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Location, location, location. If the real estate industry has taught us anything over the years, it’s that one’s location is the most important of housing considerations. And as it turns out, location might also play a factor in your ability to pay off student loan debt. Student loan debt is working...

There are three obvious expense categories when considering college: tuition and fees, room and board, and books and supplies. You’ve got to budget for them as you consider the cost of a college degree. Currently, more than 44 million former college students in America owe more than $1.5 trillion in...

There’s good news and bad news. Since 1970, wages in America have increased 67 percent., but college tuition has grown faster. Many high school students have no choice but to take out student loans. The result is that student loan debt is now the second-highest consumer debt category. According to...

Many social pressures compel people to go to college whether they want to or not, whether they can afford to or not. This wasn’t always the case. Prior to World War II, less than 5% of American adults held a college degree. Only jobs at the highest professional levels required one. A big change occurred...

In my last blog I pointed out the decline of home ownership in America, caused in part by enormous levels of student debt that are preventing people from saving enough to afford a home, or ruining their credit because they aren’t making student loan payments. Another trend is taking place that’s...

Home ownership long has been thought of as the height of the American dream. In generations gone by many people worked for many years to save up enough money for a home down payment, and the day they moved in was one of the happiest of their lives. That’s become harder and harder. According to […]

In the years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve studiously avoided getting political. Unlike so many others in our hyper-partisan times, I respect everyone’s right to their opinions and am proud to say I have close friends across the political spectrum, ranging from Sandernistas on the left to die-hard...

In my last blog, I pointed out that in many cases no experience is necessary for people looking at a trade career. Many employers, trade service firms in particular, place a higher value on personality than past experience. As long as you have a mechanical aptitude, they can train you in a relatively...

Many people who enter the trades go in through the back door. By that I mean they had no intention of looking for a job in the trades, but a job found them. How does that happen? Well, there is a severe shortage of skilled trade workers and that causes many employers to develop their […]