Money Matters - Part 11

Count your blessings is indeed our theme. We're betting the stocks will go up, so we're in a saving mode (except for buying garden plants, hee hee). So, the grace note is to still aim higher.

More in credit card debt than emergency savings, not total savings.

More evidence that higher tax rates result in LESS revenue.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/tax/9097219/50p-tax-rate-failing-to-boost-revenues.html

Boggles my mind that some people keep saying that unemployment checks stimulate the economy.

Thanks Victor for clarifying. Still for those of us who shun credit card debt at the best of times...is this a sign of people having to hang on and make it through using credit card debt? That's sad.

First time in years that I have more credit card debt than liquid savings. Fortunatelly the credit card debt is at 0% until the first of next year. Those darn cats!

Glad to hear that, Rosemary.

Gas was $3.85 yesterday here.

Thanks to folks for sharing in our college news.

As of now, all three kids have a viable college offer, and still waiting for others. Other DD got accepted into Smith College today with a handwritten note from the Director of Admissions that they liked her essay about picking mushrooms while learning Polish.

Tonight we completed the IDOC paperwork, which is a confirmation of all the FAFSA and CSS data. Some colleges have their own version, but we think those are done. One really has to surrender to the process. It is a roller coaster ride anyway.

I can't imagine doing three kids at once! Then again maybe you got some mass production efficiency.

If you use credit card for tuition payments you can earn some massive rewards.

Rosemary so good to hear that all three fledglings will launch beyond the nest! Did I miss the third one's possibles? Do college kids still bring their laundry home to do? And no small thing that hubby wasn't downsized. Well done mama!

I was also going to say that getting three kids into college all at once is a Herculean task, but after raising them for the past 18 years you've probably gotten used to doing things in triplicate! ^_^

Truth is I'm tired. All that multi-tasking does not make the brain stronger. And I'm not a legume that you can just plow under! We'd like to have a mini celebration,now that the big parental part is done, but still too much work to do! For example, these guys have got to got out and find jobs until school starts.

New summary: DS has a partial merit scholarhsip to Wentworth Institute in mechanical engineering, then today he got an even bigger scholarship to a probably less preferred University of Hartford; DD1 has an acceptance at Smith studying Spanish, awaiting the financial package there, and DD2 has a so-called "Presidential" scholarhip to University of New Hampshire in biology --still more money than UMAss Amherst.

Please keep the good vibes and prayers coming. It's like running a marathon.

You tire me out, Rose!

No surprise here. Been saying this for years and years.

http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/family-money/why-college-aid-makes-college-more-expensive-1330033152060/

It just stands to reason!

Same with housing, construction, energy...

Nice to know we're not alone. ^_^

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204778604577243311212648548.html?mod=e2tw

RE ever increasing college costs, Victor's article didn't mention that some colleges are also catering to international students. Considering I have a daughter to study Spanish, I speculate it is likely that she is not only competing against US minorities who qualify for federal aid, but also competing against foreign students whose college is fully paid on scholarhip aid through their own governments. I have real questions about how many colleges are truly need blind for those kids who'd claim some of the college endowment.It forces a middle class family to look carefully at the well-endowed colleges. I wish I had known this earlier.

Wish I had known about well-endowed colleges - would have signed up on the spot!!!!

Not that way, Victor!!

My niece got a teaching degree. By the junior year she was student teaching. Lst three semesters were entirely student teaching with 'supervision' by the college. Full tuition applied. WHat a deal for the college AND the local school jurisdiction!!!!

I'd say. When I did mine back in 73 it was only for 9 weeks. Good times!

It's very sad that the scholarships for teachers are not getting funded in the state lately. That in spite of all the rhetoric about improving schools. This is not a partisan issue either.

Same for training of future doctors, but at least there are some accelerated college tracks around, whereas DD1 is not finding acceptable ways to accelerate her teacher's training. We're not holding our breath for the current national health care plan to get around to implementing the federal grants to train doctors, either.

My DD1 who wants to teach is volunteering weekly as a tutor. Her high school has a bus that departs to a more deprived region where they go to an after school program. It's mainly a National Honor Society project, but they fill the bus with volunteers every week. The other DD volunteers at a church daycare.

Back in the day I repaid my student loans by teaching in "disadvantaged" schools.
I believe that there is something similar for doctors who serve in "underserved" areas.

Wonder if teachers will start their own private practices like doc do...oops, I guess for profit on line has sucked up lots of that opportunity and the insurance industry hasn't really come up with a product to mitigate failures of education or malpractice or standards of care...

Also wonder if docs or teachers breakdown and rate their job satisfaction factors differently? There are less expensive ways to "just like helping people" than becoming a doctor. Becoming a doctor seems to necessitate business planning and acumen right from inception.

What if a family saving for college meant entreprenurial opportunities and training and financial nest eggs for startups and investment funds ,etc? One of my roommates in grad school was paying for her education with a loan from her family's corporation which was set up like a family "bank"! Always thought that was cool.

Teaching in disavantaged areas for two years used to be the condition for a college loan for future teachers. I don't see that program around anymore in this state. All need based loans are based upon the family's ability to pay, basically with state school. That's why we're driven to look at the privates. Many of them have merit scholarships. The merit sholarship my 3 got from our state is worth about $1,500 per year. In 4 years, they can apply for Stafford loans from the federal government. Very well off might dispurse money for advanced college through a trust, but we're basically letting the kids plan their own lives for after their BS.

More great news.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/washington-secrets/2012/02/more-bad-news-us-water-bills-triple/317086

Wow, Rosemary, does $1500 even cover text books?

Just wanted to mention a kind of cutting college costs strategy I ran into in upstate New York. Don't have all the details, but at least two sets of parents had purchased houses in small towns near a community college and rented them out to students with their own kids as "property managers" thus establishing residency and independence of student from need based assistance based on family contribution (more need, more grants and loans) Not sure how property purchase was financed or taxes handled on rental income, etc. An Associates degree was given preference for admission transfer to any 4 yr state school and all credits transfered! It was intimated to me that a degree from NYU or ?? could be obtained for approximately the cost (minus need based grants and loans) of one year of "attendance" at same given weekend /online and other intensive course offerings!

Another version of "never pay retail".

Two articles on student loan fraud:

http://solari.com/blog/the-fraud-at-the-heart-of-student-lending-exposed/
http://solari.com/articles/student_loans

Same thing seems to be happening with the GI Bill and returning vets...

Comment from a teacher on a review of "Waiting for Superman"

If wealthy, private donors gave their local public school $6500 per student with the expressed intention that it must be used for an extended school day for low achievers and an extension of the school year for those falling behind, you would also see gains in the level of productivity.


Ummmmm, what EXACTLY are my taxes needed for then?????

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/banker-insulting-tip-incites-class-warfare-between-1-164624882.html


Maybe she was just a horrible waitress, why do they make it about the rich vs poor???

Cole has some good ideas about other ways to finance college. I don't think my kids would be very good landlords, at this point, so maybe the idea would work once they're older. And if college loans only go to those who don't need them, well, you can see that we might be headed in a very bad direction for our younger generation.I hope that article was mainly referring to the huge private loan market which seems more like loan sharking to me. But it's true not everyone can manage well on just the federal loans.

I've been reading the Steve Jobs biography. He audited classes at Stanford so he wouldn't have to use his parents' money. He got his first job at Atari by threatening not to leave the office until he had a job, so the president met him and hired him. That was Jobs' advantage, but look what happened to Atari. Clearly there is still room for the creative solution, , butIi still think it ought not be necessary to be ruthless.

I'm afraid it means all student loans under current law. It is certainly what my dd is caught up in...along with so many others ...

A Review of The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History – and How We Can Fight Back by Alan Michael Collinge


The Preface begins:

“The truth is that I never considered student loans to be an especially interesting topic. College debt, I believed, was a necessary evil – to be repaid expeditiously and then forgotten even more quickly. However, what I once thought of as an uninteresting issue has come to dominate my life.”

This highly informative book was written by a 1998 graduate of Cal Tech with three degrees in aerospace engineering who, after a student loan nightmare that took him from an original relatively modest $38,000 Sallie Mae loan to an obligation of $80,000 by 2002 and $103,000 by mid 2005. At that point he started the website www.studentloanjustice.org in an effort to hook up with others in similar straits, share stories and become politically active in restoring consumer protections for student loans.

In The Student Loan Scam, we read blood-curdling personal stories from Collinge’s website that should make any parent of a college-bound student re-think any plans to saddle a loved-one with student loan obligations under current law. In the event the typical graduate with student loans does not get a $100,000 a year job right out of school and remain gainfully employed at an increasing salary for the next decade or more, student loan debts could result in financial ruin, loss of professional credentials and security clearances and, in some cases, suicide and debilitating depression.



http://solari.com/blog/special-solari-report-the-student-loan-scam/

I didn't read any of the links above about college loan debt... BUT, I had a new private telephone line put in my "office" about 3 months ago, and I get 1-3 collection calls a week for the gal who had this number before me. I keep telling them she's NOT at this number, and they say they will take my number off the list. However, the loan(s) must get sold over and over because new companies keep calling...

This could be worse than the mortage crisis for some families. You have a choice about whether to buy a house. Few people can make a choice not to go to college if they want a decent job.

I'm still wishing there would be a cheaper way to pay the initial costs of a state university. Souped up trade schools look financially acceptable for DS because they have coop programs at few of the big universities and they had merit scholarships. He's going to get jobs from how he solves practical problems, so there is a viable course for him. I'm queasy about sending DD1 to a school where there's only a protective bubble, and they don't think about the economic differences students face except maybe in their global courses about Latin America, and the best value for DD2 is still the party school, which makes me still think a Catholic education is a worthwhile investment.

Still, I suppose I should read the book, but I'm inclined to doubt we know the future. At least this year it's an election year, so the market is likely to drive up in general until at least November. Good news for the "haves" but not much help to those in debt already.

Hilary wants to work on financial regulation when she leaves diplomacy. Personally, I don't think the men have gotten very far solving this problem.

I briefly considered whether we might buy a cheap house near campus for DS, for his (hopefully) last year at school they want to live off campus. We'd get rent and trustworthy tenants from friends of his. But there would be lots of potential headaches with owning a house hours away from our home, and the question of renting it to unknown kids after he graduates. Even a rental near our home is something we really feel apprehensive about- although it's working out well for a friend of mine. It's a risk and potential maintenance headache.

I guess we're putting some faith in our current choice being one which gives DS a good more personal environment/ access to staff who care, and hopefully a network of good contacts for after graduation. My experience at the huge state school taught me that if he went there and slept thru class every day we'd be none the wiser until too late. The Christian school (maybe most) has some level of supervision.

The recent stories from the Huguely trial paint a very sad picture about certain students. A local columnist with grown kids also agreed that the lacrosse environment is extremely competitive and rife with a party mentality.

someone explain this to me, someone I know was out of work for a while(she was a nurse) he used to be partners in his own company as an electrician but they weren't doing well so he went into the Air Force reserves(which isn't a full time job only on call work) complaining and whining that they wouldn't be able to provide a good Chirstmas for the kids...blah blah blah.... he finally gets a post on base...now they are looking to buy a house...HUH??? How will they qualify to buy a house when they couldn't even afford to live on their own and were complaining they had no $???? Don't they usually look to see that you've held a steady job? He JUST got this job.

I am not so sure about the election year run. The market is already way ahead of reality. Any trigger, Europe, Iran, etc., could result in a steep drop.

Scary, Jen. Already back to the lunacy that got us into this mess?

I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

historically the market has gone up every election year - having said that history may not repeat itself - can't believe where the market is today with the country still in such bad shape.