This is a series of articles brought to you by the executive board of the Boston College chapter of Smart Woman Securities (SWS). SWS is a national investment education organization for undergraduate women. Through instructive seminars, mentoring initiatives, and meetings with successful investors, SWS provides resources upon which women can build greater knowledge of personal finance topics and the financial markets. For more information visit us online, follow us on Twitter, or send us an email.
At the end of the day, personal finance is just that: personal. To give you a better idea of how the topics we’ve covered throughout the Whip Your Financial Assets into Shape series can apply to the personal life of a collegiette™ like yourself, members of the BC SWS Executive Board have compiled some of their own personal money management tips to share with you. While some bits of advice may be more applicable to you than others, we hope our perspectives will inspire you find new and unique ways to incorporate healthy personal finance habits into your own life. The SWS E-board…we’re just like you:
We earn money and budget accordingly.
“I make money working on campus and use that income to set a budget for entertainment, going out to eat, buying clothes, etc. I have a separate budget for buying groceries for the entire semester. I try to check in periodically each month to see how much I have left ‘to spend’ remaining in my budget. If I go over one month, then I try to make sure I go under the next.”
– Lauren Wallace, CSOM ‘13, Chief Operating Officer
We monitor our bank accounts and contribute to our savings.
“I set up my checking account to automatically transfer a small amount to my savings account with every purchase I make with my debit card. It’s a small amount, only $2, so I don’t miss it. All those little transfers add up over time and earn interest in my savings account. It’s an easy way for me to save without even thinking about it.”
– Megan Zink, CSOM ‘14, Marketing Director
“I check my bank account online every Sunday and go over the previous week’s purchases to make sure everything is in order. If you don’t consistently review your bank statements you run the risk of being mistakenly charged for something you didn’t buy without even noticing. Making a point to check my account balance also encourages me to monitor whether or not I’m staying within a reasonable budget.”
– Juliet Zawedde, A&S ‘12, Chief Development Officer
We learn from our parents.
“The money management habits I have today are very much influenced by my parents, especially my dad, who deals with the stock market on a daily basis through his hedge fund business. My childhood was filled with mottos like: ‘time is money,’ ‘never dip in red ink,’ and ‘credit is the most important thing that you have.’ From a rather young age, my parents had me documenting all my cash inflows and outflows in an Excel spreadsheet. Half of any sort of income was saved for college. The other half was what my dad called ‘couture money’ to spend however I liked. I had a credit card at age 13 that technically had my parent’s level of credit, but actually had funds equivalent to whatever babysitting money or paycheck I received that week. I wasn’t allowed to spend more than I earned or saved, even if I was ‘obviously getting paid in a week.’ If I ever did without a ‘qualified loan from Dad, LLC,’ I was grounded by having my credit cards taken away.
All those rules I’ve had to follow influenced my money management habits. The money in my college savings fund is currently being used to pay off student loans. I continually update a spreadsheet of finances I’ve had since 2005. Also knowing how difficult obtaining a Dad, LLC loan is has taught me to cut unnecessary expenditures and save my own ‘couture money’ for the things I really want to buy.”
– Dara Fang, CSOM ‘13, Public Relations Director
We know that good things come to those who wait!
“When I was younger my aunt and uncle would give me stock certificates every year for Christmas. As a kid, a piece of paper was never a particularly exciting present, but when I was old enough to start keeping track of the stocks myself, it was actually really exciting to see that I was earning money just by holding on to these seemingly ‘boring’ gifts. Already having investments in my name has encouraged me to become more informed about managing personal finances and about the day-to-day function of the economy. It’s interesting to see how current events cause fluctuations in performance, and owning stock has also motivated me to stay aware of the long-term performance of the economy and particular companies as well. Investing never seemed important to me until I realized how much I could benefit from paying attention and starting early.”
– Tracy Nunziati, CSOM ‘15, Freshman Representative
We are savvy shoppers.
“I always check for printable coupons or online promo codes before I head to a particular store or purchase something through a store’s website. Just Google ‘coupons for *insert store name here.*’ Often you can score free shipping or some other sort of discount that will help shave down your bill. Before I ventured to Lord and Taylor to buy my Homecoming dress this year, I checked their website and was able to get a 20% coupon code sent to my phone. It was much more fun to shop knowing I would ultimately pay 20% less than what was on the price tag of each dress I tried on.
I also make an effort to purchase big ticket items, like a pair of leather boots or a winter jacket, at a discount off-season. Try to project into the future and think about what you’ll need or want in the year to come. At the end of the summer the last thing you probably think you should buy is a new bikini, but you can bet you’ll want one by the time spring break rolls around and they’re selling at a premium. By the end of January last year I knew I couldn’t survive another New England winter without a long down jacket. Because Macy’s was trying to get rid of its winter inventory to make room for new spring items, I was able to buy a jacket that had been selling for about $200 in the fall and early winter for under $100.”
– Laura Travers, CSOM ‘12, co-Chief Executive Officer
“When I am going shopping or shopping online I always make sure that I look to see if there are any discount codes available. There are many websites that offer these discount codes, my favorite is retailmenot.com, but even a simple Google search will work as well. Many times you can get 10% off or even free shipping at your favorite retailers. Although, this may not seem like much it helps save money on things you were going to buy anyway, and saving even the littlest bit of money adds up, especially if you’re going to invest it!”
– Hannah Koch, A&S ‘15, Freshman Representative
We hope our blog series has not only inspired you to take charge of your own personal finances, but also to empower other collegiettes™ by sharing with them the money management advice we’ve bestowed on you. If you have any questions about any of the topics we covered in our series, feel free to email us at bostoncollegesws@gmail.com. Also be sure to look out for events hosted by SWS on campus next spring!
Photo Source:
http://harvardsws.org/index.php