Financial Advice
Hayley Hochstetler
Starting off and saving up
Saving money is a big part of life. People save money for many reasons: to save up for something new, to buy the latest and greatest technology. Some people save money to have for a rainy day, and some save for retirement and the future. Whatever your reason may be, saving money is a necessity.
Why is saving important?
Saving is important because you never know when you will need a few extra dollars. It is also important for retirement because no one wants to work for their entire life, right?
How do I start saving?
Saving money can be very easy. A good way to start off is to open a checking account. A checking account is low-risk, so your money will be safe. It also has high liquidity meaning it is very easily accessible with a debit card. A checking that is linked with a savings account will also collect 7% interest. If you set aside a small amount of money into this account, it will grow and collect interest surely but steadily.
Tips on saving:
-Open a checking account when you are young, that way you can get a head start!
-Don’t dig a hole: don’t spend money that you don’t have, instead set aside a certain amount each paycheck and put it into your savings account, leave it there and don’t touch it.
Savings bonds
Savings bonds make nice gifts but have a lower liquidity because it is not able to be used over a period of time.
Real estate
Real estate makes a great investment if you're smart about it.
Checking Account
A debit card makes a checking account very high liquid because of its easy accessibility.
Investing
Investments
Why should I invest?
If you invest properly, you could potentially come out with a significantly higher amount of money than what you started with.
What should I do to invest?
A good beginning investment would be stock. Stock is a small portion of a company or business. Stock is obtained through stock brokers. I would suggest researching your favorite company before you invest in stock. Stock is a moderate risk, but when done properly can have a high return.
I am comfortable with my stock, now what?
Now that you’ve conquered the stock market, let’s invest in something a little bigger: we’re going to buy a house. The real estate market is a strong buyers market right now, so it is a great time to invest. Real estate has a little bit higher risk than stock, but the return will be even higher if invested properly.
Tips on investing:
-Research your stock and make sure you purchase it before its peak to maximize profit.
-Don’t invest too much into your real estate property, because you might be unlucky and not get what your expected value is.