What the Interviewer Really Wants To Know Remember, employers hire workers to solve a problem, whether it’s boosting sales, streamlining processes, or building a brand. Your goal when making your pitch is to show that you’re the best person to solve that problem. Interviewers ask questions about why you should be hired to measure how you qualify for the job and fit in with the company. How To Answer, “Why Should We Hire You?...
There’s nothing wrong with changing careers. In fact, it’s often a smart move—people change careers to increase their earning power, have more of an impact, improve their career satisfaction, and shift their work-life balance. But since potential employers are very likely to spend time during the interview asking about a career change, it’s important to prepare responses in advance. What the Interviewer Really Wants to Know At one level, your interviewer will be curious—what led you to make the change?...
There are various bank ETFs to choose from for your investing strategy. From regional bank funds to SPDRs, there is most likely one to fit your specific needs. However, make sure you conduct proper research, inspect the holdings of each ETF and watch how they react to different market conditions. And one of the best advantages of ETFs is the way these assets are taxed as opposed to other investment choices....
The good news is that both situations are fixable—you can bounce back from bad credit and build credit from scratch. But is having no credit worse than having bad credit? Here’s what you need to know. What Does It Mean to Have No Credit? Having no credit means that you don’t have active credit accounts reported to the credit bureaus, or your history is too limited to calculate your credit score....
Biden, who called for every borrower to get up to $10,000 of their student loans forgiven while campaigning for president in 2020, is under pressure from borrowers and their advocates—including progressive lawmakers in his party—to make that happen. Some have called on Biden to bypass the legislative process by invoking his executive authority, in recognition that bills have gone nowhere, even with a narrowly divided Congress. The fact that the issue didn’t even get mentioned in the president’s inaugural State of the Union speech—traditionally a soapbox for presidents to promote their agendas in a kitchen-sink fashion—is frustrating activists....
Keep reading to learn when the gift tax does and doesn’t apply to married couples. What Is the Gift Tax? Before getting into the specifics of when it does and doesn’t apply to married couples, it may be helpful to review the basics of the gift tax. This tax only applies to large gifts, and it’s usually paid by the person giving the gift, not the person receiving it. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines the point at which the gift tax kicks in....
Explore Job Options Consider what you would like to do for a job. For example, if you love animals, check with local veterinarians to see if they are hiring. If you’d prefer working with children, check with your local YMCA (many have after-school child care programs and summer camps) or child care centers. Fast food restaurants and retail establishments rely on workers without experience and are willing to train new employees....
Policy Basics Policyholder: The person who owns the life insurance policy is often the person insured, but not always; also referred to as the policy owner. Beneficiary: The person (beneficiary) or persons (beneficiaries) who receive the death benefit when the insured person dies. Insured: The person whose life is insured by the policy: If they die while the policy is in force, the beneficiaries receive the death benefit. Death benefit: The amount the beneficiary or beneficiaries receive from a life insurance policy when the person insured dies....
Growing Laterally A lateral move gives the employee a chance to expand his skills and network with a new circle of employees and customers. A lateral move is an opportunity for an employee to expand their career path opportunities. Visually, in a lateral move, the employee’s new job is equal to or on the same level on an organizational chart as the employee’s former job. The employee who accepts the move may or may not report to the same manager, depending on the responsibilities that report to that manager....
A $748 billion legislative proposal unveiled this week would give many who’ve lost their jobs a new 16-week lifeline, extending two federal pandemic unemployment programs that are about to expire and giving recipients of regular state-level unemployment insurance an extra $300 in weekly federal benefits into April. It would also give people with student loans until April 1 to skip their federal loan payments, extend the nationwide eviction moratorium for another month, and provide $25 billion in rental assistance to state and local governments....
What Is the FICA Tax? The total FICA tax is 15.3% based on an employee’s gross pay. The employer and employee each pay 7.65%. Here is a breakdown of these taxes: The Social Security portion of FICA taxes is 6.2%—up to the annual maximum wages subject to Social Security. The Medicare tax is 2.9%—1.45% for employees and employers on all employee earnings with no limit. There is also an Additional Medicare tax of 0....
It may not make sense to buy a fund that comes with a sales charge, which might be in the form of a front-load (paid when you’re buying shares) or a back-load (paid when you’re selling shares). Sales charges only make sense when you’re getting solid advice and top-notch active management. You don’t need this input with index funds if you do a little homework, so always go with no-load funds....
After the association released its calculations earlier this month, lumber prices have only continued to climb, jumping 15% to $1,192 per 1,000 board feet last week—the highest level since June. That’s still well below the $1,514 seen last May, after sawmills curtailed production in anticipation of weak demand during the pandemic. But the pandemic had an unexpected effect: Demand soared as the housing market and do-it-yourself home projects caught fire....
Many states and cities have their own minimum wage. Employees receive whichever is higher, the federal or local minimum wage. California has the highest state rate at $15 ($14 for employers with under 26 employees) as of January 1, 2022. Purpose of the Minimum Wage Although the minimum wage is intended to protect workers from exploitation, it hasn’t kept pace with inflation. Workers who earned a minimum wage in 2017 were paid around 27% less than their counterparts were paid almost 50 years before, according to the Economic Policy Institute....
Sincerely, Scott Dear Scott, You aren’t alone right now. Whether your money is invested in a municipal bond fund, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), index funds, or individual stocks, chances are, your portfolio is hurting right now. So it comes as no surprise that you want to know if you should pull your money out of your investment or not. In general, I don’t think it’s the best idea to get rid of an asset just because it loses money....
Sincerely, Joint Accounts Live On (JALO) Dear JALO, My condolences on the passing of your spouse. I know that this time can be an emotional and difficult one, and I hope you are receiving all the support you need. To answer your question, I would say no… not necessarily. Broadly speaking, if the joint account has “right of survivorship,” (and many do) as the survivor of the other account holder, all the funds pass to you, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)....
If a company has a strong and positive net cash flow month after month, it’s considered to be financially strong, at least in the short term. If, on the other hand, it has weak cash flow or even negative cash flow (it’s losing money), then it’s financially weak and may even be in danger of bankruptcy. Net cash flow provides the funds a company needs to expand, to invest in research or in new equipment, or to pay dividends or reduce debt....
The credit—which pays you back a portion of what you spent on daycare or care for disabled relatives, or other dependents—got a major, but temporary, boost as part of a pandemic relief bill that went into effect in 2021. The expansion was a part of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan and only applied to last year’s taxes. Depending on your situation, the amount you get for the CDCTC this time around could be thousands of dollars less than last year....
Safe Money Money order issuers are careful about the forms of payment they accept. Cash is best because they can be certain that they’re getting paid – they’ve got cash in hand instead of a promise from somebody else. That’s important because money orders are a form of “guaranteed” payment: the money order issuer guarantees that the funds will be there whenever the recipient goes to cash or deposit the money order....
Maskot/Getty Images Joining an investment group focused on real estate can help ease some of that anxiety and assist you in reaching your financial goals. You can benefit from the wisdom of a group and have a good time along the way. Much of the work of investing in real estate can be spread out. This makes it easier to enjoy the investment returns without the stress. Whether you’re a first-time investor or you’ve been at it for a while, knowing the pros and cons of this type of club can go a long way toward helping you decide if it’s something you want to get involved with....
