u/Thomato_Yorke

Hey all - my annual review is coming up and I'm in a bit of a weird position, and I thought managers would have great insight on how to approach.

Here is the general layout -

I have a lot of freedom at current role--fully remote, not micromanaged, mostly left alone so long as my work is done, good time off and benefits, and manager/coworkers are cool, workload is manageable. 

On the other hand, I believe I am underpaid by a good 15% or so compared to the market. And I think if I looked, I could eventually find something that would be higher. But I am reluctant to lose the freedom and end up maybe in-office or hybrid, or micromanaged, etc. 

Also, full disclosure, I've been at this company for a long time and have a weird history. I was part of a huge layoff a few years back (30% of staff) but I was the only person they offered a part time 1099 contract to stay half on board. Eventually that converted back to full time in a different, lower paid, role, where I am now. But we are busy and there's a solid amount of work on my plate and I have generally good feedback. But given the prior layoff, I don't feel like I'm top tier value to the company. They've obviously already slashed me once. 

So my question is, would asking for 15% raise be too high, or some kind of red flag? Do I put myself at risk of coming in too high and being flagged for eventual cutting? My assumption is if I ask for 15% I might not get it, but might get 10%. Also, if I ask and they flat out say no and offer a much lower raise, then I kinda just feel unvalued and disrespected. 

Part of the problem is I'm ambivalent about whether to stay in the cushy setup, or risk higher stress elsewhere for better pay, presuming I can even land something in this terrible market. 

Not sure how best to handle this and would appreciate advice. I've been at one company so long that my interview/negotiation/etc skills have lost their edge.  

FWIW - current pay is $100k - so the ask I'm considering would be up to $115k, hoping to at least land at $110k. And I'm in NYC, so COL is very high.

Hey all - my annual review is coming up and I'm in a bit of a weird position.

I feel I am underpaid, however I have a lot of flexibility and so am not super motivated to look for other opportunities.

Here is the general layout -

I have a lot of freedom--fully remote, not micromanaged, mostly left alone so long as my work is done, good time off and benefits, and manager/coworkers are cool, workload is manageable. 

On the other hand, I believe I am underpaid by a good 15% or so compared to the market. And I think if I looked, I could eventually find something that would be higher. But I am reluctant to lose the freedom and end up maybe in-office or hybrid, or micromanaged, etc. 

Also, full disclosure, I've been at this company for a long time and have a weird history. I was part of a huge layoff a few years back (30% of staff) but I was the only person they offered a part time 1099 contract to stay half on board. Eventually that converted back to full time in a different, lower paid, role, where I am now. But we are busy and there's a solid amount of work on my plate and I have generally good feedback. But given the prior layoff, I don't feel like I'm top tier value to the company. They've obviously already slashed me once. 

So my question is, would asking for 15% raise be too high, or some kind of red flag? Do I put myself at risk of coming in too high and being flagged for eventual cutting? My assumption is if I ask for 15% I might not get it, but might get 10%. Also, if I ask and they flat out say no and offer a much lower raise, then I kinda just feel unvalued and disrespected. 

Part of the problem is I'm ambivalent about whether to stay in the cushy setup, or risk higher stress elsewhere for better pay, presuming I can even land something in this terrible market. 

Not sure how best to handle this and would appreciate advice. I've been at one company so long that my interview/negotiation/etc skills have lost their edge.  

FWIW - current pay is $100k - so the ask I'm considering would be up to $115k, hoping to at least land at $110k. And I'm in NYC, so COL is very high.

Hey all - watching a jazz guitar video and the creator has marked some chords as 21s, such as C721. That being a C7 chord which also has a Bnat in it, the B nat being the 21.

I've never seen this before, and would much more commonly expect to see something like C7 (add B) or C7 (add Maj7).

Is this common? I know unorthodox terminologies can often happen idiosyncratically to certain instruments and genres, and jazz musicians for sure can get slangy with their usage. But just wondering if you all have seen this, or what you would do if you saw an F721 on a lead sheet.

For anyone confused about why it would be a 21--in a C chord - F=11, A=13, C=15, E=17, A=19, B=21.

I can't imagine using a 15 for a C in a C chord, but I suppose if for some reason you already has a 9th and a b or # 9 as well and you wanted to call a C# a #15 or something, but it'd have to be a pretty stacked chord to require such a usage.

Anyway, just curious. It's an interesting usage IMO, and I do understand the logic behind it, but have never seen it before, and with it being rather uncommon, I'd think an "add maj7" or something like that would actually convey the info more clearly.

I'm more just curious than anything.

Hey all--looking for a messenger bag rec. I technically have one, but it's big and bulky--I could probably fit 3 Macbooks in the main double pocket and another one in the back pocket, plus its got an inner front and outer front pocket and another outer back pocket. It's a solid piece, but way too bulky for my needs.

I want something that is sort of slim and not too big, and would mostly want it to carry say a book and a journal when I go to the park, that kind of thing. Then a simple inner pocket/area for pens, and a simple outer front pocket for keys et al, and maybe a simple outer or side pocket to toss a small umbrella in.

Something like more of a simple day carry than one of those very thick and padded 16 inch laptop fortresses. Also, I'm a dude, so hopefully not something that looks super purse-like.

Any suggestions, or even specific brands/styles to look at?

Messenger bags are in this weird limbo where they're not really sold at many stores, so I can't go check out several options in person.

Still working on the final mix... but stay tuned.

In the meantime, I have to say, it looks like the sub is rebelling with an uncontrollable avalanche of Creep covers in response to the mods' suggestion of banning Creep.

As someone who is planning a whole career of doing nothing but hundreds of reworkings of Creep, I'm apalled at the mods' anti-Creep tyranny.

Though, as someone else suggested, a weekly Creep megathread might actually be a good idea.

So it looks like we're officially getting a replacement for City Acres at Kent and Broadway.

It's been bought by a supermarket called Lincoln Market, which looks to have a bunch of locations around the city. I'm not familiar with them, but there have been people in there doing some work, and it's supposed to open within a few weeks.

I saw a post about it on IG, and the staff in my building knows the crew over there (because there are some shared circuit breakers and et btwn the buildings) and it is confirmed.

The note on that IG post said opening in 2-3 weeks, but that was already 3 weeks ago. My building staff said they were told it would still be a few weeks as of this past weekend. But it's in the works.

Let's hope it's at least a decent market, and doesn't go all Cuba on us with like 4 items on each shelf.

Hey all - just upgraded from an X to a 17 Pro and want to make sure I do everything right before disconnecting my X and sending it to Verizon for trade in.

I set up the new 17 and did the thing where they sit next to each other and auto transfer details. I can call, text, etc from the 17, and on my Verizon account this shows as my active phone now.

I also restored it from my last backup, and the important stuff did come over--all my Notes app and Voice Memos are in tact. Gmail is set up, as is iCloud.

Lots of other apps were stuck in Waiting mode but have started to come through.

One flag is Music - the names of my Playlists/Artists/Albums show up, but all songs are grayed out - does this just mean it's still transferring?

Is there anything else I need to sync/do/check?

And on my old phone, I turned off find my iPhone, I assume once everything is confirmed transferred, I disconnect the old phone from iCloud. Is that it?

Anything else I should be aware of to make sure these 2 things happen -

1- Everything is on my new phone, so I don't lose any of it.

2- Everything is off my old phone, so I'm not accidentally sending in a bunch of personal settings or etc when I send it back.

Been a long time since I've migrated to a new phone, so appreciate the guidance. Thanks!

Hey all - looking for a software with budgeting, and also hopefully that allows the upload of prior year expenses, as I like to track year over year changes.

I work in accounting, and something almost like Quickbooks Online (but geared towards personal rather than business use) would be great.

I'd essentially want a P&L for my expenses where I could view by month, quarter, year, etc, and see changes. I'd also like it to have features to track my investments as they grow, and less important but nice to have would be if it had some projection/hypothetical growth capacity, like show possible trajectories based on different timelines/investments/etc, though that is not mandatory.

It should also connect to my bank accounts and learn to correctly categorize expenses.

Lastly, it should have decent budgeting protocols, so I can set a budget and stick to it.

I know of the major players like Ynab, Monarch, Quicken Simplifi, and am researching them, but would love to hear your thoughts on those or others.

What do you use? What do you like/dislike about your chosen program? What features should I be looking out for?

Basically, I want to track my finances in a single platform (income, investments, expenses, monthly budget).

Thanks!

Hey all - my iPhone X suddenly broke yesterday - the screen has bright green strips all over it, meaning a hardware issue it seems.

I just missed my chance to get a free upgrade to a 17 unfortunately. That deal ended a couple of months ago and I didn't know it till now. So my options are basically pay full price for a 17 ($830) or possibly get a small discount and get it for ~$700, or else I could switch to T Mobile, get a 17 Pro for free with a 24 month contract, pay ~$15 less per month and still keep my number.

I'm in NYC, so it looks like T Mobile is considered as reliable for coverage. I'd get a brand new iPhone 17 Pro and end up saving ~$1500 over 2 years.

I've been with Verizon for 22 years and they weren't willing to extend any kind of deal on a phone upgrade when I spoke to them yesterday, unless I upgraded plans, in which case I'd be paying $30 more per month so the "savings" on the phone would be wiped out and then some anyway.

So before I jump to T Mobile, I'm wondering if any of you have dealt with Verizon retention team before and how to tell them the above scenario to see if they will match or offer any kind of comparable deal. I assume they will not, but I figure it's worth a shot before I leave anyway.

Anyone familiar with them and what they offer, how best to go about it, etc?

Thanks.

So literally like three days after I start googling about how I might be in line for an iPhone upgrade, my iPhone screen mysteriously starts getting neon green strips across it, indicating that the screen is dying.

I swear this was called in from Apple headquarters. Steve Jobs is alive and running their secret planned obsolescence division.

Sus as fuck.

Hey all - just got my first pair of readers a few months back. Now that winter is over and I don't have jacket pockets, I'm finding always bringing readers with me a little annoyning--but necessary, as I often end up at bookstores, as well as reading on the phone and etc.

For the moment, I have off the rack pharmacy readers as my travel glasses. They're cheap and do the job, so I don't mind them getting dropped or bent or etc.

But I do find it a little annoying to have them--they're either in my back pants pocket, or if my shirt has a breast pocket they go in there, but often fall out if I lean over.

So I'm wondering if I should buy one of those magnetic holders (like Readerest) that create a hook for them on your shirt, or if instead I should get foldables, which seem really cool but I also get the sense they probably break easily.

What's your favorite way to have a pair with you, especially if you're not someone who has a bag/purse/etc with you. I'm just a dude with pant (and sometimes shirt breast) pockets, and as a rule I also like having as few things as possible, and as slim as possible. I kinda just hate having bulky things on me. I find I'm constantly annoyed by them.

tldr - Readerest vs foldables vs other options - what's your favorite?

Hey all - I just found out that Verizon had a limited time promotion to upgrade to an iPhone 17 for free, and I missed it. Now the upgrade would cost me $830. Not going to do that.

I am a customer of 21 years and am currently still on an iPhone X. Would love to upgrade to a newer model, but not at that price, so I'm hoping to stay alert until the next opportunity comes around.

Do they usually only do this kind of thing when a new iPhone model is released? If so, can I expect such a deal around this September when the 18 is due out? Or does Verizon only do this once in a while, like every couple of years or etc? Might there be something else around Black Friday or Xmas or some other holiday?

Basically, I only upgrade phones every few years, and apparently I just missed the window on getting a new 17 for free with my continued current plan. So I want to be on the lookout for next chance and pounce on it.

Also, for those who are long time customers, are there any workarounds? Like is there a way to have them sort of grandfather you in despite the promotion technically being over? I know some companies will reward customer loyalty like this, others won't.

Thanks, all

Listen, you irreverent heathens! I’m buzzed and I’m bored and while I finish this last beer, I DEMAND satisfaction.

What is your favorite aspect of Beethoven’s deafness?

Is it that he suffered tremendously? Or is it imagining him humming Ode To Joy in that hilarious deaf voice?

Enlighten me, I say, enlighten me.

Too lazy/buzzed/impatient to make this a poll.

SOLVED

Hi all - a little confused on how best to handle this one.

We had a client pay an open invoice using credit card through the paynow link on our invoice. The amount was $70k and for some reason, it was paid in several chunks in a single day, 5 payments totalling $70k. Not sure if they processed it that way or if QB had a limit on how much they could make in a single payment or what.

Regardless, it marked the invoice paid based on those card payments. Separately, when the payment hit our bank, it was as a single entry for the full $70k (not the 5 small payments) and now the invoice is cleared from AR, and QB recorded those incoming 5 payments, but I still have the $70k bank deposit to record, but no open AR to book it to. It defaulted to undeposited funds and is showing as a ($70k) on AR.

How do I best clean this up?

I always find the QB autopayments cause weird issues like this. Have had other ones in the past, but for a former client, so I don't recall what the fix was and can't look at history to follow the same method.

Would appreciate some advice here. Thanks!

EDIT -

Thanks all for the replies, I was able to sort it. I applied the incoming bank transaction to the Undep funds entries, and treated that extra $70k payment as a duplicate. I zeroed it out and all ties out now. The issue is when QB autobooks CC payments, you don't need to manually create an Accept Payment against an invoice. We've never used the QB autopay features before, so was just unfamiliar.

Thanks again for the replies.

Hey all - I am about to apply for my 1st card. I'm approved for an Amex Gold Card, but want to make sure it's a smart choice for me.

General details -

46m, ~$130k/yr wages, plus some ETFs/investments which bear modest gains. I have $0 debt.

I've always done pay as you go with debit cards, but want to improve my credit. I applied for a Capital One card 3 years ago and was offered a very low spending limit of only $300/mo due to low credit history.

I instead signed up for a Chime Card (backed by Visa) - it works like a prepaid credit card. I fund a checking account and use the card against that, but the purchases are credit affecting rather than debit charges. My credit score is good (726 - FICO via CapitalOne).

It's been 3 years and I'm ready to get a better card than Chime. My usage is daily/monthly expenses--groceries/general, dining out, bills, rent, etc and I'd always pay in full at end of month. Essentially I'd treat it like my debit card, but pay via credit then pay it off from checking on due date.

As for benefits--I do like to travel, so travel rewards might be nice, but so would cash back. I'm open to whatever. Not really sure what is "better."

Is Amex Gold smart for my use case? Or is there something that better fits my scenario? I could try applying for Cap One again, but I have a feeling they'd still offer me a low spending limit. The Gold Card has no preset spending limit and looks like I'd be able to use it as I want--to pay all general expenses and then fully settle at end of month, and to build my credit history as such.

Note - I did search the forum first for "first time card" posts and read them, but most of them seem to be college kids or similar, and the recommendations were tailored for that. As I'm older, make decent money, and would like to approach improving my credit more aggressively, I thought it better to ask.

Thanks in advance, all!