Financial Tips For Graduating High School Students

Understand how personal finance works
Personal finance is not difficult once you learn the basic principles. Learn how credit cards and debit cards work and the pros and cons of using credit cards. You should also know how to balance a checkbook, how to bank online, how to avoid credit card fees, and other basic principles.

Spend less than you earn
After knowing how to use financial tools, spending less than you earn is the most important thing you can do for your financial situation. It doesn't matter how smart you are, how good your job is, or how much you earn - if you spend more than you take in, you will never get ahead in life.

Make budget
A budget will help you spend less than you earn every month. There are a lot of ways to make a budget; some people prefer to track every penny, and others prefer a rough guideline. The important thing is to be able to have an accurate account of your income and account for your major fixed expenses. Find what works for you and your situation and stick with it. You will thank yourself later!

Be careful with credit
Credit is a useful tool, but only if you handle it responsibly. It is important to know and understand how your credit score is determined and how to improve your credit score. Your credit score is probably more important than you realize, and can affect your ability to get loans, the interest rates you pay on loans, and your ability to get a job, rent a house or apartment, or even enter a cell phone contract.

Be careful signing up for credit cards just to get free t-shirts, koozies, or other small dollar items. Many of these cards have high interest rates and low limits, and are designed to make you spend more money than you have. It is very easy to fall into the trap of never ending credit card debt.

Once you know how your credit score can affect you, it is a good idea to begin establishing your credit history. The easiest way to do this is to establish a regular payment pattern over a long period of time. This can be for a fixed loan or with a credit card. The important thing is to start small and stay within your means.

Only use student loans for college expenses
Student loans are for one thing only - college expenses. This includes tuition, fees, books, tutors, and other similar fees. This does not include pizza, out of town football games, spring break, parties and other frivolous expenditures. You may have your student loans for a long time, and you won't be doing yourself any favors by adding fuel to the fire.

Start an emergency fund
An emergency fund is just that - a fund that you keep in a regular savings account and use only for emergencies. No, pizza night doesn't count. We're talking about an emergency plane ticket home, car repairs, medical bills, or anything else that would be considered an emergency by normal standards. Your emergency fund will help you avoid racking up unnecessary credit card debt and let you sleep better at night.

Try to save money
Once you have your emergency fund in place and are current on all your expenses, try to add saving to your budget. It doesn't have to be a lot, but you need to save what you can. When you graduate college, you will find yourself entering a world where you are responsible for all your choices - financial and otherwise. You will need money for a down payment on an apartment, furnishings for your apartment, a professional wardrobe for job interviews, a car, or many other expenses. A little money in a savings account makes this easier and will help you avoid falling into the debt trap.

Have fun
You are entering one of the most memorable periods of your life. Have fun. The good news is that you don't need a ton of money to have fun, especially when most of your friends are probably broke too. There are countless free and inexpensive activities centered on and around college campuses. Find them. Hang out with friends, have cook outs, watch movies, catch the university sporting events, volunteer, etc. The list of things to do on a college campus is as varied as the people who attend school.

Never stop learning - in school and outside school
Your college days are when you will learn more about yourself, others, and life in general, than you ever have before. This is an amazing time to see and do everything you can. Take it all in and enjoy yourself. Take it all in and see and do as much as you can. You only get this chance once.

 

College Planning During Your Junior Year

Yes! You do need to start planning during your junior year of high school. Your objectives: to prepare yourself for the standardized tests, to understand the admissions process, and to end the year with a well-researched list of schools that you will apply to during senior year.

We’ve included a junior year planner to help keep you focused as you take those first steps toward college. Remember, your guidance counselor is an important resource - keep in touch from the moment you start thinking seriously about college.

If you're the first in your family to travel it, the road to college can be rough - here's a good map to follow to get you through your junior year:

September

See your guidance counselor to sign up for the PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test). This test gives you an indication of how well you will score on the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), the standardized test used by most colleges for admission. Your PSAT scores will reflect your areas of strength and where you need to improve to get your SAT scores up to the levels expected by the colleges of your choice.

September/ October

Make an appointment to speak to your guidance counselor about college choices. Your guidance office will help you select colleges that will fit your interests, your academic standing, your budget, your geographical desires, and more. Begin to research your all college choices in detail. Your library and the Internet are also good places to look for information.

Don't just look at each college's official catalog and website; get the students' point of view through their online student newspapers and other available sources. Find currently enrolled students who attended your high school and talk to them about their experiences. The more you learn at this stage, the easier the rest of the process will be.

October

Take the PSATs. Continue your research - dig deep!

December

Some schools offer an early admission or early decision program. If this option is one you are considering, you need to register to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in the fall of your senior year. Discuss the value of early admission with your guidance counselor; it may be the way to go if you have one "favorite" college, but you will usually have to commit to attend the school before you know what their financial aid offer is. If you do decide on early admission, start reviewing for the SATs.

There are a number of books available in your local bookstore that offer practice tests and test-taking strategies. If you can discipline yourself and commit the time, you can learn all you need to know at home with one of these books. Your school might also offer an SAT preparation workshop or seminar. If it does, be sure to register for it; it will help. Private SAT prep courses are also available in your community; these can be effective but are also expensive, so think about how much help you really need and decide if it's worth the cost.

February

College is expensive and financial aid is a major concern for most college students. Start to investigate financial aid options with your guidance counselor. Sit down with your parents and discuss what you and your family can afford to spend on college. There is lots of aid available, but there are also many students seeking it.

Keep in mind that there are good schools in every price range, from community colleges up to the Ivy League. But if you think you've got what it takes, go for the gold! Remember, other college financing strategies, including student loans and home equity loans, are available through your credit union. Include them as part of your financial research - they are there to help!

March

Check with your guidance counselor for dates to register for the SATs or the ACTs (American College Testing) if you plan to take them late in your junior year or early in your senior year. Spring break is a great time for you and your parents to start visiting the schools on your list; make sure that each school is in session then, so you can see things in action and talk to the students. Continue your visits through the end of the school year.

Summer

Continue to visit colleges you haven't been to and start to narrow down your choices. Some colleges have summer weekend programs for prospective students; take advantage of these to get additional insights and on-campus experience.

You want to enter your senior year with a well-defined list of colleges to apply to. Ideally, you should be happy to attend any school remaining on your list because you've done the research, visited, checked them out thoroughly and know that each will meet your needs. Good job!