Most of my readers are familiar with small towns in Iowa that have longstanding family-owned businesses, such as family eateries. Grandparents, parents, and children may own and work in these restaurants. They often have loyal employees that are “part of the family.” These owners may be unable to afford to pay their workers much more than $10 per hour, to say nothing of the proposed $15 per hour minimum wage.

By anyone’s estimation, the recently deceased Vernon Jordan was a “mover and shaker.” A commentary on his life referred to him as, “a civil-rights leader, Washington insider, Wise Man, power broker, deal maker, rainmaker, Wall Street banker and, as an interviewer put it a few years ago in the Financial Times, ‘the most connected man in America (Peggy Noonan, “America Loses a Wise Man,” Wall Street Journal, March 6-7, 2021, A13).’” Whew!

Ronnie Chen, assistant professor of finance, loves to bring practical experience into the classroom. When he saw an opportunity to the help the Iowa Arboretum, the Boone County nonprofit arboretum where he has volunteered for a couple of years, with its three-year budget, he seized it.

Understanding personal finance is a luxury where Sharnae Lamar (Finance and Economics, ’16) grew up. On the east side of Des Moines, Lamar says there aren’t many people who know how to manage money, invest, grow income — so when she had the opportunity to go to college, business was of interest.

In professional life, you can expect to have a job that requires you to give effective feedback to your team members, to those you supervise, and even to your boss. Businesses and organizations use regular employee performance reviews in order to help their employees focus on their own development as a professional. Providing effective feedback during a performance review is an important professional skill.

Debt can be useful when used correctly. If not, you can find yourself in hot water. In fact, debt can ruin your life and here is how: