Best Budget Calculators on the Web

Life is full of unanswered questions. Luckily, none of these financial worries should ever be a question again.

Check out the budget calculator round-up on The No-Pants CEO.

SQ4R Study Method - Study Smarter Not Harder

Calling all grad students, college students, fervent learners, or anyone forced to do large amounts of reading! I feel your pain. Your time is valuable so learning how to get the most amount of information from a book in the least amount of time is paramount to your success. Let me help you learn How to Study by teaching you to read your textbooks like blogs posts. It's a lot simpler than you think.

I am currently in a very text heavy semester of grad school. I remember sitting through undergrad courses that would teach you how to be a college student, which were both boring and sort of insulting. However, now that I'm buried under accounting text, I need to rethink how I approach it since I've never had to worry about my reading time before. So I need to work smarter, not harder. To do that, I've started to use the SQ4R method.

What is the SQ4R Method?

Chances are you just used it to start reading this post without even thinking about it. We have trained ourselves without help to read blog posts this way. The idea is to arm yourself with knowledge before you even start reading so you can direct yourself to the biggest points and walk away with know-how in less time.  Here are the components of the method.

S stands for Survey

Review the text for the purpose of what you're reading and to review the main points the author is trying to make. Skim the main topics in the back of a chapter, a synopsis of a book, and don't forget the chapter or paragraph headings. Blog posts are named up front and generally have a starting paragraph that explains what it will discuss along with paragraph headings.

Q stands for Question

By reviewing, you are able to form questions about what you are going to read. We're reviewing the SQ4R method now and you can see that I've spelled out what it means for you. A question you may have while you read is how well does it work and how can I use this for myself? Dollars to donuts I've read a million blog posts about the same topic, so I'm looking for something I don't already know. Now use the same thinking to get through text.

What are the 4 R's?

Read (1) the material actively to search for the answers to your questions.
Write (2) your own summary of these with the answers.
Recite (3) it to yourself like you're explaining it to someone else.
Review (4) the material at least once in the next few days.

How can I use this? 

The answer is obvious if you are in school. However, most of us have to learn new skills for our jobs or take a certain number of hours to keep or obtain our certifications in our fields. After a long day at work, do you really want to spend the rest of your night studying? Neither do I. This method is one way to get you there faster with useful notes that will keep you from re-reading everything you didn't pay attention to the first time around. For more helpful techniques that apply beyond school, I recommend How to Study - a very highly reviewed book that has stood the test of time. Now that I need a better way to think through school, it's come in handy. Pick up a copy for yourself or for the learner in your life.

Buy now in paperback or on Kindle

Economics Buffet: Currency Pegs in 5 Minutes

Currency pegs are one of the basics of understanding how currencies interact with each other. The most notable of these is the gold standard. Everyone pegged the worth of their currency to how much gold they kept in reserve, leaving merchants to do what they did best and facilitated trade with terms everyone could understand and rely on. It created a simple system that helped to increase international trade. 

Definition of 'Currency Peg'

A country or government's exchange-rate policy of pegging the central bank's rate of exchange to another country's currency. Currency has sometimes also been pegged to the price of gold. 

Also known as a "fixed exchange rate" or "pegged exchage rate." 

However, now that we've move away from the gold standard, currency pegs can be more confusing and carry many political and trade ramifications with them. Here is the (very) quick and dirty on what an overvalued or undervalued currency peg may mean and some famous examples. Click on the linked text for source documents. 

Click for source

Undervalued Currency Peg

China pegged their currency against the US dollar in a fixed exchange rate. With currency markedly low, this opened up Chinese exporting to a very large scale and audience, allowing China’s economy to grow at a remarkable pace. This has caused complaints from foreign competitors that they lose business due to the low prices of Chinese goods. However, many other foreign businesses have profited from the low cost of good and through them consumers have gained as well.

A 2011 article in Reuter’s claimed: The department said it concluded China did not meet the U.S. legal definition of a currency manipulator due to the appreciation of its currency -- known as the yuan or renminbi -- since June 2010 and recent Chinese statements that it would continue to promote exchange rate flexibility.

It did not escape these accusations in 1992 or 1994 when the US did give them a currency manipulator label, making them one of the last countries to receive that label more than 18 years ago. As of April 2013, the renminbi hit a record high against the dollar, yet their currency is still significantly undervalued and they are under political pressure to rectify this. With Chinese currency appreciating, the cost of their goods is expected to rise and they may lose an advantage to their exporting sector. With costs of exports rising, it is also affecting importers of good with increased prices. More flexible currency exchange would start to position the renminbi as a true world currency given the growing strength of the Chinese economy which will have a number of unknown affects for global trade and policy.

Overvalued Currency Peg

An overvalued currency is one where the exchange rate is higher than others. A strong currency reduces the appeal of exporting to other countries due to goods being more expensive. However, it lowers the cost of imports allowing people to benefit from a strong currency to gain access to foreign products at attractive prices. Domestic demand for certain goods might be lower due to the consumer cost being higher than comparable imports, again giving the advantage to foreign firms at the expense of domestic companies. There is a conflict at times between people who want a strong currency, yet also want their local businesses to thrive. Many times, these two things cannot coexist. 

An example of a developed country currently suffering ill effects is Australia. Right now the Australian dollar is seen to be one of the most overvalued in the world. When hard economic times hit, it is harder to recover with such a strong dollar. Australia is starting to take action to depreciate their dollar to come more in line with international standards (Greber, 2013). By doing so, they will be able to increase internal growth and hopefully bolster their slowly struggling economy.

Wednesday Links 6-12-13

Planned transitions are lovely. Too often it seems like everything is a fire drill. But when you know change is coming, you can prepare. This is my last week (of freedom!) before I start grad school. On one hand, it's lovely knowing that I'm taking an entire week to get things ready for the grind. On the other hand, now I've got an entire week of doing things I've been putting off since I've moved into this apartment. So let's get motivated.


How can you not have this video when talking about motivation? You can't.

• Plan for your business like a pro with, surprise, Business Plan Pro Software that can guide you through it all with interactive charts and examples. 
• A whole pageful of articles geared towards preparing you for college and grad school. 
• An interesting article on how to deal with upcoming change, not by focusing on the change itself but by focusing inward on what should NOT change. 

Tuesday Trivia

And it's already time for another Tuesday Trivia. I can't believe it's not just May, but nearly the end of it already! I'm wrapping up the final details on my registration for grad school! In honor of me getting a higher education, let's go academic on this session. 

Questions:

1. The first MBA program was said to have started in 1881 at what school? Extra tip, this school was the country's (and supposedly world's) first business school.

2. What was the average total tuition for a top-20 business school in the 2011-2012 academic year?

3. How much student loan debt did the average grad student have in 2012?

How good of a student were you? 

Answers: 

1. The Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

2. $102,355

3. $43,524

So now that I've depressed the hell out of myself with those numbers, I'll go look at my savings account for a while. 


Sources: MBA.com, Forbes, Wall Street Journal