Month: February 2022

 

Getting admission into colleges and universities these days can be difficult and daunting. The vast majority of admission seekers do not know how to tackle this problem. But I have come up with an ancient guide to getting into college and university that has always worked. 

If you are in these shoes, or you have someone you will need to guide on how to get admission into college, come, let us take this ride together. You can as well check the best approach to beat Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).

Below is a step in the right direction you should take first.

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Have the student write an autobiography. Include background, aims, achievements, and ambitions. It will tell the admissions director what he needs to know about the applicant

While many adults feel uncertain about helping their children with careers, there are ways to offer assistance. Recommendations:

Recognize that both sons and daughters pass through various career attitudes. Most youngsters spend their childhood believing that they can become anything, from firefighters to the president of the U.S.

During every phase, you must treat your child as a growing person. Don’t snuff out the child’s interests with your prejudices. Allow exploration and curiosity about all sorts of work.

Promote a sense of worthiness in your offspring. Give them the chance to make choices, even if they seem to be bad ones.

After the age of 17, your child considers a career realistically. Help your child to be practical. But don’t stifle experimentation. After all, we spend most of our lives at work. We should find a job we enjoy

Source: How to Help Your Child Plana Career, by Dean L. Hummel and Carl McDaniels, Acropolis Books. Washington, DC.

Some students get more out of college than others. They are more assured, speak up in class often, are involved in many campus activities, and establish close relationships with their professors.

Quieter, more diffident students often do well in their studies and enjoy college life generally. But they may be hesitant to join in class discussions and never get to know their professors except on a formal, classroom basis. They are missing an exciting part of their college experience, which could have an influence on other aspects of campus life.

Specific ways to enrich your college years: Recognize that most college professors choose their profession because they like teaching and working with young people. They are eager to share their knowledge. Respect them, but don’t be awed by them.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Ignorance is no sin. You are in college to learn more. Use your teachers’ conference hours. You will be welcomed. More conference time is unused than used.

Some professors are better teachers than others. Most have spent many years learning the art of scholarship, but very few have much training in the art of teaching. The dull classroom teacher may be a warm, exciting instructor in an informal, one-to-one situation, however.

Good teachers are still learning-they are adult students. Approach them on an adult level by showing that you are taking as much responsibility for your education as they are. The teacher can open intellectual doors for you, but you must walk through.

Establish a personal relationship with at least one or two of your teachers. Building on the interests you have in common can add intellectual spice to your college experience and generate practical benefits when you are looking for a job or applying to graduate school.

Several educational services now give college credits to students who pass examinations rather than take courses. These credits are recognized by 2,100 colleges and universities. They’re not the same as mail-order diploma mills. Don’t forget to check how top private colleges select their students.

Result: If you pass the exam, you receive credits exactly as if you had passed a course covering the same material. What’s available:

The college-Level Examination Program (CLEP) is sponsored by the Educational Testing Service. CLEP offers 50 exams in subjects ranging from business to science and the humanities. For details: CLEP, the College Board, Box 1822, Princeton, NJ 08540 (609-921-9000).

Proficiency Examination Program (PEP), sponsored by the American College Testing Program. Gives exams on business administration subjects. For more information: If you live in New York State, contact College Proficiency-Regents External Degree Examination Program, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230. Elsewhere: ACT PEP Study Guides, Box 168, Iowa City, IA 52240. Also available: Advanced placement examinations, for students now in high school. In formation: AP Exams, Box 977-IS, Princeton, NJ 08540. Exam credits offer a shortcut to adults returning to college and they save money.

Caution: A few colleges charge tuition for exam credits. They should be avoided.

Should you keep the bank credit card you have now, or apply for ones that offer greater advantages? One VISA card or MasterCard could be very different from another VISA Card or MasterCard. What counts is the bank issuing it.

The MasterCard and VISA Organizations do not issue credit cards themselves. They provide a clearing system for charges and payments on the cards and license banks to use the VISA or MasterCard name. It is the issuing bank that determines the interest rates and fees.

A bank’s name on a credit card does not necessarily mean that it is the bank actually suing the card. Issuance of credit cards is a high-risk, low-profit business. Seldom does a small bank issue it’s own.

Generally, a small bank will act as an agent for an issuing bank. The agent bank puts its name on the card, but it is the issuing bank that actually extends any credit.

Aside from costs, this can be important if the cardholder encounters an error. The correction might have to be agreed upon, not by a friendly local banker, but by an unknown, larger institution, perhaps in a different state.

VISA, for example, has about 1,400 issuing banks in the U.S. and about 10,500 agent banks. Please check this post: The Lure of Easy Bankruptcy.

Choosing which card to take is becoming more difficult, because some of the nation’s largest banks have begun active solicitation of customers throughout the U.S. Individuals must be especially careful about accepting any offer that might come in the mail. A recently discovered quirk in the federal law allows federally chartered out-of-state banks to ignore state usury laws that limit the amount of interest or fees that the issuing bank may charge on its credit cards. In Arkansas, for example, state usury laws prevent local banks from charging more than 10% interest on credit card balances. But a federally chartered out-of-state bank, in lending to Arkansas residents, may charge whatever its home state allows even within individual states, the terms on credit cards can vary widely.

Aside from the actual rates and fees, individuals must carefully check the fine print of their contracts. Most banks, for example, do not charge interest on balances stemming from purchases until the customer is billed for such purchases. If the bill on which the charges first appear is paid in full by the stated due date, there is no interest charge to the holder. But some banks, those in Texas, for example, begin charging interest as soon as they receive the charge slip and make payment to the merchant. Thus, interest begins accumulating even before the cardholder receives the bill. These interest charges continue until the bank receives payment from the customer.

Debit card risk. If lost or stolen, unauthorized use of your bank automation card leaves you liable for the first $50, even if the loss is reported before use. It’s up to $500 if you delay reporting it until after someone has tapped your account for a teller-machine withdrawal. Point: That makes the convenience of a debit card potentially ten times costlier than a credit card, which limits your liability to $50 tops and charges you nothing if a loss is reported in time to flag it before use.

Don’t disclose the account number of your check-cashing identification or electronic funds transfer (EFT) card, even when reporting it lost or stolen. Why: Authorities don’t need to know the number. But thieves posing as bank officers may try to get it in order to use it. Check your credit card statement against your receipts. It’s very easy for a dishonest store owner to run off several slips when you present your card and submit them later for payment.

Be sure that it’s your card that the store clerk returns. Accidental switches do happen. The number of switches is increasing. It’s not costly, but it can be inconvenient, especially if you’re traveling.

You are not automatically responsible for any of the credit card charges of family members, even if they’re using the family card. Example: An executive’s son continued to use his father’s credit card after he was told to return it. Under a Federal Trade Commission ruling, the father had only to inform the credit card issuer that the card was being used without permission. Having done so, the father would be responsible only for the next $50 charged.

Disgruntled consumers may be able to withhold payments on a credit card they used to purchase goods or services that proved substandard. This is the result of a provision of the Fair Credit Billing Act, which enables credit card companies to reclaim disputed amounts from merchants after credit card slips are signed.

Four conditions must be met for a consumer to be entitled to withhold credit card payments:

• The amount of the charge must be more than $50. The charge must be made within the customer’s home state or within 100 miles of the customer’s home.

• The customer must first attempt to settle the dispute with the merchant directly.

• The customer must give the bank that issued the card written notice that the attempt to settle has failed.

How it works: When the bank receives the customer’s notice, it credits the account with the amount of the charge. It then charges this amount back to the bank that serves the merchant. The bank then charges the merchant.

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This provision of the law has been little publicized by the banks and credit card companies. Reason: They fear that if too many customers take advantage of this feature of the law merchants will begin to refuse credit cards.

Homeowners with Federal National Mortgage Association mortgages may be able to obtain considerable amounts of cash by trading in their mortgages. How it works: They receive a new mortgage worth up to 90% of the home’s current market value, at a rate almost always well below prevailing rates. Those whose homes have appreciated stand to receive significant amounts. To determine eligibility: Check with the mortgage holder. Source: Credit News

If you’re unsure about whether or not to take out a new personal loan, this basic calculation can be helpful. 1. Add all sources of income for a month. We also wrote Run Personal Finances Like a Business.

2. Total all monthly living expenses and your savings requirements, mortgage, debt, and insurance payments. 3. Avoid a loan that requires monthly payments that are bigger than the balance left when you subtract expenditures from monthly income. Best collateral for a bank loan: Cash value of life insurance policies, certificates of deposit, U.S. government securities (90% of value), stocks (70% of market value), mutual-fund shares (40% of market value).

Executives can borrow funds from their vested accounts in a qualified company retirement plan. Requirements:

(1) The plan must specifically provide that such loans are available to all plan participants.

(2) The loans must be genuine and bear a reasonable rate of interest.

(3) Loans may not exceed the lesser of $50,000 or the greater of $10,000 or one-half accrued benefits. (4) Loans must be repaid within 5 years (except for loans to finance a personal residence). (The $50,000 limit on plan loans is reduced by the participant’s highest outstanding loan balance during the prior 12 months.)

Broker loans. Instead of selling stock, consider using it as collateral for a broker’s loan. Since brokers borrow wholesale from banks, you’ll probably get money closer to the prime. And there are no compensating balances.

Certificate of deposit (CD) loan. You need money, but your CD isn’t due yet. Instead of cashing it in, use it as collateral for a loan. The interest charge is usually 2 percentage points above the rate paid by the certificate. These 2 points, divided by a short period of time, don’t amount to much.

Three out of four cosigners of finance company loans are eventually asked to pay up. There may also be late charges due to a friend’s or relative’s delinquency. Sometimes even court costs and legal fees. Besides having to pay off the original loan, cosigners may damage their own credit rating in the bargain.

Never cosign a loan unless you can pay it off if necessary. Try to get the lender to hold your obligation to the principal of the loan. Never pledge your own property to secure such a loan.

Request notification in writing of any miss ed payments. That way you are aware of the borrower’s delinquency and can either make the payment yourself or prod the friend or relative before the loan is called for or there are penalties.

No matter how friendly a loan, it’s a good idea to draw up a note stating terms and conditions. Be businesslike. Include a provision for reasonable interest. Good reason for formalizing the loan: The IRS. With documentation, you should be able to take a deduction on any loss. Unless the loan was directly connected with your business, it will be treated as a short-term capital loss.

 

Please check this post: Family Financial Review (Best Advice).

Should a severely injured victim of an accident take a $1 million lump-sum payment or $200,000 in immediate cash plus $25,000 a year for life? We also wrote this: Businesslike Management of Family Spending.

As large awards become more frequent, insurance companies are seeking less costly alternatives. One of the cheaper alternatives is the structured settlement: A package of upfront cash and monthly income. It is offered to an accident victim before the case goes to trial if the insurer’s lawyers believe it is likely that the victim will win a large award.

Structured settlements generally cost casualty underwriters 20% to 60% less than lump-sum settlements. The package: The up-front cash may be used for medical bills, legal fees, a reserve fund, lost income, and specific needs (such as a specially designed house for a paraplegic). 

The scheduled income may be for a specific period or for life. It may be designed to increase or decrease on given future dates or at the occurrence of certain events. All aspects are negotiable.

This type of settlement can look attractive to the injured party (and advisers), but it may not be the wisest choice. Litigation can be protected, but if a plaintiff has a strong case the insurer strives to settle quickly. It is axiomatic that the longer the delay in such a case the larger the settlement. The structured settlement was designed as an expeditious, less costly pretrial settlement device.

However, it would not be offered if the plaintiff had a weak case. In that instance, though the insurer would be likely to win in court, it might first offer a small settlement that would be less costly than litigation.

Insurance companies sell the Guaranteeing income for life. settlement by:

• Protecting minors and incompetents from inadequate or unscrupulous advisers and dishonest outsiders.
• Matching benefits to the individual’s needs reduces the risk of financial mismanagement. Getting the plaintiff’s lawyer paid immediately, or in installments over years.

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The guaranteed income is vulnerable to erosion by inflation. Contrast: A $1 million lump sum settlement is reduced by immediate expenses to $750,000. That sum could safely yield an annual income of $60,000 to $75,000, leaving the principal intact. Or: It could buy an annuity that provides a considerably greater lifetime income than the $25,000 settlement figure noted above.

The courts are empowered to protect minors and incompetents. With a large lump sum settlement, the court could direct the purchase of an annuity or the establishment of a trust, limiting it to specific types of investments and appointing a reputable counselor as trustee. Either way, the accident victim has the greater assurance of continued financial security than under the restriction of a structured settlement.

Accident victims who win lump-sum settlements have a better opportunity to set up an adequate estate program for their survivors. Also check this post: The Lure of Easy Bankruptcy.

If a structured settlement is accepted, it should be made inflation-proof by including an escalation clause, which could be tied to the cost of living index.