Ask the Experts

I’m graduating this year, and so is my longtime girlfriend. We have some big plans, but we don’t totally agree on how we want to spend our money. We both have jobs lined up and we both have some help from our parents so, we can afford to make some big purchases–but we can’t afford to get all of what we want, so it’s become kind of an issue.

We both agree that we want to buy a house rather than rent, although we’re not sure yet how we’re going to manage who owns what (we’re not married yet, but that’s coming soon, I think!). We want to live near the shore and I am very convinced that I want a boat–just a little one, obviously, not a yacht or anything. Meanwhile, she wants certain appliances and other really specific stuff for the house, and some of it is really expensive. She thinks I’m being frivolous, and I think she’s being a little intense–we don’t even know yet what sorts of appliances will be installed in the house we buy, and she already wants to replace them! Any advice on figuring out how to divvy up our budget?

It sounds as if you have some big plans for your post-graduate years! It’s good to have financial goals, and it’s hard to give specific advice about your finances without knowing more about your income and your existing savings. With that said, it sounds like your spending plan is very ambitious–something that you seem to recognize as you wrestle with the competing priorities that you and your partner have.

I’m a guy, but I’m not a “guy’s guy.” I’m more interested in novels than in action movies, I like the theater better than I like sports, and I drink more red wine than beer. That’s never really been a problem for me, because I just steer clear of the “bros” and make friends that share my interests. But I’ve started dating a girl pretty seriously, and that means I need to get along with her family–and her family is full of bros!

These are some serious bros, too. They love fantasy football, but don’t play other types of games–they have no interest in board games or card games, and they only play sports video games. One of her cousins told me he’s “not into art”–as if there weren’t a ton of different types of art to try. They love working on cars and driving cars and talking about cars. Short of becoming a huge fan of cars and sports, what can I do to make my relationship with these guys as good as possible?

Not everyone can share the same interests, but it’s important to try to get along with the family members of the ones we love. It’s good that you recognize this and are willing to make an effort. Of course, you like what you like, and it’s no fun to feel attacked for your unique interests.

I have a friend here at school who is scared of technology. I don’t mean that he’s bad with technology or that he won’t touch it–I mean that he’s literally afraid of it. He knows how to use a computer, but he avoids the internet when he can and refuses to join social networking sites or keep track of anything personal with a computer. He says it’s too easy for other people to get information about you online–when we were talking about this the other day, he pointed to a store we were walking by and said that we could easily find out all about the person who owned it with little more than a Google search. He’s also convinced that even the “private” stuffy is easily accessed by hackers–and easily misused by the company you trust with it. He’s convinced that cloud storage is insecure and that anything saved online is at risk. He’s got me feeling all paranoid! What are the real facts here?

Your friend isn’t alone in being wary of the way the web has affected our privacy and our security. When we use the internet, we leave behind evidence in all different forms, from public social network posts to web browsing data we may not even realize is being collected. And 44 percent of Americans consider the ways in which companies like Facebook store and catalog that data to be “an invasion of privacy.”

For relatives like uncles and aunts, my siblings and I usually work together to buy gifts. We like to send something that is easy to send by mail–chocolates, centerpieces, stuff like that. But my aunt’s birthday is coming up, and we’re feeling a little weird this year because we know that she’s in a ton […]

I have a friend with a car here at school. He’s great about driving everyone around from place to place, so he’s our go-to whenever we need to make a run to the grocery store or to a big box store. He’s even cool about being the designated driver sometimes, which is great! There’s only […]

Universities are discovering asbestos was used in older buildings. What is the danger to students and faculty?

Parents and students are becoming increasingly concerned about the prevalence of asbestos in schools, especially those built before 1980. According to reports, around half of all schools in the U.S. were constructed from 1950 to 1969, when asbestos materials were widespread in building processes. They are right to be concerned, as asbestos can cause a whole range of diseases, as we are about to find out.

I get a lot of muscle pain from using computers. How can I avoid this?

Any prolonged computer use will result in discomfort of some kind. Students and office workers alike can be afflicted by what is commonly known as repetitive strain injury. It is caused by being in the same position for a long time and results in the pain you have described. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to alleviate the problem.

Academically, girls outperform boys.  Why isn’t this publicized more?

According to research, girls outperform boys academically from elementary school and achieve better scores on standardized tests. Women have constituted over half of the college student population for the past four decades. However, people still talk of a gender gap. The statistics and scores are clear, but the reasons for the gender gap that still remains are not.

I want to intern this summer. Is an internship abroad a better option?

Studying abroad is becoming more popular among U.S. graduates, with one in ten now taking this option. There is no doubt that going abroad in today’s multinational and multicultural world is a good thing for students. The majority who venture overseas do so for short periods, such as one semester, and most of them go for studies only, not internships.

I know I will have a lot of student debt after college, but is it possible to get a mortgage as well?

It is common knowledge that college will put you into debt. You may be reluctant to get even further into debt after you graduate, however, you may want to buy a home. Fortunately, the federal government can help with a number of programs designed to assist students and those getting onto the property ladder for the first time.