Student Loan Debt?

[kenmbz]

Son wants to teach english and be a writer.
I went for EE and CS and made a good living, wife went for accounting and became a software developer.
We have friends who went the construction, electrician and my cousin is a carpenter and doing well.
Can't see my son in the trades, he is more writing and music.

Unfortunately there are a lot of majors out there that we would not even consider minors when I went......

 

[dmccarty]

Has your total food bill gone up 100% in the past 3 years?

Good gracious this discussion move fast....

Yes, I would say my food bill has doubled in the last few years. I documented the costs in this post, Student Loan Debt?.

Given we eat the same thing each month so only the costs have gone up. Not what we buy.

Now, I am NOT including what my kids spend at the grocery store, or if my wife goes, so our actual grocery bill is higher than what I said. But since I am the one buying the same food week after week year after year, I have seen our grocery bill double or close to double, in the last few years.

Certainly this is because of the high diesel and natural gas costs caused by government programs which increase the cost of food. Putin's war has limited food production while driving up fuel prices which adds icing to the food inflation cake.

The other cause for the price increase is labor costs. Not only does it cost more to hire people in my area, since the pandemic, there are more workers in the store than before. They hired more cashiers to minimize lines, we could have VERY long lines a checkout, but that ended with the pandemic. The stores have also hired more people to stock the shelves. That puzzles me but it is what I am seeing and have been seeing. Far more people stocking shelves than ever before.

 

[jyoutz]

MSN

www.msn.com

When talking to other parents this weekend, seems everyone is unaware of how to go about getting scholarships and negotiate with colleges.
We have a lot of work to do besides getting my Sons SAT scores higher.

Anyone with any insight how to negotiate this maze?

All universities that I’m familiar with have scheduled campus tour days for prospective students and their parents. Go online and sign up for a tour. They will go over all of that financial aid information on the tour and have Q and A sessions.

 

[dmccarty]

Rib eyes $7.99 locally.

Advertised Specials

lowerysmeatandgrocery.com

Just checked our grocery store advertisement for the week and New York Strip is $13 a pound but on sale for $9. From your link, New York Strip is $6 a pound. Now the steak in our store is Select not Choice much less Prime. We do have a butcher shop, and they have better cuts of meats, but they are more expensive. They do have better sausages than the grocery store for about the same amount of money. Their turkey was really expensive but better than the grocery store. I think the turkey was $40-50 and it was pretty big but I can't remember the weight.

The grocery store and butcher have dried aged meat, but the price is sky high, not that regular cuts are cheap.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, a mandatory food plan, at University of North Florida is $2200/semester, for 1st year, first time college students, or roughly equal to a dual occupancy door room for a semester... That includes 14 meals per week at the cafeteria. Per meal, that's not terrible (not amazing), but the issue I have is; what student is going to eat at a cafeteria 2 meals per day, 7 days per week. I feel that is making 'paying' students subsidize the meals (operating cost of cafeteria) for the non paying students.

If the student (kinda want to say kid, but they are adults), has a job, I'm guessing they will average less than 3 meals per week in the college cafeteria. But they still force you to pay for 14/week. Think most people shrug, and go, it's part of the cost....

 

[jyoutz]

Today, having a college degree is basically worthless unless you want to work at a fast food joint.

Much better to learn a trade like becoming an AWS certified welder for instance, or a tool and die maker or an electrician.

Not true. Most college degrees are in demand: engineering, teaching, science, medical, communications, business, finance, accounting, and more. General studies, and wonky degrees are not. Most students don’t study those fields with no career prospects. Those that do, find they made a bad choice.

 

[jyoutz]

So, a mandatory food plan, at University of North Florida is $2200/semester, for 1st year, first time college students, or roughly equal to a dual occupancy door room for a semester... That includes 14 meals per week at the cafeteria. Per meal, that's not terrible (not amazing), but the issue I have is; what student is going to eat at a cafeteria 2 meals per day, 7 days per week. I feel that is making 'paying' students subsidize the meals (operating cost of cafeteria) for the non paying students.

Every university I’m familiar with has different meal plans. You pick the number of meals per week.

 

[drssg]

Today, having a college degree is basically worthless unless you want to work at a fast food joint.

Much better to learn a trade like becoming an AWS certified welder for instance, or a tool and die maker or an electrician.

There have always been garbage degrees, but plenty of others are quite worthwhile. There is still demand for doctors, lawyers, computer programmers, and such. Plenty of degrees will pay at least as well as a good trade.

 

[paulsharvey]

Also, don't know if its still common practice; but at the University of Florida, it was common for a professor to mandate buying a book that The professor wrote. Seems like a clear case of conflict of instant by a government employee. The defense of thus practice I heard, was, there are only so many experts in whatever, and "our professors are wold leading experts, who write most of the current books"

 

[paulsharvey]

Every university I’m familiar with has different meal plans. You pick the number of meals per week.

UNF does too, but for 1st year students, it mandates a min of 14/week.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, I've said many times, I'm not anti college; but at an office I was associated with, we had a secretary/front desk, lady who had a masters in business administration. Now, after 3 or 4 years, she got moved up to something like junior local HR rep, but its still a $54k job. You can do better than that with Far less education.

 

[jyoutz]

UNF does too, but for 1st year students, it mandates a min of 14/week.

Ah, that’s what some universities do. They require them to stay in campus housing for their freshman year, so they have to have the full meal plan.

 

[jyoutz]

So, I've said many times, I'm not anti college; but at an office I was associated with, we had a secretary/front desk, lady who had a masters in business administration. Now, after 3 or 4 years, she got moved up to something like junior local HR rep, but it’s still a $54k job. You can do better than that with Far less education.

And she can do better than that. My son has a masters in business finance and is making double that two years after graduating. But he had to move around to find opportunities.

 

[paulsharvey]

I'm a bit jaded; I have 2 sisters, and 1 brother, all Much higher educated than me. Oldest got a Bach in English, with minor in environmental something (wanted to be a nature writer); who went back multiple times, and after close to 12 years total, got a masters in environmental something (not engineering), and makes around $60k. 2nd sister was a physical therapist and got a doctorate, and now teaches at a community College (don't know pay range, but got to be less than $100); me with an associates in Building, and work as an inspector, doing OK; and my little brother, who got Bach in Communication after failing out of mechanical engineering, and he drives a concrete truck. I'm not crapping on their jobs, but none of those are using that education to its full extent.

 

[paulsharvey]

BIL and his wife both drive OTR, team (that too much together time to be healthy...) and each make around $90k/year.

 

[jyoutz]

I'm a bit jaded; I have 2 sisters, and 1 brother, all Much higher educated than me. Oldest got a Bach in English, with minor in environmental something (wanted to be a nature writer); who went back multiple times, and after close to 12 years total, got a masters in environmental something (not engineering), and makes around $60k. 2nd sister was a physical therapist and got a doctorate, and now teaches at a community College (don't know pay range, but got to be less than $100); me with an associates in Building, and work as an inspector, doing OK; and my little brother, who got Bach in Communication after failing out of mechanical engineering, and he drives a concrete truck. I'm not crapping on their jobs, but none of those are using that education to its full extent.

People make their own choices. For many people, job satisfaction is more important than money. For others, they aren’t ambitious enough to pursue opportunities. Many people refuse to move, and in today’s society/economy moving is often necessary to succeed in a career.

 

[ultrarunner]

Today, having a college degree is basically worthless unless you want to work at a fast food joint.

Much better to learn a trade like becoming an AWS certified welder for instance, or a tool and die maker or an electrician.

I thought likewise and went that route before engineering.

Certified welder, Tool Maker Certificates, IAMBA Union Tool and Machine shop contracting with NASA, DelMonte, Kelloggs, James River, Owens Illinois, Caterpilar, etc…

All the job shops, fab shops, foundries, canneries, Paper Mills, etc… long gone just as the shops that served them.

I found Property Management far more lucrative… plus freedom when your name is on the door.

Medical Engineering totally different and not nearly as lucrative but comes with for lack of a better word prestige… but it’s 24/7 365 days a year and many aspects are critical life safety issues.

I think if I had a redo my time would be best spent in the world of commercial real estate…

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

It's all about choices and desires. In the end, the borrower should be responsible for their own bad choices. I have no degree, but push near $300k. I got lucky that I had a passion for a lucrative trade and spent 20 years in it. The degree I was pursuing before I dropped out, probably wouldn't have provided this way for my family.
Choices and desires. In the end you are responsible for your outcome.