While in college, you tend to be less depressed as an English or World Lit major—saving you valuable cash money that could otherwise be squandered on therapy.
WTF? Seriously? lol
I would genuinely hope anyone who chooses to explore a degree in English would do it for reasons completely unrelated to ANY of those offered above. If you're going after subjects that have fewer or cheaper textbooks, then maybe further education just isn't for you!
I agree totally - if green products want to be successful, they need to be as high quality, or of even higher quality than the products they are designed to replace.
That's a valid point. It's used to disinfect chicken, which is why much of the world doesn't want to buy chicken that has been raised and processed in the US.
I was not in a position to pay cash 15 years ago. Now by selling some stock that is not paying anything near what the investment people(selling investments would have your believe).
If some one can show me a guaranteed 540.00 a month cash flow after I have bougt back a remaining debt of 93,655.00 for 70,377.00 and have a paid off asset worth over 150,000.00 I will snap it up.
The 540.00 cash flow coming in my planned retirement years, amounts to over 9% of my current income and will be close to 20 percent of estimated retirement income.
I will have about half of this money left as disposable after paying the taxes on my asset.
It will keep me from piece meal selling of stock as I need income in my remaining years. I know exactly what I will get in this down market where waiting is likely higher but not for sure.
If I continue on the mortgage the 93,655.00 is 13,655.00 more than the original loan even though I have paid it down over 15 years.
As I see it....
27,000.00 roughly in interest savings over 15 years.
540.00 per month cash flow
150,000.00 asset instead of about a 75,000.00 or so equity with a 540.00 payment from taxable funds.
No loss of any tax advantage since I do not Itemize.
The payoff money will come in a down market now, with the possibility of it going lower as well as going up in the next 15 years. The money will be from sell off of IRA and some other poor performing stocks. I will pay 15% tax on cash in IRA, I will pay that tax anyway if I wait and take it at the required withdrawel rate. I will have a small tax offset with sale of other net loss stocks.
I worry about someone getting my SSN and opening accounts in my name, but I know it's a pretty rare crime. I'm going to put a credit freeze in place, especially now that the state I live in (Georgia) passed one of the best laws in the country.
I'm not, however, too concerned with someone getting one of my account numbers. Credit card companies watch these accounts like a hawk, and most catch the activity before you do.
I had one card company call me within a few hours of making a $30 gas purchase (I hadn't used the card in months). My bank contacted me about a withdrawal from an ATM at an out-of-state airport minutes after I made it.
They don't want to lose money or a good customer, so they'll let you off the hook most of the time. Even if they don't, your liability is limited to $50 in most cases.
Philip, I enjoyed this review of Johnny Bunko and your writing style. Can I send you another book on career building in a frugal manner for possible review? The book is Internet Riches by Scott Fox. It is full of pragmatic tips and strategies to build an income online. It is NOT a 'get rich quick' book...the publisher chose that rather boisterous title, but it is full of stories of how regular people used the Internet to build businesses, frugally. I think it has a place at Wise Bread.
CONGRATULATIONS! You have won the Mrs Nespy’s Frugal World Gold Medal for August 23rd. Go to http://mrsnespy.googlepages.com/grabyourmedalhere to get the code to post your medal if you’d like. Thanks for the great writing!
Despite the constant barrage of articles concerning identity theft, it's actually a very rare crime. Only about 1.5 percent of all Americans fall victim to true identity theft, and half of those are victimized by family members or friends! We are far more likely to be burglarized or robbed.
I think it's important to distinquish between identity theft and the theft or misuse of a credit card. I recently had a new credit card -- which was erroneously sent to my home rather than my UPS Store box -- stolen from my mail box. The thief ran around town and charged up $1800. The bank quickly and easily resolved the problem with no expense for me. But that was NOT identity theft.
It's important to understand the difference because if you buy "identity theft" insurance you probably will NOT be covered for anything else (such as someone gaining access to your bank account or Paypal account and cleaning it out!).
Also, most credit card fraud actually doesn't end up costing the victim any money (although it may cause a lot of anquish). Banks usually don't even bother charging the $50 limit they are allowed to charge. So what are you actually insuring against?
As for the credit reporting -- all that does is alert you after the fact that something is wrong. It doesn't prevent it. And don't forget, we are all entitled to a free annual report from each of the three credit reporting companies.
I like the advice giving by Gregory Karp in his "Living Rich by Spending Smart" book (excellent tips, by the way!). He says to request ONE report (from one of the three) every four months. Since they all report pretty much the same stuff, you'll get free reports every four months.
For me, I'll skip the "insurance" and other fear-driven tactics and just use the money to pay for my private mail box and good dead bolt locks on my house!
The comparison appraisal technical is by far the most readily employed for residential properties, but investors should only use such comparisons as an approximation. Ultimately, the income approach is far mroe useful and employs discounted cash flow techniques to capitalizing cash flows. The bottom line for long-term investment value is not what a comparable property sold for down the block, but what rate of return cash flows represent relative to invested capital.
All of this is what I've been saying about my English major for years, all nicely pulled together. It's all true, but also humorous, and I'll be putting up a link on my blog shortly.
For people who are a little bent out of shape up in the comments here, no, if you want to be a doctor or an accountant, maybe an English degree isn't the best option. But you CAN major (or minor) in English and still go to med school or run a company. I know someone who did both of those. I think the point is that English, and learning to communicate effectively, is an important basis for any field...grad school can get you into the nitty gritty of your chosen profession. What I always say is that if nothing else, my major taught me to write emails quickly and well. I say it jokingly, but how often have you read a business email from someone that is rife with errors? Even that medium can reflect poorly if not written well.
Thanks for reminding all of us that, although teaching is a wonderful profession, it's not the only option for an English major. I never had any interest in being a teacher (it's just not for me), and I spent my college years defending my lovely major as a result.
For the record, I am an outreach coordinator for a nonprofit. And I love it!
I have a BA in English. It has been basically useless as I would have known how to read and write as well as think critically, without it. No one has ever hired me on the basis of that degree, and art majors throw better parties.
Everyone listen, these are all signs of what will come to pass, please read the book of revelation in the bible and u will see that its true.Even if u dont believe , just read it and u will see it really is true ! Please take these signs as warnings from God and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, thats how u will be saved, Best decision u could ever make! =)
Additionally, an appraisal provides valuable information for the buyer and the seller, but the appraiser's primary mission is to protect the lender. Lenders don't enjoy owning overpriced property any more than they relish lending money to irresponsible borrowers. That's why the appraisal takes place before the lender grants final approval of the buyer's loan.
Also just a tip, a transaction can sometimes survive a "low" appraisal if the seller reduces the purchase price, the buyer makes a hefty down payment or a separate escrow account is set up to fund repairs that will increase the value of the home. On rare occasions, an appraiser will reconsider his or her opinion if new evidence supports a higher valuation.
Last fall, we dealt with an appraisal coming in for the house we were buying lower than the agreed-upon price due to some of the things you mentioned- we have an odd house for the area, so the appraiser was unable to find other recently-sold 100-year-old houses on an acre in the midst of all the new suburban development in our county. We objected to the houses he DID use to compare our property to, but understood the difficulty, and I suppose the numbers worked to our favor, but it was a hassle.
Im not totally sure that overeating is linked with uneducation. Even when I was 16 I was watching what I ate, and at that age you dont have much education. I was never obese or overweight but have had to watch what i eat every day. I think its EASIER to obtain junk food. What drive thrus have healthy food. Some drive thrus have salads but the choices are limited. I think lazieness and apathy are connected with being overweight, in my opinion. And also when someone is young and overweight it is much harder to keep the weight off because it is all related to how a person thinks.
I don't know how English majors work in the U.S., but up here you're not limited to studying literature. My major was in language and professional writing, not literature. I took a few lit courses, but I also took stylistics, linguistics, genre studies, rhetoric, critical theory and digital design. Excellent training for many careers.
Although someone remarked that the chlorine soaking was a myth debunked on snopes.com, (http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/carrots.asp), the site in fact does say that chlorine soaking is an FDA accepted practice for all fresh cut ready-to-eat produce items.
WTF? Seriously? lol
I would genuinely hope anyone who chooses to explore a degree in English would do it for reasons completely unrelated to ANY of those offered above. If you're going after subjects that have fewer or cheaper textbooks, then maybe further education just isn't for you!
Excellent article, very well written.
The admins are contacting you directly with my email address.
More popsicle recipes from Recipe Zaar:
http://www.recipezaar.com/sitenews/post.php?pid=825
I agree totally - if green products want to be successful, they need to be as high quality, or of even higher quality than the products they are designed to replace.
That's a valid point. It's used to disinfect chicken, which is why much of the world doesn't want to buy chicken that has been raised and processed in the US.
"I'm sure there are people who are even less-qualified than I am to dispense advice. There's got to be at least one."
You called?
I was not in a position to pay cash 15 years ago. Now by selling some stock that is not paying anything near what the investment people(selling investments would have your believe).
If some one can show me a guaranteed 540.00 a month cash flow after I have bougt back a remaining debt of 93,655.00 for 70,377.00 and have a paid off asset worth over 150,000.00 I will snap it up.
The 540.00 cash flow coming in my planned retirement years, amounts to over 9% of my current income and will be close to 20 percent of estimated retirement income.
I will have about half of this money left as disposable after paying the taxes on my asset.
It will keep me from piece meal selling of stock as I need income in my remaining years. I know exactly what I will get in this down market where waiting is likely higher but not for sure.
If I continue on the mortgage the 93,655.00 is 13,655.00 more than the original loan even though I have paid it down over 15 years.
As I see it....
27,000.00 roughly in interest savings over 15 years.
540.00 per month cash flow
150,000.00 asset instead of about a 75,000.00 or so equity with a 540.00 payment from taxable funds.
No loss of any tax advantage since I do not Itemize.
The payoff money will come in a down market now, with the possibility of it going lower as well as going up in the next 15 years. The money will be from sell off of IRA and some other poor performing stocks. I will pay 15% tax on cash in IRA, I will pay that tax anyway if I wait and take it at the required withdrawel rate. I will have a small tax offset with sale of other net loss stocks.
Am I dreaming.
Zime
I worry about someone getting my SSN and opening accounts in my name, but I know it's a pretty rare crime. I'm going to put a credit freeze in place, especially now that the state I live in (Georgia) passed one of the best laws in the country.
I'm not, however, too concerned with someone getting one of my account numbers. Credit card companies watch these accounts like a hawk, and most catch the activity before you do.
I had one card company call me within a few hours of making a $30 gas purchase (I hadn't used the card in months). My bank contacted me about a withdrawal from an ATM at an out-of-state airport minutes after I made it.
They don't want to lose money or a good customer, so they'll let you off the hook most of the time. Even if they don't, your liability is limited to $50 in most cases.
Philip, I enjoyed this review of Johnny Bunko and your writing style. Can I send you another book on career building in a frugal manner for possible review? The book is Internet Riches by Scott Fox. It is full of pragmatic tips and strategies to build an income online. It is NOT a 'get rich quick' book...the publisher chose that rather boisterous title, but it is full of stories of how regular people used the Internet to build businesses, frugally. I think it has a place at Wise Bread.
Constance Mettler
Publicity
ScottFox.com
CONGRATULATIONS! You have won the Mrs Nespy’s Frugal World Gold Medal for August 23rd. Go to http://mrsnespy.googlepages.com/grabyourmedalhere to get the code to post your medal if you’d like. Thanks for the great writing!
Despite the constant barrage of articles concerning identity theft, it's actually a very rare crime. Only about 1.5 percent of all Americans fall victim to true identity theft, and half of those are victimized by family members or friends! We are far more likely to be burglarized or robbed.
I think it's important to distinquish between identity theft and the theft or misuse of a credit card. I recently had a new credit card -- which was erroneously sent to my home rather than my UPS Store box -- stolen from my mail box. The thief ran around town and charged up $1800. The bank quickly and easily resolved the problem with no expense for me. But that was NOT identity theft.
It's important to understand the difference because if you buy "identity theft" insurance you probably will NOT be covered for anything else (such as someone gaining access to your bank account or Paypal account and cleaning it out!).
Also, most credit card fraud actually doesn't end up costing the victim any money (although it may cause a lot of anquish). Banks usually don't even bother charging the $50 limit they are allowed to charge. So what are you actually insuring against?
As for the credit reporting -- all that does is alert you after the fact that something is wrong. It doesn't prevent it. And don't forget, we are all entitled to a free annual report from each of the three credit reporting companies.
I like the advice giving by Gregory Karp in his "Living Rich by Spending Smart" book (excellent tips, by the way!). He says to request ONE report (from one of the three) every four months. Since they all report pretty much the same stuff, you'll get free reports every four months.
For me, I'll skip the "insurance" and other fear-driven tactics and just use the money to pay for my private mail box and good dead bolt locks on my house!
The comparison appraisal technical is by far the most readily employed for residential properties, but investors should only use such comparisons as an approximation. Ultimately, the income approach is far mroe useful and employs discounted cash flow techniques to capitalizing cash flows. The bottom line for long-term investment value is not what a comparable property sold for down the block, but what rate of return cash flows represent relative to invested capital.
All of this is what I've been saying about my English major for years, all nicely pulled together. It's all true, but also humorous, and I'll be putting up a link on my blog shortly.
For people who are a little bent out of shape up in the comments here, no, if you want to be a doctor or an accountant, maybe an English degree isn't the best option. But you CAN major (or minor) in English and still go to med school or run a company. I know someone who did both of those. I think the point is that English, and learning to communicate effectively, is an important basis for any field...grad school can get you into the nitty gritty of your chosen profession. What I always say is that if nothing else, my major taught me to write emails quickly and well. I say it jokingly, but how often have you read a business email from someone that is rife with errors? Even that medium can reflect poorly if not written well.
Thanks for reminding all of us that, although teaching is a wonderful profession, it's not the only option for an English major. I never had any interest in being a teacher (it's just not for me), and I spent my college years defending my lovely major as a result.
For the record, I am an outreach coordinator for a nonprofit. And I love it!
I loved reading this post, it made me smile and wince, sometimes both at once. Written like a true English major! Well done, Margaret!
I have a BA in English. It has been basically useless as I would have known how to read and write as well as think critically, without it. No one has ever hired me on the basis of that degree, and art majors throw better parties.
You forgot Poland.
Everyone listen, these are all signs of what will come to pass, please read the book of revelation in the bible and u will see that its true.Even if u dont believe , just read it and u will see it really is true ! Please take these signs as warnings from God and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, thats how u will be saved, Best decision u could ever make! =)
Additionally, an appraisal provides valuable information for the buyer and the seller, but the appraiser's primary mission is to protect the lender. Lenders don't enjoy owning overpriced property any more than they relish lending money to irresponsible borrowers. That's why the appraisal takes place before the lender grants final approval of the buyer's loan.
Also just a tip, a transaction can sometimes survive a "low" appraisal if the seller reduces the purchase price, the buyer makes a hefty down payment or a separate escrow account is set up to fund repairs that will increase the value of the home. On rare occasions, an appraiser will reconsider his or her opinion if new evidence supports a higher valuation.
Sam
Fix My Personal Finance
http://fixmypersonalfinance.com/
Thanks for the explanations.
Last fall, we dealt with an appraisal coming in for the house we were buying lower than the agreed-upon price due to some of the things you mentioned- we have an odd house for the area, so the appraiser was unable to find other recently-sold 100-year-old houses on an acre in the midst of all the new suburban development in our county. We objected to the houses he DID use to compare our property to, but understood the difficulty, and I suppose the numbers worked to our favor, but it was a hassle.
Im not totally sure that overeating is linked with uneducation. Even when I was 16 I was watching what I ate, and at that age you dont have much education. I was never obese or overweight but have had to watch what i eat every day. I think its EASIER to obtain junk food. What drive thrus have healthy food. Some drive thrus have salads but the choices are limited. I think lazieness and apathy are connected with being overweight, in my opinion. And also when someone is young and overweight it is much harder to keep the weight off because it is all related to how a person thinks.
This is very helpful. Thank you for posting this. I'm trying to learn all I can about real estate and this is a great start.
I thought this post was great too :)
I don't know how English majors work in the U.S., but up here you're not limited to studying literature. My major was in language and professional writing, not literature. I took a few lit courses, but I also took stylistics, linguistics, genre studies, rhetoric, critical theory and digital design. Excellent training for many careers.
Although someone remarked that the chlorine soaking was a myth debunked on snopes.com, (http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/carrots.asp), the site in fact does say that chlorine soaking is an FDA accepted practice for all fresh cut ready-to-eat produce items.
If racial discrimination is wrong, why is age discrimination okay?