Friday, October 30, 2009

Oct 2009 Net Worth Update (+1.58%): Halloween Edition: Million Dollar Journey


Oct 2009 Net Worth Update (+1.58%): Halloween Edition: Million Dollar Journey

Posted: 28 Oct 2009 03:30 AM PDT
Welcome to the Million Dollar Journey Oct 2009 Net Worth Update – The Halloween Edition
Halloween is here once again, it’s hard to imagine where time goes.  It seems that the more we age, the faster time passes. 
This year, we expect a lot of trick or treaters ringing our doorbell as our street is now fully developed (with street lights and everything!).  I’ve heard rumour that there are over 200 kids in our immediate area, so I guess it would be a good idea to be over stocked with treats than under prepared.  In terms of treats, we typically do the chips and bar thing, like Kathryn, we purchase our Halloween treats from Costco.
Nothing too scary to report in Octobers net worth summary.  Most of the growth is due to steady savings and some portfolio growth.  I did see a fairly signifant correction in my non-registered account as a speculative stock I own took a dive.
With regards to liabilities, if you take a look at the mortgage balance, you’ll see that it’s within striking distance of being completely paid off.  I’m actually in a bit of turmoil with regards to what I’m going to do with the large HELOC space available.  Should I continue to use the HELOC to invest with?  Or should I use the increased cash from the previous mortgage payment to fund my investments?  Or perhaps a combination?
Assets: $ 470,500 (+0.99%)
  • Cash: $4,500 (+0.00%)
  • Savings: $16,500.00 (+22.22%)
  • Registered/Retirement Investment Account: $73,800.00 (+2.22%)
  • Pension: $27,700.00 (+0.73%)
  • Non-Registered Investment Account: $16,500.00 (-4.07%)
  • Smith Manoeuvre Investment Account: $51,500.00 (+3.00%)
  • Principal Residence: $275,000 (+0.00%) (purchase price)
  • Vehicles: $5,000 (2 vehicles) (-16.67%)
Liabilities: $85,500.00 (-1.61%)
  • Tax Liability: $3,000 (-0.00%)
  • Principal Residence Mortgage (readvanceable): $29,200.00 (-4.89%)
  • HELOC balance: $53,300 (+0.19%)
Total Net Worth: ~$385,000.00(+1.58%)
  • Started 2009 with Net Worth: $309,950.00
  • Year to Date Gain/Loss: +24.12%
Some quick notes and explanations to net worth questions I get often:

The Cash

The $4,500 cash are held in chequing accounts to meet the minimum balance so that we pay no fees (accounting for regular bill payments). Yes, we do hold no fee accounts also, but I find value in having an account with a full service bank as the relationship with a banker can prove useful.

Savings

Our savings accounts are held with PC Financial and ING Direct. We usually hold a fair bit of cash in case "something" comes up. The "something" can be anything that requires cash such as an investment opportunity that requires quick cash or maybe an emergency car/home repair.  We also need cash to cover any future tax liabilities.

Real Estate

Our real estate holdings consist of a primary residence plus a rental property. The value of the principal residence remains valued at the purchase price despite significant appreciation in the real estate market that we're in.  I will most likely be adjusting the value of the home come the new year.
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Normal is Broke

Living With A Chain

How to Get a Job when No One is Hiring

When the jobs are hidden

To get a job, you have to find the openings that no one's advertising, and really impress your potential employer.

By Jia Lynn Yang, writer-reporter
March 30, 2009: 12:31 PM ET

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- David Perry, a longtime headhunter, says you're wasting your time if you're looking for job postings online. And he should know: he's often the guy on the other side helping companies lure new talent. Perry, who's based in Ottawa, says that in the last 22 years he has accomplished 996 searches totaling $172 million in salary. And the bottom line in today's economy, he says, is you have to tap the "hidden job market."

Perry's also the co-author of "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters" and he recently spoke with Fortune.

What's the "hidden job market"?

When companies say, 'We have a hiring freeze,' that doesn't mean they're not hiring. It just means they're not adding headcount. Every year there's 20-25% turn over. So in a 1,000-person company, 200 or 250 people are going to turn over, either through attrition, or someone moves. Those companies are still hiring but they don't want to tell you.

So how do you find these jobs?

What you have to do in a recession is map your skills to employers to where you know they have a problem you can solve. My advice to job hunters is pick 10 to 20 companies, no more, and pick companies you're interested in, and that you think you can add value to. That requires researching companies, and so that list may take you two weeks. If you're trying to crack the hidden job market and you know the job position you want reports to vice president, find that vice president on LinkedIn and look at his profile to see who else he's connected to and go ask them, 'What's this guy like to work for?' Do the research before you even pick up the phone.

How can you get someone's attention?

We can go into billboards, sandwiches - that stuff only works once. It's only for one person who figures it out once, once in a city. If you're looking for fun stuff, we have this thing called the coffee cup caper, 30% of the time it will result in an interview. You send an employer a coffee cup with a little $5 swipe card with a little note that says, I'd like to get together and talk with you over coffee. I'll be calling soon. And you send it by U.S. post two day delivery, and that gets registered. So when they've signed for it, you wait about 20 minutes and then you call them. And then you go, Hi, I know you just got my package.' You're proving you're imaginative and creative.

What something people should avoid during a job interview?

This drives me insane: I've seen people mentally deciding in the interview whether they want the job. That's the last place to decide. You go into an interview, and you sell like your life depends on it. You've got to get the job first. I've seen it thousands of times. There's this point in the interview, where people go 'Hmm, do I really want this? You can see their body change. The employer picks it up and it's gone. If the employer is telling you, 'I love you,' and you're not saying 'I love you too,' it's over with.

How about following up afterwards?

If you really like the opportunity, don't go home and write thank you very much. Go back and write a letter that says, upon further reflection of what we were talking about, here's what I bring to the table, here's how I see myself fitting into the organization, including a 30-60-90 day plan.

How can someone attract a recruiter's attention?

You have to go to ZoomInfo and LinkedIn and create a profile. All corporate recruiters and probably 20% of the headhunters in America have ZoomInfo accounts. When we start a search, companies aren't going to advertise. The headhunter goes to ZoomInfo, types in requirements that we need, like skillset, degree, city, functional title, and up will come anywhere from a hundred to several thousand people who fit that criteria. Then we go to LinkedIn and run the same search. If you're in ZoomInfo with a picture, we're going to call you first. Just reverse engineer what recruiters are doing so you get found.

How can you really impress a potential employer?

It hasn't worked in years just to bring in your resume, except only in the most junior positions. I concentrate on directors to CEOs, and the last interview for us regardless is always a Power Point presentation of what you've learned, pain points, and how you intend to fix that. Everyone talks about being a great leader and great communicator, so prove it. Don't go into an interview and treat it like it's just another business meeting. Your career is your biggest asset now - because it's certainly not your house. To top of page

From
http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/30/news/economy/yang_headhunter.fortune/index.htm

August 2008 Dave Ramsey on Barack Obama

This was aired in August 2008. So was Dave right???