Daily Roundup: Resumes, Charity, and Living Rich

I’m all for a good resume, but how to write more compelling reports is worth more. Writing has been at the forefront of my lobes lately. I’m not the best writer in the world, but I can write reports; however, I am amazed at how many people cannot do basic writing well. The last thing you want is your boss to be deluged by your poor writing.

There is always an excuse for not giving. If you want to give, then give. It shouldn’t matter if you have debt or not.

The real underlying premise of the look rich but live cheap should be your rationale for wanting to look rich in the first place. Be who you are, rather than exerting time, effort and money on someone who you aren’t. You aren’t living life for others, so why would you want to give others the “impression” of something else? I agree, “buy quality and care for it”, not to to make you feel rich, but because you should buy stuff that won’t cause you to waste more money having to replace it, and you should care for it because you just spent hard earned money on it.

Classic looks are nice and all, but you do end up being a khaki pants and blue blazer cookie cutter of a man in the end. Yes, I have 6 khaki pants.

“The article recommends purchasing high-quality used vehicles instead of buying new.”

Generally, I believe this. However, last December it was time for me to get a new car. I had targeted the Honda Accord as the right car for me (not going into a make/model war here, it’s necessary for the example).

First of all, I was surprised at how difficult it was to buy one used. Secondly, I was surprised at how high the price of the used ones were. I sat down and compared prices.

See, there is more to a car than just price. You also have to consider lifetime maintenance costs and lifetime lengths. Since I was comparing new and used of the same type of car, I pretty much ignored lifetime maintenance costs, figuring that they’d be about the same.

After talking with various car dealers, looking at the original model year of the older Accords and seeing when people trade them in, I was able to come up with an estimate for how long the car would last giving my driving habits. As I tend to be a cautious, low mileage driver, I expect to drive my Accord for 10-12 years, or up to 180k miles. (As an aside, this is a good way to figure out what type of extended warranty to get.)

When I compared the few used cars to my target maximum mileage, and divide the price of the car by the remaining miles left, the new car was *cheaper*.

I was so astonished that I called various folks to check my math, but I was right. I even wound up getting a nice deal on the new car, which made the numbers even better.

Last note that is slightly related, I’ve found that if you look at a longer-term car loan vs a shorter-term car loan, but you plan to pay off the loan in the shorter time anyway, the dollars you save in paying down the principal can exceed the extra dollars you pay in interest.

Obviously, my situation was unique to me, but they are some out-of-the-box things that are worth considering.

I thought the bit about not having kids was funny, as someone who gets tired of people assuming that *of course* I want to have kids, and *of course* I want be married. Not for me, thanks.

Yes, please, expand on this topic. Very appreciated.

I found the suggestion to volunteer at theater and arts organizations in order to gain access to “pricey cultural events” offensive. Volunteer work is about giving your time to benefit others, not about figuring out what kind of deal you can get out of it. That is the wrong reason to volunteer.

I agree totally about the objective statements on resumes. As an employer, I’ve reviewed hundreds of resumes, and I’ve never seen an objective statement that was worth the ink. They are always either too vague (“I’m seeking a fulfilling position that will utilize my talents and abilities to their fullest”) or too specific (“I’m seeking a position as Executive Assistant with the XYZ Corporation”). I actually got a resume once with an objective statement that listed a specific position—with a different company! Needless to say, I didn’t hire him.

Put your career goals in the cover letter and skip the objective statement—it’s wasting space that you should be using to provide more detail about your background and qualifications.

Get married, but don’t have kids.

I took this as a joke, actually. But then, I am not pursuing a career/life where looking rich really helps. If I was a lawyer, tho, then hobnobbing & a BMW would probably be rather useful.

Aleks – The “look rich” article is aimed at people who want to look rich, whether for their profession or socially. Yes, it seems silly. Still, I know one paralegal who found employment rather difficult due to how she dressed. No, I’m not joking.

One thing I do note in the article is that it’s about making deliberate choices … and one of the drawbacks the same writer points out in having rich friends is “when you delude yourself into thinking that you can afford the things you see others buying without a second thought.”

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/HowEnvyWrecksYourFinances.aspx

The looking rich article wasn’t really what I’d expected. Like many of you, I was surprised or turned off by bits.

Two good points:

1. Not letting things fall apart. If you let one thing go, it’s an excuse not to do other things. And it makes “fixing up” a much bigger process.

2. Getting into things by volunteering. That could be handy with, say, symphony orchestras (which I love).

I also realized—I don’t know if I want to “look rich” or hang out with rich people. I like my friends. I doubt we’re any of us going to be rich and I don’t know if I particularly want to get to know rich people. I’d rather spend time with people because of who they are than how much they make and what they wear.

I want to be a good person. That’s most important. Things like being well-groomed and having a classic wardrobe are handy at work or for social functions. Learning inexpensive ways to look good isn’t a bad idea. But I’m not going to spend my life striving for the ideal “looks rich but doesn’t have to pay as much.”

-MM

Jennifer -

Seconded on The Pocket Stylist. She teaches you how to look stylish and gives tips on where to spend and where not to.

You can end up spending a lot of money following her advice, but you can end up saving a lot, too, and still looking good. Her advice to spend a lot of time *looking* at designer stuff to develop taste and then *shopping* in bargain bins is pure gold.

Pretty shallow article, all the way around. What’s the point of “looking rich”…to deceive other shallow people?

Volunteering, BTW, isn’t an especially effective way to sneak into cultural events on the cheap. Most nonprofit organizations expect volunteers to donate dollars, not just time. Lots of dollars.

Kids are darned expensive, that’s for sure. But not having kids so you can pursue your project of looking like you have more money than you do? Awww, c’mon… Surely this has gotta be a lame attempt at humor. I hope.

I’d also like to add that in order to appear wealthy, it helps to be thin. Now, I know that is controversial and I am nowhere near thin, but I think in the US, in order to look “richer,” it helps to be thin and in shape. In many other countries (including my “home” country,) being overweight is associated with wealth because only the wealthy can afford to have enough to eat to be overweight. It is desirable. I know my mom has harped on me and my siblings to be heavy because she saw it as a status symbol (p.s. my mom is crazy). However, in America I think being overweight is associated with poverty–especially for the younger generation. It’s seen as not being able to afford healthy food in favor of cheap, unhealthy food, not being able to afford extracurricular sports activities for kids, etc . . . it may also be because celebs who are considered rich tend to be thin. Just my two cents.