The Power of Company Matching: What keeps me at ease when the market has major dips.

When the market dipped towards the end of last month, it was the first real experience I had in seeing the value of my 401k take a significant hit. I was in a bit of a panic. I was quickly asking questions such as: Am I investing the right way? Do I need to re-balance my portfolio? Do I need to pull out the money now to avoid additional losses?

I ultimately decided to not do anything to my portfolio, reasoning with research that it was better to not budge on my long-term plan due to short-term variances in the market. While this is true, the human mind has too great of an imagination to leave lingering doubts planted in my head.

To rid myself of those doubts, I started crunching numbers and playing out different scenarios. While doing this, I had a bit of an aha moment. I would like to share this with you in hopes that it will also help ease your mind when the market isn’t necessarily working in your favor.

Making Friends in a New City

Moving to a new city is as scary as it is exhilarating. Not only do you have new restaurants, venues, bars, and places to explore but you are also provided with a clean state to start your professional career. I’ve seen in many situations that it is easy to find many things to try in our new city, but it can be much more challenging to find people to experience those things with. Today, we are going to talk through some ways to help build a new posse.

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1. Reach out to friends on social media.

Have a friend that previously lived in the city you are moving to? Are you Facebook friends with that guy you had that one class with your sophomore year? Don’t be afraid to reach out to people that you are connected with on social media. This is a prime opportunity to connect with mutual friends or loose connections that you already know. At the very worst, you can get some information and different places to try out.

2. Make an effort to get to know the people you work with.

The work-life balance can be tricky to manage. I’m not suggesting that you need to invite all of your Senior VPs out to a happy hour, but if there are other new hires starting when you do, they will be more likely to branch out as they will be in a similar boat as you. You can also join company kickball, softball, or fantasy football leagues or even start them if you are up for it.

3. Meetup.com.

Meetup.com is a website that allows you to join different interest groups that are based out of your city. Members can post events or “meet ups”. You can sign up for as many groups as you want and are notified when new events have been created for the group. Groups range from young professionals to outdoors advocates to volunteer enthusiasts.

4. Recreational sports teams.

Another way to meet people is by signing up for recreational leagues like kickball or volleyball. Many leagues will allow you to join as a “free agent” and place you on a team if you do not know enough people to create your own team. Most leagues also have different skill levels so even people who are not the most athletic can have fun!

5. Volunteer opportunities.

Similar to Meetup.com, you can find local volunteer opportunities at VolunteerMatch.com. This website allows you search for opportunities based on your interests. Volunteering is a great way to meet people because you are finding people who are passionate about the same causes as you.

6. Alumni chapters from your college or university.

Alumni chapters are a great way to connect with people. Larger schools will have watch parties for sporting events, but even if you went to a smaller university, networking opportunities and social events are definitely available to you.

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Don’t be discouraged if it takes a little time to find your new group. Unlike college, meeting people in the professional setting can take a little longer to develop as you are no longer bounded by the same living area as others.Stick with it though! I’m sure you’ll find yourself among great people in no time. As always, if you have any other questions, comments, or feedback, leave a line! Go make mom proud!

Taco Stuffed Shells

Happy Foolproof Friday everybody! This week, we will tackle one of my favorite recipes: Taco Stuffed Shells. This recipe combines all of the wonderfulness of a taco and places it inside of a large shell noodle. While this recipe has a lot of steps, it is really simple. Usually when I make this dish, I make a bunch so that I can eat the leftovers all weekend!

I found this recipe on BlogChef.net. They have a lot of good stuff on here, so if you like this recipe, I would definitely check them out for more ideas! I would also like to note that not all ingredients are created equal. Personally, I do not include green onions when I make this recipe, so if there is something that you don’t like, you don’t always have to include it. If it is an essential ingredient, you might have to think a little bit about what might be a suitable alternative.

Browning Ground Beef

Happy Foolproof Friday everyone! This week we are going discuss a simple process in cooking rather than providing a recipe. We will use this technique in next week’s recipe, so I wanted to make sure that you had the opportunity to see how this was done prior to the recipe being published. Browning ground beef is something you will do for a lot of dishes.

You might be asking, why bother to do it at all? So, why brown meat at all? Can we just skip that part altogether? Browning meat adds texture, color, and more flavor to it. A tastier end result always seems worth it to me.

Cajun Chicken

Happy Foolproof Friday! This week we are going to walk through a Cajun Chicken recipe that I learned from my roommate (What up, Anth?!). It’s another 2-ingredient masterpiece. The recipe was passed on by a caddy he encountered at a golf course in Louisiana. It doesn’t get any better than that, folks.

Let the records show that the picture above is the end result of me making the this dish for dinner this evening. Even though today’s recipe has you baking the chicken, I would highly recommend using this recipe on the grill. Unfortunately, it was raining when I was ready to eat. This recipe is proportioned for three chicken breasts.

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Ingredients
1.25 lbs boneless chicken breast
1/4-1/2 cup yellow mustard
Tony Chachere’s Original Creeole Seasoning

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat chicken with yellow mustard
3. Sprinkle the chicken with Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning to taste
4. Bake uncovered on a baking sheet for 30 minutes

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Check back with us next Friday for the next #FoolproofFriday recipe! We’ll be taking a break from chicken next week to add a little diversity to your plate. If you have any suggestions on what recipe we should share next, let us know in the comments below! And always, if you have any other questions, comments, or feedback, leave a line! Go make mom proud!

Cheesy Ranch Chicken

Welcome to the first #FoolproofFriday here at The Other 128! Each Friday, we will provide a recipe that anybody regardless of skill level will be able to add to their collection.

Today we will be tackling Cheesy Ranch Chicken. I found this recipe through Table for Seven, and it is another two ingredient masterpiece that combines my two favorite things: cheese and ranch dressing. It really is as simple as it sounds. The recipe below is good for three chicken breasts.

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Ingredients
1.25 lbs boneless chicken breast
1/4-1/2 cup ranch dressing (bottle or homemade)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat chicken with ranch dressing.
3. Mix cheeses together.
4. Top chicken with mixed cheeses.
5. Bake uncovered on greased baking sheet for 30 minutes

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Check back with us next Friday for the next #FoolproofFriday recipe! If you have any suggestions on what recipe we should share next, let us know in the comments below! And always, if you have any other questions, comments, or feedback, leave a line! Go make mom proud!

What is a 401(k)?

A piece of advice that I repeatedly heard once I accepted my job offer was to make a conscious effort towards putting money aside for my retirement. I was told, “you’ll thank yourself later,” or “I wish I would have started sooner” by parents, relatives, and other adult figures in my life. But why? I just went through the grind of college, where I was living off of hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, and free pizza. I wanted to show out and let the world know that I had made it. Last I checked, nobody was writing songs about how they are doing a great job of investing in their 401(k), but from the sound of it, everybody that is rich is popping bottles at the club. Once I finally sat down and did some research, I, too, saw the value of getting a good start on retirement savings. I hope this post can open your eyes a bit as well.

We previously began the discussion surrounding 401(k)s in Part 1 and Part 2 of the Retirement Wrapper. Understanding the Retirement Wrapper is not a prerequisite for this post, but I highly recommend taking a look at it before you decide how much money you should be allocating towards your 401(k). This post will go over the basics and will cover more in depth topics that were not discussed previously. We are going to start with the why and work our way backwards to the what and the how.

We Dem Bills

Today, I would like to revisit a discussion that we had previously started about budgeting. If you missed out, you can find it here. While building a budget is a fundamental part of living a financially stable lifestyle, budgeting is pointless if you don’t put it to use. With that in mind, I would like to provide some tips today on paying your bills. Between the budget you have created and the tips below, you should be in great shape for reaching your financial goals.

Italian Dressing Caramelized Chicken

Today’s post will be the first of many that dive into the world of cooking. If you are anything like me, your cooking abilities leaving college were highly dependent on the amount of instructions provided on the back of a box. Now that you have a little bit more time on your hands, you might be trying to become more sophisticated in the kitchen. The recipes that I plan to share will by no means be complicated, so even if you are a cooking newbie, you will still be able to put together a pretty tasty meal.

So onto today’s dish: Italian Dressing Caramelized Chicken. This recipe is about as simple as it gets. Outside of the chicken itself, you only need two ingredients, and there really isn’t any expert cooking techniques that you need to know in order to have it turn out well. I also like that this recipe can easily be made for one or for many and is really cheap! Shout out to Haiyen’s Kitchen for the recipe!

Ingredients needed:

• Chicken breasts (The recipe should have enough mix for 5-6 breasts.)
• 1 packet (.7 ounce) of dried Italian dressing mix
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar

Skills Needed:

• Following instructions
• Ability to turn on your oven

Tax on Tax on Tax

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Well… maybe for accountants. With 2015 in full swing, tax season is now upon us. For some of you, this is the first time that you are filing a tax return. The task may seem a little scary, but I think that it is mostly a fear of the unknown. My goal for today’s post is to explain how income taxes work, discuss what documents you need before you can file your taxes, and discuss how to go about filing them before the April 15th deadline.