This week’s 30 Day Challenge had one session focused on Personal Finance. This session was hosted by Doug Iverson from the Department of Economics and Business as well as Amanda Root from The Boerigter Center for Calling and Career.
In our lives all of us will most likely invest in something whether it is a 401k, a downpayment for a house, your children’s education. Most individuals don’t understand these things, so it is important that we educate ourselves early on and don’t until it is too late to start investing. The first topic discussed was identifying our risk profile. What risks are you willing to take when you invest? The point of knowing our own profile is to help us decide what type of investments we would like to take, so be aware of where you are. Iverson recommends that you find more of a happy medium where you aren’t constantly stressed because you risked a lot, but you risk enough to get a return on your investment.
Opening a bank account is the foundation for our financial lives and establishes a relationship with a financial institution. Setting up a budget is the next step to organize our financial lives and when doing this it is very important to leave wiggle room for unexpected turns in our lives. Expenses for so many things need to be accounted for here like: clothes, food, bills, down payments on cars or homes, and student loan payments. Taxes consume a lot of our money and need to be accounted for when doing this. Staying disciplined and following your budget is very important and difficult. As you continue through life budgets will change and adapt and become more fit to your lifestyle specifically.
Start saving money! If you start saving money at 20 versus 50 years old there is a difference of over four million dollars compounded. The earlier you start saving for things like retirement the better. Finance in marriage should be a discussion where you budget together and both understand what financial decisions you want to make based on each of your own risk profiles. When making financial goals think about short term, intermediate, and long term goals. Finances can be tricky to navigate so make sure to get educated on them and have help to plan, budget, and set goals so that when the time comes you have the financial resources available to feel financially secure!