I’m a spreadsheet jockey, so I’ve always managed my finances with Excel. But I’m not typical. There’s an interesting new, free service called Tuition.io that helps student borrowers manage their debt. Graduates may end up with several different types of federal, private, and parent loans that have different terms and repayment schedules, and that’s hard to… [Read More]
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Category: College Admissions and Costs
Paying for College: The 2012 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments
The annual NACUBO-Commonfund report on college and university endowment values is out. The value of each endowment includes the effect of investment returns, spending, and donations through June 2012, and, on average, it was negative: the average endowment posted a return of -0.3 percent (net of fees) for the year, a decline from the 19.2 average… [Read More]
Paying for College: Paying for the Athletic Department
The lovely and talented John Warner writes that coach’s salaries should be part of the higher education discussion. At the same time, the Chicago Public Schools have suspended two coaches for bad behavior during a game that ended with a shooting in the parking lot afterward. I’m a believer in sports for kids and adults…. [Read More]
Paying for College: Paying Off the Mortgage
Whenever I receive an unexpected sum of money, I divide it into four. A quarter goes to random spending (usually clothes), a quarter goes to charity, a quarter goes to savings, and another quarter goes to the mortgage principal. This is in addition to the extra principal payments we make each month. This is a… [Read More]
Paying for College: Giving Savings Bonds
For decades, American families have used US Savings Bonds to help children save money for college. They don’t offer the best return, but they have no risk (other than inflation) and some tax benefits. They are easy to purchase, too. In the past, they had an additional advantage: the spiffy paper bond with a maturity… [Read More]
