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Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
This lightweight tweed jacket looks great — the peplum waist, the muted, sophisticated colors (pink and stone). (It is part of the Scandal collection at The Limited, so Olivia Pope would, in theory, approve.) The jacket is fully lined, available in regular, petite, and tall sizes, and at full price is $168 — but today it comes down to $123 with code BONUS ($15 off every $50). The Limited Tweed Jacket
Two plus-size alternatives are here and here.
Seen a great piece you'd like to recommend? Please e-mail tps@corporette.com.
(L-3)
Sales of note for 9.10.24
- Nordstrom – Summer Sale, save up to 60%
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Bergdorf Goodman – Save up to 40% on new markdowns
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lo & Sons – Warehouse sale, up to 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- White House Black Market – 30% off new arrivals
Some of our latest posts here at Corporette…
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And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- What to say to friends and family who threaten to not vote?
- What boots do you expect to wear this fall and winter?
- What beauty treatments do you do on a regular basis to look polished?
- Can I skip the annual family event my workplace holds, even if I'm a manager?
- What small steps can I take today to get myself a little more “together” and not feel so frazzled all of the time?
- The oldest daughter is America's social safety net — change my mind…
- What have you lost your taste for as you've aged?
- Tell me about your favorite adventure travels…
Anonny
Holy Ann Taylor sale this morning. 40% off for all, additional 10% for card members. Don’t mind if I do stock up on some basics…
Kelly Andthenblog
Excellent timing! I was just oogling some updated basics yesterday…and today I bought them all for 185!
Anondc
I went to Sephora recently after work and was introduce to the Bite agave lip balm/mask and holy moly its literally the best lip balm Ive ever tried! Totally worth the hefty price tag ($26 – eeek) but it got me thinking, what are some products, stores, makeup you name it that are $$$ but you swear by?? Im not rich by any means but I want to start buying products that are higher quality instead of a bunch of low quality things that I have to keep replacing. Any recommendations?
Anonymous
Kerastase haircare products. Will not use anything else.
JJ
Glamglow products. The mud mask and face wash. My skin has never looked better since I’ve switched to those. The rest of my makeup is basically all Tarte, which is more expensive than drugstore brands, but the absolute best quality for the money (and the no-animal testing, healthy ingredients)that I’ve found.
West Coast
I love Glam Glow as well!
boston anon
I love my Clinique skin stuff (includes foundation, my absolutely favorite for ever is the stay matte tinted moisturizer). I’m a beauty junkie and always come back to Clinique for moisturizers, cleansers, and the tinted moisturizer after trying all the new stuff.
Anita
Oribe hair products, specifically the Gold Lust line, which is outrageously priced. I can’t even begin to describe how much shinier, fuller and easier to manage my hair is now that I use them. And I was using Bumble & Bumble/Kerastase before. Oribe totally outperforms.
la vie en bleu
Kevin Murphy shampoo & conditioner. It’s so pricey, but my hairdresser uses it and it makes my hair look and feel amazing all the time, no matter how long it’s been since my last cut.
Buenos Aires Recommendations?
CoverFX CC cream. It gives great coverage, almost like a hybrid between a light foundation and a tinted moisturizer. I don’t have great skin, but feel completely polished in high pressure events with just CC cream and powder.
Paging Senior Attorney
What do you think of The Jacket as a spring tweed? And do you have any spring jacket finds?
HSAL
I got the same one at her recommendation, and I thought about that during yesterday’s post, but was too late to comment. I think (hope?) it’s light enough, both in color and in texture, to work for spring/summer.
Senior Attorney
I wore it the other day so I’m Team Wear It For Spring! The color is nice and light and the fabric is pretty lightweight, too. I probably won’t wear it in the very hottest part of summer but I’m thinking it’s at least a 3-season piece.
I don’t have any new spring/summer jackets yet this year. I bought this Olivia Moon linen blazer in several colors last year and wore the heck out of them: http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/olivia-moon-three-quarter-sleeve-linen-blazer-regular-petite/3629468, but alas they are gone. Eileen Fisher has some nice spring tweeds this year although they are a bit pricey.
PEN
I have a job opportunity at a small start up. Great work, lots of room for growth, strong leadership, etc. The salary is significantly less than I have now and even with strong negotiations, won’t raise much. What parts of a benefit package can I negotiate? What benefits can make up for a lower salary?
Scarlett
Equity, options, stock – without knowing more about the phase of the startup it’s hard to say which of those is the most viable, but that’s the upside of working for one. You could ask for vacation, but that tends to run counter to the concept and may make them suspicious – you usually trade lifestyle for the opportunity to work hard and cash in on the ground floor. You might also want to ask for severance protection in the event they fold or fire you early (pretty common). It’s also hard to say what you can realistically get without knowing your level, etc – so you might want to talk to people closer to your situation.
Ellen
Yay! I love Tweed Jacket’s that are lined and I love Peeoplum, so this is one I would consider weareing Kat! Great Pick for today!
As for the OP, I think you can negotiate for stock optin’s like Scarlett says. It cost’s the company nothing now b/c they may never go public. You should also negotieate for a clotheing allowance b/c this way if you look good, the company will do well also.
I am ready for court and to face the judge with what I do think is NOT a mistake, but just an extension of existeing law to new fact’s. Ed says this is done all the time in Finance. So if the judge asks for precedent, I just tell him he can be considered “cutting edge” by applying this principal to the fact’s — bottom line, the employee was NOT hurt, and it was obveaious that he was fakeing his injury b/c how else would he be abel to work on his roof if he REALY had a back problem? FOOEY! I say!!
If I loose, then at least I tried. Mason pointed it out and now the manageing partner does NOT think he is such a schlub. Lynn is happy b/c she did not want to see him fired for being lazy, and he is happy I guess b/c he is still working and sleepeing with Lynn. Lynn need’s to start working out more. All she does is eat and keep Mason happy in bed. That is NOT a forumula for success. FOOEY on men that do this to us. DOUBEL FOOEY!
Anna
With all due deference, I disagree on both the legal and the personal points you make.
On the legal point, you must be crystal clear in your argument that you are arguing for equivalent treatment under a new legal theory; otherwise the court could look stupid adopting your argument wholesale.
On the personal point, Mason provided you with valuable advice, and at the same time is providing Lynn with satisfaction on the home front. Both are admirable traits for a lawyer, and is, in fact, the formula for success.
Hollis
I love this response.
AJD
Fyi, Ellen is not a real person. My theory is that she is a man mocking us all. Still love “her” entertaining posts, though.
TOS
Professional Development options? A conference, or executive courses/retreat?
Meg Murry
If appropriate in that setting, a work from home setup (docking station, monitor, keyboard mouse, etc)? Spin it as able to put in more hours after you go home in the evening, as well as occasional days from home.
Parking pass or transit pass? One time signing bonus?
pinkrobot
time off, or yearly increases in timeoff
Anonymous
wrt to stock options, if you are an executive or part of an early team, argue for the ability to early-exercise and also for acceleration in the event of change of control. There are so many acqui-hire transactions these days that this could really make a huge difference. Quora has a lot of good advice on this.
anonymous
Does a jacket like this look good when worn open, or does it need to be buttoned?
Sunshine
I have this one and wear it open. It looks good either way.
TXLawyer
For those of us in the energy industry- How are you holding up? Are you worried about your job? Any tips on what we could be doing in the down time to prepare for when things turn around?
Things have really slowed down for us. I’d say 50% of our energy associates are without billable work. I’ve been fortunate enough to have one project at a time pretty consistently, but it’s a far cry from last summer when I had projects piled up on my desk waiting for me.
Cost control
Things are not looking good. No new projects coming in. Layoffs at other locations.
Anonymous
Not energy, but nonprofit in Houston. Pretty much all of the oil-related companies have stopped donations. We’re worried about how it will affect things like the real estate market which many of our donors are in. We probably won’t feel it this year, but next year we might have to halt program growth due to the local economy slumping. It’s definitely looking a little bleak.
LondonUnderwriter
I’m an Onshore Energy Insurance Underwriter and it’s hitting us hard too, albeit not quite as a bad as our colleagues in the Downstream/E&P side. It’s a challenging time all round, some of our clients are able to make hay while the sun shines, but as Cost Control said, others are scaling back, having layoffs, cutting CAPEX – which always includes insurance costs. The impact of this on what was already a competitive Insurance market with way too many players competing for business is definitely making me feel uneasy.
Anonymous
I’m in Canada, but in an oil/gas city (three guesses which one), and people are quite stressed here. There have been a lot of layoffs around the city. Many of my friends are worried, but some are expecting things to pick up when companies with strong balance sheets start acquiring those that are doing poorly – transactional work will flow from that.
I’m not personally very worried, because my company is somewhat insulated for various reasons, and my job is not at all linked to projects/operations, but there have been layoffs within my company that are related to specific projects. I’m also very busy with all my ongoing work, so it’s not slower for me at all.
I think the most stressful thing is the general mood around the city- summer parties are being cancelled, almost all companies are doing cost reduction measures, and EVERYTHING is slowed down, not just oil/gas. This also affects the entire province, and the country, to be honest- Canada was pretty reliant on oil and gas driving the economy, and things just are not looking great.
TXLawyer
Yea, like everyone else we’re really banking on transactional work to turn things around. I’m hopeful that Shell’s BG acquisition will start an avalanche of deal work.
You’re right about the general mood of a big oil and gas city. The atmosphere is somber here, at best.
It’s always surprising to me to see how many other industries are impacted by low oil prices, beyond oilfield service companies, land services, etc. My friend works at a golf course and said they’re having a hard time keeping their staff on because of fewer dollars being spent on client-vendor relationships.
Anonymous
I was getting a massage the other day, and the masseuse noted how slow it was because so many people have lost their jobs and accompanying benefits. Even traffic going downtown in the morning is notably lighter, just due to layoffs.
I don’t think anyone expected it to last this long. An interesting world bank paper also talks about the recent drop- you might find it a good read:
http://www.worldbank.org/en/research/brief/policy-research-note-01
TXLawyer
Thanks for sharing. I will definitely read.
Anon
Sorry to be ignorant – is this all because oil prices are down?
TXLawyer
That’s right. Oil prices have gone done about 50% since last summer. Most oil companies have cut their 2015 budgets so all of the companies and industries that service them, as well as their employees, are taking a big hit.
Anonymous
And not just small budget cuts, some are cutting billions of dollars.
InfoGeek
Things are rough. Not law, but energy-related business. We haven’t laid off, but have cut hours of hourly employees. People are stressed trying to determine what sales forecasts should be, what inventory should be, etc.
The paper’s full of which company is laying off today (and there are other layoffs that are never broadcast so publicly). The rig count is going down. Guys went from making a ton of money working on rigs to having no job.
I still have projects (both local and corporate-wide) and my position is not supposed to be at risk.
Cost control
Infogeek – what city/paper is this?
MJ
WSJ has a most-emailed story today about oilfield layoffs.
Anonymous
I recommend FuelFix.com run by the Houston Chronicle, it is pretty good about disclosing layoffs
InfoGeek
Sorry. I meant generically — it seems like news comes daily of new layoffs.
Anonymous
Ok – thanks. Trying to get to every last scrap of information. Seems to be certain layoffs are looming at our company too – not sure how I’ll cope.
Op
Does Seamless offer gift cards? I want to order one for my sister who just moved to NYC but I don’t see them on their website. Any ideas?
Anon
Yes, through giftcards dot com. But cautionary tale, I ordered a very expensive one this way and it never showed up and their customer service has been terrible to deal with. Luckily I was able to dispute it through my credit card company.
Shirt Tucking
For professional attire, I can’t tuck a shirt into my dress pants or skirts and be comfortable with how I look. I’m simply not shaped in such a way that I can pull the look off. However, I Struggle (with a capital “S”) to find shirts that have the right hem line to leave untucked. Most everything I find has a shirttail hemline, which makes it way too long in the front and back if I leave the shirt untucked.
For anyone who has this issue, how/where do you find shirts that work? Do you get the hemline changed by a tailor? How do you work around this?
ETA: Hoping for solutions other than peplum hems or wearing dresses 100% of the time..
Mo
I wear sweaters.
Must be Tuesday
Yup, sweaters are my favorite top for suits. Dressy t-shirts work too.
Hildegarde
Do you need them to be collared shirts? I think collared shirts almost always look sloppy untucked, but light sweaters are great for this sort of thing. The J.Crew Tippi sweater is suffering from the same quality defects most J.Crew clothing is these days, but the 3/4 sleeves, the fit, and the hem length make them great to leave untucked over skirts and pants, and they look good under jackets.
Shirt Tucking
Doesn’t have to be collared. But, even nice blouses – tie front ones, for example – have this hem problem. I struggle to look (or maybe feel) professional when sitting around a table of men in ties with me in a crew neck sweater, which is what I currently do quite a bit.
MFKN
You could buy shirts to tuck in under the sweaters–that way you look a little more formal but also don’t have the untucked look you don’t like. (This is what I do.)
AIMS
What if you wore the collared shirt tucked in but with a sweater over it? You could do sleeveless for less bulk, but I find that the color peaking out gives a crisp, professional look.
I’m also a big fan of “statement necklaces” to dress up what I’m wearing. I wear suits about half the time to work and the other day I was wearing a short sleeved blouse with a beautiful, elabo0rate necklace – no jacket – and my boss joked about whether I had an interview because I looked “dressed up.” I think jewelry can really elevate clothing.
AIMS
Two other ideas:
You could try belting your blouses, without tucking in.
Also, I think shirts like this look dressier than average but look nice untucked, especially with skinny pants. http://www.anntaylor.com/crepe-pleated-keyhole-top/366220?colorExplode=false&skuId=18150988&catid=cata000010&productPageType=fullPriceProducts&defaultColor=2099
Hildegarde
I actually agree with you that the sweater idea is a more casual look than a collared shirt, though I think there are some here who disagree with me. For this reason, I just wear a tucked collared shirt on days when I will be sitting at a table of men in ties like that. However, if you really do not want to do that, I have two other ideas, although they’re not perfect solutions.
One is to get collared shirts hemmed short enough that no one can see the hem beneath your jacket, so people just won’t know it’s untucked. Of course, this means you have to keep your jacket on. The other idea is to wear a collared shirt under a thin sweater, so you have the formal collar effect, but the sweater covers your waist and upper hips, so no one sees where the shirt is tucked in. This may be slightly less formal than just a shirt/tie combo, but I still think it’s more formal than just a sweater. You can also counter the slight decrease in formality by wearing formal jewelry and adding a blazer, if you’re not already in a suit.
short waisted
+1 to the tippi rec (and also to the J crew quality struggles). I face a similar struggle- I’m short with a short torso. Tucking anything into dress pants is a total no-go 100% of the time, but I can do shirts into skirts successfully sometimes. But I find that hunting down short sweaters is the best way to look polished when you’re wearing an untucked shirt. I’ve also had luck at BR.
Maybe try getting a petite size even if you wouldn’t normally? Would likely shorten the shirt.
Diana Barry
+1. I would try silk or silky blouses that go over the head instead. Most of my blouses have straight hems.
LilyS
I was going to say this. I have a great one from Zara, and also a few from Wallis – but I don’t know if you have Wallis in the States. Boden also do some nice ones (when I start work properly I’m going to get the Ravello in three colours)
tesyaa
Try a petite size even if you’re not normally a petite.
Basics
No more blouses. Knit tees under blazers.
Senior Attorney
+1
Shirt Tucking
Where do you get high enough quality ones? I wear my Banana ones to death.
CPA Lady
Talbots usually has a few shells each season that look like they are not meant to be tucked. Not sure how to describe, but they have notches on the sides of the bottom of the shirt, which is cut straight across, rather than having shirttails like a button down.
I’m a high-waisted hourglass, so when I tuck, my skirt rides up to my natural waist and my top half looks like ALL BOOBS, which is a little va-voom for the office. So I wear pencil skirts, un-tucked silk(y) shells, and cardigan/blazer.
Anon
I have had good luck finding non-tucking blouses at Boden. The Ravello top is a classic.
Wildkitten
The Ravello is perfect. I will be adding that to my uniform. Thank you.
LilyS
Haha, I should have read further down before adding my comment!
Anonymous
I don’t have this exact issue but similar frustrations with not being able to find specific fit I want in other ways. Honestly I’m at the point where it’s worth it to buy something that almost works and then get it tailored perfect. I think a tailor should be able to chAnge the shirttail hem to a straight one. Maybe buy a size larger than you need to be sure it’s long enough to shorten and give it a try. Also check llbean and lands end.
la vie en bleu
you shouldn’t need to buy a size up. If the shirt you buy has a hem that is too long, even if it’s just the back hem, a tailor should be able to hem it at the perfect length to wear untucked.
Baconpancakes
Yeah, but it might be curved and not long enough on the sides.
la vie en bleu
true, but a size-up might create a whole bunch of different problems and a much bigger tailoring job.
Mpls
The highest point of the curve is still going to be below the waistline of your pants (otherwise it would peak out if you tucked it in). Get a shirt that fits you everywhere else and then fix the hem.
I'll Play!
I agree, throughout the years I have found one from REISS that I love (silk); Thomas Pink (silk); jcrew (cotton jacquard type); and now, when I find them, I cannot resist, but I agree, there has been a dearth of them lately.
BankrAtty
The Ravello shell from Boden looks nice untucked. Boden in general seems to have a lot of tops with curved hems that look good untucked.
L in DC
The solution is non-button-down tops, untucked or tucked, with a blazer over top so you can’t see your waist area anyways. You mentioned sitting around a table with a bunch of men in ties, and it sounds as though you’d like to be able to match their level of formality, so I’d go with a skirt/slacks and blazer combo, or a nice dress with sleeves. And if you’re wearing a blazer on top, no one will notice whether your shirt is tucked in as long as your shirt hem isn’t longer than your blazer (I never wear mine tucked and the blazer hem covers my waistband area). Or you can tuck it in, but no one will be able to see your waist, so it doesn’t matter if you don’t think you look good with a tucked in shirt.
SFLit
I agree with all this, and you should wear whatever makes you feel confident and comfortable in this situation. But also: remember you are not a man, and you don’t have to dress like them to be formal! Professional woman just have more style options to work with – and many men (even stylish ones) seem to be fairly clueless about relative formality of women’s clothing. (Ie the ones who ask me earnestly what I’m dressed up for, when I’m wearing a fairly sloppy, comfy skirt and LS tee for a casual Friday…) So you may have more leeway than you think. Good luck!
Susie
I have the same problem, primarily due to my shape (wide ribcage and small waist so tucking results in the blouse billowing above the waistband). Unfortunately the best solution I’ve found is just to wear dresses instead of skirts!
Scarlett
I love this blouse – it’s the magical unicorn for doesn’t need to be tucked in and looks professional – I’ll often just tuck in the back part. http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/pleione-faux-wrap-blouse-regular-petite/3507544?cm_em=&cm_mmc=email_tran-_-020315-_-order_confirm-_-proddescr1
Susie
This seems like it would just totally obscure your waist. The Nic & Zoe linked below seems much more figure flattering.
Anonymous
also why I love shirts like this for under suits: http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/niczoe-spring-rain-faux-wrap-top/3962128?origin=keywordsearch-personalizedsort&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=4446
I have some that are solid colors, though, and I can’t find one online at the moment. But you get the idea.
Contracts
Hive help appreciated: I’m almost done with my Fresh Black Tea Age Delay eye cream. I love it – I got it on amazon for much cheaper than sephora, and it has lasted over eight months with twice daily use. (I just touch my finger to the cream and that’s enough per eye.) I am interested in your suggestions for other creams to try, though. Under $60 preferred.
Maddie Ross
On the advice from an online site (Rank & Style maybe?) I’ve been using Roc Retinol Correxion sensitive eye cream and am really happy with it. It’s drugstore and under $20.
LilyS
I had a sample of the Benefit eye cream (‘It’s Potent!’) which I’m finding to be incredibly good.
mascot
I am using the Balance Me Wonder eye cream in the morning. It’s $38 on birchbox, but may be available elsewhere.
nice cube
Thanks to a rec here I bought the JAG pull-on jeans. I wore them to death and am now looking for a replacement. I would get the same ones bc they were so comfortable, but I wish that they didn’t slide down so much – creating a saggy butt. Does anyone know of a comfy skinny/slim cut jean, pull-on preferred?
TO Lawyer
Not pull-on but I recently bought a pair of J.Brand high-waisted Maria skinny jeans and I am amazing at how comfortable they are without stretching out too much. I’m usually cautious about anything that’s too high-waisted but these have the perfect level of rise. i think I’m going to buy a pair in every colour.
Calico
This is good to know. I’m going to stalk them now for a sale….
Anonymous
They’re not a pull-on per se, but the Nine West Vintage America boho skinny jeans are “knit jeans” although they look like jeans and are really comfortable. One pair I got in dark wash stay in good shape. The lighter wash stretch out.
anonypotamus
they are kind of $$, but I have a pair of rag & bone jegging-type jeans in black that i got for christmas this year. they are WONDERFUL. they have some stretch, but retain their shape, eliminating the baggy butt issue. they also seem to sort of shrink back after i wear them so i can stretch out the time between washings. they have real back pockets and faux front ones, so everything lays really nicely. i’m definitely adding this brand to my save up and splurge for new pieces list.
Anon
I have a chunk of money that I want to use for a down payment in about a year when my lease is up. In the meantime, how should I invest it? Right now it’s just sitting in my bank account, but that seems silly. I need a relatively safe investment though so that the money is available when I’m ready to buy a house. Any suggestions?
Former Partner, Now In-House
I will be interested to hear others’ suggestions.
A year is a pretty short time. And you don’t want to lose any principal. I’m thinking CD, Treasury bills, bonds. Maybe even a “high interest” (ha!) online savings account. If you check bankrate DOT com, some are paying about one percent. It’s not a lot, but there is no risk of loss.
Diana Barry
+1, agreed.
AIMS
I have a similar situation and haven’t come up with a solution. CDs don’t really make sense because the rate you’d get over a year would be equal to or even lesser than a “high interest” account and you’re needlessly locking up your money. Even longer length CDs (3 years) don’t give you much of a return – most are about 1.5%.
Some banks do have promotions if you have a substantial amount to deposit. For instance HSBC is/was doing a 1.5% interest rate through end of June, which I considered but there’s no guarantee of what the rate will be afterward so I didn’t feel it was worth the extra .5% over capital one to switch, though if you pay attention to these things that’s something you can do and then switch to another bank if it’s too low after.
I think for me, I’m going to take a small chunk and put it into a low risk index fund and leave the rest in a “high” interest account. It’s not the best plan, but best I can come up with.
Former Partner, Now In-House
It sort of makes you wonder when economic policy is going to stop rewarding consumption and start rewarding saving. Maybe those days are gone forever. It would be great for OP’s sake if rates stay down until she buys; but in the meantime, there’s not much return to be found anywhere.
Anonymous
Your comment seems to completely ignore the flip side of low interest rates – cost of borrowing.
L in DC
Anonymous — I think that’s exactly what Former Partner was saying. That lower interest rates incentivize borrowing money (and one borrows to spend = consumption), while penalizing saving.
Anonymous
I read it differently. Individuals and businesses don’t borrow only for consumption.
ace
This. Don’t do anything that will result in you withdrawing less than you put in. Look at bankrate dot com to find an internet/”high yield” savings account. It will probably only be about 1-2% APR at this point, but ensures you’re pulling out what you put in.
Anon in NYC
Put it in Capital One or some other savings account with a slightly higher interest rate. My friend who is a financial advisor said that for a short term horizon (under 3 years) it’s best to have the cash in a safe, liquid form. Plus, I think you’d want to avoid issues like short term cap gains with any sort of investments if you decide you want access to the money in under a year.
mascot
When we were in the same situation, we opened a Yield money market savings account with EverBank. We didn’t make a lot in interest, but it was better than the basically zero return offered by our b&m bank.
Marilla
We used a high-interest savings account for this. Not the greatest, but easy and liquid when you need it.
Car Advice?
The previous car thread inspired me to ask this question, since I keep going back and forth on the answer. I’m on the other end of the car process – considering selling rather than buying.
I have a car that is completely paid off this month (awesome!) but I don’t really use it. It’s a convenience on the weekend, basically nothing else. I don’t use the car to commute and I don’t pay to park it (street parking in the city). It’s worth ~$10K+ and I have some consumer debt (bad, I know) that selling the car would dramatically reduce. I probably will not need to commute by car anytime in the next year or so, but I suppose you never really know.
Do I sell the car and take the lump sum payment to put towards debt or keep the car (paid off!) and redirect money (no more car payment, been working to reduce expenses already) to reduce the consumer debt as fast as possible?
Diana Barry
Does your city have Zipcar or a similar convenience? If so I would definitely sell the car and pay off your consumer debt.
Even if not, car loans are usually lower interest rates than credit card debt, so I would sell it anyway.
Anon
+1 Even worse case, you could rent a car if a real “need” came up for one.
Anon 2
Yup. Sell. Get rid of that debt and get thee to Zipcar.
tesyaa
+1, you’re also paying to insure the car you don’t use, obviously.
Middle Coast
Street parking makes it vulnerable to dents and theft. A car which is not driven can develop mechanical issues from lack of use. Its worth drops as it sits. Sell the car, set aside some money for taxis or rentals, and pay off your debt.
Car Advice?
Thanks all. Middle Coast, you are totally right. The car already has small dings I need to fix because of street parking.
Anon in NYC
OP – How often do you drive and what is your typical car usage? I don’t need a car on a day-to-day basis, but when I do need a car it’s usually for a longer drive and/or overnight stays, with some short day trips thrown in. I think I spent about $2500-3000 on Zipcar last year, and that was for consistent but infrequent use (say maybe about 20 rentals of varying lengths of time, plus tolls/mileage overage charges).
Zipcar negates the need for insurance, which is great, but places a mileage cap on rentals (the cap depends on the length of your rental, if it’s overnight, etc.) so if you go over there can be a hefty charge. It’s also nice that you don’t have to pay for gas. Tolls, obviously, are your responsibility.
Although it would be great to pay off your consumer debt, I wouldn’t be so quick to just sell the car and use Zipcar without more thought as to how you use your car.
Anon 2
We found it was WAY cheaper to use Priceline “Name Your Own Price” and get a rental car for long weekends than book a Zipcar for a trip of that length. We only used Zipcar for couple-hour-long trips in/around the city (Boston).
Zelda
+1. When I was car-free, I would use zip car for hourly rentals and a regular car rental for anything over a day.
Anon in NYC
That is really interesting! I’m going to look into that now because I’m appalled at how much we’ve spent on Zipcar.
Anonymous
That’s 250 per month! Probably a lot more than what she’s paying in car insurance now. OP, how are your savings? If you’re already good on that front I think adding the car payment amount to what you are already paying on consumer debt might be the way to go. Google for a credit card payoff calculator to see how much difference it would make. Also I think aot if people really demonize credit card debt out Of proportion to the impact it might have on your life. Obviously it’s not good and if you keep accruing it you should look at your life choices. But otherwise if your credit rating is good (is you pay on time) and you are steadily decreasing it, it’s not usually the “crisis “as some make it out to be. I mean you could probably pay it off really quickly if you reduced your duet to ramen and peanut butter, cancelled your cell phone, etc. I’m not saying this means you should keep the car necessarily just something to think about- ie, cc debt alone is not a reason you must sell the car. As for your credit card debt look into lowering the interest rates. What’s left of my cc debt is at 0% for the next 14 months. (Bank of America master card). You can also possibly get a personal loan at a lower rate from your own bank.
L in DC
I understand what you’re saying re credit card debt, but I pretty strenuously disagree and want to explain why. The interest rate on credit card debt is practically always above 10% (and is often 15-20%), which is huge. I mean, imagine you were getting 15-20% returns on your investments — you’d be ecstatic. Also, the sooner you pay off the debt, the sooner you’ll have money available to invest. Not to mention that if you have credit card debt, that probably means you don’t have much of an emergency fund (because you would have used that emergency fund to pay off those expenditures that were instead charged to your credit card). So, if you have another cycle of unexpected expenses, it’s likely that you’ll be stuck putting those on credit as well, which is not a good position to be in. All that is to say that I do think it should be treated like a crisis.
I agree with you that 0% balance transfers can be a good solution for debt that you know you can pay back in a year, but that 0% debt is also a crisis, for different reasons. If you don’t pay off the entire balance within the allotted timeframe (usually 12-14 months), you will owe retroactive interest for that ENTIRE timeframe, usually on the entire amount that you transferred (even if you only have a little bit of the balance left). The whole reason the credit card companies make these seemingly generous offers is because of the money they make off of people who don’t pay it off in time.
Car Advice?
@ Anon in NYC: That’s a good point, but I definitely don’t need a rental car often, and in fact I’m usually renting cars for longer trips already (I often fly then rent a car to drive while at the destination).
@ L in DC: Thanks! I’ve never heard it explained that way, and what you’re saying makes sense to me.
anon oops
Accidentally hit report, sorry!
L in DC
Yup, I’d sell the car and pay down the rest of your debt asap.
Must be Tuesday
If you really don’t use the car at all, ever, I’d sell it and put the all money towards your credit card debt.
If you use the car occasionally, but not often, and you never use it for work, another option would be to sell the car, put most of the money towards the credit card debt and use the rest of the proceeds to buy a less inexpensive car. My personal preference would be a 10- or 15-year-old BMW 3-series with 100+k miles for around $3-4k. Reliable enough, especially given that it’s driven rarely and never for work. Old enough that I wouldn’t care about possible scrapes or dings from street parking. That is what I would do if I had a paid off car and credit card debt. I commute to work on public transit. I only drive to visit friends and family in the suburbs, for grocery shopping, and for running errands on weekends.
Car Advice?
Wow, thanks all! I was already leaning towards selling anyway, but I guess part of me is afraid I would sell the car then need one again, so I’d have to get the money together for another down payment in 3-5 years (but I have no reason to think I wouldn’t be able to make the down payment then). It’s really helpful to hear all the different options, reasons, rationales, etc.
Meg Murry
Yes – sell the car, put the money toward your credit card debt, and then if the card isn’t paid off make car-payment +previous credit card payment amounts toward paying off the card. Once the card is paid off, continue to make car payment sized monthly deposits into a savings account, and you’ll build up an emergency fund/car down payment fund fairly quickly.
L in DC
Another thing to think about for the future is that if you find yourself needing a car in 3-5 years, you can always find a very reliable used car in the $10,000 range ($10,000 is actually a conservatively high estimate). And in 3-5 years, you’ll be able to pay cash for a $10,000 car so you won’t even need to finance it. The blog Mr. Money Mustache has some great info on how to buy a reliable used car for minimal cash and there are a lot of other resources out there as well.
Anon
Does anyone know of an app that would allow me to track things like my fruit/veggie consumption, fish intake, etc. in just a simple interface (all I really want at this point are tick marks that let me total this up over a week versus a goal). I already do/love GymPact, but I don’t want to take pictures of what I’m eating for a vote, and I’m on LoseIt and I don’t think it allows me to do that this way. If I’m wrong, would love to know!
meme
I’m not sure I completely understand what interface you’re looking for, but I like My Fitness Pal for food tracking. No “tick marks” per se, but it’s easy to track and review your eating habits and it keeps track of things like fiber, carbs, etc.
Anon
I’m looking for something less granular, actually. . . LoseIt tracks all the fiber, carbs, vitamins, calories, etc. What I’m looking for is more how to fix/track my eating habits – I want to eat 35 veggies a week, fish 4 times a week, that kind of thing. Over a period of days, not just a single day. I’d love it if LoseIt could figure this out for me, but they don’t seem to have that capability.
Anon2
I’m old-school for things like this – how about an index card that you keep in your purse? One line for veggies, one line for fish, and a hash mark every time you eat something!
Anon2
I’m old-school for things like this – how about an index card that you keep in your purse? One line for veggies, one line for fish, and a tic mark every time you eat something!
(Reposting b/c I think I ended up in moderation for h*sh mark!)
Anon
This may have to be the fix. :-) I did this for a while, then I lose the card.
Anon4this
Can you keep a running weekly tab on the notes (or equivalent) function on your smart phone? Just make a new note at the beginning of each week?
Jdubs
I do something similar with google docs on my phone. I have a simple spreadsheet for the week with days/meals, I copy it on the desktop for the next week… then i can just make my tickmarks on the spreadsheet on my phone whenever convenient.
Killer Kitten Heels
You could probably do this through SparkPeople – the initial set-up would be a little bit of a pain (I think the best way to do it would be to set up your profile to have Spark plan your meals for you, then change the meals to reflect fruits/veggies/fish/etc.), but once it’s done you’ll be able to use the tick-mark approach.
I think Spark also has a Quick Track option where you can set goals for yourself and then just check them off, but I can’t speak to it because it’s a feature I don’t use.
Also, if you’re looking for something insanely basic, I use an app called Checklist+ for to-do lists, and it sounds like that might work for you as well.
DQS
Check out the app called DQS — stands for diet quality score.
Was written to follow the scoring chart set out in “Racing Weight” by Matt Fitzgerald.
The book is about eating/training for endurance athletes, but the app is basically just counting servings of different kinds of foods: “high quality” Fruits, vegetables, lean meats/fish, nuts/seeds, whole grains, dairy and “low quality” refined grains, sweets, fried foods and fatty proteins.
I think it just looks at daily totals though, not weekly. You get an overall score for the day.
Even if you don’t follow the book (Which is great BTW), the app sounds like what you need.
Meg Murry
Android or iOS? What about a Habit Calendar, where you could just check off each time you ate fish, veggies, etc? I haven’t found one that I loved since back in the old days of PalmOS (yes, I’m one of those people …) but you may be able to browse the app store for habits and get one where you just check a box each time you do something. Some of them have the option to add notes, so you could check the box, then write “broccoli” in the note, etc.
Anon
iOS! I remember PalmOS :)
LilyS
HabitRPG might work. I got fed up with the gamification and stopped using it, though.
Anonymous
Joe’s Goals. It’s not food-specific, but you can set up any number of goals (eat vegetables, drink water, floss, etc.), add one or more checkmarks per day, and see your progress by week.
Anonymous
you could set up your own lists in Wunderlist? I like it bc you can see the things you’ve done with strikethroughs which makes me feel productive.
Or I just saw this rec for Golden Scale, an app that lets you set your own goals and then check them off.
Intern Interview Questions
So I just found out that I am supposed to be coming up with a list of questions to interview an intern (non-lawyer, most likely a student in a master’s program, government/policy/nonprofit related). As one would expect, I have no where near the time I would choose to come up with a good list of questions. I’m hoping to get some inspiration from y’all.
What’s your favorite interview question (either to be asked or to ask).
AIMS
“Tell me about a problem you’ve solved or a challenge that you’ve overcome.” I think this is a better version of “what’s your biggest weakness” because you’re asking about the way someone deals with challenges and I think it can reveal a lot about their work style.
I also think “tell me why you are interested in this position” is a good (if common) opening question. You’d be surprised how many people haven’t thought that one through and I think it can give you insight into who wants the job because of what it is and who is just interviewing at as many places as they can without any real interest in the specific position.
emeralds
My department just wrapped up our yearly round of graduate intern-hiring! My strong preference is for questions asking about past behavior, like AIMS’s question about problems or challenges; I personally find it a lot easier to BS “How would you handle”-type questions. I’ll also +1 the “tell me why you’re interested” question.
Possible additions:
-Tell me what you know about this organization and its mission/values/programs/whatever is most appropriate.
-What would you like to share with us about yourself, that we can’t see on your resume or in your cover letter? It can be professional, academic, or personal. (We ruled out some people with wildly inappropriate answers to this one…)
-Pick out the top 2-3 responsibilities or qualities necessary for the position and ask about past experience with them.
Anonymous
A lot of the “tell me about a time” questions are much better suited for more employees than interns – as a law student who had only ever worked minimum wage jobs I hated questions about how I had dealt with workplace issues in the past because they were often so completely inapplicable (I had never disagreed with my boss, dealt with office politics, or navigated a meeting, and the only “clients” I had managed were outraged retail customers… that didn’t meant I wouldn’t be good at the job, it just meant that I was 22 years old).
Now I do interviews, and I prefer to ask friendlier questions that give me a sense of who someone is as an individual… questions like “describe yourself in one word”, “what would you do if you won the lottery”, or “why did you decide to go to law school?” I think the best questions, though, are the ones that are individually tailored (“You’ve done a lot of criminal work in the past. Why have you decided to apply to a business law firm?” or “Your resume says you like Russian Literature – which novel is your favorite?”).
Best Coast
– Walk me through your resume and tell me what factors helped you decide the next step.
– Tell me about a significant goal that you’ve accomplished and what steps you took to get there. Follow up with- what did you learn from that experience? What didn’t go well and how could you have changed your approach?
– Tell me about a time that you had a conflict with a co-worker or team member. How did you resolve the conflict and is there another way that it could have been handled.
– Tell me about the best manager that you’ve ever had. What was it you liked about her? What about your least favorite manager- what did they do that you didn’t like?
– Tell me about a time that you had a lot of projects going on/due all at the same time. How did manage the work?
Must be Tuesday
What were your favorite and least favorite parts of your previous jobs (assuming the potential intern has a work history). This can tell you if their work preferences are suited to the position you have available.
Mountain Girl
If I were to give you this salary you requested but let you write your job description for the next year, what would it say?
If you had to choose one, would you consider yourself a big-picture person or a detail-oriented person?
What are you most proud of?
Employee Unlove
By some weird architectural geometry, the noise from a nearby conference room funnels right into my office. Even with the door shut. I usually use noise-cancelling headphones and just deal with it. But yesterday I accidentally overhead my SVP completely bashing one of my direct colleagues in a series of meetings. Not my business, no involvement, but I have to say it is hugely disheartening to hear your boss giving extremely negative feedback (and some blame-piling) to his peers about his own people. Yuck.
Former Partner, Now In-House
If he does it about your colleague, chances are good that he does it about others. Just something to keep in mind.
anon
My office is next to someone in management. It’s pretty uncomfortable sometimes to watch the parade of people into the office and hear bits of the closed door conversations. Sometimes it’s just normal business and sometimes it’s more serious. Even when it’s legit, it still makes me squirm.
Anon in NYC
That’s the worst. I once overheard a more senior person giving someone a very negative review. It left a really bad taste in my mouth because 1) it was none of my business, and 2) I felt that the review was more negative than it should have been because the person receiving the review was a working mom (and part of a 2-parent working household) and the senior person was complaining about her lack of availability between the hours of 6-8pm, when she obviously had to leave the office to relieve the nanny, feed the kid dinner and put him to bed. She was online after that, but that didn’t seem to matter. (And it seemed especially tone deaf coming from the senior person who has a stay at home spouse so he never has to worry about things like that.)
Honeymoon Options
I wanted to thank everyone for their responses to my post yesterday morning! (sorry I couldn’t get back yesterday; the day went crazy).
Pretty Primadonna
I’m obsessed with this jacket. That is all.
Super anon for this
.
Canadian health insurance
I interviewed for a temporary academic research position recently and was told that health insurance was not included in the compensation package. I know Canada has a national/universal(?) health insurance but I am neither a canadian citizen or resident. So it is likely that if I took this job I would have to buy my own insurance, which might also have to include vision(i wear prescription glasses+contacts) and dental. The salary is already low IMO. Not sure what the take home would be after taxes either, any online calculators I can use?For context, the the position is in Nova Scotia. I am also wondering how many vacation days people typically get especially in higher ed, the person I was interviewing with said 10 days and remarked that people in the U.S. sometimes “don’t get vacation days” at all. I know the latter to be true for some positions in private companies but in comparing the terms of this position with others I have applied to/interviewed for, some had 22 vacation days. Feeling very conflicted about this, initially I was very excited but now I’m not so sure. Am especially concerned about the health insurance but comments on the other aspects are welcome too. Advice from the hive?
Meg March
This site might be helpful: novascotia.ca/dhw/msi/moving_travel.asp
It seems like if you’ll be there for a year and have a work visa, you’ll be eligible. I don’t have personal experience with this though, so YMMV.
Marilla
Vision and dental are not typically covered under provincial health care plans, so even if you are eligible you’d need to compare the costs/risks of your annual expenditures on vision/dental vs. buying private insurance.
SuziStockbroker
I am in Ontario, but when we hired our nanny from overseas she was covered by provincial health care once she had been here for 3 months. She was here on a work visa. We paid for 3 months of private health insurance through Blue Cross (I think). Can’t remmebr the exact amount, but it was not onerous at all.
InfoGeek
I’d carefully compare the cost of vision insurance versus just paying for your own exams and necessary glasses/contacts.
We haven’t had vision insurance for years and it really isn’t that big a deal.
Anonymous
I think you’d probably just have taxes withheld at the source like Canadians, based on my understanding of this, since you’d probably be paid as an employee, which is under the Part I tax.
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/ndvdls/nnrs-eng.html
You can use this online calculator to estimate (make sure you look at the correct province, since tax rates do vary)
https://secure.ca.pwc.com/8525770E0077F8AB/ProdCalculators?Readform&year=2015
AMB
Canadian health insurance covers most things, but as others have noted there are other items like vision and dental care, prescriptions, for which you may want supplementary insurance. It’s usually fairly reasonable from my understanding though.
And most academic institutions shut down for the 2 weeks around Christmas and New Years so 10 days on top of that is pretty good!
Meg March
Last week I completely bombed an interview. I came out of it feeling like I hadn’t been articulate and didn’t impress the interviewers. I spent some time moping about it, then decided to just stop thinking about it and move on (and practice more for future interviews). Today I got a request for references! Trying not to do a happy dance at my desk. Nice reminder that sometimes (usually) I’m harder on myself than others are. Anyone else have this issue?
lsw
When interviewing for the job I currently have (spoiler alert), I literally laughed out loud on my way back to the car after my interview with the president of the company. I thought there was no way in hell I made a good impression – I felt completely off stride, he was the toughest interviewer I’ve ever had (at one point he asked my opinion on A vs B, then told me why the OTHER option was actually better), and the whole thing was only 40 minutes. I called my partner and was like, “Well, that was a total bust!” Aaaaaaand….I got the job. Ha!
Anon in NYC
Yes! When I was about 23 I interviewed for an entry level job where the interviewer asked me what I had read in the newspaper that day. I responded with some of the front page headlines at the time, and then she interrupted me and asked me what financial news I had read. I hadn’t read any, so the interview went downhill from there. A few weeks later I got a call to come in for a second interview. I figured that, if nothing else, it was interview practice and went into it with the zero expectations (and a little bit of an “I don’t give a F&!k attitude”). I got the job! Later, one of my colleagues told me that he had walked past my first interview and thought I was going to cry because it was that bad.
CountC
Yup! I thought I bombed an interview and I ended up getting both a second round interview and a job offer (which I ultimately ended up declining).
Parfait
This has happened to me all my life. The paper I thought was dreadful that I dashed off at the last possible second? A+. The interview I thought I bombed? Got job. The performance review that I am dreading because I’m sure I’m going to get reamed out and put on a performance plan? High marks and big raise.
I am the WORST to myself. My therapist said to me the other week, “Did it ever occur to you that maybe you are OKAY?” Radical concept!
Senior Attorney
My therapist keeps saying things like that to me, too.
Crazy talk, man…
CountC
Ugh wrong place
Negotiation
Question: My friend interviewed with a small firm last Friday, got an email offer that evening. The pay was lower than expected, but she likes the firm and wants to discuss the offer. She sent an email Friday night acknowledging receipt of the offer and said she’d love to talk about it after the weekend. On Monday, she sent another email saying she’s excited and want to talk about the offer, would like to set up a time to discuss, etc.
No response from the firm yet.
I told her to call (not email) tomorrow, Thursday, if she hasn’t heard yet. Is this a good course of action?
Thanks hive for advice / tips.
Meg Murry
I would call TODAY, not wait until tomorrow. If someone hasn’t got back to you about an email you sent on Friday/Monday, chances are it’s been lost in the shuffle, or the person is out of the office.
She should also check her spam filter.