Our company's first blog, Guided By History^SM, just celebrated its one-year anniversary! As a fellow company blogger, I was curious to know how things are going and what we can expect, so I had a quick chat with Ed Terpening for the skinny—Ed manages our Social Media team and was one of our first bloggers. Although this post doesn't have much to do with financing college and managing debt, it's a good opportunity to let us know what you think about the general direction of our blog.

Ed: Staci, welcome back from BlogHer ! It must have been fun to speak there. How'd it go?

Staci: BlogHer was a phenomenal experience. I met so many smart, talented women, and the audience was really receptive to Wells Fargo's blogging efforts. Plus, people were surprised to learn that our company has been blogging for a whole year now. Speaking of that, Happy Anniversary!

Ed: Yes, wow, it's amazing. We've now launched four blogs, so it's been a bit hectic. It's nice to stop a moment and just grin. For a one-year anniversary, we're supposed to get paper—next year, cotton!

Staci: You already know how obsessed I am with paper—but cotton's good, too. :-) So how's it going?

Ed: Well, our first blog, GBH, we thought of as an experiment. Our customers are in the blogosphere, so let's join them and learn how to have one-to-one conversations online. We'd only planned on it being up for a short time, but the readership continues to exceed our expectations and take on a life of its own.

Staci: Exactly … and that's the goal, right? To be a good host and see where the community leads things?

Ed: Yes. This is a two-way channel. Blogging is about the art of public dialogue. We've learned a lot from each of the blogs we've launched, and we continue to get great feedback from users and the industry, including the Online Banking Report  (OBR)'s NetBanker blog .

Staci: Yup, we received an "A-" grade from them, and later Wells Fargo received OBR's "Best of the Web" award for introducing four blogs. That was a big day for our team.

Ed: Ours, too. We were really happy about it. In their original review of your blog, they had some great feedback, too, most of which we've implemented. Here's a list … if your readers have additional ideas, they should chime in:

• Feedback. We've made it easier for readers to give us feedback, such as the new "Contact" icons/links at the end of every post, the new embedded  "Send a comment" box at the top of the most recent post, and links in the author's About Us page entry. We made it easier for readers to find posts by their favorite bloggers by clicking the blogger's name.
  
  
• Usability. To make things more readable, we made the blog headlines black rather than red. We cleaned up the search function, too, removing features people didn't use. For links that leave the blog, we're removing the warning page indicating you're leaving Wells Fargo and instead including an icon by the link. We're also implementing improvements that make our blogs easier for disabled persons to read.

Staci.  Great stuff. We'll probably look back at our first attempts and laugh one day, but what can we expect going forward?

Ed: Hard to predict. Look at the rapid rise of YouTube  and MySpace , and you realize that things can change quickly. I think it's fair to say we're going to continue to be where our customers are—which is why we just launched a MySpace profile  as well. Having a dialogue with customers via blogs is more than being a good host—it's also about being a participant across social networks, like MySpace and who knows, perhaps Twitter  someday.

Staci: Twitter was all the rage at BlogHer, but it's new to me. I'm still just trying to manage my Dogster profile ! Anyway, thanks for the update—and we should do this again when the Student LoanDown celebrates its one-year anniversary.

Ed: Absolutely!

Posted by Staci at 01:56 PM |  Permalink |  Comments (6)
Found in Financial education, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank

I grew up in Iowa . I went to college in Iowa. After college, I desperately wanted to leave Iowa . Not that there's anything wrong with my home state—I just craved a change of scenery and wanted to live in a "cooler" place.

So I moved to Colorado . Very cool place. But I couldn't find a job in my field and missed my friends, so I came back to Iowa. The lure to try something new was still there, however, and after a couple of years, I moved out of state again—this time to Minneapolis .

Eventually—OK, nine years later—I found my way back to Iowa, where I happily live today. But clearly, I wasn't alone in my desire to strike out somewhere new after college. These days, about 35 percent of grads from my alma mater  leave Iowa after graduation.

In an effort to stem this "brain drain," Iowa lawmakers have proposed a bill that would allow employers to pay back all or part of an employee's student loans  in exchange for a tax credit.

Sounds like a cool idea to me. It might have even kept me in Iowa after graduation.  Would it keep you in your home state?

Posted by Caroline at 09:12 AM |  Permalink |  Comments (2)
Found in Financial education, Parents, Paying, Post-college, Preparing, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank

This week I'm in New York City  for BlogHer Business '07 , a social media conference for business bloggers. Wells Fargo is featured as one of the case studies, so I've been discussing my own experiences with the Student LoanDown. A lot of the folks here seem surprised that Wells Fargo—and even a bank, in general—is blogging. Are you?

There's a reason why this city never sleeps, though: street noise. It's why I'm still wide awake and writing at 12:38 a.m. My hotel, as lovely as it is, is right across the street from Madison Square Garden . And in just a few hours, when I'm in search of coffee, I'll be playing human Frogger  with a mass of New Yorkers crossing Seventh Avenue.

Doesn't matter—New York's energy is amazing, and the conference is, too. I feel very fortunate to be here!

Posted by Staci at 09:57 AM |  Permalink |  Comments (2)
Found in Financial education, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank

No doubt about it, applying for financial aid takes time and planning. You need to have your tax documents in order and allow at least a couple hours to complete the application.

Some even speculate that the FAFSA  (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is intimidating enough to keep low-income college students from applying for financial aid in the first place—which is one possible explanation for the lower college attendance rates among low-income students.

Researchers are testing that theory —they've set up an experiment to address the FAFSA "fear factor" and gauge whether making the financial aid application process easier will improve college attendance rates among low-income students.

Here's how it works: The researchers have teamed up with H&R Block (the tax preparation company) to offer low-income taxpayers help filling out their FAFSA. They'll use the tax information they've collected to automatically fill in the answers to many of the questions on the FAFSA, and then they'll give personal help to complete the rest. Participants will then be tracked against a control group to see if they are more likely to get financial aid, attend college and earn degrees.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this experiment—although the final results will be years down the road. However, according to the story linked above, H&R Block tax preparers working on the study are already seeing positive reactions from the participants they’re helping.

What did you think about the financial aid process? Did you find the FAFSA intimidating?

Posted by Caroline at 10:06 AM |  Permalink |  Comments (0)
Found in Financial education, Paying, Preparing, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank

It's no secret. Anyone who knows me well knows I could live off avocados, macaroni and cheese, pizza, and Mexican food. One of my major challenges post-college was learning to integrate the culinary arts into my daily routine. Here are my excuses why:

1. It's hard to cook for one.
   
   
2. Living on a budget doesn't allow for weekly extravagant grocery runs.
   
   
3. My parents spoiled me growing up and through high school. I never had to cook for myself. (I know, I said I was spoiled.)
   
   
4. I'm perfectly content alternating between burritos and pizza  every night.

I was reminded of my excuses most recently when talking with my younger brother, Clay. He and his dog  moved out last month. They both have been living with my fiancè and me for over ten months while my brother was finishing up his Bachelors Degree in Geographic Information Systems . The official graduation was in December, but his stay was extended through February so he could find a job and get settled before finding a place of his own. As acting big sister, stand-in mom (our parents live in California), and Wells Fargo employee, I volunteered to assist my brother in figuring out his finances.

Clay set up an online profile with his bank to see his student loan and checking account balances all at once and also started tracking his spending habits. We were both astonished to discover he had spent over $600 at restaurants last month—no joke. Luckily, Clay had secured a great job, stemming from an internship that paid very well, so he could afford to spend $600 a month going out.

However, that's no longer the case: Enter big boy condo and food budget.

He moved out a few weeks ago, and we resolved to have family dinner twice a week to practice cooking for each other. Not only does it save us the chore of cooking for one night, but also it gives us an opportunity to learn to broaden our menu and challenge our taste buds. My soon-to-be mother-in-law just sent me a cookbook  for my birthday, which was not so much of an insult as it was encouragement for the development of my skills in the kitchen. We'll see how well I do.

Since Clay already has his act together, and a great job, I also recommended that he practice making his student loan payments now. He has a Federal Stafford Loan and his monthly payments have been deferred until June. By making a similar payment every month into his savings account he can build a little savings and prepare himself for that money he'll be repaying in five months. This is the point when he became a little overwhelmed and frustrated because I started acting totally like mom. Hmmm, think I went overboard?

Anyway, my brother has direction, his own place, and hopefully, a great menu planned for next Thursday. I'm so proud.

Posted by Rachel at 11:30 AM |  Permalink |  Comments (1)
Found in Parents, Post-college, Preparing, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank

I've already confessed to my demographic denial and subsequent MTV viewing habits, so it's probably no surprise that during our early March snowstorm, I got sucked into a shame spiral of MTV's "True Life" series . One of the episodes was “True Life: I'm in Debt.” It profiled three young women—all twenty-somethings—with masses of debt, limited or no incomes, and relatively cavalier attitudes about their predicaments.

Now, I know enough to take my MTV programming with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, the “I'm in Debt” episode triggered all sorts of emotions for me: fascination, disbelief, pity, and even some nausea. The fact that one of the debtors, Ashley, entered her bankruptcy  attorney's office with a $4 venti cup of Starbucks made my skin crawl. But more than anything, I was frustrated—frustrated that these three young women had let their financial lives get so out of control.

I sought therapy in the form of other bloggers, like Young and Broke  and the Frugal Law Student , who'd had reactions similar to mine. But here's my question: does a program like this serve as a wake-up call to others in similar situations, or does it simply condone irresponsible behavior? If I'm being too judgmental, let me know.

Posted by Staci at 10:05 AM |  Permalink |  Comments (2)
Found in Paying, Preparing, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank

Business or pleasure? Well, recently I was able to answer the former rather than the latter while traveling. The end of February brought my first big-girl business trip with Wells Fargo – to San Francisco ! I attended a writing conference  and then met with the fabulous people who work behind the scenes of this blog (excuse me while I rub the brown off my nose).

Even though I was there on business, I also found some time for pleasure – shopping , visiting museums , and seeing the San Francisco ballet perform Sleeping Beauty . Amazing.

Plus, I played a fun game called “Try to look like you belong here.” It’s something I do whenever I’m in a big city – you know, to blend in . Personally, my winning strategy includes not looking up at tall buildings, avoiding cameras and maps, and walking as fast as I can.

Until I get lost.

The need to integrate crops up once you get on campus, too. As a freshman, I tried desperately to blend in with the seasoned students. But I quickly found that strategy wasn’t the best choice.

Just like former San Franciscan Staci helped me acclimate to the Bay Area during my trip (seriously, I called her on a daily basis), older students can provide you valuable advice. And in most situations, they are more than willing to help. Remember, they were once puzzled freshmen, too! Use them as a resource.

They’re familiar with lots of essentials the rookie collegian needs to know: financial aid, meal plans, good professors, and sure-fire ways to spend less money – including which pizza joint has the best deals on specific nights of the week. :)

So if you’re an older reader, dish out advice to those soon-to-be freshmen. And younger readers let us know what you’re curious about. This is the place for that advice exchange to happen!

Posted by Barbara at 10:45 AM |  Permalink |  Comments (0)
Found in Parents, Post-college, Preparing, Wells Fargo Bank

A few weeks ago in the middle of a ferocious Midwestern blizzard , our phone rang at 12:10 a.m. That’s a nerve-wracking time to get a call, especially when there’s bad weather AND you have a college-age daughter.

It was my stepdaughter on the line, but fortunately, she was not calling from a roadside ditch.

She had an emergency of a different sort—she’d had some money stolen from her purse, and she initially thought her credit card was missing as well. She wanted the phone number for the bank to cancel her card.

It turns out that although the cash was long gone, her credit card was found floating around in her purse—not in her wallet where she’d left it, but at least it was there. Things could have been much worse. She could have lost her entire purse: driver’s license, credit card, cell phone and all.

In college, you can be particularly vulnerable to identity theft, so take some extra precautions, adopt the Boy Scout  motto, and be prepared:

• Photocopy all the cards in your wallet and keep the copies in a safe place, so you can easily cancel everything if your wallet does get stolen.



• Stay in the know about how identity thieves work, because some of their techniques for getting your information might surprise you.



• Keep a close eye on your mail—make sure you’re receiving all your bills and that there are no unusual charges.

But these are just the basics—for more details, check out this information on how to protect yourself from identity theft and fraud. The Federal Trade Commission  also offers some great information—try the quiz to test your knowledge about identity theft!

If you’ve had any personal experiences—or close calls—with identity theft, share them here.

Posted by Caroline at 08:20 AM |  Permalink |  Comments (0)
Found in Financial education, Parents, Preparing, Wells Fargo Bank

I consider myself sort of an expert on the cheap spring break. I took two spring break trips in college, and while neither one was to a traditional "hot spot," they were definitely memorable journeys—financed entirely in cash. My friends and I still laugh about those vacations almost 15 years later. Let me share a little bit of what I learned:

When you’re planning

• Mooch off relatives. Do not underestimate how much money you can save by staying with a relative who not only will loan you a spare room (or couch) but also might be inclined to treat you to a nice dinner or two. However, you have to do this right to make it work. Staying at Grandma’s Florida retirement villa probably isn’t the best option (unless you’re Cameron Diaz ). But get together a group of three or four friends and someone is bound to have an older sibling, cool cousin, or laid-back aunt and uncle who live in a fun spot. My friends and I had older siblings in Colorado  and Texas —so that’s where I headed for my two spring break trips.



• Road trips rule–and airfare is expensive! Pile into the car with your buddies and take off somewhere you can drive in 18 hours or less, whether that’s Graceland  or the Grand Canyon . Pick a quirky, funny destination and make the journey the thing.



• Consider a service trip . You can do some good and possibly save some cash this way. My friend took a spring break trip to work in a homeless shelter in Harlem. It was much cheaper than a traditional spring break—and she had enough free time to take in the sights of NYC.



• Earmark the $$ ahead of time. Plan specific ways to stash away spring break-only money. You could pick up a job over your holiday breaks next year and devote all the money toward spring break.

Once you’re on your way

• Skip the fast food. When my friends and I road-tripped 18 hours to Houston for spring break, we actually only stopped for gas the entire way (down and back!). That’s right—no fast food. We packed a bunch of snacks and saved lots of time and $$.



• Exercise credit card control . You may need to use your credit card a bit on spring break. Just resist the urge to throw caution to the wind and put everything on the card. Decide ahead of time what you can pay for in cash, and what you’re willing to finance (maybe just airfare, or just food can go on the card). That way you’ll have some idea of what size bill you’ll be facing afterward.



• Pictures make the best souvenirs. If you have limited cash to spare, don’t waste it on souvenirs. When all is said and done, pictures (and OK, maybe ONE cool t-shirt) are probably all you’ll need to remember your trip.

Where are you going for spring break this year? How are you paying for it?

Posted by Caroline at 11:05 AM |  Permalink |  Comments (0)
Found in Financial education, Paying, Preparing, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank

They say memories last a lifetime.

Well, I'm glad last year's spring break memories are still fresh in my mind, because I've spent the past year getting them off of my credit card. Slowly but surely, I paid off my spring break trek to Sin City  with some of my sorority sisters.

I loved every minute of my Las Vegas trip—from the extravagant hotel  to the fabulous shopping ; from the free shows  I saw to the not-so-free shows  I saw. I wouldn't give up that trip for anything.

That being said, there are quite a few things I would have done differently so I wasn't reliving the memories with every credit card payment. So without further ado, I proudly present "Enjoying Collegiate Spring Break Trips Without Paying for Them Later" (it's a working title):

1. It's easy to get caught up in the hullabaloo that is spring break. But remember—you don't have to take a trip every year. It is perfectly acceptable to spend your freshman, sophomore, and junior years saving up for that blow-out extravaganza of a senior year spring break trip.



2. If you must go on a spring break trip each year, don't go all out every year. Instead, take smaller trips. Find in-state attractions or places it wouldn't be hard to road trip to. One year I had some friends join me for a trip to the Omaha zoo , only three hours away from school—and close enough to my home that we could stay there.



3. This one cannot be stressed enough: If you plan on taking a big trip, start saving early—like your freshman year. Otherwise, you'll find yourself hard pressed not to use your credit card, which—trust me—is not the right way to go.



4. When you finally take your trip, remember to budget. Find venues you can enjoy for free. Look for places to eat that are a little less expensive.



5. Enjoy one extravagance. Don't let your budget take out all the ridiculously expensive fun; just make sure you plan on paying for that special, spendy event.

What do you think? Are you saving for spring break, or still paying for it?

Posted by Barbara at 10:01 AM |  Permalink |  Comments (0)
Found in Financial education, Paying, Post-college, Preparing, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank

I consider myself a fairly adventurous person—or at least I was in my previous demographic. At age 24, I spent two months backpacking around Europe. And several times during my 20s, I moved across the country—once without a job or even a place to live (although I did have a friend's couch lined up).

But when I was in college, I never took an official spring break  trip.

In fact, I can barely remember what I did during my college spring breaks, so it couldn't have been anything too exciting. I think I may have—gasp!—studied.

Since I'm hardly an expert on this topic, this week I'm going to rely on my colleagues Caroline and Barbara to share their experiences. Watch for their tips about taking a spring break trip without breaking your budget.

Posted by Staci at 09:32 AM |  Permalink |  Comments (0)
Found in Financial education, Paying, Preparing, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank

I have to admit, when I saw Barbara's post about her new furniture, my eyes just about popped out of my head. She has COOL furniture. In her FIRST apartment? I couldn't help laughing at how miserably my own first couch compared.

I already mentioned in a previous post that my first apartment was rent-free. I didn't mention that all the furniture in it was free, too. Back then, almost every piece of furniture I owned had come to me from family and friends and was weird-looking enough to command a name.

There was "Shaggy Couch," a couch made of some brown, furry material from the 1970s—it was almost like a teddy bear. It always smelled vaguely of gasoline after being delivered to my apartment in the back of a friend's pickup truck. Also part of the decor: a recliner I simply called "Burnt Orange." Guess what color it was? And then there was a piece so indefinable I named it "Lime Green Unit." Too big to be a chair and too small to be a loveseat, it folded out into an extremely uncomfortable single bed/cot.

So, why was I stuck with these crazy castoffs as a recent college grad? Simple math. I made about $900 a month after taxes back then, and after paying bills—including a $142 monthly student loan payment—and whatever "incidentals" that came up that month, my checking account tended to hover around $100. Not much margin for error.

Certainly no margin for new furniture.

You probably know some people who've charged up their credit cards in an effort to have a Pottery Barn® -perfect first apartment. Not smart. Barbara was wise to take advantage of free financing, but she also took the step of factoring the payments into her budget. If you can't reasonably afford to do that, you're much better off developing a sense of humor about the look of your pad and furnish it with all the freebies you can get.

What about you? Are you dealing with funky furniture because you're short on cash?

Posted by Caroline at 09:40 AM |  Permalink |  Comments (0)
Found in Financial education, Paying, Preparing, Student loans, Wells Fargo Bank