Friday, March 19, 2010
Tess Vigeland and personal finance expert Liz Pulliam Weston attempt to give a listener a money makeover.
Getting Personal (Marketplace)
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From Salt Lake City, UT, 03/29/2010
My father was a music professor at a small community college, and my whole life I heard him talk about the glory days of his department as it shrunk and changed from tenured to adjunct professors. So I studied engineering in college.
Young people interested in the arts and humanities need to develop skills for and be ready to work in other fields. These can be great opportunities to build business skills that will help you manage your funds and life when you find an opportunity to work in the arts.
As for taking a pay cut moving from a state to a corporate position, we really need to rein in public sector pay to reflect market realities. Public sector jobs now outnumber private market jobs, and that disparity is just as unsustainable as our national debt. The solution includes abandoning skyrocketing tax funded pensions for realistic pension accounts and buying group health plans on the private market just like other companies. Governments should also have rolling infrastructure replacement accounts and rainy day funds, rather than hiring as many people as current taxes allows.
From Brewer, ME, 03/22/2010
Hey Folks, Get back to Christine and let her know that she's doing the right things - especially when they are hard and boring. That's life. It seems to me that she got grounding from her parents and has used that better grounding and worked well with it. One step at a time, for all jobs/tasks. She's doing fine. I hope my daughter and son 'regroup and move forward' as well as she has done so far.
03/22/2010
Agree with other commenters here - thanks for sharing this well presented (and even touching) story. This gives me some ideas about a meetup for the financial literacy group I help run.
Congrats Christine and keep at it! :)
03/22/2010
Thanks so much for sharing Christine's story, and for your great advice. There are many of us out there in situations just like Christine's. We're trying to do the right thing, be smart, read financial literature, and listen regularly to Marketplace Money in order to get started on the right foot. But it is easy, especially after years of school and thousands of dollars in student loan debt, to feel good about the choices we've made so far.
Like Christine, I followed my heart and studied music. Unfortunately the recession hit hard during my last year of grad school, so I ended up with what felt like a "useless" Masters degree and no job prospects. I decided to take a few months to do some traveling and learn a foreign language that is important for my career. Nevertheless, almost one year after finishing my Masters, I'm still jobless and trying to figure out what to do next. Thanks for the tips directed at those of us who are just entering the world of financial wellness -- we need solid mentorship and good advice, because from where we stand right now, things are looking pretty grim. Good luck, Christine!!
From Forks, WA, 03/21/2010
Consolidating student loans is a great idea!! I have the same amount in loans as the 26 year old woman from Boise and when i conolidated my loan payments were cut to $122 per month! What great advise you give!
From Kalamazoo, MI, 03/21/2010
I am wondering if you could talk to a disabled person who is live on her own and is relying on government assistance.
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