There’s a reason I chose an airplane for the pic this week – check the bottom of the post if you want to find out why.
Welcome to the Weekly Quick Hits Roundup! 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.
We also have our giveaway roundup every Friday. This Friday there are over 100 giveaways listed that end today through next Thursday, plus our very own $480 cash giveaway that ends on Sunday night.
Below are the posts from Monday through Thursday:
- On Monday I wrote about Using Dividend-Paying Stocks for Income. I even included a little Calculator tool for download that calculates how much you would have to invest in a stock to make a certain income from dividends alone. All you have to do is plug in a stock’s price, yearly dividend, and the income you desire and it populates the investment needed.
- One of our regular contributors, Kyle James, wrote 5 Tips To Make a Road Trip Affordable, Fun, and Totally Epic. I love hearing Kyle’s tips for saving money and he seems to have an endless supply of them!
- On Wednesday our staff writer Cat shared a time she made a financial mistake in The Time I Made Three Rent Payments At Once. I think everyone has made some sort of financial mistake that has cost them. We live and we learn.
- Thursday I asked the question Is it Possible to Focus on Both a Career and a Small Business? There really is no “one-size-fits-all” answer to this question. It depends on your job, your goals, and the amount of time you are willing to sacrifice day in and day out. If you have an opinion on this topic please head over and share!
I have a couple of updates to share:
- Career Choices – I’ve been in my current job for about a year and a half and I have to decide pretty soon where I want to go next. I have a Finance degree but have worked in accounting since day one of my internship. I then worked as an Accountant before my current role of Senior Accountant. The problem is I don’t have an accounting undergrad degree so I can’t get my CPA.
One thing I could do is get my Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification. My friend and I have discussed this and it would really solidify my resume. I’m undecided right now because if I go get my MBA and pick up a CPA while I’m at it there really is no reason to get my CMA. Gotta love career decisions.
- Site Redesign – I’ve been planning a site redesign for some time now and have received quotes from four designers. Problem is I have no idea which designer I want to go with. They all have pros and cons and they all seem to do good work. Their quotes are very similar in price. This makes it really hard to decide. I spent about 45 minutes on Wednesday night just going through their portfolios, quotes, emails, etc. and I felt no closer to a decision.
I’m setting a deadline of Sunday night, though, to hire one of them. Otherwise I might never decide!
- This weekend we are spending time with friends. I also have to do some not-so-fun errands like renewing my license tabs (the online renewal is screwed up) and get an oil change. Of course I also plan on working on the site, as usual.
Finally, here are five posts that I really enjoyed from this week:
- Jordann from My Alternate Life wrote about weddings and money in How Much Does it Cost to Get Married? Part 2.
- John from Frugal Rules wrote about health insurance and self-employment in How to Buy Health Insurance When You’re Self-Employed.
- Tonya from Budget and the Beach shows how a positive attitude can make a difference in Making the Most of Any Situation.
- Pauline from Reach Financial Independence talks about the difficulty of dealing with government workers and agencies in Little house in Guatemala: A normal day at the council.
- Joe from Stacking Benjamins makes some great analogies in What Villians Lurk in Your Financial Plan?.
How was your week? What are your plans for the weekend? Any weekend getaways you recommend in the United States? I’m feeling the need to get away for the weekend, plus it’s our 2 year anniversary in a couple months
____________
Photo by inyucho
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!
Really like the phot from the plane. As for the career move DC do what makes you happy at this point. I don’t know much about CMA. The MBA, CPA is a great route if you are willing to go back to school and study to pass those exams.
Cant wait to see what you have in store for a new site design. At this point just pick the one you feel the most comfortable with. You may have to narrow it down to response time, cost, or just do eeny meeny miny moe.
My week was busy, fast and exhausting. I need a getaway as well but will be headed to the beach, taking the fam out to dinner and working on the site as usual. I should be working on the new site soon that way you can visit to get better weekend getaway ideas. Congrats in advance on the 2 year!!!! Here’s to many more.
YourDailyFinThanks for the advice. I definitely need to do SOMETHING and not just idle. I have too many interests, which is usually a good thing except for the fact there is only 24 hours in a day!
Definitely looking forward to your weekend getaway site launch. I could really use it right now! Haha, but I hope you have a good time with the fam this w
I’m facing a similar career decision. It’s so hard to know what’s the best option for the future. Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
CommonCentsWealthYeah I hear you, and it’s easy to just wait it out but I feel a need to do something proactive in the near future. I will probably get my CMA since it will solidfy my finance/accounting background and help me pivot back into finance or even to another accounting role.
oh my think long and hard about going for the CPA certification. I have been working on that for about a year now. Waiting for my last score to roll in. It has been an incredibly expensive and time consuming process. I have been putting off blogging because of it. Now that I am hopefully done I hope to have my blog up and running soon. Have a great weekend!
BudgetforMoreYeah I can’t sit for the CPA so CMA is my only option. I’ve been reading about it and it’s pretty finance-intensive which is right up my alley. I don’t want to put off working on the site for it, though. Hope your last score is a good one!
Excited for your site redesign! And I really need a weekend getaway also. Going to Chicago for a bachelorette party next weekend and cannot wait!
SenseofCentsThanks I can’t wait for a redesign as well! Chicago sounds awesome, I am seriously considering going there. Cheap flights from Minneapolis too! #Bonus
You need to talk with my wife. She has done almost the exact thing you
are considering. She changed careers to accounting, went back to school
(online through Liberty Univ.) and just completed her CPA requirements
after 2+ years. Now she is finishing up four more classes to earn her
MBA (which the accounting firm doesn’t really care about but it seemed
silly to be that close to something and not pursue it). I think your
experience as an accountant will make the CPA classes and tests easier.
It seemed to for her. That being said, it’s still way tough. She put in
20-30 hrs. per week taking classes and studying for the exams, mostly at
nights after work and on the weekends. But I think if you plan to stay in
accounting as a career it will be much more financially rewarding in the
long run to pursue your CPA licensure. Shoot me an email if you want and I’ll get you guys in touch.
Brian @ Luke1428Hmm definitely sounds like she knows a little about this topic haha. I might have to shoot you an email. Thing is, if I have to take 6 classes (or more) to reach my CPA requirement they may have to be from the last school I attended, which is hell expensive. I am thinking if I go CPA route I might as well get an MBA since it’s built into the program. Anyway thanks for letting me know about your wife and I will probably shoot you an email so I can ask her about her experience.
My week was good but busy because I am tying up loose ends before we leave on vacation on Monday!
Holly at ClubThrifty I’m so jealous! I need a vacation.
Good luck the with designer. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and make a choice. I’m sure you’ll make a good one.
As for the career decision, I thought I remembered you saying you were interesting in moving to the investment side of things. Is that still a consideration? What exactly would you be looking to do there?
Matt @ Mom and Dad Money I honestly might just have to go with one. All of them seem great, but it’s really tough to choose.
I would be interested in equity research and possibly going more down the road of M&A, but I have to decide if I want that lifestyle (can be very demanding hour-wise).
Thank you for the mention! I love the great lakes region in the US which would be a short drive for you, or Chicago.
RFIndependence I absolutely love going to Duluth in Minnesota and have gone there a number of times. I haven’t really gone to any other areas of the Great Lakes, though, so that might be a really good option. Chicago also is pretty close and I am definitely considering it.
Good luck for choosing your career MBA or CMA , Also waiting to see your new site design, This one is pretty good and curious to know whats next…. Keep it up as you said if you procrastinate you might never do things, good to set deadlines and follow them
Samgill Thanks for the kind words about the current design, there is just some glitches here and there that make it harder to work with, especially if I keep growing.
Sounds like you have quite a decision to make on multiple fronts..my MBA was tough enough, that I could not imagine getting a CPA on top of it. :) In terms of weekend getaways…you could always do Chicago, here might be places in Wisconsin that would be good to go to and hey…Omaha is close too! ;) Thanks for the mention and have a great weekend!
FrugalRulesHaha for some reason Omaha doesn’t top my list ;) Chicago could be a great getaway, I definitely am going to look and see how much it will cost and whether it would be worth it for a weekend. Have a great weekend!
Good luck with the site redesign. I hate when decisions are tough but I’m sure no matter who you choose it will turn out great! Thanks for the mention!
BeachbudgetNo problem and thanks! I definitely am ready to just move forward. I guess I have a fear that I won’t like it long-term and will be paying someone again in 12 months to do another redesign.
Sounds like you have some big decisions to make in regard to your career and if you pursue more schooling you will be extremely busy based on what Brian said below. Good luck with your decision. Have a fun weekend !!
TacklingOurDebt Thanks Sicorra! And yes, it sounds like I might have some busy times ahead for me…as if I’m not already busy haha
You could take a trip down to Chicago. It’s not too far from you guys.
OneSmartDollar I definitely have been considering this. Looks like the hotels near Millenium Park are fairly expensive, though..would have to figure that out. Also would prefer to fly vs. drive because our cars are getting old, but the flights to Chicago are relatively affordable.
Good luck with all the decisions it looks like you’ll be making! I am sure that whatever happens, you will continue to be successful. Unfortunately I don’t know much about financial degrees or careers, but I would try and go with whatever is going to make you happy or will positively impact your life. It seems like you were already taking lifestyle changes into consideration which is a smart idea.