As featured in The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and more!

Education

Flexo’s MBA: Still In Progress

by Luke Landes

I am only a few months from finishing my Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix (Online). It’s still a lot of work. The work is more of an annoyance now, taking my time away from activities where I’d be earning more money. It amazes me that many of my classmates were ... Continue reading this article…

20 comments Read the full article →

You Know, The Federal Reserve… For Kids

by Luke Landes

While we’re all anticipating an increase in the Federal Reserve’s short-term interest rate, the Fed has been busy creating a website for kids. The aptly named Federal Reserve Kids Page contains an eagle with large talons and mildly interesting trivia aimed at middle schoolers and those needing a refresher course on the twelve Federal Reserve ... Continue reading this article…

12 comments Read the full article →

New Salary Figures for MBAs

by Luke Landes

According to USA Today, the average starting salary and signing bonus for new graduates with a fresh master’s degree in business administration (MBA) have jumped to $106,000 in 2005. $88,600 of that is for salary alone. Not all employers are paying so much for MBAs; the bulk of the numbers come from consulting firms and ... Continue reading this article…

0 comments Read the full article →

Financial Courses in High School

by Luke Landes

Schools in England are expanding their financial education curriculum to offer courses to 14-16 year olds in addition to the older students already served. These students can receive varying levels of certification in financial studies. Will this work in the United States? Not at the moment. Educational issues go in waves, and right now we ... Continue reading this article…

5 comments Read the full article →

Dealing With Two Companies

by Luke Landes

I am still in the process of trying to resolve my unaccepted balance transfer to a new Discover Card with a 0 percent APR offer from my existing Wachovia Visa card (offered by MBNA). I am told this will be resolved within five business days. It’s also been a major pain dealing with the University of ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

College, The Social Financial Equalizer

by Luke Landes

The cost of higher education is huge, and I don’t see how middle class families can afford to send multiple kids to good schools without sacrificing their own finances. Take a look at the ten most expensive colleges in the United States. 1. Landmark: $37,738 2. George Washington U.: $36,400 3. U of Richmond: $34,850 ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

College Costs Rising

by Luke Landes

It’s no surprise that college costs are rising. This year, tuition at private colleges increased 5.9 percent while public institutions increased 7.1 percent. Why are costs rising so much? Here are a few reasons: * States are tightening their budgets, so public universities are feeling the pain. * Colleges offer health care to students, and ... Continue reading this article…

3 comments Read the full article →

Chances of Obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree

by Luke Landes

Are you or a family member looking into options for college? Here are some statistics from the Atlantic Monthly that are surprising at first glance: If your family income is $90,000 or more, you have about a 50 percent chance of obtaining a bachelor’s degree by age 24. If that income is between $61,000 and ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

Deciding to Go Back to School

by Luke Landes

Once in a while, we talk about the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree here (see Is the MBA Worthwhile? and Good Time to Be an MBA). Free Money Finance had a discussion this week about going back to school as well. How do you know if going back to school is the right thing ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

Online MBAs Making the Grade

by Luke Landes

A few months ago, I asked if Master of Business Administration degrees are worthwhile. The conversation that ensued began to focus primarily on those MBAs of the online variety, one of which I am currently pursuing at mostly my company’s expense. Business Week has also evaluated the merits of an MBA from an online program. ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

How To Teach Your Kids About Money

by Luke Landes

Jonathan Clements from the Wall Street Journal offers some advice, or his experiences as an example, for teaching children about money management. (By the way, this article can be accessed for free, unlike most of the Wall Street Journal Online.) The first rule of writing these types of articles is “Know your audience.” And Jonathan ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

Good Time to Be an MBA

by Luke Landes

A few weeks ago, we had a good conversation about the merits of an MBA degree. Today, Anne Fischer from Fortune Magazine says it’s a good time to be an MBA. She claims there’s been a change in hiring patterns. Instead of companies hiring MBAs in advance, companies are picking up new graduates “just in ... Continue reading this article…

2 comments Read the full article →

Is The MBA Worthwhile?

by Luke Landes

Loyal readers may recall that I’ve been working on my MBA (master of business administration) degree through the University of Phoenix Online. Other MBA students from more traditional graduate schools are often surprised when I describe the amount of work required for the degree. I have a little less than a year left if I ... Continue reading this article…

21 comments Read the full article →

Taking a Hit to My Net Worth

by Luke Landes

Since I resumed taking classes for my MBA, I now have a new student loan. The way this works is I take a loan at the beginning of the “semester” and after each six-week class ends, I wait two weeks for a 90 percent reimbursement from my company. On my next monthly update, you’ll see my ... Continue reading this article…

3 comments Read the full article →

What My Future May Hold

by Luke Landes

A few weeks ago, I took the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). My “career” hasn’t had much direction lately, so I’m considering changing course. Since I probably won’t have a decent enough test score to get into the top schools, I figure it’s best to save money and go for one less expensive and in-state, ... Continue reading this article…

8 comments Read the full article →

Good News and Bad News

by Luke Landes

Let’s start with the bad news. The bad news is public college costs jumped 9.8 percent and private college costs went up 5.7 percent. The good news is that colleges are giving out more money to students. The bad news is that this money is in the form of loans, not grants. The good news is colleges ... Continue reading this article…

2 comments Read the full article →

Which Degrees Are Worth It

by Luke Landes

MSN Money – Is your degree worth $1 million — or worthless? – Saving for college Find out which degrees and fields pay off, based on average amount spent obtaining the degree and average increase of lifetime salary. You’ll probably be happiest, though, if you don’t dig yourself deeply in debt for a field that ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

Is The Financial Degree Woth It?

by Luke Landes

Do graduates of economics and similar courses have an edge over the layman? When it comes to investing, the results aren’t clear whether one is more successful with or without a financial-related degree. That’s probably true in most facets of life. However, the degree can help the initial success come a lot sooner. The author ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →
Page 5 of 512345