Newport takeaway dubbed 'best kebab house in Wales' gets high hygiene score
A Newport family-owned takeaway has received a high food hygiene score.
Grill And Bake, on Corporation Road, received a four-star food hygiene rating when inspected on March 6.
This means that overall, the takeaway is rated as "good."
The food hygiene rating is based on three categories: hygienic food handling, cleanliness and condition of facilities and building, and management of food safety.
At the time of inspection, Grill And Bake was found to have "good" cleanliness and condition of facilities and building, and management of food safety.
Hygienic food handling was rated as "very good."
Grill And Bake was crowned the "Best Kebab House in Wales" at the twelfth British Kebab Awards, sponsored by Just Eat, in March last year.
The business, owned by Hatip Aksoy and Ibrahim Aksoy, was given the award, which they described as an "amazing achievement."
The Food Hygiene Rating Act 2013 became law in Wales on March 4, 2013, requiring all businesses selling food in Wales - including pubs, cafes, restaurants, hotels, takeaways, schools, hospitals, canteens, care homes and corner shops – to display hygiene ratings in a prominent place, and to provide the information verbally if requested over the phone.
Inspections are carried out by the local authority officers, and ratings - from zero, meaning urgent improvement is necessary or they may risk closure; to five, meaning standards are excellent - are updated on the FSA website.
Businesses have the right to appeal against ratings.
Each inspection is carried out under three categories - hygienic food handling, which covers preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage, cleanliness and condition of facilities and building, covering including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control, and the management of food safety, which is defined as the system or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.
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A Week In Washington, DC On A $120,500 Salary
Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We're asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar. Today: a program director who makes $120,500 per year and who spends some of her money this week on an overpriced facial. If you'd like to submit your own Money Diary, you can do so via our online form. We pay $150 for each published diary. Apologies but we're not able to reply to every email. Occupation: Program director Industry: Nonprofit Age: 30 Location: Washington, DC Salary: $120,500 Assets: Checking: $4,700; HYSA: $35,000; 401(k): $25,000; FSA: $3,500; IRA: $1,900 (from a previous job). Debt: $0 Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $3,246.72 Pronouns: She/her Monthly Expenses Housing Costs: $2,450 for a one-bedroom apartment with a parking spot. Utilities: $40-$80 for electric (varies). Internet: $56 Healthcare Premium: $100 (deducted from paycheck). Healthcare FSA: $275 (deducted from paycheck) 401(k): $500 (deducted from paycheck) Subscriptions: $61 (Netflix, Disney/Hulu, Spotify, Apple/Google storage). Donations: $40 ($20 each to two abortion funds). Annual Expenses Car Insurance: $860 Renter's Insurance: $129 Credit Card Fee: $250 Amazon Prime: $147 Washington Post: $170 MLB TV: $158 NYT Games: $42 Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it? Yes, I was always expected to go to college, and specifically an Ivy League school (which I did). My parents paid for my tuition and room/board, and I worked campus jobs to have spending money for anything else. Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances? My parents told me all the time that money does not grow on trees and you need to earn it first to be able to buy things. They were very big into saving as much as possible and taught me to never spend money I didn't have (i.e. get into debt). When I got older, they helped set me up my first bank account and credit card and taught me about the importance of building good credit pretty early on, which was helpful. What was your first job and why did you get it? I started helping out at my dad's office (filing papers, doing data entry) on Saturdays when I was 10 or 11, and my dad paid me $5 an hour in cash so I could save up to buy my first iPod. For years, this was how I 'earned' bigger purchases from my parents. When I turned 16 and the company could finally put me on payroll, I started doing temp work in another department on my school breaks and making some real money. My first W2 job was working a few hours a week as a teaching assistant at my synagogue's Sunday school, starting in 8th grade. My parents put all my paychecks in my bank account but did not give me access to the account, so any purchases I wanted to make still had to go through them. Did you worry about money growing up? Not really. I didn't worry about my basic needs being met I knew we were solidly upper-middle class, but I was always worried about having to ask my parents for anything, because I never knew how it was going to go over. It could be an easy yes if my mom was in a good mood, or it could be a hard no on something I considered essential, and I'd get into a screaming match with my mom over the cost/benefit of a new school sweatshirt when my favorite one had holes in it. My parents didn't want me to become spoiled by getting whatever I wanted (like some of my classmates), and they wanted to prevent me from spending the little money I made on silly teenage girl stuff. These were admirable goals, but it was confusing and frustrating because I always knew I wasn't asking for anything I/we couldn't afford, so it often just felt like a control thing more than an important financial lesson. Do you worry about money now? I don't worry about money day to day — I make enough to cover my expenses and I could tighten up my spending if I needed to. But I worry more existentially about saving enough for retirement and the increasing unaffordability of living in a single-income household in a high-cost city that also happens to currently be under threat by a certain someone's methodical dismantling of the federal government. I worry about whether I'll be able to afford to stay here if I lose my job or if my landlord raises my rent or sells the apartment. At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net? I became mostly responsible for myself at 21 when I graduated college, but I had to move back home in between jobs a few times in my early 20s (this was very normal in my industry), and did not become fully financially responsible until I turned 26 and started paying for my own health insurance. My parents are definitely my financial safety net, and I think they would send me a couple months of rent if I really needed it, but after the last time I moved out when I was 25 my mom told me I would not be allowed to move home again. Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain. My parents paid for my college education and bought me a used car my senior year that I still own today. Day One: Monday 8:30 a.m. — I wake up to my best friend's cat meowing loudly in my face. I flew to spend the weekend with my friend L. for her birthday and am working from her apartment today before flying back to DC tonight (Monday night flights were significantly cheaper than Sunday). I wearily get up and feed the cat breakfast, then curl back up on the couch to scroll for a bit. 9 a.m. — L. emerges from her room and I pour us iced coffees (we put hot coffee in the fridge the day before) while we map out our calls for the day and figure out if we can eat lunch together (we can't). I go to the bathroom and discover that my period has arrived two days early, what a delight! I take some preventative ibuprofen and then head back to the kitchen to figure out breakfast. L. unearths some severely misshapen homemade everything bagels from her freezer so I make us bodega-style egg sandwiches with some sharp cheddar I find in her fridge. 10 a.m. — I start my day with a Teams call about a very large grant application we are writing, which is due in two weeks. My boss and I worked our butts off last week to get a full first draft ready, and today we're sending it to our organization's leadership to get their feedback. A trusted colleague read the draft over the weekend and has some feedback that we decide to incorporate before sending it for review, so I put in headphones, blast some indie pop music, and lock in for the next two hours to make some edits. 12:30 p.m. — I lead my weekly cross-team check-in for the main project I'm in charge of and go over our priorities for this week (we're preparing for a big activation next month). Our communications director tells me that our CEO vetoed a key part of our plans on Friday, and adds me to a meeting with him later today to discuss. This week is off to a great start. 1:30 p.m. — My period is now fully here and my whole body feels like molten lava. I take more ibuprofen and grab some leftover salad and roasted potatoes out of the fridge from last night's dinner to eat while watching a webinar. 3 p.m. — I have my weekly check-in with my boss where I tell her I am officially checking in as concerned, followed by a meeting with my CEO where I try to explain why we chose certain tactics for our activation. He sort of comes around but still wants us to explore other options. I want to hit my head against a wall. 5:30 p.m. — I text L. from the living room that I am done for the day but she says she has at least another hour of work to do. I take more ibuprofen and curl up on the couch to scroll and eat some pretzels to see if I can calm my stomach. 6:30 p.m. — I poke my head into L.'s office to get my suitcase and start packing up. Her job is calling everyone back to in-person work so she's been looking at apartments in DC the last couple weeks! I can't wait to live in the same city again soon, but I know she's sad to be leaving her current city, so I'm starting to feel a little bittersweet that this is probably the last time I'll visit her here. I pick up the cat and take a lap around the apartment, reminding her about all the memories we've shared here before she gets sick of me and scampers out of my arms. 7 p.m. — L. finally emerges from her office and we head off to the airport. I breeze through airport security and decide that I probably should eat something other than pretzels for dinner. I buy an Impossible breakfast sandwich at Starbucks and post up in one of their comfy armchairs to call my parents and catch up before my flight. $6.55 7:45 p.m. — I board my plane and throw on Cowboy Carter for tonight's flight music. We take off exactly on time and the captain says we'll probably land early! Love this for me. 9:30 p.m. — Just kidding, we did not land early, but instead circled around DC for an extra 20 minutes until we could get cleared to land. This has happened to me so many times flying into DC, but in light of the recent plane crash here it puts me on edge more than it should. We end up taking the landing path that goes right over the National Mall and all the monuments look beautiful lit up at night. 9:45 p.m. — I take the Metro home ($2.50) and while I'm on the train I get a text from T., a guy I've been on two dates with recently, asking how my weekend was. We were both out of town this weekend and had vaguely agreed to get together again soon, so after we text about our travels I ask him what he's up to later this week/weekend. He goes radio silent. Great. $2.50 10:30 p.m. — Home sweet home! I peel off my airplane clothes, do the bare minimum of my nighttime routine (brush teeth, wash face), take more ibuprofen, and climb right into bed. 10:45 p.m. — Before I have a chance to ruminate too much on it, T. texts me back to ask how I feel about jazz. I love jazz! Turns out he has a friend playing in a small jazz show on Friday, so he suggests we go to that together and I obviously enthusiastically agree to these plans. I text L. to let her know I'm home and also about my third date plans, and then yell at her over text for expressing far more optimism than I will allow to be floated this early in a dating endeavor. 11 p.m. — I watch the latest episode of The White Lotus on my phone in bed and then fall asleep a little after midnight. Daily Total: $9.05 Day Two: Tuesday 8:30 a.m. — I wake up to my alarm and a text from L. that she got one of the apartments she applied for! My best friend is moving two Metro stops away from me next month!! Life is worth living!!! 9 a.m. — The joy over L.'s news is tempered by my period wreaking havoc over my digestive system. I don't feel nauseous, but my stomach feels hot and unsettled. I lay down on my yoga mat to do some light morning stretching but it doesn't help at all. I take some ibuprofen and drink lots of water before sitting down at my desk to take on the day. 10:30 a.m. — I have a meeting with my boss' boss and a consultant who works for the main funder of my project. I outline our plan for the upcoming activation and he thinks it's great, and specifically says that the tactic my CEO wants us to skip would fill a big gap in the space right now. Ha! Boss' boss (grandboss?) asks me to find some time for us to huddle up again on this later. 12 p.m. — I get on a Q&A webinar for the grant application we're working on and set myself up with an adult lunchable: Laughing Cow cheese wedges, Trader Joe's pepperoni slices, and fancy rosemary flatbread crackers. I put a couple questions into the Q&A box that go unanswered and write down the names of all the people who do get their questions answered, so we can Google them and scope out our competition. 2 p.m. — My Blue Apron box arrives ($76 charged last week; this is a weekly charge based on the specific order for that week and I do it about two weeks a month depending on my schedule and whether I'm traveling, so it varies a lot.) and I put everything in the fridge. 4 p.m. — I huddle back up with grandboss and comms director, and we agree to stick to my original plan for the activation, while grandboss talks to our CEO to get him back on board. I feel vindicated but also somewhat demoralized by the lack of trust I feel from leadership. Why do they need an external (male) consultant to confirm what I already told them is the best course of action? 6 p.m. — I'm still at my desk but losing steam when I get a call from my friend J., who got out of work early and wanted to call and yap on her way home! She lives across the country and I haven't seen her IRL since my birthday last year. We don't have any friends' weddings or built-in reasons to see each other this year, so we talk through our upcoming travels and lives and land on a possible visit in November, which is still SO far away. Long-distance friendship is hard, but we've kept this one strong for more than eight years and I'm not giving up now. 8 p.m. — J. and I chat for about two hours and at some point I realize I do not have the mental capacity or stomach fortitude for a Blue Apron meal, so I just boil some Trader Joe's tortellini from my freezer and toss it with olive oil, grated pecorino, and lots of black pepper. 9 p.m. — After I get off the phone with J., I lay down to scroll for a while and end up texting with L. about all the fun things we can do now that she's moving here. I suggest we get tickets to see our hometown baseball team play when they come to DC, and she is down! I buy tickets to two games the weekend they're playing here ($154) and send L. a Venmo request for her half. $77 10:30 p.m. — T. texts that the tickets have been acquired for the jazz show Friday. The bar is truly so low for men, but I'm honestly kind of impressed at the initiative he's taking to plan a fun date. I feel like I'm always the one who plans the fun things and buys the tickets (see above), so I find myself feeling some feelings about not having to be the one to do that with him. 11:30 p.m. — I do my full dental (floss, brush, mouthwash) and skin care routines (cleanser, retinol, moisturizer) and the NYT crossword before falling asleep around midnight. Daily Total: $77 Day Three: Wednesday 7 a.m. — I wake up to terrible period cramps. The worst should be over by now! Why is this still happening! I take some ibuprofen and chug some water before trying to go back to sleep, but I end up tossing and turning in pain for another hour. I message my boss that I'm not feeling well and will be remote today after all (we usually go into our office together on Wednesdays), then turn off my alarms and finally fall back asleep around 8 a.m. 10 a.m. — I wake up again and check my phone — boss says to take the time I need, so I go back to sleep again. 11 a.m. — I wake up a third time, finally feeling okay and ready to seize the day. I let my boss know I am alive and online now, answer several Slacks and emails from bed, then take a quick shower and turn into a real person. As annoying as my job can be sometimes, I feel very lucky to have such a supportive boss and a flexible remote work environment. 11:45 a.m. — My stomach is still craving comfort food, so I make some Annie's mac and cheese for lunch. I don't have any milk, so I sub in some Greek yogurt and it's super creamy and delicious. 12 p.m. — I finally sit down at my desk to start my workday for real: I lock in to review grant application feedback and prep for a big external call I'm leading tomorrow. 2 p.m. — I meet with my boss and a few other department heads to prep for a 4 p.m. meeting with our senior leadership, where we're hoping to walk through all the feedback they gave us on our first draft and get aligned on what needs to change for the second (and hopefully final) draft. 4 p.m. — No one agrees on anything! Senior leaders are offering contradictory feedback and disagreeing with each other in the Zoom chat. Our CEO didn't even read past the second page but has very strong opinions that outweigh everyone else's anyway! I hate it here. 5 p.m. — Slack huddle with my boss where we do a primal scream and then come up with a game plan to better manage our internal stakeholders for the second draft. I make some tea and start in on resolving comments and incorporating the lower stakes feedback and suggestions. 7 p.m. — I finally log off and make a vaguely Mediterranean salmon and couscous Blue Apron meal, but somehow manage to slice my thumb on my knife while cutting an onion, which I haven't done in years. I'm so annoyed as I clean the cut and bandage myself up, but then I watch an episode of Chopped while I eat and see a professional cut themselves too, and feel less bad about it. 8 p.m. — I text a little bit with T., and then force myself to temper my expectations and do some swiping and messaging on Hinge as well. I agree to get coffee with a cute British man on Sunday, then I realize that my only plans for this weekend are dates, which is a problem. I text my friend R. to fix that and we make plans to make dinner together Sunday night. 9 p.m. — My social calendar is looking a little light next week as well, so I decide to host some people at my apartment to celebrate Purim, a minor Jewish holiday, next weekend. I send out a Partiful invite to 10ish friends to come over and make hamantaschen cookies and drink wine. I told people in the event description to BYOF (bring your own filling) so I go on Amazon and put some food safe markers in my cart so we can label the cookies by flavor as we go. 10 p.m. — Now that my period is finally dying down, my body is craving movement. I turn on a 30-minute yoga flow on YouTube, but I'm struggling because I can't put any weight on my right thumb. I give myself an extended savasana to ease my frustration — aka I lie on the floor for a while staring at the ceiling and contemplating my existence until I hear my phone buzz. 11 p.m. — I pull the trigger on the edible markers order, along with a pair of yoga blocks and a small decorative jar I've had in my Amazon cart for a minute. I have $6 of cashback rewards on my card linked to my Amazon account, so I apply that to my order. $28.55 11:30 p.m. — Bedtime routines and in bed doing the crossword by 11:30 p.m., asleep by 12 p.m. Daily Total: $28.55 Day Four: Thursday 8 a.m. — I wake up before my alarm — and for the first time this week, don't wake up feeling bad! I brush my teeth, wash my face, put on SPF and some light makeup, and re-bandage my thumb, which is already starting to heal nicely, thank god. 9:30 a.m. — First meeting of the day is a follow-up chat with our CEO after yesterday afternoon's deeply unhelpful meeting. He actually read like 60% of the draft last night and understands the constraints of the grant requirements better now, but stands by some of his bigger picture feedback about the scope and scale of the project we're proposing. I debrief with my boss afterwards and she says she'll take the lead on incorporating his feedback. 10:30 a.m. — I make fried eggs with sriracha on sourdough toast from my freezer and pour some cold brew from the La Colombe cold brew box I keep in my fridge. It's running a little low, so I add it to the running shopping list I keep in my Notes app. 11 a.m. — More prep for my call this afternoon and a check-in with our digital team to give them a heads up about some needs we'll have for the activation next month. 3:30 p.m. — The monthly call I host with a bunch of partner organizations goes really well! Then I see that grandboss has messaged me to see if I'm going to a key partner's happy hour later. The weather is awful and I had been thinking about skipping it, but now I feel like I have to go. 4 p.m. — I eat my leftover salmon and couscous from last night, brush my teeth again, and get dressed in real people clothes: black slacks, a black tank, and a cobalt blue cashmere cardigan from Madewell. The fit is kind of giving Elizabeth Warren? I throw on some black suede ankle boots and move my essentials from my everyday bag to a more professional black tote bag, then head out to catch the bus. $2.25 5 p.m. — The first person I see at the happy hour is a former federal official I used to work closely with until the change of administration, so we wait in line at the (open) bar together and catch up. I get a very generous pour of white wine and we mill around for a bit, grabbing passed hors d'oeuvres and introducing each other to people who stop by to say hi. 6:15 p.m. — Over the next hour I chit chat about how bad everything is with a few colleagues at similar nonprofits, several more former federal workers, and a guy at a scrappy advocacy org, who asks if my organization 'has any cash you could throw our way' (??). By 6:15 p.m. the room has thinned out a little and I decide it's time to head home. My bus ride home is free since I'm within two hours of my last fare. 7 p.m. — One of my college friends, P., texts that she finally has a start date for her new job, and it's next week! When I get home I give her a call to say congrats, and we end up yapping for the next couple hours while we both make dinner (another Blue Apron meal for me). 9 p.m. — I hang up with P. to lock in and watch the latest episode of Severance, because if I don't watch it immediately, the internet will probably spoil it for me. This show is absolutely wild — I have so many follow-up questions! 9:45 p.m. — I get an email notifying me that another college friend's indie film crowdfunding campaign reached its goal and they get to fulfill my pledge now. We've drifted apart in recent years but I'm so excited for her and am glad I get to support her new project. $25 10 p.m. — I scroll on TikTok for a bit, where I have somehow ended up on esthetician TikTok? My skin has been so dry this winter so what the hell, I decide to book a facial. A new place just opened near me and keeps advertising $30 off your first facial in my Instagram feed, so I book one for Saturday. Do I need a facial? No. But will it be a fun and relaxing one-time special treat during an otherwise dreary winter weekend? Yes, and I'm very excited. 11 p.m. — I put on a chill bedtime yoga flow, shower, do my nighttime routines, and play NYT games on dark mode until I fall asleep around 12:30 p.m. Daily Total: $27.25 Day Five: Friday 8:30 a.m. — My alarm wakes me up and I see that T. has texted asking if I want to do dinner before the show tonight. I certainly do! He's been the one to suggest all the places/plans to this point, so I look up some restaurants near the venue and send him a couple options to choose from, including a Mexican place I've been meaning to try. 9:30 a.m. — I don't have anything on my work calendar until 12 p.m., so I use my morning for some digital housekeeping — cleaning out my inbox, installing computer updates, etc. I eat some of my leftover Blue Apron dinner from last night (a rice bake with chorizo, tomato, and spinach) for breakfast. 10:30 a.m. — T. texts back that he's down for the Mexican place and just made a reservation. He offers to pick me up and drive us both there, which I accept. I find it odd that he keeps driving to our dates, especially in a city where public transit is pretty good and Ubers are cheap, but for where we're going tonight it definitely makes things easier. 11 a.m. — My boss sends me her updated grant application draft, and I read through her edits. I add a few comments here and there but it looks pretty good to me. 12 p.m. — My organization has hired an outside facilitator to lead an all-staff workshop on how to manage news/social media stress in these trying times. Normally I'd roll my eyes at this kind of thing, but I really like this particular facilitator. He shares some research about the mental and physical health impacts of doomscrolling and constant news consumption, then leads us in a discussion about steps we can take to limit our news intake, while still keeping up with what's required for our jobs and being an active citizen. We end with a gratitude practice and I find myself tearing up a little bit. It's been a hard couple months in DC and while I find my job frustrating day to day, I'm grateful to have a job at all, let alone a job full of people who are still trying to make things better, even as so much of our work is being torn apart. 1 p.m. — Last grant check-in of the week! My boss walks through the changes she made to the draft with a smaller group of us (no senior leadership) and we work through everyone's feedback live, so we can send the second draft back to leadership this afternoon. 2 p.m. — I eat the rest of my leftovers and tie up a few more loose ends from the week. I send grandboss a recap of some of my conversations from yesterday's happy hour, and she lets me know that she got our CEO back on board with our original plans for my project's activation. That's great to hear, because I already announced those plans to 50 people on yesterday's call, oops. 4 p.m. — Uh oh, my boss is calling me at 4 p.m. on a Friday. Never a good sign! She tells me that grandboss just called her because she started looking through the new application draft and doesn't feel like it's reflecting her feedback. I look in the doc and she is actively making in-line edits, which we asked people not to do at this stage. My boss and I talk it through and decide that we're simply done trying to make everyone happy and if grandboss wants to just rewrite entire sections, that's fine, and that's what we'll submit next week. 4:45 p.m. — I close my laptop, put on some Sabrina Carpenter for good flirty vibes, and start to get ready for my date! I style my hair, do my makeup, and put on a little black dress, sheer black tights, and chunky black boots. My biggest beauty splurge in the last year was a perfume from Dior, so I add a spritz of that and I'm out the door. 5:45 p.m. — T. picks me up and we debrief our weeks on the way to dinner. He works for a federal agency and tells me about which of his colleagues got laid off since our last date, and I tell him about the much less serious quotidian nonsense of my job as I continue to get Slack notifications from comments in the Google doc. I put my phone on Do Not Disturb and we both agree on no more work talk once we get out of the car. 6 p.m. — I picked an excellent restaurant and dinner is delicious. We get margs and chips and guac to start, then we each get a couple tacos and esquites to share. We contemplate some churros for dessert, but decide to pass so we can get to the venue a little early and get good seats. T. sneakily pays for dinner while I'm in the bathroom, and I have no idea how much it was. 7:30 p.m. — The venue for this show is actually a classic DC rowhome converted into an event space, so we enter through an alley in the back and are immediately transported into a moody, candlelit, exposed brick, black box-type space. We go scope things out and put our jackets down to claim two seats, then head to the makeshift bar in the back. The drinks are 'free' but there are 'suggested donations' listed, so I scan the Venmo QR code and insist on paying, since he paid for dinner. $20 9 p.m. — There are two groups performing tonight, and the opener was amazing! It's unreal how much local talent there is in DC. We get another round of drinks during the break between sets and I pay again, over T.'s objections. $20 10:30 p.m. — The show wraps up, and we linger to say hi to T.'s friend who played in the second act. He introduces us to the other musicians, and T. ends up buying the vocalist's solo album on vinyl. As we head back to the car, I'm thinking quickly about when and where to make a move, because we still haven't kissed! So when we get back to his car and he goes to open the passenger door for me, I pause and turn around. He asks if I want a hand getting in, and I say no, I want you to come here and kiss me, and he does :) I was manifesting a dimly lit side street makeout against a car door tonight and absolutely nailed my vision!! 11 p.m. — T. drives me home and parks around the corner so he can kiss me again and walk me to my building. Seems like I wasn't the only one scheming on where to make a move tonight. Part of me wants to invite him up, but it feels too soon, so I just say goodnight and suggest we do this again sometime, to which he says 'Definitely' and kisses me one last time. When I get into my apartment I flop onto my bed and text L. that I think I just went on a perfect date?? She is out with some friends but responds immediately, demanding details. Debriefing a good date with your best friend is a top tier girlhood experience and the perfect way to end the night. Daily Total: $40 Day Six: Saturday 9 a.m. — My alarm goes off and I am not ready to get up. I stayed up way too late texting with my friends about my perfect date and definitely did not drink enough water before I went to bed. People make jokes about turning 30 and not being able to drink anymore, but three drinks in one evening really does hit different at this age :( I set a new alarm for 10 a.m. and go back to sleep, then keep snoozing it until I absolutely have to get up. 10:45 a.m. — I finally haul myself out of bed and get ready to leave the house. I need to eat something, but I can't figure out what. I improvise a smoothie with some frozen mango, Greek yogurt, coconut milk, and honey — it's not bad, but it's also not good. I force myself to sip on it while I get dressed, then race out the door. 11:30 a.m. — I get to my facial appointment exactly on time but I'm a little flustered from speed walking over here. I finally start to relax once I'm lying down and talking through my goals with the esthetician, and the next 50 minutes fly by. I almost fall asleep during one of the masks but manage to keep it together and decline when she suggests we add a red light treatment for $50 extra. 12:30 p.m. — I check out at the front desk and also decline to become a monthly member or to buy any additional products to take home. My final total is $114 + a 20% tip. $136.80 12:45 p.m. — I need to go grocery shopping and am tempted to stop into Trader Joe's on my way home, but I haven't made a list and should not go in there hungry and without a plan. Instead, I stop into a café and get a chicken salad sandwich and an iced tea. $21.60 1:15 p.m. — I drink most of my iced tea on the walk home and then eat half my sandwich while watching my baseball team play a meaningless spring training game. I spend the rest of the afternoon watching baseball, napping, writing my MD, and having phone time. I text T. a couple photos/videos I took at the show last night and cancel my other first date for tomorrow (I just wasn't that excited about it and wanted to focus on T.!). I really want one (1) new cute casual dress for spring, so I do the sensible thing and order three (3) from Tuckernuck with the high hopes that one of them will end up working. (Update: They were all terrible and I got two dresses for $40 from Old Navy instead to satisfy my new sundress craving.) $345 5 p.m. — I eat the other half of my sandwich and make a grocery list. I order two more cold brew fridge packs ($61.20). I text my friend R. some ideas for dinner tomorrow night, and we land on a Smitten Kitchen recipe for roasted veggies and halloumi (she's vegetarian), plus I decide I want to make chocolate chip cookies. We'll do a full catchup tomorrow, but I tell R. I had a great third date last night, and it turns out she also had a great second date last night! Dating can get so demoralizing so you gotta get excited when there's something to be excited about, and I'm proud of us for continuing to put ourselves out there. $61.20 6 p.m. — The sun goes down and I realize just how excited I am for daylight savings to start tomorrow — 7 p.m. sunsets are going to change the game! When the weather's nice I love to go outside and read after work, so I decide to hype myself up for this seasonal change by starting a new book tonight. I go shopping on my bookshelf and pick up The Mythmakers by Keziah Weir. 8 p.m. — My high school friend F. texts me out of the blue asking how I feel about one-shoulder dresses. I am officiating her wedding this summer and she wants to send over some dress ideas. The wedding is several months away, but I know that the sooner I buy a dress, the sooner I will lift one tiny piece of wedding anxiety off her shoulders, so we spend the next hour looking at dresses online and sending options back and forth. I love F. very much, but she keeps sending dresses that simply won't work on my body, or that don't go up to my size. I eventually find a dress on Nordstrom's website that we both really like and that has inclusive sizing! I order a size 16 and 18 so I can try both on, and cross my fingers that I'm able to nail this fashion assignment on the first try (note: I did not nail it on the first try and had to return these, but I found a great dress we both love for $250 a few weeks later!). $527.88 11 p.m. — I spend the rest of my evening alternating between reading my book (which is off to a slow but interesting start) and mindless TikTok time, then do my bedtime routines and fall asleep around midnight. Daily Total: $1092.48 Day Seven: Sunday 10 a.m. — I didn't set an alarm and am surprised that I slept in until 10 a.m., until I remember we lost an hour to daylight savings. After a delightful rot day yesterday, today is the day I get my shit together! I get up and put on Lady Gaga's new album while I shower, to kickstart the day. 11 a.m. — This new album SLAPS. I sort and start my laundry, then literally stop in my tracks when I hear 'How Bad Do U Want Me' for the first time. Did she put drugs in this song?? I put it on repeat so I can start learning the lyrics while loading my dishwasher and cleaning out my fridge. I make chimichurri scrambled eggs on sourdough toast and drink some cold brew, then head out to the grocery store. 12 p.m. — Whole Foods run! I get bananas, lemons, parsley, dill, thyme, scallions, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, celery, onions, baby carrots, halloumi, Laughing Cow cheese, chicken breasts, eggs, bread, coconut milk, Annie's mac and cheese, vanilla extract, and fancy dark chocolate baking discs. I'm so distracted by Lady Gaga's perfect pop album that at one point I put my items in someone else's cart and a confused older gentleman has to tap me on the shoulder and politely point this out. Doing great! $121.77 1 p.m. — Home from the grocery and my baseball team is back on. I unpack my groceries, move my laundry along, put some bone-in chicken breasts in the oven to roast, and make my cookie dough so it can rest in the fridge for a few hours. I decide to go all in and make the NYT adobo chocolate chip cookies, which are literally the best cookies I've ever made. 5 p.m. — The rest of the afternoon is a haze of laundry, baseball, making chicken salad and stock, snacking on baby carrots, texting with T., and chopping veggies for dinner tonight. Around 5 p.m. I finally strain the stock and pour it into containers for the fridge/freezer, throw my last load of towels in the dryer, then pack up all the veggies and cookie dough to drive over to R.'s house. 5:30 p.m. — I am greeted at R.'s apartment by her very excitable dog, S. I have gone back and forth on getting a pet for years, but for now at least, I'm content to just hang out with my friends' pets when I need a good animal snuggle and keep my home free of lovable chaos demons. R. pours us some wine, I throw the veggies and halloumi in the oven, and we head to her building's roof to soak up the extra hour of sunshine. 6:30 p.m. — Dinner is served and we're so excited to eat al fresco on the roof, but as soon as the sun sets it gets too cold, so we head back down to R.'s apartment and put the cookies in the oven. They turn out SO good it's unbelievable. 7:30 p.m. — Cookie time turns into dog snuggles and anxiety time: R. tells me about her organization's recent layoffs in response to frozen government funding and how nervous she is about her job stability, and I tell her about how nervous I am for my doctor's appointment tomorrow. I have been dealing with chronic pelvic pain for years, and have finally started seeking treatment for it. Pelvic floor physical therapy and hormone therapy have literally changed my life over the last year, and tomorrow I'm doing a round of pelvic floor Botox injections (similar to when people get Botox for migraines or TMJ). I get super anxious for doctor's appointments, so my mom is coming into town for the day to go with me and drive me home. R. offers to come over after she leaves if I need additional support or dog snuggles, which I will probably not take her up on but appreciate anyway. We divvy up leftovers and hug it out before I leave. 9 p.m. — I get home and call my parents for our weekly catchup call and to go over logistics with my mom for tomorrow. I'm taking a half-day off work and will pick her up from the train station on the way to my appointment. Turns out my dad also has a doctor's appointment tomorrow to get a cortisone shot in his shoulder, but I guess he's a big boy and can go by himself. 9:30 p.m. — I change into PJs and turn Lady Gaga back on to motivate me to put all my laundry away and clean up the kitchen from all my earlier cooking projects, then I start the dishwasher and the new episode of The White Lotus. I feel like it's just starting to get interesting, and I'm excited to see where the rest of the season goes. 11 p.m. — I settle in to do some dilator therapy to put some extra stretch into my pelvic floor muscles before tomorrow. I remind myself of how far I've come, and how blessed I am to have a stable job and the financial resources to pursue treatment that is largely not covered by insurance. I spent over $5,000 last year on medical bills that insurance didn't cover, and this year I'm really hoping that doesn't exceed the $3,500 I'm saving through my healthcare FSA. The appointment tomorrow will be $1,350, and I really hope it's worth it (update: It went well, but not as dramatic of an improvement as I thought there might be). 11:30 p.m. — I clean my dilators, do my bedtime dental and skin care routines, and then put on a Spotify 'Sleep' playlist to ease my anxious brain into sleep. The Breakdown Conclusion 'Other than the hundreds of dollars spent on dresses I ended up returning anyway, this was a pretty normal week of spending for me! It's a little hard to read back and see how much my pelvic pain impacted my week and how excited I was about T. (we ended things a few weeks later) but I'm thrilled to report I have since found the perfect dress for my friend's wedding and the Botox did help a little bit! This is my third year in a row keeping a Money Diary for the same week in March (I didn't submit last year's for publication, though) and it's cool to see these snapshots in time and how my little spending habits have changed (or not) year over year.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Salary is just the beginning—These are the latest compensation strategies to attract superstar employees
Job seekers have a lot of factors to think about before they accept a new position. A hefty salary is often their number one priority, but other benefits like health care, 401(k) plans, paid leave, and professional development opportunities are also important. All of those factors together make up the concept of 'total rewards,' and the idea that compensation is about a lot more than just the number on your paycheck. The picture becomes even more complicated for companies now that there are five generations in the workforce. That means employers often need to consider the specific compensation and benefit desires of different groups of employees. For example, retirement funds are top of mind for Gen Xers and millennials. But Gen Z values things like vacation time and work-life balance so much that they're willing to take lower-paying jobs that offer these perks. Fortune sat down with Jeremy Yonan, the vice president of total rewards at Indeed, to get his take on the biggest trends in compensation, how companies can attract superstar employees, and how today's job seekers can get the most out of workplace offerings. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. : What are people asking for in their compensation packages? Are there new trends you are seeing? Yonan: Wages are cooling, but expenses are still rising. So what if anything can employees get to maximize the relationship with their employer? There are multiple levers. Additional PTO, depending on your organization and structure, has both a monetary value and a real well-being impact. One extra week of vacation is like a 2% raise in disguise. Think about additional PTO as a way to shop around as you are looking for that next stop. Some organizations, within the last five or six years, have been moving towards student loan repayment programs. Because the U.S. government has enacted SECURE 2.0, there are avenues [in which] employer retirement plans can reallocate that match towards student loan repayments. There's also a professional development stipend. This is one of the biggest, most important things somebody can [use to] take control of their own career. Upskilling is one of the best long-term investments, and many companies have budgets for them. They just don't necessarily advertise them. Then there's wellness and lifestyle spending accounts. These are monthly contributions similar to a flexible spending account (FSA) or dependent care spending account, but geared more towards lifestyle. A lot of companies are really embracing wellness strategies, and if you do demonstrate some progress towards that strategy, that's where you can start participating in these lifestyle spendings. Most of us are already doing the simple things. We eat healthy, we go to the gym, we take daily walks, stuff like that. All you have to do is record it and then submit it to your employer. There's an unwritten currency, and it's called time. It's increasingly what people value most, especially if you have dual working parents and childcare [responsibilities]. Speaking of childcare, there's a growing number of members of the 'sandwich generation': workers who are taking care of both young children and aging parents. How are employers showing up for them? When we think about tailoring total compensation strategies for this group, it's really about acknowledging the dual caregiving burden and providing flexibility, financial support, and emotional well-being resources. Resources like geriatric care management services, elder care navigation benefits, or stipends to offset home care costs can be incredibly valuable. Options like compressed workweeks, remote work, or flexible hours help caregivers manage unpredictable responsibilities without sacrificing career progression. Consider offering caregiver leave that goes beyond FMLA requirements—paid time off to care for aging parents or attend medical appointments. There's also Dependent Care FSAs, Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), and education and support groups. There's been a lot of debate around return-to-office mandates. How are they fitting into salary and benefit negotiations today? We've all seen the headlines: 'As RTO mandates return, it's becoming a bargaining chip for employers, so you have to get your butts back into the office.' But they don't work, and it leads to attrition. I think that these are mostly lagging indicators that the company will ultimately suffer in productivity and performance, because they're losing and turning over all these employees. Blanket RTOs post-pandemic is just not a productive way to streamline. It's important to do your research first, and even though a company might be completely remote or have hybrid flexibility, it's important to have that conversation upfront with the recruiter to truly understand whether that's something that is still in a test phase. This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Health Insurance Not Covering Enough? 5 Reasons To Consider Secondary Insurance
Having insurance doesn't always mean being fully covered, with many Americans still facing big bills for basic care, let alone anything unexpected. According to KFF, annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage hit $25,572 in 2024, with workers paying an average of $6,296 out of pocket. The average deductible for single coverage now stands at $1,787 — money that has to come out of pocket before insurance kicks in. Read More: Check Out: GOBankingRates spoke with two experts about when secondary insurance might be needed and what to know before making a move. Basic policies rarely handle everything. Many treatments, specialists or medications simply aren't included in standard plans. Kris Barber, founder and principal attorney at The Barber Law Firm, explained that secondary insurance can help with expenses 'like vision care, dental treatment, co-payments or even deductibles.' Explore More: High deductibles and frequent co-payments can strain even those with good coverage. When costs start stacking up, secondary insurance 'can relieve your burden considerably' by helping cover what primary leaves behind, according to Barber. Frequent appointments, therapies or medications, especially for chronic conditions, can burn through coverage fast. Patients with recurring care needs may often benefit from secondary plans that fill in those regular, costly gaps. For Medicare beneficiaries, Original Medicare doesn't cover everything. Eligible senior patients can 'consider Medigap policies to enhance coverage for expenses not included in Original Medicare — coinsurance and deductibles,' according to Barber. Secondary coverage doesn't have to be complicated to get. According to Melanie Musson from it's often available through a spouse's employer, via the Affordable Care Act marketplace or even as a separate policy for those on a parent's plan. Private insurance firms and government programs also offer supplemental plans for those who qualify. Sometimes a separate insurance policy isn't the best tool. If secondary insurance isn't an obvious need, a flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) might be the better move. Musson explained it's a good option because 'instead of paying premiums, you can put your money in an account where it grows.' HSAs, for those with high-deductible health plans, offer rollover benefits, investment growth and portability. FSAs, while less flexible, still provide tax advantages for near-term medical expenses. Both options may be better suited for covering moderate, expected out-of-pocket costs, without committing to ongoing premiums. Not every situation calls for secondary insurance, so weighing the cost of premiums and deductibles against the expected benefits is a good place to start. If the numbers line up, coverage can make a real difference. If not, a tax-advantaged account might offer more freedom and financial control. More From GOBankingRates 8 Common Mistakes Retirees Make With Their Social Security Checks This article originally appeared on Health Insurance Not Covering Enough? 5 Reasons To Consider Secondary Insurance Sign in to access your portfolio
