Prudent Fiscal Planning (Part 3):You can’t always get what you want

In the third part of my ongoing series on Prudent Fiscal Planning, let’s discuss the often bugaboo topic of expenses. After following the suggestions from the last article in the series,  you should now have drafted at least your income scenarios for the short, immediate, and long term. Now, you are ready to look at the other…

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“College is too expensive” or Is It?

Multiple kids maturing to college age, shrinking retirement funds, loss of home equity, loss of personal wealth, plus annually rising college tuition and costs…no wonder middle class families are concerned about financial aid.    When families assume all children will graduate from college, the question is, “What is the family’s collective (this includes all siblings, not…

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“I Don’t Get It”: How Teens Ask for Help

Getting help isn’t as simple as asking the teacher, although usually the first suggestion parents make when a teenager doesn’t understand the assignment.   Teenagers may not have been taught to identify the problem, to know what exactly the student is asking.  Then, there’s the humbling of oneself to admit there’s a lack of knowledge (not…

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Winds of Change Blow in California’s Higher Education Systems

Look for changes to the California Community Colleges (CCC) and California State University (CSU) system as the chancellors of both organizations, Jack Scott & Charles B. Reed, respectfully, retire in 2012.    Also, UC Berkeley’s Chancellor, Robert Birgeneau, will retire on Dec 31. Change may be what’s needed, as California again faces shrinking state funding and…

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Summer and the College Essay

Every summer, several parents of soon-to-be seniors contact Creative Marbles to ask about finishing college application essays before the next school year starts.  In parents’ minds, the thinking goes, “Summer’s a totally unstructured time.  Less distractions with school work and after-school activities.   The college essay is essential to a competitive application, and I want my…

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