Financial Management for Young Adults Essay

High credit card debt and student loan repayment have been seen to cause inconveniences to the young adults just because of lack of proper preparedness and awareness, when it comes to dealing with such matters of financial management. (Giuseppe, 2012) tells us that mental health professions perceive money to be corrupting people and that it is not right to have too much of it. With adequate management skills, this statement could be turned around such that the available money is used to help the young adults in managing their finances, however little or much and getting out of the hook of high credit debts and other similar situations. Kapoor, 2011) explains how appropriate knowledge, skills and decision making abilities are key essentials in managing finances. Starting from a tender age, matters of money management can be taught at school and the students will tend to learn more as they proceed to other higher grades. Influence from parents is also seen to be important as it can be a determinant factor in wooing the children to managing their finances correctly. Other innovative activities can also be used to make sure that these young adults know how to go about money issues. We see how awareness can help improve the situation of our young adults as it helps them to be well equipped in dealing with any of such debt issues. Other loan repayment organizations such as America’s Debt Help Organization have played an important role in helping young adults deal with debts and loan repayments. All that one needs to do is to register with such organizations and table your urgency to them. The better part is that, they are available online and anyone can connect to them from any part of the world. Understanding Financial Management  Financial management is the planning, organizing, directing and monitoring the manner in which you use your finances. The elements of financial capability and how it impacts on life successes especially on young adults are based on certain conditions as reported by Soyeon & Joyce (2011) (i) Financial socialization whereby parents are the determinant factor in helping their children to being financially capable adults. The young adults tend to listen to their parents more than even how they pay attention to their teachers at school. Every child believes that their parents are always right and they cannot instill in them something of no value but will strive to give them the best. Once they buy the idea, then they would start looking at financial management positively and this will continue to uplift their awareness regarding finances. (ii) Cumulative education which emphasizes on the ongoing learning education at school. This can impact financial management skills to the young adults who are still at school and enable them to know more about finances. This will also reduce the chances of incurring unnecessary credit card debt, but increase their knowledge in money savings. With this, they will be aware of the benefits of accessing basic necessities like rental housing, savings accounts and other important needs in life. Starting to teach these young students as early as possible will help them grow with the information at heart and even influence how they will manage their finances later on in life and throughout their lives. Starting early also gives them ample time to grow and know more about finances as they develop from stage to stage. Soyeon & Joyce (2011) explains that if young adults are exposed to ongoing financial education, then they gain more financial knowledge and this is found to increase their financial responsibility and behavior when still young, thereby shaping them to be responsible adults later on in life. All these aim to raise self awareness and positive behaviors towards financial management for the young adults. Recent studies have proved that if key financial education concepts are introduced early in school, then that foundation continues to be built consistently (Mansfield & Pinto, 2008). Opportunities where young adults practice how to manage their money could also be done through innovative learning and this could serve as a platform to start financial management skills. With this, they would have learnt physically and be in a position to handle any concepts while still at school. Concepts like simulation would enable students interact with various financial products and services and this in turns sharpens their decision making skills due to effectiveness and improved retention. Parents also play an important role in mentoring these young adults and hence discussion topics on finance management should be encouraged at home, to enable them fully understand these concepts. Parents are more influential as a resent research from Arizona Pathways to Success for University Students found out. The nature of relationship between parents and children are becoming peer-like and that, the value of their relationship continues to grow as a result of this (Serido, 2012). Parents are active in supporting their children in other academic projects and learning in general. This attitude should be extended to help nature these children in matters of financial management such that even as they grow, they know that finances is part of them. Personal financial management is one area that needs planning especially for young adults who are still in school and even for those who have just completed schooling. If personal finances are well planned, it leads to accomplished goals such as settling school loan repayment. Distinguish between the short and long term personal financial goals and know which one to prioritize (Madura, 2010). School loan repayment plan could be categorized as long term as compared to setting an emergency fund. With an estimate of how much you expect to save, you will be getting clearer perception of your financial goals. (Madura, 2010), Financial goals should be realistic. Don’t deceive yourself or be over optimistic as this may lead to disappointment. Or rather, dream of what is within your reach as a young adult and work hard, in order to achieve it. You can even be involved in part time employment where you can get small savings and later plan with it. Determine the type of action you take in setting up your financial goals. Kapoor (2011) says students have many different financial goals, but none are more important than having a basic understanding of financial issues and peace of mind with regard to their decisions. The ultimate goal of Focus on Personal Finance is to get students to this point as a first step to achieving the many financial goals they have set for themselves. Once these goals are set, you will be able to manage yourself such that if you want to reduce credit card debt, you automatically reduce the use of credit and this, will help lessen the burden of unnecessary debts. Everything set within a time frame will also help one achieve his or her goals as planned. Working with time enables one to be on his or her toes and limits prolonged loan repayment, which could accrue more interest as compared to limited time frames. Causes of poor Financial Management Lack of proper financial skills and knowledge are the major causes of poor financial management among the young adults. (Torabi, 2010) guides the young professionals to take control of their money in order to learn how to live independently with more comfort. Schools do not teach young people about personal finance. Therefore, if respective organizations could come out and take this matter into their hands, then the young could have direction about personal finance. As regard to parents, they do not know how to enlighten their young adults about money and managing finances. This has been the major cause of financial management problem because these young adults do not get substantial training and skills concerning money issues. The other problem results from more complex financial marketplace, because most of the young adults do not know where to turn to when looking for savings providers and other financial products and services. As explained by Mansfield & Pinto (2008) that financial literacy of high school students is very low as neither parents nor teachers are showing them the way on how to manage their finances. This puts the young adults at a difficult point when need arises and they have to settle their debts by themselves. More so, when one is starting his or her own life, it turns out that they are not sure of what to do whenever they are faced with challenging budgets. Organizations which deal with issues of money management should work hard towards providing guidelines and enough resources on financial decisions, to help boost their knowledge on financial management. Various lessons can be used to help the young adults be able to utilize their finances in a more effective manner, in order to evade the high degree of debts which at times are not easy to pay off. Solutions As a worrying trend, it is necessary to involve students at school into programs that can help them deal with financial obligations, so that the issue of coupling with high debts is minimized. Mansfield & Pinto (2008) explain credit card knowledge and how many students do not know the concept of their credit cards. Several precautions can be taken to enable these young adults manage their credit cards and avoid unnecessary debts. Keeping a credit card active will help you score numerous points. It is reported that, registering for mobile alerts helps one to monitor his or her credit card transactions and helps one to have the necessary information when need arises. (Madura, 2010). Dealing with debt is not so comfortable especially for the young adults. It would therefore be advisable to always use a debit card if one wants to avoid debts. This will enable one to get used to using a debit card which is the better option, in respect to handling their finances well without getting into unnecessary debts. It is advisable to be involved with debts only if you have clear means and plans of refunding it back without too much strain. Otherwise, it is a wise idea to operate without debts so as to limit the chances of overspending. Savings is another solution which the young adults can opt for, as Torabi (2010) encourages the young to be realistic and prepare for risks which occur from time to time. These savings are crucial in cases of emergencies, especially for young adults who want to start life and live independently. By this, they will have an easy time in managing their finances and taking control of the unexpected. Saving is also regarded as the first step into investments because it gives you the chance to keep some money aside to be used for emergencies, or for other better things other than the usual spending. One can either have the option of operating a savings account or money market account. These enables one to access money whenever he or she needs it and at the same time, earns interest. This is a cheaper option as there are usually no fees if you decide to keep a minimum balance which keeps it in operation. Partnering with certain banks is another solution to curb the rise of financial management illiteracy among the young adults. In here, collaboration of schools with credit unions and banks have seen the young take a positive stand at working out their financial obligations while managing such accounts (Giuseppe, 2012). They learn more from school financial education and become more conversant with financial products and services, as they would have known and learnt financial skills from a more practical point of view. Joining non school based learning also enables these young adults to have ample time for financial discussion, whose norm is taken away from the normal setup of a classroom. These groups have continued to enlighten the young adults and encourage them on matters of managing personal finances (Mansfield & Pinto, 2008). Financial to the youth has now been made possible and understandable, especially through tailored programs and other means of learning which can are easily accessed by students. Financial entertainment through online is the next criteria in dealing with financial management illiteracy. This has provided a chance for the young adults to participate in online training, mobile gaming and other interesting methods through the network. Young adults can also settle for loan repayment programs which will help in eliminating some or all of the student loans. This move could see young adults start their independence lives with less burden and debts. Unfortunately, many graduates are not aware of such schemes as explained by Giuseppe (2012) and this is the point where respective organizations should come in to help elevate the burden of school loan repayments and debts. These programs give additional funds to the young adults, which they can then use to resettle their school loans in good time. Young adults do not have to wait until they are through with school to start looking for employment. There are part time jobs that can help subsidize these loans to avoid having a huge junk when you are through with schooling. Several researchers have explained how there are a rise in students who work part time in order to meet their financial obligations, as compared to the previous years when almost every student was a full time based student. This explains why young adults must quickly develop financial decision making skills to manage other responsibilities that arise from today’s changing economic landscape, as we are told by Serido (2012). Working and studying at the same time may not be easy but what matters is the long term financial gains that result from it. This trend however, can help in clearing your school loan faster enough and get time to start your independent life once you are through with schooling. If everything works out as planned, within the stipulated time frame, then it is worth the effort of studying and working all at the same time. In such a scenario, we find out that time is well utilized and at the same time, one moves on quite quickly as compared to studying, then looking for employment later on. For those who want to start living independently, and are in dire need of various assets, could go for a compensation package at their workplace. It was realized that some companies cannot pay huge salaries but just offer low wages in exchange for your loan repayment (Torabi, 2010). In this way, you as an employee will benefit as your loan will eventually be paid while you get some salary as well. The employer also benefits as he or she spends less in salary payments. This idea works best when brought up during salary negotiations so that, the employer is well informed and knows that you will be committed at the work place for as long as there is an exchange for your student loan payment. Conclusion As reported by Soyeon & Joyce (2011) that today’s youth financial security rests on one’s own shoulder. This implies that it is personal responsibility for the young adults to make sure that their financial practices bring forth better results for tomorrow. This process is gradual and the earlier one starts to organize him or herself, the better. Awareness has been a hidden tool for most of the young adults but with more light on the table, these people are being enlightened on ways to manage their finances and know how to handle tough cases like debts. Parents are not to be left out in the entire process of preparing their children to be good managers of personal finance. Information is the key and the more these young adults keep on searching for information about money matters, the more they learn how to deal with personal finance management and how to avoid unnecessary debts and the like. It is our obligation as policy makers, teachers, parents and the rest to know the value of financial management and how it influences our daily life. A recent study by CFPB office of financial education policy, April 2013, encourages states to consider adding to the list, experiential learning to help equip our young ones with proper management skills, so as to enable them be better managers of their own personal finances. Understanding financial options should be another priority in trying to evade high paying loans. Less expensive loans could give these young adults an easy time in paying back, as compared to private or alternative student loans. A longer duration of payment could also enable these young adults to offset their debts as they will be able to budget with the little they have, instead of paying huge chunks of cash and being left with nothing to support themselves. Literacy to students alone may not bring the kind of impact that is needed. Having to extend financial literacy education to the students’ parents could help the society reach higher grounds, in matters concerning loan schemes and repayment. Campuses may not want to consider financial management education sessions for both incoming students and their parents during orientation. Resources which are available online could serve as a great tool in helping the parents understand and learn what they need to know about financial management and its impact on their children. Both online and class-room based learning have enabled the young from far and near, to learn more about finances and even choose their convenient time. This impact has been felt and even the degree of awareness has started to rise, as many young ones now have a hint on how to manage their finances.