Children with money

Teaching children about money can be a tough job. I'm still a child myself and trying to teach me how to balance my monthly spendings can be a real nightmare. No matter what though, teaching financial literacy to children is an important part of ensuring that they will grow up smart with money.

I am part of a team for an organization at my school called SkillsUSA. In this event, my teammates and I benefit the community by teaching financial literacy to our peers and the children younger than ourselves. With the help of Unity one, we were certified to teach financial literacy. My group visited various elementary and middle schools in our community and let me tell you, those kids were tough to get to. The elementary kids were so bright and so energetic. When asked about college and what they do with their allowances, they answered with simple questions like "I use my money for candy!" And "My college is already paid for! It's only like 5 thousand dollars" Oh boy, little do they know that reality isn't that simple.

As a seniors in high school, we are preparing for college the upcoming fall and studies is the least bit of our worries. Money is such an issue because universities are basically taking your blood, sweat and tears for however many years you're planning on being in college!
Now, we was once in the shoes of those elementary and middles schoolers so we know how their brains are wired. It was a tough job, but I think that we did a good job. Neither one of us are parents with the experiences of teaching but I do believe that we did a great job as amateurs.

Pack your lunch! Save some $$

Whether you work or go to school, lunch time is one of the most anticipated time of the day. But you can end up spending a lot of money on lunch without even knowing it.

I go to school at a technology center and we have a student-ran Bistro and store that sells food/snacks for the students and staff. Walking around the school every day with the aroma of food from the Bistro is very tempting to just drop in and spend a mere five dollars on maybe a drink, fries and a sandwich. If you're like me, you like food, so delicious smelling food is already a bonus. I would spend about five dollars every single school day on lunch because it was good and it was convenient. Five dollars is just pocket change right? That's what I thought, but then I starting thinking about how much money I've been spending on food all together.

Five dollars a day for five days a week. That's $25 a week and about $100 on lunch alone, a month. I felt that it was really unnecessary for a senior in high school who's trying to save money for college. So spending after about $300, I decided to save my money by making my own lunch from home. I started making a sandwich for lunch every single day and that saved me more than half of what I was spending at school. The money I have saved still isn't even enough to cover the cost of one college class, but it sure did save me some money for maybe books!

And remember, you're never too cool for a home packed lunch by your mom with an "I love you, munchkin" note on the inside!

Happy saving!

New Car?

No matter what age you are, deciding to get a new car can be tough. There are many aspects that has to go into place before you can make your final decision.

Just to name a few: 

• What kind of car do you want? Color, model, type, etc. 
• Is it safe? 
• And if you're a teenage girl like me, is it pretty? 
• But most importantly, will that "new" car fit your financial needs? 

That's when you ask yourself, should you buy a car, or lease a car? 

Now, I'm an 18 year old teenage girl with probably the knowledge of a rock when it comes to financing and cars. But I did do my homework before I decided on what to do. I was given a budget and with that, I was able to explore the world wide web for my dream car. I compared models, colors, engines, everything you could possibly do with what information the website would give you on a specific car. I remember even comparing cup holders! "This car might be better, it has 8 cup holders while the other has only 4!"I would calculate how much the payment would be monthly and annually. 

When I was at the dealership with my father doing some paperwork for the car, it felt like I was on foreign land. Mind you, my father didn't speak very much english so I was the one talking and translating. They asked me if I was leasing or buying the car. Of course I wanted to buy it. I'm keeping my baby forever! The process was long and hard, especially for someone without knowledge like me. 

I chose buying the car instead of leasing it because my mother always told me that you'd be at a disadvantage if you ever lease the car. It loses it value and you don't get to keep the car! I don't know if that's really true or not, but she's my mother. She has to know what she's talking about, right? 

I guess the moral of my story is that if you make your payments right, in 20 years, you'll still have "Old Reliable" to call your own. Buying a car would be the best option in the long run (in my opinion). :)