No More Mac 'n Cheese! (eBook)

The Real-World Guide to Managing Your Money for 20-Somethings

Lise Andreana (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2012 | EPUB Version of 1st Edition
168 Seiten
Self-Counsel Press (Verlag)
9781770408883 (ISBN)

Infos

You don't have to live on cheap noodles anymore! The real-world guide to managing your money for 20-somethings.

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Young people’s financial futures seem bleak: The cost of education is increasing, credit card debt is rising, and many job markets are shrinking. Yet young people are still driven to make it on their own, and to do so, they need to be smart with their money. But does anyone really teach the financial skills necessary to get ahead in life?

No More Mac 'n' Cheese! covers the successful transition from family home to first apartment; how to save for future goals such as a car, marriage, mortgage, and retirement; what to do about employment benefit plans, budgeting, investing, and debt control; and many more topics that so many people have had to learn the hard way.

Whether you are graduating from high school or university or simply trying to make it on your own for the first time, this book is for you. Written by a veteran financial advisor, No More Mac 'n' Cheese! is a guide for today's young adults who are looking to be financially independent without having to eat cheap noodles for every meal.

In addition to many examples and resources throughout the book, a download kit is included with supplemental tools for a simple start to financial planning basics — lessons that will last a lifetime.

Inhalt

Contents
Introduction xiii
1 The Difference in Finances between the Baby
Boomers and Gen Y 1
1. The Evolution of Personal Finances 1
2 Give Your Parents the “Money Talk” 5
1. Topics to Discuss with Your Parents 6
1.1 Values 6
1.2 Education 7
1.3 Returning to the family home after graduation 7
3 Steps for Students 11
1. Course Selection Leading to Success 11
2. Part-Time Work and the Student 14
3. Volunteer Work 16
4 From School to Workplace 19
1. What Employers Want from You 19
2. Decide What You Want from the Employer 21
5 From Your Parents’ Basement to Your First
Apartment 25
1. Begin with a Savings Plan 26
2. Selecting an Apartment 28
iv No More Mac ‘n’ Cheese!
6 Set Goals 31
1. Set Your Goals 32
1.1 Step 1: Visualization 32
1.2 Step 2: Goals, Position, and Strategy (GPS) 35
1.3 Step 3: Dangers, Opportunities,
and Strengths (DOS) 37
1.4 Step 4: Treasure it, recycle it, trash it 37
2. Examples of Goal Setting 38
7 Create a Budget 47
1. Needs and Wants 47
1.1 Control your spending 48
2. Budgeting to Live within Your Means 50
2.1 The lifestyle your income will support 50
2.1a A simple life 50
2.1b A simple comfortable life 51
2.1c A bove average 51
2.1d Luxury 52
2.1e Prestige 52
2.2 Create and follow a budget 53
2.3 Typical budget 56
2.3a Financial obligations 56
2.3b Needs 57
2.3c Wants 58
3. Seize Savings Opportunities 62
4. Examples of Financial Lifestyles 62
4.1 Cassie’s financial life plan 63
4.2 Matt’s financial life plan 65
4.3 Sam’s financial life plan 67
8 Calculate Your Net Worth 71
1. Examples of Net Worth 71
2. Your Most Valuable Asset 73
3. Calculating Your Net Worth 76
Contents v
9 Create a Safety Net: Insurance 79
1. Consider What You Should Insure 80
1.1 Prioritize your insurance purchases 80
1.1a Vehicle insurance 80
1.1b Disability insurance 81
1.1c Life insurance 82
1.1d Health insurance 82
1.1e Property insurance 83
1.1f Critical illness insurance 83
1.1g Travel insurance 83
1.1h Other insurance 84
2. Learn by Example 84
3. A Typical Employer’s Benefit Plan 87
4. Tips for Choosing an Insurance Provider 88
4.1 Life and health insurance advisor 89
4.2 Property insurance advisor 90
10 Debt 91
1. The Difference between Good Debt and Bad Debt 92
2. U nderstand What Your Lender Is Saying 93
3. Helpful Credit Tips 93
4. What to Do When Things Go Wrong 95
11 Saving and Investing 99
1. The Four Principles for Building Your Foundation
of Wealth 100
1.1 Debt control 100
1.2 Delayed gratification 101
1.3 Diversification 102
1.4 Dollar cost averaging 102
2. Priorities for Your Savings and Investments 102
2.1 Priority 1: Emergency fund 103
2.2 Priority 2: Where you should invest your savings
for mid-term goals 104
vi No More Mac ‘n’ Cheese!
2.3 Priority 3: Investing for long-term goals 104
3. Talk to a Financial Planner 106
4. Know Your Money Style and Avoid the Pitfalls 107
12 Get Financial Help 111
1. Do-It-Yourself and Group Learning 111
2. Hiring an Advisor 112
2.1 Selecting an advisor who can meet your needs 113
2.2 Choosing your financial advisor 117
3. Review Your Financial Plan Annually 119
13 Buying a Vehicle 121
1. Do Your Research before Buying a Vehicle 122
2. Should You Buy a New or Used Vehicle? 123
3. Should You Buy or Lease? 123
3.1 Buying 124
3.2 Leasing 125
14 Buying a Home 129
1. Terms You’ll Need to Know 130
2. Types of Housing 132
2.1 Single-family home 132
2.2 Townhouse 133
2.3 Condominium 133
3. Borrowing to Buy Your New Home 133
4. The Importance of Location 136
5. Get What You Want without Overpaying 137
15 Tips for Couples 143
1. How to Reconcile Your Money Management
Differences 145
2. Solutions for Who Pays for What 146
2.1 Pool all the money into one account 147
2.2 Equal contribution 147
2.3 Contribute a proportional percentage of earnings 148
2.4 Keep separate accounts 148
Contents vii
3. Planning for Happiness While Protecting Yourself 149
4. Getting Married 150
4.1 Talk to your parents 151
Conclusion 153
Samples
1 Differences between the Baby Boomers
and Generation Y 4
2 Comparing a Job with Benefits versus a Job
without Benefits 23
3 Cassie’s Cash Flow Statement 27
4 Cassie’s Net Worth 28
5 Setting Goals 32
6 Matt’s GPS Exercise 40
7 Matt’s DOS Analysis 41
8 Matt’s Treasure It, Recycle It, Trash It Exercise 42
9 Sam’s GPS Exercise 45
10 Sam’s DOS Analysis 46
11 Matt’s Net Worth 72
12 Cassie’s Net Worth Projection 73
13 Cassie’s Lifetime Income Potential 74
14 Matt’s Lifetime Income Potential 75
15 Sam’s Lifetime Income Potential 75
16 Mortgage Comparison 134
Exercises
1 Visualization 34
2 Goals, Position, and Strategy (GPS) 36
3 Dangers, Opportunities, and Strengths
(DOS) Analysis 38
4 Treasure It, Recycle It, Trash It 39
5 Cash Flow Statement: Income 54
6 Cash Flow Statement: Expenses 55
7 Simple Lifestyle Budget 59
viii No More Mac ‘n’ Cheese!
8 Simple Comfortable Lifestyle Budget 60
9 A bove Average Lifestyle Budget 61
10 Calculating Your Net Worth 78
11 Questions to Ask a Potential Financial Advisor 119
12 Steps for Purchasing Your First Home 139
Quizzes
1 What Is Your Latte Score? 49
2 What Type of Investor Are You? 108
3 What Type of Financial Advisor Suits Your Needs? 115
4 Should You Buy or Lease a Vehicle? 127

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 1.7.2012
• Reihe/Serie: Personal Finance Series
• Verlagsort: Vancouver
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Beruf / Finanzen / Recht / Wirtschaft ► Geld / Bank / Börse
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Lebenshilfe / Lebensführung
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• ISBN-13: 9781770408883 / 9781770408883