Just say no to working for free...CLEP

Right after reading Duchesse's post on the important issue of "precarity" in employment, I check my work email (from home) to find ANOTHER missive from CLEP, part of the massive money-making testing industry in the USA. Last time I got one of these, I replied that responders should be paid for their time. I guess they didn't get the message.

They've got to be kidding. My children took two tests from the industry last year--totaling about $400. I would do the survey for a test coupon my kids could use. What do you think Sterling Bland gets paid?

Dear Colleague,

I am writing to you today in my capacity as Chair of the CLEP Humanities Committee. As you may know, CLEP is the College-Level Examination Program, sponsored by the College Board and designed to allow students to earn credit for college courses by demonstrating their mastery of relevant subject matter. Exams are offered in more than 30 different subjects. Students who place at or above the recommended cut-score for a particular exam can earn credit for the corresponding course(s) at participating schools. For the CLEP Humanities exam, this is generally a two-semester survey course in Humanities or in literature, art, music, or the performing arts.

In recent years, the CLEP Humanities Committee (composed of faculty from a variety of institutions throughout the United States) has been working diligently to revise and update the exam to ensure that it reflects the significant, and ongoing, changes in our field. To enable us to continue improving the exam, we need the help of our fellow teachers and scholars. Specifically, we need to learn more about how a relevant survey course or courses are being taught at your institution. If you teach one or both semesters of a relevant course (or have taught it in the last three years), we would be extremely grateful if you would take the time to complete the online curriculum survey at:

https://www.surveyresearchonline.com/se.ashx?s=7321E7ED6B3B30D2

The information gathered in this survey will enable us to make important decisions about what to include on the exam, about the kinds of skills that should be tested, and about whether modifications should be made to the overall test specifications.

We ask that you complete this survey by May 9, 2014. Please note that you do not need to teach at a participating CLEP school in order to complete the survey. If you do not teach a relevant survey course (or its equivalent), we would appreciate your forwarding this e-mail to a colleague who does.

Finally, survey participants may request a free copy of the survey results. I strongly encourage you to do so, as one of the more rewarding aspects of my work on the CLEP Humanities Committee during the past several years has been having the opportunity to broaden my own understanding of the work being done in the classroom at colleges and universities throughout the country.

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.

Sincerely,

Sterling L. Bland

Rutgers University at Newark

249 University Ave

College Finances and the ETS: Higher Ed is a Cash Cow, with the Student Being the Cow

I haven't written about higher ed issues (costs, value, etc) in part because my children have graduated (debt free, thank heavens) and because the issue is still too depressing. The kinds of issues I was struggling with years ago (is it "worth it" to go for a more prestigious college? how can one save if college costs rise at twice the rate of inflation? do schools offer "merit aid" and then nullify it with tuition increases in subsequent years, and so on). are--alas--with us still. Indeed, they are perhaps exacerbated by the fact that the job market is still difficult for recent graduates.

My clever title is borrowed from a piece I recently read in a new-to-me publication. The costs, the growth of the administrative class, the growth of the non-tenured instructor/part-timer class, yeah, I've seen it all. I used to tell my children that I felt that higher ed involved "trickle-up economics," with the borrowing/paying student enriching all those who stood to profit. The article in the link puts it better: higher education is a cash cow and the student is the cow.

Among the beneficiaries: the Testing Industries, you know, GRE, SAT, GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, and all others. Miss Em recently took the GREs and I was stunned to learn that the test cost over $160. Thankfully, she does not plan to take it again, having done well enough the first time.

I had this in mind when I received an email from Educational Testing Service, which puts out the tests. ETS wanted to know what works little old me taught in a survey course. I could contribute to the public weal (and to the AP Exams) by taking a survey. AND--as a reward--I could request a copy of the results.

You have got to be kidding, Mr and Ms ETS. My late father was in the survey biz and I remember that professionals who took surveys were compensated. So I shot back an email--which no doubt was not read--saying that if the ETS made money on the tests (it does) then the ETS should compensate with SOMETHING. I got another email a few days later, to which I made the same useless reply.

Take this out of your library!

One More Year

Stress upon stress upon stress. First of all, I am at the end of my semester: expected stress. Second, we decided to go ahead with the house for Frugal Son, commencing a grand experiment in uncharted waters. Third, UGH, we had our SIXTH yearly scare about the budget. Actually, the scare is on-going even now.

I think things are going to be OK (let us hope--some of my colleagues are pretty hopeful), but I live in a state where the only unprotected areas in the budget are healthcare and higher ed. So for 6 years, we have endured major mid-year cuts, the most drastic of which led to the zapping of the French major. But, hey, when we committed to this house for Frugal Son, I figured the budget crises were past. Many states have surpluses this year.

When we heard the scary news, I had a sense of deja vu: I first started reading Funny About Money a few years ago. She helped HER son buy a house at what they thought was the bottom of the market. The housing market promptly tanked further and Funny--with a teeny bit of warning--had her position eliminated at her university.

So what can a worry wart do? First, I ran my numbers through my new BFF firecalc. I discovered that Mr FS and I are on track for a humble retirement. Then I read around the site. One of the things these early-retirement wannabes warn against in OMY. That means ONE MORE YEAR. People fear early retirement and so keep adding OMY to their plans.

I'm using OMY differently. When I think of a splurgy or uncharacteristic purchase, I now think: would I buy this if I only had OMY? Yes: to storage containers. Yes: to travel. No: to Hermes scarf. No: to fancy handbag. Of course, that's just me. You get to make your own choices.

I feel a lot better. Wish the legislature good luck with their deliberations. Wish me and Mr FS as many OMYs as we desire...

JCP and Me: More Thoughts on Innumeracy

If you've been reading the finance pages recently, you will have noticed that JC Penney fired its snazzy ex-Apple CEO and--as Walmart says--rolled back his everyday low price policies. In fact, it's JC Penney once again, not jcp. According to the various post-mortems, customers LIKE sales, even if the sales are on artificially inflated prices. Here's an actual example from my own single jcp experience. I LIKE the idea of everyday low prices. So I bought a basic tank top, the black stretchy kind. At jcp, it was $5 or $6 dollars. I love it! Now, it is $12. Oh, but I got a coupon for 20% off. Thanks.

I wrote a few days ago about the psychology of grading points. I am going to try the 1000 point system next semester, whereby everything will be worth 10x more than now and be divided by 10 in the grand finale. Interestingly, one commenter suggested that the 1000 point system enables the students to get more points. Perhaps that's true, since there are more fine points in between. However, it works the other way too, whereby students can get fewer points. For instance, I have 20 one-point assignments. I give the students points for doing them. They are very short assignments, designed to keep students doing SOMETHING in between more major assignments.

Everyone can get 20/20--even if English is not a strong subject. That is a big chunk of a grade and can compensate for poor performance on projects and exams. I do have a small--5 point--bonus for "quality," where I look at three assignments randomly and give 1-5 points. But watch what happens when it's a 10-point assignment. While students may be more excited about an assignment that's "worth more," I would guess that I will see fewer 20/20 than I do currently. I will eliminate the extra step for me of assigning quality points. I would guess that most students will get between 6 and 8 points out of 10 under the new system. So it's more likely that students will see 70 out of 100 than 10/10. That's what happens when most people hover around the middle rather than cluster at the top.

The funny thing: when students have to divide by 10, I notice that most whip out their phones to do the calculation. That's the innumeracy I worry about.

Major Decluttering Event Ahead: Happy News

To get right to the point. Frugal Son GOT A JOB. Not a well-paid job, but a worthy job that will look good for the future and will give him a bit of time to see what he wants to do next.

He is working at a lycee in New Orleans, wonderful because he will use his French AND because post-Katrina, New Orleans has attracted the hippest 20-somethings anywhere. Also, Mr FS and I will be happy to visit him now and again: we saw him for 4 days once he returned from his year working in France.

The DECLUTTER EVENT: he will be living in an old half-double in New Orleans so he can take a lot of the excess OUT OF THE HOUSE. One of my friends remarked--apropos her first chronically unfaithful husband moving out and taking half the furniture: At least the house looks better. Our house will look better because of a happy event.

Anyone who knows a 20-something knows what I'm talking about in this long recession: he's lucky to have a job.

First Quarter 2012

After a rather lengthy hiatus--since 2008, I've thrown my financial statements into a box and said OMMMMMMMM--I just opened up a few. Well! My very conservative retirement account went up 6% in the first quarter. My go-go smaller retirement accounts went up as much as 18%--in just one quarter. Sounds great.

I notice, though, that the go-go account is about where it was in 2000, the time of the tech bubble bursting. So I have not achieved anywhere near the 26% annual returns (that would double your money every three years) that the Romney boys have made in their gift accounts over the last 15 years.

So I guess I have to keep saying OMMMMMMM, thank heavens Mr FS and I are still working, give a big thank you to Frugal Son and Miss Em for choosing state universities that wanted them badly enough to take them for free and throw in room and board, and a bigger thank you to my frugal forebears for instilling me with a frugal ethos.

I don't think I will ever recover from 2008!

Have you recovered? Do you open your statements?

The NEW GIMMICKY Credit Union??

Many of the finance stories of the past few years present BIG BAD BANKS vs LITTLE VIRTUOUS CREDIT UNIONS. One area credit union even runs an ad saying, "People not profits." Yeah, I'm a fan.

But a recent experience makes me wonder if the credit unions are going the way of the big bad banks with confusing products, over-complexity, and incompetent reps.

Both my kids have checking/savings accounts at a credit union. I opened these to accommodate the dribs and drabs of money they occasionally received as gifts. I also appreciated the FREE CHECKING. So this is what they have.

Here is the latest missive. LACAP will no longer offer the FREE CHECKING. As of May 1, you will be automatically transferred to an XXX account. Checking will remain free if you have 10 NON-ATM Debit transactions per month or Direct Deposit. If you don't use your debit card enough, you will be charged $8.00/month.

Well, guess what? Frugal Son can't have his French salary direct-deposited! He needs the debit card for occasional cash withdrawals.

Miss Em doesn't have an income to be direct deposited. And she doesn't need the hassle of keeping count of her debit transactions.

So I called. The first rep suggested that I set up a Direct Deposit from MY checking account for them--say $5/month. Good idea! Of course, when I called back the next day, the new rep said that would not be permitted.

She referred me to their range of checking accounts. All were of the DO THIS AND YOU GET THIS, but if YOU DON'T DO THIS, YOU GET THIS (GREATER) PENALTY.

My head started spinning. This is a sign of over-complexity and deliberate efforts to confuse.

My favorite is their IRA. WITH A 7% RATE. The small print says the 7% rate is good till the end of 2012--so for 8 months. After that--still tiny print--it reverts to the regular rate of .5%. That's POINT 5, not 5.

P.S. Don't tell me I'm being a helicopter! Frugal Son is in France and can't deal with this. Miss Em is in Alabama and working hard. I'm hoping they will return the favor* when I'm too old to manage.

*Example of returning the favor: Frugal Son will be meeting his Grandma in the Vienna airport in a few days. They will be visiting the city of her birth. He has planned the whole trip, made all the reservations, and will be taking her around with his German friend Floh.

"Teaching Thrift"

The Wall Street Journal has a brief essay on Teaching Thrift to kids. the essay itself is kinda blah, but check out the comments.

Seldom have I seen so many frugal soulmates gathered together! I spent a blissful 20 minutes or so reading through the comments. 121 at last count.

Who's Your Daddy?: Romney Trust for Sons

Full disclosure: yes, I am a flaky liberal. But still. Did you see this? In addition to Mr and Mrs Romney's 250 million, the sons have 100 million, all funded through gifts under the IRS threshold (now $13,000 per person, so mom and dad can give each child up to $26,000/year).

What I find interesting (and envy-provoking) is that in a period when my own retirement investments have not done so well, these guys made more than 20%/year. That's more than Madoff was promising! Can someone explain this to me?

Here's the article.

WSJ Breaks Down Cost of Garment

In case you missed this: the Wall Street Journal presents an anatomy of a high-end polo shirt. With a retail price of over $150.00, the most expensive piece of its production is US labor at $11.00.

Sadly, I think that many similarly priced items are made abroad for pennies in labor, with more going to the manufacturers. So the polo people are fighting the good fight.

What do you think of the polo shirt?

Benefits (?) of the Economic Downturn: Health Club

For many years, we belonged to the area Y: we had a killer family rate ($300/yr) and used it for various things: Mr FS used the pool, Miss Em took ballet, Frugal Son did this and that, and even I--when I could rouse myself from my comfy chair--walked on the treadmill. Then they moved to a very bad facility with no pool. We stuck it out, even though we seldom traveled to the distant facility because the manager said we could keep our special membership rate. They built a big new Y and--after years of holding on to our cheap membership so we could use the new facility--the director said the "computer wouldn't take our membership." Right. The new facility is very far away and the new cost about quadruple, so good-bye.

Last spring we bought a Groupon for two months at a facility (no pool) about a 15 minute walk from our house. We didn't plan to renew after the 2 months. When the facility opened about 4 years ago, we inquired and discovered that there was a MASSIVE joining fee, plus a monthly fee of $120 for the two of us, to be paid upfront for the year.

We finally activated the Groupon yesterday. Out of politeness, I asked what the fees were. NO JOINING FEE! Monthly fees: the owner said "Where do you work?" When it finally emerged that we were teachers, she said "We love our teachers! You get the public servant rate for $60.00/month for the two of you!" I said that we went away in the summer, "No problem! You can suspend your membership." Then I asked if you had to pay for a year in advance. "No, not in the current economic climate."

I can't think of another way that the economic downturn has benefited me or most people. I guess bankruptcy lawyers and the like are doing fine.

But I think we may join the health club at the end of our trial. So happy.

Free Music and Free Enterprise

We were lucky to notice that--contrary to the info from my source--Museum Day for New Orleans was yesterday, September 24. When I figured this out, we jumped into the car and hightailed it to the New Orleans Museum of Art, where we saw an interesting show of religious figures from India.

That left today free for another free cultural opportunity: Musica di Camera, an early music group, will be performing for free at a nearby Abbey.

The Abbey is a beautiful place. The church has some incredible murals, painted in the 30s (I think) and recently restored. One of my friends worked there during the restoration and I got to meet the art restorers--an itinerant husband-wife duo.

You may have heard of this place: it has been much in the news because the Louisiana Funeral Directors sued the monastery: asserting that it was against state law to sell monk-made coffins. The monks are winning so far, but the case is destined--so it says in the news--for the Supreme Court.

Two cultural events in one weekend. What bliss. Did you have any wonderful experiences this weekend?

The Punishment of Savers: Why Save?

It's not like you don't know this: savers have been punished over the past few years and will continue to be punished. That is because interest rates are artificially low: this benefits businesses and borrowers, but not individuals looking for some safe returns. This is especially bad for the elderly and retired, who have no income coming in.

If you don't believe me, the Wall Street Journal wrote about it.

My high-yield savings account is now at 1%. Recently, a financial mag had a headline trumpeting "Get 5 times more for your savings!" What they meant was that you could move money from a .2% account to 1%. That wouldn't make much difference, unless you had a big balance. The $5000 account would get $50 vs $12--good for some groceries, I guess. Oh yeah--you have to pay taxes on the interest, so the spread just contracted.

So why save? What else is the frugal person to do?

How I wish my children were in the market for a house!

Economics: Little Picture, Big Picture

There's so much wonderful stuff to read around the blogosphere. I had a lot of catching up to do. Two pieces that struck me--especially when juxtaposed--are by iamtheworkingpoor and grumpyrumblingsoftheuntenured.

Iamtheworkingpoor must be very busy: her grown kids moved back home, something common in these economic times. Here is what she has to say:

When you are on a frugal path with a goal you have to stay the course until your goals are met. If you jump too soon any small setback can put you right back where you were before. Keep your skills fresh, remember these times will not last forever, celebrate small victories, and plan out your future without losing sight of your goals.

That's the little picture. Then, from Nicole and Maggie, two social scientists (?) who may even be economists (?), we have the big picture: what needs to be done to get us out of the economic pickle we are in. Here's the graph. They seem to have turned off the comment button, probably a wise move.

Here I am in my little picture world, thinking about Shakespeare and other wonderful things and also filling boxes with Miss Em's back to school needs. She gets back tomorrow!

My Summer (Financial) To Do List and Scary Financial News

At the end of the summer, I am always filled with sadness over things left undone. There are always many. But as I was cleaning up--as we prepare for our last family visit for the summer--I found a list.

RETURN STUFF TO LANDS END
RETURN STUFF TO LL BEAN
TAXES!!!!!!

Yes, I did all those things. Thanks to the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which covers college textbooks, we got a hefty refund, all of which is going to our next summer's travel. Returning unsatisfactory items to LE and LLB is being a conscientious consumer, something my Frugal Dad would have been proud of.

The scary financial news coming every day is reminding me of the dreaded year 2008. Honestly, all I can do is focus on my little frugal ways.

Are you scared by the news these days? How's your To do list?

Little Guy Fights Back!

Did you miss this uplifting story? A small investor fought back against the big hedge fund managers and may make a difference. If you link to the story, you can also link to a recording of his argument before the court. Believe it or not, I listened to it.

The whole 2008-09 financial debacle only reinforced my feelings that all is rigged in favor of a small group of rich, powerful, and connected. I am a good saver and all, and I engage in frugal practices, but ....trying so hard not to whine.

So hats off (my hat, anyway) to Mr. Thoma. He did a lot of work poring through company records.

Advanced Degrees Worth the Debt

Something useful from Kiplingers: 5 Advanced Degrees Worth the Debt.

There are no big surprises in the list. What is especially useful is that you get information on average indebtedness, average salaries, and--most useful--AVERAGE MONTHLY REPAYMENTS.

You also see what a relative bargain in-state medical and law degrees prove to be.

College students should take a look also. Then they should look at this.

Higher Food Prices in Perspective

From Yahoo Finance, some historical perspective on food prices.

I've excerpted a bit below. Prices for most items are about double what they were 30 years ago. Most of us are making--I would guess--more than double what we were back then. If prices are killing us, I would venture to say it's not food that is to blame.

10 Everyday Grocery Items: Now and Then
by Lauren Covello


Rising prices may be top of mind for consumers right now, but they're nothing new. Here's a look at how the price tags on these 10 basic items have changed over the last three decades.


©Fox Business

1. Bread

What you pay now: $1.41 (average price for a pound of white bread)

What you paid ...

Last year: $1.37
5 years ago: $1.08
10 years ago: $1.00
15 years ago: $0.88
20 years ago: $0.71
25 years ago: $0.57
30 years ago: $0.53


©Fox Business

2. Butter

What you pay now: $3.69 (average price for a pound of salted butter)

What you paid ...

Last year: $3.13
5 years ago: $2.92
10 years ago: $3.30
15 years ago: $2.05
20 years ago: $1.94
25 years ago: $2.15
30 years ago: $1.99


©Fox Business

3. Eggs

What you pay now: $1.73 (average price for a dozen Grade-A eggs)

What you paid ...

Last year: $1.66
5 years ago: $1.31
10 years ago: $0.93
15 years ago: $1.11
20 years ago: $0.99
25 years ago: $0.87
30 years ago: $0.90



Data courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. ("What you pay now" is the average price for March 2011; historical prices were calculated by averaging the monthly price data for the years noted.)

Do You Believe the Numbers? 85% of Grads Move Home

I keep seeing this everywhere: 85% of grads will be moving in with mom and dad.

Even Frugal Son--grad as of yesterday!--passed on the statistic. He is skeptical. Does that mean that, like Frugal Son who will be teaching English abroad next year, the grad "lives at home" for a few months in the summer?

I do hear about grads moving home. I wonder if we should see this not as a mark of shame but as a shrewd financial choice.

As always, remember this famous tome, in print for many years.

Do you know of a lot of grads moving home? Or grads who never left?

Are Rising Prices Changing Your Eating Habits?

Yesterday, Mr FS, who doesn't really worry himself with such things, said We eat oatmeal for breakfast and peanut butter sandwiches or a burrito for lunch. You can't spend much less than that.

We are lucky that way. We don't eat that stuff because it's cheap (though it is) or because it's healthy (well, maybe a little), but because we LIKE it.

Now that I have a little more time on my hands, I was noodling around the internet. There are many laments about rising prices. Most of the laments have to do with lunch meat and bacon. I find lunch meat (or cold cuts) yucky in general. Bacon is good, but a pound or two a year will suffice. I use it mainly for flavoring bean soup.

I AM addicted to coffee (now proved to be healthy! YAY!). I noticed that the sale price of coffee has risen 50 cents. That would be a $25.00 yearly increase. I can absorb that, even though we haven't had a raise in four years.

Have rising prices affected your shopping or eating habits?