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Later today, I hope to share a lost classic from the 1970s: The Incredible Secret Money Machine. For now, however, here are highlights from the past week around the Money Blog Network.
“Major in English if you want,” writes the Mighty Bargain Hunter. Don’t follow the money — follow your dreams. If you’ve been reading GRS for a while, you won’t be surprised that I love the final paragraph of this piece:
Advice is almost never one-size-fits-all, and certainly choosing a major is not one-size-fits-all. But there certainly are better choices for us individually, and it’s up to us to figure them out for ourselves.
Remember: Do what works for you!
JLP at All Financial Matters does something that most personal finance bloggers don’t: he sits down with a spreadsheet from time-to-time and runs the numbers on various personal finance scenarios. This week he decided to take a look at the annual return on investment needed to turn $1,000 into $1,000,000. Stuff like this is academic, of course, but I still find it fun.
At No Credit Needed, NCN played with some numbers of his own. He’s been trying to teach himself about taxes, so he’s created a table to help himself understand effective tax rates for 2007. “Our tax system is very, very, very difficult to understand,” he writes. ”I would prefer a flat-tax or a national sales tax - if only for the sake of simplicity.”
- Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity recently wrote about how to put your personal finances on autopilot. This topic is becoming popular with many folks, including me. As I continue to move toward paperless personal finance, I’ll keep you updated on my progress.
- Nickel has some frugal gift-giving strategies.
- At Consumerism Commentary, Flexo shared 10 easy ways to save money without much effort. But the post I really liked at CC came from Sasha, who wrote a rant against social multitasking. “Be where you are,” she says. I could profit from heeding her advice.
- Finally, Free Money Finance has some thoughts after taking his car to the dealership.
As I mentioned earlier this week, I’ll be taking some time off around the Thanksgiving holiday. I have some guest posts lined up and ready to go. I plan to finish a couple things for Monday and Tuesday, but then I’ll be scarce around here.
This article is about Spare Change Sunday, 18th November 2007 (by J.D. Roth)
November 18th, 2007 at 6:46 am
I like the article about putting personal finances on autopilot.
I fix up houses and rent them out in my spare time. If I didn’t have monthly payments such as mortgage payments, water, electricity, gas and other regular payments on autopilot, I would be locked up in my office at the end of each month endlessly writing checks.
Autopiloting as many payments as you can is the only way to go.
November 18th, 2007 at 8:22 am
I found that English article a relief–not because I regret majoring in English, but because it’s nice not to have to defend it for once.
November 18th, 2007 at 8:23 am
When I was in High School I heard from two different people the general idea that regarding your education and future career you should “do what you love to do” (one was a Forensic Anthropologist and one was my favorite teacher, who taught AP English).
I double-majored in English and Biology in college because they were my two favorite things. Now, I work as a Web Developer because it’s something I got into in my spare time and something that I love to do (and happen to be good at). I earn a decent enough living that I can support my family on a single income. I’m glad I took their advice way back when - you never know how your life will turn out
November 18th, 2007 at 10:47 am
I think if it’s your calling, go for it..just keep in mind the job prospect realities with liberal art majors in general. They lag behind majors like business and engineering.
-R
November 18th, 2007 at 11:37 am
I majored in art at a great liberal arts school, and I’m glad I did (there were no jobs in the early 80s Reaganomics era when I graduated, so it didn’t seem to matter then) but I wish I’d assertively availed myself of career counseling and information about graduate schools. With talent and brains but without stability or guidance, I floundered and worked in restaurants a lot, and though I eventually carved out something of a default career as a writer and organic foods specialist, a graduate degree — in any area — would help now. It’s not impossible to go back to school when you’re older, but it’s easier to do it when you’re in your 20s. So I agree — major in something you love, but have a plan, and a plan B, and if you don’t have one find someone who believes in you and who can help you create one (and it’s probably not your parents).
November 18th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
I ended up majoring in Computer Science, definitely a good decision, because (A) it’s something I like doing, and (B) I can get a wide variety of tech jobs with it, and (C), if I get burned out doign computer work, I still have a 4 year degree!
November 18th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I’m majoring in English now. Though I know it will be hard to find a job afterwards–I still know that this is what I want to do. You know what though? Knowing I’m studying what I want to, not what I have to, gives me a piece of mind that some others may not have.
– Karim Baz
November 18th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I don’t think this is good advice. I majored in History because I like the subject and it was easy for me. I was young and naive and didn’t care about the job market. Now fifteen years later I make 18k a year and will probably be dirt poor the rest of my life. Be careful when you give people advice like…be an English major…it doesn’t matter about how much money you make.
November 19th, 2007 at 7:14 am
I don’t think people are taking “do a cost-benefit analysis” as the takeaway point of that article, they’re taking “please post a defensive comment about your English degree” as the point!
November 19th, 2007 at 11:22 am
J.D., I’m taking this as a shout-out.
November 19th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Oh goody, another article that thinks English majors only become English teachers–despite the positive spin. Please keep this myth alive! It helps those of us in lucrative careers earn big bucks thanks to a lack of applicants!
November 19th, 2007 at 11:58 am
During my sophomore year of college, I needed to find a major. I split my course load between business, communications, and English. By a wide margin, English classes had the brightest students. The media classes were for airheads, and the business classes were all about sounding like a hotshot.
I felt like I would actually learn how to be a better thinker and writer as an English major.
Now, granted, I did end up becoming an English teacher (apparently the all-too-obvious occupation for the English major).
November 19th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
I majored in English. I got a good job when I graduated. In fact, I beat out business majors for the position.
The problem isn’t with majoring in English. It’s with not being career savvy. A lot of Arts majors are kind of flaky about career planning. And so they end up making a small amount of money because they aren’t strategic in spinning their experience and skills.
November 19th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
I got a BA in Philosophy and English Literature (double major) — and the first couple of years out in the real world were kind of rough but within 5 years I got my foot in the door with an IT company.
That was several years back, but now I make a healthy income. I also went on to have my masters in computer science partially paid for by employers. The masters has helped keep me employed and has boosted my income, but the truth is that I was already firmly established in my career before I got it.
The majority of people I work with in IT don’t have a degree in computer science. There are a lot of other liberal arts majors here. There are even *gasp* people who got into IT careers with nothing more than a high school diploma.
I say — major in what you love. Get a job anyway.
P.S. — Not that I particularly love IT. But that’s a different story for a different day.
November 22nd, 2007 at 5:46 am
Where I work, English majors don’t rule anything, and they earn minimum wage.
An English degree and $5 will get you a latte.
December 13th, 2007 at 10:55 am
From http://www.degreecompletion.info/program/advantages_01.asp
“What Employers Think of Liberal Arts Graduates”
“Employers are seeking workers who adapt well to change, communicate effectively, use critical and analytical thinking techniques to solve complex problems, and interact constructively with others in the workplace. A liberal arts student can take information that is given, break it down, build on it, create from it, and produce a project — an end result.”
An English major equals a problem solver. So there.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
“Employers are seeking workers who adapt well to change, communicate effectively, use critical and analytical thinking techniques to solve complex problems, and interact constructively with others in the workplace. A liberal arts student can take information that is given, break it down, build on it, create from it, and produce a project — an end result.”
So exactly how employable is a middle-aged English major with a minimum wage job history?
December 18th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
When I worked as a rep for Barnard College I was told about a study that says that most people DO NOT go on to careers stemming from their undergraduate majors. That’s why it’s so important to get a broad-based education, as classical liberal arts colleges offer. Sheerly tech ed will be outdated in a very few years - and if you can’t update yourself you are sunk.