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Financial planning is tough for the novice...
maybe this will help.
This article has been prompted by an E-mail I
received not long ago which included the
following: "I would love to see some articles on
[basic] financial management skills for children,
young adults, or people who grew up in situations
where financial "responsibility" was never taught
or not emphasized." An old TV series use to begin
its show similarly reading a letter to which the
announcer would respond, "You asked for it." Well
reader, "You asked for it!"
It is so difficult to know where to begin with
such a vast discussion but it does seem to me that
there are a few very pivotal issues which must be
learned before the rest: Budgeting, Check
Management, and Fraud Issues. I don't think it at
all possible to exist in this society with any
financial control without first mastering a
budget.
Similarly, unless you can master a checkbook, you
will certainly never be given credit. And finally,
there are too many "hucksters" in this world all
too anxious to part you from your pocket book and
therefore a sensitivity to fraud is a must.
Therefore I would begin with:
Budgeting - is a series of articles and links to
help with this priority subject. See especially
Personal Spending Plan.
Balancing Your Checkbook Statement and Avoiding
Bad Checks - progresses from balancing your
checkbook and staying out of trouble once the
account is up and running.
Many who have been victimized are living proof
that one way to save a lot of money is to protect
yourself in the areas of fraud and waste. The
Internet resource, Fraud and Waste , offers a
number of authoritative Internet resources. Worse
Than Loan Sharking is an article about check
advance systems... a practice I strongly encourage
every consumer to avoid.
But that's just for starters and only covers items
I personally see as primary. The web site Bonehead
Finance offers a site name I'm not crazy about but
does make a point that even those who are not
financial whiz kids can do just fine with
financial management. The site also begins to get
into basic investments and retirement planning.
Similarly Credit Basics and FAQ offers my own list
of resources on the subject. Though some of the
resources are listed in this article, some
resources expand into such things as bankruptcy
and credit basics. There are at least two other
resources I believe are truly outstanding in
offering the finest ideas for teaching/learning
financial responsibility and financial management:
National Council On Economic Education (NCEE) is a
unique nonprofit partnership of leaders in
education, business and labor devoted to helping
youngsters learn to think, to choose and to
function in a changing global economy. Be sure to
visit "It All Adds Up" to learn more about
managing credit, budgeting, decision making, and
paying for college through a series of 5 online
activities.
A search of the site Family.com on the key word
"Financial Responsibility" produced an outstanding
list of articles and Q&A's written for this top
notch site. Here are just a few examples:
"Managing Pokemon Mania" - Expert advice on how to
set limits and teach fiscal responsibility when
your child spends too much on fads and
collections. "Teaching Kids Financial Planning" -
Strategies for raising financially responsible
kids. "Teaching Kids Money Lessons" - Do your kids
a favor; teach them how to handle cash. "Learning
While Earning" - A summer job has many benefits.
"Raise Money Smart Kids" - A guide to encouraging
smart money habits and scores more. In the article
"Teaching Kids Financial Responsibility", a very
strong statement is made:
"Teaching money lessons to children is difficult.
Their friends appear to have every toy on the
planet. Advertisements pressure them into buying
things they don't need with money they (and you)
don't have.... But teaching fiscal responsibility
is important. Financial planning and the rewards
it brings become second nature to an adult who was
taught as a child the basics of financial
responsibility."I would add to the above that
these comments equally speak to any adult who has
not yet had the benefit of consistent training in
fiscal responsibility skills as a youth. Lacking
the benefit of such training is tragic and
therefore I suggest the road to learning these
skills may well be tougher as an adult. But if it
is never started, when will it ever be finished? |
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