Personal Finance Roundup - Consumerist Comments

Personal Finance Roundup

ElizabethD — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:00:50 EDT

Some of us live in states with no good in-state college choices. Like: one state university, with its budget currently being hacked to death by a state running in the red. So, yay for you guys in larger states with good in-state college choices.

That being said: I am glad to see that families are urged to appeal financial-aid awards that aren't adequate. So many people seem to be unaware that it's not only OK, but normal, to do this. Never take the initial award letter as a final answer! Always write (we sent both a hardcopy letter and e-mail) and list simple bullet points supporting your position that your child will need more financial help to attend. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

ElizabethD

Personal Finance Roundup

Steaming Pile — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:00:40 EDT

@r081984: THIS.

My kid goes to a SUNY school ten miles from home. Even with the current exorbitant gas prices, commuting is way cheaper (and more comfortable) than dorm living. The used car we bought him when he graduated from high school paid for itself the first semester.

Steaming Pile

Personal Finance Roundup

TangDrinker — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:57:12 EDT

@r081984: Yes, but Indiana has odd residency requirements. When I was at IU for grad school, the requirements to be a resident is that you had to live in the state for a full year without even applying to school before you could be a resident. I did the delayed entry because I thought I could gain residency that way, but nope, no dice.

It got to be that I wasn't considered a "resident" of any state for in-state tuition when I was enrolled at IU, paying taxes to, registered to vote in, etc all to Indiana - and my old state (CT) didn't recognize me as a resident there because of my newfound tax payer/drivers license in IN.

And UCONN didn't have the grad programs I was interested in, IU did.

In retrospect I probably should have moved to Indiana before applying, but heck, what if I hadn't been accepted - there's no way I'd live there otherwise!

TangDrinker

Personal Finance Roundup

r081984 — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:38:47 EDT

Here are the best way to pay for college:

Go to an in-state school!!!

I go to Purdue which costs me around $16K a year (room and board)

There are people who pay over $30K to go to Purdue from out of state.
In-state = $64K for 4 years
Out-of-state = $120K for 4 years
To pay $120K to make $30K a year is crazy.

r081984

Personal Finance Roundup

BigElectricCat — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:19:04 EDT

Sometimes (especially when the economy isn't doing so well), you can score great deals at pawnshops, too. Camera & A/V equipment, sporting goods, power tools, etc. The wife and I are on the lookout for a pawnshop Wii.

BigElectricCat