Money

Money Archives

Achieve financial success and freedom

Congratulations! Your first day on the new job starts today. It’s a busy one, introducing yourself to a long list of existing clients. You pick up your <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/12-steps-to-breaking-smartphone-addiction/">cellphone</a> and get to work.



Hardly anyone questions the practice of conducting business on a personal cellphone, a ubiquitous telecom development that in 2010 became known as <a href="https://planergy.com/blog/what-is-byod/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bring Your Own Device.</a>—or BOYD. Consider that according to research by <a href="https://image-us.samsung.com/SamsungUS/samsungbusiness/short-form/maximizing-mobile-value/WHP-HHP-MAXIMIZE-MOBILE-VALUE-JUN18.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Samsung</a>, 61% of companies expect <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-remote-work-makes-workplaces-more-accessible/">remote</a> availability from employees—even those who are not provided a company phone. But the often-overlooked question here is, who pays for that business usage?



The average cell phone bill for a single person is $141 a month, according to <a href="https://www.jdpower.com/sites/default/files/file/2024-02/2024009%20U.S.%20Wireless%20Retail%20Experience%20Vol.%201.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">J.D. Power</a> (includes phone cost, line fees, insurance and extra data charges). If you use your phone for work 50% of the time, you’re looking at about $840 annually paid from your hard-earned salary. Unfortunately, employees cannot claim it as a federal tax deduction, either.



Where you can recoup at least some of the cost is through BYOD reimbursement. In the<a href="https://image-us.samsung.com/SamsungUS/samsungbusiness/short-form/maximizing-mobile-value/WHP-HHP-MAXIMIZE-MOBILE-VALUE-JUN18.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Samsung survey</a>, 31% of companies with a formal or informal BYOD policy paid the entire cost of their employees’ phone usage, and 40% paid at least a portion. Even so, many employees still have no clue if they are eligible for reimbursement. Worse, there are still companies whose BYOD policy does not include employee compensation at all—6% in Samsung’s survey.&nbsp;



That means you might have to take matters into your own hands. Here are some strategies to try depending on your company’s BYOD policy:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-your-company-has-a-byod-policy-with-reimbursement">If Your Company Has a BYOD Policy with Reimbursement…</h2>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>The best time to take advantage of cellphone reimbursement is when you get your job offer. Read your offer paperwork carefully and jot down any unanswered questions for HR.</li>



<li>Here are some sample questions to ask: Is a personal phone required? Will I be reimbursed and if so, how and how much? What are my options if I do not want to (or cannot) use my own phone for business? Do BYOD benefits cover loss or damage while on company business?</li>



<li>Larger companies typically either provide you with company cellphones or they will allow you to use your own. Remember to ask if you still get reimbursed even if you decide not to take the company-provided phone.</li>



<li>Stipends vary from company to company, usually based on their size. The base range is <a href="https://insights.samsung.com/2022/05/16/how-much-should-you-compensate-byod-employees-for-mobile-expenses-3/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$30 to $50</a>, although that can increase to $75 or even $100 if you are in a sales or travel-intensive position.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Know whether you’re getting a reimbursement or a stipend. Reimbursement pays you for specified phone expenses you have already incurred. You must submit a form and proof of expenditure before getting reimbursed. A reimbursement is usually capped at a certain amount, too. Stipends are a fixed amount you receive every month or every paycheck, regardless of any variation in your phone bill.</li>
</ol>



If you are already a year or two into your job, it is still entirely reasonable to ask about reimbursement. Go to your employee dashboard and look up your benefits–BYOD details should be listed there. If not, request them from your HR manager or your supervisor.







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-your-company-doesn-t-have-a-byod-reimbursement-policy">If Your Company Doesn’t Have a BYOD Reimbursement Policy …</h2>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Document your phone usage carefully for a few months (or compile the previous few months if you have records). Include time spent on business calls, insurance and any cost overages you incurred during that time (such as additional data needed or an international plan for business travel).</li>



<li>If you live in one of these <a href="https://mosey.com/blog/remote-employee-reimbursement-requirements/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">states or cities</a>, you’re entitled by law to compensation for using your phone for business. Your employer should be made aware of this.</li>



<li>Companies without a formal policy may still have an informal one. Ask your supervisor for details and how to apply for BYOD compensation.</li>



<li>Your company may tell you that they do not reimburse or provide stipends. You can negotiate this when it comes time for a raise. Bring your prepared documents and ask for a sum to be added to your raise that covers reasonable phone usage. Repeat at every salary review.</li>



<li>What about a tax write-off? The bad news is that many miscellaneous deductions have been eliminated from the IRS tax code, including phone usage for business. The good news is that your state may allow it. Ask your tax preparer.</li>



<li>If nothing works and you still want to stay with the company but hate giving out your personal number, consider setting up an alternative phone number, such as through Google Voice. A business subscription would need to be discussed with your employer, to see if they would be willing to pay for it and if it satisfies their IT and security priorities.</li>
</ol>



The consensus on BYOD is that it is reasonable for employees to request fair compensation for conducting business on their personal phones. Should you take the initiative and ask, or maybe campaign for your company to create a fair BYOD policy? That’s entirely your call.



Erika Kotite is a freelance writer with a small business background. She enjoys exploring the issues where business and personal worlds converge.



Photo from TippaPatt/Shutterstock.com

Do you use your own phone for company business? Learn how and why you can be compensated on a “Bring Your Own Device” policy.

Congratulations! Your first day on the new job starts today. It’s a busy one, introducing yourself to a long list of existing clients. You pick up your | SUCCESS

BYOD Basics: How to Get Reimbursed for Your Phone Usage

Comment

How to Get Reimbursed for Your Phone Usage | SUCCESS

https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/SOnline25_Erika-Kotite_WebEx_BYOD-Reimbursements.jpg

Home

SUCCESS

https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/success_opengraph_image.png

Erika Kotite is a former magazine editor of small business and home design publications. She wrote two books about she sheds and has a Substack newsletter called The Velvet Chaise, which helps people find their inner she shed style even if it's in the dining room.

https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ac206b2c0e115fa5f3bf52c7c1d9d7b7f6f38dcee541b03f9e907a9deceed500?s=96&d=mm&r=g

Erika Kotite

A woman attentively looks at and listens to a man, with a modern, urban building in the background.

Personal Development

Personal Development Archives

Personal Development | SUCCESS | What Achievers Read

We’ve been practicing the art of <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/6-tips-to-rule-the-art-of-conversation/">good conversation</a> since toddlerhood, so you’d think we’d all be experts—or at least proficient.



But the truth is, we aren’t. Most of us, at some point, have been guilty of habits that can kill a conversation before it can even develop. Whether it’s because of clueless interruption, domination, unwanted advice or simply a mind-numbing inability to sustain <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/the-art-of-small-talk/">small talk</a>, you may walk away from most of your social exchanges more frustrated than inspired. 



Is it you? Or is it the other person? The answer is often “both”—and there’s always room for improvement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-talking-is-so-tough">Why talking is so tough</h2>



Even the most brilliant conversationalists can succumb to bad habit. But this shouldn’t be surprising, according to Alison Wood Brooks, a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of <a href="https://amzn.to/43zpgmK" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves</a>.



“When you look under the hood of what’s going on during a conversation, it’s so much more complex than how it appears,” Brooks says. With multiple people “trying to take turns speaking and listening and trying to land on a shared understanding in an unfolding, cascading pattern of turns over time, it’s pretty miraculous that humans can communicate in this way at all,” she adds.







In her course, “TALK,” Brooks starts off with a quiz to help students identify their conversational styles. The quiz has 13 negative habits and 13 positive habits, and students must choose at least a couple from both groups that apply to them. They then participate in numerous role-playing exercises throughout the semester that are designed to help them identify and improve their own <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/6-communication-skills-that-will-make-you-a-better-leader/">conversational skill set</a>.



 “[When you’re] teaching 200 people at once, you realize, ‘Wow, people’s strengths and weaknesses are really all over the map,’” Brooks says. “Some people are really funny, some people really aren’t. Some people are great at asking questions, some are really bad. Some people are so self-centered, and some are, almost problematically, people pleasers. And so that’s just a cross section of high-achieving humans who have made their way to Harvard.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-you-talking-about">What are you talking about?</h2>



There are many, many different kinds of conversations—and not all of them are meant to be fabulous, life-changing experiences. 



In “<a href="https://www.creatingwe.com/news-blogs/articles-blogs/psychology-today/the-neuroscience-of-conversations">The Neuroscience of Conversations</a>,” Nicklas Balboa and Richard D. Glaser, Ph.D., describe three levels of conversation: transactional, positional and transformational.



Many of our everyday conversations are at that first level. We simply give and receive information in a transactional way—nothing fancy here. But the next level, positional, is one that helps us advance in our work. It includes advocating, influencing, presenting arguments and persuading.



It’s the third level, transformational, where conversation reaches its highest potential. These are the moments of connection, discovery and deep emotional bonding between human beings. You never know when they’ll happen, but you can make a transformational conversation more likely if you heighten your awareness of what nurtures a conversation—and what damages it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-five-worst-conversation-killers">The five worst conversation killers</h2>



Ask a few people what their pet peeve is about talking to each other, and you’ll get a few different responses. Most of them, however, involve imbalance.&nbsp;



When the conversation is out of balance—too many talkers, too few talkers or no listeners—it not only alienates one or more of the participants, but it’s also more likely to die on the vine. 



Imbalance typically occurs in the following five situations:



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-off-topic-interruption">Off-topic interruption</h3>



In this situation—which might be dubbed a “squirrel!” moment—the off-topic interrupter feels sufficiently distanced from the conversation to abruptly throw in a comment that has absolutely nothing to do with what’s being discussed. This can completely derail the other person’s train of thought. The interrupter may also wield ego-centric talking patterns during the course of the conversation to direct topics back to themselves.



This type of imbalance is different from on-topic interruption, which takes the form of verbal affirmations like “yes,” “uh-huh” and “oh no, really?” as the other person speaks. These “back-channel” interruptions are natural and supportive and, on the whole, do not offend. On-topic interruption can also be your conversation partner’s blurted questions when they’re too eager to wait until you’ve finished a thought. These can be annoying but typically indicate a high level of interest in what you are saying.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topic-dominance">Topic dominance</h3>



Imagine you’re in a conversation with two or three people. You long to contribute because you’re interested in a specific topic and have stories to relate—but you can’t because the dominator won’t shut up and let the conversation move on.



Conversations actually thrive when topics change. So when a conversation is held hostage by a singular topic, it can get stale, and people might walk away or tune out as a result. 



It’s not impossible to salvage the situation, however. In every conversation, there are leaders and followers. Leaders introduce topics and, ideally, should ensure that everyone is getting a chance to contribute, while followers listen attentively and can contribute in meaningful ways when appropriate. Balancing these two roles—and taking back the steering wheel from a boor—requires diplomacy and determination.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unwanted-explaining-advice-giving-or-critiquing">Unwanted explaining, advice-giving or critiquing</h3>



Both men and women are guilty of overexplaining, which sometimes shows itself in a pedantic, condescending discourse. It could involve discussing how to do something better, how not to do something or an advice-driven stream of “you shoulds.”



Brooks suggests that this <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/8-annoying-conversation-habits-youre-probably-guilty-of/">bad habit</a> is common in people who are in leadership positions—which is why white males, who have historically dominated the majority of high-status positions in business, might be accused of “mansplaining.”&nbsp;



“Women do it too,” Brooks adds. “We’re just less likely to be in high-status positions.”



Swapping ideas and offering tips—or maybe delivering an intelligent (and entertaining) crash course, if you truly are an expert and have been requested to—are exceptions to this conversation killer. In fact, discovery and learning are two of the biggest rewards that come from a satisfying conversation. If you’re the explainer, just remember to read the room first and pass on the baton when it’s time.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-one-upmanship">One-upmanship</h3>



The person you’re talking to may ask you a question or two, but they might immediately turn the conversation back to themselves after. Sometimes they don’t even bother making it look like they care about your life or ideas—they only need your ears.



One-upmanship involves “two forces working against us,” Brooks explains. “One is [that] we are very often reminded of our own experiences when we hear people talking about theirs…. We [also] just have this embarrassing need to prop ourselves up in the eyes of others…. In one-upping, we fail to affirm the other person enough.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-yawning-void">The yawning void</h3>



This is the awkward situation when you’re not sure that the person you’re trying to have a conversation with is fully conscious. They respond to questions with one-word answers, don’t volunteer anything themselves, and seem to be fine with long periods of utter silence between your sputtering attempts at conversing.



At the foundation of any conversation is a healthy, balanced flow of information and ideas. Sometimes, Brooks says, it could be that you simply haven’t found the right topic.



And for those who walk away from a conversation feeling like no one cared about their stories, Brooks says it might be your own habits that need adjustment. “It's easy to blame other people and say, ‘Well, they really didn’t ask me anything,’ but you know you can also just volunteer it,” she notes. “For high question askers, it can be easy to get into the habit… of not sharing yourself enough.”



The rewards of a good, meaningful conversation are high. They can bring you new friends, land you a great job and teach you about people, personalities and customs that will expand your world. If you approach the art of conversation by remembering that it is a skill worth developing, you will improve—with practice.



Photo by Iryna Inshyna/Shutterstock.com

Interrupting, one-upping and topic hogging can derail any discussion. Learn five habits that ruin conversations and what to do instead.

Interrupting, one-upping and topic hogging can derail any discussion. Learn five habits that ruin conversations and what to do instead. | SUCCESS

5 Common Habits That Destroy Good Conversation

5 Habits That Kill Conversations—and How to Avoid Them | SUCCESS

https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/conversation-killing-habits.jpg

Rear view of university graduates wearing graduation gown and cap in the commencement day

Ever since the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (known as the GI Bill) was signed into law, earning a college degree became the ticket to American prosperity. By 1956, nearly half of World War II veterans had taken advantage of the education and training available through the benefits, which included assistance with tuition, books, and even housing. The U.S. workforce was on its way to achieving the highest level of education in its history and the earning power that can help create.



Nevertheless, we are still a majority nation of workers without college on their resumes. More than 60% of adults over 25 do not hold <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/educational-attainment.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">four-year college degrees</a>, according to 2022 U.S. Census data. Reasons for skipping higher education are varied, as are levels of success and job satisfaction. It’s a tough decision, made tougher by the fact that you attend college with a certain degree of faith—not proof—that it will pay off for you in the end.







There’s no question that, statistically speaking, a college degree leads to dramatically better outcomes for employment and earnings. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rates for non-college grads is significantly higher than that of college grads. According to <a href="https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/collegepayoff2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2021 analysis</a> by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, graduating from a four-year college means you will earn, on average, $1.2 million more than your high-school graduate counterpart in a lifetime.



Yet the decision of whether to pursue a college degree is just about as unique as the number of people who ask it. “None of us are average; we are individuals,” notes Ron Lieber, columnist for The New York Times and author of <a href="https://amzn.to/4lrHHSc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Price You Pay for College</a>. “So I think it’s only healthy to ask, ‘What is the point of this exercise?’ If you don’t know what you’re shopping for, it’s hard to evaluate whether you stand a good enough chance of getting that return.”



Lately, <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/how-to-finance-higher-education-on-a-budget/">higher education</a> has come under fire by many critics. The average price of a four-year college degree in 2025 for an in-state student at a public university is $108,000; that total literally doubles for private education. The news cycle carries cautionary tales of students who spent thousands of dollars earning a degree only to discover they were unable to find a well-paying job afterward. Meanwhile, the loan payments keep coming. In a 2023 survey by the Federal Reserve, nearly 4 in 10 Americans who pursued higher education took out loans to help pay for it. Most students come out owing between $20,000 and $40,000, and it can take 20 years for the average borrower to pay it all back.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-case-for-pursuing-a-college-degree">The case for pursuing a college degree</h2>



Despite the price tag, a four-year college degree carries with it an intrinsic value that will pay off in ways both specific and nonspecific. Likely the biggest payoff is in its longstanding position as a key indicator of job readiness: The vast majority of employers offering professional and white-collar career paths still ask for an undergraduate degree, if not a master’s degree. This is particularly true in fields like finance, technology, health care, education and science.



College graduates continue to have an edge over non-college grads in terms of job opportunities in fields that offer the highest pay. Not only do starting salaries tend to be higher but the benefits can increase dramatically over time. According to <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60832ecef615231cedd30911/t/648782a74c77dd494b02c789/1686602408024/Deming_OJL_June2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one study</a>, college wage premiums more than double over a worker’s lifetime, from 27% at age 25 to 60% at age 55.



When it came time for Kareem Abdol-Hamid to think about college, it wasn’t a matter of going or not going. “It really wasn’t ever a question for me,” he says. He attended Virginia Tech and earned a degree in computer science. Today, the 27-year-old works as a senior solutions architect at AWS and says he was able to pay off his $20,000 student loan <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/got-debt-take-these-5-steps-to-get-it-under-control/">debt</a> in one year.



The wonders of a bigger world opening up on campus, particularly in a city or state that is unfamiliar, can be a profound and life-changing experience. “The most important part of a college degree is the way that you understand the world you live in, and to be a contributing member of society, you need to understand the world,” says Sara Stout, assistant dean of student affairs at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University.



Pursuing a degree takes time and money but if you’re in it, finish it. One of the worst scenarios is dropping out of college and facing thousands in student loan debt without a degree to show for it. “Our tours have tripled from last year to this year,” Stout says. “[Kids] are doing a lot more investigating and researching. They’re figuring out what they are going to get for what they are investing.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-argument-against-a-college-degree">The argument against a college degree</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Tristan-Anderson-768x1024.jpg" alt="Tristan Anderson (second from right, with some UFC fighters)" class="wp-image-85802" style="width:246px;height:auto"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo courtesy of Tristan Anderson (second from right, with some UFC fighters)</figcaption></figure>



Things are changing dramatically within higher education. After decades of high favorability within most sectors of society, colleges and universities now face a diminishing reputation. Consider a recent Gallup poll: just 36% of Americans have a high level of confidence in higher education versus 57% 10 years ago. The <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/saving-for-college-2024/">cost of a four-year degree</a> is under more scrutiny, and in some ways, it’s a buyer’s market as colleges struggle to fill classrooms. Even so, the expenditure of both time and money might seem excessive to someone who doesn’t feel that continued education will help them achieve their goals.



Tristan Anderson went off to community college while most of his friends set out for four-year universities. “My family [and I] believed it was in my best interest to continue at Orange Coast College, then transfer to a four-year college… to pursue an easy degree like anthropology,” the 22-year-old says. But after his sophomore year, something clicked. “I… realized I had no plans of getting a job with the anthropology degree I was working towards,” Anderson continued. “With that, my drive to finish my college degree diminished completely.”



An avid photographer since middle school, Anderson realized his experience surpassed that of many of his peers. “I have spoken with film and photography majors and have noticed that I have more knowledge and experience than the people who are going to school for it,” he says. He says his sports photos recently caught the attention of the UFC, and he hopes to become a professional sports photographer and run his own business.



Alternative sources of education are vying for the attention and dollars of would-be students. Someone interested in the <a href="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/women-in-trades/">trades</a> has a host of training options that can help them learn valuable skills and land a good job. Trade schools teach specific skills in automotive mechanics, cosmetology, culinary, nursing, graphic arts, plumbing and welding, to name a few. Industry-driven apprenticeship programs within private and public companies offer free training along with wages; they culminate in portable certifications and two- or four-year degrees.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Amanda-Monreal-768x1024.jpeg" alt="Amanda Monreal (on the job at Marathon Petroleum Corporation in Long Beach, CA)" class="wp-image-85803" style="width:240px;height:auto"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo courtesy of Amanda Monreal (on the job at Marathon Petroleum Corporation in Long Beach, CA)</figcaption></figure>



Amanda Monreal received her automotive certification just before the 2008 housing crash. With almost zero jobs available, she pivoted to factory work as a laborer making wires and cabling. Soon, she saw an opening for a maintenance mechanic. “I told [my boss] I had experience working in automotive and would [he] take a chance and let me try out working on machinery,” Monreal recalls. “My boss said, ‘You know, that sounds like a good idea; let’s go ahead and do it.’” Monreal progressed very quickly, and in a few years moved on to electrical maintenance. Today, the 37-year-old is an electrical and instrumentation technician for a large energy company and makes a six-figure salary.



People who bypass college and still find the career they want are those who study their fields and know what they want to do. Along with that, they should keep an eye on industries facing a shortage of trained workers. For example, a variety of factors have shrunk the pool of trained pilots, so most major airlines have dropped their requirement for a four-year degree, and at least one has its own aviation training program.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-a-college-degree-for-everyone">Is a college degree for everyone?</h2>



Perhaps the question of whether a college degree is right for you isn’t the right question. “I say college is something everyone should consider in the same way that everyone should consider enrolling in the U.S. armed forces and serving our country, in the same way they should consider pursuing an entrepreneurial idea,” Lieber says. “This idea that something ‘is for everyone’ but some things are not for certain people—I just don’t buy it.”



Photo by EduLife Photos/Shutterstock.

Weigh the cost of college against career outcomes. Discover who benefits most from a degree and who might thrive without one.

Weigh the cost of college against career outcomes. Discover who benefits most from a degree and who might thrive without one. | SUCCESS

Is a College Degree Really Worth It?

Is a College Degree Still Worth It? What to Know | SUCCESS

https://successcom.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/college-degree-worth-it.jpg

Erika Kotite

Latest Articles

BYOD Basics: How to Get Reimbursed for Your Phone Usage

5 Common Habits That Destroy Good Conversation

Is a College Degree Really Worth It?