Make Money Archives - Page 27 of 28

Participate, Prevent Student Loan Interest Increases

We’re days away from student loan interest increases. The near-apocalyptic $1 trillion of debt from student loans may entirely collapse if Congress doesn’t act to stem interest rates and come up with real solutions. The expiration of current rates for undergraduate students would shift interest from 3.4 to 6.8 percent.

Student loans and the interest associated are stemming home, car, and retirement savings for an entire generation. The Great Recession Kids are an entirely new sub-generation, raised under the auspices of biting unemployment, burgeoning debt, and corrupt markets. This American economy trusts and relies on the consumerism of many. But, what if our debts prevent us from contributing like this?

EDUCATION MUST BE
ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE.

We are a country that promotes and prides itself on accessibility to quality education. But this is semantically motivated. We do have an exceptionally accessible education, but it’s not affordable. Student loans are the bridge to a top-notch education. Unfortunately, the bridge is widening – the tuition rates are escalating and students are suffering. We cannot continue with the status quo.

Even if government acts to prevent an increase in student loans for one more year, this will only kick the can a little further. We need real, substantial solutions. Education must be accessible and affordable. Without the two, it will eventually disintegrate.

Whether you’re a student, parent, friend, educator, or family member, I’m urging you to contact your Representatives and Senators. We can make a difference on this issue. The easiest way to contact them is by clicking this link: http://www.capwiz.com/apapolicy/issues/alert/?alertid=62718336&type=CO. Fill out your zip code and it will automatically pre-populate letters to Congress.

All you have to do is email. Make your voice heard. This isn’t just about my interest, it’s in your interest, too.

Compensation Provided: Becoming a Medical Participant for Fun and Profit

By Frugaling 14 Comments

My schedule is taxing; at least, during the school year. This summer I am working and volunteering to make use of my time. In the spare hours, I’m moonlighting as a medical participant for fun and profit.

Finding the Right Studies

As a graduate student in psychological sciences, I was aware of the ever present research studies at my university. When I first considered participating, I thought about needles, genetic testing, and doses of untested medications. While some participation opportunities focus on this more invasive, dangerous region of research to gain FDA acceptance, another batch aims to look at physical health, mental functioning, and performance. This is the sweet spot. Over the course of two weeks, I’ll make an extra $200 by participating in two studies about gambling behaviors and testing my audio-visual abilities – no smallpox required.

Medical Participant: Example — This ***isn’t*** the sweet spot.

Where to Volunteer

Universities and research institutions are constantly looking for “volunteers” that will be compensated for their “time.” The trick is finding studies that are applicable to you and fit into your schedule. Clinical research opportunities request some basic criteria (i.e., age, sex, race, etc.) and then specify what will be studied. With my busy schedule, medical participation for compensation is the perfect extra income. I don’t need to have any time commitments that overlap schedules and researchers are generally flexible. By gaining access to medical participation boards, you can begin to search for research. At my local university, there are a variety of different sites with opportunities. Dentistry, psychiatry, medical, and psychology all have public research wings for participants.

The largest, nationwide database can be accessed at ClinicalTrials.gov. The website contains 146,871 studies in 50 states and 184 countries.

The Student Body

The strangest part: I’m not alone. More and more students are turning to medical participation – for better and for worse – to pay their student loans and credit card debt. One student, Ken Ilgunas, made $391 by participating in MRI studies while a graduate student at Duke University. While contributing to science and making a buck is a generally a win-win, consider the risks involved before signing away your mental or physical health.

How To Stay Frugal When Dating

By Frugaling 5 Comments

Years ago I bought a car that was beyond my budget, purchased clothing from upscale retailers with student loans, and ate out for almost every meal. This disaster scenario was largely motivated by what I felt were social pressures. As a single man in college, I was compelled to outwardly display my worth. It cost me thousands of dollars.

Whether a male archetype as a provider or just wanting to flaunt objective measures of wealth while dating, our culture is fraught with beliefs that being a worthy suitor is linked to the things we own, display, and hold. This errant thinking can lead to great insecurities that motivate Veblen-style, conspicuous consumption. A $5,000 watch exclaims your wealth, but not your inner worth.

Dating requires a deep self-examination of what you value and hold true. Being frugal when dating tests this self-worth amidst conservative outer spending. Does the flashy car or fashion make you worthy of like, lust, and/or love? Maybe, but I’m here to say there’s a different, better, and more meaningful way.

1. Realize Your Inner Worth

How much are you worth? If you were to look at my Mint.com account, you’d see a red number that starts with: –. I refuse to believe this net worth represents inner worth. Losing your sense of inner worth can lead to excessive spending and problematic approaches to dating. Worth-iness when dating is more than monetary. If someone cannot see past this, they likely aren’t for you.

There’s even an advantage to thrifty, frugal, and penny-pinching behavior: You save for the future.

2. Own Your Frugality

Contrary to dating lore, opposites do not attract and tend to make for poor relationships. People tend to be attracted to similar traits. Friendships and relationships represent what we value. We seek people that identify with our goals and motivation. I aspire to have friends that love to talk openly and deeply. I aspire to have relationships that are loving and kind.

Frugaling with friendships and relationships is no different. Look for these similarities. If this is important to you, don’t be afraid to share and find out. Own it.

3. Fun and Frugal Dates

There’s a fear that the frugal life equals less fun. This unfortunate myth is tied to individuals, rather than the lifestyle. You can be exciting, new, and adventurous – regardless of your budget (I spent 5 days in Costa Rica for less than $300). Being fun and frugal means getting creative and inventive at little to no cost.

Looking for a romantic and frugal dinner? Try cooking at home, setting up some candles, and popping up an affordable bottle of wine.

Here are five articles for more frugal date ideas:

Important: You may assume that attraction includes flashy displays of wealth, but you may be surprised by the person you’re dating. After weeks of feeling like my girlfriend wanted to eat out and have fancy outings, I finally asked what she prefered. To my pleasant surprise, all she wanted was some quality time. Eating in sounded perfect.

One Month of Blogging: A Reflection

By Frugaling 11 Comments

Today marks the one month anniversary of frugaling.org. I started this site on May 4th, 2013, as the dusk days of the spring semester wrapped up. Trapped in my head over the current debt and the grandest questions about finances, I established this to be an avenue for education and self-reflection.

I was the sole visitor on May 4th. Over the course of this first month there were over 8000+ visitors like you. People checked out the site from a variety of countries: Canada, UK, Germany, and Australia (to name a few). Nearly 12,000 pageviews were recognized, which suggests that some visitors looked at other pages.

Alexa.com, which is a public, “web information company” that tracks the popularity of websites, ranks frugaling.org in the top 5 million of websites worldwide and top 500,000 in the United States.

From being the sole visitor to 8,000, it’s been clear that what most people tend to appreciate are long, informative posts that provide a unique spin on a contentious or common issue. For the next couple months, I aim to diversify the audience, deepen the quality of articles, and propose some new perspectives to tackling the debt (car, credit, or student loans) while becoming a frugal person.

I’m deeply humbled by the amount of people that have visited the site, left comments, and wrote to me in this first month.

Thank you,

-Sam

Participate, Prevent Student Loan Interest Increases

EDUCATION MUST BE
ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE.