Brandon Carroll

Banking is a commodity.  Plain and simple. Just like you need food, you need a bank. So, what really differentiates a bank?

In my opinion, it's simple. Customer Service and Convenience. Most people use a bank that is close to their house, or one that has been with their family for years. I want to explain the way I do banking and why you may be missing out.

First, I bank with Suntrust and ING Direct. Why? 

ING Direct --> Best Rates

Suntrust --> Customer Service

What I do is I have my direct deposit go to ING Direct, and then I send money to my branch banks if I need to take out cash. Now, why is this important? ING Direct does not have any overhead for branch locations like other banks. Instead, they offer higher interests rates to the consumer. It's a brilliant business model, and most importantly, it is great for the consumer.

THE even cooler thing with ING Direct is you can set up sub accounts with their own account numbers and start an automatic savings plan. For retirement, I have a "T Rowe Retirement" sub account. T. Rowe automatically takes money out of that account, and my 'primary checking' doesn't go down. Simply, it's being proactive. I know how much "disposable income" I have in my checking because I automatically deduct certain amounts each month for bills and savings.

Next, let's talk about Suntrust. First and foremost, almost all of their Executives are Hokies =). Secondly, they have amazing customer service. I have been with Suntrust since I was a freshman in college, and I haven't turned back since. 

A lot of my friends use Bank of America. Did you know there were almost more people closing accounts than opening new ones last year? Why is that? They had negative experiences. There's an old saying in marketing, which is "Happy Customers Tell 3; Angry Customers Tell 3,000." It is worth a company's time and resources to have great customer service, because the grave repercussions of the negative experiences.

According to Socialnomics, 78% of consumers use their social network (facebook, twitter) when purchasing a product or service. For instance, my sister recently said, "Should I go with Verizon Fios of Comcast for my cable?" Most of her friends said to go with Fios, so she did!


Below, you will find a twitter conversation between @AskSuntrust and I. They were so helpful, and they solved my issue...no problem. It took them 15 minutes to help me, and now I am writing a positive review of their product. Maya Angelou said, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you do, but they will never forget the way you made them feel." I felt like I was a special customer, and for that I am forever grateful and forever a loyal customer.

There are so many different banks to choose from, and it is important that you choose the bank that is right for you. 
What is important to you?

• Customer service?
• Location/Convenience?
• Highest rates? 
• Best online system?
• How long they've been in business? 
• How much of the financial crisis were they tied up in (Credit Default Swaps,  bad real estate investments?
• Social responsibility?
•  Privately/Publicly held?
• How many products they offer; are they a one-stop shop?

In my opinion, Suntrust is the best branch bank and ING is the best overall bank. I have banked with BB&T, M&T Bank, Bank of America, and PNC Bank. I still have some money in PNC, and I think they are great, but there are no PNC Banks close to me.

Many of you know what a CD is, but for those who do not, I will define it for you. A CD stands for a Certificate of Deposit, and it is considered a pretty safe investment by many. You put your money away and earn a set interest rate. The longer you put your money away, the higher your rate. Makes sense right?

This is a typical advertisement of a CD you will see when you enter into a bank. This is actually from a credit union, which offers higher rates than your typical bank (Suntrust, PNC, BB&T, BofA, et cetera)

This picture is kind of ironic. You don't make any "money" by investing in a CD either! A CD mirrors the inflation rate, but often times, a CD offers rates below inflation. If you take out taxes, 9 out of 10 times a CD will not even beat inflation. Now, what does this mean? As inflation goes up, your purchasing power goes down. This means that the value of a dollar is less. The Government typically gives their employees something called a "standard of living" raise each year, which is supposed to match the inflation rate. In inflation, everything gets more valuable, except money. Your purchasing power stays exactly the same with a CD

 Inflation + Taxes > CD Rates

It's unfortunately an easy answer: A CD is FDIC insured. What does this mean? The FDIC stands for the Federal Deport Insurance Corporation, and it means that any money that is FDIC Insured is backed by the United States Government. People see FDIC and they think "Oh, this investment is 100% safe and has no chance of defaulting." The US Government has just gone through the biggest recession since the Great Depression, and the FDIC has had to eat the costs of many of the banks bad investments. I'd be skeptical to be 100% sure that all US investments are 100% safe.

Also, a CD is always advertised heavily by banks because it gives them more deposits. Anytime you forego consumption, you should AT LEAST return the risk free rate. The CD is seen as a 'safe investment,' which it is..but it is not liquid necessarily. There are penalties for withdrawing money early. Well, Brandon...what about a Ladder CD? Doesn't that help improve liquidity? Yes...but your money is not constantly working for you. Anytime you have money at home that you do not need...you are missing out on an opportunity.

In the United States, the risk free rate is known as the rate of US Treasury Bonds. According to the US Treasury website, the current rate of T-Bonds are .04, .08. and .16 for 1 month, 3 month, and 6 months respectively. Now....the FED has lowered i-rates to record highs, which is supposed to act as a catalyst for lending/borrowing activity. Just as a comparison, on January 1, 2007, the rates for T-Bonds were 4.79 (1 mo), 5.07 (3 mo), and 5.11 (6 mo).

Historically, the risk free rate is usually around 4%. A CD usually does not equal the risk free rate.

In conclusion, people want security. Or, a perception of security. The FDIC symbol provides them with a sigh of relief....they know their principal is safe. Also, the banks advertise CDs and it is convenient to invest in them. A standard checking account pays .025%, and a CD at 1.05% looks attractive in comparison.

Be on the lookout though. When banks advertise CDs heavily, this means they are desperate for deposits. Look at their financial health if you see this a lot over the course of a year.....anyway...

An annuity is just as safe as a FDIC insured product nowadays....and this brings to my next point

An annuity is a contract signed by a company designed to provide structured payments to the holder at specified intervals, usually at retirement. The holder (the person who buys the annuity) is taxed only when he/she starts taking out distributions or if they withdrawal funds from this account? What does this mean? This means that annuities can be tax deferred, meaning that the earnings from investments in these accounts grow tax-deferred until you withdrawal funds from the account. Fixed annuities guarantee a certain payment amount, while variable annuities do not, but they do have the potential for greater returns. You can also purchase something called a rider, which could guarantee a certain payout with a variable annuity. An annuity also has a death benefit equivalent to the higher of the current value of the annuity or the amount the buyer has paid into it. If the owner (the holder) dies during the accumulation phase, his or her heirs (usually kids or spouse) will receive the accumulated amount in the annuity. If the person who receives the money is in a low tax bracket, this could be a great estate tax option, but that is for another day. Here is a visual picture of what an annuity really does: 

As you can see with this picture, you will earn 5-7% on your money (and it will be liquid) on average per month. It will come in a form of a "coupon"....a payment and it has protections against a market downturn. However, this money is not necessarily worth 5% because it is in the future. I don't want to get into time value of money, just know that it is a very safe investment that offers higher payouts than a standard CD

Well, first let's define a mutual fund. A mutual fund is nothing more than a collection of stocks and bonds. Investopedia defines it perfectly. You can think of a mutual fund as a company that brings together a group of people and invests their money in stocks, bonds, and other securities. Each investor owns shares, which represent a portion of the holdings of the fund. If you go to yahoo finance and check out a mutual fund, you can see their top 25 holdings. Below is an example.

Historically, the market has returned (on average) around 7-9% depending on how you look at the "market." This means that a mutual fund, which is a pretty liquid investment should be a viable option....especially one that mirrors the market (like a Vanguard S&P Index Fund)

A CD is not a good investment option, especially for retirement purposes, especially when you can be taking advantage of the tax-savings by investing in a Roth IRA or a 401(k). An annuity can be advantageous, and a mutual fund is a pretty safe investment. A CD, which often times does not match inflation rates, actually may decrease your purchasing power AND penalize you for taking out mpney early.

A CD, because of the low interest rates should be avoided at all costs (for the most part)

If you want to invest in mutual funds, there are a variety of ways to get started. I suggest investing in a no-load (no broker commissions) index fund. Vanguard has a pretty good fund located here:

If you want to look into annuities, talk with someone at your bank. And to end everything, I have a funny picture with a funny youtube video by the one and only Louis CK

This speech is given to all the potential Hokies!

Hokie Focus Speech

Good Morning!

Life is about being the best that you can possibly be. Let me say that again. Life…is about being….the best…you can possibly be.

Martin Luther King once said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michael Angelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare composed poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper, who did his job well.”

Virginia Tech is about…being…the best you can possibly be.

My name is Brandon Carroll and I am the SGA President. It’s funny…because people say to me…wow you are the Student Government Assocaition President. I always respond, “no..I wouldn’t say it like that. My passion is to empower people. I desire to impact as many people as possible. Being the Student Body President is the vehicle, not the outcome; it allows me to impact others.” There is a big difference

Our central focus is the student voice, the collective voice. We aim to amplify it, and we strive to substantiate it.

What I have learned in my time as SGA President is simple: find your passion and follow your passion. You are all faced with an amazing opportunity. A choice that will forever shape your life.

When I first came here to Virginia Tech, I thought everything was about independence. At the time, I was an 18 year old teenager, I was too young to do what adults do, too old to do what kids do….so I did what nobody else would do….to assert my independence. That was my paradigm, my mindset, when I first came to Virginia Tech.

Boy was I wrong. If you decide to come to this University, you are going to learn that it’s about interdependence and not independence. Through interdependence, we get synergy, which means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  If you really want to be the best you can be, you have to work within a system that gives you synergy.

You see, being a Hokie is not a mercenary relationship. It is not a business proposition. It is not an exchange of goods and services for money. It is a shared bond, a love that comes from somewhere we don't understand and can't explain to others. We do not take from this university; it gives to us. Perhaps when we first arrive on its campus, we have our own selfish interests in mind, but by the time we leave, we are transformed. We are Hokies. 

If you do decide to join the Hokie family, Come here not only to live (pause) but to thrive. I stand here today, looking into a room of limitless opportunity; (pause) however your time is limited.  The problem with opportunity is that it can’t do a thing for you unless you make it.

I started the speech by saying: Life is about being the best you can possibly be. Now, I want to ask some of you what you want to be the best in. Before this speech, I met some students who I asked to speak up during this section. Brain from Boulder, Colorado what do you want to be the best in? (I want to get the best grades)….

 ….Academics. Hmm…..When I think of Virginia Tech, I think of a land of opportunity. A place of higher learning that truly invents the future. If you want it, we have it. If you want the opportunity to learn from world-class faculty, to collaborate with some of the brightest students in the world, and to take risks and expand your boundaries, then Shane, Virginia Tech is the right place for you.

Kelly from Burke, VA – what do you want to the best in? I want to be the best friend I can be and help others. When I think of Virginia Tech, I think of an actively caring community, where people go above the call of duty to help others. We are not an independent community; like I said earlier….rather we are interdependent. You see, we need each other and we show we care about one another. We as Hokies put more into relationships than we receive, and we embrace that concept.

Pantak -  What do you want to be the best in? I want to join the Corps of Cadets and serve our Country and be the best solider I can be. First, let me just say thank you for your commitment to protect our freedoms. Let’s give Pantak a round of applause….thank you for your service and protecting our freedoms. Well, Pantak….as you know...our motto…our foundation is this idea of Ut Prosim, which means that I may serve. It is one of the pillars that hold our University strong. At Virginia Tech, we value servant leadership.


As I mentioned earlier, my experience leading Virginia Tech as SGA President pointed me to: find my passion and follow my passion. My passion is to empower and impact others. I want to show you I care about your huge decision coming up. My e-mail is brandoncarroll@vt.edu. E-mail me anytime - I am here to answer your questions. I want you to make the right decision and live a fulfilling life.

 
So, to all of the potential Hokies, the Virginia Tech community affirms the value of each individual and welcomes you as the person you are.  So, find your passion in life, your courage, and your voice, but most importantly and you may discover yourself.

April 16th Speech
Listen here

 
Good evening my fellow Hokies. Today, I stand before you on the third anniversary of the darkest day in Virginia Tech history. The day a tragedy of monumental proportions struck our campus. I am here today to remember the 32 beautiful lives we lost, and to try to ensure this day of remembrance never fades away from our community.

 

I want to begin this evening’s vigil by quoting the editor of TechSideline, Will Stewart, who described what being a Hokie is all about. "Being a Hokie is not a mercenary relationship. It is not a business proposition. It is not an exchange of goods and services for money. It is a shared bond, a love that comes from somewhere we don't understand and can't explain to others. We do not take from this university; it gives to us. Perhaps when we first arrive on its campus, we have our own selfish interests in mind, but by the time we leave, we are transformed. We are Hokies."

 

What I learned from April 16th is one simple lesson: Love shines through

 

I still feel the love and warmth from the 32 lives taken away from us too soon. Every day, I go to class….. I see the memorial and I truly feel their spirit. They are with us when we are weak, and they are supportive when we are strong. Their memories live on today.

 

I will never forget the outpouring of support our community saw from across the world. Cards of encouragement to help ease the pain, quilts to warm the heart, and visits that ranged from Alaska to Australia to show they cared.

 

 

The media tried to divide our community, but love guided the way. Evil entered our campus and took a part of our community from us. What we have learned is that evil will not define us. We are a community bonded together by a special sense of love that cannot adequately be explained with words. We are a family who put more into relationships than we receive and we embrace that concept. We will continue to live for 32. Their lives are forever etched in our hearts. Their memories will not wither away….

 

We appreciate the expected support of candle vigils tonight, but please do not light your candles until all 32 candles surrounding the memorial are lit.  There are 32 Hokies who will take the collective light from the 24-hour candle and begin to spread the light that shines from above. The light comes from inside of Burruss to signify that Virginia Tech will never forget.

 

Once the vigil is lighted, we will take the light from the ceremonial light and remember those who lost their lives on April 16, 2007 and spread their light into the community and share it with the world.

 

We are here today to remember. Their memories live on. Do we Cry? Do we Reflect? Do we Love More? We all grieve in our own separate ways. But, what we have learned is that we are not independent. Rather, we are interdependent. We lean on one another, we need each other....our community is stronger, our lives are forever changed.  We now truly understand what it means to be a Hokie. The 32 embody what we all aspire to be and their memories live on today. Do not let this day of remembrance be forgotten. Let love light the way. Let love shine through.

Below is the full text for my "farewell" speech. The last speech I will ever make as the official Virginia Tech SGA President....


Inauguration Speech

Good Evening. Tonight is a great night. It is a celebration of the past, present, and the future. SGA started in 1965 as the official voice of the undergraduate students at Virginia Tech. Through the years, we have seen activism like in 1971 when Sandy Hawthorne organized a sit-in to protest the Vietnam war and the Kent State shootings….to more recently the establishment of Relay for Life, the Big Event, and the Hokie Effect.

When I look back at this past year, I cannot help but smile. What an opportunity. Where else in my life will I have the opportunity to make a tangible impact in the lives of over 23,000 students? Where else in my life will I be a student leader in the most amazing place in the world? The Hokie Nation builds leaders of high character. Leaders who value integrity, selflessness, and passion.

Stop and reflect for one second. You are all members of the Hokie Nation. To the students here tonight, we are in college. Not just any college, but one of the top Universities in the country. We have it better than 99% of the world.

What a special place.

We are a family bound by a special sense of love that cannot be adequately explained with words. We put more into relationships than we receive and we embrace that concept

What a special place

We have administrators like Leon McClinton sitting in the audience here tonight who truly care about students. I want to tell you a story about Leon when he first arrived here at Virginia. Many of you have heard this story, but for those of you who have not, here it goes: I was an RA in Pritchard and I was putting on a program for the ACC championship game when this new guy decides to come in and sit down. He looked kind of young, but no one wanted to say anything. The freshman in the lounge were a little bit intimidated. He literally sat on the floor with the 50 or so people already there and just decided to hang out with a bunch of freshman on a Saturday afternoon. Finally, someone had the courage to say “who are you?” Was he a complex director? An RA? He responds, “Well, I am the new Director of Res Life.” Everyone was amazed. Wow, the new Director of Residence Life took some time out of his day…to just…hang out with some students. My residents later told me that they were so amazed that Leon stopped by. He was easy to talk to, he was genuine, and we all had a great time. You see he actively cares for students. He genuinely has an interest in our welfare. It’s the little things that matter. Leon, I know you don’t like when I tell that story…but you know what.... those least looking for recognition are usually the most deserving.

What a special place

We have students like this year’s Executive Director of the Year, Brittany Anderson, who go above and beyond the call of duty for the welfare of the University. From organizing the largest Hokie Day ever to being heavily involved with Richmond politics, Brittany has single handily done more for SGA in the past 4 years that I have been in SGA combined. She helped change the fact that the state was going to take student fee money out of our reserve fund. She strengthened our relationship with other VA schools and showed leadership by serving as the chair of the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia Student Advisory Council.

What a special place

Now, let’s move onto the future of SGA. First and foremost, to Bo, Greer, Corbin, and Emily….congratulations. You all are about to embark on an incredible journey. I want to leave tonight with some words of wisdom that I have acquired over the years, a quote, and a challenge.

My words of wisdom start directed at you Bo. I advise you not to become the SGA President. Become the person who desires to impact students. Become the person who strives each and every day to make a tangible difference in the lives of every single undergraduate student here at Virginia Tech. Use SGA President as the vehicle to impact others. There is a big difference.

To the four of you, you report only to the student body at Virginia Tech. You will not always agree with the administration, you do have to work with them, but you do not have to follow their orders. Your job is to be loyal to students…ABOVE the University. Put students first. Period.

Your inputs will greatly exceed your outputs. Understand that understand that you may fail. Failure is an option, fear is not. Go in fearless. Use your failures as motivators.

My quote for you is this: "There are three types of people in the world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.

Make things happen. Bend the rules. Rather than ask for permission, beg for forgiveness.

And my challenge for you is this: Be a leader and build a team of leaders. You are probably thinking, well what does that mean? First, leadership is an action. When you are here next year on the podium giving your words of wisdom to the newly elected officers,, judge thyour year by what you accomplish, not what you do. There is a big difference.

You know what makes a leader? A leader is passionate. A leader truly believes in the mission of the organization. A leader always has a team-first attitude. A leader is self-motivated.


Surround yourself with leaders and you will find success.

It has been a pleasure, I wish you much luck in the future, and again congratulations.

If you know me, you know I cannot stand injustice or someone (or a company) trying to "get over on" a customer/someone.

Well, here is the story from GEEKSQUAD

Because my Dell Laptop was no longer under warranty, I had to take my broken labtop to GeekSquad. Well, the diagnostic ALONE costs $70 (that I do not have) and they found nothing from the software side....so they ran tests and did not help the cause and that $70 bucks? Really?

The "hardware issue" was that they needed to ship it off, replace a fan because of some "technical issue," and replace the entire keyboard because one key was missing. I wasn't buying it, because it would cost an absurd amount of money, so I decided to take the computer from Geek Squad (down $70) and investigate the issue myself.

At Virginia Tech, there is a company called Campus HotFix , who is directly competing with Geek Squad. Josh provided excellent service and my computer is back to working again.

HERE'S WHERE IT GETS FUNNY!
Geek Squad was trying to charge me over $300 to fix something that did not need to be fixed

THE ACTUAL SERVICE NEEDED IS THE FOLLOWING:

• A new key, and cleaning the keyboard
• Cleaning the fan, it was dusty which caused it to run slow
• They are doing it inhouse, so I am paying drastically lower

LESSON LEARNED GEEKSQUAD:

Don't treat your customers poorly. Don't rip off people who are at least half competent when it comes to computers. I will never use Geek Squad again, and I will recommend to others not to use their overpriced service. With marketing, the old saying goes, "Happy customers tell 3, Angry customers tell 3,000"

Over the past week, I have watched a lot of movies. One in particular, The Pursuit of Happyness, really stuck out to me. It is one of my favorite movies ever, but it also teachers its viewers a lot of valuable life lessons.


The one lesson that everyone will cite is that hardwork & perseverance conquer in life, which is undeniably true. Some would say, "when there is a will, there is a way." The movie also taught us one valuable lesson that I would call "hidden." 


It is about working smart, not hard. AND, it is who you know, not what you know...


Explanation: At certain points in the movie, it shows all of the candidates competing for the one job with Dean Witter working the phones and studying for hours on end. Being competent is important, but knowing people is even more important. The only reason Will Smith (Chris Gardner) was offered the job at the end of the movie was because he went to the 49ers game and was able to network with some high-end people that were interested in Dean Whitter's investment products. He would have had a 0% CHANCE of landing the job had he not taken an afternoon to go to the football game and exchange business cards.


In closing, an Ivy league education is valuable not because of what you read in the textbooks; rather, it is valuable because of the people you meet and the connections you make. Period. 

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/Devcorporate/the-real-meaning-of-words