Mr. HALL: What it misses is the fact that many people who are in these difficult financial situations have more mortgage payments and other expenses that are way in excess of the rebate.

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Keep in mind that you will have both strategic goals (markets, customers, competitors, products, channels, people, other resources and processes) and financial goals (revenues, margins, expenses, profits, and various industry financial rations).

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Human capital is the asset that most people count on to support their families and to meet short-term financial obligations, such as buying food, paying the mortgage, and other living expenses.

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The rate, a measure of how much financial institutions charge other banks for loans, determines trillions of dollars in mortgages, credit card expenses and student loans.

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Some schools don't even mention costs in their financial-aid award letters, while other schools cite only tuition and fees, ignoring transportation, textbooks and living expenses.

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