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Young adulthood and financial literacy So, you have crossed the threshold into adult life. These years bring many first..... the first job, getting married, first home, and first child. If you don’t learn to manage your own money, other people will find ways to manage it for you. These people may be ill-intentioned or well-meaning. Either way, the best course of action is in addition to seeking advice is to learn the most you can on your own. Read books, watch videos, read financial articles online. There are many forms and outlets for getting a financial information. If you are not sure where to start consider talking to a teacher, counselor or the librarian at school.  Additionally, you can talk to a mentor, relative or someone you admire for valuable insight.  Lessons can be learned in the media as well.  You can watch CNBC or FOX business on cable. The internet also has websites like FDIC, CNN’s Money 101 and Khan Academy offers free financial online courses.  Go old school and read the Wall Street Journal or local papers like New York Times and Washington Post.  These days podcasts are becoming a prominent venue to learn.  Try listening to Freakonomics Radio podcast or Afford Anything.  The point of all these choices is to understand that information is all around us.  You need to keep your eyes open, your mind curious and a bit of skepticism too.  The more you learn the more confident you will be as you move forward [Read More...]

Your first “real” job is probably an entry-level position. It may not pay very much but   your first paycheck is almost sure to be significantly larger than any you have earned    in the past for part-time or summer jobs. If you do not have one yet first thing is to open a bank account and set up direct deposit. Consider looking for free checking accounts that either don’t charge monthly maintenance fees or waive said fees when you set up recurring direct deposits or maintain minimum daily balance requirements. Another option to look at is overdraft protection. Overdraft fees often exceed $30 per item – an unwelcome hit for anyone, but especially for young workers without much financial cushioning.  In addition, don’t forget your savings need to be a priority.   Aside from your salary your first job may compensate you with benefits.  While this may be new and overwhelming it is important to review and make good choices. Health insurance is the most well-known and used benefit.  There may be options to choose from they usually include health, dental and vision plans. Company-sponsored retirement plans are also a particularly great choice, because you get to put in pretax dollars and often companies match part of your contribution, which is like getting free money. Your company may not offer this option, or you may be self-employed.  Do not worry you also have some options to set up retirement plans. You can you’re your own IRAs,  and set up an automatic withdrawal from your savings account into your [Read More...]

Learning to manage your financial house is an important lesson to learn.  It may seem overwhelming as you start looking at all the things you want to learn more about. To quote Confucius “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” Here are some tips to get started. Review your bills Look for monthly automatic charges to your credit card or bank account that you are no longer using or getting any benefit from.  These are often overlooked as small things, but they can add up quickly. Finding little ways of saving can happen every day.  Try walking to do some your errands or monitor the thermostat at home. Window shop and then plan your purchases, no impulse buys. Finally, Look at your interest rates on your credit cards. You may have various levels of interest rates in your wallet.  Transfer high-interest credit card balances to low interest ones first.  Once you are maintaining low interest rates the next step is to commit to paying them off completely. Credit Reports A credit report is a detailed breakdown of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau. Credit bureaus collect financial information about individuals and create credit reports based on that information.  Lenders also use the reports along with other details to determine your creditworthiness. The three credit reporting agencies are TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Because of their reporting methods, it is common to have different credit scores across all three bureaus.  All consumers should be aware of the FACT [Read More...]