Pete the Planner turns 10 today
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Category Archives: Pete & the Media
The Pete the Planner Scholarship winner to be announced this month
The annual Pete the Planner Scholarship winner will be announced sometime in the next couple of weeks. The scholarship goes to a Pike High School senior who will be the first person in his/her family to go to college. It’s a $1000 scholarship this year, which means the student will have to take out $1000 less in student loans.
The winner has been selected. Here is one of the questions, with his/her answer, from the application. I think we picked a good one. As you might know, I cry pretty easily. It’s a Dunn family trait. I think his/her answer will leave you in tears too.
Question 10: How will being the first person in your family to go to college make you feel?
Being the first in my family to go to college will make me feel successful, but it will also be kind of bittersweet. My mother would have been more than capable of succeeding in a 4-year university if she would have had the opportunity to do so. We were visiting Ball State one day and you could see the nostalgia in her face when she thought no one was looking, but she made sure to express to me how proud she was that I was almost there. She was happy for me because I knew what I wanted to do and I was capable of grasping it. I would love more than anything to help her go to college once I graduate. In the end, being the first to go to college in my family is exciting. I have all of the love and emotional support in the world because my family is excited to see me succeed. Going to college will be a positive experience not only for me, but for my entire family to know that they all helped raise me successfully.
Pete the Planner loses it on live television
The meltdown begins at the 2:17 mark in the video. Enjoy
Man vs Money
My friend DJ Metrognome mixed up the track. Enjoy.
The 5 biggest myths about budgeting (video)
Pete the Planner named 4th most influential personal finance expert in the nation
Cision broadcast services released their rankings of the nation’s most influential personal finance experts, and Pete the Planner was ranked fourth. The top four influencers were Jim Cramer, Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, and Pete the Planner. Checkout the rankings. As always, thank you for your support and interest. You made this possible.
Keep the questions coming. I can help. Email me at pete at petetheplanner dot com or find me on Twitter.
Credit card company offers fetal credit card
Tampa Bay- For years, credit card companies have been finding new ways to expand their customer base. But their new idea, may take the cake. Fetal credit. St. Petersburg State Bank and Trust, based in St. Petersburg, Florida, is now testing Fetal Credit Cards. The idea is an old one, but the execution certainly is new.
Parents, upon learning of their pregnancy, can apply for a Fetal Credit Card. The credit limit is based on the parents’ income and education level. This is where things get interesting. The lower the income and eduction level, the higher the credit offered. This is what has critics up in arms.
“I can’t think of a worse idea. Well, maybe if you made a monkey live on top of a water tower, that would be a worse idea. Oh, and if the creators of Happy Days asked The Fonz to water ski over a shark while wearing a leather jacket. Other than those two things, this is the worst decision in the history of banking, if not humanity.” suggests personal finance expert Peter Dunn.
But parents have embraced this new tool as a way to teach their eventual children something about money.
“My parents didn’t teach me nothin’ about credit until I was 25. This really messed me up. Me and my wife have over $25,000 in credit card debt. We refuse to let this happen to little Hank,” extolls expecting father Hank Berea. “Gettin’ him credit early, real early, will teach him important stuff.”
And yes, you guessed it, parents may elect to have their ultrasound photos printed on the Fetal Card. Baby retailers are especially excited about the possibilities of selling goods directly to the end user. But the bank seems to be the proudest.
“The credit industry has long cared for the people it serves. It was only natural that we extend this love to fetuses. It makes all the sense in the world,” said Mark Plasinta, junior vice president of marketing for St. Petersburg State Bank and Trust. “It takes a village. It takes a village.”
Testing of the program has already begun in one market, and the results are mixed. Many cardholders have found themselves late on payments. As it stands now, the average payment is being received over 270 days late. This trend doesn’t have bank officials concerned. “We expected this coming in. We know what we are doing. Eventually these cardholders will head out and pay their balance. We’ve done the math,” notes vice president of collections Theresa Obgyn.
A peek behind the curtain
A brief respite from advice. Want to peek behind the curtain? The Indianapolis Star did a nice little piece about your favorite Ginger American. I said the words “teat” and “hell” in the article. My mom is going to be pissed.
Here’s the article. As always, thanks for you support and readership.