You are here: Home / Archives for General

Preparing Yourself for When Your Kid Goes to College

August 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Doctor Doctor

Image by twenty_questions via Flickr

College is even more necessary to find a good job, and even more expensive. While the financial aspect is certainly something to consider, your child’s attitude is equally important to make college worth their time and your money. Here are a few things you should consider when thinking about how to put your kid through college.

 

Prepare financially. Everyone talks about opening a trust for their baby for their college fund, but few actually do it. If you have money when your kids are small, it is incredibly wise to find an investment. Don’t want to do it yourself? Hire an online trading broker who can invest your money wisely without you having to stress out about it. Even if your kids are older, investing your money is always a good idea.

 

Prepare mentally. Prepare your child to appreciate the benefits of a college degree. One of the best ways you can do this is by instilling a love of learning in your kid that will make them excited about (some) of their college classes. Encouraging them to find a major that truly interests them will help them appreciate their classes and excel. Remember, there is debate on whether it matter what their degree is in as long as they have one, so don’t squash their dreams of being an art major too quickly.

 

Do what’s best for your kid. Even if you have the money to cover your child’s college expenses, think about what will make them most appreciate the privilege of getting a college degree. Requiring them to pay a part of the cost of college could make them take it a little more seriously. Whether its through work, studies or a summer job, having them invest in their own future is a good thing.

 

College is a critical time in your child’s life, so prepare yourself early both mentally and financially to help them get the most out of it.

Filed Under: General, Parenting Tagged With:

How To Teach a Teen Financial Discipline

July 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Bought a travel wallet :(

Image by mroach via Flickr

One of the most important things you can do as a parent is teach your teen how to manage and respect money. A young adult with good financial discipline has a better chance at being an independent adult.

Don’t Spend What You Haven’t Earned

As soon as your teenager is old enough to get a job, you should demand he do so. The fastest way to get a kid to respect money is to make him earn his own. Once he understands the value of a hard-earned dollar, the rest of the money education will be pretty easy.

Kids need to know that it is best to pay cash for the things they want. Reinforce the importance of saving money for those things. Since you’ll be paying for medical needs, food, shelter and basic clothing, make your teen buy the extra stuff. Help him learn how to save and budget. As he develops a new responsibility for money, you might even want to give him a Reach prepaid card so he can begin to learn about credit, too.

Make Sure Credit Cards Are Your Teen’s Responsibility

If you choose to get your kid a prepaid credit card, make sure it’s his money that you use to set the limit. Make him reload it. This is a great way to help your child visualize money that he doesn’t necessarily “see.” People get into financial trouble with credit when they start to think about those loans as something to worry about tomorrow.

As your child learns to use his card, he’ll also be building his own good credit score. That will be a great help when he’s ready to step out on his own. Make money management a key part of your child’s education.

Filed Under: Counseling, General Tagged With: , ,

How to Buy an Affordable Car for Your Teen

June 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When buying an affordable car for your teenager there are a few things to keep in mind.

Know Your Budget

Once you have worked out how much you can afford to spend on the car, stick to it. Your teenager may have ideas on what they want that are way out of your budget. Be firm with them and explain that it won’t be any more than the amount you have designated. Or they can save up and chip in for the rest of the amount if it is over your budget. If you have an existing car loan, you can look into car refinance to add to the budget.

Do Your Research

If you are buying a new car do your research to find the most economical model. A car may have an affordable price, but the upkeep may be too much for you and your teen to maintain. Look at aspects such as gas usage per mile, service checks to keep the car under warranty, and the cost of parts. Locally made cars will have cheaper parts compared to imported cars. If you are buying a used car, enlist the help of someone who knows about cars to help you make your choice.

Talk to Your Teen

Once you have figured out your budget and narrowed the car choices down to a few, talk to your teen about the responsibility involved. By doing this you will be able to gauge their level of awareness and responsibility when it comes to owning and taking care of a car.

Keeping the above in mind will make the process easier for you.

 

Filed Under: General Tagged With: , ,

Tobacco Use Among Teens on the Decline; Marijuana Use Stagnates

February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Cigarette smoking among teens is on the decline, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). Based on the 35th annual study, cigarette smoking among students in 8th, 10th and 12th grades is at lowest point in the history of the study.

Online survey software tools are being used to measure drug, alcohol and cigarette use among adolescents nationwide since 1975. The survey is conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. Categories of drug use broken down by grade as well as by life-time use, past year use and past month use.

According to the study results from 2009, cigarette smoking dropped among all three survey groups. This is significant because addiction to tobacco is considered one of the top preventable contributors to many U.S. health problems.

Lifetime use of methamphetamines also dropped significantly from 2004 to 2009. For 8th-graders, lifetime use went from 2.3 percent to 1.6 percent. Amphetamines, alcohol and cocaine use also showed steady, five-year declines for 10th and 12th graders.

Teen attitudes toward substance abuse also showed many positive changes which is a good indicator of future changes in use. Senior perceptions of the harmfulness of LSD, amphetamines, heroin, cocaine and several other drugs have increased while their perception of the availability of several drugs has decreased.

Despite these positive notes, the study results show some points of concern. Marijuana use which had been declining consistently since the mid-1990’s, has remained virtually unchanged over the last five years with past month usage up in all three grades studied in a year-on-year comparison.

The use of smokeless tobacco also increased significantly for 10th graders in all three categories. Prescription drug use has also been on the rise for 10th graders with an increase in past year nonmedical use of Vicodin and Oxycontin for the previous five years.

Seniors reported that they were able to obtain prescription drugs which they used for nonmedical reasons either by buying them from a friend or relative or being given them (52 percent) or getting them by prescription (30 percent). Very few 12th graders purchased these drugs over the Internet.

Filed Under: Counseling, General Tagged With: , ,

Choosing the Right College

February 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If having children is a miracle, what is sending them away? For some parents, seeing the kids off to college might be one of the most difficult parts of life. Part of the concern is wondering if their son or daughter is going to a school that will cultivate his or her skills and offer the best preparation for a career. Deciding on a college ultimately depends on the preferences of the student, but parents still play a vital role in providing their child with both proper advice and emotional support.

College rankings are important. Attending Harvard or Stanford might be the ideal, but few students get past the ivy walls that bar entrance to these elite universities. Even though attending an Ivy League university might provide students with the most opportunities, choosing the best college goes beyond ranking.

Will your child graduate? That might be the most important question to ask before deciding to send a child to a certain school. That requires determining a level of comfort. Some schools might lack the level of comfort necessary for a student to succeed. Students from a small town might not be ready to attend a major university. Going from a town of 4,000 to a campus of more than 40,000 might be too big of a leap for some students.

The most damaging financial decision of a lifetime might be starting college at an expensive school and never finishing. Parents and their children need to perform proper research prior to deciding on a college. Web sites such as elearners.com provide parents and children with the necessary information to make informed decisions before deciding on a school. By doing research on the Internet, parents and students can widen their search and not be bound by travel budgets. Going across the country to look for a school might not fit a budget, but looking up all the relevant information online fits any budget.

Filed Under: Advice, General Tagged With: , ,

Managing a Move

February 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The collapse of the American housing market has meant more than the loss of dollars on investors’ portfolios. Perhaps the most painful part of the economic problems has been people losing their homes. Even if the economic distress does not mean going homeless, there are few experiences more traumatic than being forced out of a residence due to financial problems. Even though a downsizing causes terrible stress, families that face this option need to know the proper steps to make the best of a difficult situation. Here are some hints to make the transition easier.

Moving to a smaller place means getting rid of unnecessary items, which can be a painful process for many people. Try to distance emotions from items. After all, things can be discarded, but the memories endure. Keep the items that are treasures. There is almost always room from wedding gifts or college diplomas, but gift shop items from a trip to a museum or old DVDs might have to go. If moving from a Richmond home to a location such as Virginia Beach apartments requires sacrificing some clutter, consider it a healthy exercise in managing items, rather than downsizing. To assuage the guilt of getting rid of items, consider finding them a home. Try giving away items with sentimental value to family, or try finding a charity that needs toys or old furniture.

Do not let a move to a smaller place cause unnecessary stress. Moving to a smaller home is a natural part of life as family members grow up and move on to homes of their own. If a financial situation forces the move, consider it an example of the process of life accelerating. Moving to a new location might not always be by choice, but the move does not have to be unnecessarily stressful. Manage the move and make careful decisions with cherished items to make the move more a transition than an extreme change.

Filed Under: Advice, General Tagged With: , ,