This Week in Your Wallet: Win at Asking for a Raise
When was the last time you asked your boss for a raise? Were you successful? I know from experience that asking for a raise can be intimidating — in fact, if you’re not used to haggling, any negotiation can seem scary at first. However, this week, I want to share with you a piece of information that is rather brilliant, and should make your next salary negotiation a bit easier.
Ready for it?
According to the Wall Street Journal, research out of Columbia University found that the key to getting the salary we really want is avoiding round numbers. The Journal sites this example: “[The] research indicates that a job candidate asking for $63,500 might receive a counteroffer of $62,000, while the request for $65,000 is more likely to yield a counteroffer of, say, $60,000, as the hiring manager assumes the candidate has thrown out a broad ballpark estimate.”
It makes sense, right? However, the key to this strategy working isn’t just throwing out a random not-so-round number — you need to make an educated offer, and that starts by knowing what someone in your position should make. You can get this information from salary.com, or by talking to people in your field.
It’s worth noting, by the way, that this odd-number strategy works beyond the office. Just this weekend, I haggled the price of a small table down to $320 from $390. I was prepared to pay $350, but clearly, starting with the “odd” $320 worked to my advantage! (Also helping me: I was at a mom-and-pop store in Chinatown. While it’s true that you can always negotiate, this type of setting lends itself much better to negotiations than big national chain stores.)
And now, here are the other headlines for the week:
Finding High-Yield Checking Accounts
According to Bankrate’s annual high-yield checking account survey, it is still possible to find a checking account with an interest rate over one percent — you just need to know where to look, and you likely won’t recognize the names of the banks offering such good rates. Among the winners: the Cambridge Savings Bank (1.25 percent), Community Bank of Pleasant Hill (despite the name, offering a 1.75 percent rate to customers across the country), and Liberty Bank (a 2.35 percent rate is available nationally but the account must be opened in person). Before you rush to open an account at one of these banks, make sure you can meet the account requirements. Many require a certain number of debit transactions (10 to 15 in most cases), and many also have a balance cap. In many cases, you must also be willing to cancel paper statements in favor of electronic statements.
Joining Wall Street, For Charity
Would you go after a high-paying job, just to give a quarter or half of your salary to charity? According to a fascinating article in the Washington Post, there is a small group of people doing just that. One man, a computer science graduate from MIT, earns over $100,000 on Wall Street, but gives away half to the Against Malaria Foundation. His theory: if a $2,500 donation can save one life, he can affect more lives by working on Wall Street and donating than he could if he were to work in research as an academic.
Now, as the article notes, not everyone is suited to spend their lives selling derivatives — and I’d like to note that it requires careful financial planning and budgeting if you are motivated to give half of your salary to charity. But I also get it. Plenty of research, including my own, has pointed to the fact that very few things feel as good as giving back.
Is Room Service On The Way Out?
Depending on your travel style, this could be good news, or it could be bad news: according to the New York Times, a major New York hotel (the New York Hilton Midtown) is getting rid of room service. In its place: a kitchen stocked with grab-and-go items. While this is just one policy at one hotel, the Times noted that other hotels have cut back on room service menus and/or hours of availability, so this could be the start of a growing trend. And, for those of us who can’t resist a bowl of mac-n-cheese right before bed (personally, I like to indulge in a room service breakfast for dinner), it might actually be good news. After all, room service food is frequently more expensive than it should be (the Times cites a $24.75 cobb salad), and one night of bingeing can easily hurt a vacation budget. Yet, several of the people interviewed for the article expressed displeasure at the lack of service. Where do you fall? Would you be happy to see the temptation removed, or sad for the lack of convenience? In the meantime, there’s always the mini-bar… with its $5 Snickers.
Have a great week!
Jean
