Back to School Bling

It's about time to head back to school, and that means shopping.  There's shopping for new clothes, supplies, dorm room essentials and more.  But, with the economy down and not looking any better, money is an issue.

Some schools in Georgia have recently been given some moolah to help tide them through the next school year and to create new programs thanks to the Race to the Top initiative.

However, sensible shopping may be the way to go if you're heading back to school or off to school for the first time.

How are you dealing with the "back to school" rush and the poor economy?  Have any creative solutions? I want to hear your thoughts!

Default Disaster

The nation will default on it's loans in just a few short days if Congress can't come through with a bill that compromises on both party's interests.  The question that haunts many Americans, is what exactly does this mean for our nation and economy?  Well, history could provide an answer to this very question.  Although, hopefully, we won't need to find out.

Talking Quarters

Quarters.  They are a coin most of us handle daily (or used to, before the invention of debit and credit cards).  But, how much do we really know about this historic coin?  For example, have you ever realized that some coins, such as the quater, have ridges but others do not?  It's true.  Ridging coins all started back when money was made of more precious metals.  Ridging acted as a way to deter people from shaving off pieces of the coin and made it harder to counterfeit these valuable coins.  However, this process has never been applied to pennies and nickels because these coins have never been made of what was considered a valuable metal.  So, just how many ridges are on your twenty-five cent piece? 119.

On Loan

Student loans.  Two of the most dreaded words among college students and college graduates.  The cost of college is high these days, and only getting higher.  Even with scholarships, students and families oftentimes still don't have enough money to pay for tuition, books, housing, food, etc.  This results in student loans, which start to stack up quickly.  More colleges are starting to realize the burden of these loans, and are offering help to students for paying back these loans.  These colleges are especially focused on helping students in majors that benefit society, but will result in low salaries.

I'm impressed with the colleges that have these programs.  I personally have a pretty large sum of student loans, and am worried about repaying them.  My dad is a single parent, and even with all my academic scholarships, there is still not enough money.  On top of that, I'm studying journalism, which is not a high-pay career starting out.  Kudos to universities for encouraging students to pursue their passions without having to worry about how exactly they can afford to get ahead.

Bubble Burst

We all know that the housing market is down, but now there are rumors that the college market may face this same fate with it's overpriced costs and students who are piling up to their noses in debt.  This article argues, however, that these two loans and debt are not the same thing, and that college degrees are a bit more sturdier.

What's your opinion on the matter?  Are colleges really about to burst from financial pressure?

The Art of Saving

There are many sites out there today that offer subscribers deals on goods and services from certain companies.  Sites such as Groupon, LivingSocial and more have made a profit on selling discounts, which are extremely popular especially in this rough economy.  Now there is a new competitor looking to join the bandwagon, Facebook.  Facebook is set to debut a new feature called Deals, in which users can share the deals they have found with one another.  This feature will be debuting in 5 cities, and then expanding if it works successfully.

I think this is a great idea.  So many people use the discount sites and Facebook, and now they will be integrated into one platform.  Twitter has already started this type of situation, since many of the deal sites tweet their deals daily.  And, while it may seem that Facebook's application may compete with these other sites, I think this will actually help these sites grow because people can post the deals they have found on them on Facebook.  In addition, they can simply post deals they have found in stores or elsewhere.  I applaud Facebook for trying to do something new with what they have, especially since they already have a large and growing fan base.  This will be just one more reason people will come to love Facebook and social media in general.

What's your take?  How successful do you think Facebook's Deal application will be?