Marketing the College Experience
I'm of those who believe that excesses in all matters are not a good idea, whether it's formation of bubbles, whether it's excess in the financial market, whether it's excess of inequality, it has to be watched, it has to be measured, and it has to be anticipated in terms of consequences. - Christine Lagarde In my opinion, we’ve had a general (but profound) shift in how we view college in our culture today. This shift has spiked college attendance among Millennials and thereb
How to Get a Mortgage with Student Loans
On a regular basis, my clients reach out because they want to buy a home but run into trouble getting approved for a mortgage because of their student loans. I also teach mortgage brokers around the country how to use the strategies below to get their borrowers with student debt through underwriting. When you see a lender to get approved for a mortgage, your success hinges on something called the Debt to Income Ratio (DTI). This is the amount of money you bring in through inc
Now You Can Blog from Everywhere!
We’ve made it quick and convenient for you to manage your blog from anywhere. In this blog post we’ll share the ways you can post to your Wix Blog. Blogging from Your Wix Blog Dashboard On the dashboard, you have everything you need to manage your blog in one place. You can create new posts, set categories and more. To head to your Dashboard, open the Wix Editor and click on Blog > Posts. Blogging from Your Published Site Did you know that you can blog right from your publish
How Do Loan Strategies Affect Credit?
I would absolutely love to go on a rant about how credit is used to enslave us as human beings making it impossible to make a financial decision without worrying how it will affect credit. As if some arbitrary number has any control over if you will be able to repay your loans or want to. Do you have any idea how many people think they are their credit score? How many people think that they are a bad person, or they are a bad American because they have terrible credit? Anyway
The "Starting Your Own Non-Profit" Scam
“The Only Thing More Expensive Than Education Is Ignorance.” -Benjamin Franklin This scam has a very special place in my heart, therefore it gets its own article, and the person perpetrating this con will be have a special place in hell reserved all for him. There is a person preying specifically on chiropractors and holistic health practitioners in our country that is telling those unfortunate borrowers to “Start Your Own Non-Profit” so you can qualify for the 10-Year tax fr
Taxes On Forgiveness Strategies
There is a big question I often get when it comes to student loan forgiveness: “Won’t I get a huge tax bill at the end?” or “Yeah forgiveness sounds great but the taxes at the end aren’t worth it!” To me this is a lot like when people complain about the taxes they’ll have to pay on winning the lottery. First of all, I truly don’t believe that the tax problem will be there when the first people are set to be forgiven under IBR and ICR in 2034. I don’t think it will be there fo
Lack of Financial Education in School
“The number one problem in today's generation and economy is the lack of financial literacy.” - Alan Greenspan There is something very important that has been taken away from our education system. There has been some chatter recently about collusion with the financial aid department at the universities and the student loan lenders. Remember that most students don’t even read the terms of the loans that they are signing up for. They don’t read it for two reasons: 1-They trust
Education Reform: Are All These Subjects Really Necessary?
“Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” -Victor Hugo We have all heard this from students in almost every grade of school, “When am I ever going to use this in real life?” The problem is, the question is hard to argue even though most parents try. As I am thinking about it now, I was an excellent student, but I have never used a lot of the information I learned except at trivia night. I excelled at history but never needed it in any job I have ever done.
Meditation in Schools: A Turn Toward Mindfulness
“When your attention moves into the Now, there is an alertness. It is as if you were waking up from a dream, the dream of thought, the dream of past and future. Such clarity, such simplicity. No room for problem-making. Just this moment as it is.” ~Eckhart Tolle An elementary school in West Baltimore was recently spotlighted by CNN for its innovative approach to discipline: the school sends kids to meditation rather than detention. Robert W. Coleman Elementary School has set
It’s Time to Reform the Horrible Standardized Testing Process
If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn't be here. I guarantee you that. -Michelle Obama When President George W. Bush rolled out his “No Child Left Behind” program in 2001, it sounded hopeful—a new way to improve our education system. The mission made sense: make sure that no child falls through the cracks and that every youth in our nation gets a superb education. The idea was simple: use standardized tests to locate failing scho
