Welcome to the Weekly Quick Hits Roundup!
So we got quite a bit of snow dumped on us here in Minnesota and we are essentially guaranteed a White Christmas.
I definitely love snow, but it sucks how much it affects traffic. I left for work at 5:30am (yes, 5:30am!) and there was already some traffic with a lot of people trying to beat traffic! About an hour later it was gridlock in many parts of the metro area. It wasn’t uncommon to see people tweeting about commute times tripling.
Like I said, I’m all for snow but it’s so much nicer once it’s cleaned up and out of the way!
If you’re new here, every week I write a weekly wrap-up of things that were going on here at Young Adult Money, a few personal updates/thoughts, and finally a few posts I read this week that I thought were worth sharing.
If you don’t already, please considering Following us on Twitter, Liking us on Facebook, and Following us on Pinterest.
We also have our giveaway roundup every Friday. This Friday there are 148 giveaways listed this week that end today (12/6) through next Thursday (12/12).
Below are the posts we published this week:
- On Monday I asked 3 Things That Motivate Me To Work Hard In My 20s.
- On Tuesday Sally talked job searching in The Job Search: Utilizing Your Resources.
- On Wednesday Cat shared How to Find the Perfect Side Hustle for You.
- On Thursday I had a Christmas-themed post in 5 Practical Stocking Stuffers for Adults.
Update Time
- How in-demand are technical skills? – I found a job posting to a position within my company that I would absolutely love. It’s challenging, it’s a perfect transition from what I’m currently doing, it’s quite a bit higher pay, the work is very visible (and mandated by law so it’s kind of important it’s not screwed up). With all that being said, I lack two skills: SAS and SQL.
Now, I’ve even written on here how I have been working on getting better at SQL (which is essentially a language used for managing data) but I have a ways to go before I would say I’m “advanced” at that skill. SAS is a very “hot” software right now at businesses, especially mine, and there seems to be a big shortage of people who can use it effectively (mainly because it’s very expensive so not many people get access in the first place).
Needless to say, I’m not applying. It would be a perfect opportunity a year from now, or maybe even six months if I worked really hard at bringing my SQL and SAS skills up to par.
One thing I found interesting about this is that it seems like many people in business really push the value of “soft” skills, skills such as being able to work with others effectively, to influence others, etc. I don’t disagree with them, but I ultimately think that having the “hard” skills, like being able to efficiently run queries, create reports, and in general “get work done”, will always be more valuable.
I may have asked this in the past, but I really am curious to hear what your thoughts are on hard vs. soft skills?
- Weekend – I’m going to my first ever baby shower. Allow me to explain.
We have a couple of friends who moved 2 hours away about three years ago. They come down to the cities every once in a while, but not often. So the ladies are throwing our friend a bridal shower, but it’s also a perfect time for the guys to hang out. I imagine we will be in the basement watching football. Now that’s my kind of baby shower!
- Exercise – Haven’t felt that great the past week and was really busy with Thanksgiving. I’ve only worked out once in the past week. #Fail
- Blogging – I have both Cat and Sally’s contracts finalized and paid through April, which I’m really excited about because they bring their own unique voices to this blog, and I get a couple of days off from writing each week. Cat suggested an editorial calendar and it honestly was something that I should have done a long time ago.
For a long time I was simply using a paper calendar and pencil, but it’s so much more efficient with a shared Google Doc. I plan on making a template and sharing in a future blog post to anyone who is interested in using mine.
Posts of the Week:
If you want to see your post included in this roundup, comment on posts on Young Adult Money throughout the week – that’s where I find blogs/posts to include.
- Travis from Enemy of Debt got some sleep and still saved money in I Slept In On Black Friday…..and STILL Got a Door Buster Deal
- Dee from Color Me Frugal Shared 5 Financial Tips I’ve Learned from Bloggers all week long.
- Grayson from Frugal Rules (that was not a typo) shared Two Great Days to Shop Online During the Holidays.
- MoneyCone from, well, MoneyCone gave us an update in My Project To Switch From Incandescent Light Bulbs To Energy Efficient Ones – 2 Years Later….
- Shannon from The Heavy Purse helped all the parents out there in How to Create Your Child’s Holiday Gift List.
____________
Anybody else get snow dumped on them the past week or two? For those who live in tropical climates, please don’t make the rest of us feel bad (though I can’t blame you if you do rub it in our faces!). What are your thoughts on the value of hard vs. soft skills? What are you up to this weekend?
____________
Photo by William Billard
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
Thanks for the mention DC! Have a great weekend, and enjoy the “baby shower!”
No problem! I hope you havea great weekend as well, and I will do my best to enjoy the “baby shower” haha
On the issue of snow, you are exactly like me! I love snow… as long as I don’t have to drive! :) Thanks much for the mention!
Yep I’m not a fan of driving in it. Hope you have a great weekend!
Setting up an editorial calendar has done wonders…at times.
Sometimes, I get bogged down by what I’m “supposed” to write per the editorial calendar. I update mine daily to try and keep my mind fresh about up-coming plans.
You probably already know about this, but here’s a link to a wordpress plugin editorial calendar. I know you are using Google Drive, but this might work too if Cat and Sally have some access to your wordpress.
http://wordpress.org/plugins/editorial-calendar/
Have a good weekend!
The Warrior
NetWorthWarrior.com
NetWorthWarriorI actually did not know about the plugin, thanks for sharing! I’m a spreadsheet geek so I really like the one I made, though, as well as the freedom to adjust it. I have already adjusted it something like 10 times, and that’s just for December so I keep it flexible but also try to have at least an initial idea of what I have to write for the next week.
I don’t really know the difference between hard and soft skills. :( I like baby showers that aren’t “baby showers” if you know what I mean. Otherwise I think they are torture. Great job on the organization! I finally had to lay out an editorial calendar for this month and that’s something I’d never done before.
BeachbudgetYou don’t know the difference? *sigh* : / just kidding! It’s like…when you edit a video that’s hard skills (usually I just think of technical skills when I think of hard skills). Soft skills would be your ability to land clients through your superior communication skills and ability to connect with your client on a personal level. It’s funny we both did an editorial calendar for the first time this month!
We didn’t get snow, though did get a little freezing rain. That said, we went from 60 on Tuesday to single digits by Wednesday afternoon and below 0 now, which is just nutty. Soft vs. hard skills…I think both are important, but at the end of the day, I’d rather have someone who knew what they were doing as opposed to being liked by everyone.
I’m hoping to recover this weekend, we’ve all had a nasty stomach bug all week and I have it now. Thanks so much for mentioning Grayson’s post, I appreciate it. I totally think you should do a post on editorial calendars. I should’ve months ago and totally dropped the ball on that. Have a great weekend DC!
FrugalRulesFreezing rain is worse in my opinion! But no problem on the mentioning of Grayson’s post, that’s really cool you added him to your contributors.
Hope you feel better, I’ve been under the weather all week so hopefully this weekend I can make a full recovery. Have a good one!
triple commute time, when it is dark and cold, sounds like hell. What time does the sun rise? In Europe it is getting clear around 8am this time of year, I find it so hard to wake up when it is still dark…
RFIndependenceHaha it’s pretty bad. I leave for work when the sun is down and I get home when the sun is down :0
While the soft skills are important, if you don’t meet the hard skill pre reqs the soft skills won’t do you much good.
brokeandbeauI have to agree. Lack of soft skills can limit someone who has great hard skills, but they can only help someone with no hard skills so much.
Wow, tripling commute time..that is crazy. I like to visit the snow but wouldn’t like to deal with on a regular basis. Hope they get it cleaned up soon. have a great weekend DC!
RatherBeShoppingIt’s pathetic how bad the DOT is here. The side roads and ramps are covered in snow/ice still. It’s like they decided “good enough” the night of the initial cleanup and haven’t done anything since.
Thanks for the mention, DC! I appreciate it. Wow – it sounds like you had some major snow this week. It’s been chilly here and I think we’re supposed to get some rain this weekend. Rain is our snow. It makes our commute triple and causes a ton of accidents. :) Hard skills vs soft skills. Tough question. Not to cop out, but it really depends on the job. I think being able to work well with others is important because no matter how great your skills are, if no one can stand working with you – you might always be able to find a job but you may not last long in any position. Hard skills are definitely important, probably even more so today. But I always want to find someone who also has an willingness/eagerness to learn new skills and a proven history of doing so.
ShannonRyanThat’s a good analysis of soft versus hard skills. You almost need a good balance between the two, or specialize in one and have enough of the other to “get by.” I wouldn’t mind rain right now! Snow isn’t too bad as long as it gets cleaned up, but it rarely does in a timely fashion.
Have a great weekend!
As a former resident of Wisconsin, I feel your pain with the snow. I had the same love/hate relationship because I had to work outside in it on the farm. That was never a fun moment. Although now that I live down in Georgia, I do miss it a bit. More so because they would shut the whole city down and I’d get a paid day off. :)
MicrosMissions The mpls-st. paul area has TERRIBLE traffic when it snows, so that’s my main gripe. It’s been two days since it snowed and the rush hour traffic still is worse than usual.
Traffic really is horrible when it snows. I am not looking forward to it, but at least I only live a mile and a half away from work. I think a combination of soft and hard skills is best, though I think hard skills would win out eventually. Those with hard skills are going to be able to actually do the job, which is important! If you had two candidates, one with just soft skills, and one with mediocre soft skills but well developed hard skills, I’d probably choose the latter.
JourneytoSaving A mile and a half! I can’t imagine. I’m 20 miles out :0 You might accidentally hire the one with the soft skills, though, that’s the big risk!
Thanks for the shout out….very much appreciated!
Being a computer programmer myself, I never understand requirements for experience in writing in a particular language. Once you know programming concepts and skills learning a slightly different syntax isn’t much of a stretch. That being said, SQL is a little bit of a different animal.
As far as the snow goes….you know how much we got in Rochester (for non Minnesotans I live about an hour south of David)? Zero. Nothing. None. Rain. Kinda bummed about the whole thing.
BTW, I think it’s awesome to read the term “the cities” on another blog. ;)
DebtChronicles Haha the funny thing is most people probably don’t know what “the cities” are! I try to write Minneapolis/St. Paul, but sometimes I forget.
As far as the career stuff goes, the job is technically a finance position, “financial consultant” to be exact. A lot of finance/accounting positions are becoming more data-centered, so your ability to pull data and even write code is becoming more important. I’m not a programmer but I’ve spent a lot of time the past three years learning VBA so I think I have a basic understanding. In all honesty I should have gone to school to be a programmer, but I think I can slowly move that way by eventually moving into a job that is heavy on SAS, SQL, etc. but still in the Finance area.
That’s amazing that you got no snow! It was ridiculous here. I’m on the 9th floor of a brand new building so it’s glass on all four walls. It was crazy to see it snow ALL day, didn’t let up for a minute. Still getting killed with the commute as there is a lot of ice and snow on the roads still.
We got a light dusting of snow in Missouri.. it was kind of a tease. We need at least enough snow to sled and build snowmen.
It sounds like our day job may be somewhat similar to mine. SQL is pretty easy to pick up once you get some hands on experience. I would recommend installing MYSQL locally in a VM or something, and then just building a small database. You can really inventory anything for practice.. maybe just your kitchen utensils or your christmas shopping list!
It’s interesting you mentioned SQL because my husband told me last month he wanted to learn this new skill. He just started reading up on it and trying to teach himself. I believe we’re getting the storm you were hit with here in the northeast. Thankfully, we’re not expecting much snow. Enjoy your weekend!
Agreed – snow is great and all, as long as I’m inside! Haha