Your money, your future a practical money guide for students

One of the best things about havingyour own money is that you get tochoose how to use it.Whether you get a weekly allowance or get paid forwalking your neighbor’s dog, your first step in handlingyour money well is to think about short-term andlong-term goals. Then make a plan to reach them. Ittakes a bit of practice to master your money, just like ittakes time to learn to ride a bike. But once you get thehang of it, you’ll be ready to tackle all sorts of moneytwists and turns. In this money guide, you’ll learn toearn, save, budget, spend, borrow, protect and give.

LEARN TO EARN

HONE YOUR SKILLSEarning is the first step in your journey to managing moneywisely so that you can build a successful future.We all have different talents and abilities. It’s important to take the time torecognize your strengths and develop your skills so that you can excel at what youdo. By investing in your education and interests, you will set yourself up for a pathto success.Get started by asking yourself these questions to help you think about whatcareer path you might want to pursue.

BIG IDEAS, BIG MONEY

You can earn money doing what you love by becoming anentrepreneur.Being an entrepreneur means using your skills, interests and unique ideas to buildyour own business. Anyone can become an entrepreneur with enough hard work.Many teens have built amazing businesses right out of their homes. Some havestarted tutoring younger kids, selling handmade items online or even organizedtheir own catering services.

MAP YOUR CAREER PATH

You may have had a lemonade stand to make money as a kid,but how do you want to earn money in the future?Not sure where to start? Your school’s career guidance counsellor and career clubare great places to research your interests and potential careers. You don’t have todecide on a career right away, so don’t limit yourself to one area of interest. You cangrow your skills and learn more about your potential careers by taking a class atyour local community center.You might not be thinking about a career yet, but planning ahead will help you inthe process of getting there. Based on your brainstorming, come up with threepotential careers that you might want to pursue in the future. Do some research anddetermine the average initial salary for each career. Which path will you choose?.

Now that you’ve thought about potential careers based on your interests and skills, what part-time jobs could you start after school or during the summer to help you reach your goals? For example, if you decide you want to be a veterinarian, here are three ways that you could start gaining experience now.

GET SMARTAT SAVING

MAKE IT A HABIT

Making smart choices with your money is the first steptoward becoming financially fit.The easiest way to save is to pay yourself first. That means setting aside a certainamount of money you earn and keeping it in a savings account. The key to savingsuccessfully is by making it a regular habit. By saving early and often, you’ll setyourself up for a brighter financial future.It’s important to save money for a rainy day, just in case you need it for anyunexpected expenses like a broken laptop. Another portion of the money youreceive should be set aside for your various goals. These goals can be categorizedas short-term, medium-term or long-term. You can reach your goals by saving yourmoney over time.

SHARPEN YOUR SAVING SKILLS

It’s tempting to spend all of your money as soon as you earnit, but you’ll be better off in the long run if you save a portionof it.Think about short-, medium- and long-term goals and determine how much you cansave toward each goal per month. Remember, the amount that you contribute eachmonth toward your goals can’t be more than you earn in a month. Then calculatethe cost of your goal divided by your weekly contribution to find out how long it willtake you to reach each goal

WATCH YOUR MONEY GROW

Compound interest in actionLet’s say you deposit USD50 into your savings account each month at a 1%interest rate. Each year, the interest you earn will help your savings grow. See how1% interest will increase your savings over the course of three years when it iscompounded monthly:Savings accounts enable you to keep your money safe and help itgrow with interest. You can open an account and start saving at anyage with the help of your parents.The longer you leave your savings untouched in a bank, the moreyour money may grow. You should limit how often you withdrawmoney from your savings account and only do so if you really need it.Compound interest is when you earn interest on both the moneyyou’ve saved and the interest you earn.The average savings account interest rate is 0.06%, but can varybetween financial institutions and over time. If you save a little eachweek, your savings will grow over time with interest.

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