Below are some articles from this blog’s archives that reflect my thoughts from the past. Feel free to comment and/or criticize - reasonable arguments are a great source of learning moments.
Though we came from different financial backgrounds, education provided us with almost equal opportunities when we later started thinking in terms of becoming financially independent. It sort of raised us all to a common level without discriminating between the rich and the poor. In other words, it sort of acted as a leveler.
There are probably many people (educated people who spend half their day on the internet) who don’t know (or resist) personal finance basics. I am not sure if such people even care to read personal finance blogs, but I am hoping that they stumble on at least one personal finance blog that shines a light in their head.
By the way, I didn’t even know who Dave Ramsey was when I went on my own debt reduction program. In fact, I was totally unaware of any of the financial gurus that you generally see floating around many personal finance blogs. Heck, I wasn’t even fully conversant with the concept of “blogging†at the time.
Here are some more articles from other blogs that warrant some thinking.
- 3 Reasons Not to Buy a Home by Flexo @ Consumerism Commentary. Flexo lists some financial reasons against buying a home. Now, I am all for saving money, and getting the most out of it. But, personally, buying a home will NOT be a financial investment for us. It has to do with some kind of a personal satisfaction - I am not able to put my finger on the exact reason - but something along that lines. When I will be in the market for a home, the only financial question I want to ask myself is “Can I afford this home - with the mortgage and all - for the next 30 years”. If I can afford it - I will buy it, irrespective of whether it turns out to be more expensive than renting. I will have a whole post on this very soon.
- Which is More Important: Money or Job Satisfaction? by JD @ Get Rich Slowly. There are some interesting comments on this article. I am not sure which is more important. Probably, the importance that we attribute to these two factors changes with age and status. In the past, when I was single, I have refused to give in to a high paying job opportunity for one simple reason “I don’t like the job profile”
However, I am not sure I will have the same attitude if someone offers me a similar opportunity once again. I do lean more towards job satisfaction, but money is becoming increasingly important.
- Facing Reality: The Tremendous Cost of Higher Education by Cap @ Stop Buying Crap. This requires a bit of thinking. It’s not as simple as some people make it out to be like “education is not worth it because of the costs” - there is more to education than just financial returns. Here are Cap’s thoughts on how to tackle the issue:
Again, this isn’t about the decision you make concerning your educational pursuit. It’s okay if you want to study sociology at an expensive private university — you can never place a concrete return on investment towards the cost of higher education — just be fully aware of the potential income level you may earn, and the means & steps you can take to pay back your debt. If you head into debt without a clear idea of its consequences and tackle on more than you can handle, you may be jeporadizing your financial future.
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“Education is a Great Economic Leveler”
I have a college degree and earn minimum wage. Where’s all the extra money I’m supposed to be making?
“Yes, There Are Educated People Who Think Like This”
I think I have a pretty good handle on the basics of personal finance. But what good is that when you earn minimum wage and have student loan debt?
“I Didn’t Need Dave Ramsey To Get Out Of Debt”
I don’t need Dave Ramsey either - his budget guideline of 38% for housing is unrealistic for low earners - but I do need something greater than a minimum wage income.
Minimum wage: you answered your own question in the last part of your comment: “but I do need something greater than a minimum wage income.” That is the first thing you need to do - and I am pretty sure that’s the first thing you will hear from most other people who will try to answer this minimum wage problem. However, there is more to it than just “try to increase your income”.
Extra money: Education just in itself doesn’t give you the extra money. It gives you a platform from which you can jump higher. Now, depending on your will (and your ability to grab opportunities), you will be able to jump little higher …or a lot higher on the economic ladder. A lot depends on how you use your degree. I think, with a college degree you have a good head start - you will find the extra money if you look hard for it.
About having a good handle on finances: I would say it is all the more important for someone living on minimum wage to have a good knowledge about things like health insurance and retirement. Why? because there is no margin of safety to fall back on. Rich guys may get away with a big hole in their pocket, but for those earning minimum wage their will be no pocket at all - forget about the hole.
Having said that, I fully acknowledge that things are easier said than done. But perhaps you will agree with me if I tell you that there was a time when I was earning slightly more than minimum wage and still managed to pay my way through graduate school. Life is tough - but that’s what life is.
“Extra money: Education just in itself doesn’t give you the extra money. It gives you a platform from which you can jump higher. Now, depending on your will (and your ability to grab opportunities), you will be able to jump little higher …or a lot higher on the economic ladder.”
Solid comment Golb, well said.
Btw man, best of luck to your community in the stock contest! I have a good feeling we are going to win this time around
Extra Money: A college education is part of a strategic life plan to attain individual goals. Like Golb said it is a platform to jump higher from which allows for a much higher earning potential on average. Part of that is to earn a degree in a marketable and in demand field. Every pharmacist, CPA, chem/mech engineer(nearly any engineering field), medical grad, and soo many other career fields have little trouble finding high paying jobs. I knew a lot of people that had poli-sci, psych, sociology, music, and general studies that had a lot of trouble finding a decent paying job with only a 4 year degree. Only the most determined were able to work in their field while the rest were working near minimum wage jobs and struggling. A masters degree in any of those fields greatly increases chances of finding a decent paying job in the field.
Education is never a guarantee of high wages and never will be. What field the education is in is much more important. Beyond that it is a matter of effectively finding positions and if someone isn’t being hired for those positions they need to figure out what it is about them that is making them not being hired. Relocation to an area where your education is more valued may be needed as well.
extra money: you got an education and expect things? sounds like the difference between what you think you are owed and what you need to work for to obtain. it also sounds like you just went to school for the sake of going to school. school is an enabler if you have an end goal, not a king maker.
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