Education

Free Language Courses

December 20, 2006 By Jeffrey Strain 2 Comments

If one of the things on your to-do list in 2007 is to learn a new language, there is no need to pay a lot of money to do so. FSI Language Courses is a website that hosts the language courses developed by the Foreign Service Institute by the United States government and are in the public domain. Currently they have the following languages on their site:

Amharic
Arabic
Cambodian
Cantonese
Chinese
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Hebrew
Hungarian
Korean
Portuguese
Spanish
Swahili
Swedish
Turkish
Vietnamese

New course updates are made on a regular basis. This is a great opportunity to learn a language without the cost usually involved in such an undertaking.

15 Places To Give Old Computers New Life

December 5, 2006 By Jeffrey Strain 15 Comments

When people get a new computer, often their old computer ends up going to the landfill. That’s a shame because there are a lot of options out there which will keep the computer out of the landfill and bring it new life. This, in turn, can put a few extra dollars back in your pocket by way of sale or with a tax deduction. Even when you don’t get any money in return, you’re doing the right thing by giving your PC new life rather than place it in a landfill.

There are a large number of charities in both the US and Europe that are interested in your old computer. While most of them aren’t interested in computers older than 5 years old, most charities are very interested in computers that are less than 5 years old. There are a number of them that take these computers, refurbish them and give them to charities or other organizations that are in need of them:

Give Your Computer To Charity: While you won’t get any money for donating your computer to charity, if the charity is a registered charity, you will be able to claim a tax deduction for your donation. You need to consult with each charity to see if you will qualify for this tax deduction when making a donation to them.

Another Byte is a service project aimed at area businesses, residents, schools, and nonprofit organizations interested in recycling and reusing computers. The website serves as a regional and nationwide exchange board directly connecting those wishing to dispose of computers and nonprofit organizations that are in need of them. The service is free and simple to use, making it easy to keep good technology out of the waste stream by putting it back into productivity.

Share the Technology is a free public-service database to help computer equipment donors connect with nonprofit organizations and individuals with disabilities seeking donations. It’s been in operation since 1996.

World Computer Exchange is an international educational nonprofit focused on helping the world’s poorest youth to bridge the disturbing global divides in information, technology and understanding. They give new life to your donated computers by helping poor youth in Africa, Asia, and Latin America gain access to the Internet. There is also a Canadian division that now has charitable status.

National Cristina Foundation is a computer technology and solutions organization to give people with disabilities, students at risk and economically disadvantaged persons the opportunity, through training, to lead more independent and productive lives. In addition to computers, they also accept software and peripherals.

Computers for Youth is a program with the mission to close the learning gap between low-income children and their more affluent peers by improving the home learning environment. They only accept donations of 50 or more computers at a time from businesses.

Literacy 4 Kids: is a San Francisco Bay Area program to help place computers in high schools. It provides donated computers, hardware, and software directly to the youth and uses donated money entirely to purchase computer-related items needed by the youths. No member, including the Board of Directors, is allowed to take any salary.

Youth For Technology: (PDF Format) helps young people achieve goals through technology. It’s a non-profit organization registered as a charity in the United States and in Nigeria. Their specific needs change, but are currently in need of 3 laptop computers.

DonateAPC (United Kingdom) is a service for individuals and organisations to donate computer hardware (computers, printers, etc) to UK charities, not-for-profit organisations and educational establishments.

Computers for Charities (United Kingdom) is a registered charity that offers IT support to charities and volunteer organizations. They refurbish some computer hardware for reuse at these institutions.

Other Options Rather Than The Landfill

Inner City School: If you have an older computer that still works, but isn’t a version that charities will accept, consider donating it to an inner city school. Due to extremely limited budgets, inner city schools will usually accept any computer as long as it is in working condition and it would of course be a hugely valuable tool for any school that could get it. You would need to contact schools in your area directly.

Craig’s List: This free service is an excellent place to dispose of a computer. There are plenty of people who would love to have an older computer that is still in working condition and it should be not problem finding someone to take it if it is offered for free. If you have a newer computer, you can probably sell it for a bit.

Freecycle is another community where it is relatively easy to get rid of any computer hardware or software.

eBay: Even if your computer is rather old, you may find someone willing to pay for it on eBay. Many people have older computers themselves and can use the parts for their own computer. If it is a newer version, it should sell rather easily in this platform.

Leave It Outside: If you live in a large city, all you may have to do is leave it outside with a “Free” sign on it. In many places your computer will be claimed by someone within a couple of hours without the hassle of having to arrange meeting times or other logistics.

Recycle Your Computer: There are a wide variety of companies that recycle computers. While this keeps them out of landfills, there is usually a cost associated with disposing your computer this way.

Keep these other alternatives in mind before simply dumping your old computer into a landfill. Not only will using one of the above methods make the planet a bit greener, in many cases the computer you no longer need will become a valuable asset to someone else who will greatly appreciate the opportunity to use it.

Five Investments Everyone Should Make

November 27, 2006 By Jeffrey Strain 13 Comments

non typical investments This will not be the typical list of investments you probably would think you’d find on a personal finance blog, but it gets really boring reading personal finance advice when it’s the same everywhere that you go. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. When doing research on the basics of personal finance, you want to get good, solid information that can help you and this quality information tends to be the same. That being said, sometimes it’s nice to hear some financial advice that you haven’t considered anyplace else. The following are non-typical investments that I think you should seriously consider for your finances that you probably haven’t ever heard of from other personal finance bloggers:

Invest In “Your Name” Domain: There are other people out there with your name. All you have to do is Google “your name” with the quotations marks to see who else out there you share your name with. There are more than a handful of people with my name and the question is, do I really want someone else owning my name? You should ask yourself the same question. Even if you have no plans to build a website or do anything else with a domain at this point, you should still claim your own name. As the Internet becomes a more prevalent place for people to contact one another and socialize, your name will have value both financially and on a personal level. You will want your own name as your space on the world wide web. The cost is only $6 a year. You will thank me 10 years from now for getting it and curse yourself for not doing it if you decide to pass.

Invest In An Exercise Program: The reason that you’re working so hard today is so that when you earn enough, you can do all kinds of things that you really want to do in your retirement. The only way that you are going to be able to accomplish this is if you are still healthy and active when you retire. Invest in a basic health and fitness program that suits your style. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just as long as you commit to it so that you increase your chances that you will still be active and lively when it’s time to spend all the money you have worked so hard for. it will also ensure that you have a more financially productive work life increasing your chances of retiring early.

Invest In Something You’ve Always Wanted To Try: If you’ve had an inkling to try something for years, but have never gotten around to doing it for whatever reason, commit to invest in it right now. Whether it is learning to play the saxophone or how to fly a plane, invest in it. No matter how it turns out, you won’t regret doing so and you’d be surprised how often those things that you have always wanted to do can end up being a career or an additional income earner while doing something that you love.

Invest In Time To Think: With the way the world works, finding time to just sit around and think is something that a lot of people just do not do on a regular basis. Determine to invest in time to think. Having time to mull all the information before you gives you a much better chance of making the correct decisions when they need to be made. If you don’t have time to think and consider, your choices won’t be as reasoned or as well thought out when made. In addition, invest in some type of recording system of your thoughts and goals – it can be a blog, a journal or just scraps of paper that happen to be around when you think of something. This will keep a record that you can look back on to see how you have progressed and to help you stay on tract toward those goals that you want to achieve.

Invest In Someone Else: Take the experiences and wisdom that you have gathered over the years through your own learning and mistakes and pass those lessons onto someone else. Become a mentor to anyone that wants to learn from you and freely offer to help those seeking help. Take them under your wing and help them become a better person so that they too can mentor another person in the future.

while the above five investments aren’t usually considered investments in your finances, all of them will reap a much larger financial benefit for you that any typical stock you may choose. Consider them all seriously and i encourage you to commit to each and every one of them. Your finances will thank you in the future.

College Costs? How About $36,600 For Preschool

November 8, 2006 By Jeffrey Strain 4 Comments

I was running some number for my niece who is 16 months old and what her college is going to cost when I came across the LAUMC Children’s Center in the area where I live. These parents must be the super obsessed types that you read about in the newspapers (or those in Japan) because they are paying $2,700 a year for a 2 year old’s education (talk about starting them young) and $6,500 for a 5 year old’s education. For the entire preschool (remember, the child hasn’t even hit kindergarten yet) you’re looking at tuition costs of $16,800 (better start saving the second the kid is conceived)

Of course, I did a bit more research and found that those numbers weren’t anything. The Third Street Music School in New York charges $9,150 for 5 morning classes a week for a total of $36,600 for those 3 – 6 years old. I don’t think my college education cost that much and there are certainly a lot of colleges where you could get a degree for less than that.

I’m thinking that maybe I should get into the prestigious preschool business…

Coverdell Education Saving Changes

September 17, 2006 By Jeffrey Strain Leave a Comment

Coverdell saving plans While 529 plans had their federal tax deduction permanently extended recently, Coverdell Education saving accounts lost some of their appeal. A nice advantage of the Coverdell saving accounts was that the money in the accounts could be used for private elementary, jr high school and high school expenses. Beginning in 2011, however, this will no longer be the case. While the Coverdell saving account funds will still be able to be used for college, they will no longer be able to be used toward pre college education fees and expenses. If you choose to use Coverdell saving funds for the private primary education from 2011, the money will be assessed a 10% withdrawal penalty in addition to any earnings losing their tax-free withdrawal status.

Free Personal Finance Materials

August 26, 2006 By Jeffrey Strain 1 Comment

free personal finance resources If you are looking for some basic (but free) personal finance materials, Visa is giving away a number of informational items fro free from their Practical Money Skills site:

Free Solar Powered Calculator

PMSFL Teachers Guide W/2PK CD – a 2-CD classroom educations set which includes lesson plans, worksheets, calculators and games to help students develop personal finance, budgeting and money management skills. (reserved for teachers only)

Practical Money Skills for Life CD-ROM – three programs that make learning financial management skills fun: interactive calculators, the Get out of Debt Quiz Show, and The Money Management Intelligence Game.

Presenter’s Guide and CD-ROM – it’s a training tool for conducting on campus financial literacy seminars/learning sessions.

College Student Workbook – a valuable hands-on tools for navigating financial matters, such as a budget worksheet.

Managing Your Debts: How to Regain Financial Health – a guide for overextended consumers to get back on budget

Debit Card Brochure – features and benefits of owning a debit card.

Practical Money Skills for Life Pamphlet Series – financial basics about credit and debit cards, how to set-up a budget and stick to it, and how to protect yourself from fraud.

Consumer Identity Theft Brochure – what is identity theft, how to protect yourself and what to do if you become a victim.

How to Raise a Money-Smart Child – Personal Financial Literacy addresses topics that affect newborns, teenagers, parents, and all age groups in between.