Queercents

Public service employment is a topic I haven’t covered much of. This weekend I spent some time attempting to sort out my financial situation in light of my soon-to-be-in-repayment student loans. I graduate from Law School on Friday!

As a quick aside here is a great resource that I wish a financial fairy godmother could have whispered in my ear before I spent the better part of Sunday getting my information organized. The National Student Loan Data System compiles your loan and other finaicial aid information in once place. Even if you have multiple degrees from multiple institutions the NSLDS is a good place to get started.

As part of my research I learned about a new loan forgiveness program Congress recently authorized in the College Cost Reduction Act.  Aspects of this program are sure to offer hope and encouragement to graduates seeking lower paying careers or careers in the public service. Read the rest of this entry »

LinkedIn has a Question and Answer board where I recently asked the question:

My question is whether anybody out there has personal finance recommendations for new or recent graduates. I’m open to any suggestions or ideas including products or services, books, blogs, or budgeting tools. Many of us are looking at major purchases including cars or homes. The rent vs buy decision is pertinent and any advice on that would be awesome.

Lots of great responses. Here are some of the best ones. Joseph Bowden at Citi Smith Barney suggests using Google to find a rent versus buy calculator. I found one at Dinkytown.net which looks sophisticated enough. The New York Times version I found might have a better reputational value.

Kelli Pence a controller for West Music Company, Inc wrote an especially compelling response giving advice similar to the advice I had from some of my college professors out of undergrad. Read the rest of this entry »

Full disclosure: I’m NOT a parent. I anticipate that it will be several years before I even begin to think seriously about parenting myself. I’m not anti-kid though. Libby, over at TheFullCup epitomizes the ideals of frugal parenting. She says:

Now, as a rule, we try not to throw anything away. If it can be used, or fixed, or used for something else, I keep it. This often leads to…piles.

She has a new fun idea I wanted to share with the parents here at Queercents. Read the rest of this entry »

So the economy is slowing down. Even after ten years with a General Motors dealership in Northern Minnesota my dad was the least senior employee and first in line to be laid off. Entrepreneurship is taking a hit too I think. Here is a photo documentary of the economy in my neighborhood where three shops have either closed or changed ownership in the past few weeks alone.

I’ve been visiting In The Company of Thieves (”Thieves”) in the 900 Block of East Johnson for almost four years now. I see Penelope Trunk there pretty often. They have great sandwiches. Their Thieves Breakfast used to be under $3 and included coffee or tea, juice or milk, and a pastry! The new owners don’t have the Thieves Breakfast anymore. New owners and higher prices are a sign of the slower economy I think. Read the rest of this entry »

John recently pointed out that Queercents folks are experiencing an education bug. I found the cure for said bug: 20 years of school. On Facebook I recently noted that I’m looking forward to being done with 20 years of school and there were more than a few enthusiastic nods of agreement from my friends who are also about to graduate soon.

Aundi’s contributions have covered the money issues associated with returning to graduate school very well. For me law school has been an experience in personal enrichment. I never intended to be an attorney. My advice is to not do law school unless you want to be an attorney. There are other degrees that might be a better idea — but maybe any degree is a bad idea anyway.

Here is another perspective for professional folks considering time away from work to get another degree. The transition from a professional life to a student life is relatively smooth. Many have some form of savings or at least only moderate debt at the time they start to consider another degree. The small savings or moderate debt make it easy to get along during the first couple semesters of school with minimal life-style changes. Then the added freedom, longer breaks, and intellectual stimulation associated with being a student is hard to beat and serves to soften the inevitable financial blows associated with leaving a career for a degree. Read the rest of this entry »

February has always been an odd month in my mind. I sill have trouble understanding why there are fewer days. I can explain it, but scientifically it’s just abstract enough that I have to admit it does not necessarily fully make sense. I like the more colorful explanation that Augustus Caesar wanted his month to have the same number of days as Julius Caesar’s month so he stole a day from February and gave it to August. It is also one of the coldest months which really means something here in Wisconsin where the month’s average low temperature is -9ºF.

Maintaining commitment to professional development and professional productivity in February can be challenging. Sales in nearly every industry tend to slump during the month. My dad tells an interesting story about February that I think puts professional productivity in a better respective than some examples of more conventional wisdom.

In December of 1979 my dad graduated college. He has been a sales person all of his life. His first full month of sales was February 1980. In March, less than three months in he first job, the boss called him in the big office. My dad was unsure what to think and it was possible he got in trouble for something. Turns out that my dad’s sales figures for the month of February were better than anyone else in the company — for February and for a lot of the other months besides. The boss asked him how he pulled it off. His co-workers who had understood February to be a “slow month” also wanted to know what he did. My dad’s response was pretty simple: “nobody told me February was supposed to be a bad month.” Read the rest of this entry »

Professional development (PD) is a form of training useful for career minded folks. Some examples include finding opportunities to learn more about your market or possibly meeting with others in your field to exchange market information. Another example might be to learn or become more proficient in the use of specific computer software. A team manager engages in PD with something as simple as reading a book about team dynamics. Attending a convention or conference is a classic example of professional development.

At many larger companies and organizations the human resources department or a subunit of the human resoureces department is responsible for PD also sometimes called Staff Development. I recently asked a question on LinkedIn about What are HR or Staff Development Professionals Doing To Combat Cabin Fever? One person reported they’re “keeping their heads down.”

Here is a topic I get excited about fairly easy. My firm specializes is getting involved with professional teams and the PD processes. It seems that at this time of year companies invest less in professional development. There are a couple reasons for this slump. Getting a good start on annual and first quarter sales takes priority. Cabin fever is another contributing factor I think; folks just wanna keep their heads down. Read the rest of this entry »

At Treading Together we often work with diversity and multiculturalism. Many of our events or programs revolve around holidays such as today, Black History Month in February, or Women’s History Month in March etc.

I wondered if there might be a personal finance connection. Here are a few of the connections I found.

• Forbes.com reports that Priceline.com is offering special rates to Atlanta Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s place of birth. The best deal runs about $420 per person (from Boston) which includes round-trip airfare and 3 nights’ accommodations at the Hyatt Place Atlanta Galleria.
• Penny Nickel age 25 from Washington, DC recently made a compelling case for the connection between the notions of King’s “drum-major instinct” and frugality. You can read it at Money and Values.
• On LinkedIn.com’s Q&A I threw out the question asking what employees, employers, and businesses are doing to recognize or celebrate King’s holiday. I found one answer on my own at Money.com which reports CIGNA, a major provider of health car insurance, is sponsoring the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 18th Annual Tribute Concert.
• One source suggested honoring today’s holiday could be as easy as doing some volunteer work. It is tenuous but the personal finance connection here is a chance to make a deposit in the bank of Karma. In Ten Money Questions J. Mark White reported “the most important thing a person can do… is give back to the community. It’s like creating good business Karma.“

Any other ideas about the connection between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (the man or the holiday) and personal finance?

UPDATE: In the comments a discussion about rail in California and Europe develops.

This holiday season I documented some of my cost-savings methods related to travel which is a favorite topic of mine. Now that the holiday season is finally drawing to a close here is an article about one of my very inexpensive holiday journeys (day trips). At Queercents we have previously discussed the theme of managing without a car but the discussions focused on in-town travel. This post covers regional travel for those who make the commitment to live with out a car.

On Facebook of all places my fifty-something cousin contacted me about joining that branch of the family in Rockford, Illinois for Thanksgiving dinner. Rockford is only just over an hour away by a car, to far to walk of course, and at that point I had decided not to go out of town in order to conserve on the travel budget (rental plus fuel). Read the rest of this entry »

It doesn’t take a blog post to know that most of us actually slip up on most if not all of our New Year’s Resolutions. This year I managed to find one that happens to be good for the pocket book and that I’ve managed to keep — so far.

Since November (I started a little early) I’ve managed to sell 31 books, CDs, or DVDs. The resolution was to reduce the clutter in my life. This photograph is of some of the books I decided clear away. After expenses I’ve put away about $300. It all reminds me of the thrift sales my grandma use to have each spring and fall.

List, sell, earn is Amazon.com’s clever-sounding three step process that got me started with them. After undergraduate school I sold a chunk of text books on Half.com now owned by Ebay. Read the rest of this entry »