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

Are law schools "exploiting" 80 - 90% of their students?

Criticism of Law Schools
Speaking at a January 9 program, sponsored by the Association of American Law Schools, the dean of New York Law School, Richard Matsar, said, "We should be ashamed of ourselves. We own our students' outcomes. We took them. We took their money. We live on their money . . . And if they don't have a good outcome in life, we're exploiting them. It's our responsibility to own the outcome of our solutions. If they're not doing well . . . it's gotta be fixed. Or we should shut the place down." (As transcribed on TaxProfBlog.)

Law schools may have many failures, but the shrinking legal market is showing that the failure of an education costing more than $120,000 to pay off for so many students might be the greatest one.

Some Questions to Consider
Does law school pay off as an investment?

• Is going to law school a "lottery" to be in the top 10%, as some critics are suggesting?
• Are monetary gains the only reason students go to law school? If there is another reason, are law schools the most efficient means to the goal?
• Assuming the recent criticism of law schools is justified, accurate, and correct, what can law schools do to remedy the problem? How can law schools get more students hired?

Brief Reflections
Criticizing law schools and higher learning institutions is easy. Thinking about ways to create better systems is much harder.

Ultimately, I believe that students and prospective students should be aware of the current problems and they should engage in a cost/benefit analysis to see whether the very expensive investment of law school will pay off by leading them to their goals.

Resources on the Criticism
The recent criticism is well summarized by the ABA Law Journal in "Law Dean Says Schools 'Exploiting' Students Who Don't Succeed."
http://www.abajournal.com/news/law_dean_says_schools_exploiting_students_who_dont_succeed/print/
TaxProf Blog succinctly excerpts the critical commentary and has interesting comments that follow the excerpts in "Is the Law Professor Gravy Train Over":
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2009/01/is-the-law-professor.html

The podcast of the AALS Committee on Research Program (Jan. 9, 2009), "Citations, SSRN Downloads, Carnegie, Bar Passage, Careers: Competing Methods of Assessing Law Schools" is available online:
http://www.aalsweb.org/fri/commresearch.mp3

H&R Tax Info

Confused about your upcoming tax return?
Confused about technical tax terms?
H&R Block has tax tips divided by topic and a more detailed index with helpful information including:

• credits and deductions
• college
• housing
• marriage and family
• investment income

http://www.hrblock.com/taxes/tax_tips/index.html

401k Hidden Fees You Pay

Read this article to understand the changes in 401k fee disclosure required and the types of administrative fees you may be paying beyond the expense ratio that a mutual fund charges.

Learn how to analyze what kinds of fees that you are paying and if they are reasonable.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122099798601116727.html

Technical Finance Vocabulary

Confused about the increasingly complex vocabulary that you heard in the news?
Have you heard technical terms on the news and want to know what their importance are?
Become more educated about what is causing the current financial crisis.

http://www.riskglossary.com/link_letter/link_a.htm

State Colleges Better Bang For Buck

SmartMoney and PayScale looked at the question: Are private colleges' high tuition worth it compared to state schools? They based their rankings on what the graduates earn in their early and midcareer vs. the debt they have to take on. They developed a "payback ratio" and here are their findings:

• The top state school has a three to one payback ratio compared to the highest private school
• State schools are a better deal than most of the private schools, including ivies.
• If you factor in loan costs, the private schools are at the bottom of the payback list.
• Many of the top state schools are attracting greater numbers of top quality students.
  

http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/college-planning/the-best-colleges-for-making-money/

http://www.smartmoney.com/Personal-Finance/College-Planning/colleges-that-pay-off/?page=all

In the end, it's your money. So, the onus is on you to educate yourself about money.

A NY Times article -- "The 17th Floor, Where Wealth Went to Vanish" -- talks about a Ponzi scheme run by Bernard L. Madoff, which let to losses of around $50 billion for investors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/business/15madoff.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

Large banks and other firms entrusted their clients' money with Mr. Madoff: "Scrutiny is also falling on the many banks and money managers who helped steer clients to Mr. Madoff and now say they are among his victims."

It will be interesting to see what the investigation of Mr. Madoff unfolds, but there are three important lessons at the outset:

• Too many people, including wealthy people, lack financial literacy. They readily entrust their wealth to others, including large financial institutions, to manage it for them. If you work hard to make the money, you should work hard to preserve it. The onus is on you to educate yourself -- to gain financial literacy -- and to do due diligence about the people and institutions that are supposed to help you preserve and grow your money.
• If you don't gain financial literacy, you expose yourself and your friends to schemers.
• Don't trust all professionals! Professionals are made equal. Just because a professional has a degree or works for a large institution doesn't mean they have your best interest at heart.

Are associates really competing for tasks with paralegals?

A National Law Journal article -- "As support staff layoffs continue at firms, attorneys learn to share resources" -- reports on the increasing number of layoffs of support staff in law firms. It also suggests that some associates might be keeping their billable hours up by doing paralegal work.
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202426604353

Articles, such as this, show the kind of decisions that partners, associates, and their support staff are having to make in a down market.

It is important to note that firms are being affected differently by this economy: "'In good times, you'll see firms that have built up some extra fat in their administration. Some of these staffs have gotten really large, and they will cut nonessential positions,' Altonji said. 'Other firms will cut into the bone, and make cuts that aren't prudent. Essential services could be curtailed.'"

Job Search Advice for 1Ls in this Legal Market

This AmLawDaily article -- "Letter to 1Ls: We're Scared to Death!" -- demonstrates how the changes in the legal market are affecting students, even in their first year of law school ("1L").
http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2008/12/open-letter-to.html

The article gives good advice:

• Don't neglect your grades.
• Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
• Be specific in your cover letters.
• Demonstrate a connection to the location you are applying to.

I believe that the this advice is very important to follow. It is especially easy to neglect your grades in your first year with anxiety over jobs. Please remember, that focusing on getting great grades and getting the most out of your education should be your job right now.

In your first semester, focus on learning the new, and sometimes awkward, language of the law. Turn your attention to applying for jobs during the holiday break.

In a Down Economy, Paying for a Private College Gets Harder

The following paragraph from a WSJ article -- "Painful Choices as College Bills Wallop Families" -- summarizes the struggles that the recession is causing to students and their parents: "Many students are already making painful adjustments, including dropping out, borrowing more to stay in school, transferring to cheaper schools or taking on part-time jobs. A third of parents expect the economic downturn to affect their ability to pay for college this year, according to a survey of 7,000 parents of newly enrolled freshmen by Eduventures, a Boston-based research firm."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122895685290096607.html?mod=djem_jiewr_swwgn_121108

Legal Job Market Shrinks

A CnnMoney article reports: "Verdict is in: Legal job market tightens."
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/03/news/economy/legal_industry/?postversion=2008120305

In short, just as in other areas of the economy, lawyers are losing their jobs, and recent graduates are finding it hard to get a job.

There are at least two important takeaways from this article:

1. In this market, getting a J.D., or even an LL.M, does not guaranty a safe, secure job. The tune that you have to go to school to find a safe, secure job is ringing hollow. One student's experience in the article shows this: "In addition to his living expenses, Magdy has about $150,000 in student loans and the first payments are due in the middle of this month." So, before you sink yourself into debt for a school loan, think carefully!
2. Students must study their profession. Within the law, some areas are doing well: "While hiring is slowing in certain areas, including real estate and M&A, there are other opportunities for lawyers that are flourishing in the current climate, Pierce Stronczer said, specifically, 'litigation, intellectual property, white-collar crime and bankruptcy, of course.'"

Homes You Could Buy With $150,000

In my native town, I could get a studio co-op in an apt building for under $150,000 and a starter house for around $400,000.

I often tell people that a family can get a nice house with a backyard in most areas of the country (outside of cities) for under $150,000. City dwellers don't believe me. Well, pictures can paint a thousand words!

Check out the 10 towns that AOL Real Estate chose to profile:

http://realestate.aol.com/home-prices/150000?pg=1

College Cost Calculators

At FinAid, you can find numerous essential college calculators for your every financial need.
Here is just a summary of what you will find:

College Cost Projections
Savings Growth
529 Plan Growth
Savings vs. Borrowing
Payment Calculator
Expected Family Contribution
Loan Calculator
Income Based Repayment
How Much To Borrow
Loan Comparison
Budgets

http://www.finaid.org/calculators/

Best Majors By Salary

PayScale has created a list of the most common college majors by salary potential.
You can look up the median starting salary and the median mid career salary by major.
The major disadvantage is that the list is not organized by highest salary major to lowest.

When deciding what career to pursue be sure to factor in what you will be earning.
These are only general median salaries (you may earn more or less based on your area and the economy). Your choice of major and salary potential should be an important factor in your choice of school and how much loans you take on.


http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/degrees.asp

Grants and Scholarships for College

You can search for free money for college. "How To Factor Grants and Scholarships Into Your College Choice," by TheStreet.com, offers several grants and scholarship website databases.

Many of these websites offer the ability to specialize your search based on the type of award you are looking for.
The scholarship links are more accessible and relevant to the student than the grant links because the grant websites mix government contracts with student grants.

When we went to school there were no such databases with this specialization and broad amount of knowledge available.

Take advantage of these links.
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/life-stages/educational-funding/how-factor-grants-and-scholarships-your-college-choice