How to Stay on RIght Track Financially

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.

As we slowly approach the end of this coming semester we must start planning for next upcoming year. Many times parents send their children away and don't provide them with the knowledge and tools in order to form the right financial plan. So we don't lose our minds financially we must consider a few options in order to live good in college. First you want to get some estimates of your possible expenses so you could guess about how much money you will need. The more time you have spent in college, the easier it will be to start the estimate process because you will already have a sense of what how much you spend. If you plan on getting a job or have one already set a standard amount of hours you will work in order to make a set amount of money weekly. If you sense that you spending habits will get out of control try to work more hours in order to support your habit. Secondly if needed get a credit card or set aside an account strictly for emergency just in case money isn't coming in. Many people don't realize how quick something negative could change everything. And lastly get a timetable to figure out exactly when during every month you will need to pay certain bills.

http://money.cnn.com/2003/08/01/pf/college/school_moneytrouble/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/2002/12/10/commentary/everyday/sahadi/index.htm

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/sav/20000814b.asp

How to Pay for Your Degree

By Alcides Hoy Jr.

You've been waiting for this moment for nearly 18 years: Your baby is almost ready for college. Your finances, not so much. The market's protracted free fall means that your college fund is now worth just a fraction of what you need. Your home's value has no doubt dropped sharply too - no help there. The only thing that keeps going up, you guessed it, is college tuition. So it's goodbye, Dream School U., hello, Central State, right?

Wrong. While there's no denying times are tough, you have more options to help pay for that BA than you think. From targeting the right schools to taking advantage of new financial aid rules and tax breaks, you can get the price to a manageable level. These steps will ensure your kid ends up at a great school you can really afford.

1. Use your savings strategically

The typical 529 college savings plan of a high school junior or senior has dropped 12.5% in value over the past year. And if you didn't invest in an age-based portfolio that automatically shifted into safer investments as your child got older, your losses may be far worse. The big question before you: Should you try to hold off withdrawing money from the account to give your savings time to bounce back?

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Is College Worth The Cost

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.

Everybody when they hear the name of this post they ask Is This Writer Crazy? No Not at all. Sometimes we all think about the positives of college but we don't even realize if the money we invest is even worth it. Syracuse University next school year is going to be approximately 50,000 US dollars and at the year we have to ask ourselves are we getting the same education as a student in a 20,000 US dollar institution? Possibly. Everything financially seems to unbalanced when we look at how the salaries decrease but the price of college increases. In actually its as if we are paying for the name of school rather than the knowledge provided inside of those multimillion dollar buildings. In a recent chart produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you will see how college has increased drastically higher than living necessities such as medical and energy. At the end of the day we have to ask ourselves are we receiving in return what we pay for college?

http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/20/pf/college/college_price.moneymag/index.htm

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/oct/14/business/chi-college-costs-14-oct14

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0327/039.html

Its Almost Time for Graduation Do you Know Where Your Job Is?

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.

For many seniors graduation is approaching and many of you seemed puzzled in your job search. I spoke to one senior the other day and he told me he hasn’t received any job offers. Things like this hurt many of us who work so hard in college and then get let down by the real world. Everyone wants to know where the jobs are but are afraid to make that move if necessary. And YES, I’m talking bout THE MOVE. In some cases your city will not be the place where the jobs are so you might need to relocate. Don’t be afraid to make the move because it could work out best in your favor. I can definitely tell you that right now cities like Detroit and Fresno are not the place to be while they have recorded a thirteen percent jobless rate. You don’t have to be a mathematician to figure out how bad of a jobless percentage that is. One option for some who don’t mind traveling overseas would be to step into the Indian and Chinese job market where many of graduates with proper credentials are starting off around 125,000 US dollars. This is more than many of us can say within the US. Or for those who choose to stay local you might want to seek cities such as New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C.

Indian Job Market

CNN MONEY

CAMPUS BUZZ

Colleges Cutting Costs

Posted By:Asim Mohammed

With the economy in a recession, even universities are trying to find ways to cut costs. Financial aid officials at Miami University in Ohio estimate that roughly 1,100 scholarships may be cut back next year, the result of a 25 percent reduction in funds. The school says that students who have already received scholarships will continue to receive their aid but for those students who have not received anything, it will be harder for them to find grants, etc. At the University of Arizona, nursing students will expect a $2,000 fee increase next year. This will raise tuition for instate students to $7,700, almost doubling the cost. A small reduction in library hours at the University of Connecticut, although minimal will affect students and at the same time save the university around $40,000. At the University of Virginia they are planning to shut down they’re public computer labs by 2011 in order to cut budget. University officials, after conducted survey’s last fall, said that since students bring their own laptops to campus the usage of the computer labs have been reduced dramatically. Not only are students and families being affected personally through the recession, but large institutions are also feeling the affects.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2009/03/20/miami-university-might-reduce-1100-scholarships.html

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2009/03/25/uva-eliminating-public-computer-labs.html

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2009/03/12/2000-extra-fee-for-arizona-nursing-students.html

When Students' Money Goes

posted by Shu Zheng

Many students think the Associated Students involves student government and the occasional event happening on campus.

In reality, it's more complicated than that.

There are two sides to A.S.: the student government side - the one that advocates for student issues, holds elections for its officers and portions out money to various clubs and organizations on campus; and A.S. business - a college-founded, nonprofit corporation with a larger budget than the towns of Biggs and Paradise combined, and more than a third of Chico's budget.

While it receives no state funding, the A.S. budget is more than $30 million for the current fiscal year.

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