Green Panda Treehouse

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Photo Credit: Jekkyl

I just found out April is Financial Literacy Month. I decided to make a contribution by checking on the state of affairs of our future.

The Washington Post had an article about the lack of basic knowledge U.S. high-schoolers had in personal finances.

“In light of the problems that have arisen in the subprime mortgage market, we are reminded of how critically important it is for individuals to become financially literate at an early age so that they are better prepared to make decisions and navigate an increasingly complex financial marketplace,” the Fed chairman added.

Some of the questions were involving different type of investments and credit card liability. While those are good things to know, it would be great to focus on the basics of personal finance. Learning to budget can help them plan ahead for larger purchases, like buying a home.

It’s about building a foundation to get to the next step of what type of investments to use or how to plan your retirement.

I have to include Single Ma’s quote, which like her blog, is insightful and funny:

Personal Finance is NOT rocket science. If you earn $5 and you spend $6, that’s a bad. If you earn $5, spend $2, invest/save $2, and give away $1. That’s good. I hate when “experts” make people think you have to understand complex issues in order to make responsible financial decisions. It’s discouraging for the average person.

Personal finance is a necessary skill for life. You don’t jump right into the complex stuff, you start with the basics and then go from there. Just looking at some of the headlines in the papers, there are some problems that could’ve have been avoided if people followed the most basic rule of budgeting:

“Spend less than you earn.”

I found a great quiz to share with middle and high-schoolers that will give a reality check on how much it would cost to support their lifestyle. If you know someone who could benefit from it please pass it on.

While we can’t turn back the clock, we can start now on improving our finances. We can also help the next generation to learn good financial principles that will help them to succeed.

Don’t know how (or when) to start? One series is the M-Network’s Money Matters for All Ages. It’s available as a FREE e-book. Here are the articles in the series:

• Infants: Financial Strategies for Infants and Young Children @ My Dollar Plan
• Tiny Tots: Teaching Preschoolers About Money @ Paid Twice
• Pre-teen: Personal Finance for Children and Pre-Teens @ Being Frugal
• Teenagers:
  • Money Advice to My Teenage Son @ Debt Free Revolution
  • Teach your teen the basics of money management @Gather Little By Little
• College Age: College Money Matters @ Mrs. Micah
• 20s:
  • Financial Advice for Your Twenties @ Remodeling This Life
  • Money Tips for the Twenty Something Crowd @ Cash Money Life
• 30s:
  • The Chaotic Thirties @ Moolanomy
  • Personal Finance Advice for Your 30’s @ My Two Dollars
• 40s: The Forty Year Olds’ Wakeup Call @ Credit Withdrawal
• 50s:
  • You’re in Your 50s - Wake Up and Start Saving @ Millionaire Money Habits
  • Retirement Objectives in your 50’s @ Credit Withdrawal
• 60s+:
  • In your 60’s? Use your financial freedom wisely @ Rocket Finance
  • Easing into the Golden Years- the 60’s and Beyond @ Chance Favors
• Retirement:
  • 4% Withdrawal Rule for Retirement @ Four Pillars
  • Retirement in the UK @ Plonkee
• Highlights of all ages: My Dollar Plan

As you can see by reading my blog, I try to learn about finance and use what I learn (It’s useless unless you do). I’m not perfect, but trying to change little by little. What advice would you pass on?

Photo Credit: Rick Harris

Graduation is around the corner and I’m nervous and excited. One thing I look forward to doing is using my time I spent studying and learning hobbies and new skills. Devote more quality into this blog. I love working on this blog and I’m excited to have some more time to give to it. I want to improve the quality of my post and include more relevant topics. You can help by leaving feedback on what you like and what you don’t care for on the site.

• Learn to play the guitar. I used to know three chords (G, E, D), but I haven’t messed with the guitar in over a year. After graduation, I’d like to pick it up and set aside 2-3 hours a week on learning it right. I found some free lessons on Expert Village.

  Click here for more on “12 Bar Blues Guitar”

• Work on my Spanish. To say I’m a fluent speaker in Spanish would be a lie. I understand when I’m speaking to family, but I prefer to reply back in English. I got Rosetta Stone as a gift and I intend on using it to build up my conversation skills in the language.

• Review some relevant courses. I would like to have my own business and some of my courses this semester would be invaluable to keep in mind. I also had some other classes during previous semesters that are directly related to what I want to do.
• Build my portfolio and gain valuable & practical experience. I already started on this with some friends of mine on developing a video game.

Oh and Green Panda Treehouse made it to the Carnival of Personal Finance over at Money Smart Life. Check it out!

Any plans within the next few months? Leave a comment. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates.

Photo Credit: stanrandom

One of the best experiences I had going to the University is having an internship before I graduate. My internship was extended from one semester to almost one year. In case you’re not familiar with internships, it’s a job in your field of interest with an actual company. The goal is to give students some practical experience to see if this career is something they’re really interested in. You’d be surprised by the differences from classroom to office. Most internships are low level jobs in your field that include some paperwork running and ‘errand boy’ duties. You can network with people in different departments and get an idea of how your prospective career runs. Sometimes it pays money and sometimes it doesn’t. You have to decide if you take a job that pays the bills (and have some extra money) or do you get the unique experience that can help your career in the long run? I was looking at this question square in the face last year.

Many internships I had seen on my university’s career management site were either unpaid or around $6- 7/hour. My situation was that I would prefer an internship, but the fact of the matter was I need a job to pay my bills while I was in school. I was working at a job that was barely meeting my needs, but the flexibility of hours (office was open 6am-1am) made it convenient for a student’s class schedule. I was pretty much at the point that I couldn’t take some jobs because of the pay.

Then one day after doing my daily review of job postings, I noticed an internship in my field. What’s better it was a paid internship. Than I realized it was for several dollars more per hour than my current job! I went and applied immediately and I was fortunate to get the internship. Now that was a fantastic opportunity, but most of the time it doesn’t happen like this. What if I didn’t find this great opportunity; what would have I done?

I know a lot of people would say I’m being short sighted, but I’d take the higher paying job over the lower paying internship. Increasing my debt load is not something I would want to do. It’s tough to turn down a wonderful learning experience, but that’s a price of being in debt. I’m not saying just say ‘no’ to every good opportunity. You do have to take some chances in life, but do it with some plan in mind. Some people can take a lower paying job even when having debt because they choose to cut other expenses to compensate for the loss in pay. If you can do that, then great. If you can not, though, and are pretty much lean in terms of your budget, then stick with the higher paying job.

It’s not over if you decide to go for the higher paying job. Sometimes you can create a win-win situation simply by asking. Try to see if you can convert this job into an internship experience or build skills in your intended career choice.

Questions to Ask at the “Regular Job” Interview

• Is there a project that I can do in addition to my job to qualify this as an internship?
• Can I get written feedback and commendation for the project?
• Are raises merit based or time based? (See if you can improve your income situation)

I wish everyone could find a great paying internship in their field of interest that offers a great chance of learning something challenging and possible their career calling. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. Often we have to create these situations or compromise. How do you feel about it? Should you go for the money or should you go for your career?

If you’re debt free (no credit card debt, auto loans, etc) then by all means take chances now when you have fewer constraints. Let me know if you faced a similar situation. How did you deal with it?