I was recently reading an article in the Financial times about the growing problem of debt in our country and reading the article has made me realize that young adults such as myself are not given enough financial education as teens to show us how to avoid debt and handle credit cards responsibly. To make matters worse credit card companies have bombarded college campuses across the nation offering novelties and no interest cards and the statistics are proving them successful. According to one poll credit card debt among 18-24 year olds has grown over 102 % over this past decade alone. Personally at the moment I’m paying off a couple of cards I signed up for during my fist year of college before I had any concept of what the terms APR and variable interest rate meant. Millions of Americans, especially during this time of recession, are realizing how shocking the real world is when it comes to organizing and understanding your finances.Credit cards aren’t the only economic issues that this generation is now facing. The cost of higher education has risen by over 36% since the last decade and our generation now on average carries a balance of nearly $20,000 in student loans alone. With the volatility of the job market and the cost of living increasing, young adults need to be financially educated before they end up in a downward spiral. Through bloggin I want to inform and educate other young adults such as myself about various financial issues affecting our generation while simultaneously implementing the very same advice on my road to financial freedom. With that being said here are a few tips to help take control of your financial future:
1. Become financially literate- Websites such as www.jumpstartcoalition.org and www.moneypower.org are extremely helpful tools in updating your financial vocabulary.
2. Organization is key- Be as organized as possible. Keeping track of you money is one of the most practical and beneficial tips of advice that I follow. Writing down what and where you spend, and what your expected income and expenses for the month are ,will enable you to budget and with a budget you will be able to put some money to the side for an emergency fund.
3. Avoid impulse buying- For tips read my blog on money saving tips for the impulsive buyer.
4. Paid in full- If you own a credit card, pay it in full every month. Once a credit card company starts to charge you interest you’re bills will become increasingly harder to manage.
And always remember “The Rich start Young”
