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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Nigerian Minister of Communications, Mrs. Omobola Johnson. The ...
Friday, December 16, 2011
Getting by on $50k, but burdened by student loans
Brandon Thibodeaux for msnbc.com
Samuel and Megan Moss stand in their kitchen with their 10-month-old daughter, Mary Margaret, at their apartment in Plano, Texas.
By Allison Linn
With careful budgeting, Sam and Megan Moss are able to get by on their combined salaries of about $50,000 a year.
But the couple is weighed down by around $110,000 in student loan debt that Sam, now 28, accrued while they were students at University of Mississippi.
Megan, 25, says they don?t want their 10-month-old daughter, Mary Margaret, to be burdened by such high debt when she goes to college. That?s one reason the Plano, Texas, couple is unsure whether they will have more children.
?I would love for her to have siblings ? but I don?t see us being able to afford it,? Megan said.
Megan works full-time in sales for a hotel company, while Sam is in the mortgage industry.
What's it like to live on around $50,000 a year?
It is a challenge. It definitely takes planning and budgeting to make everything work.
How has the weak economy affected your finances?
We have been affected simply through the rising cost of living. Everything is more expensive, from gas to groceries to utilities.
Do you worry about money?
I'm not worried about the everyday, for example not being able to put food on the table or buy diapers or gas, but I worry about emergencies.? I worry that our cars, which are both older models, might give out on us and we don't have the extra cash flow to fix (them). I worry about something happening to one of us that makes us unable to work, or in some way negatively affects our job situation.
What are your biggest expenses?
Our biggest expenses are rent, student loan payments and daycare. We pay about $550 a month on Sam?s student loan payments. Our daycare bill every month is close to $800; it is a mortgage payment for some people.
We could probably find a cheaper apartment to live in, but it is worth it to us to pay a little bit more and not have to worry about the neighborhood we live in, or commute too far to work. We both drive less than three miles to work every day.
What do you splurge on?
We splurge on our cable, because it is our entertainment. And occasionally we will go to a movie or out with friends if my parents are available and willing to watch the baby for us. We also splurge on stuff for the baby.
Brandon Thibodeaux for msnbc.com
What kind of debt do you have, and do you find it hard to pay off your loans or other debts?
Sam has student loan debt, quite a bit of it. It averages out to about a $500+ monthly payment.
?I am lucky enough to have a grandfather who is generous enough to pay for my education (as well as my three brothers and my cousins). It was (and still is) the best gift I have ever been given, other than my daughter. I don't know if I will ever be able to fully thank him or show him enough gratitude for what he has done for me.
We also have (around $2500 of) credit card debt that we got into while I was on maternity leave for three months. We pay minimum monthly payments for those every month, and plan to use our tax refund to pay those down completely.
Are you able to save money for the future?
Right now, unfortunately, we are not able to. We have plans though to put the money that has been going to credit card payments into a savings account when we pay those off.?
What are you most proud of in terms of your financial situation?
We own both of our cars. We have steady jobs, with growth potential in the near future.
?Are there any financial mistakes you think you've made?
?I?d say our biggest mistake is not saving the money we had to spare before the baby was born. We didn?t plan as well as we would have liked, financially, before her birth. Hindsight is always 20/20, though.
Over the next few years, do you expect things to get better or worse for you financially?
I hope things will get better for us. We both have the potential for growth in our careers, and we are lucky enough to work in companies that offer those opportunities.
Right now, I would say we are on the right path for success. However, Sam?s loans are on an adjustable rate, and when rates go back up it could really make things more difficult.
Click here to see previous stories in our "We are the median" series. We?re also?sharing our thoughts?? and yours ? on Twitter?(hashtag #median), Facebook and Google Plus. We invite you to comment on our posts ? but keep it civil and on topic, please!
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Are you carrying student loan debt?
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Dutch senate debates ritual slaughter ban (AP)
AMSTERDAM ? Political support for a ban on the ritual slaughter of animals without stunning them first, as required by centuries-old Jewish and Muslim dietary traditions, has weakened as the Dutch senate debates the legislation.
The ban proposed by an animal rights party and widely endorsed by Dutch voters passed parliament's lower house by a 116-30 margin in June.
But after an international outcry by religious groups, several political parties said Tuesday they were reconsidering their positions, citing concerns about whether the ban would violate constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion.
Speaking first, Labor senator Nico Schrijver said his party now wants better enforcement of existing slaughter rules instead.
Senators are scheduled to vote Dec. 20.
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Video: Payroll Tax Cut Fight
CNBC's John Harwood has the latest details on the payroll tax cut, with Sen. Bob Corker, (R-TN), and debating whether it is an unfair tax on the wealthy, with Jared Bernstein, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Phil Kerpen, Americans for Pr...
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45561282/
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Video: December 6, 2011
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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45566132#45566132
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Monday, December 5, 2011
Android Game Review: Apparatus
YouTube link for mobile viewing
Sometimes I come across a game that makes me feel really dumb really challenges the ol' noggin of mine, and I know I just have to share it with you all, the Android faithful (because Android users are inherently smart). Apparatus is one such game, and by the time you're done with it, you'll deserve either a pat on the back or a tasty cold one (or both).
If the name didn't completely give it away, Apparatus is about just that: building apparatuses. To do what, you may ask? To make sure a dark blue ball makes it's way safely into a sky blue box. That's it.
Now if you're wondering what makes Apparatus so difficult, it's because the game uses physics and all, so if any of your parts aren't stable and attached to something, they'll fall away into the nothingness pit that makes up the bottom of the screen.
Fortunately there's no penalty for completely botching the job (sometimes it's the only way to learn what's going on), and a simple tap of the pause button will get all of your objects reset on the screen.
For the first couple of levels there are hints that'll show you the ropes on apparatus-building (like how batteries work, how to tell which way your plank of wood will spin, and how to attach pieces of material together), so you're not totally out in the cold, but once you've been taught the basics, it's up to your own ingenuity to get the job done.
Perhaps even more amazing than the levels the game has you work through are the community-designed levels and the sandbox. From within the sandbox, you can build either an apparatus or a building challenge. When you're done designing your masterpiece, you can upload it to the community levels to people can try and beat it or just watch it unfold.
It's absolutely amazing to see someone construct a rudimentary gun using only these simple tools, or an impressive fireworks show with the only trigger being a wheel rolling over them, and more than makes this app worth its price.
Apparatus feel like one of those "must have" games on Android. It's cheap, forces you to be creative, and is filled with levels. Even if you never touch the main game, the sandbox and community sections can easily take hours out of your otherwise productive day, as you build and see what others have built. In a word, it's stellar.
Apparatus is $2.45 in the Android Market. We've got download links after the break.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/kro8_teYzdg/story01.htm
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