Intended Career and Remuneration Package - Assignment Example

? An overview of your intended career and likely remuneration package Today change has become rapid in businesses, careers and in the workplaces. Hence, the skills that I posses today may not be demanded in the years to come. As I plan for my career in the long-term my main focus will be to identify and develop skills that are core because they remain valuable to most employers. My intended career is marketing and my target is to get a remuneration package of ?67,000. The core skills in the workplace that I will focus on include: communications the written and the verbal, vital and innovative thinking, team building and cooperation, listening, problem solving, decision making and interpersonal skills. Other skills that will be significant in my career include: project management, planning and organizing, technology, and dedication to continuous learning. After identifying the appropriate career which in my case is marketing, I will have to be prepared to face any career development and alteration in the future. For this to be possible, I will have to remain dynamic in career planning in the short term. In addition, for me to become an expert in the paths of career, I will have to conduct various researches on careers and to scan the environment on regular basis. By doing this I will be better equipped for my next decision. Your target timeframe for the purchase, including the funding of associated costs, taxes and deposit My target timeframe for my first house purchase is 5 years. An estimated budget for servicing your ideal lifestyle including contingency plans (insurances and emergency funding) The intended house to be purchased is a three bedroom house at a cost of ?180,000including all other related expenses. It is located at Cole Close London SE28. It is near Thamesmead shopping Centre. It has a small garden, garage, and is three bed-roomed. Insight and opinion on renting versus buying- The purchase of first house is not mainly about the ownership of personal property. Owning a home involves several costs, risks and responsibilities. My insight and opinion on renting versus buying is that it is better to rent a house rather than to buy. In my view it is costly to buy a house. Renting is better because of: first, simplicity. It takes minimal time to find a house that fits ones needs and desires. Buying on the other hand involves obtaining adequate finance and conducting the necessary inspections hence, buying is time consuming. Secondly is the convenience in renting a house rather than buying. The landlord will be responsible for various tasks of maintenance and upkeep. Therefore, no expenses are incurred on maintenance of a home. Thirdly is flexibility. In a rented house, it is easier to move unlike when in ownership of a house. After buying house, one becomes less mobile. When changes arise for example, in the workplace and one is forced to move the procedure of selling and buying another house is expensive. Fourthly, is increased liquidity, when renting one has large inheritance or fat paycheck. However, one is stretched when buying the first home since it involves down payment and related costs hence, cleans up ones money. The related costs of buying a house include; mortgage payments, property taxes, and insurance, maintenance and repair expenses. On the other hand, while renting one can keep extra cash for one self and makes budgeting easier without upkeep-expenses that home owners are likely to incur. Such expenses involve sudden urge to replace a leaking roof or old furniture and fixtures. Fifth, renting has better diversification. Those with purchased houses have bulk wealth tied in their homes rather than on better alternatives such as stock, bonds, or even starting a small business. The sixth factor is lower cost. If one is living in an area where home prices sky rocketed faster than rentals, real estate may be overpriced and it will not be a wise idea to buy a house. Evidence of research in terms of career, ideal starter-home/location and mortgage (type/ rate/ term etc) As a professional marketer, the decision to purchase a first home depends on the risks, responsibilities and costs associated with the ownership decision. The study “Analysis of Criteria for Home Purchase Decision-Making” by Mills and Reed identified and measured the drivers that influence an individual’s decision to buy a new home. In addition to focusing on external factors that influence based on the intention to purchase a house, the research also established that financial factors have the largest impact on the decision to purchase; others included site specific and lifestyle factors. Family ‘life cycle’ was first identified as a determinant for the decision to purchase a first home. The onset of the child bearing and child rearing stages in the life of a household prompted the decision to leave a rental accommodation and own a home. Recent studies have also established that ‘marriage’ in reference to a formal marriage is a significant factor in the decision to purchase a first home. Furthermore, employment status, relocation in a job, or a change in income level have also been identified as vital causes of the change in a households home ownership decision. Furthermore, the home-buying decision should be arrived at based on the pricing and existing political framework of the housing market. In the recent past house price change and shortages in rental tenure are critical factors as well as purchase arrangements associated with loan deposits and stamp duty. Rise in rents and interest rates were also considered as crucial triggers in the buying decision of a first home. Thus a capped rate mortgage and fixed rate mortgage will be preferred over a interest only mortgage or a standard variable rate mortgage because the interests of the former cannot climb beyond a pre-set rate; the cap (Redhead, 2008). Consideration of potential risks to the plan The decision to purchase a starter-home and the servicing of ideal lifestyle is not devoid of potential risks. For instance, the sizable deposits, legal fees, mortgage fees and other maintenance costs discourage purchase of a starter-home. Renting on the other hand, does not mandate the huge initial outlay and associated fees as the landlord will be personally liable. As such, the plan is likely to face such risks as capital, shortfall, interest rate, inflation rate, market/systematic, default, credit, liquidity, exchange rate, and event risks. Technically, all investments are exposed to capital risk; which is usually the potential loss of original capital, such as loss of initial huge outlay for the purchase of the house. Similarly, shortfall fall risk which is the potential for investment failing to reach the target amount and is common with low risk investments affects starter-home buyers. The purchase of the starter-home is however least likely to be affected by interest rate risk, which is usually the case when income from a variable account fails. Inflation rate risk, that is common when rising prices diminish purchasing power, but it is usually offset by investing in real estate. Market/systematic risk cannot be escaped because it affects an entire market. Default risk, which least affects the plan, is the likelihood of investment institutions going bust; can be mitigated when appropriate statutory protection is taken. The plan if restricted from access to funds will be affected by liquidity risk. But exchange rate risk impacts investment made in a currency other than where the money was placed. Planning for any other financial objective, such as retirement, career sabbatical, holiday of a lifetime etc... Retirement planning should be started early to avoid unwelcome lifestyle adjustments and disappointment. Willingness and capacity are also vital especially when one nears the so called “later years.” Although most retirement income is generated from State Pensions, Investment Income and Private Pensions, individuals fail to maximize safe returns on investment. To cater for their standards of living, it is advisable therefore for individuals to increase the percent of income saved and eliminate controllable retirement costs. In the United Kingdom, statistics have established that people are living longer and thus the cost of buying a pension is increasingly becoming more expensive, although the years of ill health before death is equally on the rise. The most common retirement benefit schemes include defined benefit schemes, defined contribution schemes and self-invested schemes. Defined benefit (DB) schemes are usually associated with large corporations and large public sector bodies such as British Airways and NHS. Mathematically, the eventual permission is computed on the basis of ‘final salary’, which may be defined differently and carry varying lengths of service. On some occasions, a portion of the pension can be computed for a lump sum. However, some issues have been raised concerning DB schemes: considered very costly to employers with lots of unexplained ‘black holes’; and many final salary schemes have either been significantly amended or wound up in recent years. Additionally, DB schemes have only been preferred for employees especially through non-contributory schemes and inflation linking; and there hasn’t been an investment risk for member and no investment decisions to be taken with interests protected by Trust Law. On the other hand, Defined contribution (DC) schemes though often considered as the poor relation of DB schemes, requires an employer with 6 or more ‘relevant employees’ to at least offer a Stakeholder. Employers often offer ‘Group Personal Pension’ as a retention tool and match 3% contribution by member. In contrast to DB schemes, eventual pension is based on size of the pension fund and annuity rates at the time. The plan requires the employee to make investment decisions in line with appetite for risk/return especially for packaged investments such as unit trusts or OEICs. Costs in DC schemes are charged to the members fund depending on the scheme and fund type. To ensure parity in with inflation, contribution levels need to be reviewed annually. References Lamont, B 2009. Lamont’s Financial Glossary (10). London: Taxbriefs Financial Publishing. Murphy, B 2011. Life & Health Insurance 2011/12 (ed.2). London: Taxbriefs Financial Publishing. Redhead, K 2008. Personal Finance & Investments. London: Routledge. Read More