Finding Debt a Bigger Hurdle Than Bar Exam

I found this recent New York Times article interesting and wonder how many other people are having trouble fulfilling career goals because of student loan debt:

All his life, Robert Bowman wanted to be a lawyer. He overcame a troubled childhood, a tragic accident that nearly cost him a leg and a debilitating Jet Ski collision.

He put himself through community college, worked and borrowed heavily to help pay forcollege, graduate school and even law school. He took the New York bar examination not once, not twice, not three times, but four, passing it last year. Finally, he seemed to be on his way.

In January, the committee of New York lawyers that reviews applications for admission to the bar interviewed Mr. Bowman, studied his history and the debt he had amassed, and called his persistence remarkable. It recommended his approval.

But a group of five state appellate judges decided this spring that his student loans were too big and his efforts to repay them too meager for him to be a lawyer.

Summer Goals

Instead of doing monthly goals, I will instead do summer goals.  Some goals may take the next two months to complete, but I still want to be accountable for making progress on them for the remainder of the summer.

1. Read two books on investing.  I've read several books on personal finance, but none that specifically talked about investing.   I am a big reader, but I'll take a break from my normal reading choices (Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell was the most recent) and read about something I want to learn more about.
2. Apply for passport. I plan to travel international in 2010, so since my minor passport expired, I have to get a new one.  I'd rather go through this process well before I actually travel to avoid stress and having to pay a rush processing fee.
3. Start contributing to my travel fund again.  I'd like to travel more in general and I have specific places I'd like to travel to next year, so I need to start consistently setting money aside.  For the past several months, the only savings fund I've been contributing to has been my emergency fund, and forgoing other saving goals, but I'll start setting aside money again for my vacation fund.    
4. Go to the gym twice a week.  If I don't go to the gym more frequently, I'll be forced to cancel my membership because it makes no sense to pay a monthly fee when I go sporadically as I do now. 
5. One month shopping moratorium for July.  I've been a little lax with monitoring my shopping purchases in June.  So, to get myself back on track, I won't be making clothing purchases for the month of July.  
6. Talk to my graduate school advisor.  This fall, I will be about mid-way through the course work for my graduate program.  It's time to plot my classes for my remaining semesters so I can figure out when I can anticipate my graduation date.

For some reason, it's harder for me to stick to personal goals during the summer months.  I guess it's my minor rebellion for no longer getting long summer vacations.  But with a little more effort, I feel confident that I can make progress on my goals for this month.

Charitable Donations Fell in 2008, Report Finds

According to a recent Washington Post article:

Charitable giving in the United States fell by 2 percent last year, the largest year-over-year drop and only the second decline since the Giving USA Foundation began tracking American philanthropy 53 years ago, according to a report being released today. Individual donations dropped by about 2.7 percent from 2007 to last year, corporate giving fell by about 4.5 percent and foundation contributions grew by about 3 percent, according to the report. Nationwide, recipients collected about $307.7 billion last year, down from the record of about $314.1 billion in 2007, according to the report, which was done for the foundation by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. The only other annual decrease since the report was first published in 1956 occurred during the 1987 recession, when giving declined by 1.3 percent.

Many families are feeling the financial pinch of the economy and may not have as much disposable income to donate to charitable causes, but don't forget that every little helps organizations, especially smaller, grassroots community organizations. If you don't have money to give, donate your time/skills. There is always someone out there that is less fortunate than you out there, so don't forget to give what you can.

Am I the Only One...

Am I the only one that looks forward to payday not because I'll have some money in my pocket to potentially spend; but because that means my monthly automatic transfer to my Roth IRA will take place. So this means my account balance has grown just a bit. It's more fun than looking at my current student loan or credit card balances because the progress is much slower on paying them down...

I promise I will have a substantive post very soon!

Weekend fun (in DC) on a budget

I love Fridays, and the anticipation of the weekend that stretches ahead of me. It will be even nicer if the weather decides to cooperate and we don't experience heavy rain fall which has been frequent in the Mid-Atlantic region lately. I want to do some fun things this weekend, but I want to spend minimal money. Here are a few ideas I have:

• Go to Artomatic. Artomatic is a month-long art festival that starts this weekend in Washington, DC. It looks like it might be fun and there is no entrance fee.
• Wander around one of my favorite Smithsonian museums. I love to visit the museums, and want to pop in to visit a few before the really hot, steamy weather sets in.
• Head to the library and check out some free books, music or movies. My local library has a decent selection of movies and books, so I don't usually leave the library empty-handed when I visit.
• Go out for appetizers instead of a full dinner. It would be fun to go out to eat, but a full dinner could be pricey, ordering just appetizer's would be cheaper.
• Bake something. I have a taste for some cupcakes, so instead of buying them, I could try to make them myself. This won't be a free activity, but it shouldn't cost that much.
• Head to the gym and take a class. Since I already have a membership, I should use it right? It also just dawned on me that swim suit weather is just about here...

What fun things do you like to do in your area that cost little?