Thinking of sending your kids to college?

I am sure you are, after all, a high school diploma just doesn't cut it anymore. In fact, a generic bachelor degree (i.e. business, marketing, journalism, etc) is the new equivalent of the high school diploma. It may get you in the door, but it certainly doesn't get you a job. So as you prepare your children for higher education (at 20K per year), pay attention to the cost of Room & Board. My experience was that room and board was $760 per MONTH! Here is what that included: a 12' x 15' room that I shared with a roommate, a bathroom which was shared with 3 other people and a laundry room shared with 300 other people. I would think you could find a better deal renting an apartment or house for less money. Also, did you know there is a way to get free laundry from those coin operated machines?

Something to think about, if you only had 30 days to live, what would you do differently?

Markets are UP!!! Get a job.

I don't know where you are, but things are looking up in Central Ohio. Home prices are up $3,000 from this time last year, and there are fewer homes on the market than there were at this time last year. Of course if you watch the news, the housing market is completely dead and we should all go back to living in tepees. By the way, I was speaking with a former news reporter yesterday. He enlightened me with the information that fewer and fewer people are actually watching the news on TV. I can understand that, it's too depressing to watch. He also mentioned that in his broadcasting/communication classes, that the "weather is what sells the news." So now you know, that's how they suck us in, with the weather. I know I feel better. Back to my earlier point, things are looking up. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its prediction for our national economy, from .5% to 1.1% for 2008 and from .6% to .8% (change in gross domestic product) for 2009. That's what I like to hear.

Are you a college graduate looking for a job? Now is a good time. According to CollegeGrad.com, hiring of college grads is up. 500 of the top entry-level (yes, even you have to start at the bottom) employers are reporting the need for 175,000 new employees (of which more than 10,000 openings are for 23 companies in Ohio). 62% of the surveyed companies are projecting to hire more grads than they did last year (20% - the same amount and 18% - fewer than 2007).

So go get a job and stop leaching off your parents.