Yikes! College costs top $50,000 a year

Parents have always complained about the exorbitant cost of higher education. Even back in 1974, when I entered a modest private university in New Jersey, my father went into sticker shock at the thought of paying a whopping $66 per credit. For all his grumbling, however, my dad had been able to salt away enough money from his blue-collar job to pay the entire cost of my bachelor’s degree.

Now comes a story from CampusGrotto, a national college news site, telling us that the cost of one year of college at some schools now exceeds $50,000. In fact, the award to the highest-priced school goes to a classy neighbor of ours …

How to choose your 2009 employee benefits: Part 3

What are the signs of autumn? Falling leaves, frosty mornings, and Open Enrollment. In this multi-part series, we'll help you sift through the choices among your employee benefits.

Part 3: Retirement-plan contributions

In 2009 you can contribute as much as $16,500 to your 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plans, the IRS announced recently. That's an increase of $1,000 from 2008. If you're 50 or over, you can add $5,500 more, an increase of $500 over last year.

In this economic environment, it may be hard to consider maxing out on your retirement-plan contributions at work. But if you can at least try to put aside enough each pay period to qualify for your employer's match, you'll be doing yourself a favor twice over.

How to land a holiday job

Looking to make a few extra bucks to pay for those holiday gifts? Job-search experts predict that the lousy economy will mean fewer temporary positions this season, particularly in retail sales. But that doesn't mean you should give up without a fight.

"We're looking at a pretty bad year in terms of hiring," says James Pedderson, a public relations spokesman for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Chicago-based consultants that help displaced workers find new jobs. "Companies don't have much confidence in sales and don't want to risk cutting into their slim profit margins with extra employees." Challenger estimates that holiday hiring will be fall well short of the 727,500 seasonal jobs averaged over the past decade.

In fact, one estimate suggests companies will be hiring 33 percent fewer hourly workers this season compared to last, according to a survey by SnagAJob, the largest hourly job Web site.

Even so, businesses can't survive without help, and many will be hiring staff to make sure they are providing adequate levels of customer service. So where should you look?

Your best bet for finding retail work is at big-box discounters, one of the shopping industry's few bright sports. According to SnagAJob's senior vice president of marketing, Cathy McCarthy, Wal-Mart, Target, and Kohl's are already hiring on its site, while Toys ‘R' Us plans on filling 35,000 seasonal positions. That's about the same number as they hired last year.  Right now, Toys ‘R' Us is hiring on SnagAJob.com for cashiers, toy assemblers and stocking and receiving positions.

Other job opportunities include companies like UPS and FedEx, which ramp up with additional employees to help with their holiday loads.

Wherever you seek employment, expect stiffer competition and be sure to cast a wide net. Here's what to do and what to expect:

How to choose your 2009 employee benefits: Part 2

What are the signs of autumn? Falling leaves, frosty mornings, and Open Enrollment. In this multi-part series, we'll help you sift through the choices among your employee benefits.

Part 2: Dependent-care flexible spending plans

Parents of young children—and children of aging parents—can both take advantage of dependent-care flexible spending plans offered by their employers. This benefit has great money-saving advantages, but be aware of its limitations.

With a dependent-care flexible spending plan, your employer gives you the option each year of setting aside up to $5,000, pre-tax, toward the care of a dependent. Folks in the top, 28-percent bracket would save $1,400 in federal taxes if they set aside the maximum amount.

To qualify, children under care must be younger than 13. The program can be day care, after-school care, even summer camp—as long as you need the care in order to work. To qualify for the tax deduction, you'll need to get a federal tax I.D. or Social Security number from the child-care provider, so folks paid under the table don't count.

At tax time, you'll have to fill out IRS Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Credit, and include information on how much was spent from your dependent-care flexible spending account. By filling out this form, you may be eligible for an additional child-care tax credit. Here are some other ideas on saving money while raising a baby.  

The same general flexible-spending rules apply for adult dependents requiring adult day care. Here's an example from Aetna of what's eligible  under a dependent-care flexible spending plan. Check with your benefits department for specifics about your employer's plan.—Tobie Stanger

The contempt citation they do want you to know about

A federal court has upheld its previous civil contempt ruling against author Kevin Trudeau, banning him from producing or broadcasting self-promoting infomercials for three years and ordering him to pay the nearly $5.2 million estimated royalties from his book, "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About."

The Aug. 7, 2008 order, from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, rejected an effort by Trudeau to have the court reverse its 2007 contempt ruling. In that decision, based on a complaint by the Federal Trade Commission, the court found that Trudeau violated a 2004 order requiring him to stop misrepresentations in infomercials for the book.

The judge said Trudeau had made clear misrepresentations about how easy and simple the book’s diet protocol is. For example, his infomercial claims that dieters who complete “Phase 4” of the four-phase protocol can eat anything they want, but the book says that they must eat “only 100% organic food” and avoid brand name food, fast food, or food served by regional or national restaurants.

The court also said that Trudeau claimed that the diet protocol requires “no exercise,” when in fact three of the four phases require one hour of daily walking outside. And in yet another example, the court said Trudeau’s assertion that the diet protocol can “easily” be done at home conflicts with the book, which calls for colonics and injections of the human growth hormone HCG.

In his decision, Judge Robert W. Gettleman wrote that Trudeau “has a long history of consumer deception as well as findings of contempt by this court.”

The order bans Trudeau from “participating in the production or publication of any infomercial for any product, including books, in which Mr. Trudeau or any related entity has an interest” for three years. Trudeau also was ordered to pay almost $5.2 million, which the court called a conservative estimated of the royalties from the weight loss book.

Trudeau has used infomercials to market numerous other books, including “Natural Cures ‘They’ Don't Want You to Know About” and “Debt Cures 'They' Don't Want You To Know About.” —Anthony Giorgianni

How to choose your 2009 employee benefits: Part 1

What are the signs of autumn? Falling leaves, frosty mornings, and Open Enrollment. Millions of workers face the seasonal conundrum of choosing the right employer-provided health insurance package, flexible spending options, life insurance, and other benefits for the following year. In this multi-part series, we'll help you sift through the choices.

Part 1: Health-care benefits

Troubling news: Employees' out-of-pocket share of health-care costs is likely to rise to $3,826, up 8 percent from 2008, according to Hewitt Associates, an employee benefits consulting company. Employers are requiring employees to take on higher deductibles and co-pays, and sometimes to pay more for spouses and children.

Comforting news: This is one time in the year when employees who have a choice of health plans through their employers may be able to switch insurers without regard to pre-existing conditions.

What today’s Fed rate cut means to you (hint: not much)

As expected, the Federal Reserve cut the rate at which it lends money to major banks another half a percent today. That rate is now 1.00 percent, a level not seen since 2003. Although Web ads will doubtless suggest this is fantastic news for borrowers, in reality it isn’t going to offer much relief.

Even in ordinary times, the link between the Fed funds rate and consumer lending isn’t especially strong. And needless to say these are not ordinary times. Credit standards have tightened as banks try to shore up their balance sheets with every dollar they can find.

For example, fixed mortgage rates, despite the numerous Fed rate cuts this year, have actually increased from one year ago, according to HSH Associates. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.71 percent, compared to 6.55 percent last year.

Nor are many credit card borrowers likely to see a difference in the interest they pay. Here’s why: Most variable-rate cards are tied to the prime rate, which reliably moves in lockstep with the Fed funds rate. Borrowers usually pay an interest rate equal to prime plus a certain number of percentage points. For example: a 4.50 percent prime rate plus 7.99 percentage points set by the card issuer translates into an annual rate of 12.49 percent. However, many card issuers have instituted “rate floors,” meaning a borrower’s APR won’t fall below a certain level. With a prime rate of 4 percent, many of the rate floor clauses in card agreements will be triggered, leaving cardholders no better off than they were before.—Chris Horymski 

Webcast to focus on aging issues

If you’re caring for an elderly parent, you might want to tune into "Aging in America: How to Plan for it," a free public Webcast hosted by the National Elder Law Association (NAELA) and AARP on Oct 30.

The Webcast runs from 1 to 2 PM (EDT) and registration is required. Attendees will be able to ask a panel of experts from the two organizations about specific elder care issues. The program will cover these questions, among others: 

• How can I bring up the subject of aging with my parents, especially when it comes to their finances? 
• What types of housing options are available today and how do I know if my parent is at the right level of care? 
• What key documents should I have in place for healthcare decision-making? 
• What is long-term care insurance? Should I apply for it? 

To register for the event or to view an archived version of the Webcast that will be available after the "live" showing, go to NAELA’s Web site. —Chris Fichera

Hold on to that clunker!

Let’s be honest. We’d all rather cruise around town in a brand new car instead of a 10-year-old clunker. But with money and credit as tight as they are, there’s plenty of incentive to keep our old wheels running a little longer.

The auto experts here at Consumer Reports say that any car can reach 200,000 miles if you’re willing to keep replacing parts. But it helps if you start out with a vehicle that has a good reliability record. One way to do so is to use the Consumer Reports reliability ratings, although you have to be an online subscriber to see the detailed report on individual cars.

Even if you're not a subscriber, though, there are a number of things you can do to make your car or truck last longer ...

Report from the fund front: Time to buy again?

The U.S. will emerge from the current economic muddle stronger, an expert on international markets told 4,000 shareholders in the no-load Baron Funds on Oct. 24. “The biggest risk,” he added, “is not to take advantage of this opportunity.”

The speaker, Henry Fernandez, is chairman and CEO of MSCI Inc., which tracks international market indexes. He’s also a former managing director of Morgan Stanley and onetime economist for the Nicaraguan government.

The market will probably go down further, “but don’t sell,” Fernandez advised. “Buy. In my 40 years of tracking the market, I have found that periods like this are when the biggest opportunities exist.”

Linda Martinson, president and COO of the Baron Capital Group, granted that there has been some panicky selling among her company's shareholders but added, “If you’re waiting for the bottom to buy back in, you may miss it.” (Markets tend to bop up quickly after reverses.) In previous bear markets, she noted, there has been a 20 percent advance three months after the lows. —Warren Boroson

Guest contributor Warren Boroson is the author of more than 20 books, including “How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett” (J.K. Lasser).