I'm definitely coming into this discussion delayed, but I suppose better late then never, no? Unfortunately, that's one of the more defining phrases of my college career! (Though I did graduate on time, this past May, and got laid off from my part time job a week later...)
One huge tip that I can offer is to do everything in your power to not buy textbooks. This does NOT mean that you shouldn't have them (textbooks are pretty important, no matter what everyone else tells you!!), just be careful about which you buy for yourself and which you do not. Frequently, college professors publish their textbook list online through the college bookstore. Students then access these lists as soon as they are published and rush to the internet to buy all of their books as cheaply as possible (I did this for the first three years of college.).
However, frequently things change between when that text list is published and when classes begin. Sometimes the professor will change, the class will be unexpectedly canceled, or a professor will accidentally include a book he or she didn't mean to on his/her order list. All of those things have happened to me. Even if you ignore everything else I say, please consider waiting until the first week of classes to buy your textbooks. Get the syllabus and listen to what the professor has to say about the assigned readings before you shell out any cash.
And then I started reading an article (http://www.hackcollege.com/2007/08/06/getting-your-textbooks-for-free/) about getting textbooks for free. It changed my senior year of college. The library and Inter-Library Loan (Something I discovered that most of my fellow students knew nothing about!!) were my best friends. My city also has a public library that is free to residents and university students--that was another real lifesaver, since not a lot of students used the public library! Sometimes professors will put copies of the textbook on course reserve to allow students to access it for a few hours at a time or overnight.
As a polisci major, a lot of my textbooks weren't really Textbooks(TM) per se, but instead original documents and political theory tracts. (Plato's Republic, the Federalist, etc.) Most of these are public domain and found online for free (bartleby, etc.) or easily found in a discount book store (think Goodwill or a local flea market) for fifty cents or so.
Another great resource is the bookstore at the END of the school year. In the spring, my university has a huge discount book sale of all of the old editions of textbooks that they found no longer useful. I found a ton of nice, brand new text AND tradebooks for a dollar or two. I impulsively picked up an Intro to Linguistics textbook for two bucks and lo and behold, found myself taking that very class a year later.
Also, trade with your friends! If you have friends in your major/minor/academic track, you'll be taking some of the same classes (albeit not always the same semester! Besides, sharing textbooks can be a hassle unless you live in the same building). Trade your Intro to Philosophy texts for his/her Modern Ethics texts, and so forth. The same can apply for Gen Ed requirements.
If it's an extremely important core textbook or what will probably be a Very Difficult Class (Although I didn't buy any textbooks for the two capstone courses I was in and got A's in both...), you should really consider actually shelling out the cash. Also, these directions don't work very well for most science majors, or so I've heard. But any social science, language, or humanities major should consider these options.
I just received a NetSpend card in the name of my aunt who passed away 3 years ago. When I called the company I was told the card was ordered online but they would not tell me WHO ordered it online. I find this practice distasteful and borderline fraudulent. I will definitely follow the advice of the previous guest and file a complaint with the Federal Reserve.
We were current on our home and making our payments even after my husband lost his job. We knew eventually times would get tough so we applied for the home loan modification program. We went into the trial period and paid the lower payment on time and was told if we did that nothing would be marked against us.
A week after we got the letter from the bank stating that we got denied for the program we got a letter from lawyers stating that they were foreclosing on our house.
I am so pissed and don't know what to do. I can't find any info on who can help. to me this program is a load of ****!!!
I agree with you on that point. But even in the case of an emergency fund, you actually do have a goal - to avoid going into debt when a financial crisis comes. So maybe (I can't pretend to speak for the author) their point was more about people who refuse to enjoy anything in life because they are always "saving".
Some people will have a HUGE emergency fund, maxed out retirement and educational savings and still refuse to deviate from their saving even for a simple purchase. That can lead to hoarding money, and stop people from enjoying life.
Good points. While I do think it's important to track and monitor all spending, it is possible to go overboard! We have to be sure that our money is serving us and not the other way around!
Who writes these articles? Why on earth would "saving without a goal" be a problem? I don't know what country these people live in, but in the U.S. there is no such thing as having too much savings. In fact, habitual saving is an excellent practice. Having money in the bank (under the mattress, in a safe, etc.) means the difference between having security and not having security. I hear so-called financial advisors who tell people to save 3 to six months or even a years worth of living expenses. Why not save as much as possible so that when you need a car, a furnace, a roof or some other expensive item you have more than enough money on hand? Why not save enough money so that if you're ever fired or laid off you can literally stay out of work for more than a year if need be?
I can't speak to the specifics of the Vancouver program, but car sharing is now pretty commonplace in medium-large cities, and initiation fees tend to run closer to $25-50 than the hundreds in upfront costs written about here, with comparable annual fees. In the U.S. and Canada, the largest company is Zipcar, which will only cost you about $75 for the first year. Most indie companies (like I-GO in Chicago, Hourcar in the Twin Cities, Austin Car Share in Austin, and many others) charge comparable fees.
(I can however speak to the specifics of why for many people, giving up car ownership is one of the smartest financial decisions they can make. My book Carless in Chicago is about the Windy City specifically, but has lots of general information about the financial, health, and other benefits of ditching your car.)
P.S. I should add that the virgin Mobile plan is not a contract - I can cancel at any time I want. And they have better phones than the one I purchased (even a Blackberry).
I just made the switch last week from contract cell provider to "prepaid". In my case, over the past year, I've been in contracts with Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T. In each case, I terminated my contracts, but I was able to recoup the early termination fee because I would sell the phone on eBay.
Virgin Mobile just released a plan called BeyondTalk and that is what convinced me to switch. I paid $80 for a phone, and now pay $25 per month for unlimited Web, unlimited texting, and 300 voice minutes per month (they have more expensive plans that increase the number of voice minutes). Granted, the phone isn't the best, and pales in comparison to the iPhone I just switched from, or the Palm Pre that I used to have. But, I am saving about $55.00 each month, that I'm now putting towards my debt payoff program.
I am learning that if I just buckle down and make sacrifices, I'll come out ahead in the long run. It's not always easy, but this was too good of a situation to pass up.
If you are looking for an honest absolute legitimate company to profit online with free website traffic, then all you have to do is go to my site and fill out the short form to receive 50,000 free visitors. We also teach you every step of the how to profit online with free live web training. Just go to www.workingathome101.com
Sounds fun. Here's an example of agreeing without compromise (not letting someone else win by default and then holding it against them or being deceitful): my husband and I needed to change medical insurance and were scrutinizing options. I felt uncomfortable with the only in-network providers scenario but he wanted to go with this less expensive option.
One of the reasons I didn't like the in-network only plan was because of possible emergencies during travel and we were in the midst of planning a vacation. He thought I was being overly cautious (surely they'd pay for emergencies, he reasoned) but I wanted more certainty and didn't want to argue with anyone about what constituted an emergency after the fact. He dug into the policy design and found that his favored option had an entire program devoted to travel -- we just needed to call ahead of our trip, get the name of approved providers, and yes, emergencies were covered. So, I agreed with him after the discussion. This approach can work for both sides.
You can tell that was written by a woman. As a married male I'm a pro at compromising. Women never have to. So, if you are a guy about to get married, here is the only advice you need in this area... learn these words: "Yes Dear". Then when she is not looking, do it anyway ;).
I do think that certain issues can and ought to be resolved early, as I mentioned in the article. I thought about discussing these in terms of dealbreakers and still think that's a valid approach but had concerns about advocating (or even vaguely implying) that one person might give ultimatums or seem to give them. Thanks for commenting.
Your sane sensibility is the viewpoint shared by Elizabeth Warren (and her daughter) in the book, "All Your Worth," which is, IMHO, the most practical, nonpreachy book on personal finance on the market.
This is great advice, I think people looking to start a business and businesses in general aren't offered enough support at the moment and that is an important aspect for any growing business. But with the right plan and guidance (and business) people can be successful and although sometimes intimidating guides like this can really show people the directions they need to focus in to get ahead.
That's cool. i've got a whole bookshelf of books where I probably wouldn't realistically need half of them. Unfortunately most of them are probably more garage sale material and not the type where it'd be worth my while to set up all the listings and such.
I'm definitely coming into this discussion delayed, but I suppose better late then never, no? Unfortunately, that's one of the more defining phrases of my college career! (Though I did graduate on time, this past May, and got laid off from my part time job a week later...)
One huge tip that I can offer is to do everything in your power to not buy textbooks. This does NOT mean that you shouldn't have them (textbooks are pretty important, no matter what everyone else tells you!!), just be careful about which you buy for yourself and which you do not. Frequently, college professors publish their textbook list online through the college bookstore. Students then access these lists as soon as they are published and rush to the internet to buy all of their books as cheaply as possible (I did this for the first three years of college.).
However, frequently things change between when that text list is published and when classes begin. Sometimes the professor will change, the class will be unexpectedly canceled, or a professor will accidentally include a book he or she didn't mean to on his/her order list. All of those things have happened to me. Even if you ignore everything else I say, please consider waiting until the first week of classes to buy your textbooks. Get the syllabus and listen to what the professor has to say about the assigned readings before you shell out any cash.
And then I started reading an article (http://www.hackcollege.com/2007/08/06/getting-your-textbooks-for-free/) about getting textbooks for free. It changed my senior year of college. The library and Inter-Library Loan (Something I discovered that most of my fellow students knew nothing about!!) were my best friends. My city also has a public library that is free to residents and university students--that was another real lifesaver, since not a lot of students used the public library! Sometimes professors will put copies of the textbook on course reserve to allow students to access it for a few hours at a time or overnight.
As a polisci major, a lot of my textbooks weren't really Textbooks(TM) per se, but instead original documents and political theory tracts. (Plato's Republic, the Federalist, etc.) Most of these are public domain and found online for free (bartleby, etc.) or easily found in a discount book store (think Goodwill or a local flea market) for fifty cents or so.
Another great resource is the bookstore at the END of the school year. In the spring, my university has a huge discount book sale of all of the old editions of textbooks that they found no longer useful. I found a ton of nice, brand new text AND tradebooks for a dollar or two. I impulsively picked up an Intro to Linguistics textbook for two bucks and lo and behold, found myself taking that very class a year later.
Also, trade with your friends! If you have friends in your major/minor/academic track, you'll be taking some of the same classes (albeit not always the same semester! Besides, sharing textbooks can be a hassle unless you live in the same building). Trade your Intro to Philosophy texts for his/her Modern Ethics texts, and so forth. The same can apply for Gen Ed requirements.
If it's an extremely important core textbook or what will probably be a Very Difficult Class (Although I didn't buy any textbooks for the two capstone courses I was in and got A's in both...), you should really consider actually shelling out the cash. Also, these directions don't work very well for most science majors, or so I've heard. But any social science, language, or humanities major should consider these options.
Thanks, Erik, I think this is one of the best guides I have seen yet!
Don't waste you time on any of these remedies. I tried all of them and none of them worked. I just bought them again.
I just received a NetSpend card in the name of my aunt who passed away 3 years ago. When I called the company I was told the card was ordered online but they would not tell me WHO ordered it online. I find this practice distasteful and borderline fraudulent. I will definitely follow the advice of the previous guest and file a complaint with the Federal Reserve.
this website is crap lol im 12 so what do i do
We were current on our home and making our payments even after my husband lost his job. We knew eventually times would get tough so we applied for the home loan modification program. We went into the trial period and paid the lower payment on time and was told if we did that nothing would be marked against us.
A week after we got the letter from the bank stating that we got denied for the program we got a letter from lawyers stating that they were foreclosing on our house.
I am so pissed and don't know what to do. I can't find any info on who can help. to me this program is a load of ****!!!
yeah i bet you dont need to be so nasty BTW
I agree with you on that point. But even in the case of an emergency fund, you actually do have a goal - to avoid going into debt when a financial crisis comes. So maybe (I can't pretend to speak for the author) their point was more about people who refuse to enjoy anything in life because they are always "saving".
Some people will have a HUGE emergency fund, maxed out retirement and educational savings and still refuse to deviate from their saving even for a simple purchase. That can lead to hoarding money, and stop people from enjoying life.
Good points. While I do think it's important to track and monitor all spending, it is possible to go overboard! We have to be sure that our money is serving us and not the other way around!
Who writes these articles? Why on earth would "saving without a goal" be a problem? I don't know what country these people live in, but in the U.S. there is no such thing as having too much savings. In fact, habitual saving is an excellent practice. Having money in the bank (under the mattress, in a safe, etc.) means the difference between having security and not having security. I hear so-called financial advisors who tell people to save 3 to six months or even a years worth of living expenses. Why not save as much as possible so that when you need a car, a furnace, a roof or some other expensive item you have more than enough money on hand? Why not save enough money so that if you're ever fired or laid off you can literally stay out of work for more than a year if need be?
I can't speak to the specifics of the Vancouver program, but car sharing is now pretty commonplace in medium-large cities, and initiation fees tend to run closer to $25-50 than the hundreds in upfront costs written about here, with comparable annual fees. In the U.S. and Canada, the largest company is Zipcar, which will only cost you about $75 for the first year. Most indie companies (like I-GO in Chicago, Hourcar in the Twin Cities, Austin Car Share in Austin, and many others) charge comparable fees.
(I can however speak to the specifics of why for many people, giving up car ownership is one of the smartest financial decisions they can make. My book Carless in Chicago is about the Windy City specifically, but has lots of general information about the financial, health, and other benefits of ditching your car.)
P.S. I should add that the virgin Mobile plan is not a contract - I can cancel at any time I want. And they have better phones than the one I purchased (even a Blackberry).
I just made the switch last week from contract cell provider to "prepaid". In my case, over the past year, I've been in contracts with Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T. In each case, I terminated my contracts, but I was able to recoup the early termination fee because I would sell the phone on eBay.
Virgin Mobile just released a plan called BeyondTalk and that is what convinced me to switch. I paid $80 for a phone, and now pay $25 per month for unlimited Web, unlimited texting, and 300 voice minutes per month (they have more expensive plans that increase the number of voice minutes). Granted, the phone isn't the best, and pales in comparison to the iPhone I just switched from, or the Palm Pre that I used to have. But, I am saving about $55.00 each month, that I'm now putting towards my debt payoff program.
I am learning that if I just buckle down and make sacrifices, I'll come out ahead in the long run. It's not always easy, but this was too good of a situation to pass up.
I have the same problem. If you have found out how to do that, please tell me how. Thanks
If you are looking for an honest absolute legitimate company to profit online with free website traffic, then all you have to do is go to my site and fill out the short form to receive 50,000 free visitors. We also teach you every step of the how to profit online with free live web training. Just go to www.workingathome101.com
Sounds fun. Here's an example of agreeing without compromise (not letting someone else win by default and then holding it against them or being deceitful): my husband and I needed to change medical insurance and were scrutinizing options. I felt uncomfortable with the only in-network providers scenario but he wanted to go with this less expensive option.
One of the reasons I didn't like the in-network only plan was because of possible emergencies during travel and we were in the midst of planning a vacation. He thought I was being overly cautious (surely they'd pay for emergencies, he reasoned) but I wanted more certainty and didn't want to argue with anyone about what constituted an emergency after the fact. He dug into the policy design and found that his favored option had an entire program devoted to travel -- we just needed to call ahead of our trip, get the name of approved providers, and yes, emergencies were covered. So, I agreed with him after the discussion. This approach can work for both sides.
You can tell that was written by a woman. As a married male I'm a pro at compromising. Women never have to. So, if you are a guy about to get married, here is the only advice you need in this area... learn these words: "Yes Dear". Then when she is not looking, do it anyway ;).
Just a quick note that ShoreBank Direct Oline Savings website has changed to www.sbk.com/shorebankdirect.
Erzebet, thanks for the comment. However, readers, I do not recommend raw milk yogurt, per this FDA site.
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/MilkSafet...
Thanks so much for your comment. Compromise can be useful but certainly not always.
I do think that certain issues can and ought to be resolved early, as I mentioned in the article. I thought about discussing these in terms of dealbreakers and still think that's a valid approach but had concerns about advocating (or even vaguely implying) that one person might give ultimatums or seem to give them. Thanks for commenting.
Your sane sensibility is the viewpoint shared by Elizabeth Warren (and her daughter) in the book, "All Your Worth," which is, IMHO, the most practical, nonpreachy book on personal finance on the market.
This is great advice, I think people looking to start a business and businesses in general aren't offered enough support at the moment and that is an important aspect for any growing business. But with the right plan and guidance (and business) people can be successful and although sometimes intimidating guides like this can really show people the directions they need to focus in to get ahead.
HHAAHAHA. I do the samething!!! They make great chews for puppies. I strip alot of jeans to crochet shag rugs.
That's cool. i've got a whole bookshelf of books where I probably wouldn't realistically need half of them. Unfortunately most of them are probably more garage sale material and not the type where it'd be worth my while to set up all the listings and such.