Your career is your most valuable financial asset and managing it correctly can earn you millions of dollars in extra income throughout your lifetime. A key part of making the most of your career is getting a good education. There's no doubt that education is the key to getting a good job and there's tremendous value in education. It simply gives you a huge advantage versus others without it. Then, when you capitalize on your education by actively managing your career, you're on your way to financial freedom.
This article from David Bach talks about why education is so important to your financial future. A few of his thoughts:
Investing wisely in higher education is one of the best financial decisions you can make. More education means higher earnings -- for life. In 2001, according to student lender Sallie Mae, the median earnings of a high school graduate were about $29,000 annually. For those with a bachelor's degree, the number was more than $46,000. Holders of professional degrees, such as law and medicine, racked up median annual earnings of more than $82,000.
Unemployment numbers also drop dramatically as education level increases: College graduates were nearly half as likely to be unemployed as high school graduates, and professional degree holders were nearly a quarter as likely.
Yet even knowing that an education will reap tremendous financial rewards, there still is a pretty big financial burden on families and students to pay for college. Bach gives the following tips to help cushion the financial requirements of funding an education:
- Control Your Expenses. Some students these days use student money to finance their lifestyle, spending the money on meals out, vacations, or other expensive luxuries. Don't do that. Use popular money management programs such as Intuit's Quicken or Microsoft Money to draw up a budget.
- Get the Best Loan Terms, Rates, and Benefits. Federal loans are generally the best deal.
- Repay on Time. The good credit you build will be invaluable to you when it comes time to apply for a mortgage or other loan.
- Pay the Loan Automatically. Being late on your student loans can ruin your credit. So set up "automatic payment" plans.
- Start Saving, Too. I'm often asked if a person should pay their student loans off first before they save for a home or use their retirement account at work. My answer is that if your interest rate is low, and most student loans are, pay the minimum due and focus the rest of your money on getting out of high-rate credit-card debt and towards saving for the future.
Good stuff, as usual, from Bach.
Below I'm listing some links that supplement what Bach is saying for those of you who want some additional information.
Budgeting Guidance
- Why We Hate Budgeting - But Shouldn't
- A Great Alternative to Quicken and Microsoft Money, Part 2
- Five Keys to Developing a Successful Budget
Paying/Saving for College
- 4 Ways to Save Big on College Costs
- A Great College Money Saving Tip
- Big Money Blunders to Avoid: Saving for College
- Four Basic Ways to Save for College, Part 1
Repaying Loans/Getting Out of Debt
- Nine Ways to Pay Off Debt
- Get Out of Debt, Part 1
- Nine Steps to a Great Credit Score -- Save Yourself Thousands of Dollars
Saving
- Where to Put $5,000?
- Have a Hard Time Saving? You Can Amass a Fortune by "Tricking" Yourself
- Get an Emergency Fund Now!
Making the Most of Your Career
yes igree wiwh you the important thing in saving money is control yoour self and maneg e your self you must know how much you earn money and how much yoou expenses money
Posted by: isam abbadi | May 15, 2006 at 02:39 AM