced, sometimes stressful industry. It’s not unusual for someone to get a bit snappy during the really busy parts of the day, only to revert to their normal selves when things quieten down. It’s a fine line between the occasional venting of stress, which you can forgive, and people who are unable to remain civil and professional. Confrontation in a workplace, as opposed to a calm discussion, can be like poison. Productivity lowers, morale takes a hit. Research has shown that those kinds of tensions in a workplace have been estimated to cost US businesses $300 billion per annum in lost productivity.

Ouch

I used never to think of workplace injury, except within the manual labour industries. Then I started my first full-time office job, and within a couple of months, I was drowning in headaches and consequent lethargy. For so long, it was just one of those things, a bad patch. I didn’t even associate it with work, until I one day happened to notice my chair. The thing barely held together, let alone provided any support for the 40+ hours a week I was sitting on it. I certainly lost productivity on those days. Repetitive stress injuries and chronic pain are as present in office jobs as in any other industry. Talk to your boss about proper ergonomic equipment, maybe even look up some exercises you can do to minimise RSI. They should take notice- after all, its just a workplace compensation preventative.

The Firing Line

Times are without a doubt a bit tight. In my town, people have started losing their part-time jobs and, if things continue this way, full-time work might take a hit as well. For people left behind after a round of layoffs, there’s no sigh of relief. Research shows it’s viewed as a temporary reprieve, as opposed to a long-term endorsement of their job security. And instead of overperforming, nihilism sets in and we do the least possible on the job. Strategies could include discussing the problem with your boss, or thinking of new ways to make yourself indispensable at your place of employment.

Shift It

Shift work does terrible things to the body. It rearranges all of your patterns- I know people who haven’t worked shift work in years who still don’t sleep regularly. It alters your metabolism, putting you at a heightened risk of diseases like diabetes. All that said, for a lot of people, shift work is the nature of the beast. It is your job. The only strategies I could think of is to insist on regular shifts- life becomes far easier to cope with if there are routines. Similarly, insist that you have one day off where you haven’t worked a shift the night before; a common complaint is that you tend to sleep away all your time off, and it’s important to get a chance to spend time on you and with your loved ones.

]]> http://www.savingsguide.com.au/your-job-health-productivity-part-2/feed/ 0 http://www.savingsguide.com.au/your-job-health-productivity-part-1/ http://www.savingsguide.com.au/your-job-health-productivity-part-1/#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:32:03 +0000 Fran Sidoti http://www.savingsguide.com.au/?p=3251 The flu went around my work the other day. We work in hospitality, so the notion of taking a day off when you’re feeling lousy really isn’t an option. So instead of lying in bed, and actually getting better, we all slouched around the cafe and tried to get some work done. According to Yahoo! Personal Finance, it’s a scenario that even has a name- presenteeism. That is, you’re present but working at a reduced effectiveness, costing the business money. It has long-term consequences, for your business and for your health. There are lots of ways your nine to five could end up hampering your health or your effectiveness. Here’s a list, and some tips and tricks to negate the ill-effects.

Toxic Boss

We’ve all come across them at some point or another. Belligerent, passive-aggressive, competitive. It’s possible to ignore these qualities in a co-worker, but harder to avoid when it’s present in the person who signs your pay checks every week. It causes lots of problems- stress, high staff turnover and often an inability to communicate with that person, even over genuine work-related queries, costing the business money and reducing your productivity. Suggested strategies to negate the problem range from over-performing or direct confrontation.

Not Enough Of A Shut-Eye

We all know we should get eight hours a night, but how many of us do? Looking at the eyes of your-co-workers, the pile of coffee cups in the bin, the 3:30pm chocolate bar, it’s fairly obvious not many people get the sleep they need. One of the suggested reasons is stress- you don’t sleep properly, or stay up too late to try and decompress. Strategies could include a shake-up of your routine; start getting ready for bed an hour earlier, even if you go to bed at the same time, you might find it easier to sleep. Turn off your tv, cut out caffeine, get to the gym every day to help you sleep better.

Lack Of Exercise

Finding half an hour a day to exercise can seem completely impossible. Yet, 40 hours a week sitting at an office desk is a major contributor to the obesity problem in Australia and does exactly zero for your heart health. Strategies include catching public transport, which will necessitate some extra walking, or start a walking group with people from work during lunchtime. It might seem like the last thing you want to do with your lunch hour, or you might feel like you can’t leave your desk, but your increased productivity will soon make you want to retain the habit.

Commuting

My dad drives for 3 to 4 hour a day in M4 traffic. Accidents, late trains, traffic jams- anyone who has experienced any of these will know how much it can drain you. Research shows long-distance commuters are found to have higher blood pressure and trouble sleeping. The problem of course is that housing in city, where most of the jobs are, can be hard or too expensive, or you like both your job and your neighbourhood. If it’s starting to affect you adversely, look at what you can change- can you work from home one day a week, or start car pooling to lessen the amount of hours you are behind the wheel?

]]> http://www.savingsguide.com.au/your-job-health-productivity-part-1/feed/ 0 http://www.savingsguide.com.au/5-tips-to-help-get-a-small-business-loan/ http://www.savingsguide.com.au/5-tips-to-help-get-a-small-business-loan/#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 05:00:05 +0000 Fran Sidoti http://www.savingsguide.com.au/?p=3314 Working for yourself can be a great thing. You can finally get a chance to chase down that long-term dream. But the finances of kick-starting and maintaining a small business can be tricky at best and a quagmire at worst. So, if you’re looking at getting a small business loan, what are some tips that might improve your chances? This article is drawn from the stellar work on Yahoo! Personal Finance.

Day Job

I run a small business, and in order to do so, I work three days a week in a different field. For people in the creative industries, that’s our reality. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Lenders are looking to see alternate forms of repayment- after all, 80% of small businesses will fail within the first couple of years. They’re more likely to look favourably upon you if you have other means of paying back the loan, should business become a bit slow. It might take you a couple of years longer to get your small business up and steaming, but slow and steady can win the race when it comes to setting up your big dream.

Value It

To get a small business loan, chances are you’ll have to have a source of collateral before you get your hands on some moula.The expert quoted in Yahoo! Personal Finance suggests that collateral is especially necessary for those applying for working capital, inventory or equipment. It’s important to put things on the line when starting up a small business, but ensure that you haven’t exposed yourself. If the business fails, you don’t want to be in an untenable position.

Keep Your Records

Although websites promise an instant loan approval with one click, it’s not a reality for small business loans. Expect to be asked a million and one questions, and to have to provide documentation to support it. You’ll also probably be asked to share personal financial records and your recent tax statements.

Map It Out

Waltzing in, asking for a big amount of money, and expecting a resolute yes in response is living in la-la-land. If you’re at the point of looking for capital, then you should be well past the point where you have a thorough business plan. How will the business run? Who will run it? What are their qualifications to do so? What are your contingency plans and goals? You will be relying upon it in your business anyway, let alone your application.

Character Reference

It always matters how you come across, and anyone who tells you different is lying. If you are not confident or articulate in interviews, it doesn’t mean you’re out. Your history speaks for itself; ask former and current employers to write references. Pull together your educational history and business experience. If you’ve taken the long road- taken a couple of years out, had some setbacks- explain how you overcame them. Lenders are interested in people who have a proven record in achieving their goals.

]]> http://www.savingsguide.com.au/5-tips-to-help-get-a-small-business-loan/feed/ 0 http://www.savingsguide.com.au/the-virtual-office-a-sound-investment/ http://www.savingsguide.com.au/the-virtual-office-a-sound-investment/#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 05:00:24 +0000 Fran Sidoti http://www.savingsguide.com.au/?p=3245 I write this from a couch. It’s one of my many settings. Sometimes I write in a cafe, sometimes from bed (a horrific time-place association but one I roll with on occasion). I work on trains, in airports, hotel rooms, send quick emails from my iPhone while waiting to cross at lights, call people in different timezones form the early morning gym or a late-night nightcap. For better or worse, the idea of an office for me is completely redundant and that is an increasing trend throughout the workforce. So what will it mean for our jobs, and what can it mean for our finances?

Advantages

There are lots of advantages. People working around small kids will see them instantly- the ability to duck out for 5 minutes to pick up the kids from school can make all the difference, or being able to fit in a doctor’s appointment for once because you can make up the hour a bit later For me, I’m sluggish my 9am and dead to the world by 4. My best working hours are from 6 o’clock in the morning until 12 with another couple of hours later on that night. To be able to work with my body clock, as opposed to fighting it, is a massive boon. People’s productiveness is influenced by very individual factors- location, whether they’re surrounded or alone, what time it is. A virtual office allows you to set up all those factors to your best possible advantage.

Disadvantages

The exact same point can be made for an argument against virtual offices however. My first job at a virtual office when I was in university, we used to have a Skype conference every morning at 9am and I would wake up three minutes to go, wash my face and put on a professional looking top to match my gorgeous owl pajama bottoms. Sometimes a virtual office can work into our worst habits- our ability to procrastinate has no check, because there’s no one looking over your shoulder to check you’re working and not on Facebook. There’s also the potential for less creativity- people have no one to bounce off so they become slightly stilted.

The Set-Up

It all comes down to setting up your virtual office properly. Have a morning and afternoon Skype, so everyone can debrief on where they are at. Allow the flexibility that comes with a virtual office, but ask people to let everyone else know when they’re ducking out. Choose a funky cafe that’s central and have a weekly in-person staff lunch so the creative juices don’t get lost. A lot of what keeps people motivated for their jobs is the social side, so make sure you don’t lose it in the process of becoming virtual.

the Finances

Converting to a virtual office allows you significant scope for some dollar saving. To begin with, you save the money on transit. Consider shifting the amount you would spend on petrol or buses a week directly into your savings account to maximise your savings potential. Then look at the tax deductions you are liable to- if you’re working from home, a proportion of your electricity, gas, internet and phone bills will become tax deductible. Also discuss with your employer how much they are willing to compensate you for any expenses incurred.

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