In this economy the most informed life decisions should be made according to where you are in your professional life. Say you have several years of experience in your trade of choice. You are probably in a good position to expect reasonable pay, however, switching employers may not be a sure thing.

Although many employers seek experienced candidates, it is evident that the market is still saturated with the unemployed, many of whom weren’t lucky enough to retain their jobs through the recent economic plunge. With a lot of talented unemployed candidates in the job pool, this may be a better time to consider either sticking with your current position or getting that college degree to add to your competitive edge.

Alternatively, you may be fresh out of high school and thinking about your next steps. While starting a job out of high school provides a good respite from the academic experience, you will eventually want to consider where that job is taking you. If you like what you do and there is some likelihood that you will have room to grow and succeed professionally, it may be the place for you. However, the drawback of this situation is that you may hit a glass ceiling at some point where you can no longer proceed without a degree.

Additionally, there is an element of uncertainty in any situation like this, where others may be promoted above you. If you are prepared to exercise patience and act with confidence, sticking with a job that can turn into a career may be the correct path, otherwise you may want to consider a degree.

Going to college is bound to be rewarding so long as you have a clear idea of what you want to do with your degree. The potential debt that taking out loans will cause you won’t be worth it unless you have defined plans on how you are going to pay it back.

Whether you are considering an associate, bachelor, or master’s degree you want to think about the amount of debt you may incur as a result.  Without doing an in-depth cost-benefit analysis, you can assess your projected financial situation by going to a site like mappingyourfuture.org. The budget calculator function of this site allows you to take into account both assets and liabilities you may have during a typical year living as a student. This gives a realistic idea of how much money you should expect to need to live on during school. The pay wizard option also gives the potential student a good idea of what their loan payments will look like for after college and helps assess how much money should be borrowed.

Emma Martin writes for Go College where you can find helpful information on graduate fellowships and learn how to write a college admissions essay.

1.  Get a good lawyer.  An experienced, reputable, and ethical lawyer who specializes in your type of problem is absolutely essential if you want to stop the bill from becoming unmanageable.  Someone who is fumbling their way through your case because they don’t have the knowledge and expertise necessary is going to end up costing a lot more and delivering a lot less.  So find the right person for the job from the outset if you want to avoid excess charges.

2.  Settle out of court if possible.  You might think you’re paying a load of legal fees now, with every piece of correspondence costing you hundreds of dollars, but the big bucks don’t start flying until you get to court.  If you’re facing the type of lawsuit that will require you to pay out if you lose, you may want to think about settling before the case ever sees the inside of a courtroom.  Remember that your lawyers have to be paid regardless of a win or a loss.  The common adage is all too true: nobody wins but the lawyers.  By settling out of court, you may effectively cut your losses in the long run.

3.  Ask about flat fees.  Most law firms charge hourly for their services, which can quickly result in a hefty price tag.  But there are certain areas, like contract preparation, that may be offered at a flat rate.  If this is the case, you can probably save quite a bit over the hourly rate and still get the same great service.

4.  Opt for legal aid.  This may or may not be a genius idea.  Legal aid is, of course, free as it is provided by the state for those who cannot (or will not) pay for legal counsel.  However, any lawyer worth his salt is probably making beaucoup bucks with a reputable firm rather than wasting away working for the state.  So you’re basically scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to attorneys.  They’re overworked and undereducated, by and large.  So while you can certainly save on the cost of representation by choosing legal aid, you might end up losing big in the long run, especially if your case is complex.

5.  DIY.  A law firm will charge you a minimum fee for absolutely everything they do for you, whether it’s a five-minute phone call, ten minutes spent drafting a letter, or hour after hour of research on precedents for your case.  But some of these things can be done by you.  If, for example, your case requires personal documents, you can compile them instead of letting your lawyer charge you for the time it takes to secure the same information from the hall of records (or wherever they go to get it).  Ask for a listing of ways you can help and you’ll definitely cut down on your overall bill.

Emma Martin writes for Corboy and Demetrio, a personal injury law firm based in Chicago, Illinois.  Corboy Demetrio Law Firm is one of the nation’s premier practices.

With sites like Instant Quote Wizard, you can instantly compare auto insurance rates in your area and find out how much you’re over paying. It’s a great tool to give you savings options on your policies from all the leading providers without having to deal with a slick sales person. With just a zip code, you can see who’s offering what and check out the amount savings you’ll receive.

And because of tools like these that allow you to instantly see and find the best rates from the insurance companies in your area, rock bottom rates are being offered. These companies know you are shopping for the best rate and with the click of a button you can find the best deals, which creates a highly competitive environment for you – and a great opportunity for you to get super cheap insurance.

Check it out for yourself and see how much insurance for the car you drive should really be…

=> Instant Quote Wizard

I’ve been told plenty of stories about people who have gone straight into the job market after high school to become car salesmen or servers in restaurants and seem to make significantly more than their peers who attended college.  Not only that, but they’re perfectly content and not nearly as deep in debt.  And I agree with these people—if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  If your job provides stability, comfortable pay, and you don’t loathe going to work everyday, why on earth would you consider a change?

College Salary vs. High School Salary

The College Board also reports that it can take up to 14 years for a college graduate to match the salary of a high school graduate, taking student loan payments into consideration.  It’s also a fact that once you do obtain a higher salary, you’ll be in a higher tax bracket.  Bummer.  Next, consider that college costs continue to rise while financial aid becomes less available.  Schools and companies that provide scholarships are always more than happy to make getting an education a little easier, but the recession has hit them, too, limiting the funds that they can set aside for those scholarships.

Tough Job Market

There might be many more college graduates without jobs right now than there have ever been, but despite all this bad news, I believe college is still worth it.  First of all, in a tough job market, your degree gives you an edge.  The sharpness of that edge may have decreased due to the high number of unemployed graduates, but that’s simply a numbers game.  You still want to be part of the crowd with degrees that will at least be considered for the position you apply for.

And if you do want the higher-paying jobs that allow you more responsibility or more creative freedom and less packing and sorting, you’ll need a degree.  Occasionally, you’ll come across a listing that asks for a degree or equivalent experience, but in most cases, it’s difficult to get the experience without the degree and a portfolio to prove your skill.  It’s in your college classes that you’ll be able to take sufficient time to learn and hone the skills related to your field, and more importantly, apply them.  You’ll also get more opportunities for internships so you can use those skills in the job market itself, and an internship could always turn into a full-time job right after graduation.  (A word to the wise, don’t let those opportunities pass by!)

Is College Part of Your Dreams?

Here’s a small tip, though.  Especially because of today’s market, you’re better off knowing what you want to study before you enter college.  You may not get to attend the college you’ve been dreaming about because of financial aid obstacles, so you may have to choose either a different school or a different field.  Know what the average salary is for people in your field.  If it’s not sufficient enough, or if your field doesn’t bring you enough joy to make up for the discrepancy in pay, choose a different field or forego college altogether to avoid the unnecessary debt.  Or if manual labor or selling cars fits your personality, makes you happy, and provides a comfortable, steady income, the college experience may not be worth your time and money.

I tell people that I graduated college with a Starving Artist degree—I went after more artistic pursuits in writing, theatre, and music.  Not too unexpectedly, my pay-the-bills job is not in any of those fields, and if I were only now entering college, I might rethink my majors, but I know I’d probably still go with the same ones despite all that rethinking—I’m too much of an optimist.  And I wouldn’t trade my college experience for anything.  I learned quite a bit there about my fields and myself that I don’t think I would’ve learned, understood, or accepted as easily and quickly on my own.

But like many things, college is always going to be a personal decision.  If you know what you want and believe that a college education can help you get there, don’t let the recession hold you back.  Don’t be discouraged by the lower number of scholarships around; apply for every single one you can find, and don’t forget about grants.  They don’t have to be repaid, either.  If your field doesn’t require a degree, you might consider college for the experience, but you should consider the recession and perhaps wait for better days.

• Aerobic Aeropress.  This handy gadget costs about $29 and will save you time in the morning.  You know it’s always cheaper to brew your own coffee, and now it can be quicker, too.  The Aerobic Aeropress has your morning jolt ready in less than a minute—and this is regular coffee, too, not instant.  When you’re running late, you’ll appreciate this gadget even more.  Those are the days when you really need your caffeine!

• A Smartphone. Phones like the Blackberry can make life easier all the way around.  You can check and send emails, do your online banking, keep memos and to-do lists on hand—the possibilities are already endless and yet technology finds new handy features to add to our cell phones almost every day.  The cost will vary depending on your service carrier and the specific features you want, but a smartphone can help you keep up with the constant changes in life.  Just be careful with your usage…they’re addicting!

• DVR. If you’re like me, most of your days are planned out from start to finish, and unless an emergency arises, it’s just not practical or even feasible to rearrange the order of your plans just for a TV show.  Gone are the days of remembering to set the VCR, pop in a tape, make sure everything is turned off and that no one will be using the TV to watch something else during your show’s slot, and so on.  Today you can set your DVR to record multiple shows without worry.  The costs vary here, too, depending on the specific service you choose.  Companies like DirecTV offer free DVR service with their contracts, and outside services like Comcast require you to purchase DVR hardware as well as pay a monthly fee.  But it can be well worth it to be able to watch your shows when you’re good and ready and really need some down time.

• Mini Laptops. Laptops have always offered a world of convenience, but even the MacBook Air can be cumbersome to lug around.  Enter the mini laptop.  This will fit in your briefcase and most purses, and you can have an easy way to type up that document your boss wanted at 9am today that you forgot about until you stepped onto the bus.  Or you can just use it for easy access to the internet.  PC World compared a few that are currently out and more that are on the horizon.  The Acer Aspire One seems to be the most appealing; whereas you can run into issues with the keyboard and screen size with some minis, this one manages to produce a decent size for both while still remaining about as small as a book.  Minis will run about $300-$600 depending on size, features, memory capacity, etc., so do some research to figure out which one is worth your money.

• Sleeptracker. The Sleeptracker is a watch that doubles as a smart alarm clock.  This gadget monitors your sleep cycles.  Rather than set a specific time for it to go off, you set a window of time during which it would be ideal for you to wake up.  The watch then senses for your most “almost-awake” moment (that’s the technical term!) and then the alarm will go off.  The result is that it’s easier for you to wake up, so you’ll feel more rested and refreshed.  It runs about $179.  I don’t know about you, but I’m sold on anything that will allow me more energy during the day.  I know I’d be more focused and able to accomplish more, leaving more time for relaxing!