Wednesday, September 06, 2006

A to-do list for changing jobs

Though I haven't chronicled it here (I would have scared away the one or two readers that I actually have), I've been searching for a job for what seems like forever. The search is over--I accepted a position last week and I start in a couple of weeks. Hooray!

Naturally, my mind moved quickly to the financial concerns related to this new job, namely:

1. I am getting about a 18-20% more here than I did at my last job. How should I spend (I mean, save) this dough?
First off, the 401(k) contribution is going to bump from my current 8% to 10%. I would do more, but there is that giant credit card debt to think of... And I'm trying to figure out the direct deposit distribution that I want to opt for. What percent in the slush fund? What percent in my newly opened Citi E-Savings? Do I open a third T Rowe Price mutual fund, and funnel some over there, too? Or are we just focusing on the Amex payoff? (Which is not even Amex anymore, because I moved the giant balance to another 0% credit card.)

My other big concern is that this raise may put us into another tax bracket--in terms of gross income, but I think we're still safe because we both contribute 10% or so to the 401ks.

2. Rollover issues. I have over 30k in my 401k and I don't know where to park it next. Any ideas? Do any of you (I still labor under the delusion that I have readers, haha) have suggestions? I'm thinking a Vanguard IRA rollover, but maybe it should be something like E-Trade or Sharebuilder, where the options are endless.

3. I'll be bonus eligible! I don't even want to start dreaming about this money yet.

4. The job is closer than my last job was--not by much, but every little bit of gas savings counts. And my concerns about having to buy commuter train passes and such are right out the window.

5. Navigating the long list of new benefits. The new medical plan is more $$ than my last one; must check spouse's plan and figure out whether signing on with that one will be cheaper for us. But do I buy into the employee stock plan and all the rest?

There's a lot to think about. Once I get my act together, the next post will sound more instructional than clueless, maybe!

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