Going to College for Free
With two cousins heading back to college, several friends planning their graduate degrees, a few in programs now, and my own intentions of going back to school – the cost of higher education has been at the forefront of my thoughts.
Unfortunately for me, these costs will most likely be an out-of-pocket expense unless I can dupe someone into paying for it. And to be honest, it’s the primary reason for my hesitance in committing to the decision. Fortunately for my cousins, they are covered. One just finished his undergraduate on a full-ride and is headed to Carnegie Mellon for a PhD… also on a full-ride.
Talking about life in general, I commended him on how well he had handled his education. In true personal finance fashion, I noted the significant benefit (beyond the obvious accreditations) would be the lack of debt. Approximating the costs, we arrived at an estimated figure of $500,000.
Yikes.
And it’s not just me either. “Stop the Tuition Madness” as Money wrote about in their current issue. The article highlights different ways for students to cut back on their education bills. Out of the three students featured, only 1 of the strategies made seemed to make sense.
Money Strategy: Go to a Lower-Cost College Abroad
My Interpretation: You went to University of Where?
Of course there’s nothing wrong with other schools, but perception alone will be the limiting factor. The student even notes, “While Victoria may not be a house-hold name in the U.S., Gesten thinks it will be a net plus for employers once she explains where it is and what a good school it is”.
Let’s hope… From my own experience, this was not the case.
During a summer internship after my freshman year, I learned some colleagues were severely over-educated for their positions. Since most held Masters or PhD degree, we spoke about their frustrations with reporting to younger engineers, with engineering degrees, but less experience. All were educated in universities outside of the US, but relegated to lesser roles because their alma maters didn’t carry the same clout as US schools.
Money Strategy: Pay with Future Earnings
My Interpretation: Schools are catching Zuckie-Fever!
Is It Time To Sell Your Gold?
Rising towards $2,000 during trading on Tuesday, investors may have been tempted to sell gold after the drastic 10% correction this morning. Gold is a commodity, but trades like a currency. Minor news events and people’s speculations can thus make it quite volatile.
If you invest in gold as a hedge, these fluctuations shouldn’t sway your convictions about the precious metal. The experts say the fundamentals are still there, and that nothing has changed. Maybe you don’t care about the fundamentals since you don’t believe in fiat currency and are willing to hold a hard asset no matter what.
Many people also believe in gold because of the status it provides. How many people have you seen adorned in gold – watches, necklaces, earrings, and rings. Even after those desires to impress fade, the gold is still worth something and people forget you can get cash for gold. Cash in your pocket is much better than jewelry collecting dust in your drawers.
If you listen to someone who has the gold bug, every time is always the right time to catch the “Midas Touch” and turn your fake assets into real ones. The government is crumbling and on the verge of failure….
As Forbes notes, gold follows a “Buy the Rumor Sell the Fact” pattern. Fear can drive the commodity’s price, but fulfilling loans and obligations requires liquid currency. Paying off liabilities means selling assets like gold.
No matter your reason for holding the previous metal, remember prices are based not on earnings or dividends, but what the person next to you is willing to pay.
Quicken – Losing its Luster?
Having used Quicken for longer than I’ve been married, it’s a shame to see my long-term relationship with the program start to deteriorate.
Before the advent of online platforms like Mint.com (now owned by the makers of Quicken), personal finance management software was limited to a handful of options: Excel, Money, or Quicken. Even after more choices emerged, the capabilities of these new program were mediocre compared to those offered by Quicken.
Since I’d established a history with Quicken and was dubious of entrusting ALL of my financial information to any one online service, I stuck with what I knew.
Aggregation & Automation make money management easy and effective. Using Quicken’s “One-Step Update”, a single click downloads your financial transactions from all your institutions.
Because Quicken did all of the grunt work, more time could be dedicated to: scrutinizing inflows and outflows, creating budgeting plans or savings goals, reviewing investment performance, and so on.
But… it seems once flaws are noticed, more begin to emerge. Continue reading “Quicken – Losing its Luster?” »
Investing Overload: Reflections of a Freak-out
Returning the “Credit where credit is due”. The inspiration for this article came from Oblivious Investor, which in turn, came from ‘nisiprius’.
It’s time for me to take a deep breath and step back from monitoring the market. After last week’s roller coaster, I’m too drained to worry about what will happen this week.
If you’ve ever played Roulette, those precipitous gyrations reminded me of betting on RED or BLACK. A rather simplistic choice with devastating consequences, you either win or loss.
Being a rather conservative investor, I’m of the “Go Long – Go Vanguard” approach through low-cost indexing; however, it’s undeniably hard to resist the mountains of financial products and tactics available.
Chatting with a friend who works in finance, we reviewed the different option strategies for hedging against short term losses. Even as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), he admitted having a limited grasp on the actual execution of these theories. Both of us have resolved to spend the time to learn more about these after our respective obligations (Him: GMAT & marathon, Me: GRE & half-marathon).
From there it was a slippery slope.
Continue reading “Investing Overload: Reflections of a Freak-out” »
Tips for Buying a Family Home
When you are buying a family home you are no longer just thinking about your own needs – or the needs of your partner – but also a whole hoard of little people, and probably a pet or two as well. Therefore, to help you make sure you are considering the needs of every member of your family when buying a new family home, and that you are able to make the move securely and successfully, follow these 10 steps:
- Research and plan your needs for your home and your home loan.
- Save for a home loan deposit, around 10-20 per cent of the property price.
- Arrange finance including loan pre-approval.
- Start looking for your new family home.
- Narrow down the market to one ideal property, but don’t get too excited just yet.
- Have the necessary building inspections done to inspect the condition of the property.
- Complete the formal loan application and obtain full approval.
- Complete all legal checks and requirements.
- Exchange contracts with the seller and pay your deposit.
- Once settlement is finalised you and your family can move in.
To help you with the five main stages of these steps, consider the following information and advice when buying a family home.
1 – What to buy for your family
If you are buying a new family home it is because your old home no longer suits your needs. Therefore, think about all the things you need and want from your new home. For example, do you need a yard for your children and dog to play in, and do you want an outdoor entertaining area so you can have BBQs at home with your family and friends? Also consider whether there are parks and footpaths around your new house if you like to take your family for walks around the neighbourhood, or if your children will want to ride their bikes.
Of course, your new family home doesn’t have to be a house at all, in many major cities families live in small properties such as apartments, townhouses or studios. This is not only more affordable, but can also mean you’re living in a newer home, closer to the city.
However, no matter what type of home you are looking at, make sure that the area and community suit your lifestyle and that you have access to the facilities you need such as schools, transport, shops, recreational facilities and your workplaces.
2 – Where to buy a family home
Whether you buy a new family home in the city, the country or the suburbs will depend on your family’s needs. For example, if it is important that you have a short commute to work you may look for a family home close to the city, but if you want your children to grow up with a country lifestyle and outlook you may look even further from the city, whereas the suburbs are a compromise for families who want to be away from the bustle of the city and enjoy some space, without being too isolated.
Also remember that where you live can affect where your children go to school, as many schools are zoned, and don’t accept students from outside of the zoned area.
It is also important to look at the value of the area and consider whether property prices are rising or falling in the area. Also look at factors which would influence your property’s value such as the proximity to jails, factories, sewerage plants or major construction. Remember that being on a busy road or intersection, or under a flight path can make normal family life even noisier.
Continue reading “Tips for Buying a Family Home” »
The Jobs Paradox: Where the REAL Money is
Update: After stumbling across this gem, the post needed to be updated! Forbes’ magazine ran an article starting with the sentence: “If you want to get really rich in medicine forget biotech or drugs medical devices is where the big money is“.
You’ve heard it before.
Maybe it didn’t register at first, but once you know what to listen for – you’ll realize you’ve heard it a hundred times.
Someone – somewhere – at some point, has told you where to find the “real money”.
Most likely it was another colleague, possibly a mentor, or it could have even been a client. The speaker will preface their statement with some sort of qualifier: “well, I have things pretty good here” or “this job pays well enough”…….but…..
That’s not where the REAL money is. The REAL money is in _______.
Whatever it is, you are not in it. Continue reading “The Jobs Paradox: Where the REAL Money is” »
