Sunday, June 11, 2006

Chapter 6 Media Article

"Covering the cost of education "
The Abbotsford News, June 1, 2006

This article talks about how education is very important, but paying for it is another matter. The costs for post-secondary are becoming more expensive. For parents who are looking to start early on how to pay for their children's tuition they should think about investing in a RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan). RESP is not tax-detuctable, but the plan can grow based on a tax deffered basis. The RESP can also be transferred to someone else, if the child does not want to go to post-secondary.

In relation to chapter 6

RESP is a way for parents to ensure that their children's future are taken care of. The parents do not have to take money out from their savings when it comes time for little John/Jane to enter the post-secondary life. They can rather take the money out from a RESP that they have set up for them when they were little. This is an article from a Canadian newspaper, therefore this option is not offered to American citizens. Canadians do not have to worry about going into deep debt when their children go to University. People do not want to have pay for education "Stealing Hardvard" style. (That was a joke)

Monday, June 05, 2006

Chapter 7 Media Article

There is a new commercial on television, where a marathon runner has a lot of time to spare in the marathon, so he stops at a local convenience store to pick up a snack. Even though he has extra time, he does not have all the time in the world, so he uses his new Mastercard. This Mastercard no longer means you have to “swipe or give your card to a cashier.” Instead you can just scan your card if you’re in a hurry, rather than dealing with swiping the card and signing a receipt, depending on which location you go to.

In relation to chapter 7

This new money will go under the 6 criteria that we have learned about in this chapter.

  1. Durable – Rather than having bills that wear away, this plastic shinny card will last for at least a decade (from what I’ve seen from my parents).
  2. Portable – This card can be taken anywhere, it does not take up a lot of space, as compared to 30 bills stacked together.
  3. Divisibility – The card holds how much you have in your bank account, so it is easily divisible. If your purchase comes up to $20.49, the transaction will take out exactly $20.49. You will not have to deal with change if you gave the cashier $20.50 and receive $0.01 in return.
  4. Recognizable and readily accepted - The website cites that this card “accepted at over 23 million locations worldwide”. Although I have yet to seen one of these new credit cards to be accepted in the lower mainland.
  5. Not Easily Copied – To ensure safety the card has the “same information as that on the magnetic strip of your card.” So to copy the card would be difficult to do and even nearly impossible to do so. However, the same possibilities of someone finding out your credit card number along with a PIN are still at risk. A purchase of over $25 does require a signature and a PIN is required to access your debit account.
  6. Face value greater than actual value – The value of the card is worth probably a couple of dollars, but the amount that you do keep in your account will probably be at least 10 times as much as the value of the card.