A Student's Perspective
on Personal Finance
By Ashley Miller - special to Yes, You Can
As Chief Financial Parent you are responsible for teaching your kids smart finance. No time is too soon to begin educating them on how to provide for themselves in the long run.
Being a parent is hard. You and your spouse can paint the nursery, research the best school systems and dream of the day when you will watch your children enter the real world. But what many parents don't think about is the reality of the "real world." Bills, mortgages, 401Ks, etc.
Will your kids be able to financially support themselves? "When I was growing up, my parents did not want me to work for money. They wanted me to play, concentrate on my studies, learn music and not be distracted by worrying about money," says James Stowers, founder of American Century Investments. The same can be said of my parents. They felt that by meeting all my financial needs, they were helping me to savor every important moment of my life.
While I appreciate the hard work and thought they put into providing for me, I now find myself entering the adult world with precious little financial know-how. As a college student, I am faced with making monthly payments for rent, groceries, loans, tuition and other basic needs. Achieving financial independence with no experience is a difficult task. Parents' main objective is to provide their children with the knowledge of how to survive on their own, physically, mentally and financially.
As a result, I wish my parents had:
Taught me to start saving early. Encourage your children to save birthday money, allowance money and even loose change. Putting their money into a formal bank account at a young age will provide a sense of accomplishment and will create a habit for the rest of their lives. When your children come to the point of needing to make a big purchase, such as a cell phone or even a car, they will be better equipped to attain that goal.
Been transparent. Some topics are taboo in certain households, like sex, politics and money. Each parent dreads the day they have to give the "birds and the bees" speech. But an equally important, and often overlooked, part of growing up is to explain your own financial actions to your children, because nothing will help them grow and better understand personal finance. There is nothing I want more than for my parents to be open with me, especially as a young adult approaching the time I will be forced to make similar decisions.
Explained loans. As a college student, there is nothing I wish I knew more about. "Collateral" did not even register with my vocabulary when it came time to take out my first loan. In our current economy, it is important that your college students learn the basics about how to provide for themselves, if need be. Make sure that when your wallet runs dry, your students already have the necessary means and collateral to take out a loan.
Ashley Miller from Overland Park, Kansas, is a senior at Kansas State University where she is majoring in Public Relations with an emphasis in Marketing.