Thinking outside the liberal arts degree to find success after college (while graduating in four years)

Almost a half of all students change their minds on a degree before graduating from college. These students no doubt realize that an undergraduate degree means a lot, and it could direct the future of their career. After all, why would you have an Engineering Degree if you realized you hated Engineering halfway through your college studies? However, when a student chooses to change a degree, it can extend the length of college and the total student loan that will need to be repaid. For parents, this can be a terrifying thought. In fact, my mother expressed gratitude that I had stuck with History as my major throughout my entire college career, for her own sanity as much as for anything else, I’m sure.

And yet, my BA in History was far from a slam dunk on a resume in today’s economy. Most of my options for getting a job in my degree consisted of getting at least a Master’s Degree in order to become a teacher, or a PhD to try my luck at getting a job at a University. My conversations with younger Professors in college left me thinking this wasn’t my ticket to success.

My eventual career landed me far, far away from my History degree, and yet I got the position through a combination of good fortune, determination, and my collegiate experience.

Extra-curricular activities and college jobs can have as much of an impact as your Major on your future job prospects. In fact, many employers see a Liberal Arts major as a big benefit in a potential employee:

A liberal arts education is not designed as training for a specific occupation. What it does do better than any other type of college or university preparation is sharpen analytical and communication skills, teach students how to learn, and provide students with a body of knowledge that can be applied to larger contexts. Thus, it is no surprise that the leaders in most career fields are liberal arts graduates whose specialized training occurred in graduate or professional school.

My addition to that quote is that although graduate or professional school makes a big difference, continuing education takes many forms. In college, I had the good fortune to get a job working at a Greeno Sub Shop, a student-run business at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I learned many business fundamentals like budgets, profit margins, and marketing. I also learned a great deal about what it meant to collaborate and take personal responsibility. Many of my co-managers at the time would agree with me that it almost felt like a second degree, and although I’ve learned a great deal more, I do feel that that experience helped set me apart in a field of applicants, some of whom no doubt had more relevant formal education than me.

Why am I saying this? Because rather than spend all of your time making sure your academics are going to fall in line with what you want to do when you get out of school (which you may change your mind about or reality may force you to change your mind about), it might be worthwhile to spend some time thinking about how you’re pulling on the other resources in a college setting. Getting an interesting student job, running for student government, or getting involved in a club, could open you up to knowledge and experiential learning that you would not have received within your major, making you a more rounded job applicant in the future, without having to worry about how to pay for those extra semesters of college.

What do you want to know about paying for college?

This month, we will be offering Paying for College on October 16^th in Hadley, and October 25^th in Worcester at the Hilton Garden Inn. To help us gear up to this and shed light on the college financing process, I’m asking you today if you have any questions that you wish you had an answer to around paying for higher education. After all, it can be mystifying stuff.

So, what are you most confused about? Or, do you not know what you don’t know? Do you have a good enough grasp on the subject matter, or is it so overwhelming you barely want to think about it and are second guessing why you even started reading this? (If it’s the last answer, bravo for confronting your fears so readily. Hopefully you can keep it up!)  Are you planning on attending our upcoming workshop on Paying for College, or are you going to miss it?  If you’ve already gone through the process, what did you wish you knew at the time? If you’ve been to our workshop, what did you think?

 

I’ll leave it at that, until next time.

A Bigger Car

In the pursuit of living simply, I have actually succeeded in making my life more complicated.  Well, I might just be acting overly dramatic. 

Here is the ridiculous story.  When I first told my boss that I was getting married and one day would probably have children, after nearly falling off her chair she proceeded to tell (and tease) me how I was going to need a mini-van.  Now I know that some people love their mini-vans… great for you!  It is just not the vehicle for me.  I was pretty adamant with her that I would NEVER own a mini-van, even signed a paper stating that fact which probably still exists in my personnel file. 

So in an effort to prove her completely wrong, my wife and I purchased the smallest car we could find.  Well, not really.  We bought a Nissan Versa.  It is a decent economical car, pretty good on gas, and for its class of hatchbacks, fairly roomy in the back.  In our day to day life, it works pretty well for our family.  I mean, we have to finagle the recycling and trash in the back and give a push on the boxes before quickly slamming the door shut. 

Our problems have arisen when we travel.  This summer we took a few camping trips, and we had to pack around our son.  Literally.  The softer items went on top so that in the event of shifting he wasn’t bonked in the head with a cooking stove.  And truth be told it isn’t his stuff that is taking up so much room, it is ours.  Yes we are camping but that doesn’t mean we can’t sleep in comfort.  And this isn’t to mention how the back of the car sank down dramatically when we loaded our bikes on the back.  Yikes!  Sorry struts or shocks or whatever is back there.

 

So we need a bigger car.  And it is indeed a need, not a want.  We are a one car family, we don’t even like to drive.  When traveling we like to arrive at our destination, unpack and then travel by bicycle.  We also have been car-payment-free for the past year, snowballing that payment into other debt.  Knowing that it takes a village, I would love to get your thoughts.  Does it make sense to get a car just for vacations?  Is there something else we are missing here?  And, if we must get a car (thinking Honda CRV size), any recommendations? 

Why I chose to use my savings account

Around three years ago, when I began working at UMassFive as a teller, I had a checking account. That was just about all I cared about. Granted, I did have my basic savings account, which everyone has, but I didn’t use it, and I didn’t care about it. Why would I? I loved the interest rate Co-op Advantage Checking gave me, and I wanted to squeeze every penny out of it.

Then, not two months into my new job, my car broke down.

The funny thing is, it wasn’t actually my car. I was twenty two, working two jobs, and just barely out of college. My mother let me use her car at all times, because she lived in New York, and it helped her not have to deal with owning a car in New York City. It also helped her convince me to run errands for her on my days off. And for me, it was a free car. My mom paid for the insurance, and I had no car payments. My responsibility started and ended with paying for gas and repairs. At the time, that was a lot, but I didn’t know how good I had it until I didn’t have it anymore.

So there I was, with no car, two jobs and about $300 to my name. It was also the winter, and I lived nowhere near the bus route. I got by for about a couple of days, but quickly realized I’d need to buy a new car. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

At 60 hours a week, with budgeting, I was making enough money to save without car payments. With car payments and insurance, I didn’t want to give up my savings, but in order to do that and make sure I was making my payments in time, I had no choice but to put money into a savings account. That, along with a loan savings account, turned a hectic heap of bills into a manageable stream. I began to appreciate that my savings account was there for me to build my savings, and that I couldn’t touch it very easily. And I began to really appreciate it when my savings account grew. It not only helped me build savings, but it also helped me pay my loans down more quickly… Happy days!

Since that time, I’ve moved to being a full time employee of the Credit Union, and I’ve begun leading workshops on budgeting. The practice what you preach mantra has helped me make a more convincing case for separating savings accounts from spending accounts. In that time, I’ve picked up a Holiday club savings account, and am considering a secondary savings account for more transparency.

Still, it’s not easy to work out an organizational plan, especially when you’re concerned with making a high rate of return on the money in your checking account. For those who are resisting a savings account, I have one suggestion: Look at how much interest you’ve earned over the last year. If you feel like you couldn’t have saved more money by keeping your savings separate from your checking, then you should keep doing what you’re doing. If not, it might be time for a change.

How about others? How has organizing your accounts differently helped you save (if at all)?

Birthday Parties

My son recently turned 2 and lots of mental energy was expended trying to figure out how to celebrate his birthday.  My wife and I like to keep things simple, we are the type that would rather spend money on an experience as opposed to a thing, and that is a value we hope to pass on to our son.  It is a struggle however, to not get all caught up in spending, spending, spending as a way to celebrate.  There are endless ways to watch your budget get surpassed with bounce houses, clowns, and slides - oh my! 

Another issue is gifts. This day is about celebrating him; does that have to be with piles and piles of presents? Is there some magical amount of presents he needs to get to feel valued and celebrated?  Can that even be quantified?  I also don’t want friends to feel pressure to have to arrive with a gift, not to mention setting a limit on the amount of stuff that will ultimately get piled in different corners around the house.  As a person who strives to live simply, I am still amazed at the amount of plastic toys (mostly reused & recycled) that has entered my life in these past two years.  I want him to get special things, things that I think he will really enjoy but as I watch him take great joy in playing with the box and plastic bags the reusable popsicles sticks came in or the mud puddle on the way to the playground, I question the concept of special.  Whose idea of special are we really talking about?  What’s important to him?

In the end, I did manage to reel myself back in. It was pizza, homemade cake and ice cream in the backyard.  The guest list narrowed down to the closest of friends and a request made to not bring presents.  He got some stuff, a wooden sand box and a new bike, gifts that came early and were from family.  A few friends ignored our request and came with gifts, a rake, a toy car and motorcycle, and his new favorite toy, a previously loved wooden doll house from his young friend on our street.

Most importantly, I hope that he got an early lesson in doing more with less.  What else could a Credit Union mama ask for?

Freeze Your Credit Card?

This post was originally published on the blog at www.getintheloop.coop

You didn't misread the tagline. This tip comes from a member who found a slightly unconventional, but brilliant, way to quit credit:

She froze her credit card in a block of ice.

According to the member, she's always had a hard time resisting the allure of credit cards, but knew how important they were in times of need. How, then, could she avoid the impulse spending while having relatively quick access to the card in an emergency? Freezing the credit card seemed to do the trick.

On three separate occasions, the member felt an impulse to make a purchase on credit. She opened her freezer to pull out the block of ice and let it thaw. Under hot water, she said it took around 45 minutes to thaw. Within twenty minutes, as she saw the block of ice shrink, some restraint would return to her, and the credit card would be re-frozen.

She hasn't used it in a year.

This is not for everyone. This member had AAA (at $54 for a basic membership, it pays for itself the first time you use it), so she didn't need her credit card for roadside emergencies. She also wasn't traveling abroad frequently (it is a good idea to have a few backup payment methods when traveling abroad!). Also, it is worth noting that this doesn't work very well if you have your credit card information saved at online merchants. Still, for many of us, this could be a great way to get into the habit of not relying on credit, to help kick-start the repayment process and help get out of credit card debt for good.

Share your methods for lowering debt on your credit cards here! No idea is too wild: All that matters is that it works.

When is the Right Time?

I have had this question in my head now for some time, turning it over and over, waiting to be asked and answered.  When is the right time to start talking to your kids about money?  After all, money is certainly one of those taboo topics.  When is the last time you talked to friends, acquaintances, co-workers, family, or even your therapist about your finances?   Exactly!  So how do we talk to our kids about something that we just don’t know how to talk about?

First off, we need to understand our own relationship with money.  Here is my suggestion, find someone you really trust, this can include a pet.  Set aside some time (even 5 minutes) and just start spilling the beans about your money story.  Be sure to include your earliest memories of money, your parents’ relationship with money (as seen through your eyes), your deepest desires about what you would do if you won the lottery, any fears you have about money and your dark secrets about money (i.e. the time you spent your paycheck on “fill-in the blank”).  These stories are connected to so many feelings that they clog our thinking, keeping us from being truly present in the realities of our current money situation.  When we tell these stories, let these ghosts out of the proverbial closet, their power over us lessens.  We can then face our current financial situation as it is and use our minds to make the best decisions we can based on our realities.  It is from this place that we can talk honestly and openly with our children about money.

Secondly, the money “talk” is not a one-time event; there is no perfect age or even perfect way to get this “talk” done right.  So just do it.  Every time something about money comes up include your kids. Obviously, depending on their age(s) they will have different levels of understanding.  Regardless, let them help pay the bills (even if this is just coloring in your check register) and put spare change in the piggy bank.  Bring children (ages 6-9) to UMassFive to open an account and join our Super Savers Club!  When facing challenging financial times be honest about the difficulties, all the while reassuring the young people in our lives that we are doing the best we can to take care of them. 

We cannot underestimate what even the youngest among us are absorbing.  My 2-year old son will clearly ask, “Mama, do you have mah-nee?” and then the other day he found a quarter and said “I have mah-nee!” just before putting it in his mouth.