Twila Van Leer

Motherhood And Working Can Co-Exist

September 8, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

To no one’s surprise, there has been a consistent rise over the past few decades in the number of women who combine parenthood with jobs. The Pew Research Center says that in 1960, just 10.8 percent of women were the primary support of their families in households with children under 18. By 2011, the figure had risen to 40.4 percent.

That means that in near half of the country’s households, a woman is juggling the responsibilities of child-rearing and working outside the home. The challenges are especially daunting for those experiencing motherhood for the first time. There are tips that will help meet the needs, including:

Carefully consider career decisions. Parenthood may require some adjustments in a women’s career goals. Making thoughtful decisions is better than knee-jerk reactions that may have serious effects in the future. Some new mothers develop guilt symptoms when they believe they are short-changing their jobs or, on the flip side, they are concerned that they are not spending enough time with their children. Quitting the job entirely to focus on home responsibilities could be counterproductive later on. When you are expecting a child, before the challenges have become reality, is a good time to list the pros and cons of being a working mother. The list will be personal to yourself and your situation, but a good and honest airing of your ultimate desires will be a guide to making decisions. The more thought you give to the task, the more satisfied you will be with the outcome.

If you choose to continue working, don’t feel obligated to go overboard to convince the boss that you can be a competent worker and a good parent. Especially in the months after the arrival of your child, allow yourself some leeway – obviously within the parameters your particular job can accommodate. Among other things, your body will take awhile to return to normal after childbirth. Accept help when it is offered. Many employers are understanding of the adjustments new parenthood requires and are willing to work with you.

Look for ways to ease your workload at home. Mothers are more likely to develop a deep rapport with their children in the first few months than are fathers, but try to share the load as nearly as possible to prepare Dad to play a bigger role in child rearing in the early phases of parenthood. Share cooking duties and household chores. Hire help, if possible, for the deep cleaning and “hard work” aspects of keeping up. Sometimes a relative – Grandmothers are usually a willing source – will step in to assist when there are particular needs such as a sick baby.

Hang onto values and priorities. Jobs are important and certainly necessary to most households these days, but children? They’re family, and that comes first. Circumstances, obviously, vary greatly, but with thought and planning, women can mix jobs and parenthood and find both rewarding.

Know About Your Social Security Benefits

September 1, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

FICA is an acronym known to everyone who works for pay. It’s that little bit of money that disappears from your paycheck each time. Most people have a vague sense that this money is held back by the government to aid in your retirement. But not everyone knows how it works.

Don’t expect a lot of help from the Social Security Administration. They aren’t into the nitty gritty for each beneficiary. It’s up to you to learn where your FICA dollars go and when you can expect to draw on the accumulation as you retire. There are many ways and you need to analyze these and choose what’s best for you.

Married couples have a number of options, according to a Bankrate.com article. Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement research at Boston College, advises that the ultimate option is to wait until you are 70 to begin benefits. The payment then is 76 percent higher that it would be if you start at 62 and 32 percent higher than if you chose to start withdrawing at age 66.

If this is your choice, of course, you have to accept the fact that you are gambling on living far enough beyond 70 to make it worthwhile. If you have inklings that your health is not going to be that great, you probably should opt for the earlier benefits.

Some financial experts believe that the odds are against your making money by waiting until age 70 to claim benefits. They advocate the “take the money and run” position. It’s what Verton Bernstein, retired law professor and Social Security expert, advises.

Marital status can make a difference. Divorcing before you have been married 10 years will deprive you of the ability to claim a share of the ex-spouse’s Social Security benefits. If you are ready to bail out of the marriage at nine years and 11 months, hold on a month. Then you are eligible for Social Security benefits on up to half of the ex’s earnings or on the basis of your own earnings, whichever is greater.

If the ex-spouse dies, you’ll be treated as the widow or widower in this scenario. If the ex was a big earner, it would be wise, if possible, to delay collecting on this benefit until you are 70, when you would receive the maximum benefit. If the ex continues to live a long life, encourage him/her, if possible, to delay retirement until age 70. If you both survive beyond age 66, you might choose to collect half of the ex’s benefit while leaving your own intact until you are 70.

The intricacies of the shared benefits are baffling to some, and it may be wise to hire a lawyer or tax expert to help you make decisions.

The same holds true if you are applying for SSDI benefits related to health issues. An applicant is entitled to representation from the onset of the application process, but Social Security doesn’t always make that clear. Many applicants wait until a claim has been denied, then seek help. That slows the process considerably.

When you’re thinking about retirement, remember that Social Security bases your benefit on the 35 highest earnings years. The figures are adjusted for in If you have less than 35 years of work experience, they will use zeros to make up the difference. That seriously brings down the total that is the basis for your benefit. If you are in a reasonable reach of 35 years, make an effort to stick it out for the sake of a higher benefit.

Set Emotion Aside During a House Sale

August 28, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

A home seller who is making decisions based on emotional feelings about their property may find the going very slow, real estate experts say. Failure to look at the sale as a financial transaction (although a very important financial transaction) may thwart efforts to consummate the sale. Cold, hard decisions should be made without sentimentality getting in the way, they say.

The experts offer these suggestions to avoid pitfalls related to emotion:

Don’t expect a potential buyer to see the value you attach to certain features of your property. They are not likely to pay a premium for something that has special value only in your mind. Don’t’ let your emotional attachments lead you into setting an unrealistic price. Remember, too, that the price you paid for your property is not likely the price that it will bring. While an older property may have escalated in value, if you bought at the market’s peak a few years ago, you may find the asking price will be adjusted downward.

If you have marked emotional feelings about the property, please let the realtor conduct showings. Make arrangements to be absent, says Renee Weinberg of Petrey Real Estate in Long Beach, N. Y. , in a Bankrate.com article.

Having the seller at hand becomes sensitive when a potential buyer finds flaws in the property, agreed Karyn Anjali Glubis of The Real Estate Expert in Tampa, Fla. When the seller takes comments personally, the sale is jeopardized. The seller must remember that the comments relate to the property, not to the person, she said. The involvement of the seller may hamper the free flow of conversation between the prospective buyers and the realtor. Better that the parties do not meet until there is a serious proposal for purchase.

Those who are selling need to be aware that the most interest will come during the first two weeks. The longer a property is on the market, the worse the offers are likely to get, the experts know. Sellers worry that they may have underpriced their property, but waiting for a better offer may keep the property on the market longer. The market tends to make reasonable adjustments over time.

Taking the whole process personally is a mistake, said Fiona Dogan, a realtor in Rye, N.Y. “Sellers need to become emotionally detached very quickly from their homes. By its nature, a real estate transaction is aggressive and confrontational since the seller wants the highest price and the buyer the lowest.” Negotiations usually will mean that the would-be buyer will point out flaws and the seller could be offended. But such nit-picking means the buyer is genuinely interested, Dogan said. To pass up the sale because of such feelings defeats the purpose in a big way.

Be Certain Your Resume Reflects The Real You

August 27, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Your Resume Is Crucial For Landing Your Next Job

When your resume is a large part of the first impression a prospective employer sees, you want to be sure that the resume tells the true story. It’s enough to keep you awake nights before a crucial interview as you try to decide how much information is necessary and at what point it becomes fluff.

Experts share these tips for the job hunters:

By all means showcase your professional accomplishments, but relate them to the job you are seeking. How does what you have done relate to the skills required for this new employment opportunity? The company you are trying to impress will understand that you have researched the job and that you are in tune with the skills they want.

If your resume is dated, bring it up to date. It should be flexible to meet the specific needs of the actual position you desire. Though some information, obviously, will always be the same, there may be areas of your past work experience that will relate more directly to this position. The traditional wisdom said that a one-page resume is best. But if you have experience that seems relevant and it won’t fit on one page, don’t hesitate to include a second page. Be concise, but not stingy. Don’t short change yourself for the sake of brevity.

Your entire job history may be excessive, especially experience that is totally irrelevant to the position you are seeking. Don’t neglect gaps in your experience. Many times they are entirely justified. Even if you have gaps related to the current job market, many employers are aware that the recent recession put understandable holes into the job histories of many Americans.

Honesty counts. Don’t embellish your experience and skills. Open discussion of past problems is better than back-pedaling to explain things for which you have no good explanation. You may be asked to demonstrate certain skills. Failure to perform is the death knell for your application.

Neatness counts as well. Errors or a poor layout of your resume may catch the interviewer’s eye sooner than the content. Have a qualified friend or a professional proofreader look it over before you hand it to a prospective employer.

Non-paid internships or volunteer work in a related field are legitimate items to include in a resume, especially for young applicants whose experience is naturally limited. A mix of information may impress the reviewer with your willingness to try many things that add to your versatility.

Small Business Hires Are Up

August 25, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Companies are leaving behind their post-recession caution and stepping up hiring.

For some time, financial experts have been predicting a surge in hiring among small businesses. Now it’s happening. As the demand for their products and services swell, the companies are leaving behind their post-recession caution and stepping up hiring, economists report.

The growth in the small business arena also is reflected in a spate of new businesses such as car care, spas, cosmetology and special service areas. This suggests that Americans as individuals also are moving beyond the recession mode and spending more for non-essentials. As the general economy becomes more robust, the money is spreading further, small businesses report. A quickly-recovering construction industry and increased consumer spending also are fuel for the increased hiring in the small business sector.

The recovery of the real estate market in south Florida, for example, allowed Tadd Schwartz to add five members to the staff of his public relations firm in the past year. The company’s revenue is up 16 percent in 2014 and he is now able to “hit the ground running” when a new client shows up.

A sharp increase in orders also prompted Brad Barrett, owner of Grill Grate to look for new employees. Barrett and his wife spent the post-Fourth of July Monday filling more than 500 orders for their product, which is a raised grilling surface for backyard grills. Obviously, it was time to take on more help. They expected to add two workers to their Cartersville, Ga., company shortly. The Barretts expect a 40 percent growth in revenue this year.

The surge in small business hiring also has a ripple effect. New employees need computers and supplies. Companies that had put off upgrades in their equipment and inventories are spending to get back on track.