6 Reasons why your Next Car Should be a Ford Fiesta
Thu, 03/11/10 | 29 Comments

Buying a new car typically doesn’t make the list of best personal finance practices. That being said, we all know that, and whole bunch of us still end up doing it. IF you’re going to …

Read the full story »
Invest Wisely

banks, funds, stocks, terminology

Live Well

career, work, food, life, pets

Make Money

debt, credit, budgets, home, auto

Protect

insurance, emergency, identity

Retire

401K, IRA’s, retirement planning

Lifestyle Finance, Workplace Finance »

American Paternity & Maternity Leave vs. The Rest of the World
Mon, 03/8/10 | 35 Comments

Work/life balance in the form of supportive national and employee benefit plans is something that the United States has sorely lacked, especially in comparison to other developed economies. Corporate lobbies have made it so.

Nowhere (other than health care benefits) is that more apparent than when looking at maternity and paternity leave. Let’s take a look at how we stack up against the rest of the world.

Here are Some Interesting Parental Leave Figures to Consider:

  • paternity and maternity leaveThe U.S. is the ONLY country in the Americas without a national paid parental leave benefit. The average is over 12 weeks of paid leave anywhere other than Europe and over 20 weeks in Europe.
  • Zero industrialized nations offer no parental leave other than the U.S.
  • Canada recently passed legislation to boost paid parental leave (shared between paternity and maternity) from 10 to 35 weeks, in addition to 15 weeks for maternity.

Depressed yet? Let’s Travel to Europe to See how they View Parental Leave.

  • Lithuania offers 52 weeks at 100% pay plus 52 weeks at 80% pay to be split between the parents however they would like!
  • Denmark – 52 weeks.
  • France – 16 weeks at 100% pay for first child and up to 26 weeks for third child. That’s on top of an amazing 104 weeks of unpaid leave (your employer is required to let you come back to your job).
  • Norway – 56 weeks paid.
  • Sweden – 480 days paid.

Yikes. OK. What About Impoverished African Nations. Surely they Don’t Offer Parental Leave, do they?

  • Ethiopia, with its gross national income of $859 per person – 90 days at 100% pay.
  • Madagascar, with a gross national income of $911 – 14 weeks at 100% pay.
  • Somalia…. gross national income of $600 – yeah…. 14 weeks at 50% pay.

Wait, I Got you! Afghanistan! There is no Way Afghanistan Offers Better Benefits than us, Right??

Afghanistan offers 90 days at 100% pay. I kid you not.

What to Make of All This:

If you’re an expecting mom or soon to be father in the United States who is actually getting paid leave from your employer – be thankful and take it. Take all of it. And enjoy it. Do not feel guilt as a result of backwards cultural values. You deserve that time to enjoy your new family and settle.

If you’re thinking of having lots of kids some day. Well, start writing your congressman/congresswoman or begin looking into green cards.

Maternity & Paternity Leave Discussion:

  • What’s the longest maternity/paternity leave in the United States that you’ve seen? How long?
  • What about the shortest?
  • Have you actually considered moving to a different country to enjoy the benefits of things like paid paternal leave or universal health care?

Don’t Miss Out on Free 20SomethingFinance Content Updates!

You May Also Find the Following Article of Interest:

7 Personal Finance Teachings that Could Save our Nation

Why you should Care that Pensions are Going Extinct

Oops! I Broke the Site. It’s Fixed Now. Let’s Have a Good Time.
Sun, 03/7/10 | 5 Comments
Oops! I Broke the Site. It’s Fixed Now. Let’s Have a Good Time.

I won’t lie, the back-end of 20somethingfinance has been JACKED UP over the last few months. I haven’t been able to focus on content as much as I would like, but things should start picking …

How to Avoid Getting Burned by the Magazine Industry
Tue, 03/2/10 | 3 Comments
How to Avoid Getting Burned by the Magazine Industry

Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I still do (and proudly) subscribe to a few magazines – and I won’t be stopping unless the magazines close shop. My personal favorites are Kiplinger and Backpacker.
That …

55 Marketable Hobbies that you Love & Can Get Paid For
Sun, 02/28/10 | 7 Comments
55 Marketable Hobbies that you Love & Can Get Paid For

This is the third installment off my ‘Start Retiring Now, by Getting Paid to do what you Love’ Series. In the first post, I offered up a bit of motivation to start exploring your own …

What you Need to Know About the Credit Card Act
Tue, 02/23/10 | 7 Comments
What you Need to Know About the Credit Card Act

The Credit Card Act Goes Into Effect
The Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, aka the Credit Card Act, aka the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility & Disclosure Act of 2009, aka House of Representatives Bill 627, aka …

Getting Paid to Do What you Love: A Close Look at Marketable Hobbies
Sun, 02/21/10 | 6 Comments
Getting Paid to Do What you Love: A Close Look at Marketable Hobbies

There was a really positive response to the ‘marketable hobby’ concept in my post about shifting the perception of what retirement is and should be, so I thought it would be great to explore it …

PerkStreet Financial Review: A Free Debit Card with Rewards
Wed, 02/17/10 | 12 Comments
PerkStreet Financial Review: A Free Debit Card with Rewards

PerkStreetSM Financial Review – A Free Checking Account with a Visa® Debit Card
With the impending Credit Card Act looming, a large number of credit card providers are starting to charge annual fees for the use …

The First Steps to Stop Dreaming & Start Retiring – NOW!
Mon, 02/15/10 | 19 Comments
The First Steps to Stop Dreaming & Start Retiring – NOW!

Fantasizing about retirement is a favorite past-time for just about anyone who has ever held a 9-to-5. But that dream of what lies ahead is starting to look a whole lot different these days.
How I …

Never Hire a Contractor without Following These 5 Steps First
Sun, 02/14/10 | 6 Comments
Never Hire a Contractor without Following These 5 Steps First

How to Find a Good Contractor & Save Money
If you’re like me, your home is your baby. You wouldn’t hire the first babysitter that you found in an ad without first asking some questions and …