A major problem young people face when becoming independent is that they are not ready to deal with financial matters. While living with their parents, young people are insulated from financial decisions. When they go off to college, they are suddenly exposed to the vagaries of making day-to-day financial decisions with little more than intuition and common sense. The result is increasing debt burden of young people exiting college.
The increasing number of students in debt has prompted a reexamination of what needs to be done. Schooling in finance is one way but has not achieved good results. This has forced many to turn to alternative avenues for learning about personal finance education.
One institution that high school graduates can use is online education. There are a number of online sites for personal finance education. Not only do they teach course material, but they also offer games, forms, and schedules to help a young person get a feeling for what it is like to finally take care of his or her own money.
A third way of picking up information on money and budgetary matters is the community adult learning center. Often these places teach useful, adult-oriented skills. The classes are not so expensive costing only about a hundred dollars for several weeks worth of lessons and personal attention from the instructor.
Hands-on experience is very useful and valuable because it exposes the college student to real experience. Some of the following may be helpful.
Supposing your mobile phone plan is an old-fashioned one, it could be costing you money unnecessarily so check out new plans to get a better deal. To compare your cellular phone plan with those currently offered, go to a good personal finance online place and type in your current plan information. You will be presented with a number of phone plans that are best suited for your income level.
Your job may help you to get lower insurance rates – if you are in a low-risk (safe) position, your insurance may cost you less. If you are a person who works a “low-risk” job (ex: accountant, teacher) you may be able to get reduced health insurance rates. Students get their plans from schools but may still have to pay out of pocket.
