You Can Run Out of Milk, But Never Run Out of Retirement Cash

I’m paraphrasing the current TIAA-CREF ad campaign but the concept is the same, we frequently run out of daily necessities (milk, batteries for our cameras and mobile phones), but we should never run out of lifetime retirement income.

 

Are we saving?*

 

According to Eric Reed’s article, “What Is The Average Retirement Savings in 2019?”,1 in 5 Americans are not saving for retirement, and 1 in 6 baby-boomers either approaching, or now at retirement age, have no savings. For millenials the statistic is even more jaw dropping: 6 in 10 have no retirement savings whatsoever. So… how not to become a statistic? Read further, I promise it’ll get a whole lot better!

 

* https://www.thestreet.com/retirement/average-retirement-savi...

 

How do you feel about a 4% raise? (Employer Matching)

 

Let’s say your employer has a 401K retirement savings plan, and participates in employer matching on the first 4%. So if you were to save 4% of your income, your company kicks in the matching 4%, effectively doubling your money, and that my friends is a 4% raise!

 

Pay Yourself First (Get Rich Slowly)

 

I work hard, I want to enjoy my life now, and I don’t have cash at the end of the month to put into retirement. Sound familiar? By contributing to your 401K plan directly from your paycheck, you avoid the pitfalls of paying all the bills first, and then prioritizing your retirement savings afterwards. To pay yourself first, is to take care of your future self by saving constantly with each paycheck, letting your fortune gradually build during your working years. But how much to save? At least what your employer will match, but if you can swing it, let’s go for 10% or more.

 

Dollar Cost Averaging (Buy Low, Sell High?)

 

Wait, if I’m going to own stocks, bonds, funds, etc., shouldn’t I buy low and sell high? In a perfect world, yes, however, since there are daily, weekly, monthly & yearly ups and downs, trying to find those inflection points is called timing the market and even the best stock brokers and fund managers fail to get this right. What can you do to reduce that risk? Spread your purchases out over time, it’s called dollar cost averaging, and by regularly contributing to your 401K, you’ll be buying when prices are low and high, effectively getting a happy medium (average), and no worries about timing the market.

 

Low Fee Index Funds

 

Stocks are risky right? Where should I park my cash? One of the best ways to reduce risk to individual stock price volatility is to purchase a fund (mutual fund/Exchange Traded Fund) that invests in the whole market or a portion of the market. Index funds do just this; they track a known index (NASDAQ 100, S&P 500, Wilshire 5000) so instead of a fund manager picking and choosing stocks, the fund is on auto-pilot, meaning management fees are ultra low, and you reduce dependency of a manager to “time the market” and pick winners, as the index fund is already tracking “winners”.

 

Rule of 72 (Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world*)

 

Wondering how soon you’ll double your money? Using this rule of thumb (and the power of compound interest), if you divide 72 by the annual interest rate, you’ll come up with the time to double your money. Here’s an example using the S&P 500’s historical average return rate of 10%:

 

72 / 10 = 7.2 years

 

You’re telling me this because?

 

Let’s say by the age of 40 you and your spouse have saved $250K, at a 10% rate of annual return, by the age of 47, you’ll have accrued ½ Million dollars, by the age of 54 you’ll be millionaires and by 61 you’ll be multi-millionaires. Sounding better?

 

* Albert Einstein

 

Drowning in Information, Starving for Knowledge*

 

So many choices, where to start? Here’s some next steps to get you started:

 

1. Enroll in your employer 401K plan
2. Get the employer match (I recommend saving at least 10% to start)
3. Pay yourself first
4. Choose a low fee index fund
5. Periodically check on your progress

 

* Quote from Michael McAllister, principal at William Mercer

Top 6 Coding Test / Interview Tips

 TL;DR: IDE, unit tests, debugging, HackerRank/LeetCode, organize, positivity

1. Be Comfortable with any IDE -Get comfy with an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) of your choosing -It can be IntelliJ IDEA, PySpark, Eclipse, BlueJ (ok maybe not BlueJ) -It shows initiative, and let’s face it as a developer you’ll be living in an IDE all day -Has lots of features like auto imports and intellisense (suggestions/line completion) 2. Practice Creating a Unit Test -This can be in Junit (for Java) or PyTest (for Python) -Just know how to create a unit test in the IDE of your choice, and practice it -Unit tests are expected of developers -Start easy, how to do a simple assertion -Work your way up to parameterized test, then mocking classes (like I said start with easy) 3. Practice Debugging -Know how to debug a method in your IDE -Set breakpoints -Set watch values -Know how to step into, step over, step out during a debugging session 4. Create accounts on HackerRank and LeetCode -You may be asked to use HackerRank or LeetCode during your test, you want to have a good feel of their UI (User Interfaces) ahead of time -These are also great training resources. -HackerRank is free to use to learn many languages - more advanced that w3schools. Go to: HackerRank ... Prepare ... Java or Python, etc. -LeetCode is free to look at problems and some solutions - the icon next to the solution indicates if it’s unlocked. Go to: LeetCode ... Problems ... Top Interview Questions 5. Organize Your Response/Solution -Start with reading the problem, what are the inputs, outputs, and rules -Add comments, and sketch out some potential methods you could use -Work on the logic, and will fill in the actual code afterwards This shows you have a strategy (algorithm) to solve the problem -Avoid writing code too quickly, since you’ll get mired in syntax, data types, and the IDE, instead work on architecting a possible solution. 6. Stay Positive -Stay positive, good humored, the interviewer is evaluating how you go about solving the problem and your attitude -If the person being interviewed expressed frustration, that will reflect poorly, …would you want to work with a frustrated person or with a person with a more tempered attitude? -The interviewer may offer hints if you’re struggling, be gracious, and accept the help!

- WordPress: https://branvini.wordpress.com/2023/05/15/top-6-coding-test-interview-tips/

How to Ask for a Raise (with template)

How long has it been since you've received a raise?  Has it been a year?  Has it been longer than a year?  If it's been longer than a year, then it's time to advocate for yourself.  Here's an outline that can help you formulate your communications with management.

OK, how do we go about asking for a raise? It all starts with an email to your manager. Here's the general outline:

1. Ask to connect to discuss compensation
2. Enumerate how you are contributing value
3. Show current salary, prior salary, and time frames
4. Share BLS CPI and SSA AWI numbers (Appeal to Authority)
5. Recommend a raise (Appeal to Logic) above CPI/AWI
6. Ask what the next step is

You'll need to do you homework to determine:

• current BLS CPI (Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index)
• current SSA AWI (Social Security Administration Average Wage Index)
• your last raise percentage
• what your wage would be if it tracked inflation using the CPI Inflation Calculator

Here's an example letter, where the CAPITALIZED terms are there for you to replace with your own MANAGER, COMPANY, PROJECT, SALARY, etc.

---

MANAGER,

I’d like to connect with you to review my current compensation.
 
I feel valued at COMPANY and love the opportunity I’ve been given to be a TITLE and work with great team members.  
 
Some of the contributions and milestones I’ve had with COMPANY include:
* PROJECT_1
* PROJECT_2
* PROJECT_3
* Mastered many new technologies to include: TECH_1, TECH_2, TECH_3
* Provided mentoring to peers
* Received the following awards:
    * AWARD_1
    * AWARD_2
 
I wanted to give you some background on my current compensation.
 
I am currently paid $SALARY_1 per year and have been since YEAR_1.  

Prior to this, my wage was $SALARY_2 since YEAR_2.  

The difference between these two salaries represent a one-time raise of RAISE% in a span of DIFFERENCE years.
 
According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), the US inflation rate, also known as the CPI - Consumer Price Index - was between 1-3% yearly*, and only in 2021 was it closer to 6% due to the global pandemic.  
* https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
 
This means that between YEAR_1 and the present, US inflation has increased INFLATION% cumulatively, and my compensation has increased RAISE% over the same time period.
 
As well, the Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes the Average Wage Index**, which tracks the average increase in salary paid by US employers, and between 2015 and 2021 US employers paid or gave raises to their employees of between 1.1% - 3.75% / year.  
** https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/awidevelop.html
 
My recommendation is to take my starting salary of $SALARY_1 adjusted at 3% / year from YEAR_1 to present, and use that as a fair starting point, which equates to a suggested new salary of:
 
     $NEW_SALARY_1
 
This represents a modest increase, and is marginally above the average US inflation over this period (1-2% depending on the year), and is in keeping with US average salary increases by employers as published by the SSA.  
 
Also, of interest when using the BLS CPI calculator, the original salary of $SALARY_1 if it grew at only the US inflation rate from YEAR_1 to the present would have been $NEW_SALARY_2 which is very close to the amount recommended.
 
Please let me know what the next step is.
 
Thank you,
 
EMPLOYEE

How to get a Work Permit for Students in California

 

If you live in California, are in school and are under 18 years of age, you will need to follow this 2 step process to get a Work Permit. Apply for a job and go to the interview. If the employer is interested in hiring you then they will ask you to start the Work Permit for Students. Step 1. The Student, Parent and Employer all fill out and sign a CDE Form B1-1, which is the STATEMENT OF INTENT TO EMPLOY A MINOR AND REQUEST FOR A WORK PERMIT - CERTIFICATE OF AGE. Once all three parties will out the form, it is sent to the school to be completed. The school will enter the Maximum number of work hours when school is in session, and not in session, the school will finally sign. Step 2. Once the STATEMENT OF INTENT TO EMPLOY A MINOR AND REQUEST FOR A WORK PERMIT - CERTIFICATE OF AGE, has been returned to the student, the student fills out and signs a CDE Form B1-4, which is the PERMIT TO EMPLOY AND WORK, and returns this form to the school. Once the school signs this 2nd form and returns it to the student, the student can then return to the employer and continue the hiring process. Resources - California Department of Education - Work Permits for Students: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ct/we/workpermitsforstudents.asp - CDE Form B1-B STATEMENT OF INTENT TO EMPLOY A MINOR AND REQUEST FOR A WORK PERMIT - CERTIFICATE OF AGE: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/dlseformB1-1.pdf - CDE Form B1-4 PERMIT TO EMPLOY AND WORK: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/dlseformB1-4.pdf

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How To Get A Drivers Permit in California

 

Getting a drivers permit in California is a 4 step process. 1. Complete a DMV approved drivers education class. 2. Fill out an online California Drivers License or Identification Card Application, and set an appointment date. 3. Study the DMVs California Driver handbook, and try the DMVs Sample Drivers License Knowledge Tests. 4. Take the DMV written knowledge test. Step 1: At 15 and a half years old you can enroll in a 30 hour, online DMV approved drivers education class. Once you complete the class, the school will mail you a paper copy of your DMV Certificate of Completion of Driver Education form DL-400C. Step 2: Fill out an online California Drivers License or Identification Card Application. The online form does not indicate it, but you are filling out an online DL44. Both parents must sign the form online. Request an appointment date. Step 3: Study for the written test. You can study online version of the DMVs California Driver handbook, and try some of the DMVs Sample Drivers License Knowledge Tests. Step 4: Go to your DMV Appointment to take the written DMV Knowledge test. Ensure you bring your DMV Certificate of Completion of Driver Education form DL-400C that you received from drivers education class, Birth Certificate, Social security card, 2 proofs of residency, pay the fee, get thumb-printed, pass a vision test, pass the written DMV knowledge test , where you must get 38 out of 46 questions correct on the test. Resources - NHSA Driving School ($22): https://nationalhighwaysafetyadministration.com/california-drivers-ed-online/?affiliateid=192 - Budget Driving School ($45): https://mybudgetdrivingschool.com/drivers-education/ - California Driver's License or Identification (DL/ID) Card Application: https://www.edl.dmv.ca.gov/apply/choose-language - California Driver handbook: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/file/california-driver-handbook-pdf/ - Sample Driver's License Knowledge Tests: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/driver-education-and-safety/educational-materials/sample-driver-license-dl-knowledge-tests/

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Jasmine Dim Sum Restaurant San Diego

 

Dim sum service on the weekend

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JNC Pinoy Food Chula Vista, CA

 

Filipino fast food and bakery in Chula Vista, CA

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