Tag Archives: college

Budgeting, College, Philanthropy, Saving

Generosity can go a long way

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“Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege.” John D. Rockefeller

“I believe that it is my duty to make money and use it for the benefit of my neighbors. This is what my conscience tells me.” John D. Rockefeller

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” Charles Dickens

Every now and then I read stories that just lifts my heart. Recently there have been articles of heroes saving lives and people donating to charitable causes close to their heart. It reminded me of a story I heard about many years ago, but is still very inspiring today.

This article was reported on the front page of the New York Times in 1995:

All She Has, $150,000, Is Going to a University

She may be gone, but her act of charity is remembered. This tweet is from 2017. Ms. McCarty passed away in 1999. Therefore, the good you do is still remembered long after you are gone.

Her name was Oseola McCarty. And here is her story.

MEET OSEOLA MCCARTY

Oseola McCarty was born on March 7, 1908 in Mississippi. As a young child, she had to quit school in order to tend to a sick family member. Quitting school in the sixth grade, she went straight to work as a laundress like her grandmother before her. She would go on to do this for about 75 years. Leaving school was one of her biggest regrets. She wanted to go back, but all the kids in her class had moved on ahead and so she didn’t go back because she wanted to be with her class. She decided to just keep working.

HOW SHE SAVED $150,000

She was never idle. She was working since she was a young child until she retired in 1994. She worked for many years and just put almost every dollar she made into the bank. She learned to save from her mother and kept the habit for life.

The following is what she did over 70 years:

  • She took one short vacation to Niagara Falls
  • She did not travel
  • She did not fly on planes
  • She did not stay in hotels
  • She never owned a car (she walked everywhere)
  • All her immediate family passed away and she never married or had children
  • She had lived alone since 1967
  • She lived in a family home her uncle gave her in 1947 for the rest of her life
  • Money she received from the passing of her mother and aunt went into savings
  • She spent almost nothing and lived very frugally
  • Repaired instead of replaced items for brand new ones
  • Covered her old bible in Scotch tape to keep Corinthians from falling out
  • Cut wholes in her shoes if they did not fit
  • Bought her first air-conditioner in 1992 and only uses it when company comes over
  • Owns one tiny black and white television (that only gets one channel) but she rarely watches
  • She did not retire until she was around 85 years old
  • Keeps her utility bills low
  • Never subscribed to a newspaper because it cost too much (an extravagance)
  • She would pay her bills and deposit the rest of her money (even coins) into savings
  • Over time this grew into $280,000

How she donated her life savings

One day she decided she would gift her money to a local university. Not as a bequest, but immediately as she wanted to be alive to see a recipient graduate from college as he one wish. In July 1995, she would go on to start a scholarship fund to help finance college tuition for students, preferably of African-American descent, who would be unable to attend college due to financial hardship. at the University of Mississippi. When asked why she chose that school, she simply said, because it was close.

A banker at one of her financial institutions assisted her. In 1995, he wanted to help an 87-year-old Ms. McCarty, but was unsure how to assist a woman with a fifth-grade education through estate planning. He came up with the novel idea of giving her 10 dimes, each representing 10 percent of her assets. He gave her five slips of paper to write down the names of the beneficiaries and divide up the coins. She deposited one dime to her church, one for each of her cousins and the last six for a scholarship fund, after setting aside enough money to live on.

She signed an irrevocable living trust and the bank managed her funds while she received a regular check for her living expenses.

WHY SHE DONATED

She decided to give because she knew the importance of education. She had struggled all her life doing manual labor (scrubbing laundry by hand on a scrub board). She did not want that for the younger generation coming up so she gifted them money to help them not have to do what she did and get a degree she was never able to get herself.

FOR EVERY ACTION THERE IS A REACTION

The news hit the media and overnight she went from obscurity to a celebrity. She wanted no monuments or other recognition’s of her selflessness, but they came to her.

Once word spread of what she had done, it spread far and fast. Accolades and recognition for her act of charity in anticipation of her death was almost immediate. Goodness and kindness tend to spread. There was a chain reaction to her charitable action that had people wanting to reciprocate what she had done by also donating. This is what happened over four years:

  • She was honored by the United Nations
  • She received more than 300 awards
  • Contributions poured in from other donations adding almost $330,000 to her gift
  • Ted Turner donated a billion dollars to charity after hearing her act of philanthropy
  • She received the Presidential Citizen’s Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian award
  • She received an honorary doctorate from Harvard University
  • She carried the Olympic torch through part of Mississippi in 1996
  • In December 1996, hers was the hand on the switch that dropped the ball in Times Square in New York’s New Year’s Eve celebration (also the first time she stayed up past midnight, rode an airplane, and stayed in a hotel)
  • McCarty received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards
  • She was awarded an honorary degree from USM, the first such degree awarded by the university in 1998
  • McCarty was also recognized with an Essence Award and Patti LaBelle sang tribute to her during the ceremony at Madison Square Garden in New York.
  • She even met President Clinton
  • She became an author; she wrote a book called Simple Wisdom for Rich Living, published in 1996

Ms. McCarty gave out pearls of wisdom, if people wanted to listen, but mostly it was common decency and sense she had said. She also said you should know the difference between a need and a want. Just because something is free does not mean you need it. It is okay to turn down something that is free, if you really do not need it. ”There’s a lot of talk about self-esteem these days,” she once said. ”It seems pretty basic to me. If you want to feel proud of yourself, you’ve got to do things you can be proud of. Feelings follow actions.”

It was reported that her home will be turned into a museum.

When asked what she wanted to do with her money right before she donated it, Ms. McCarty replied: “I want to help some child go to college.”

And just in case you were wondering, the recipient of the very first Oseola McCarty award not only met Ms. McCarty in person to say thank you, but she also went to the University of Mississippi and graduated.  Ms. Oseola McCarty also lived long enough to get her wish: to live to see a recipient graduate.

College

College season: Time for the FAFSA

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The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s that time of year again. The Fall is when high seniors start to apply for college admissions.

If your child is interested in attending college next Fall, then there are a few steps you will need to complete the application process. For most colleges this includes: application and fee, high school transcripts, and SAT scores.

Colleges may also request letters of recommendation and/or an essay as part of the admissions requirements.

To begin the process, you should first start with listing all the schools that your son or daughter is interested in attending.

You will need to apply to several colleges in order to increase your chances of admission.

Generally, there are three types: match, safety, and dream.

According to The Princeton Review, the match school is one where your credentials meet or exceed college admission requirements.

A good number of match or target schools to apply to would be around three. Preferably to colleges that are in-state with affordable tuition.

A safety school is a college that is likely to accept you as your credentials are above the requirements for admission. This just gives you reassurance that you get in somewhere.

If you do not want to be stuck at home, you should apply to at least two safety schools and that includes community colleges that may allow freshman to live on or near campus.

Lastly, there is the DREAM school. Oftentimes, referred to as the reach, because it can be a long shot to get in. If money is no object, then this is when you shoot for the stars.

Usually dream schools are just that because your credentials fall below the admission standards at this college. However, you can still apply and “see what happens” as far as long shots go, that is the point after all.

The goal is to apply for at least three dream schools for a chance to possibly get into one.

Once you have settled on a college you then have to start thinking about how to pay for it.

Unless you live under a rock, you will notice that college prices are now creeping up to mortgage prices.

If you want a chance to lower the cost of college, you may want to consider affordable in-state or community colleges.

If you are determined, to go out-of-state where you will likely pay three times as much for crossing state lines.

In order, to be considered for federal student loans and state aid, you will need to complete the Free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The FAFSA now opens on October 1 starting in 2017 for the 2018-2019 academic school year.

You will want to get this done early if you want to be eligible for all the possible merit scholarships given by the college and federal Pell grants. The U.S. Department of Education offers student loans that you repay over time, as well as grants, such as the Pell Grant, that you don’t need to pay back.

Grants are free money for school that does not have to be repaid. So, get those FAFSA applications in ASAP.  Grant money is on a first-come first-served basis, so the earlier you apply the better.

After completing the FAFSA, you can complete your college applications online for a fee to the colleges of your choice.

You should then contact your high school guidance counselor to request copies of your transcripts to send to your selected colleges.

Finally, you will want to send your SAT or ACT scores directly from the CollegeBoard to be considered for admission.

Do not be overwhelmed. It is a straightforward process. Just follow the steps above and get it done.

Good Luck!

 

Celebrities and Money, Financial Freedom

Money Basics: The Rule of One

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“There is brilliance in simplicity.” – Bruce Lee

Do not listen to those who say live for today or have to treat yourself or have fun. Those are the same people in debt up to their eyeballs.

Avoid debt, especially credit card debt, at all costs. The money paid to these institutions lines their pockets while you go broke.

Case in point, LL Cool J, the famous rapper, entrepreneur, and actor had some telling advice as he was quoted as saying that “I lease a Honda Accord for $399 a month while other rappers are going broke”.

Therefore, buy a smaller house, car, and wardrobe. The money you save can go in the bank. You can earn interest instead of paying it when you don’t spend.

I recently read that Americans are in over a trillion dollars in each category of auto, student loans and credit card debt.  An all-time high! I bet.

Considering that everyone or system of some kind seems to be in cahoots to separate you from your hard earned money; it is no wonder that the savings rate in America is so abysmal.

For example, you need a college degree to get a good job, i.e., one with good benefits like health care and a retirement plan as many low-paying positions offer none.

You now have to sell a kidney to afford the ever increasing cost of college. So what do you do instead? You finance it.

If you are one of the lucky ones, as only 33 percent of adults hold a college degree meaning 67 percent may be struggling to find decent work and wages. In contrast, in 1940, a mere 4.6 percent had a four-year college degree.

Don’t get me wrong. There are many out there without a degree that are doing well but, they in many times are the exception and not the rule.

Then you go out there and get a job now that you have the coveted golden ticket… err uh I mean a college degree. Jobs nowadays pay peanuts so you have to finance a wardrobe, car, home, and furniture.

And dating? Forget about it. That costs money. If you go out for more than coffee, you have to finance it.  That’s right, you charge it on the plastic because that’s the only money you have and thing you own that the finance company won’t repo.

If we could ask how the finance companies feel about customers no longer wanting access to their credit lines, in my opinion, I suspect a humdrum response. A customer wants to return their credit card as they no longer can afford to continue payments.

For example, the exchange may go something like this.

Question: Do we turn the card over to you as we no longer want it?

Answer: You can keep the card, but we want back all the things that clothe, transport, and shelter you.

When you can no longer afford your automobile. Your car can be repossessed by the bank.

When you can no longer afford your mortgage. The bank forecloses on your home.

It may take time for the finance company to pick up its property, but it will happen if you can’t pay.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs says you really need the basics first and foremost which is food, clothing, and shelter. After that, you must make the slow ascension up to the top of the needs hierarchy pyramid; culminating in self-actualization: one’s full potential.

So let’s recap.

You do and have the following: Go to college. Finance it. Get a job. Finance a car to get to work. Get a mortgage to finance a home or rent an apartment to have a roof over your head. Buy a wardrobe because you need professional clothes as the t-shirts and hoodies no longer work. Stagnating wages. Tons of debt. Pay your bills. No money left for saving and investing to get out of the hole. Rinse and repeat.

The only way to get out of the proverbial rat race is to buck the trend.

Start at a community or low cost local college. Live like a broke college student until your debt is repaid. Then put into practice living like a real adult. College is all about theories, but being an adult is about practical application.

This is where the rule of one will serve you well.

One house, one car, one nice piece of jewelry.

The problem is that many people let their lives become too complex. Simplify it.

One bank, one credit card, one motorcycle, etc. etc.

Keeping it simple with this rule can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime. That is money that can be invested or spent doing other things like starting a business or traveling to see family.

I know you may have learned a lot from the post above and it may take some time to sink in.

So let’s keep it simple. Just do one rule at a time.