Les Greco

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Salaries in Publishing

Publisher’s Weekly just released their annual salary survey results. No big surprise: raises were lower and job dissatisfaction was higher!

Some stats from their data, which was based on 1,408 responses to an online survey sent to the magazine’s subscribers:

The average raise in 2008 was only 3.3%, down from a recent high of 5.3% in 2005
Only 13% of respondents feel “very secure” about their jobs, down from a high of 25% in 2005.
75% of respondents would recommend publishing as a career– in 2004, 86% said they would recommend it.
Women’s average pay is $66,000, men’s is $96,600. I was surprised the disparity was that high, but maybe the survey responses come disproportionately from more junior employees. Although publishing employs a lot of women at all levels, including some of the highest executives, there still is probably a higher percentage of men in the upper echelons than in mid- and lower-level positions.
70% of respondents said their companies had instituted a salary freeze within the past year. 66% cut marketing budgets.

Median Compensation Based on Years Experience:

Less than 3 3 to 6 7 to 10 Over 10

Editorial $32,000 $40,000 $54,500 $80,250

Sales/Marketing 35,000 45,000 60,000 95,000

Management 93,250 77,625 94,500 132,000

Operations 37,750 42,750 60,000 74,500

	Less than 3	3 to 6	7 to 10	Over 10
Editorial	$32,000	$40,000	$54,500	$80,250
Sales/Marketing	35,000	45,000	60,000	95,000
Management	93,250	77,625	94,500	132,000
Operations	37,750	42,750	60,000	74,500

(The survey sample is small enough that some oddities emerge here– I’m sure managment salaries don’t really tend to be lowest for people with 3-6 years experience!)

By these measures, I guess I’m not doing too badly. I have over 10 years experience and my salary is $93,000 plus a bonus that has been over $10,000 the last few years. My raise last year was around 4%, and it’s frozen for this year. I feel relatively secure about my job, at least for the moment! I like what I do and it works well for me in a lot of ways, but I don’t love it enough to not care about the money. Fortunately I’ve gotten past the entry level years when the money makes it a struggle to live in New York– now I just have to hope I can successfully navigate the turbulent waters of this fast-changing industry for another 30 years or so til I retire, or come up with some better career… Wish me luck!

Read more about Salaries in Publishing…

Martin Lodge-on-Wheels: 10′x20′ House for $37,900

While looking for LendingClub P2P loans ($25 bonus) to fund today, I ran across a couple that was trying to buy a tiny home called a Lodge-on-Wheels. The current model is 10 ft. by 20 ft. and costs $37,900. I thought it was pretty neat to help fund this loan for people trying to achieve financial independence.

Many more pictures here.

Inspired by her experiences after Hurricane Katrina, owner Julie Martin wanted to design an affordable tiny house that can be easily moved from place to place on a trailer. It is made primarily out of wood, unlike most of the RVs out there, which probably doesn’t make it something you want to be moving around all the time. But I love the look and feel of it, much more “homey” to me.

To get started, just park the LoW, plug in an extension cord, and connect a garden house. Some features:

Composting toilet, no sewer line required
Tankless water heater
Microwave/convection oven, 2-burner stove, fridge/freezer
Cedar countertops, and even cedar-walled shower.
Fully insulated
Hardwood (bamboo) floors
Loft for queen-sized bed

Beyond emergency housing, the possible uses for such a place are interesting. The site seems to be catering towards hunters and outdoorsy folks looking for a portable lake cabin. However, as the couple suggests, this could be a permanent home for anyone. You could simply “rent” someone’s backyard space and live in it. Find some cheap land and own your home for less than a BMW. If you have the yard space yourself, you could create your own rental property or in-law suite.

This also reminded me of the 250 sf condos in San Francisco that were selling for $279,000. I wonder how much they are selling for now?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Variable Rate Loophole in the Credit CARD Act

I’m still looking for a second news source to back this up, but the circumstantial evidence is strong. We got a notice to our “tips” e-mail address about a loophole in the recently-passed Credit CARD Act of 2009, namely:

The law requires credit card companies to give 45 days notice of a rate increase, but only if the card has a fixed rate. The law also requires rates to stay the same for one year after a new account is open, but only for fixed rates.

And since credit card issuers are proactively punishing customers as a result of new legislation which hasn’t taken effect yet, they’ve also decided to start changing fixed-rate cards to variable-rate cards. Simply switching the rate type will enable the banks to raise rates whenever they want, again.

With a variable rate, rates generally rise as interest rates rise, and fall in a declining-rate environment. With rates already near a bottom and expected to rise, most consumers probably won't see their rates fall further.

Not all customers are being affected, but Bank of America, Chase and Discover have all announced this change for some of their customers.

With some of the banks, you can opt out of the change, which of course comes with a requirement to close the account. The last time our readers encountered this widespread kind of change, they had a surprising amount of luck getting their original terms back by calling and talking to the right people, in the right way. Hopefully many of you can manage the same thing this time. Let us know in the comments.

Fixed-Rate Credit Cards May Vanish , Jane J. Kim, Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2009

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Variable Rate Loophole in the Credit CARD Act

Monday, July 13, 2009

Obama Picks Regina Benjamin to Be Surgeon General

A scrapper Obama can believe in

Dr. Regina Benjamin (Photo: Paula Burch)

In times of trouble, it takes resiliency and determination to pick up the pieces of a shattered existence and rebuild it better than it was before. If you have budget problems, a cash advance or cash loan can help you avoid danger and begin to rebuild your credit in the process. When it comes to something more serious - like a natural disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina - rebuilding is tough.

But just as Dr. Regina Benjamin did for her health care clinics in Alabama and New Orleans, now she’ll be at the forefront of the effort to help rebuild Americans’ faith in their healthcare system. She’ll be in that unique position because according to Reuters, President Obama has called her name to be the next Surgeon General of the United States of America.

Calling Dr. Regina Benjamin, M.D.

A family doctor from Alabama, Regina Benjamin helped rebuild a rural clinic there that had been destroyed by hurricanes. In New Orleans, Benjamin’s sterling work won the favor of the MacArthur Foundation. They gave her a genius grant for her efforts with the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic. That place was ripped to shreds by nature two times (Hurricanes Georges and Katrina), but Benjamin found ways to pick up the pieces. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Obama Picks Regina Benjamin to Be Surgeon General"

Virginia offers short-term loans to state employees

Governor starts new program

The State of Virginia has started a new program for its employees. In a way, I have to commend them for not being just another entity that trashes payday loans and offers no alternative.

However, the state's short-term lending program won't replace payday loans. The point of no credit check payday loans and other types of short-term loans and private lenders is that anyone can get them. Now, the state's 100,000 employees have access to emergency funding, but the program doesn't help the rest of the state's residents.

Setting an example

After the governor's program begins, government employees in Virginia will be able to get the cheapest payday loans of anyone in the state. Government employees who belong to the state's credit union can get small cash loans of up to $500. That's about as specific as the information gets at this point, though. The Richmond Times-Dispatch says:

"Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today is expected to announce a short-term lending program for state employees that would allow workers to take out low interest loans of up to $500 to meet emergency needs.

"Borrowers would have up to six months to satisfy the debt, which would be repaid through payroll deductions."

“It’s a way to help out people who need money in a hurry so they don’t have to go to outside lenders,” said Kaine press secretary Gordon Hickey. The state has about 100,000 employees.

“The governor hopes this will be a model for private companies to use for their employees,” Hickey said.

"Details on the interest rate and the number of loans employees are eligible to take out per year will be released today at a Kaine news conference to roll out the program.

"But Hickey said the borrowing would come at “a considerably lower rate than they could get anywhere else."

Not for everyone

This new program follows the state placing new restrictions on the payday lending business this month. I believe this program will be very helpful for people who are eligible, but the rest of the residents in Virginia will still need to have options when they run into financial emergencies.

The press secretary, Hickey, said he hopes it will be a model for private companies to use for their employees. The truth is, many places already do allow their employees cash advances. Most employers don't charge any interest or fees at all to give their employees cash advances.

Details on new laws

The Richmond Times-Dispatch explained the new restrictions placed on payday lenders in Virginia:

"Under the assembly’s most recent crackdown on payday lending, which took effect July 1, lenders will be required to choose between offering payday loans, whose fees are fixed, and open-ended loans, which can carry sky’s-the-limit interest rates. Lenders that get out of the payday business lose their licenses to offer such loans in Virginia for a decade.

"Meanwhile, as the national recession continues, banks and other traditional lending institutions have been reluctant to extend credit and typically do not provide the smaller, emergency loans available under the program."

Saturday, July 11, 2009

If Gas Prices Go Up, Are Speculators To Blame?

Some U.S. lawmakers and a number of international leaders say oil prices are being driven far higher than necessary by financial investors who gain from driving up commodity prices. They want to limit futures contracts to crack down on speculation.

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Friday, July 10, 2009

Why I Bank with Ally

Ally Bank have been controversial from the beginning. The indirect link to General Motors didn’t help. The commercials were debatable (although I personally thought they were hilarious) and the FDIC pressuring them to lower interest rates just added oil to the fire.

On top of all that, the advertisements were everywhere. Online ads, commercials printed ads, you name it, they did it. All these “in your face” advertising worked - it made me open an account.

Click Here to Open Yours

It’s been a little over a month since I opened an account, and I currently have my short term savings with this bank. Here’s why.

Ally Sent Me a Welcome Package

Ally is not alone in sending welcome packages, but those that do always deserves a pat on the back. I understand it’s the online world and all that, but if I’m going to let some company hold onto a huge amount of my money, they better treat it as a serious business that inspires customer confidence.

In the package, it contained a signature card, which I needed to sign and return to confirm that I am who I said I was. To be honest, I would never have thought about it as being important, but having it certainly adds an additional level of comfort that they do more than others to combat fraud. They even included a postage-paid envelope for me to mail the card back to them, something that I rare see anymore.

Ally Cares About What the Ads Say

A little disclaimer: when you click on the links to open an account with them, I get a referral fee. Not much, but enough to make a difference. Ally is one of the few banks that continually work with us to make sure every ad out there has the current rates. Have you seen information out there with rates from other banks that are so high it doesn’t make sense at all?

Ally Sent Me a Separate Privacy Policy

A few weeks into opening the account, the bank sent me a privacy policy. I welcomed the fact that it was sent as a separate document from the welcome package, and it also gave me many options to opt out of 3rd party affiliate advertisements. I would’ve liked the ability to opt out online, but it did gave me an option to do it over the phone (instead of mail). Three minutes later after I called, I felt better about potentially having less junk mail.

Here’s the Last Thing Ally Sent Me that Prompted the Article

My monthly bank statement was ready, so Ally sent me an email telling me that I can retrieve it within the Ally system. Here’s what I liked - it contained no links. The first step as instructed was to sign into the account by going to Ally.com, but it didn’t make it a hyperlink. Most will think that it’s such a hassle, but with all these online scams going on, I feel good that they didn’t provide a link so I won’t be used to clicking on links within them.

I was perfectly find typing ” a l l y . c o m ” to log in on my own. When I did, there was my monthly statement, with the interests, my effective interest rate and all shown very clearly.

Last Notes about Ally

Some of you must think that I’m just saying all this to make a buck, but know that I could make much more money promoting others. In fact, there are other banks that will pay 8x what I get by referring you to Ally, so if I’m just in it for the money, this is not the one.

Also caution though that not everyone has the same experience I had. If you look at my Ally Bank review article, you can read all about other people’s experiences with the bank.

Good luck with whoever you decide to pick. I have chosen (at least for now).

Click Here to Open an Ally Bank Account Today

More About Ally Bank’s Online Savings Accounts - Official Site
More About the CDs from Ally Bank - Official Site

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