Cash Money Life

Last week I resigned from my job. I had been there for over two years, but it was time to move on.

Why I decided to resign

I decided to resign my position because I was not growing professionally. After job hunting for a couple months, I had a series of job interviews, followed by a couple job offers. One of the job offers required a firm answer this past Friday, so after evaluating the job offers and discussing the opportunities with my wife, I made a decision. I accepted one of the offers and resigned from my current position last Friday afternoon.

How to write a resignation letter

I believe your resignation letter should be simple, polite, and firm. The following is a clean version of my resignation letter (i.e. details removed):

Dear (Manager),

I hereby resign from my position as (insert job title). My last day of employment will be May 23, 2008, two weeks from today.

I thank you for the opportunities I have had with (company name) over the past two years. However, I decided to take another professional opportunity.

I have begun work on a transition plan and will be available to assist training my replacement. If there is anything I can do to make this transition go smoothly, please do not hesitate to ask.

Sincerely,

Signature,

Typed Name

As you can see, this is short, simple, and effective. I told them when I was leaving, I thanked them for the opportunities I had, and I offered to assist in the transition. There really isn’t any need to add more than this unless you are close to your manager and want to add a few minor personal touches. Even then, it is best to limit what you include. You never know who will read the letter.

What you should not include in a resignation letter

You should not include any negative statements about the company, your client(s), your management, coworkers, salary, or other issues you have. You are already leaving the company, so there is no reason to be negative. The only thing negativity can do is burn bridges.

Dealing with resignation questions

My resignation caught my managers off guard. But it shouldn’t have. Several months ago I asked myself if it was time to change jobs? At that point, I had already talked to my management multiple times about a new position within the company and taking on increased levels of responsibility. Since then, I continued to look within the company for more opportunities… but there was nothing available.

When I handed my manager my resignation letter he sat in stunned silence for several moments. I could see him going through several emotions - disbelief, anger, etc. I just sat there in silence while he worked things out. He asked for more details as to why I was leaving, but I kept it to a minimum. I told him I still had to give my resignation letter to his boss, and offered to speak to him after the weekend. I thought it best to let him gather his thoughts before further discussing my resignation.

Never burn a bridge

You will likely have an exit interview with your manager or HR before your final day with the company. This will give everyone (including you) time to gather their thoughts about your resignation. This may be a good time to bring up the issues mentioned above (company, your client(s), your management, coworkers, salary, etc.), but remember to keep everything civil. There is no point for blame. Offer constructive criticism and move on.

I don’t anticipate returning to my current (and soon to be former) place of employment. However, you never know what situations may arise, or who you may run into in the future. It never pays to burn a bridge - especially if you work in a closely knit professional community, such as the community where I work. In my professional community, most high level managers know each other and word travels quickly. I even know a guy how resigned his job, said a few choice words to his former employer and when he showed up to his new job, found out it was no longer there for him. It turns out the manager he cursed was an old military buddy of his new boss. His employment contract was conditional, and apparently he broke the conditions.

Resign gracefully. It is best for everyone involved.

Hello Everyone, and Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you have the opportunity to spend some time with your Mother and loved ones today. Unfortunately, my wife and I live a long distance from our respective Mothers now, so we will have to make do with a phone call. They did receive the cards and flowers we sent, so at least we were able to send a little something to them.

Blogger meet up. This week I had the privilege to meet a personal finance blogger in person. Ron, from The Wisdom Journal, happened to be in my area and we met up for a lunch at City BBQ, a local BBQ joint. Ron is a true professional and it is easy to see why his blog is called The Wisdom Journal. We sat outside on a picnic table situated under an overhang and talked for about 3 hours. It’s amazing how much you can learn in one sitting!

Ron is a great guy, and hopefully I will have the opportunity to meet up with him again sometime.

If you aren’t familiar with his blog, I highly recommend visiting and subscribing. Here are a few of my favorite articles from his site:

• 12 Things I Learned By 42 That I Wish I Knew At 22
• 5 Massive Money Mistakes I’ve Made
• An Open Letter From Employees To Bosses
• Ron is also writing a book, and you can help!

Mother’s Day - A Day of Appreciation

In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought I would share a bunch of articles about Mother’s Day. I hope you enjoy them.

• Mrs Micah says “Any day is Mother’s Day.” I agree.
• Lazy Man tells us to celebrate Mother’s Day the way she would want you to.
• PaidTwice talks about Marketing and Mother’s Day.
• WiseBread shares some insight to the inventor of Mother’s Day and how she felt about the mass marketing it brought on.
• Pinyo shares a couple Mother’s Day gift ideas.
• Quest for Four Pillars has a couple frugal Mother’s Day gift ideas.
• Frugal Dad recommends sending flowers as a Mother’s Day gift.
• Get Rich Slowly shares some Consumer Reports articles regarding common Mother’s Day gifts.
• My Super-Charged Life shares Valuable Gift Ideas for Mother’s Day.
• Don’t Mess With Taxes has a few Mother’s Day gift ideas.
• Single Guy shares a poem in honor of Mother’s Day.
• If you forgot to buy a Mother’s Day gift, Madison is giving away a $50 Amazon gift card…

I guess it might be too late to use many of these gift ideas this year, but there are a few ideas that you may be able to use next year!

This week’s carnivals:

• The May Edition of the Carnival of Financial Goals was held at Debt-FREE Revolution.
• The Carnival of P2P Lending #9 - Cinco de Mayo Edition, was hosted at Lazy Man and Money. My article, The Future of Lending Club - Will they Survive and Thrive, or Crash and Burn?, was included.
• The Festival of Frugality #124 was held at Frugal for Life. My article, Save Money with Refurbished Electronics, was included.
• The Carnival of Personal Finance - Bloggers on Surviving the Squeeze was held at US News and World Report. My article, How to Dress For an Interview, was included.

Just over a year and a half ago, my wife and I were wed in a small church ceremony in her parent’s home town. It was a beautiful August day, and it was everything we could have hoped for. We had all of our close family and friends in attendance, and everything went smoothly… even though my wife and I live over 450 miles away from where her parents live.

My wife’s family was amazing in helping make our wedding beautiful, and it would not have been possible without their generosity and assistance. They helped with organizing and planning the day, providing wonderful music, and creating programs, menus, and decorations.

Organizing and Planning

Because my wife and I live almost 500 miles from where our wedding took place, we needed a lot of logistical help. My wife’s parents took a lot of time out of their schedule to scout out several locations for the wedding reception and the rehearsal dinner. My wife and I drove out there a few months before the wedding to make the final decisions. But without their assistance, we would have been lost.

My wife’s parents also helped us narrow down several choices for flowers, the cake, the jazz trio for the reception, and an organist for the wedding ceremony.

Wedding programs, menus, and more

My wife’s sister is a graphic designer. She volunteered her services to design the wedding programs, and she designed and made menus and place cards for the reception dinner. She also helped us select our wedding invitations. We ordered the invitations through the company she works for, and even though she didn’t design them, she was able to get us a nice discount!

Music

My wife’s family is very musical and several family members performed before and during our wedding ceremony. Before the service, my wife’s cousins played the flute, and her brother played the piano. During the wedding ceremony my wife’s sister and sister-in-law sang a beautiful song while accompanied by my wife’s brother. The gift of music they gave us added a personal touch that we will always remember.

We are very thankful for their help

My wife and I sincerely appreciate her family being so involved in our wedding. In my opinion, it was the best gift they could have given. The best part is, they wanted to be a part of our special day as much as we wanted them to be a part of it. I think that is what makes weddings so beautiful - they bring families together in many different ways.

If there is any wedding advice I can give, it is this: Involve your family in your wedding plans. They have a wealth of love, talent, and advice to help make your day brighter and more beautiful.

~

Do you want to read more wedding tips? Check out the current feature on Moolanomy - The Best Wedding Tips and Stories. Share your story at Moolanomy for a chance to win $50.

The economy is tough right now. Gas and food prices are going through the roof, energy and housing prices are rising, and many people are struggling to make ends meet.

When times are tough, making early withdrawals from your retirement funds can seem like a quick source of cash. It is. But it can be an extremely expensive source of quick cash. Many people don’t realize that making early retirement withdrawals can hit you four times at once!

Taxes

The first thing that is going to get you is the taxes. Qualified retirement plans such as IRAs and 401(k) plans (and others) have some nice tax advantages. When you make an investment into a Traditional retirement plan such as a Traditional IRA or Traditional 401(k), the money is not taxed until you withdraw it. This is designed to allow you to invest more money upfront and give you years of tax free growth. When you withdraw that money early, you lose that tax advantage and must pay the taxes immediately.

Early Distribution Penalties

Early distributions from an IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or other qualified retirement plan are subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty. That means not only are your withdrawals taxed, but an additional 10% is taken from the withdrawal to pay the penalty. Double-whammy!

Less Money for Future Growth

Compound interest is the most important thing you have working for your retirement. The more time that compound interest works in your favor, the more money you will have when you retire. Here is a nice illustrated example of how much compound interest can work in your favor.

Possible Market Losses

If your retirement account holdings have depreciated, not only will you have to pay taxes and early distribution penalties, but you may be paying them on less money than what you originally invested. Overall, the markets have not done very well the last year or so, and it is possible that some of your investments have lost money. Leaving the money in your investments gives them time to appreciate and not only regain their previous value, but hopefully appreciate beyond your original investment.

Stay the course. If at all possible, try to avoid withdrawing your retirement funds for short term needs. There may be other ways to get the funds you need, such as working overtime, taking a part time job, or raising funds by having a yard sale or selling unneeded items on eBay.