7
Getting Personal
Getting Personal
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About the author
Christopher Farrell is economics editor of Marketplace Money, a nationally syndicated one-hour weekly personal finance show produced by American Public Media.
Thanks for the Q&A session on the show...very helpful.
You mentioned a Charles Schwab Charitable Fund during your microfinance session, what is the exact name of that fund and the corresponding symbol?
Also, are there other Charitable Funds that function similarly to the Schwab one from other firms? Where would I find a list on these types of funds?
THanks for the quality programming!
I was concerned about the advice given to the mother. While it was wise to advise that the son take out the loans, even having her as a cosigner for SO MUCH DEBT is dangerous. I think mother and son need to talk about whether 40k/year is a reasonable price to pay for his education, considering it will all be borrowed.
Even to have the son take it out with no cosigner (assuming he somehow builds up his credit) is dangerous to the son. You can not bankrupt student loans (very easily), and he might spend 20 years regretting taking them.
Be very very careful.
Hi Chris,
I heard you refer to a recent list of the 10 the best investment books in times of trouble during the Nov. 8 show on our local public radio station (Yellowstone Public Radio - Billings, MT). How can I find this list?
Thanks.
Dennis Gaub
Hi, I'm leaving next July to go to Ethiopia to work for a couple of years in an NGO Children's Hospital. My retirement accounts (VALIC/AIG, MetLife) so far have taken about a 30% hit. Since I won't be able to contribute any more to those accounts, should I consolidate them into one big account and if so, which would you recommend...and, should I put them all in "safe" long term distributions, or keep my 30,30,30,10 ranging from high risk to low risk? I may actually end up in Ethiopia for much longer, so these accounts will account for most of my retirement. I will turn 50 years old in February, 2009. Thanks for you advice! I LOVE Marketplace and listen every day and every weekend! I've never been good with money, but I always learn a lot. Blessings!
Dear Chris, I heard your advice to the mother who sought to help her son finance his education. (I think it was Lauren from Seattle) You told her not to leverage her home and to have her son take out school loans, which she would have to co-sign. First, as a theatre major, he may not ever be able to pay these loans back. This means she will have too. Only in rare and extreme circumstances can a parent be released from the obligation on a co-signed student loan. As a consumer bankruptcy attorney, I have met many people who are paying for their adult children's educations, years down the road, not because they want to but because they must. As you suggested, her son, being at the beginning of his career is in a better position to shoulder the cost of his education. In my opinion, the best way to do this is to take a year off of school, support himself, and file his own tax return, so that he can fund his own education without a co-signor. Admittedly, some of the privately financed school loans require a co-signor, even if the student is not a "dependent." However, usually this occurs when the education costs more than the Stafford Loan guidelines allow. All young people shopping for an education should take a long hard look at the cost of their educations, because they will pay for it a long time into the future. In this country, and in this time, higher education is a privilege, not a right. It may be the most important financial decision a person makes in their entire life. If the son shoulders the cost of his education completely, he will more likely make intelligent and sensible choices.
PS I listen to your show all the time and enjoy your commentary.
I second Chris' recommendation that the 19 year old Music Theatre major take out loans for college, not his mother. Among the college freshmen I teach, the ones who have a financial stake in their education work harder and do better, on average, than those whose parents foot the entire bill. Even if she helps pay off the loans later, his responsibility to pay off the loan can be an important part of assuming the role of an adult.
