Much Education Not Worth The Price

ABC News reporter John Stossel profiles the plight of many students:

• "Promised" a great job after graduation and pushed by high school/college advisors to take out massive amounts of loans, young people have large loans they can never get rid of and lack the job they were promised
• Do not get a major that is not directly relatable to a real world job
• Instead, many teenagers should recieve technical training at a trade school or community college for low cost that will give them real world skills and a good job with no loans

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=6654468&page=1

John Bogle Investing Advice

Advice from legendary Vanguard founder John Bogle for the middle class investor:

• Beware of bullish market forecasting
  
• Importance of asset allocation, and bond allocation based on age
  
• Be wary of mutual funds with short superior performance
  
• Low cost Index funds outperform actively managed funds
  
• Be wary of alternative commodity asset classes
  
• Be wary of financial innovation
  
  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123137479520962869.html
  

Buy vs. Rent Calculator

This is an interactive tool from the NY Times to give you an understanding of whether it is cost efficient to rent or to buy a home. In graph form you can see the number of years to break even and average annual savings from owning or renting. You can also calculate:

monthly rent
home price
down payment
mortgage rate
property taxes
annual rent increase
annual house increase
summary costs of renting
summary costs of buying house
more advanced settings
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/2007_BUYRENT_GRAPHIC.html#

The Story of Many in One Lawyer's Plight: Doing a Good Job is Not Enough

An ABA Law Journal article, "Laid-Off Lawyer Competes with Other Attorneys for Paralegal Jobs," describes how the economy has impacted one 43-year attorney in Los Angeles: 

• She lost her job. 
• Her husband, also an attorney, has been losing clients.
  
• They fell behind on mortgage payments.
• The stress caused trouble in their marriage, and they separated. 
• She is applying for paralegal jobs, and has been rejected: She said, "After a while with the paralegal jobs, the listings said, 'No attorneys.' I think it's because they figured attorneys would leave as soon as they found work as lawyers." 

The article says that things "have been looking better for her" because she landed consecutive temporary jobs.  This attorney pithily captures the spirit of the times: "I did a great job at work and I thought that was enough, and it's not anymore."

http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/laid-off_lawyer_competes_with_other_attorneys_for_paralegal_jobs

Tax Breaks In New Stimulus

The New York Times writes about new tax deductions/credits and expanded programs that are available under the stimulus bill . These include:

income tax credit
lower taxes on unemployment
subsidies for Cobra coverage and extended eligibility
car buyer sales tax deduction
increase pell grant
increased education tax credit
expanded 529 plan expenses eligibility
home buyer credit
amt patch
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/your-money/13money.html?ref=your-money

A Good Job Without College?

Check out this article form CNN Money: "Good jobs with a high school diploma."  

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/06/pf/saving/toptips_findingwork_willis/index.htm?postversion=2009020613

Dave Ramsey Built His Business from Nothing

See this classic article on how Dave Ramsey built his business from nothing:

http://ftp.media.radcity.net/ZMST/daily/IS032405.pdf

Notice a few key traits that make Ramsey successful:

• He has a willingness to learn from mistakes.
• He approaches things from a blank slate, beginner mentality. He asks lots of questions and learns a lot.

See the history of Dave Ramsey's company, The Lampo Group Inc., here:

http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/index.cfm?intContentID=2797

Lesson from Robert Kiyosaki: Assets Can Make Your Dreams Come True

The story behind Kiyosaki's new book with his sister, Rich Brother, Rich Sister: Two Different Paths to God, Money and Happiness, demonstrates how Robert Kiyosaki lives by the message he teaches.

With his sister in financial trouble, the renown author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad did not pay all of his sister's bills. He created an asset with his sister, a book. This answer can be the lifeline with her current problems. It can also help her fulfill her other dreams. Robert Kiyosaki's pitch to his sister captures the possibilities: "We'll promote the book on a world tour. Eventually, you can start your own book series. I can see the titles now: Karma. Reincarnation. Compassion."

Read the rest of the story here:

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-beliefs9-2009feb09,0,1589137.story