31% Of Americans Have No Retirement Savings At All (where to, problem, rental)
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How much do you get back when you file your taxes? For a long long time, yes, I paid taxes BUT when I filed I got nearly every penny back. To me that equates to 'not paying taxes'. These days I make enough that I don't get it all back so I guess I AM 'paying taxes' now.
??? Do you freaking understand? I DO NOT QUALIFY FOR EITC because I have no kids. EITC iis very lame for childless adults. I never get back anything close to what I paid in; I always have a federal income tax liability.
??? Do you freaking understand? I DO NOT QUALIFY FOR EITC because I have no kids. EITC iis very lame for childless adults. I never get back anything close to what I paid in; I always have a federal income tax liability.
Maybe you can go down to the border and say "No hablo Anglais!" and get a fresh start.
There are many ways to educate oneself, but damned few ways to get into law school.
True. But choosing an expensive private college/university for undergrad degree as opposed to a state supported university is one way to ensure a boatload of debt.
Of course, the diploma from Harvard will look good on the wall.
Many folks in these forums were in similiar situations . But they controlled the situation.they found ways out and went on to do quite fine. If they seem less than sympathetic it is because they were there themselves.
I grew up in a nyc housing project at near poverty. But i swore to myself i wouldn't stop trying until that life was no longer an option.
??? Did you work your way through college...or get tons of free money...or do something else?
True. But choosing an expensive private college/university for undergrad degree as opposed to a state supported university is one way to ensure a boatload of debt.
Of course, the diploma from Harvard will look good on the wall.
??? I went to a fairly cheap state college; only one of the colleges I got into was cheaper (not as good academically and not much cheaper). Cost was a primary consideration for me.
No, I actually think we agree. I am saying - he did it the way he did it and now he is responsible for paying it back.
But I also stated in an earlier reply that there are other ways to get an education, rather than paying a premium price at an Ivy League school.
I 100% agree with you that a segment of the population, and usually those are parents who do not have a college education themselves, has been wooed by what became easily accessible student loans -- and in their desire to be able to say "my kid got a college degree!!!!" . . . they encouraged their children to get a degree (any degree!) b/c that was the ticket to "big salaries."
At the same time, kids who would have been better served getting tech degrees that led to available jobs decided that it was a lot more prestigious to get the 4 year degree so they could compete in the workplace. What they and they parents didn't seem to understand (and didn't bother to research) is that by the 80s, anyone in a Fortune 500 company knew full well that it takes an MBA as entree into the best jobs - not just a BS/AB.
On top of that, colleges were making it easy to get financial aid and were lowering their admission standards so they could pump up enrollment and trick out the campus (yes, over-simplified but I know you get my point).
It was a perfect storm, especially in families where parents are not savvy about what is going on with the job market -- and where egos get in the way, as well. Add to that poor job counseling at many high schools -- where the mantra for decades has been -- "get a college degree" rather than "get education that leads to employment and a career."
So I think we do agree on WHY so many kids are now stuck with huge financial aid obligations. Until the message gets out that there are many ways to educate one's self -- and that simply having a diploma in hand does not mean a career on the horizon and doesn't mean you are suddenly rubber stamped as good employee material -- we are going to hear folks bemoaning their decisions. But the facts are -- bad plannning leads to financial problems in every aspect of life and when you take on debt, you are responsible for paying it back.
The real reason for the whine is -- folks want to declare bankruptcy and dismiss their student loan debt just like they were able to dismiss other debt in the past.
The unintended result of this is that skilled trades are coming up on a shortage as the traditional craftsmen (Carpenters, plumbers, electricians, stonemasons and the like) are aging out and there's no one apprenticing to replace them.
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