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What is the Minimum Wage in Massachusetts?

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minimum wage in massachusetts

Massachusetts’ minimum wage is climbing. It currently sits at $13.50 but will be moving again next year. It’s an important step in the right direction, but will it be enough?

Minimum Wage on the Rise

In the blue hills of this great state, those working in minimum wage positions received a 75 cent raise to $13.50 on January 1. It’s the third year in a row that hourly rates bumped up, but it won’t be until 2023 that the state crosses its $15 finish line. It’s a positive step in the right direction, but according to MIT’s wage calculation, one adult with no partner or children needs $17.74 to meet their basic needs. One adult with one child would need $36.88. The numbers don’t always tell the whole story, however.

Service Workers Considered Differently

Interestingly, there is another minimum wage to consider. Service employees currently make $5.55 an hour if they receive over $20 in gratuities a month. However, in fields like the hospitality industry, workers don’t need to worry about the disparity. Instead, employers must ensure their staff receives at least $13.50/hr via an hourly rate and tips.

If employers cannot achieve this, the business must pay staff the difference to bring the hourly rate to the minimum wage in Massachusetts. It’s also important to note there are regulations about handling tips. Gratuities must either be retained by the worker or managed through a valid tip pool as defined by MGL c.149-152A. This wage will also increase on January 1 for the next two years, $6.15 and $6.75, respectively.

Ways to Stretch Your Dollar

Despite the difference between the current hourly wage and your actual living costs, you can always get creative when you’re trying to make ends meet. One of the easiest ways to get started is to track your expenses. While it sounds obvious, you might be surprised to learn that you spent $400 a year on streaming services. Get a free money tracking app like Intuit’s Mint to help you whip those dollars into shape.

If you’re more of a money mover and shaker, a side gig is always an excellent way to bring in some extra bucks. You can sign up with the TaskRabbit app if you want to pick up odd jobs to get you by – think yard work and IKEA furniture assembly. However, if you’re looking for something a little more formal, look no further than remote and adaptable job specialist Flexjobs. Most jobs are geared towards less conventional employment arrangements and might be just what you’re looking for in a secondary hustle.

How to Make a Difference

If you’re not satisfied with what your elected officials are doing on the minimum wage front, there are several ways to get your voice heard. For example, RaiseUp Massachusetts was launched in 2013 after individual coalitions lobbying for better wages banded together. They’ve succeeded in getting new legislation passed like increases in the minimum wage and paid sick time, but the work continues. Contact them if you want to get involved.

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Use These Tips to Find Great Summer Jobs

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tips to find great summer jobs

When you think about finding a summer job, you often think about teens looking for work. That’s definitely one situation. However, many different people are looking for summer jobs this year. No matter your age or experience, use these tips to find great summer jobs.

Reasons To Look for Great Summer Jobs

Obviously, teens and young adults often seek out summer jobs. They’re between semesters at school. They want some extra pocket money. Moreover, they want to get some work experience under their belt before they head out into the workplace full-time.

However, not only teens are looking for great summer jobs this year. Many people are on the job hunt. While some are looking for a permanent position, others are seeking something just for the summer. Examples include:

  • Families that want to do work together during the summer months
  • People who have been out of work for awhile and need to boost their budget
  • Folks who are traveling for the summer and want to work their way as they go
  • People with full-time jobs who want a side gig during the months of the year with lots of daylight

No matter the reason, there are a ton of great summer jobs out there. You just need to know how to find them.

5 Solid Tips to Find Great Summer Jobs

These tips to find great summer jobs apply no matter how old you are or what job you might seek this summer:

1. Treat The Job Search Like It’s a Job

It’s tempting to put just a little bit of effort into your job search. After all, it’s summertime. You want to go enjoy your life, too. However, that’s a mistake. You should treat the job search as though it is a job in and of itself. The more seriously you take the job search, the more likely it is that you’ll get the job that you want.

How to Take a Job Search Seriously

  • Commit to a schedule for your job search. It doesn’t have to be 9-5. However, it should be comparable to a full-time job. Note that if you already have a full-time job and are looking for a second summer job, then your job search schedule would reflect that difference. In that case, you might commit to searching for three hours per night after work.
  • Do your research. Decide what kind of job you’re looking for. Then dig deep to find all of the opportunities available in your chosen area. Don’t just browse the first Google search result and end there. Instead, put in effort to find all of the potential jobs out there.
  • Dress the part, figuratively. In this case, that means taking the time to rework your resume. Write cover letters. Update your web presence. Everything related to your job search should look like you’re the person who deserves the job.

2. Make Your Want, Will, Won’t List

This is a great way to make decisions about nearly anything in your life. Basically, you take three sheets of paper. Then you label one “want,” another “will,” and the last one “won’t.” Then you brainstorm as many things as possible related to the question at hand. In this case, the question is – what kind of summer job do I want?

Tips to Find Great Summer Jobs You Actually Want to Work

On your want list, you’ll put all of the qualities that you would desire in the perfect job. Consider:

  • Preferred salary
  • Desired / required hours
  • Dress code
  • Work environment
  • Work duties
  • Benefits
  • Length of commitment
  • Remote vs. in-office opportunities
  • Who you’ll be working with

Next, write your won’t list. What are the things that you absolutely won’t tolerate in a job? There’s no point in even applying to jobs that have items from your won’t list.

Finally, use that information to make your “will” list. These are the things that you’ll accept even though they aren’t your true “wants.”

For example, you might want a job that pays $30 per hour. You definitely won’t take a job that pays minimum wage. However, under the right conditions, you will take a job that pays $20 per hour.

Knowing this information makes it much easier to search for a job. After all, you can easily filter out what won’t work for you, focusing on what will.

3. Put the Word Out There and Network As Much As Possible

Of all the important tips to find great summer jobs, this might be the most important. Yes, there are tons of job boards available online. Certainly, you do have a chance of getting those jobs, especially if you treat the job search like a job in and of itself. Nevertheless, it’s always better if you know someone to help you get the foot in the door.

Therefore, you should make sure that you do as much as you can to network to find the jobs that you’re seeking. First of all, this means that you have to put the word out there to your existing network. Let everyone know that you’re searching. Moreover, tell them what you’re searching for and don’t hesitate to share why you think you’re the perfect person for the job.

Next, get into networking outside of your existing circle. Identify the types of jobs that you want for the summer. Then start heading to places where you can meet people hiring inside those jobs. Job fairs, business events, meetups … these are all great ways to start meeting the people who can hire you this summer.

4. Ask for Help

It’s totally okay to ask other people for help in getting summer jobs. Think about your unique situation in order to find the people that you can ask.

For example, if you’re a student looking for a summer job, then you might want to ask your school counselor for assistance. They always have tips for finding great summer jobs. Plus they might provide you with a reference.

If you’ve been unemployed for awhile and on assistance, then you might want to check with your unemployment counselor. You’d be surprised at how helpful they can be with tips for finding great summer jobs. Of course, they can help you find long-term solutions as well.

Maybe you know someone who has the kind of company that you want to work for. You don’t have to ask them for a job (although you could.) However, you might ask for a lunch meeting to pick their brain about how to get that job.,

5. Create Your Own Summer Job

You don’t necessarily have to rely on someone else to hire you this summer. You can start your own job. If you’re a teenager, then you might choose petsitting, babysitting or learning how to use social media for income. If you’re older, then you might want to launch a side business, write an ebook or begin to sell your consulting services. You can try it out for the summer. Then, if you like it, you might grow it.

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Here’s Why You Should You Take Investment Advice from WSB

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Here's Why You Should Take Investment Advice from WSB

The subreddit known as r/wallstreetbets has been consistently making headlines this year. Although it has been around for nearly a decade, it gained national prominence during the GameStop short squeeze and has continued to intrigue investors ever since. They employ high-risk strategies that many brokers and investors would never dream of. However, many of its community members have made impressive gains that leave many of us asking ourselves if we should be taking investment advice from WSB.

What is WSB?

For those who are unfamiliar with r/wallstreetbets, it’s a strange place…to say the least. If you scroll through its most popular posts, you will see members sharing their astronomical gains, crushing losses, and investment advice from WSB that goes against conventional wisdom. That’s because this subreddit is not your typical investing forum. It’s a place where amateur and veteran investors alike can discuss ultra high-risk strategies. They ignore the most fundamental rules of investing and make moves that even the most hardened investors cringe at because…YOLO! While some view it as little more than high-stakes gambling, others are taking signals from the community posts and making huge gains from risky investments.

From its inception, WSB has been a place for people to discuss high-risk trades and seemingly crazy investment strategies without judgment or lectures. That is, of course, unless they are referring to themselves. The self-deprecating and sometimes profane tone of the forum has become an important part of the community’s culture. Even though some despise its irreverence and lack of respect for the traditional rules of trading, no one can deny that WSB has played a significant role in recent stock trends.

What Are WSB’s Investment Strategies?

Instead of choosing well-known assets, WSB members throw caution and money to the wind to make risky trades or buy more volatile stocks. If you are new to the forum, don’t even waste your breath discussing the merits of bonds or risk mitigation. Community members know how insane their approach is, and they revel in the madness of it all. And while it may have begun as an obscure trading forum, WSB has grown into a virtual army with its own subculture and jargon. Its numbers swelled after the short squeeze on GameStop stock in January 2021 and made it wildly popular. The entire phenomenon put the subreddit in the national spotlight, and some investors starting taking their investment advice from WSB.

Unfortunately, many members of the subreddit acted on buy and sell signals too late and lost tons of money. I’m not just talking about the money set aside for investing. Some lost their entire life savings and mortgages in a matter of hours. The r/wallstreetbets forum is many things. The one thing all financial advisors can agree on is that the subreddit is not a reliable source for investment advice.

Yet, every day members share their gains and post the impressive returns they have earned from their risky strategies. Countless community members made thousands, even millions, during the GameStop short squeeze. In fact, one subredditor joined the billionaire club when it was all said and done. It’s hard to ignore posts from members barely in the 20s who could retire off their “tendies” while the rest of us slave away at our jobs and stick with tried-and-true investing strategies.

What Do Brokers Think of Taking Investment Advice from WSB?

Any financial advisor worth their salt should tell you not to trust investment advice you read online. This goes double when it comes from an online forum of novice investors with a penchant for high-risk investments. When I asked my broker his opinion of their investment strategies, he compared it to trusting social media or tabloids for your news sources. And he’s not wrong. Most of the time, advice from WSB involves more gambling than strategy.

But…Here’s Why You Should Take Advice from WSB

Although their strategies are unorthodox and extremely high-risk, there may be a method in the madness. A recent study conducted by two researchers from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam attempted to unravel the secret behind the success stories. Although some members have had staggering losses, particularly after the GameStop frenzy, the team may have uncovered a way to decipher when you should take investment advice from WSB and when you should ignore it.

In order to determine just how reliable WSB’s advice was, the German researchers created a portfolio based on the community’s most popular stocks and buy/sell advice from its members. And what they found was rather astounding. With the 20 stocks chosen from the subreddit’s posts and discussion boards, the WSB portfolio outperformed the S&P500. In fact, it grew 200% over the last three years and a shocking 480% in the past year alone.

The crux of the matter comes down to an investor’s ability to determine reactive signals from proactive ones. The reactive signals come immediately after a significant price hike or drop. Acting on these signals is how many of the subreddit’s “degenerates” lost so much money. However, the proactive signals turned out to be quite profitable. Therefore, if you know what buy/sell signals to look for, then you could make a killing.

The Fine Print

Although the results were promising, it all remains theoretical since the forum is still in its infancy. The convenience of technology has shown average Joes how easy it is to start investing with individual investing apps meaning more people will likely adopt their strategies. However, you cannot overlook the YOLO approach the WSB community has towards investments. Novice investors often overlook this and only see the community as a way to get-rich-quick. Unfortunately, many do not realize this until it’s too late and they’ve lost everything. If you aren’t prepared to lose it all, then steer clear of investment advice from WSB.

However, if you are looking to make some questionable choices with large sums of money, then you’ve come to the right place. Win, lose, or draw, WSB will always support high-risk moves.

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What Is the Minimum Wage in Indiana?

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Minimum Wage in Indiana

While the federal minimum wage is $7.25, only 21 states actually have that as their own minimum wage. The other 29 states have minimum wage rates ranging from $8.65 to $15 in the District of Columbia. At a minimum wage of $7.25, a full-time employee will gross just $290 a week. An income this low can make meeting basic essential needs difficult.

What Is the Minimum Wage in Indiana?

The current minimum wage in Indiana is just $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum wage rate. This is the lowest rate paid in the country. It is also the same rate some nearby states like Kentucky and Tennessee pay. However, nearby Illinois’ minimum wage is $11.00 per hour, and Michigan’s minimum wage is $9.87 per hour.

Indiana’s minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009, which coincides with the federal minimum wage rate increase to $7.25. Lawmakers have introduced multiple bills in Indiana to increase the state’s minimum wage rate to $10 or $9, but all of those bills failed.

Cost of Living Has an Impact

Minimum Wage in Indiana
Photo by Ronnie George on Unsplash

Even though the minimum wage in Indiana is low, the good news is that the cost of living there is also low. On a cost-of-living index with the average in America being 100 (and somewhere like Hawaii being 191.8), Indiana has a cost-of-living index of 81, which is much lower. Yet, the median home cost of $155,640 in Indiana is tough to afford if you’re employed at minimum wage. Still, the price of a home in Indiana is 8th in the nation for affordability (Business Insider).

Vogue recently argued that since the minimum wage was set at $7.25 twelve years ago, “inflation has risen at a rate of almost 24% in that time.” Clearly, $7.25 isn’t worth as much now as it was then. If you use an inflation calculator, you’ll see that $7.25 in 2009 is equal to $9.02 in 2021.

There May Be Hope of an Increase

While many hoped when Biden took office he’d be able to increase the federal minimum wage to $15, that effort is currently stalled. The $15 minimum wage was originally included in Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, but it was removed early to help the package pass. Biden has made it clear he wants a $15 minimum wage, so perhaps sometime during his presidency, it will pass. This would more than double Indiana’s current minimum wage rate.

Final Thoughts

Indiana’s minimum wage is $7.25, which is the federal minimum wage. While this is low, the cost of living in Indiana is also one of the lowest in the country, which helps make the minimum wage stretch further.

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If you enjoy reading our blog posts and would like to try your hand at blogging, we have good news for you; you can do exactly that on Saving Advice. Just click here to get started.

Check out these helpful tools to help you save more. For investing advice, visit The Motley Fool.

How To Make an Income by Earning Cash Back

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There are so many options out there to get cashback from your purchases. However, a lot of them can be a big hassle. Such as having a limited number of merchants to buy from, having to wait for the payout or even just keeping track of your receipts to scan them. By the time you jump through all of the hoops, the money you get back barely feels worth it. So how do you take advantage of cash back apps in a way that allows you to earn an income without all of the hassle? The trick is to use the right tools. [Read more…] about How To Make an Income by Earning Cash Back

4 Tips To Generate Income During An Economic Downturn

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When your local economy is going through a recession, you may find it difficult to imagine how it’s possible to earn money during such a difficult period. But the truth is, it’s highly doable. An economic downturn may affect the job market, but you can also find new opportunities to address unprecedented needs. [Read more…] about 4 Tips To Generate Income During An Economic Downturn