Pocket Change: August 2023
A regular series on what you need to know about money this month… in a 5-minute read
Greetings and welcome to the dog days of August here in New England, where we are only halfway through our summer break (I don’t need to see those back-to-school sales right now, thank-you-very-much!). And what a summer it has been. In late June, the Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were unlawful. To add insult to injury, a day later the Supreme Court disallowed President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, a blow to millions of Americans who had been dreaming of a life with a little less debt.
The topic of college – and college access – has been a big one in my house this year, as I have a rising high school senior and a rising sophomore. They attend different public high schools that both foster college attendance (good), though one favors attendance at elite colleges, financial hardship or mental health be damned (not good). Looking for the right college “fit” for my kids – academically, financially, psychologically – has given me an even greater understanding of the complexities that student loan borrowers face in making their decisions to go into debt for their future. It is not nearly as simple as the television pundits make it out to be.
But now, on to the newsletter:
Bread and Butter: What Dragonfly Financial Solutions LLC Is Up to This Month
Developing webinar curriculum for NeighborWorks America and Women’s Money Matters
Facilitating the monthly Financial Fitness Club meeting for Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation
Conducting Money Matters Financial Coaching Sessions
Preparing an application to become a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF)
Going on summer vacation to… Slovenia!
Money Talks: What We Are Reading This Month
Planet Money Newsletter: Affirmative action for rich kids: It's more than just legacy admissions
A blockbuster new study finds that America's elite private colleges are systematically giving huge advantages to rich kids over their equally bright, yet less privileged peers.
My Two Cents: ICYMI from the Talking About Money Blog
Get Rid of Your Student Debt, and Get on with Your Life
Use the improvements that the Biden administration is making to the student loan repayment system to create a plan to get rid of your student debt and get on with your life.
Time is Money: Money Tip of the Month
College and university Net Price Calculator
Net price calculators are available on a college’s or university’s website and allow prospective students to enter information about themselves to find out what students like them paid to attend the institution in the previous year, after taking grants and scholarship aid into account.
[Note: This has been a game-changer in my household, as we are now able to cull our kid’s college application list to only those institutions that we can afford without taking on debt.]
A Penny for Your Thoughts: What Do You Think?
It’s you who makes the Talking About Money community what it is, so please share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
What do you think about affirmative action in college admissions, and who do you think deserves a spot in our nation’s most esteemed universities (many of whom are located here in Boston)?
Further, when these institutions rely on government subsidies while simultaneously growing their endowments to astronomical levels, how much should students have to pay in tuition for their education?
