Are You Handling Your Finances or Are Your Finances Handling YOU?

4/12/2011 by Brandi L. Taylor

Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary describes Finance as: A Noun: 1.The management of money and to furnish or obtain money or credit as the resources of a person, company, etc. 2. Money and other resources; funds.

As you participate in your day-to-day Career Planning, ask yourself a few simple questions:

Are you handling your Finances or are they handling YOU? Simply put, how’s your cash flow? Your savings? Investments? How are you living?

One of the MAIN reasons we attend college, get our education, and/or concern ourselves with Career Planning is for FINANCIAL Security. Now is the time, no matter what your age or present financial status to learn to manage your Finances. Times have changed, in our nation, the FINANCIAL rules have changed, but FINANCIAL Security should still be YOUR lifelong goal/everybody’s goal.

It may sound “frightening” or intimidating to be asked to take your finances into your own hands; but you can, and you can make Financial Planning a daily habit; a habit that can soon become as simple and as easy as remembering to drink water every day.

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Here are a few questions you may also have:

How can I start saving and/or investing today, when I am on my own & I don’t have ANY extra cash flow?
I am on financial aid and/or I have already taken out student loans; how can I get my credit on point and start saving & investing, at this time in my life?
America as a whole is going through tough economic times; how can I do better at saving or investing, when I am in college, just getting started & already struggling?

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Here are just a few suggestions on how to get started with your individual Financial Security, TODAY:

NOW is NOT the TIME to GO IT ALONE:

Our Career Services Department provides brochures, articles and other pertinent information to help students with their choices for Career Information, as well as early Financial Planning. Visit your Career Services Department often; they are there for YOU! ? Ask for HELP! Seek professional advice and use caution when using the internet or any unknown sources to you.

Inquire with your family about your current auto insurance provider; many auto insurance companies will offer additional services, such as: Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, and Savings & Investment information.
If your parents or guardians are helping you through, ask if you can begin to handle the direction of your own cash flow.
NETWORK! NETWORK! NETWORK and only seek information or membership with trusted individuals or groups.

PROTECT your ASSETS:

Do not let “everyone” know what you are holding.
Keep a record of ALL transactions.
Never leave important documents lying around. This includes checks, checking & savings info, credit & investment account information and/or anything with your Social Security information on it.
Shred ALL documents that do not have to be retained for tax or accounting purposes.

BE FRUGAL:

A penny saved is a penny earned – still applies in this day and time!
SAVE! SAVE! SAVE then INVEST! INVEST! INVEST!
Put ALL of your change in a “piggy” bank or in one BIG jug – it will begin to add up & that growing balance can IMMEDIATELY be turned into an investment!
Give up your favorites! For example, spending on a morning “latte” or a 3-piece snack adds up; give it up for a few months. [If you spend $3 to $5. for every snack or beverage x 7 days a week; it adds up to $21 – $35. or more every week. Deposit those savings every month — to keep from spending it — then INVEST smartly.]

DO THE MATH:

Start saving TODAY! You’re NEVER too young to start SAVING & INVESTING!
You can start with money earned from part-time jobs or errands; such as, babysitting, mowing lawns…

*SAVINGS EXAMPLE:

A nickel saved every day for a normal calendar year = $18.25; but as an investment, cash + compound interest will begin to build a brighter future for you, IMMEDIATELY!

A dime a day/for a yr. = $36.50 25 cents a day for 365 days = $91.25
50 cents a day/for a year = $182.50 $1.00 a day/for a year = $365.00
$2.00 a day for a year = $730.00 $5.00 every day for 365 days = $1,825.00
$20.00 a month for 12 months = $240. $50. per month for 12 months = $600.
$100 a month = $1,200.00 at the end of the year **

**A Sample investment couple = Kenya [age: 25] saves a little over $100.00 per month and invests it over the next 10 years. Stephen, also 25 yrs. old, delays his savings until he turns 35, saving the same amount per month as Kenya did when they were 25, but saving and investing for 20 years.

**At retirement, Kenya has over $500,000; yet, Stephen’s retirement = a little over $300,000. The difference being that Kenya started at a younger age — that factor + compound interest on “aggressive” investments, gave Kenya the advantage.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK:

Familiarize yourself with terms, such as:

a) Unrealized “gains” = the money$ you’ve made on paper.

b) Cash = your realized gains

c) Credit/Debit Cards & Prepaid Cards

d) Investment/Investor terms

e) Credit Scores/Credit Reports

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Here are a few examples of Financial websites to refer to:

mymoney.gov
investopedia.com
sharebuilder.com
CNNMoney.com
consumerreports.org

**To check your Financial Credit Reports go to: www.annualcreditreport.com

DO YOUR RESEARCH:

Recent words of advice from Oprah Winfrey and Warren Buffett:

[Taken from www.oprah.com or www.warrenbuffetonline.com ]

PAY YOURSELF FIRST! With any income, pay yourself a percentage FIRST!

Understand what you own.
Understand what you want/what you want to be & where you would like to head.
Own a piece of the company where you spend the most $money. [i.e., Nike, Starbucks, Gucci]
START SAVING & INVESTING TODAY! START EARLY! START YOUNG!
Small amounts of money DO matter. DON’T throw any money or money resources away. [i.e., stocks, bonds, trust funds, etc.]
Don’t ever miss a CHANCE to put a penny, nickel, dime, etc. away for your “rainy days”!
YOU CAN START INVESTING with less than $100.00.
Try Prepaid cards. A Prepaid card gives you the use of “plastic” by letting you deposit a certain amount in a Visa or Mastercard account; so there’s no chance of overspending. No repayment or interest problems are on these cards; thusly, it keeps you from compiling debt from high APR rates on regular credit cards.
A huge American myth: DON’T start your Retirement Planning until you are “out of your 20’s”… nothing could be further from the truth! Just like Trust Funds & College Funds – you can prepare for your retirement years, STARTING TODAY!

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And finally:

PUMP IT UP!

Start taking care of YOURSELF - as well as your ASSESTS - TODAY! CARPE DIEM!