Blame it on the M-M-M-M-M-Miley

So apparently drinking and doings drugs is cool again.

At least that’s what our friends over at Jezebel are telling us the stats at Drugfree.org are telling them. 45% of high school students don’t see a “great risk” in heavy drinking. And 68% of those high school students have had their first drink by age 14. Additionally, since 2008 the use of marijuana is up from 32% to 39% and the use of ecstasy is up from 4% to 6%.

But let’s step back from the statistics for a minute an discuss the stuff behind the stats. For the first time in years substance abuse is once again on the rise and the real question on everyone’s mind has to be, why?

The director of strategy at Drugfree.org suggests budget cuts to prevention programs, the legalization of medicinal marijuana or even the stress of difficult economic times. But for me at least, these don’t seem like viable options.  I don’t think medicinal marijuana is behind this increase, nor do I think it’s the hard economic times. I mean, if teens don’t see the risk of binge drinking do you really think they see the ramifications of the stock market crash? And, honestly, I don’t think it’s the loss of prevention programs either. Teens today live in a world without limits. All the information they could ever want is at their fingertips. Pamphlets won’t tell them anything Google can’t. Read More »

Today’s Money Matters article in brought to you in part by… my recent trip to the gyno. Seriously. I was waiting to have my vajay inspected at full cost (I have no insurance, but I still gotta protect myself), and reading an issue of More magazine- a magazine aimed at women over 40. It was either that or Highlights for Children. WTF?

Anyway, More had a list of the top five growing careers out there. Yes, even the golden age of layoffs, some jobs are still safe. And it made me think back a few years, before the recession hit. When I first declared a major in English, the employment gurus were saying it was a great major, thanks to its versatility. Now, not so much. So, as you continue to rack up all of those student loans, ask yourself: is your major going to pay off after college?

Since I felt guilty about ripping a page out of a middle-aged-lady mag in the gynecologist’s office, I came home to research the most lucrative jobs, and while More only listed five, Boston.com predicts thirty careers that will flourish by 2016.  Here is a sampling of some of the careers that will get your education the most bang for your buck. Read More »