Paying for college with fertility clinics, sugar daddies

Everyone is recognizing the high costs of college tuition today, and many are turning to creative ways to pay off their debt. Check out this article from CNNMoney

By Blake Ellis | CNNMoney.com – Tue, Sep 18, 2012 5:11 AM EDT

What do sugar daddies, medical studies and pawnshops have in common? They help some students afford a college education.

With the average family reporting that they are only on track to meet 30% of their college savings goals, every extra dollar counts -- and nothing is off limits.

John McKinley-Campbell had no job, $135,000 in student loan debt and he wanted to go back to school to get his Ph.D. at Florida International University. In order to afford to make it all happen he became a lab rat.

He has been participating in medical studies for pharmaceutical companies ever since his aunt saw an advertisement for one on TV. He lived in a medical facility for 14 days to test an arthritis medication and then signed up to receive injections of a breast cancer drug through an IV over the course of 8 days.

Those two studies alone will earn him about $8,500, which he plans to put toward an $1,800 GRE preparation course, the GRE test fee of $175 and the university's $100 application fee. The rest will go toward housing and tuition if he gets accepted. "If I can't find work [while in school], there's always a headache medicine I could test," he said.

Norah, who asked that her last name not be included for privacy reasons, has taken a slightly different route. She decided to become an egg donor at Shady Grove Fertility Center in Maryland this year, one of the largest fertility centers in the country.

The 24-year-old grad student earned $6,500 for her first egg donation, which almost covers her entire first year of school. A couple more egg donations will leave her with enough money to pay the full cost of the program -- around $15,000.

"When I worked a second job [between college and graduate school], it took me almost a year working in retail to make this same amount I've already made from one egg donation," she said.

Along those lines, a sperm donor at California Cryobank, who requested to remain anonymous, said he has earned $2,600 from making sperm donations for the past year, helping him cover his college living expenses and lab fees.

California Cryobank, which has several locations around the country, said nearly half of its qualified donors are college students, and sperm donors can make up to $1,200 per month -- or $14,400 a year -- if they donate three times a week.

Other cash-strapped college students are using their looks and sex appeal to find "sugar daddies" who are willing to foot their tuition bills.

One 21-year-old student said she receives a monthly allowance from a 37-year-old "sugar daddy" she met through online dating site SeekingArrangement.com, which helps rich men find young women who are looking to be supported financially. In exchange for her company, she says her sugar daddy has been making her full tuition payments of $1,500 each month.

According to SeekingArrangement, that allowance is low compared to what most college students on the site receive. About 41%, or 350,000, of the sugar babies on SeekingArrangement.com are college students, and two-thirds of them say they are using their sugar daddy as a primary or secondary means of paying for college -- receiving an average of $4,200 a month for college expenses, according to the company.

Parents are also finding creative ways to cover their kids' college costs.

After coming up $4,000 short for his son's tuition, Dave McDougall, pawned 15 pens from his $40,000 collection of luxury and vintage pens as collateral for a $4,100 pawnshop loan. The loan came with a steep 6% monthly interest rate -- amounting to a 72% annualized rate (personal loans often come with annualized interest rates in the low teens). He plans on paying it off in September when he gets his bonus check from work.

Another parent, Carol Carlisle, hosts international students who come to the United States to learn English as a Second Language at a program called Intrax in San Francisco, which pays host families about $32 a night. She's using that money to pay back the home equity loan she and her husband took out to pay for their daughter's college tuition.

Carlisle began hosting students in June and has already made about $2,700 -- $1,800 of which she put toward the loan. She expects to be able to completely pay off the loan after hosting students for a few years.

"When our daughter graduated high school in 2005, we thought we would use our home equity to pay for college and would pay it back, but then 2008 came around and my husband is a builder and everything collapsed for him," said Carlisle. "Besides being a joy [to host ESL students], we get this check every month, and we can finally make payments on that home equity."

And if you thought it couldn't get any more unconventional, Wayne Perry has started saving early for his son's education by making money off of a YouTube video that unexpectedly went viral, featuring his newborn son holding the forceps used to cut his own umbilical cord. With more than one million views, Perry said he is raking in around $1,000 a month from Google AdSense, which places ads on YouTube videos and other online content and pays the publisher based on how often the ads are clicked on or viewed.

He says he's putting that money -- $8,000 so far -- into a college fund for his son, who is now two years old. If the payments continue, he thinks he could easily have more than $100,000 saved by the time his son is 18.

"We're middle class, where we make too much to get a lot of [college] grants and low-cost loans but don't make enough to foot the bill for a really great school -- and imagine when he's 18 what the cost of tuition will be," said Perry. "I could never have saved that kind of money for him without this -- never."

View this article on CNNMoney

The 11 Worst-Performing Cities in America

When you graduate, you will (hopefully) have the option to move to a new city and take on an exciting job. Just make sure to consider the local economies in the areas you might move to... and avoid these cities at all costs.

While the U.S. recovery creeps forward, some cities are getting left behind.

We identified the weakest economic recoveries based on the latest MetroMonitor from the Brookings Institute, which looks at employment, unemployment, production, and home prices. They're located in places like upstate New York, where the initial housing crash was less dramatic, but the slowdown more prolonged.

Flickr/Shannon Frost#1 Little Rock, Arkansas

-- Unemployment rate down 0.7 percentage points since 2011Q3
-- Employment up 0.7% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 2.9% since 2010Q1
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Flickr Creative Commons/Nicholas_T#2 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

-- Unemployment rate down 0.9 percentage points since 2010Q1
-- Employment down 1.2% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 1.5% since 2009Q3
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Wikipedia#3 Virginia Beach, Virginia

-- Unemployment down 1.1 percentage points since 2010Q1
-- Employment up 1.5% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 1.0% since 2012Q1
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Wikimedia Commons#4 Albany, New York

-- Unemployment hit a new high in 2012Q2
-- Employment up 1.7% since 2011Q1
-- Gross metro product up 5.0% since 2009Q3
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Flickr/dougtone#5 Buffalo, New York
-- Unemployment hit a new high in 2012Q2
-- Employment up 1.8% since 2009Q4
-- Gross metro product up 5.1% since 2009Q2
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q




Flickr/MikeSheridan89#6 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

-- Unemployment rate down 0.7 percentage points since 2010Q1
-- Employment up 1.4% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 3.4% since 2009Q3
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Flickr/shchukin#7 Honolulu, Hawaii

-- Unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points since 2009Q4
-- Employment up 2.5% since 2009Q4
-- Gross metro product up 3.6% since 2009Q3
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




#8 Jackson, Mississippi

-- Unemployment rate is down 1.3 percentage points since 2010Q1
-- Employment up 1.8% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 1.0% since 2009Q3
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




AP#9 Syracuse, New York

-- Unemployment hit a new high in 2012Q2
-- Employment up 1.8% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 6.5% since 2009Q2
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




#10 Poughkeepsie, New York

-- Unemployment hit a new high in 2012Q2
-- Employment up 2.2% since 2009Q3
-- Gross metro product up 6.1% since 2009Q2
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Wikimedia Commons#11 Albuquerque, New Mexico

-- Unemployment down 1.4 percentage points since 2010Q3
-- Employment at a new low in 2012Q2
-- Gross metro product up 5.0% since 2008Q2
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1





Data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor. Gross Metro Product and Home Prices are tracked from Trough to 2012Q2. Unemployment and Employment are tracked from Trough to 2012Q1.

Original post: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-11-worst-performing-cities-in-america.html

The Richest and Poorest U.S. Cities by Income

GettySan Jose, Calif., has the highest median household income among the country’s 25 most populous cities, with the city’s level approaching $77,000 last year, about 50% higher than the national median of $51,000, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The city boasts that it’s “home to the largest concentration of technology expertise in the world — more than 6,600 technology companies employing more than 254,000 people.” Taking a broader view, California is home to several top cities for household income. However, the state is one of only five where inequality is higher than the U.S. level. Median household income in California is higher than for the U.S. as a whole, but the state’s poverty rate is also above the national average.

Well educated in San Francisco

ThinkstockFollowing close on San Jose’s heels is San Francisco, where median household income hit almost $70,000 last year. The city is filled with computer and technical workers, many making north of $90,000 a year. People are highly educated, with 52% of those at least 25-years old having at least a college degree, compared with 29% across the U.S. Even San Francisco’s youngest residents are into education: about 70% of the preschool-age tots are enrolled in school, compared with 47% across the U.S. Also of note: more than one-third San Francisco’s population is foreign-born, compared with 13% of the U.S.

Wealth in Washington

GettyHouseholds in Washington, D.C. are No. 3 when it comes to income, with a median of about $63,000. Folks there are well educated, and home values are high. It’s a company town — about 29% of workers are federal, state or local government employees. About 11% of Washington households have income of at least $200,000, compared with 4% in the United States.

Slew of riches in Seattle

APIn Seattle the median household income was $61,000 last year. The largest industry is educational services, and health care and social assistance, followed by professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services. Turns out coffee is a pretty big deal there, too: Starbucks (SBUX) is headquartered in Seattle.

Money and meerkats in San Diego

GettySan Diego had a median household income of $61,000 last year, ranking it No. 5 among the country’s largest cities. About 44% of workers are in management, business, science, and arts occupations. And, of course, there’s the city’s famous zoo, home to meerkats, wombats and other creatures. But San Diego isn’t resting on its cute laurels. According to the city’s website, the regional economy “continues to undergo a dynamic transformation from one based on military and defense spending to an economy that is propelled by high-technology companies competing in the international marketplace.”

A long way to go in Detroit

GettyDetroit has the lowest median household income among the country’s most populous cities, ranking it No. 25. Last year household income was about $25,000, half of the national level. While the auto industry has improved, Detroit remains deeply troubled. The median value for an owner-occupied home in this city is about $50,000, less than one-third of the U.S. level. Meanwhile, only about 13% of people at least 25 years old have at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 29% for the country. Detroit says it wants to reclaim its “future as a world-class city,” by diversifying into areas such as life sciences and advanced manufacturing.

Low home prices in Philadelphia

GettyAt $34,000, the median household income in Philadelphia is a jump up from Detroit, but still ranks the City of Brotherly Love at No. 24. The median value for an owner-occupied home was $142,000, compared with a U.S. level of $174,000. The educational services, and health care and social assistance industry accounts for about three-tenths of the working population, with major employers such as the University of Pennsylvania and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) .

Memphis is singing the blues

ThinkstockMemphis ranks No. 23, with a median household income of about $35,000 in 2011. The largest chunk of the employed population — about one-fifth — is in the educational services, and health care and social assistance industry. There are major employers such as FedEx (FDX) — which recently issued a profit warning — International Paper (IP)  and AutoZone (AZO) . Tourists can enjoy a visit to Graceland.

Poverty in Baltimore

APHouseholds in Baltimore have a relatively low median income of about $39,000, ranking the city No. 22. The setting for the gritty, fictional television series “The Wire,” Baltimore has a median value for an owner-occupied home of $154,000, compared with $174,000 for the U.S. About one-quarter of the city’s population is in poverty. Educational services, and health care and social assistance is by far the largest industry, with major employers such as Johns Hopkins University.

Indianapolis chugging along

ThinkstockThe median household income in Indianapolis is about $39,000, ranking it No. 21. The largest industry is educational services, and health care and social assistance, followed by retail trade. About one-in-four people who are at least 25 have at least a bachelor’s degree. The city, known for its auto racing, has attracted substantial foreign investment from firms such Rolls-Royce (RR.L) .

Original Post: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/richest-poorest-u-cities-income-170207273.html

Smart Spending: The Secrets of the Value Menu

Smart Spending: How fast-food chains use the value menu to get you to spend more

By Candice Choi, AP Food Industry Writer | Associated Press – Fri, Sep 14, 2012 1:27 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- That cheeseburger on the value menu may end up costing more than you think.

Whether it's the "Dollar Menu" at McDonald's or the "Why Pay More Menu" at Taco Bell, fast-food chains often spotlight their cheapest offerings to attract customers.

The items usually cost a buck or so and are no doubt a deal if you're looking for a quick treat. But there's a reason why companies dangle the offers; customers often end up spending more on other items once they're in the restaurants. Think $3 coffee frappes and fruit smoothies.

"Every restaurant has an opportunity to get customers to trade up to more expensive, higher-priced options including main entrees, sides, beverages and desserts," said Darren Tristano, an analyst at research firm Technomic.

Additionally, value menus aren't as filling as they were a few years ago because restaurants swap out items that become too expensive to offer at such low prices. Earlier this year, for instance, small fries and small soft drinks disappeared off McDonald's Dollar Menu.

That doesn't mean that you should stay away from value menus. After all, you get deals on certain items because restaurants make money on others.

But as a consumer, it's worth knowing how fast-food chains rely on value offerings — and the role they play in how much you ultimately spend.

FILLING UP THE TRAY

For restaurants, the profit margins for value menu items are often razor-thin. But they make money off them by selling the items in huge volumes.

Taco Bell, for example, is known for its affordable prices even in the fast-food industry; its "Why Pay More" menu offers 89-cent nachos and 99-cent tacos.

But chances are that you'll get more than one taco. Not including a drink, customers order an average of three items, says Brian Niccol, the chain's chief marketing officer.

Better yet, customers may opt for (relatively) pricier items, such as a grilled stuffed burrito, which is around $3. Or they might "trade up" to the new taco that comes in a Doritos flavored shell, which costs 30 cents more than a regular taco. The idea is that people will fill up their trays, hopefully with more profitable foods.

The same philosophy applies to other fast-food chains, including Subway. The ubiquitous sandwich shop doesn't have a value menu per se, but its $5 foot-long deal has become a staple of its marketing. Without giving details, Subway Chief Marketing Officer Tony Pace said the offer has been a "game changer" in terms of bringing in customers since it was introduced in 2008.

And as customers wait for their sandwiches, they may be tempted by the variety of chips (about $1 a bag) that line the counter or the cookies (three for $1.39) by the register.

WOULD YOU LIKE A DRINK WITH THAT?

Whether you choose to order a drink with your meal makes a big difference to fast-food chains. That's because fountain drinks have high profit margins.

"The more often you can sell a drink, the better you feel about providing discounts on other items," said Niccol of Taco Bell.

In the past year, however, customers have kept spending in check by ordering only food or requesting only tap water, according to a study by The NPD Group. As sales of sodas and diet sodas have slipped, restaurants have responded by aggressively marketing other drinks, such as specialty coffees and smoothies.

It's been a big part of McDonald's success in recent years; the chain introduced premium coffee drinks in 2009 and fruit smoothies the following year. It's no surprise that Burger King followed suit with its own coffee frappes and smoothies as part of its revamp earlier this year. Wendy's is also testing specialty coffees in select markets.

At Taco Bell, customers can get a Fruitista Freeze, a frozen drink topped with fruit pieces, or Limeade Sparklers, which is lemon-lime soda and lime juice.

"There's definitely a consumer trend of splurging on drinks," says Niccol of Taco Bell.

In fact, "beverage only" trips to fast-food restaurants are increasing, according to The NPD Group. These trips are often for shakes, smoothies, slushy drinks and coffee.

SKIMPIER MENUS

Value menus aren't as meaty as they once were, either.

When McDonald's first introduced its Dollar Menu a decade ago, for example, the flagship offering was the Big 'N Tasty, made with a quarter-pound beef patty. But as McDonald's and other fast-food chains pay more for beef, cheese and other ingredients, what customers can buy for just a buck isn't quite as filling.

The Big 'N Tasty lasted on the Dollar Menu for about a year. McDonald's then added the Double Cheeseburger, which has smaller patties, to the lineup instead.

About three years ago, McDonald's took the Double Cheeseburger off the Dollar Menu and replaced it with the McDouble, which has one slice of cheese, instead of two.

As ingredient prices have risen, McDonald's in March introduced its "Extra Value Menu," where items cost closer to $2. That's where the two-cheese-slice Double Cheeseburger is now found.

"What it boiled down to was our ability to offer our customers options that make sense for them, but also make sense for us," says Danya Proud, a spokeswoman for McDonald's.

The changes may be why the Dollar Menu now makes up about 10 percent of McDonald's business, down from about 13 percent in earlier years.

Original Post: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/smart-spending-secrets-value-menu-180303014.html

11 Ways to Save Big on College Textbooks

Most college students will be returning to campus later this month, and they’ll spend an estimated average of $655 on textbooks for the school year.

That sounds low to me – more like what I’d spend in a semester as an English major a few years ago.

The National Association of College Stores says today’s prices are less than two years ago ($667) or four years ago ($702), but it’s still a lot. And $47 in savings isn’t all that comforting when you consider the average total cost of college has jumped 28.6 percent – almost $4,000 – over those same four years, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Anything you can do to offset costs counts. So here are some strategies to save on your textbooks. Also, check out how to make the most from selling your books.

Now let’s add more details and tips…

1. Contact your professors now

Class may not start for weeks, but chances are your textbooks are already decided – professors have to give college stores advance notice so they can order copies. So email your profs and ask for the syllabus or required textbook list so you can snag the cheapest copies before your classmates get the chance.

If you know students who have had that professor before, talk to them. They might still have a copy for cheap. And the professor might say you need a certain book, but your friend who had him might tell you they only used it in class once, and there was nothing from it on the tests. But either way, before you buy…

2. Visit the campus library

Why pay anything when you can borrow it free? If you’re quick enough, you may be able to get one of the library’s precious few copies. If it’s checked out, see if you can reserve a copy that’s due back soon.

And don’t forget digital libraries. As Stacy mentioned in the video, many out-of-copyright works are available on sites such as Project Gutenberg and Bartleby.

3. Buy used

Used books have to be in decent condition for stores to resell them, so that’s not a concern. The savings can be significant, especially on an older edition. On several occasions in college, I bought used books online for less than $10 (including shipping) when the new price was $60 or more. None had significant defects (sometimes a little highlighting or writing) or were missing anything essential for the class.

4. Check rentals

Companies like Chegg, BookRenter and CampusBookRentals helped create an active market for textbook rental. Now many college bookstores offer the option, which can save a third or more over buying. (If you rent from an online store, shipping is usually covered.)

Just be aware that if the book is relevant to your major and you might reuse it, the savings might be greater by buying. It can be hard to tell whether you’ll need a book again, but if it’s by an author important to the field, the odds increase you’ll want to own. I had books overlap in different English classes, and I also reused a few books from undergrad in my graduate courses.

5. Look for digital

As the number of tablets and e-readers grows, so does the selection of digital textbooks. And you can also rent digitally. Last year, The Chronicle of Higher Education found an accounting textbook that “retails at $197 in print and $109 as an e-book, [but] would cost $57 to rent from Amazon for three months,” with the option to extend the rental or purchase it later. Amazon suggests you can save up to 80 percent with its Kindle rentals, and you don’t even need to buy a Kindle – there are compatible reading apps for computers and smartphones.

6. Compare prices

Prices can vary widely among both new and used copies, and online isn’t always cheaper. You can easily save 20 percent even on new books by comparison shopping.

At a minimum, I would suggest checking at Half.com and Amazon.com in addition to your school bookstore and any nearby off-campus competitors.

BookFinder.com, DirectTextbook.com, and TextbookPriceComparison.com can help you compare.

7. Make sure you get everything

Sometimes books are packaged with software, codes for required online access, digital content, study guides, or workbooks. If the course requires any of that stuff, make sure your copy includes it – or that you can still save by buying it separately.

8. Know the rules

Understand the refund policy when you buy, so you don’t get burned if you end up not needing a book or drop a class. Being in a hurry to open it can hurt you – unwrapped or marked books might not get you a full refund.

9. Keep receipts

Not only will you need these for returns, but you might want them for tax deductions.

10. Pay smart

Your school may offer textbook advance loans to ease you into the semester before financial aid comes in. You might also be tempted to charge books to your credit card. Both those options risk extra fees and possibly interest, so read up before you swipe or sign.

On the other hand, credit cards are smart to use for online purchases, in case there are any disputes. Just pay off the balance as quickly as possible.

11. Sell back

Digital books and rentals may save you money up front, but until they dominate the market, most textbooks will still have good resale value. For now, you ultimately keep more money in your pocket by buying used and reselling before a new edition is released. (When a new edition comes out, the value plummets – which is why you can buy old editions for so little.) But notice we say “sell,” and not “trade in.” Selling to your college store after finals is fast, but it’s not the way to get the most money back.

If you have the financial flexibility, reselling is the way to save the most. In May, we did an in-depth post on how to turn your textbooks into cash. Here’s a sample of Money Talks News writer Ricky Michalski’s analysis…

I found Chegg sells [my chemistry book] for:

• $165.49 new
• $155.49 used
• $117.99 as an e-book
• $50.99 for a rental copy

But I bought the same book used on Amazon for $75 – and when I was ready to sell it, one bookstore near my campus offered me $72 for my copy. Final price: $3 for a textbook!

Bottom line? There are tons of ways to save on textbooks, some mutually exclusive. But a little legwork can mean really big savings.

Original Post: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/11-ways-save-big-college-153713865.html;_ylt=Al9VeeZER3ffUbAOkle6_YzA34dG;_ylu=X3oDMTRob3RuZjBrBG1pdANQZXJzb25hbCBGaW5hbmNlIEVkdWNhdGlvbiBDb3N0cwRwa2cDODBiZWFkMmUtZTU2NS0zNmYxLWIxMTktMzQ2YjgyZWJjMDdhBHBvcwMzBHNlYwNNZWRpYVNlY3Rpb25MaXN0BHZlcgM5NmFiZGNjNy1lMTdlLTExZTEtOWZkZC00MjVkNzg4MWNkNjY-;_ylg=X3oDMTJlMGdwa2VtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANwZXJzb25hbGZpbmFuY2V8Y2FyZWVyLWVkdWNhdGlvbgRwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;_ylv=3