Pandora (Cost: Free; or $36 for premium service)

This is an online radio station. You enter the name of the artist, and they play that genre of music. Song rating is available as either “like” or “unlike”. The premium service offers better quality service and no banner advertisements. I like to use this station when I want to listen to new songs without having to search for them. Pandora helps figure that out based on your “like” preferences.

Spotify (Cost: Free or $9.99 per month)

Download and listen to almost any album completely, from cover to cover. This is an excellent solution if you do not want to carry your entire music collection everywhere you go. The premium service offers you the capability to download any track and listen to it online, and on all your devices that have spotify installed on it (iphone, ipod, ipad, laptop etc).

I personally use spotify, as I find it much easier, when I’m at the gym or airport, if I want to listen to a specific artist or song, I can just type that in, and it plays it. No hassle. Well worth the 9.99 per month, especially since downloading an iTune’s track can cost upwards of $1 per song. I listen to way lot more than that.

Links:

Spotify:  http://spotify.com

Pandora:  http://pandora.com

On more information on how to replace your cell phone number with Google Voice and Skype, click here.

That’s when I found out about tethering. Tethering is simply using your cell phone’s internet connection, to connect your laptop to the internet. In order to tether iphone for example, in the past, involved hacking /jail breaking it, or paying your cell phone provider an outrageous fee to use it.

Enter tether.com. This site provides a service where you simply do not have to install any applications to it. Simply do a one time configuration on the laptop, go log into the website from our iphone, and voila, you’re connected. Even better, the charge is only $15 for the first year (as of 3/12/2012), and then $30 yearly after that. That’s a spectacular deal in my opinion.

Check it out here:
tether.com/iphone:

http://tether.com/iphone

So far, the drawbacks I see are:

1.  I cannot send / receive pictures using Google voice using the text message feature.  This not so bad, as I can email pictures, however, receiving pictures is sometimes cumbersome, as the sender does not usually know I am using Google voice when they try sending me a picture.

2.  Emoticons (the happy / smiley faces) do not display properly in Google voice; it is not supported, and shows up with “?” question marks.

3.  Responding to text messaging takes a few extra “clicks”.  When I receive a text message and want to open up Google voice on my iphone/ipad to see the message, I need to refresh the screen in order for the message to display.  This is not a big deal if I’m at home, but when I’m on the road/travelling/driving, the few extra clicks can be a nuisance.

Overall, I whole heartedly still use skype full time during the days for my office calls, and I receive calls through my Google voice number to my cell phone.  Not only do I cut down on the minutes, but the quality on Skype is actually a lot better, especially with high speed internet connection, and it’s comparable or even better than the cell phone reception I receive on AT&T!

Dropbox is simply a folder stored on your computer that you drop your files into.  You can access this folder on the website, ipad/iphone/android or any other computers you installed dropbox from.  I have 3 computers that I access my dropbox from – 2 work laptops, and 1 home pc.

At this time, they offer a 2 GB free account, however, I signed up for the 50 GB account for $9.95 per month.  It is well worth it in my opinion.

Having access to all my important files at anytime, from anywhere gives me the flexibility and piece of mind while I’m at work and a large cup of coffee is placed beside my laptop.  If someone walks by and knocks it over, at least my important files are there.

From a work perspective, as I write a lot of code, every time I compile, I wrote a simple script to zip up my work folder, and drop it in the dropbox.  As it is compiling, I can access the log files from my phone while I watch tv, or run errands around the house.

Not sure about Dropbox?  An alternative, Box.com is offering 50 GB of  free storage to Android phone users, here.

Do you work remotely for your job? What are some of your experiences and perks you enjoy about it? What do you hate about it? Please post below…

When it the best time to selling stock?  Personally, I set a timeline window, and expected return.  If it meets or exceeds my expected return, I sell the stock, and re-invest it in losing stocks that pay high dividends.  With this approach, I am minimizing my risk, while reinvesting my returns/gains.

Of course, I do this in a tax deferred account.  For my “after tax” money, I would prefer to invest in cash for real estate, or tax free bonds.

Dressing Well & Good Hygiene
I’m not saying wear Armani suits to work everyday. That just doesn’t happen in IT, unless you work in sales. However, it does pay to look to be what you’re worth. When you go clothes shopping, don’t buy just a regular shirt. Plan an entire outfit – the color of pants, belt, and shoes you are going to wear with the shirt  -  instead of trying to match it up when you get home.
When you’re on site, wake up early to take a shower, brush your teeth, shave, and most importantly, iron your clothing. I also try to shine my shoes about once every two weeks as well. Accessorize by wearing a watch. It demonstrates that you care about punctuality, and are sophisticated. Make yourself appear just as knowledgeable, and sharp on the outside, as they hired you for, on the inside. The attention to detail matters.

Give the Right Answer, and not the Quick Answer
Often times, when a customer emails me a question, for example – how does ‘XYZ’ work when ‘ABC’ happens? It is very tempting to answer with an “off the top of the head” response, instead of doing the necessary research on the issue, before putting together a solid and accurate response. They are paying you for your advice. Therefore, it is more important to be accurate, than efficient. Tell them that it may take a day or two before you can get the answer for them. Use the extra time to fully understand what they are asking, and also the time to thoroughly answer question instead of sending a one or two line reply. It will show the customer, that you care about what they are asking, and value quality over quickness – a valuable trait.

Get to Know the Customer
I’m not saying be best friends,  hang out and watch Jersey Shore.  Stay within a professional relationship. It is important to understand what is going on at the company, and in order to do that, you must make friends with the customer. This may mean that you attend gatherings – lunches, and happy hours with the customer. While attending happy hours, do not attempt to get drunk. It may feel good to have the third gin & tonic and shoot the shit, but it defeats the purpose of getting to know your customer, and gaining information on what’s going on at the company. At happy hours, I usually have one alcoholic beverage in the beginning, to show that I’m not a lameo who can’t drink, but I make sure to have a glass of water right after it. Only when both drinks are finished, will I order another drink, and so on. At this rate, you are pacing yourself, while the customer is probably on their third or fourth drink, giving you an upper hand in knowledge exchange.

Avoid Grand Standing
At the beginning stages of a project, it may be tempting to “Reply to All” on emails (including managers, leads etc), to show that you’ve done actual work. However, doing so, will leave a bad taste in the actual people you work with (i.e. engineers, head-to-the-grindstone coders, DBA’s etc). It tells them that you are a glory hog, and only care about reputation. This is not a good thing, because these same people are the ones that hold the key to the company – knows where the technical issues are, bottlenecks, and “special” scripts. Treat all communication with the technical people at a one-to-one level as much as possible. Only copy relevant people on the email, if you believe they can add to the conversation, and not because you may get “recognition” as a hard worker.
After all, the consulting business is really word-to-mouth business. If you impress the smartest developer/technical architect/DBA with your skills, you will be recognized as a “key player”, and therefore appear very smart.

Question:  What techniques do you take part in, to demonstrate your worth at the company, and justify your pay-grade?

Principle:

The idea is to find a stock meeting the below conditions:

1. High dividend yield
2. Long history of dividend payments
3. Depressed stock price
4. Bonus: Near approaching ex-dividend date

1. High Dividend Yield:

Why is this important?  Dividends are basically free money that a company pays me, for being a loyal stock holder.  Typically companies pay quarterly – i.e. 4 times a year.  The higher the “yield”, the happier I am.

Example:  A company’s stock price is $15, and it pays a quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share.  The yield will be $0.25 per share * 4 (times per year) = $ 1.00 / year

The Yield is:

(Yearly Dividend / Stock Price) * 100

= 1.00 / 15.00 = 6.7%

The above example of 6.7% is considered a “good” dividend, as compared to the current market rate of a savings account, which (as of 4/22/2011), is at around 1.18%.

The argument against a high dividend is that companies typically can use that money for better purposes, such as:  research and development, investing in marketing and sales, and growing the company.  Companies with high dividends are normally associated with companies that don’t have high growth, and the earnings are fairly consistent – such as energy, oil, licensing, and real estate companies.  Sectors which are high growth, such as IT, do not offer dividends that often.

I normally look at the dividend yield as sort of an interest rate that I am putting into a savings account.

2. Long History of Dividends:

Based on the company’s dividend history, I calculate the historical dividend yield (as above), and compare that to the current yield.  If the current yield is much higher, there’s a chance that the company may reduce the future dividend, to stay consistent with prior years.  I look for at least 5 consecutive years of dividend payments, to give me some confidence in the stock, and reassurance in its ability to continue paying it.

3. Depressed Stock Price:

A company that is down in the market, with analysts hatin’ on them, and media generally dogging them, is good for me.  I look at the Price to Earnings ratio to ensure I am getting my money’s worth.  The price to earnings ratio is the company’s share price compared to per share earnings.

Example: If a company is currently trading at 30, and it earns $2 / year, then the P/E ratio is: 30/2 = 15.

I generally compare the P/E ratio of the stock, to the P/E ratio of the company’s competitor, and also the sector, if possible.  If the competitor’s P/E ratio is much higher, then I would consider the stock price depressed, and move onto the bonus round.

4. Bonus:

When a company declares that they are paying a dividend, they also announce the ex-dividend date.

The ex-dividend date is the last day which you can buy the stock, and get paid the dividend.  Normally, this is about two weeks before the day they pay out the dividend, but this can vary.  Companies normally announce the ex-dividend date a few weeks before that.

If the company’s price is depressed, and the expected dividend is normal, then the dividend yield can gain a small bump.

Example:

Company A pays a dividend of $0.25 per quarter ($1.00 per year), for the last 5 years.

Company A’s stock price, had a 52 week average of 15, but with some bad media attention, its price is down to 13.

Therefore its yield went from 1.00/15 = 6.7% to 1.00/13 = 7.7%, a 1% gain!

So, if I ask myself, would I be happy if I kept money in this stock for the next 5 years, knowing that I can possibly keep the dividends at this rate?   If the answer is yes, then I purchase the stock, before the ex-dividend date.

There is an advantage to this –if stock price rebounds, I normally compare to what I can get if I sell the stock, to the yearly dividend yield.  If it is much higher than the yield, I can sell the stock early, and reinvest in other “deals”, as I have realized my gains for the year.  Optionally, I can keep my money in the stock, collect the yield, and see if the price increases even more.

For example, as in the above, if I had purchased 100 shares of stock for $13 per share, then I would pay 13*100 = 1300.  If the company’s share price went from 13 to 12, assuming I bought the stock before the ex-dividend date, I would still get 100*0.25 = $25 that quarter.  I see that the price went down a little, but at least I’m making money.  Over the course of the next 3 months, it rebounds to 15 again.  Now, my gain is 15-13 = 2 per share * 100 shares = $200.  If I were to sell it, then I would have a total gain of 200 + 25 = 225.  My overall return would be 225 / 1300 = 17%.

The main idea here is that I still make money through dividends if the share price dips, and I can reap the gains if the share price rises.

For more information on dividends, here are a few good books:

Be a Dividend Millionaire: A Proven, Low-Risk Approach That Will Generate Income for the Long Term

The Little Book of Big Dividends: A Safe Formula for Guaranteed Returns (Little Books. Big Profits)

Note:  All entries in this blog are my opinions only, and for entertainment purposes, and should not be used as investment advice, tax strategies, and the like.  Please consult an finance or tax professional before investing.

What does an IT consultant do? An independent IT Consultant makes a living by advising businesses on how to best use information technology (hardware, software, or both) to meet their business objectives. This may include gathering user requirements, such as “how to increase sales and production through technology X”, and writing necessary technical specifications, designs, code, and test cases required to achieve the objective. They are also considered Subject Matter Experts, on the jobs in which they are hired for – usually – a niche technology that takes many months to learn, and makes people’s heads spin trying to understand it.

Who is the potential IT consultant? You may think that it is the nice kid with an almost beard fixing peoples computers, handing them back with a cocky smile and giving a little extra free advice on how to keep that crash from happening again, or slipping an anti-virus disc in with the deal, or even telling you which websites provide the best trouble-shooting advice so that trips downtown, lugging a tower and ten-pound screen, cords dangling behind, can be avoided. On the contrary, successful IT consultants are down to earth, social people, who don’t mind cutting through the politics in a company to achieve the goal they were hired for. The potential IT consultant is always networking, laying the groundwork, building a customer base with everybody in town.

Act and dress your wage. If a plumber comes to somebody’s house unshaven, smells like beer and has the manners of a drunken hobo, his boss is going to hear about it. If the same plumber approaches a customer in the grocery store, the same customer whose house he stunk up with BO the previous week, hands him a card and says, Good news, buddy boy, I’ve got my own business, now. Give me a call, that plumber is going to own a very lonely phone. A new IT consultant is a business owner, and so needs to dress and act it.

It is important to remember that a consulting business is not the same as being a behind the scenes business owner. It is a BTB, or, business to business relationship; no different from a lawyer helping a CPA, or, vice versa. So, after that advice, what next?

Almost every expert in the consulting field says the same thing: Specialize. A list should be made of the thing the aspiring consultant does the best. That is because if he just says that he does everything, people won’t be sure what everything is. They have a problem that is a something, and they want somebody who knows something. People will always hire a chimney cleaner to clean their fireplace and smokestack before they hire a jack of all trades.

In the same vein, many new consultants try to target everybody and everything, and if they do that they will simply be flipping over what they tried to accomplish in naming their specialties and market focus. Soon they will find themselves washing client’s cars and helping them solve crossword puzzles. Focus needs to be key in everything, and certainly, in marketing oneself.

The new businessman, or, IT consultant is going to have to remember that they are no long an hourly employee handing out free advice and tips, and telling jokes and marking time. Time will now be something to be pondered, studied, and drawn and quartered into pieces and fragments that are most effective to his new business mind. A journal is strongly recommended, preferably by the quarter-hour so that the business week can be analyzed into what portions sales and marketing fall into, as well as billable hours, and administrative duties.

Crazy people hang out with crazy people for a reason; they’re all crazy. Charles Manson never hung out with Charles Scwaab. Successful people hang out with successful people and the new IT Consultant should get to know the top people in non-competing fields. Not only will these people have brilliant advice but they are connected to the hilt, and all too happy to help out budding businessmen by sending clients their way.

List down priorities, with paying off debts as the highest priority.
The most common problem of most students is that they often put paying off debts in the back burner as they enjoy life after college, only to realize that paying these debts off may not be as easy as they had anticipated. Students taking out student loans should plan about paying off the loans the moment they take the loans out. Prioritizing debt payment may mean putting up an account where a portion of the salary goes  so that it will not be spent on other needs. A few dollars saved each week while still a student can grow to become a substantial amount after a few years, just in time for the debts to be paid. A good source for practical tips in managing money for those facing a large amount of debt is the book “Totally Debt Free Living” by Greg Martin, available on Clickbank.com. The book teaches readers about the importance of a good credit score, and how to keep and build a credit history that will make lending companies proud. The book also hands out simple and easy tips for managing personal finance, from tips on credit cards loans to debt consolidation.

Look for creative ways to earn more money or lessen debt.
Getting another job or doing a garage sale can add a few hundred dollars which can be a lot when paying off debts. Some people take part-time jobs to add more cash. This is a very practical option for fresh graduates,  since most entry level jobs pay barely enough to pay the bills. Freelancing is a good way to earn money on the side. With the number of jobs one can do online, one can easily hold a regular job during the day and earn more money online at night. Although this may seem a bit far-fetched to most people, joining the military can help students pay off their debts. The military will handle the payment for a portion of the loan depending on the field and the major of the debtor. A good example is paying off student loans from law school by serving a few years as a lawyer in the military. According to the Amazon best seller “Live Debt-Free: How to Quickly Pay Off Your Credit Cards, Personal Loans, and Mortgages-And Build Real Wealth Today!” by Ted Carroll, these and other ways to generate more income can help a long way in paying off debts.

Live within or below the means.
Paying off student loans means that one needs to restrict spending on the basics. Living within the basics is one of the best ways to save more money in order to pay off debts. Cutting back on frivolous buys and limiting dinners or lunches out can help generate savings. This can be done successfully by making a weekly or monthly budget. Some have resorted to living like college students even two or three years after graduation, living on ramen noodles and using coupons for a couple of weeks just to pay off their debts. Although these ways may seem extreme, they are very effective at generating a lot of savings for paying college loans.

Read loan documents carefully.
In some cases, there are conditions which allow students to repay debts through other means. For example, they can choose to work on the field for a number of years or work in low income areas. A review of these conditions may just allow students to repay their student loans without having to fork over a very large amount of money.

Consolidate wisely.
One can choose to consolidate loans, which allows the borrower to fuse various loans into one to make payments easier. However, it is very important to choose which loans are chosen for consolidation. There are loans which already have very forgiving payment options on their own, but these benefits could be lost if they are consolidated. The book “Zero Debt for College Grads: From Student Loans to Financial Freedom” by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox offers other wise tips for consolidating student  loans and is sold on Amazon.

Paying off student loans is manageable when started at the soonest time possible. One needs to make certain sacrifices if one needs to pay off loans on time. With these tips, one can enjoy the rewards of a life after college that is unencumbered by hefty students loans.

Recommended Reading:

“Live Debt-Free: How to Quickly Pay Off Your Credit Cards, Personal Loans, and Mortgages-And Build Real Wealth Today!” by Ted Carroll

“Totally Debt Free Living” by Greg Martin

“Zero Debt for College Grads: From Student Loans to Financial Freedom” by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox