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Posted
Sep 04 2009, 01:00 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Wining and dining professors. Sales staff getaways at sexy locations. That's the life of a college textbook sales rep.
Who woulda thunk? That's part of the insider look at the textbook publishing business offered by David Weliver in a post at Money Under 30 called "Confessions of a textbook salesman." David used to be a textbook sales rep. "Students: I'm sorry," he said.
The cost of textbooks has become so ridiculously expensive that a national campaign has been launched at Make Textbooks Affordable, he said.
How do textbook publishers operate? David explains:
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Posted
Aug 28 2009, 08:57 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Some people are talking about a federal bailout for former college students. Forgive student loan debt, they say, and the economy will be instantly energized.
The Baltimore Sun's Eileen Ambrose polled readers of Consuming Interests about this, and, last we checked, readers were hugely in favor -- even though her post presented a solid argument about why it wouldn't work as advertised.
We voted no. "JLP" at All Financial Matters, who directed his readers to the poll, also said no. "Actually, I say HELL NO!" he wrote.
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Posted
Jul 28 2009, 06:17 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.
If you go back 10 or 15 years, there were two things you could do online that would get you laughed at: finding a date and getting a postsecondary degree.
With dating sites flourishing and online education popping up everywhere, the stigma associated with the online versions of both has all but been washed away. Meeting someone online no longer means you're meeting someone capable only of interacting with a computer, and getting a degree online no longer means you took some cupcake classes and paid for a diploma.
However, just as you still want to be careful whom you choose to meet in person from an online dating site, you'll also have to be careful which online university you choose to attend. Like dates, not all universities are created equal.
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Posted
Jul 23 2009, 05:24 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Want your college experience to be meaningful? Campus Grotto produced a comprehensive and insightful list of more than 100 tips to survive -- and actually learn something, which is why you're there. Right?
Some of the advice on the list won't vastly improve your prospects (although "Wear sandals in the showers" could prevent the distraction of itchy feet). But much of it could be critical, particularly as educators debate the pros (you save money) and cons (you work your buns off) of earning a bachelor's degree in three years.
(We did it, many years ago. Limited finances were a powerful motivator, and taking several advanced placement classes in high school helped.)
In fact, some U.S. colleges already offer three-year programs, the Houston Chronicle reports, adding, "But the programs aren't for everyone. Part-time students can't participate. Nor can those who lack discipline."
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Posted
Jun 05 2009, 03:58 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Just the other day, we were thinking it might be time to brush up on advanced complexity theory. And because we're expanding our vegetable garden, knowing more about soil mechanics might help. (Well, maybe not because we haven't taken the prerequisites.)
And in case we've forgotten about the particular charms and indignities of aging, we can take free courses on that too, courtesy of Johns Hopkins.
If you have knowledge gaps you want to fill, you can do it online -- for free. To help you find a particular topic, UniversitiesandColleges.org is building "The master list of free online college courses." Feel free to let them know of courses that don't yet appear.
We had no idea how engaging these free online courses could be until we checked out a few on this massive list.
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Posted
May 08 2009, 05:40 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
Dave Ramsey's "Baby Steps" to financial peace have become a popular way to get control of finances. In case you're not familiar with the Dave Ramsey approach to money, here are the seven Baby Steps:
- $1,000 to start an emergency fund.
- Pay off all debt using the "debt snowball."
- Three to six months of expenses in savings.
- Invest 15% of household income in Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement.
- College funding for children.
- Pay off home early.
- Build wealth and give.
While there are those who quibble with some aspects of these steps, by and large it's a sound approach to money management. If my children, when they leave home, decide to follow the Dave Ramsey way of handling money, I'll take great comfort that they are headed in the right direction.
But what about those of us who aren't just starting out or recovering from a financial meltdown. When many of us look at Dave's Baby Steps, we realize that we have been taking many of those steps all at the same time. For example, we have a lot more than $1,000 in our emergency fund, yet we also have nonmortgage debt, we save for our children's education (my son starts college in three years), we save for retirement, and we give money to charity.
All of this raises the question we are going to address: Should we "Dave Ramsey our finances," and if we did, would we be better off?
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Posted
Apr 27 2009, 05:37 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from Mr. ToughMoneyLove at Tough Money Love.
The federal government has been subsidizing student loans made by private lenders since 1965. This must end and, to his credit, that is what President Obama wants to do.
Much of the student-loan industry is a racket that exploits college students who ignorantly and naively embrace the concept that piles of student-loan debt are part of life. That's what all of the colleges have been telling them. Many parents have joined the "borrow your way through college" crusade, as part of their own "borrow your way through life" mentality.
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Posted
Apr 15 2009, 11:02 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The times they are a-changing for many credit cardholders, who are reducing their dependence on plastic and paying off debt. Hopefully that includes college students, who last year used credit cards more than ever -- and not just for pizza and beer.
Put tuition on the card? Amazingly, about 30% did, according to a new study by Sallie Mae, up from 24% in 2004, the last time the study was done. About 92% used plastic for other educational expenses.
The average balance has grown to $3,173, and increases to $4,100 by graduation.
It gets worse, folks. A press release from Sallie Mae reports:
Sixty percent experienced surprise at how high their balance had reached, and 40% said they have charged items knowing they did not have the money to pay the bill. Only 17% percent said they regularly paid off all cards each month.
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Posted
Mar 04 2009, 10:22 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
People are selling their used books at unprecedented rates. For instance, used-book buyer Powell's Books says it hasn't experienced this amount of business before.
"The Portland, Ore.-based company has bought used books from customers for more than 30 years, but said Wednesday that it has never matched the volume it has seen in the past six months," The Associated Press reports. Its online business has been particularly brisk since it began offering cash for books through PayPal.
Cash is good, particularly if you're unemployed or don't have an emergency fund.
What's the best way to sell your old books? Pinyo at Moolanomy compared numerous online options. The best news for starving students: Compared with regular books, used textbooks go for a lot.
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Posted
Nov 20 2008, 05:20 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar. Most people have financial worries in their lives: How will I pay the bills? What will happen if I'm suddenly injured and unable to work? What if I lose my job? I'm in the same boat. Although I've come a long way in the last few years, I still have a lot of concerns. What would happen if I were to pass away suddenly? What if my wife were to die? Many people bury their concerns and don't consciously think about them. They hide them deep under the surface and live life pretending such things could never happen. Under the surface, though, worry builds up -- and bursts out when they hit a bump in the road.
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