Author: Dawn Kennedy

Lead Me Not to Temptation, I’ll Find it Myself

Posted on by Dawn Kennedy

It is no secret that companies want me to buy stuff. They want to separate me from my hard-earned money at every turn. Exhibit A: we moved about a year ago from another state and wouldn’t you know it, I got a catalog yesterday in the mail, with “easy terms” and “guaranteed credit line.” Now, I haven’t ordered from this company in years, opted out of “junk mail” over a year ago, and never forwarded my address to any catalogs.So, what gives? Opting out of “junk mail” is not as straightforward as it seems. There are literally four different processes to get rid of the marketing mailers, pre-approved offers, and sales calls. The Direct Marketers Association charges $2.00 to opt out for five years. Catalogs must be opted out through another process. GAAAH.

I hear some of you reading this, going, “What’s the big deal? It’s just a catalog. Recycle it and quit whining.” I hear you loud and clear. But, I was very surprised by this stupid catalog, that they tracked me down to my new address out of state. I also don’t want the temptation to order on credit around because they make it easy to spend without thinking. There is always a birthday, anniversary, holiday or occasion to spend while you are budgeting and working on your debt-free walk. “I’ll pay it off next month” is way too easy to say. Problem is, if we don’t spend actual cash or shop on impulse, Murphy has a way of wreaking havoc right before the bill is due to be “paid off.” It happens almost every time.

The easier a company makes it for us to spend, well, the more likely we will buy from them. There are many articles and sales books on the topic of reducing “sales friction” to help customers buy products. Amazon is continually finding creative ways to make it easier for you to buy. The latest friction reducer is the delivery to the trunk of your car. Amazon recognized customers grew wary of having packages delivered at home hours before anyone arrived to retrieve them, which created an environment ripe for thieves. Apple is another master at making buying easy and convenient for customers. In their own stores you can just “scan and go” to purchase items. For other retailers, “Apple Pay” puts purchasing at the swipe of a phone. It’s crazy.

Guarding Against Temptation

To guard against impulse shopping or spending more than you planned on a purchase, I have two suggestions to help you take control of your money. First, a written budget is a must. You are the boss of your money. You get to tell it what job each dollar is assigned each month. If you don’t have a job for every single dollar that comes in the door, it’ll just run away and spend itself on things you may regret later. The bill always shows up, whether the dollar ran off and became catalog spending on credit or putting purchases on your phone bill.

Second, use cash. Just do it. Try it for the next month. Create your own “friction” between you and the seller. You will think twice when you hand over bills rather than entering a card online or waving a phone. Imagine having to get up off the couch, put shoes on, drive to the store, open your wallet, give bills to the cashier, drive back home… you get the idea. You will probably think twice about buying that “thing” if it doesn’t show up in two days with “free shipping.”

Third, (although I said only two) opt out of the junk mail, sales calls, and catalogs. Block out an hour or so, make a cup of something to drink, sit down and go through the steps above. Get rid of the pre-approved credit cards and the spending opportunities that show up in your mailbox. You know, lead me not to temptation.

 

College is a Business Decision

Posted on by Dawn Kennedy

 

This post is primarily for rising seniors and their parents. First and foremost, congratulations, you are almost done! This is that big year with lots to do and lots to plan. This is THAT year of Senior Prom, Yearbook quote, and ditch day (but not by YOU of course.) You have worked hard, and graduation is right around the corner. With school starting again in a few, it’s getting real. This fall you will likely start the application process for your next step. But before you race off to the exotic out of state private school, I want to talk a moment about the one thing often overlooked at this time in your life: College is a business decision.

Every investment requires thoughtful consideration, and education is an investment. With the student loan debt in America approaching $1.5 Trillion, and graduates being saddled with college debts as long as 25 years, your selection should take some real cost-benefit examination. A quality education does not only come from the expensive private schools. I hear all about the “College Experience” students “should” have,however, student loan debt is currently being blamed for 1 in 8 divorces in the United States. Turns out high student loan debt gets in the way of buying cars, homes, and starting families.

Know the Cost of Attendance Vs the Cost of Tuition (per Credit Hour)

The high education figures we all see thrown around in the news are typically the amounts published in the estimated Cost of Attendance. Each school publishes the cost estimate per year for parents and students, but primarily because, “This estimation may also be used by financial aid offices and loan companies to evaluate how much money they should loan a prospective student based on how much money they will actually need to attend. Each year, the average cost of attendance typically increases.” The cost of attendance estimates room and board, fees, transportation, tuition, and books and materials.

The actual cost of your education, the Cost of Tuition, can be determined by looking at the cost per credit hour, which is a very different number. Published in an article by Student Loan Hero last January, here are the current national averages of costs per credit hour:

• Four-year, public: $324.70
• Two-year, public: $135.09
• Less than two years, public: $281.17
• Four Year Private: $1039.00

Keep in mind, these are the national average, and your state or private school credit hour cost may be higher or lower. But let’s do a little math here. A four-year bachelor’s degree is around 120 hours or so. A four-year public school at $324.70 is about $38,964.00 for all four years. That’s under $10,000.00 per year. Compare that to the four-year private school average, the same 120 hours will run approximately $124,680.00. Before you buy a book, get a sandwich, or go to your science lab. In many parts of the country, that is the cost of a starter home. Still, $10,000 a year for a four-year public school is a lot of money.

Another option is to get your pre-requisites, such as English, Social Sciences, Western Civ and Math courses done at a two-year college. Let’s math again. If you complete 60 hours at Community college, you’ll pay an average of $135.09 a credit and $8,105.40 total. A little over $4,000.00 a year, and a savings of 60% off the four-year public university option. For many families, this is a wise decision.

Even more wise, is to “cash flow” or pay for tuition in cash each semester. With a full-load averaging 15-16 credits, each semester would cost about $2,161.44. Add books and fees, and you are still probably coming in at about $2,800.00 a semester or $5,600.00 a year. If you start working this fall, you need to save about $467.00 a month to fund your first full year at a two-year public school.

So, Why Cash?

Using Loans increases that cost per credit once interest is added! Looking again at the cost per credit hour, each credit costs more, when you take out a loan to pay for it. As of the article published in January 2018, the Department of Education has interest on federal Direct Loans at 3.76% APR. That is an effective rate of about 20 percent over 10 years. Adding that interest to each credit changes the cost:

• A two-year public-school credit at $135.09 would cost $162 over 10 years ($27 in interest)
• A four-year public-school credit at $324.70 would cost $390 over 10 years ($65 in interest)

Mathing again, the 60 hours at Community College can grow to $9,720.00. An increase of $1,614.60, then interest is also added on the books and fees if you have a loan for each semester to cover those as well! Think how great it would be to finish college without debt. To make that investment in yourself in cash, it takes planning. A combination of work and saving, living cheaply or at home, and getting any shortfall through scholarships (try My Scholly) should all be part of your smart education investment. Enjoy your senior year!

 

Dings to the Budget: Traffic Tickets and Criminal Justice Fines

Posted on by Dawn Kennedy

 

Fun fact! The first speeding law in the U.S. was passed in 1652 in the Colony of New Amsterdam which is New York today. Thou shalt not gallop thine horse or wagon. The fine back then would be equivalent to $150.00 in 2016 dollars. Yikes! Not much has changed.

The average speeding ticket still runs around $150 nationwide, but based on the infraction, fines can range wildly from $50.00 to $2,500.00 and from state to state. Americans shell out about $6 billion annually on our “need to speed.”

For the 8 out of 10 families living paycheck to paycheck an unexpected bill like this is a big deal. The startling reality is that 28% of us cannot handle a financial emergency of even $10.00. We are strapped as a nation and are not prepared for even the most mundane of surprises. And traffic tickets are really sort of a mundane surprise. Most people (ok, not YOU) receive a ticket or two in their lifetime. Between 2010 and 2015 about 1 in 5 drivers did.

Putting it together, most of us can’t afford a ticket, any ticket. And many Americans will reach for the credit card or borrow the money from friends, family, or a lender. Even a payday lender. Because, the consequences of ignoring a citation can be devastating. Let’s face it, fines can continue to grow and in the worst case, you lose your license or car and then how do you get to work? But borrowing the money can mean interest on top of fines. And if you already struggle to make your minimum payments? Danger, Will Robinson, danger.

So, what to do? My recommendation is to get a “baby” emergency fund, set aside in a bank account, as quickly as possible. Aim for $500 to $1,000.00. Another option is to utilize the “grace period” that time between the ticket and the court date, which is approximately 4-6 weeks or a few paydays, to pick up an extra shift, make some side money, or take another part-time job to earn all or part of the cost. If you do use part of your baby emergency fund, make sure you replenish it as soon as possible after you pay your fine.

For higher traffic and criminal justice fees and fines, this can be very difficult and create a huge hardship. So, you need a meticulous plan which requires a written budget, and cutting back on expenses, which may include cancelling unnecessary services such as cable or fancy ring tones, or a monthly subscription service for the short term. But you CAN do it.

Time to think about those dings to the budget that are unexpected, but really very likely to happen at some point. Take the smart step to put some money away “just in case” and get your monthly cash flow under control by knowing where your money is going with a written budget. Be the boss of your money.

 

 

What Have You Earned? What Have You Kept? Get your Social Security Statement

Posted on by Dawn Kennedy

The federal government stopped mailing annual Social Security statements to everyone back in 2011. They are still available, but you have to use the internet.  I don’t mention this earnings statement because I believe the Social Security program is solvent, or have a prediction whether it will be fixed, or even necessarily believe any “projected benefits” will ever be received by the time I am ready to retire. What the statement will tell you is how much you have earned each year, as reported to the Social Security Administration, since you started working and reporting income to the SSA.

We can go back (waaaay back) to 1990 and look at the average net income earned by average Americans over the last 26 years. The SSA reports $20,172.11 in 1990 and $46,640.94 in 2016. Meaning that for average Americans, we take home more than double each year now than we did in 1990. On the bottom of the SSA statement there is a number- your total earnings to date. In other words what you have earned over your working life.

If you worked and earned an average income from 1990-1999 you would have brought home about $209,056.00. From 2000-2009 about $351,192.00. And from 2010-2016 about $304,037.00.  So, if we added the average net income earned and taken home by average Americans from 1990-2016, we get a mind blowing $864,289.00.  Well over three quarters of a million dollars. And many people earn well above that annual average.

So, what do we KEEP? According to the latest statistics? Not much. Some of us have a 401k with auto withdrawal and a match at work. But, around 20% of those with a 401k have loans against the accounts taken to cover financial emergencies!  Savings accounts are in bad shape as well, in 2017 about 57% of Americans have less than $1,000.00 in savings.

Where is it all going? To service debt. At various interest rates, for various reasons. Average Americans are paying their dollars to cars, homes, student loans, credit cards and personal loans. Excluding a mortgage payment, we send creditors a whopping $1181.00 per MONTH or $14,172.00 a year. Many Americans send much more than that to others.

It’s eye-opening, or at least it was for us. Debt is taking our income, payments that we can do other things with. Like save. Or pay cash for cool things. Or support organizations we feel strongly about. If you are ready to take back your income, you can start anytime. Even if you are still paying oodles of interest and have $1.87 in an IRA right now, its never too late to start. Its never too late to grab a hold of your hard-earned income with a plan to take back your earnings from the current situation.

If your income is flying away the moment after payday, it’s time to make it behave. Make a monthly budget and write down where each dollar goes. Give it a job. Be the smart boss over your hard-working money. Your money likes to have a job. “This month you little dollar, yes YOU, will pay the water bill! YAY!”. If you want an easy to use, free online budgeting tool, I recommend Every Dollar.  Money stress really begins when you run out of dollars before you run out of jobs for them to do. Run out of jobs and reassign your money where you want it to work!

graphic from www.indianapublicmedia.org

 

Know the Enemy: Your Student Loans

Posted on by Dawn Kennedy

 

Ahhh, student loans. The loans for higher education that about 44 million borrowers owe at an outstanding balance totaling a staggering $1.48 trillion. That is higher than our total US Credit card debt! But national statistics aside, where student loan debt looms over the average family its personal and distressing. The average student loan debt in 2017: $37,172.00! I know, I know, loans have enabled many people to go to school who couldn’t afford it, but nobody foresaw this mess! College costs exceed the cost of inflation! Lots of people don’t finish…

Many students take the loans without really counting the future price of carrying this type of debt. And for those who do not graduate? Well, your loan for the entire semester was disbursed to the school- and you owe it. Student Loan debt is a huge stressor for new college grads, with the monthly payments making it hard to get a car or save for a home .

And there are pretty scary steps that servicers can take when you owe and don’t pay, including garnishing wages and social security checks without a lawsuit. And getting rid of these obligations is not as easy as some others because these loans are typically not dischargeable in an average bankruptcy (for now). Finally, while there are currently NINE different payment plans for federal student loans, some stretch out the terms of the debt for 25-30 years. That is a mortgage!

The only way to get rid of these loans is to have a plan and pay more than the monthly payments. These guys need to be attacked with a vengeance. I mean, who wants to have an education debt for 10-25 years? Or have a high debt to income ratio on their credit report? Yeah, credit reporting includes the total amount of the loans and any balance increases accruing monthly. There are real dangers in these high balances on reports for people who have security clearances or must have a background check for employment. But where to start?

These steps are for federal student loans. For private loans, contact your lender.

First, get your loan balance, monthly payment, status (for each if you have more than one), and type of loan from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). https://www.nsldsfap.ed.gov/nslds_FAP/ Note that there are several types of loans. Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Direct Loans are two common types taken by students, and Parent PLUS loans by parent borrowers. The type of loan is important because not every loan type is available for all payment plans. It’s complicated.

Second, if you have multiple loans over several years, listed as “Loan 1,” Loan 2,” etc. they will be listed by amounts and dates of disbursement. You may benefit from consolidation of the outstanding loans into one or two. Often Unsubsidized and Subsidized are consolidated separately. Subsidized means Congress pays the interest while you are in deferment or forbearance, so they accrue interest differently and have a different character than unsubsidized, where interest accrues immediately upon disbursement. There is a limit to the number of consolidations you can do, and the credit agencies will report it as a “new loan.” This will likely affect your credit score, if you are worried about your FICO.

Third, check out the federal loan “repayment estimator” to look at the payments that may be available. https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/mobile/repayment/repaymentEstimator.action.  CAUTION some plans are based on your loan balances, some are based on your current income and go up in payment every few years, and some require entrance into a program that you must requalify for each year or your loan converts to the “10 year standard plan” with the highest monthly payment. Also, for some programs, the interest will automatically “collateralize” or transform into “principal” added to the loan… and interest then grows on the new principal. READ THE FINE PRINT.

Again, the best way to get out of the student loan mess is to get serious about kicking student loan debt out of your life. Payments above and beyond the minimum are going to make a dent faster than just treading water with monthly payments. I firmly believe no one should be in debt for 25 years to earn a college degree. Seriously, read that again. In debt for 25 years to earn a college degree. But before you can start to make plan, you need to know your “enemy.

https://studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics/

ii  https://www.debt.org/students

iii] https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/17/student-loans-take-a-mental-toll-on-young-people.html

The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information contained in this post should be construed as legal advice from The Law Office of Dawn K. Kennedy or the individual author, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this Post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.

 

The Price of Debt on the American Family

Posted on by Dawn Kennedy

The second definition for “Price” in the Oxford dictionary online is, “an unwelcome experience, event, or action involved as a condition of achieving a desired end,” and the usage example given is, “the price of their success was an entire day spent in discussion.” For many Americans, the price of their credit cards, or driving a car with high payments, or a mortgage payment that is keeping them “house poor” is that unwelcome experience. And a result of that unwelcome experience is debt. And the price of that debt is stress.

Americans are stressed about their financial condition. The price of such worry is costing money in healthcare related to stress, relationship issues related to fights over money, and job productivity decline. A very recent and startling statistic, published by CNBC in March 2018, reveals 30% of Americans are stressed about money, “constantly.” And a whopping 85% reported being stressed “sometimes.” Here is the top reason from the article:

   “Why? Well, 66 percent of adults, including 71 percent of millennials, say it’s because they don’t have a three- month  emergency fund, and 46 percent say it’s because they don’t have any savings set aside in one to cover an unexpected expense like a job loss or medical problem.”

This is not a new phenomenon that all of the sudden Americans are stressed about money. A 2014 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that seven out of ten American workers say financial stress is their most common cause of stress, and almost half (48%) say they find dealing with their financial situation stressful.

Why am quoting stats when you may be visiting this article for ANSWERS because you are up at night unable to sleep due to money worries? Because you need to realize up front that are not alone. CNBC’s report translates to almost 3 out of 10 Americans are stressed constantly, over 8 out of 10 are stressed sometimes. I know, I know, “my situation is different…” and I know that it is! Everyone’s situation is uniquely theirs.

What I am on a mission to change is the shame, guilt, hopelessness and embarrassment people feel when they are deep in money problems. I think that is so important. Debt is hiding in the households of the American family and it is killing the livelihood of many of us. We need to throw open the curtains and look around and understand we are not alone. You CAN take control of your money and regain your peace of mind. You CAN find people to walk with you. You CAN create the plan that is right for you and your unique situation. And you can get back that good night’s sleep.

The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information contained in this post should be construed as legal advice from The Law Office of Dawn K. Kennedy or the individual author, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this Post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.