April 16th, 2009 10:56 am
As a graduating senior, I’ve been endlessly hounded to “donate to the Penn Fund!” since the fall. The University as a whole has also been in the midst of a highly-publicized $3.5 billion capital campaign, which has been doing well, despite the economic conditions a majority of Penn alums are currently facing.
University funding is indeed a strange animal in economics. To paraphrase then-Lehigh University president, and former Penn Engineering dean, Gregory Farrington in his presentation to my Governor’s School class, “We call up our alumni and ask them for money, and they give it to us without expecting anything in return! No other for-profit business organization has this kind of economic model.” Granted, the alumni get a tax deduction for the amount they donate, but generally, the only thing donors get is that warm and fuzzy altruistic feeling that comes from “doing a good deed.” However, this feeling hardly puts food on the table or pays the bills. Read more…
Angela Hu Uncategorized admissions, alumni, capital campaign, donations, freakonomics, penn fund
“I am a survivor. I am like a cockroach, you just can’t get rid of me.”
Madonna
Abdulaziz AlMulla Uncategorized
The Cockroach
The economy is slowly starting to inch itself out of the hole it dug itself. As surely as cockroaches survive anything, the U.S. economy is beginning to scuttle away from the wreckage that was.
Or is it? We keep hearing better and more hopeful statements by bureaucrats, but is that all they are? Statements? In a recent statement by President Obama (does it matter whether its prose or poetry?) slightly more confident overtones about the Economy crept through. Not to say that President Obama did not play it safe, as he always does, saying, “The severity of this recession will cause more job loss, more foreclosures and more pain before it ends.” Indeed, with 650,000 jobs being lost monthly, it’s hard to ignore. In order to prevent this happening in the future, President Obama has been pushing for financial regulation. Read more…
Abdulaziz AlMulla Uncategorized
April 14th, 2009 11:01 am
Two months ago, this series began with the question, “Have you thought about your taxes?” Now, as we count down the hours to the midway point in April, also known as the dreaded April 15 deadline, I would hope that you, dear reader, have not only thought about your taxes but are also ready for your taxes.
So, here are the Taxpert’s five basic, last-minute tips on filing your tax return, after the jump.
Read more…
Angela Hu Personal Finance, Taxes ask the taxpert, Taxes, tips
Trapped with credit card debt? So's the rest of America.
“Never spend your money before you have it.”
-Thomas Jefferson
Old T.J. got it right 200 years ago before the advent of credit cards, and on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve’s consumer credit report confirmed that Americans were finally beginning to follow this advice. Credit card debt is down 9.7% from $2.567 trillion to $2.56 trillion, or a change of $7.8 billion.
Why do Americans have so much credit card debt, even in this economy? The underlying theory of credit cards is that customers can spend money that they may or may not actually have.
Example: Your credit card limit is $1,000. As a student, you only have $500 in your checking account. Over the course of a month, you spend $500 on groceries, but then on impulse, you decide to buy a $500 Wii and charge it to your credit card because you figure, “Hey, I still have $500 on my credit card that I can spend (even though I might not have the same amount of money in my checking account)…let’s buy something with this money that I don’t actually have!” Read more…
Angela Hu Personal Finance, The Economy credit cards, debt, quotes
Poor girl looks like how I’ve been feeling since April began.
And so another month has begun, which means it’s time for another edition of “Buy, Sell, Hold.” Missed the last one? Catch up on it here.
Buy
- Housing in the high rises: The housing assignments for 2009-10 have been decided, and those who missed the boat on moving to the wind tunnel triad will be trying their luck elsewhere. Incoming freshmeatmen will have one less option among the three.
- Allergy medicine: Spring is in the air…and so is pollen, along with other allergens. Stock up on Claritin, and while you’re waiting in line at CVS, consider buying stock in its manufacturer, Schering Corporation (NYSE: SGP).
Sell
- Courses: No, seriously. Advanced registration may have ended for undergrads, but the MBAs over at Wharton will be busy “selling” their elective courses to each other through the course registration auction later this month. Pretty cool, huh? I think it overcomplicates life, but then again, I’ve always appreciated the relative straightforward aspect of PennInTouch.
- Accounting 102 students with a propensity for hacking: Yes, I can appreciate the ingenuity and skill level it takes to hack into a professor’s email account and scare the living daylights out of your entire class. But, dudes, that’s just not a cool to do to people who have things like other classes and extracurriculars or that little thing called “a life” to deal with.
Hold
- Another PennInTouch revamp: As a graduating senior, I won’t be here next year to fully benefit from the changes being made to PennInTouch over the summer. In any case, this stock has been upgraded to “hold” status by H&P’s rating to reflect the uncertainty of this venture.
- Onto luxury: After Fashion Week’s panel on whether or not luxuries will survive the recession, the picture’s not looking too pretty. I’m reluctant to downgrade this to “sell” because we all need a thought of something to make us happy on those bad days, whether it’s that nice pair of Manolos or the latest Blackberry.
Angela Hu Personal Finance buy sell hold
The standard deduction is a beautiful thing in the world of personal income taxes. According to the IRS, the standard deduction is “a dollar amount that reduces the amount of income on which you are taxed.” Here are my top three reasons why:
1. $5,450. That’s how much less income that you (U.S. citizen/permanent resident, single filer you) can be taxed on in the blink of an eye with this little puppy for 2008. For the eternally low-funded college student like many of us out there, the ability to not be taxed on a substantial amount of your income, thereby increasing your refund check from the IRS, is a wonderful power to have. Even if you were a hotshot i-banker this summer, that amount can represent upwards of 20%, if not more, of your summer wages that magically go “poof!” Read more…
Angela Hu Uncategorized ask the taxpert, standard deduction, tax nirvana, Taxes
“What you see is news, what you know is background, what you feel is opinion.”
Lester Markel, American Journalist
Abdulaziz AlMulla Uncategorized
Remember when we were little and had those plastic or ceramic piggy banks? Remember how we were told to save the random change and dollars received for doing chores or being good in that inanimate little swine? What happened to the good old days of piggy banks, where we saved up to buy that new toy?
Piggy banks now exist for adults, AKA “big kids.” Hello, smartypig.com.
The premise is pretty simple: save a little bit here and there, via predated and predetermined monthly bank account deductions, towards a fund designated for the purchase of some good or service, such as a Wii or next year’s spring break trip. Sounds familiar, right?
Read more…
Angela Hu Uncategorized interest rates, saving
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