Managing Your Money:

Why it is Important to Start Young

This booklet is designed to help you understand the importance of saving money and how to spend your money responsibly. Remember-it's never too soon to learn about money!

It seems people don't save money these days. Personal savings rates are at an all time low, and many people nearing retirement don't have enough money set aside to support themselves.

Did you know that:

• Over 30% of students use credit cards?
• Debt problems can cause depression in students, and that affects study habits and academic performance?
• Students strapped with high credit card debt have a more difficult time repaying student loans and have an increased probability of default?
• This year, many families will pay about the same amount in interest on credit cards as they spend for food?

It's pretty obvious that many people just aren't good at managing their money. That's why it's so important for you to learn how to save and spend wisely right now. By developing good money management skills, you can make your own future secure and get everything you want out of life.

In this booklet, you will learn how to establish guidelines for saving and spending, how to budget your money, and how to handle credit wisely.

Goal-Setting Guidelines

It is a good idea to write down your goals for saving money. That helps you keep in mind what you want to achieve-and how to get there. Your goals should be:

• Realistic (For example, a student working part-time is not likely to be able to afford a new car without help.)
• Specific ("I need to save $1,000 for a down-payment on a car.")
• Limited in time ("I want to pay back my mom within the next 3 months.")
• Actionable ("I will start an automatic deposit savings account with monthly withdrawals from my checking account.")