Revision as of 22:58, 22 February 2012

Do you have questions for Erin Robertson, our guest speaker?

Write them below.

Note: Please read this page on "how to address speakers" before posting your questions.

• Ms. Robertson, Due to the talks of the social security fund possibly being exhausted before the time we all intend to retire and the current state of the economy, should we start putting away more money sooner to compensate for this? - Matthew Plankey
• Ms. Robertson, I have always been told that I should get a credit card so that I can build up good credit. How important is good credit, and when should I get started? - Justin Huffaker
• Ms. Robertson, approximately how many additional years of salary should be saved up before retiring, i.e. how does one estimate how many more years one may need to take care of oneself after one is finished working?
• Ms. Robertson, a lot of us are planning on graduating and going into industry at the end of this semester. What percentage of our money should we put back in savings, re-invest, and keep in order to enjoy the benefits of a paycheck while we are still young, but also have enough funds saved up for further down the road? Also, what would you say is the average that a person's paycheck increases from when they first enter the workforce compared to when they retire? - Cody Cusic
• Ms. Robertson, how big of a role should inflation and predicted inflation change play on our savings? -Derek Hancock
• Ms. Robertson, there are a lot of different ways to save for retirement. I've heard several different suggestions from several different people on the "best" way to save for retirement, but those suggestions almost always come from personal opinions, from what I can tell. I understand it's different for each person, but do you have a preferred way, or group of ways, that you tend to recommend? - Spencer Julian
• Ms. Robertson, I'm no expert in financial matters, but I do understand the importance of time value of money. I do not think you can emphasize enough the importance of this concept. So, please make sure this idea is thoroughly covered in your discussion. When we get our first job, all kinds of goodies will tempt us, but being engineers, we can figure out how to spend and save! Katie Kitamura
• Ms. Robertson, what are the financial actions we should take that we normally would not think of, but later on wish we did? - Joseph May
• Ms. Robertson, what sort of assets would you recommend investing in when saving for retirement? - Brian Kelley
• Ms. Robertson, Throught this course we have been recomended by several presenter that if stock options are availble it is a good idea to take them. If stock options are not avalible what are your opinion of entering the stockmarket once one starts that first job. Also, do you recomend holding stock in the company that one works for? - Evan Binkerd
• Ms. Robertson, I assume a lot of us are going to come out of college with at least some student loans, what are some good tips for balancing loan payback plus everything else e.g. bills, savings, investments, retirement, etc. - Jordan Ramer
• Ms. Robertson, when first out of school, is it better to invest in the company employing you or in the stock market? - Stephen Zabrecky
• Ms. Robertson, would you recommend that Co-Op students invest the maximum allowable amount in a 401k plan if they have intentions of hiring full-time after graduation? - Michael Evans
• Ms. Robertson, does the current economic climate change how we should invest for the future, and if so to what degree? - Daniel Sabo
• Ms. Robertson, do you recommend that people should save for retirement while also trying to pay off loans, or should they get out of debt before trying to save? -Craig Lechlitner
• Ms. Robertson, nowadays there is a new research direction that is Financial Engineering. What do you think about Financial engineering and how engineering and financial bonds with each other? -Yi Tian
• Ms. Robertson, when contributing to one's 401k, there are several options (pre-tax, post-tax, and IRA contributions) and I have heard positive and negative arguments for each type. Do you have any strong opinions about which is the best option for a young employee? - Andrew Batek
• Ms. Robertson, what are other investment people would do to prepare for their retirement other than 401K? - Zhi Wang
• Ms. Robertson, after graduating and obtaining an electrical engineering position, what sort of housing mortgage would be advisable on a starting salary? - Daniel Hudepohl
• Ms. Robertson, considering the current state of the economy and housing market, do you have any advice regarding renting or buying houses for graduate students and newly hired students? -Will McGrath
• Ms. Robertson, when saving for retirement, is there a general rule of thumb for dividing up your savings among savings, bonds, mutual funds, stock, or other investments? -Zachary Smith
• Ms Robertson, how has the economic recession affected the economic priorities of recent graduates? - Nick Kwolek

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