Kristina Tahnyak, Author at Dinks Finance

About Kristina Tahnyak

Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.

Older posts

Newer posts

The LAST Love Drop: A Mother and Son Need Our Help!

Posted on December 14, 2011 - 6:35 am by Kristina Tahnyak

It’s time for the holidays and that also means that it’s time to help out those in need who may be less fortunate than us. Love Drop has successfully helped 10 families and given away over $80,000 to some very deserving people. Last month Love Drop helped Jeff, Becca, and their Triplets by giving them a van full of baby stuff including toys, clothes, diapers, baby wipes, baby formula, and a crib.

This month Love Drop is helping Diomi and her son Nalee. They have been through a rollercoaster of emotions including hard financial times, the loss of their Father and Grandfather, as well as Diomi losing her job. Unfortunately they can no longer afford the basic daily necessities that we may all take for granted such as clothes to keep warm during the winter, and food to fill their bellies so that Nalee doesn’t have to go to school hungry.

Love Drop is asking for everyone to help this family not only so they have a great Christmas this year, but also to help this family improve their lives in the future. Nalee wears the same clothes to school every day; they are forced to wash their clothes by hand because they can’t afford a washer and dryer or a trip to the laundry mat.

Diomi is currently looking for a job, so if you live in the Milwaukee area please try and help her out with a job offer. Diomi wants to find a job but she doesn’t even have professional clothes to wear to her job interviews. Come on DINKS I know that we can help out this family. It’s time for the holidays and we have to get into the spirit of giving!

Here are some ways you can help Diomi and Nalee:

Donate Personal Products. Unfortunately this family doesn’t have a lot so thankfully anything that you can donate will be cherished and greatly appreciated. Please find it in your hearts to donate any type of personal products for the bathroom, kitchen, or bedroom.

Give a Dollar. Love Drop is working with Diomi and Nalee’s Church Pastor to raise money for their basic necessities such as clothes, food, and shelter. You can make a onetime lump sum contribution to Love Drop or you can sign up to give a regular contribution on a monthly basis.

Share Love Drop with Others. Please Tweet about Love Drop and Like them on Facebook to spread the word. The more people who know about Love Drop the more families they can help.

The Love Drop Team is taking a well deserved vacation over the next few months. They will be back in February so stay tuned for a New Love Drop in the New Year. Check out all their total Drops in the meantime!

DINKS may not be DINKS Forever!

Posted on December 12, 2011 - 5:41 am by Kristina Tahnyak 6

DINKs, advice before having a family, couples advice

Good Morning DINKS. As you may know I am 31 years old and I live with my boyfriend Nick. We have been together for a long time and when we were younger Nick did want to get married and have kids. Now that we are older my boyfriend swears that he never wants to get married and/or have kids. I am not sure if he doesn’t want to get married to and have kids with me, or if he doesn’t want to get married and have kids in general.

I can almost pin point the exact moment in our relationship when my boyfriend Nick decided that he did not want to have kids (with me). A few years ago we were sitting on the couch one night watching Television and I mentioned that if we are going to have kids we should start the process soon because we want the kid to be out of our home by the time we retire. This way we can go back to enjoying the rest of our life together.

My boyfriend’s response was “You aren’t even pregnant yet and you are already planning to kick the kid out of the house.” Ever since that day my boyfriend decided that he doesn’t want to have kids (with me).

I personally didn’t (and still don’t) see the problem with my comment. First of all I like to plan ahead, that’s just who I am. Secondly both my boyfriend and I moved away from home at 18 years old and there is nothing wrong with that, in my opinion. We have been on our own for a long time and (once again in my opinion) we both turned out just fine. I understand that kids need guidance from their parents, but that doesn’t mean that they have to be living under the same roof and be kept on a tight leash. Life is all about trying new things and learning from our mistakes, right?

All this to say that my boyfriend Nick and I are not planning to have kids anytime soon but who knows what the future holds. Maybe one day we will wake up, develop the parental gene, and want to have children together. Being a DINK is definitely a lifestyle that we are both accustom to; however, we are getting older and our kid clock is quickly running out.

Are you and your DINK spouse planning to have kids anytime soon?

Just in case some of you DINKS are thinking about having kids, here are some things that you should do with your spouse before you decide to have kids:

– Travel. It is definitely more expensive to travel as a family of four rather than as a couple. When you have kids your family vacation destinations will be Disneyland and not Romantic Retreats. So take advantage of having less baggage and travel while you are a DINK.

– Enjoy Your Time With Each Other. Families can be chaotic. If you are thinking of having kids enjoy and cherish the time alone with your spouse because once you have kids your free time becomes all about them.

– Sleep. From what I understand parents are sleep deprived. This alone is enough of a reason for me to keep taking my monthly DINK pills. I love sleeping.

– Focus on Your Career. It is best to work hard before having children in order to make sure that your dream job will still be there when you get back from having a baby.

– Have Some Money in the Bank. If you can’t afford to live as a DINK then you should not think about having kids. Enough Said!

Photo by EPsos

Friday Roundup: Twitter, Tweets, and Followers

Posted on December 9, 2011 - 7:04 am by Kristina Tahnyak 1

Good Morning DINKS and Happy Friday. Today we are sharing some of our Favourite Posts with you from our Twitter Followers. Just in case you don’t yet follow DINKS Finance on Twitter Click Here to Follow us @dinks_finance.

Our weekly roundup posts this week include the volatility and gains currently trending in the market, how to save money during the holidays, as well as the importance (or unimportance) of a Prenuptial Agreement.

Check Out our Favourite Personal Finance Posts from our Twitter Followers:

Financial Samurai asks about the recent value of our investment accounts as well as current market trends in the post “Are the Bull Markets Back?” Follow Financial Samurai on Twitter @financialsamura

The Centsible Life helps us “Save Money While Holiday Cooking” with tips on how to cook for crowds on a budget. Don’t be overcharged at the grocery store with these tips from The Centsible Life. Follow her on Twitter @centsiblelife

Divorced Dad Frugal Dad wonders if we overpay for things because we are lazy as he asks readers “Are You Frugal or Convenience Loving?” I know that I used to be guilty of this, but now I don’t mind a little inconvenience in order to save a little money. Follow him on Twitter @DvrcdDadFrglDad

Beating Broke brags about her savvy shopping in the post “We Conquered Black Friday” It’s ok to shop as long as we are buying things we need and we are getting a good deal. Follow Beating Broke on Twitter @beatingbroke

Well Heeled Blog is getting ready to get married and wants to know if she should protect herself. Well Heeled Blog asks “Do We Need a Prenup? 7 Questions You Should Ask Yourself” Follow her on Twitter @WellHeeledBlog

Out of Debt Again ponders one of life’s ultimate money questions in the post “Side Gig or Take Out a Title Loan on Your Car?” Since I have lived in debt before I would now prefer to work 5 jobs rather than getting into debt. Follow Out of Debt Again on Twitter @outofdebtagain

Budgets Are Sexy has a new financial plan and he shares it in the post “Gigs for Goals – My New Favourite Mindset!” This is currently how I live. I have separate bank accounts for separate expenses. I even have a different Financial Institution for some of my financial goals; it’s just easier for budgeting and bookkeeping. Follow Budgets Are Sexy on Twitter @BudgetsAreSexy

Photo by Kodomut

DINKS Days of Book Giveaways: Day 4 – The Automatic Millionaire

Posted on December 8, 2011 - 6:21 am by Kristina Tahnyak 11

Good Morning Everyone. Welcome to Day 4 of the DINKS Days of Book Giveaways Contest. Today we are giving away the 4^th and final book in our weekly contest. Today we are finishing off the week in the same way that we started….with a Book Giveaway from David Bach and DINKS Finance. Today you can enter to win a copy of The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach.

The Automatic Millionaire is a helpful and important book for people in every type of financial situation because people often confuse Credit with Wealth. I am not sure why people associate the two, because in fact Credit and Wealth are exact opposites. If we have accumulated Wealth but we also have Credit that exceeds the amount of our accumulated Wealth then our Net Worth is negative. However, if we have very little savings but no debt then our net worth can actually be positive.

This week we had a client who came into our bank branch to apply for a car loan because he wasn’t approved at the car dealership for financing (but that is a whole other story). I asked him about his assets and debts and he said “What do you want? You want to know that I have money?” He then proceeded to open his wallet and pull out multiple credit cards (I guess we know why he wasn’t approved for financing with the car dealership) and place them on my desk while he said “Here, here is my money $5,000 $10,000 $15,000.”

People often think that having credit cards means that you have money, when in fact it only means that you have access to money. Money borrowed on credit cards has to be repaid to the Bank or the Finance Company and therefore it is not our money.

We can be approved for a credit card based on our capacity to repay the debt aka our monthly income, as well as our credit score aka our history of making payments. Having a net worth (usually) doesn’t have anything to do with being approved for credit. In our bank branch we have actually declined clients with a high net worth and a low monthly income who applied for a credit card. The logic actually makes no sense because the clients could always sell their assets to repay the debt or we could take a personal guarantee, but either way the high net worth client’s application was declined.

The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach is a “Powerful One Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich” and DINKS Finance wants to give away a copy to one of our lucky readers…right now!

You can enter two ways to win a copy of David Bach’s The Automatic Millionaire:

Leave a comment on this post and tell DINKS about your ultimate financial goal. Is it to retire at 45 or is it to retire in the South of France?
Send a Tweet to your Followers and tell them that you just entered the DINKS Days of Book Giveaways Contest. Use #TeamDINKS in your Tweet.

Don’t forget to check out our other posts this week to win a copy of The Fund by HT Narea, Get Growing: Keys to Unlocking the Potential of Your Small Business, and Debt Free for Life by David Bach.

All winners will be announced next Friday. Winners must reside in the US or Canada, and will have 30 days to contact DINKS Finance and claim their prize. Otherwise we will Giveaway your prize to another lucky reader.

Good Luck Everyone!

DINKS Days of Book Giveaways: Day 3 – “Get Growing”

Posted on December 7, 2011 - 6:45 am by Kristina Tahnyak 2

Within the last 3 days I have had some really great and some really bad customer service experiences and I really feel the need to rant and rave about them. Customer service determines the bottom line for most businesses, and in one way or another we all work in customer service.

Even though I work in the financial services industry, at the end of the day if my customer service sucks clients will not choose to invest with me. If clients choose not to invest with me, then I will not make any sales, my bank won’t make any money, and I will not earn my annual sales bonus. Think about your job performance, how good is your customer service?

The key to success for any business is to have good customer service. Whether you work at a Bank or you work at Wal-Mart we all work in customer service. I know that everyone is entitled to have a bad day, but if you don’t want to deal with people then don’t work in customer service. If you hate your boss and you take it out on your customers then don’t work for a boss, become self employed. Keep reading because DINKS Finance is giving away a copy of the book “Get Growing: Keys to Unlocking the Potential of Your Small Business.”

Let’s start with my great customer service experience from GoDaddy.com. I am not new to personal finance or to creative writing, but I am relevantly new to the online world of blogging. I have been professionally blogging for various websites since 2009 and I recently started two of my own personal blogs. I am in the process of re-designing both of the blogs and I recently purchased a new hosting plan and domain transfers with GoDaddy.com

As an impatient 31 year old and a control freak who doesn’t often like to step out of her comfort zone the whole blog domain and hosting transfer was overwhelming to me. All 4 of the GoDaddy.com representatives that I have dealt with over the last few weeks have been both patient with my questions as well as very clear with their explanations. Thank you GoDaddy.com

Every morning I go for “coffee” aka breakfast with one of my former colleagues since we still work in the same downtown area. My colleague ordered the usual chocolate dipped donut which is a plain donut with chocolate icing on the top. The customer service representative put the donut in a paper bag without one of those little wax paper pieces, he also didn’t fan the bag open first; he just shoved in the donut. When my colleague pulled the donut out of the bag the donut came out but the chocolate icing stayed stuck to the inside of the bag. My colleague asked for the donut to be replaced and the customer service representative replied “It will just happen again”. This customer service rep was willing to lose two customers over a $0.85 donut; this is really bad customer service.

My second bad customer service experience happened at Best Buy. We asked a customer service representative for some help regarding a TV stand for our new 3D TV which we bought last week. The customer service rep was less than happy to help us and when my boyfriend Nick asked if he had a problem the customer service representative said “We are not paid on commission, so if I help you or don’t help you it doesn’t make a difference to me”. This is really bad customer service.

OK now for today’s Book Giveaway.

You can win a copy of “Get Growing: Keys to Unlocking the Potential of Your Small Business” in one of two ways.

Leave a comment telling us your best/worst customer service story.
Send a tweet to your followers suggesting for them to follow @dinks_finance and use the hash tag #TeamDINKS to earn a second entry.

——————
Winner must reside in the U.S. or Canada

(Photo by Anna)

DINKS Days of Book Giveaways: Day 2 – “The Fund”

Posted on December 6, 2011 - 6:26 am by Kristina Tahnyak 3

I started reading The Fund by HT Narea less than two weeks ago and I am proud to say that two days ago I finished the book. I carried The 464 page book to work and back home every single day because I couldn’t put this book down for a single second. I read The Fund during every free minute that I had of every single day over the last couple of weeks.

The Story of The Fund by HT Narea

The Fund is about modern day financial terrorism and how it affects the American financial system as well as the various financial markets around the world. Money is the Weapon in this book and in my opinion money is possibly the most powerful force in the world. With money comes the power to buy what you want as well as the ability to influence the people who make important decisions. Money is a common denominator between people of all races, religions, and beliefs.

The Fund by HT Narea follows a young financier named Nebibi from Italy to New York in his journey to avenge his brother’s death and fulfill his brother’s legacy. However, Nebibi’s once clear path becomes clouded when his personal feelings for a certain US Defence Agent have him questioning his mission and his beliefs. Nebibi seeks dominance for the Islamic faith, but he is no longer positive that his beliefs are worth the cost of losing his long lost love (and US Defence Agent) Kate.

Nebibi accumulates wealth and launches a new Islamic Fund that follows Islamic laws and beliefs. During his mission for Islamic domination Nebibi has created a tangled web which involves several politically powerful countries around the world, a few terrorist groups (who have their own hidden agendas), as well as a biohazard chemical that makes cowardly soldiers fearless warriors.

Kate, the young US Defence Agent, has her heart broken by Nebibi in college and the wounds are reopened when they meet unexpectedly after many years. Kate has herself asking if it is a coincidence that her former lover seems to be everywhere she goes, or is it fate telling her to give Nebibi another chance at love?

A little bit about Author HT Narea

HT Narea is a former financial guru from JP Morgan Chase in New York who decided to leave the world of finance after 20 years to pursue his passion for writing. He currently teaches International Finance at Georgetown University.

The Fund is HT Narea’s debut novel and (pardon the pun) he blew it out of the water. He has received praise from other Authors as well as University Professors; and now he is receiving praise from an experienced Financial Professional as well as a Personal Finance Blogger.

Review of The Fund by HT Narea

Although the primary story of this book is financially based on the creation of The Fund and its influence over the worlds markets with Nebibi’s personal agenda, it also has very passionate secondary story lines about lost loves, lifelong friendships, and family bonds.

The Fund is scarily realistic. It is an intriguing fiction story which could very easily someday become our frightening nonfiction reality. While I was reading this story I couldn’t put the book down, I absolutely had to know what was going to happen next. As a young Financial Professional I felt as if I was in The Fund, I felt that I was living this story first hand. For the last 2 days since I finished reading this book I have been double checking all of my clients financial transactions with extreme due diligence. I have also been questioning the actions of all my clients who have asked to buy or sell specific investments.

This story shows how a little knowledge can become a huge asset with determination and passion. The Fund by HT Narea is a lot of things, but if nothing else it is passionate. The passion between characters, the passion for personal agendas, and the passion (or should I say greed) for money in this story is overwhelming.

HT Narea explains his stories so well that even if you aren’t a financial geek, a historian, or a believer of the Islamic faith you can easily understand and follow what is happening throughout this book.

If you have not yet read The Fund by HT Narea I suggest that you go out and buy a copy as soon as possible, or maybe you should put it on your Christmas Wish List.

To Win a FREE Copy of The Fund:

DINKS please trust me when I say that I would love to keep this book in my own personal collection but The Fund is such as good book that I definitely want to share it with you.

There are 2 ways that you can Enter the DINKS Book Giveaway Contest to win your own copy of The Fund by HT Narea. You can each receive up to 2 entries and here’s how to enter:

Leave a comment on DINKS Finance and tell us why you love The United States of America.
Send a Tweet recommending your followers to read The Fund by HT Narea (@AuthorNarea) and Follow DINKS Finance (@dinks_finance) with #TeamDINKS in the Tweet.

The winner will be announced next Friday so be sure to comment and Tweet about DINKS Finance and The Fund by HT Narea.

——————
Winner must reside in the U.S. or Canada

DINKS Days of Book Giveaways: Day 1 – “Debt Free for Life”

Posted on December 5, 2011 - 6:07 am by Kristina Tahnyak 11

Good Morning DINKS. Today is an exciting day because today is the First Day in our DINKS Days of Book Giveaways Contest!

In the true holiday spirit all week long DINKS is giving away one book each day from Monday to Thursday. We have some great books lined up from David Bach as well as a Financial Thriller by author HT Narea as well as a step by step guide on how to Grow your Business by two financial professionals. So keep reading DINKS Finance all week and Follow us on Twitter @dinks_finance for your chance to win copies of these great books.

Today we are once again giving away a copy of Debt Free for Life by David Bach. This is a great book that helps us (as consumers) become debt free by following a personalized step by step debt plan. I like this book because it helps consumers understand why they got into debt and how important it is to get out of debt. The mentality of becoming debt free is uplifting because the mental burden of having debt can be overwhelming.

David Bach’s Debt Free for Life helps us prioritize our debts to concentrate on paying off the most inefficient and costly debts first. David Bach has partnered with DebtWise.com to help us track our path to financial freedom as we pay off our debts. Chapters in Debt Free for Life by David Bach include “The Debt Free for Life Mindset” and “If You’re In a Hole, Stop Digging”.

My personal experience with debt is that it’s very easy to quickly accumulate, but it is very difficult to pay off slowly. David Bach tries to help consumers see the light at the end of the debt tunnel. When we are trying to pay off our debts there are several things that we can do to accelerate the process such as try to negotiate our credit card interest rate as well as set up regular automatic payments. Our monthly interest charges are calculated on our average daily balance, if we make weekly or biweekly payments instead of one monthly payment our average daily balance will be lower, and therefore we will be charged less interest at the end of every month. Debt Free for Life by David Bach will help you say Good Bye to Debt and Hello to Financial Freedom!

Now that you know the importance of paying down your debt as well as the financial, emotional, and mental burdens of being overwhelmed with debt, it’s time for our First Book Giveaway in the DINKS Days of Book Giveaways Contest.

You can enter two ways to win a copy of Debt Free for Life by David Bach:

Leave a comment on this blog and tell us what Financial Freedom means to you. Is it being able to take a vacation every month if you wanted to, or it is watching your bank accounts grow with savings? Tell us the definition of your own Personal Financial Freedom.
Send a Tweet that tells your readers to follow @Dinks_Finance and @AuthorDavidBach on Twitter. Use #TeamDINKS in your Tweet to register your entry.

We are giving away books all week and the winners of all 4 books will be announced next Friday, so be sure to enter as soon as possible. Winners will have 30 days to contact DINKS Finance and claim their prize. Otherwise DINKS will give away your prize to another lucky reader.

——————
Winner must reside in the U.S. or Canada

Photo by Barnes&Noble

Friday Roundup: It’s Time for the Ladies!

Posted on December 2, 2011 - 7:16 am by Kristina Tahnyak 3

Happy Friday DINKS. I hope that you have all recovered nicely from all of the Thanksgiving Festivities. Last Friday we featured posts from our favourite male Personal Finance bloggers in our “It’s Raining Men” weekly Roundup. This week it’s Ladies Night as we feature posts from some of our favourite female bloggers.

Check out all of these great posts from our favourite ladies and Have a Great Weekend.

– Lindy @ Minting Nickels talks about her previous no spending periods as well as ways that she saves money in the post “My Six Month Spending Fast”. A Spending Fast helps people save money and spend less.

– Mrs. Micah @ Finance for a Freelance Life helps us be prepared in case we lose our jobs in the post “What to Do When Laid Off – 5 Ways to Prepare for Job Loss.” I don’t know if we can ever be prepared for a job loss, but this is a great step by step guide on how to get back in the game.

– Lisa @ Cents to Save is getting through the holidays and getting ready to start her new goals in the New Year. Do you share the same goals as Lisa? Check out her post “Putting Together My 2012 Goal List (part 1)”.

– Donna Freedman @ Surviving and Thriving is promoting a giveaway from Retail Me Not. Check out her post “Giveaway: 6 gifts from Retail Me Not”. If you don’t get there in time for the contest you can always use the affiliate link on Donna’s site to take advantage of the savings all year long.

– Cait @ Blonde on a Budget is getting into the spirit for the upcoming holiday season. Check out her post “Holiday Spirit on a Budget: See the Lights”. She helps us get in the spirit without breaking our budget.

– Red @ Girl With The Red Balloon talks about being happy on the outside as well as the inside in the post “Finding my happy weight.” Red has really inspired me to get happy and lose weight. So far I have lost 4 lbs in 3 weeks and I hope to be 20 lbs lighter by May 2012 for my trip to Italy.

– Ali @ Crazy Sexy Credit is giving readers a challenge to clean up their credit messiness. Follow Ali through this 30 day challenge as she helps us feel good about ourselves and our finances. Check out her post “Day 3: 30 Day CrazySexyCredit Challenge.”

– Amber @ Blonde and Balanced shares her favourite online stores with us in the post “Where I’m Doing My Black Friday Shopping.” Although many stores have great deals on Black Friday, they also have sales and deals all year long.

– Carrie @ Careful Cents helps us save money and make our debts efficient in the post “How to Get the Best Credit Card and Loan Offers”.

– Krystal @ Give Me Back My Five Bucks asks if we prefer to make our own investment decisions or if we seek professional advice in the post “Financial Advisors: do you have one?” I love this post because as a Professional Financial Advisor I like to know what people think of my profession.

– Sandy @ Yes I am Cheap helps us find the best mortgage in the post “Finance 101: Different Types of Mortgages.”

– Money Crush helps us simplify things in the post “Don’t Make Things Harder Than They Need To Be.”

Photo by Jnissa

I Don’t Count Because I am a DINK?!

Posted on November 30, 2011 - 6:31 am by Kristina Tahnyak 15

office gossip, dinks, issues in the office

Last week at my office I heard a comment from two employees that really bothered me. I am not sure if I should be offended by it, but I am offended and I would really love to know what you think about my co-workers hurtful comments. We are getting ready for the holidays at my office and we are planning a couple of holiday cocktail parties for some of our VIP clients as well as for some prospective clients. Our Branch Manager hopes that this will boost new business in the new year and she is asking (demanding) for everyone’s cooperation.

Both of our holiday parties will take place from 5 pm to 8 pm and all staff members are obliged to attend. Everyone’s cooperation to help plan the events is encouraged (or expected), but not obliged. Candice and Samantha are two other women in DINKS couples who work in my office. I get along with them both very well because we are all approximately the same age, and we can definitely relate to each other’s DINK lifestyle. We enjoy the same activities, we have similar spending habits, and we have very similar home lives since we are all the female parties in Dual Income No Kids couples. Candice is always an active member in the planning of after work activities; she loves to organize events and she really loves to socialize.

Last week I overheard two employees (who are both parents) talking about Candice in our staff kitchen after our Branch Manager announced the expected participation. One of the parent employees said “Well of course Candice is going to plan the event because she doesn’t have anything else in her life.” As the two parent employees saw me enter the kitchen they immediately stopped talking because they both know that I am also in a childless couple and because I am friends with Candice.

Their comments bothered me for a few reasons, first of all we are supposed to be professional adults and talking behind someone else’s back about extracurricular activities seems a little bit Sweet Valley High to me. Secondly, just because we are in DINKS couples who don’t have children doesn’t mean that we don’t have a family; I absolutely consider my boyfriend Nick as my family. Candice is married to her husband and I am not married to my boyfriend, at least she has a spouse. Finally, just because we are DINKS and we don’t have children doesn’t mean that we have an empty life outside of the office.

Having a family is not in everyone’s plans, and not having children does not mean that we don’t have a family. Not everyone is supposed to grow up, get married, and have a big house in the suburbs with 2.3 kids and a dog. I am happy with my current childless life choices, this doesn’t mean that I may not want to have children later, but it also doesn’t mean that I don’t count just because I am a DINK.

Photo by Anna Carol

Are Big CEO Bonuses Well Deserved?

Posted on November 29, 2011 - 7:13 am by Kristina Tahnyak 5

CEO bonuses, big boss salary increase, CEO

Hello Everyone. The Occupy Wall Street Movement is still going strong, but unfortunately it is not really accomplishing anything. Would you like to know exactly what the Occupy Wall Street protestors are upset about? Amongst other things, they are outraged by the multi million dollar bonuses that CEOs are receiving.

The perception of the US versus Canada as a population and as a country is that the US is definitely more flashy. This is a personal opinion and my own perception as a Canadian; so before you blow up this post with comments including statistics and facts please remember that this is just a personal opinion.

Americans are perceived to be more indulgent and to consume more in mass than their Northern neighbours. Over indulgence and over consumption are not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing, it’s just a perception. Money may be one of the aspects where Americans over consume and indulge in more than Canadians.

MSN recently published an article about the monetary difference between the CEOs of major US Corporations and the CEOs of major Canadian Corporations. Let’s see how we compare.

CEO Bonuses of Energy Corporations

Richard George is the CEO of Suncor which is a Canadian Energy Corporation. He received $4.8 million in the form of an annual bonus in addition to his $1.1 million annual salary. John Watson is the CEO of the US Energy Corporation Chevron. In addition to his base salary of $1.47 million he recently received an annual bonus of over $12 million. Rex Tillerson is the CEO of Exxon Mobil. He received a mega $18.9 million in an annual bonus last year on top of his $10.1 million annual salary.

CEO Bonuses in Precious Metals

Aaron Regent is the CEO of the Canadian based Barrick Gold which is the world’s largest gold producer. Aaron Regent is the highest paid Canadian CEO with an annual bonus of $19.3 million and an annual salary of $1.3 million.

Technology CEO Bonuses

The difference between the annual salaries of 3 Technology Giant CEOs in the US is astonishing. It really makes us see who is acting in the best interest of their shareholders and who is pushing their own personal profit agenda. Sam Palmisano is the CEO of IBM and last year he received $25.2 million total compensation from IBM which includes an annual bonus of $22.3 million.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer only received an annual bonus of $670,000 last year and it was his own decision. Steve Ballmer also decided not to receive company stock as a form of his annual compensation. He now receives $670,000 in the form of an annual salary and an additional cash payout of $670,000 in the form of an annual bonus.

Former Apple CEO received only his customary $1 annual bonus from Apple Corporation during his final year as CEO. During the medical illness absence of Steve Jobs the corporations Chief Operating Officer stepped in to fulfill the role and he handsomely rewarded himself. Last year Tim Cook received a total compensation from Apple Corporation of $59.1 million for his role as both CEO and Chief Operating Officer.

This is just some financial information to think about. If you were the CEO of a profitable corporation would you pay yourself an extravagant annual bonus or would you pay your profits out to shareholders?

Photo by Tripp

Older posts

Newer posts

Author Archives: Kristina Tahnyak

About Kristina Tahnyak

The LAST Love Drop: A Mother and Son Need Our Help!

DINKS may not be DINKS Forever!

Are you and your DINK spouse planning to have kids anytime soon?

Friday Roundup: Twitter, Tweets, and Followers

DINKS Days of Book Giveaways: Day 4 – The Automatic Millionaire

DINKS Days of Book Giveaways: Day 3 – “Get Growing”

OK now for today’s Book Giveaway.