Reality Check
How far will my money go?
What is the average income for young adults?
In 2012, young adults with a bachelor's degree earned more than twice as much as those without a high school credential ($46,900 vs. $22,900) and 57 percent more than young adult high school completer ($46,900 vs. $30,000).
Annual Earnings for Young Adults
Should I buy a new or used car?
The Edmunds Inc. True Cost to Own® (TCO®) pricing system calculates the additional costs you may not have included when considering your next vehicle purchase. These extra costs include: depreciation, interest on your loan, taxes and fees, insurance premiums, fuel costs, maintenance, and repairs.
Eight factors that you should that into account:
- Depreciation: how much value the car loses each year.
- Interest on financing: the amount of interest paid over five years.
- Taxes and fees: the total of all sales tax, fees and registry costs each year.
- Insurance premiums: the average cost of insuring the car.
- Fuel: how much you have to pay for the type of fuel that the car requires: regular or premium gasoline or diesel fuel.
- Maintenance: the total cost of performing all the scheduled maintenance found in the vehicle's owner's manual.
- Repairs: the projected cost of fixing common mechanical problems for this vehicle.
- Federal tax credit: the amount of any tax credit available for alternative fuel vehicles.
Student Loan Average Debt
The average amount of student loan debt again crept up for the Class of 2013, and is approaching $30,000, according to a new report from the Institute for College Access and Success. Nearly 7 in 10 graduating seniors in 2013 – 69 percent – left school with an average of $28,400 in student loan debt, an increase of 2 percent from 2012 according to TICAS.
The amount of student debt and the likelihood of graduating with debt varied greatly between both states and colleges.Some states had average debt amounts as low as $18,656, while others topped $30,000. This chart points out the specifics.
Between different colleges, average debt amounts ranged from $2,500 to $71,000. Where you go to college matters, and the kind of loans you have matter.
Federal student loans come with crucial consumer protections like income-based
repayment plans, while private loans offer little or no relief if you hit a rough patch."
Click here to find out how much college costs
Alarming Student Loan Debt Video
Students Speak Out about Student Loan Debt
How do I get the most our of my loans?
What is the job market like for my major?
Almost one-quarter of 2011 recipients of advanced degrees were employed in professional and business services. Recent bachelor’s degree recipients made up almost all of the recent graduates employed in leisure and hospitality.
Locally, the State of Iowa occupational employment is expected to increase by 11.2% from 2012 to 2022. Job growth in the state will vary across major occupational groups depending on the industry. Service‐providing occupations are generally expected to outperform goods‐producing occupations. This chart the anticipated changes and growth rates based occupation or major.
Health Insurance
This infographic highlights statistics about uninsured young adults using data from the 2008 through 2012 American Community Surveys (ACS). The ACS collects data on health insurance coverage to enable federal agencies to more accurately distribute resources and better understand state and local health insurance needs.
Life Insuance
College Teens: Do they need life insurance?
There are some startling facts why you should consider getting a life insurance policy. Studies have shown that roughly 2/3 of graduates finish school with some type of debt. On average, according to a 2011 study by CNN, the average debt was around $27,000. Now, only one in six private student lenders actually forgive student loans from students who have passed away. That means that if parents select a loan without forgiveness, they’ll be liable for the remaining loan amount. To combat this, obtaining a life insurance policy for a teen can help in case the unexpected happens. And it’s extremely affordable for teens.