6 Money Lessons for My College-Aged Daughter
Post written by Leo Babauta.
My daughter Chloe is starting out in college in the fall, and with her newfound independence will come the newfound responsibilities of dealing with money.
Like many young people, she hates thinking about finances.
I was one of them. I always dreaded budgeting and paying bills and thinking about savings and retirement, and figured I could always deal with it later.
Problem with that is you end up screwing yourself if you put things off until later. Living for the moment is great, until the finances catch up with you and the moment starts to suck because you owe a ton of debt.
Ive found that living mindfully means not just partying in the moment, but taking care of things now, when theyre small, rather than when theyre huge.
So with that in mind, I have a few lessons Id like to emphasize for Chloe, and for anyone else starting out in college.
1. Spend less than you earn. OK, this is almost the only lesson you need, but its so important Im going to break it down further. The biggest reason people get into financial problems is they spend money they dont really have. Then you end up in the hole, and its hard to get out of the hole, and you work crazy hours to keep up with your spending, and you end up with a life thats about nothing but trying to pay for all the spending on crap you dont really need.
So spend less, work less, worry less, be happier.
1a. Dont get into debt. If you spend less than you earn, you wont be in debt, obviously. Its easy, though, to get a student credit card and put things on there if you dont have the money right now. You can pay for it next week when you get your check, right? Thats a slippery slope. Student loans are another tool for getting over your head in debt. Theyre not the worst debt if youre paying for a degree thats going to earn a lot of money, but most of us English majors arent going to get an $80K ! per year job and shouldnt take out $80K in student loans.
1b. Savings is your first bill to pay. If you spend less than you earn, save the rest. Make the savings an automatic payment that happens every payday, and make it the first and most important bill you pay. Not optional. Youll be glad as the savings grows, and especially when emergencies come up.
1c. If you dont have the money, go without. This is a lesson most people (young or old) forget. You dont actually need a car, so if you cant afford to pay cash, dont get a loan. You dont need nice clothes, or a smart phone, or a fancy laptop or iPad or Kindle, you dont need to go to nice restaurants or the movies or bars. If you dont have the money, find free ways to have fun or get things done you need to get done.
2. Make a very very simple budget. Its a scary thing for people whove never done a budget, but its not hard. List your income, then list your bills (and savings). If the bills add up to more than the income, eliminate some bills. Use a simple spreadsheet to do the adding for you. This helps you to know whats coming in and going out. I like the envelope system for making sure I dont spend to much on variable expenses.
3. Pay bills right away. If you have the money, pay the bill as soon as it comes in. You can usually do this online, but if not, its just a matter of writing a check, putting it in an envelope, and writing out an address two minutes. Do this two-minute action immediately, so you dont have to worry about it later. If you let the bill-paying get pushed back, it becomes a dreaded thing, and your bills start to become overdue, and then its much worse.
Thats all you need to know. If you save when youre in college, avoid debt (except perhaps a modest student loan), and pay bills on time, youre golden.
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