Ok, so maybe the title is a bit over-the-top, but I'm feeling kind of over-the-top today. Plus I am so proud of what my daughter has accomplished that it's fitting. Anyway, today I'll give you an update on my daughter's college career, including her car decision (which is somewhat related), and give you a picture of her finances at the end of it all. Car and College … [Read more...]
Help a Reader: Buying a Rental Unit in a College Town
Here's another email from a reader asking for some suggestions on a financial situation. Please read below and give him your thoughts... I've been thinking about purchasing a 3BR condo in my daughter's college town and renting it for the long term. The college is tight for their on campus housing slots and actually have to resort to a lottery for housing each year since … [Read more...]
Help a Reader: How to Invest for College
Here's the latest email from a reader asking for some suggestions on a financial situation. Please read below and give him your thoughts... My daughter is about to head off for her first semester in college. About 16 years ago, my wife and I started her 529 fund and contributed $800/mo. during this time. We stopped adding to it about a year ago as I semi-retired from the … [Read more...]
The Value of an MBA
In The Value of Growing Your Career: A Real-Life Example I mentioned that getting my MBA was one of the vital moves I made to grow my income. Separately, I was listening to an Afford Anything podcast about careers and the issue of return rate on various career investments came up. They were talking more about seminars, training, and the like, but the same principle applies … [Read more...]
How to Save on College
A friend and I were talking the other day. His daughter is one year younger than mine but both will be off to the college campuses of their choice this fall. He was sharing that his daughter had the choice between two great schools in her state which would leave her with ONLY "tens of thousands of dollars in debt" upon graduation and another, highly rated school just … [Read more...]
What to Do When You Save too Much for College
Just when you thought filing your taxes was the most complicated thing you'd have to figure out financially, along comes a problem like this. Let's start at the beginning... There are a couple of things you don't know when saving for college: Will my children even go to college? If so, how much will college cost them? My wife and I answered these questions many … [Read more...]
College to Career Cycle of Success
While I was at my college reunion I ran into an old friend who was a year behind me in school. She's now a business professor at the school and teaches all aspects of business from marketing to accounting (about as far apart as you can get on the business spectrum). During the visit she had me step into one of her classrooms and tell the students a bit about my career. I … [Read more...]
Advice on Top-Tier Versus Local MBA Schools
A reader recently sent me an email as follows: I had a question for you following up to the post on whether or not to get your MBA. A little background for you: I was an elementary education major, taught for two years, did not like it, networked my way into an entry level position at a large corporation, worked my way up to a marketing analyst position in a little over a … [Read more...]
How to Select a College
Summary: There is one key factor that goes into selecting a college. Many prospective attendees and their parents completely ignore it. It happened to me again recently. A friend and I were chatting over coffee. He has one child in college and another going in a few years. He also knows that I am working through the "kids going to college" phase of life. My friend … [Read more...]
Should I Get an MBA?
Since I have an MBA and have had at least a moderately successful career, I often get asked by younger managers and students, "Should I get an MBA?" As you might imagine, there are a lot of different ways to answer that (and I will at the end of this post), but for now I want to share some general thoughts about MBAs. Just in case anyone doesn't know what an MBA is, it's … [Read more...]
