02.26.06
Posted in Health, News at 10:28 pm by Paloma Cruz
I have never questioned whether the legality of abortion is right. I know that legalized abortion is a necessity, is something that we can never give up.
With what happened Arianna recently, with the knowledge that today her options would be so different, living in Texas worries me. Living in the US worries me.
At the same time, I despise that there are women who use abortion as birth control.
And because I do believe that abortion should be legal, news like this concerns me:
No challenge to Roe foreseen in Texas
Foes are content to chip away, let other states wage costly, risky fight
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
The GOP-led Texas Legislature hasn’t been quiet about its opposition to abortion or shy about restricting women’s access to it.
In recent years, lawmakers have required parental consent, a 24-hour waiting period, state-directed counseling and state funding for abortion alternatives.
All this, according to some abortion rights groups, makes Texas one of 21 states most likely to ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court ever gives them the chance.
But with South Dakota lawmakers last week approving the nation’s most rigid abortion ban — designed to challenge the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion — one might wonder: Is Texas ready to take it that far?
The answer, according to several of Texas’ most ardent abortion foes, is no. Though they may admire South Dakota’s gusto, most think a law blatantly violating Roe v. Wade at this point is hasty, risky and too brazen for Texas to attempt.
[snip]
Texas abortion foes say they’ll watch closely what happens in South Dakota. The bill, which would ban all abortions except to save a mother’s life, is awaiting the governor’s signature. Seven states have introduced abortion bans to replace Roe, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “protect reproductive choices.”
Those in Texas’ anti-abortion camp say they’re content to let other states take the lead on picking an expensive court fight over Roe. In Texas, abortion opponents are encouraged by their strategy of chipping away at abortion, one restriction at a time, hoping to end the practice with a whimper rather than a bang.
[snip]
ABORTION IN TEXAS
• Law before Roe v. Wade: Abortion was illegal in Texas, except to save the woman’s life.
• Current law: Abortion is legal, with certain restrictions, including parental consent for minors, a 24-hour waiting period, state-directed counseling and information. After 16 weeks, abortions can be performed only at ambulatory surgical centers or hospitals.
The idea that any state is trying to reverse Roe is alarming. More alarming, however, is the thought that they have a real chance of succeeding.
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02.24.06
Posted in Career, News at 9:56 pm by Paloma Cruz
This isn’t news… but it is sad, and irritating, and maddening.
Gender wage inequality persists, study says
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
The latest data on gender pay equity shows that little progress has been made in closing the gap between what men and women earn.
In this country, women make about 76 1/2 cents for every dollar men make for doing the same job. That’s up from about 63 cents three decades ago.
[snip]
The latest finding is from the group’s annual salary survey, which was recently released. It looked at more than 100 jobs in 20 industries nationwide and found that in 2004, men earned more in all areas, including those professions where women tend to thrive.
Female high school teachers, for example, earned an average of $42,848, compared with $49,660 for men who have the same tenure and credentials.
The survey also found that female marketing and sales managers earned $46,696 in 2004, compared with $74,932 for men; female physicians and surgeons earned $50,856, compared with $97,448 for men; female securities, commodities and financial services sales agents earned $33,853, compared with $60,736 for men.
[snip]
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02.23.06
Posted in Family, Health at 1:44 am by Paloma Cruz
How do you explain to someone else what you’re feeling when you’re grieving? I’ve found myself at a loss for words during this time. It’s like I’ve frozen this vocabulary that has, on occasion, driven people to tears or to laughter.
And since I can’t deal with my own grief, I don’t seem to be able to deal with the grief of my family. We all seem to go around acting as if we’re not in pain. As if my father didn’t just pass away.
We’re all ignoring it.
A piece of advice that really stuck with me is from ehow’s “How to Comfort a Grieving Person“:
There is no ‘correct’ amount of time to mourn a loss. The grieving period varies with the individual.
I would add that there is no “correct” way to mourn.
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02.20.06
Posted in Career at 5:28 pm by Paloma Cruz
As I look for a new job, for a new way to earn a living, “6 Ways to Discover Your Perfect Career” grabs my attention. I’m trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up, and I don’t know which way to go.
Their suggestions:
- Brainstorm on a sheet of paper
- Ask 3 close friends
- Ask your boss and coworkers
- Call a headhunter
- Take a career assessment test
- Keep a journal
I haven’t actually done any of these yet, but they seem like very reasonable, very practical suggestions.
Discovering what you really want to do with your life is the most important decision you can make. We spend 1/3 or more of our lives at work. So figuring out the right career is important to keeping that 1/3 of our lives happy and productive.
In case you don’t know, I have a job wanted listing our.
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Posted in Career, News at 4:51 pm by Paloma Cruz
How much do you need to retire?
– reported by MSN Money
Buck up, America. You may be better prepared than you think. Saving 15% is a very good start.
[snip]
This modern model rests on a solid foundation. Nearly 80% of employees participate in their work-based retirement plans; 401(k) plans alone have more than 42 million active members. All told, more than $13 trillion has been stashed in a variety of public and private retirement plans, more than double the amount invested 10 years ago (and despite a brutal bear market).
That’s the big picture. How much will you personally need in order to finance your life in retirement? Depending on your age and economic circumstances, your “number” could be 15% — the percentage of earnings young workers should be socking away. Or 80% — the amount of pre-retirement income you should aim to replace when you leave your job. Or $1 million (or more) — the size of the nest egg needed to generate that much income.
[snip]
Young workers don’t need to get hung up on a specific target for their retirement nest egg. Save as much as you can as early as you can and you’ll be off to a great start. Although there is no hard-and-fast rule, Christine Fahlund, senior financial planner with T. Rowe Price, recommends that young workers try to save 15% of their gross salary (including employer matching contributions) in order to replace 50% or more of their salary in retirement (the later you start, the more you’ll need to save).
Most retirees will also receive Social Security benefits that could replace another 20% or 30% of pre-retirement income. For the average wage earner — with an income of $37,000 in 2005 — Social Security replaces about 42% of pre-retirement income; the figure is less for those with higher earnings. That would boost total income close to the 75% to 85% range of pre-retirement earnings generally recommended.
Don’t see how you could possibly save 15% of your income? It doesn’t all have to come out of your pocket, so it isn’t as painful as you might think. Let’s say you are single and earn $50,000 a year. Let’s also say you contribute to a 401(k) plan, and the company matches your contribution 50 cents on the dollar up to 6% of your salary — the most common matching formula. You’d need to contribute $3,000 to your 401(k), or $250 per month, to get the largest possible matching amount, $1,500.
But 401(k) contributions are made in pretax dollars. So in the 25% federal tax bracket, saving $250 a month would reduce your take-home pay by just $187.50, or $2,250 per year. With your employer deducting the money off the top of your salary, you wouldn’t miss the cash. And taking that single step would get you more than halfway to your annual savings goal.
To close the gap, you could contribute an additional $3,000 to a Roth IRA. In retirement, you’d have to pay tax on funds withdrawn from your 401(k), but withdrawals from your Roth would be tax-free. In 2006, you can contribute up to $4,000 of earnings to a Roth, plus an additional $1,000 in catch-up contributions if you’re 50 or older. To qualify for a Roth, your income can’t exceed $110,000 if you’re single or $160,000 if you’re filing a joint return.
In the end, adding 15% of your $50,000 earnings, or $7,500, to your retirement kitty would cost you only $5,250 out of pocket.
[snip]
Delaying retirement for a few years can boost your Social Security benefits and reduce the amount you need to save to create sufficient retirement income for life. Consider how a married couple in their early 60s earning $77,000 per year — roughly the median pretax income of married households ages 55 to 64 in 2002 — can cut their savings needs by 40% if they delay taking retirement for four years, until age 66.
[snip]
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02.19.06
Posted in Career at 3:05 am by Paloma Cruz
My boss was let go this week.
One colleague has given in her notice, due to a combination of stress and her displeasure over the way our supervisor was treated.
Almost everyone on my team is worried about losing his or her job.
And I’m looking for a job.
It hasn’t been a good week.
Finding a good PR job isn’t an easy thing. Even when you have a good reputation and experience, they aren’t just waiting to be picked up.
It’s especially hard to find a new job when you’re feeling depressed, as I am right now. I feel oddly distant from all of this, as if it weren’t really happening to me.
I’m thinking about my options, the opportunities, the strengths, the possibilities that present themselves to me now. Perhaps I should just do what John did and go into business for myself. It’s what my colleague intends to do, once her two-week notice is up.
Am I ready for that?
Am I ready to close the door on even the possibility?
I have a meeting set up with a possible account. A non-profit that wants help getting media coverage. I’m meeting with them because I believe that having a thriving side business is a good plan.
What happens from here, I don’t know. But I’m trying to prepare for the worst.
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02.18.06
Posted in News at 3:51 am by Paloma Cruz
Boomers Big Spenders When It Comes to Food
– reported by HispanicAd.com
Whether they’re cooking, dining out, feeding their children, entertaining, or eating on-the-go, Baby Boomers are not afraid to put their money where their mouths are when it comes to food, according to Baby Boomers and the U.S. Food and Beverage Industry, a new report from market research publisher Packaged Facts.
78 million strong, boomers spend more on household groceries and food than their Gen X-Y counterparts and seniors over 65. Boomers aged 45-54 spend $123 weekly on food compared with $102 for 25- to 34-year-olds, and $75 for 65- to 74-year-olds. Over 12 million boomers spend more than $150 per week on household groceries compared with nearly 7 million 30- to 39-year-olds and only 2.5 million 60- to 69-year-olds. Overall, boomers make up the largest food spending demographic-22.8 million spending $125 or more for weekly groceries.
[snip]
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02.17.06
Posted in Health, News at 1:29 pm by Paloma Cruz
Procrastination: Ten Things To Know
– reported by Psychology Today
(short list)
- Twenty percent of people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators.
- It’s not trivial, although as a culture we don’t take it seriously as a problem.
- Procrastination is not a problem of time management or of planning.
- Procrastinators are made not born.
- Procrastination predicts higher levels of consumption of alcohol among those people who drink.
- Procrastinators tell lies to themselves.
- Procrastinators actively look for distractions, particularly ones that don’t take a lot of commitment on their part.
- There’s more than one flavor of procrastination.
- There are big costs to procrastination.
- Procrastinators can change their behavior—but doing so consumes a lot of psychic energy.
Found via LifeHacker.
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02.16.06
Posted in Career, Health, News at 11:24 pm by Paloma Cruz
Health accounts slow to catch on with employers
Workers reject high deductibles; most just don’t have the money
– reported by the Houston Chronicle
In his State of the Union address last month, President Bush revived his call for more Americans to open health savings accounts as a way of combating the nation’s out-of-control medical costs.
While the president’s statements drew thunderous applause by many lawmakers, local employers for the most part seem far less convinced that the accounts — dubbed HSAs — are what the doctor ordered to cure the country’s health finance ills.
[snip]
Among the greatest drawbacks, he and others say, are workers’ aversion to high-deductible health insurance policies, which by law must be coupled with the savings accounts.
[snip]
Similar to 401(k)s, HSAs were created in 2003 as tax-sheltered savings accounts that employees can take with them when they change jobs.
By law, the accounts must be paired with health insurance plans that carry high deductibles — at least $1,050 for an individual and $2,100 for a family — but lower monthly premiums.
[snip]
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Posted in General at 11:19 pm by Paloma Cruz
Some great links and resources I found via LifeHacker.
Money-Saving Secrets [Real Simple]
he average household receive about 15 bills a month. With stamps now at 39 cents each, you spend about $70 a year just on postage — and don’t forget the late fees if your checks get lost in the mail. Save time and money by signing up with the billers’ customer-service departments to have your bills paid by credit card or automatic debit; payments will be documented on your monthly bank statement. If you want more control, almost all major banks offer free online bill payment, which lets you schedule payments in advance.
Column: Time to click and pay bills online [Yahoo! News]
Creditors have become more aggressive than ever about hitting consumers with ridiculously high late fees. If you pay your bills online, you can set them up so that you’re never late.
What to do when they ask for your Social Security Number [totse.com]
Most of the time, you can convince them to use some other number. Usually the simplest way to refuse to give your Social Security Number is simply to leave the appropriate space blank. One of the times when this isn’t a strong enough statement of your desire to conceal your number is when dealing with institutions which have direct contact with your employer. Most employers have no policy against revealing your Social Security Number; they apparently believe that it must have been an unintentional slip that you didn’t give out your SSN.
StackBacks Automated Budget System [Personal Budget Blog]
StackBacks Automated Budget System e-book [Free download, PDF]
You shouldn’t have to think about your budget. Figure your budget out once, not constantly. I want to pay my bills on time, reach my financial goals, and have money I can spend without worrying about it.
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