11/30: Prize details, Firefox 1.5, illegal aliens, Ronald McDonald Scholarships, Saving money, Natalie Brown, Todd Lerner, Matthew Ebel, #127

Tomorrow is the iPod Nano drawing. In addition to the Nano, we are giving away:
+ Two copies of Todd Lerner’s If Right Now Played Guitar CD
+ 4 iTunes Music Store $15 Gift Cards

Here’s the prize breakdown:

+ Grand prize: iPod Nano Shuffle plus Lanyard Headphones OR a $300 student loan payment
+ Second prize: $30 iTunes Music Store Gift Card plus Todd Lerner CD
+ Third prize: $15 iTunes Music Store Gift Card plus Todd Lerner CD
+ Fourth prize: $15 iTunes Music Store Gift Card

Student Financial Aid News
+ December Newsletter coming very soon
+ If show notes made it into the newsletter, it’d be 65 pages long…
+ Subscribe at FinancialAidNews.com
+ Firefox 1.5
+ Illegal aliens receiving financial aid?
+ Final home stretch for financial aid legislation
+ Both House and Senate bills represent rate hikes for education finance
+ Want to repay your loans? Work for the government! $16.4M repaid.

Scholarship Update
+ Ronald McDonald House Charities Scholarship
+ January 17 deadline
+ 60 different scholarships
+ Detailed page at Student Scholarship Search Site

Personal Finance
+ Talking about saving money and how
+ Spare change
+ Set goals!
+ Establish accounts
+ Save automatically with paycheck withdrawal
+ Make accessing money inconvenient
+ Why it’s important - savings is the first step towards money earning money
+ Savings provides a bailout in tough times
+ Check out also the Debt Podcast at debtpodcast.blogspot.com

Podsafe Music
+ Natalie Brown, In Your Arms Again
+ Todd Lerner, Song for Free
+ Matthew Ebel, All I Want Is You
+ Via the Podsafe Music Network

Reminders
+ iPod Nano Contest TOMORROW
+ Grace periods ending soon - consolidate now!
+ Student loan consolidation web site
+ Toll-free 877-328-1565

Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

Listen now with Pupu Player!

Direct file download: MP3 file

11/29: 11% tuition increases, Landscape Scholarship, Interest rate update, Inflation, Jill Parr, Matthew Ebel, Butterfly Catchers, #126

Student Financial Aid News
+ NCES Study Results for 2004 - 2005
+ Public 4-year institutions and public 2-year institutions raised tuitions in 2004–05, by 11 percent and 9 percent, respectively
+ Average tuition and fees at public 4-year institutions to $5,132 and $2,076 at public 2-year institutions
+ Private not-for-profit, 4-year institutions also raised tuitions in 2004–05 by about 6 percent, bringing the average tuition to $20,082
+ Marking the fourth year in a row that private not-for-profit, 4-year institutions have increased tuition by at least 5 percent

Scholarship Update
+ The Landscape Architecture Foundation Dangermond Scholarship
+ Three (3) $10,000 fellowships awarded each year to graduate students in the United States
+ February 15, 2006 Deadline
+ Detailed page at StudentScholarshipSearch.com

Interest Rate Update
+ 91-day T-bill loses ground to 3.994%, a drop of 0.04%
+ Good news for all student loans

Eye on the Economy
+ During the first ten months of 2005, the CPI-U rose at a 4.9 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). This compares with an increase of 3.3 percent for all of 2004.
+ The index for energy, which increased 16.6 percent in 2004, advanced at a 37.1 percent SAAR in the first ten months of 2005. Petroleum-based energy costs increased at a 51.6 percent annual rate and charges for energy services rose at a 20.7 percent annual rate.
+ What does this mean for you? Whether you’re a student, parent, or just someone listening, anything you can do to cut back on energy usage will save you money
+ Beware of energy vampires!
+ Remember, consolidating student loans reduces the impact of inflation on your money
+ Student loan consolidation web site

Podsafe Music
+ Jill Parr, Do You Hear What I Hear
+ Matthew Ebel, Drive Away
+ Butterfly Catchers, Morning
+ Via the Podsafe Music Network

Reminders
+ iPod Nano Contest (plus a secret add on to the contest!)
+ Grace periods ending soon - consolidate now!
+ Student loan consolidation web site
+ Toll-free 877-328-1565

Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

Listen now with Pupu Player!

Direct file download: MP3 file

11/28: Diploma mills, gifting money, energy costs, Scholarship from the New England Patriots, Eye on the Economy, Smallfish, Matthew Ebel, Jill Parr, #125

Student Financial Aid News
+ Advent of high school diploma mills
+ Primary audience: top athletes with lackluster academic skills
+ Newly remodeled: InternationalStudentLoan.com
+ 617-535-7001
+ Cosigners for international student loans are required, no exceptions
+ College energy costs for heating up 20% - 40% nationwide
+ Some colleges cutting back, conserving
+ Look for energy fees in tuition bills

News You Can Use
+ Gifting of money - limited to $11,000 per person per year under IRS tax code
+ For parents, grandparents, etc.
+ Gifting does NOT apply if payments are made directly to an institution by a grandparent

Scholarship Update
+ Totally Pats!
+ Weekly - yes, WEEKLY - scholarships from the New England Patriots
+ $2,500 weekly
+ At the end of the season, a $15,000 grand prize winner
+ Detailed page on StudentScholarshipSearch.com

Eye on the Economy
+ New segment to discuss broader consumer finance issues, especially for families and parents
+ Pensions and hedge funds
+ Holiday shopping - flat returns for stores, but major increases in credit card usage indicate debt spending
+ Best holiday advice: lay off the plastic.

Podsafe Music
+ Smallfish, Thank You
+ Matthew Ebel, Walk a Thousand Miles
+ Jill Parr, Do You Hear What I Hear?
+ Via the Podsafe Music Network

Reminders
+ iPod Nano Contest THIS THURSDAY!
+ Grace periods ending soon - consolidate now!
+ Student loan consolidation web site
+ Toll-free 877-328-1565

Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

Listen now with Pupu Player!

Direct file download: MP3 file

… so, here’s a good one for you. One article from the Associated Press says that the holiday shopping season got off to a lukewarm start. Another from CBS Marketwatch says that the holiday shopping season got off to a spending spree.

So, who’s right?

Well, once you get past the soundbyte headlines, you discover that usage of credit cards is up 14% (hence the CBS article, which bases its conclusions on sales data from VISA USA) but overall spending is down year over year. Consumers are shopping - but using debt to do it with.

How does this affect financial aid, student loans, and other things? After all, Christmas shopping has nothing to do with education finance, right?

Well… no. The effects of this holiday season will start to show up immediately in 2006. For consumers who are fully leveraged, meaning they’ve got as much debt as they can possibly afford, we may start to see more people in financial distress. That may mean more bankruptcy filings. In years past, consumers have pulled equity out of their homes to pay down more expensive consumer debt, but increases in mortgage interest rates are putting the brakes on that potential avenue, and bursting housing bubbles in key metropolitan markets are instantly reducing the appraised equity that consumers have access to.

For families relying on equity for education finance, that avenue may quickly change to PLUS or alternative student loans.

What else does the Christmas shopping season tell us? There may be a nasty consumer debt hangover in January. Coupled with FAFSA and IRS paperwork, you might see a spate of consumer debt consolidation and refinancing to restructure the debt that families accrued over the holiday season. On the one hand, less cash and fewer assets on hand means improved eligibility on the FAFSA, but it also means diminished capability to meet the EFC without supplementary, non-federal aid.

Finally, for those families who are on a very tight, zero error margin budget, consumer spending coupled with high energy costs may force them to reconsider higher education as a priority in making ends meet.

What’s the overall prognosis for education finance? 2006 may be a rough, rough year, not only for students, but for everyone. The very, very best advice I can possibly offer as the holiday season officially kicks off is - cash only, please. Lock up your credit cards, cut them in half, whatever. It doesn’t matter how you do it, but it’s essential this holiday season to not accrue ANY more consumer debt until we see how things shape up for 2006. If that means you have to get more creative with gifts, so be it - but for the love of everything holy, please don’t add any more debt this holiday season.

… and I’m doing interest rate yields again. Very possibly, I may have no life. Actually, I just have a keen interest in the area I’m researching now, macroeconomics. Jedi powers of foresight. Why? Well, the uncomfortable reality is that money makes the wheels in the American society turn, so if you don’t understand money, you probably don’t understand our society - or what the future holds.

The focus on interest rate yields is important when it comes to Treasury securities. Why? One of the best indicators of a recession is when the Treasury yield curve flattens out, then inverts. At that point, it means investors are buying short term securities instead of long term securities, an indication that their prognosis for the future is poor.

Economist Gary North:

Whenever you see this relatively rare phenomenon, which was last seen in 1989, and it persists for one month or longer, you can be virtually certain that the next recession will occur within 10-15 months. This signal has never occurred without being followed by a recession since the creation of the Federal Reserve System on December 24, 1913. Conversely, the last time we had a recession in the U.S. that was not preceded by an inverted yield curve for U.S. Treasury securities was the one that began on May 16, 1923 and ended on July 15, 1924.

Another indicator of recession: increasing energy prices. Economist Clifford Thies:

Most recent recessions have been characterized by sudden increases in energy prices. The economy is well able, in the long run, to adjust to almost any price of energy. With lower prices, we’ll have bigger cars and larger homes, longer commutes, and more air travel. With higher prices, we’ll have more fuel-efficient cars and smaller homes. We’ll choose to live closer to work and accept the inconvenience of mass transit. But, the adjustment from low to high prices is disruptive.

Energy prices? Up.

This week’s Treasury yield curve is flat enough that you could land a plane on it and not spill a drink aboard.

Interesting times ahead…

The Fellowes PDA screen protector overlays are wonderful. Goodbye, scratches!

I’m so impressed with these that I am going to include a sample overlay in the iPod Nano giveaway this week!

11/25: The Show Mo’ Promo Show, Promos from around the podosphere, #124

Out of the office today, folks, for the Thanksgiving holiday, but I thought I’d give you an interesting treat and play promos from around the podosphere. I warn you in advance - the shows mentioned may not be suitable for work or young children.

Show Mo Promos!
+ Alaska Podshow
+ Amateur Traveler
+ Podcast Outlaws
+ Mr. Nice Guy
+ Podcast 411
+ Geography for Travelers Podcast
+ The DV Show
+ The Sound of Young America

New England Podcasters!
+ 5 Questions
+ CC Radio
+ C.C. Chapman’s U-Turn Cafe
+ Comedy4Cast
+ Extra Points Football
+ The M Show
+ Mrs. B’s Patriot World
+ Phedippidations
+ The Sales Roundup
+ Subscribe at New England Podcasting Web Site

And who could leave out… ours?
+ The Financial Aid Podcast

Reminders
+ iPod Nano Contest (plus a secret add on to the contest!)
+ Grace periods ending soon - consolidate now!
+ Student loan consolidation web site
+ Toll-free 877-328-1565

Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

Listen now with Pupu Player!

Direct file download: MP3 file

11/24: Happy Thanksgiving Music Show, #123

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! This show is very obviously being recorded in advance since we’re all out of the office enjoying the holiday.

Podsafe Music
+ Peeper Radio Theater, Peeper Brand Powdered Meat
+ Todd Lerner, Song for Free
+ Rob Costlow, Family
+ Adrina Thorpe, More than Seventeen
+ Allison Crowe, Silent Night
+ Allison Crowe, What Child Is This
+ Via the Podsafe Music Network

Reminders
+ iPod Nano Contest (plus a secret add on to the contest!)
+ Grace periods ending soon - consolidate now!
+ Student loan consolidation web site
+ Toll-free 877-328-1565

Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

Listen now with Pupu Player!

Direct file download: MP3 file

11/23: Shorter show, 46% don’t graduate, Washington University scholarships, Rob Costlow, Allison Crowe, #122

Shorter show today in advance of the holiday weekend. Schedule coming up: holiday music on Thursday, Show Mo’ Promo show on Friday, resuming our regular show on Monday. Have a great holiday weekend, everyone!

Student Financial Aid News
+ What about the other 46%?
+ Article on CNN about why college students aren’t graduating in greater numbers
+ General consensus about getting students more involved
+ Unorthodox view: maybe they’re not meant to get there?

Scholarship Update
+ Washington University in St. Louis Honorary Scholars Program in Arts & Sciences
+ Detailed page on StudentScholarshipSearch.com

Podsafe Music
+ Rob Costlow, I Do
+ Allison Crowe, Midnight
+ Via the Podsafe Music Network

Reminders
+ iPod Nano Contest (plus a secret add on to the contest!)
+ Grace periods ending soon - consolidate now!
+ Student loan consolidation web site
+ Toll-free 877-328-1565

Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

Listen now with Pupu Player!

Direct file download: MP3 file

11/22: Bad diplomas in Utah, interest rate update, where to find a cosigner, Jennifer Helane, Delphinium Blue, Todd Lerner, #121

Student Financial Aid News
+ Utah Alternative Completion Diploma may be ineligible for financial aid
+ Bloomberg: find a college you can afford instead of one that you want to go to
+ Science unimportant to US government for 2006

Interest rate update
+ 91 day T-bill up to 4.034%
+ Stafford equivalent: 6.334%
+ PLUS equivalent: 7.134%
+ PLUS Loans are now approaching alternative loan rates
+ Alternative loans have the added advantage of not being in the parent’s name
+ ParentPLUSLoan.com
+ ActEducationLoans.com
+ New mortgage site at StudentLoanNetwork.com

Loan tips: Finding a cosigner
+ Who is a good cosigner
+ Where to find one
+ Obligations of a cosigner
+ Cosigners are required for internatioanl student loans
+ Cosigners are strongly recommended for students with no credit history
+ Learn more about credit at StudentPlatinum.com
+ What to do if you can’t get a loan for school
+ InternationalScholarships.com
+ StudentScholarshipSearch.com
+ FAFSAonline.com
+ InternationalStudentLoan.com

Podsafe Music
+ Jennifer Helane, Delivery
+ Delphinium Blue, Joy
+ Todd Lerner, Song For Free
+ Via the Podsafe Music Network

Reminders
+ iPod Nano Contest (plus a secret add on to the contest!)
+ Grace periods ending soon - consolidate now!
+ Student loan consolidation web site
+ Toll-free 877-328-1565

Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

Listen now with Pupu Player!

Direct file download: MP3 file