credit cards – Carol H Cox

April 25, 2019July 14, 2019

Teaching Teens Money Matters Before Graduation

by Carol H Cox

No, it’s not too late to talk to your soon-to-be-graduating high school senior about personal finance! In fact, now is a great time to begin the conversation. My parents never had these talks with me when I was graduating from high school, but I also wasn’t facing tens of thousands of dollars of student loans in my future either, and credit card debt wasn’t the huge problem it is today.

Managing money well is now more important than ever. The average college grad leaves school with about $28,500 in student loan debt, and the average American struggles with over $6,900 of credit card debt carried from month to month.

You don’t need to be an expert to give good advice to your child, and you don’t have to have your finances in perfect working order either. We’ve all screwed up our finances on more than one occasion. It’s tough for us parents to admit that we’ve made money mistakes, but these may be some of the best teaching lessons. They’re real. They’re memorable.

Life is messy. It doesn’t follow neat little rules—although financial experts sure like to draw them up. So take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. Many Americans are in difficult financial situations, like too much debt, flabby credit scores, savings deficits, and the like.

Now, where to begin?

December 22, 2017February 1, 2018

6 Things College Students Need to Know About Credit Cards

By Carol H Cox

Credit cards are a fact of life for many young adults. They make paying for things more convenient, they can be used to build good credit (or bad), they can be used to make purchases in most places, and they can be welcome resources in an emergency.

In short, they can be very valuable, and a lot of college students have them. (Based on a recent FICO study, 67% of 18 to 24 year-olds have credit cards.) But in order for credit cards to be a positive rather than a negative factor in a young adult’s life, they need to be cared for carefully. You don’t want to take them for granted.

Just like a car, they have to be regularly maintained. If you had an auto and didn’t maintain it, failed to give it regular oil changes and tune-ups, eventually the vehicle would cease to run. After a while it wouldn’t be safe to drive, and one day it would leave you in the lurch somewhere.

Credit cards are the same way—if you neglect them, they can make your life miserable.

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October 4, 2016January 31, 2018

Personal Finance Tips Before Heading to College

By Carol H Cox

At this time of year, the attention of many high school seniors’ becomes focused on transforming into college freshmen. It’s a thrilling time for young adults as they experience increasing independence, emotional untethering, and face new challenges. But before they “cut the cord” there are a few personal finance basics they should know.

Having a checking account with an ATM/debit card attached can make handling student finances easier.

Ideally, with the help of a parent, college-bound teens will have opened a checking account sometime during their junior or senior year of high school. Checking accounts are a convenient and easy way to store and access money. And most student checking accounts are free until the accountholder graduates from college. There will be many expenses in college that aren’t included with the payment of tuition, room and board, and fees, whether it be books, class supplies, toiletries, meals off campus, transportation costs, or other things. Using an ATM/debit card or writing checks can be an efficient way to handle these costs.

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