April is Financial Literacy Month so What Are You Going to do About it?

By Katerina Taylor

March 17, 2011
http://www.smartkidzmatter.com/


I’m excited that Spring is fast approaching, and with its arrival is warm and sunny weather. I cannot be sure for everyone else, but as for me I can think of a few places I would love to be on the weekends when the weather feels amazing outside. So here is my warm weather agenda in a nutshell. I want to meet up with my friends and head straight to the mall for some major shopping. Sun dresses are my favorite Spring and Summer assembles so I buy plenty for my new season’s wardrobe. After the mall and maybe one “Orange Julius” pina colada smoothie later our next stop is food. I am not normally un- decisive about food, but beautiful weather brings about an urge to sit and enjoy a sweet tea on the patio. So it is a must that my friends and I find a place that has a patio to enjoy the sun. Once our patio dining has been decided we order whatever we want; even if it has tons of carbohydrates. It is the Spring season and we are celebrating. What a perfect day!

In my head the above Spring agenda is great. Who doesn’t love shopping and enjoying a great meal in the sun? However I am all too aware of another significant time in Spring, and that it is Financial Literacy month. Financial literacy Month is celebrated all over the world in the month of April. Families and students miles away in other cities, states, and countries are considering how to celebrate. But what does Financial Literacy Month mean, what does it stand for, and how should it be celebrated? Financial Literacy Month comes in with a new season and with a new season brings change. This great money occasion was created so that consumers and their families would take a more tactical approach in teaching and learning about money and personal financial matters. Financial Literacy Month was created to make us aware of our positive and negative spending behaviors. Helping us choose to do better when it comes to how we spend and use our monetary resources. The goal of Financial Literacy Month is that consumers begin saving their money, buy only what they need and what they plan for, and most importantly not overspending or wastefully spending.

This April during Financial Literacy Month instead of heading to the mall with friends ask your neighbor if you can walk their dog for a fee, start a neighborhood car washing business, or help your parents with a garage sale. Begin to discover ways you can save money and make money. Get your class together and write letters to your state legislator to add a financial literacy class in your schools. Go to your local library and enroll in a free money class. Whatever and however you choose to celebrate Financial Literacy Month remember to share what you have learned and always give something back to your community.

How Smart Tweens and Tweens Set and Achieve Financial Goals

Poet Maya Angelou once said “when you know better you do better. So why is that every time a new gadget, a new nail polish, or a cute skirt is displayed in the window at the mall you have no money to purchase them? Everyone is familiar with this scenario: Just Bieber, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, or Kesha is touring your city and you heard the concert was amazing to witness, but there is no money left from baby sitting or completing chores because you spent it as fast as you earned it. So any chance you had of going to the Kesha concert is a distant dream, but your friends will tell you all about it at school the next week. Wouldn’t it be great to have the money saved to purchase concerts tickets without the stress of not knowing how you will pay for it.




Why is it important to save even if you only save 10% of all the monies you earn? Saving your money will help you pay for big ticket purchases, achieve financial goals that you have set for yourself, and let’s not forget the rainy day fund. Buying Lady Gaga concerts tickets would be considered a big ticket item, ordering your yearbook would be a financial goal that your will want to accomplish before the payment due date. Both of these purchases are important and must be planned for. So how do you save and spend your money? One you must decide what it is you want to purchase, and what is the average price? Once you have assessed the cost make a decision for a timeline, your timeline can be a week, a month, 6 months or a year. After you have established a timeframe take the cost of your goal and divide it by the timeline. For example if you want an Ipad at a cost of $600.00 and you want it in 6 months the formula is (cost of goal/ timeframe = savings goal) $600.00/6 months = $100 per month is your savings goal. You must save $100.00 per month for six months or $25.00 per week for 24 weeks. Once you know what your weekly or monthly savings goal is you can now develop a strategy. Your strategy might be starting a dog walking business, or raking leaves, and it may mean doing more chores for additional allowance money. Whatever your strategy is to create income, be consistent for the duration of your timeframe. You might even get to your goal much quicker than you planned. Smart Teens and Tweens make smart purchases because they plan for their spending so they never miss out on what’s hot.

Leveraging Lessons Learned

So its 2011 and many companies have reported making a 4th quarter profit despite the slow start of 2010.  Hip Hip Hooray for these companies, but have American households started to realize a profit yet?  Have we learned from the hard lessons of 2008 through 2010?  Many Americans believe so.  Just last year American families were eating out less, decreasing their budgets for entertainment and other wants.  Coupon clipping was the new trend, and cutting back in every area of our finances was a must.  But now as Americans are feeling better about the current economic environment and its upward trend to recover; they are rethinking their current spending habits.  I think some would agree that in the last couple of years American households went cold turkey on their mindless spending habits.  Today Americans feel more confident that they will ask the right questions and make better choices when it comes to making financial decisions.  They are truly leveraging thier lessons learned.   Today they will not wait to buy a car when their current car is about to fall apart.  They will buy a car with confidence leveraging what they know now.  They will buy a reasonable priced car after much negotiation, for the right price.  It will not be a brand new car, and it will not be a luxuary car if it is not in their budget.  Americans still want to take family vacations but will not go into debt for it.  They will be strategic in their vacaion planning, researching the best deals and discovering ways to be entertained for free.  As people begin to consider their first or second home purchase the "Mini Mansions" of the past will stay in the past.  As Americans are now opting for practical, cozy, and smart home purchases.  But if none of this sounds like you then, well, you must have farewelled during the worst American recession in history.  If you didn't may I recommend that you consider thinking about the purchases you wish you had not made.  Consider if you have at least 6 months worth of living expenses saved and if not why not?  Then take notice of your neighbors and family members did they change their spending behaviors?  Now you can leverage lessons learned.  I declare we are no longer scared to make purchases and spend money but we will make purchases carefully and timely.  Maya Angelou stated "When you know better, you do better".  This year in 2011 before we make financial decisions let's leverage our lessons learned.