Money Management for College Students

There are some who see retirement as a finish line. I feel like this is slightly misleading. In actuality, quite a lot can still be accomplished at this time in your life. Rather than viewing retirement as a reprieve from the hustle and bustle, I like to see it as a final chapter to solidify your life’s success. How that looks, though, is entirely up to you.

The first step to ensure your life’s success is determining how you personally define that. This is a big picture question. Think about what you want said about you at your eulogy. What do you want to be known for? How do you want to be remembered when you’re no longer around? Some people focus on family and personal relationships. Others look to leaving a legacy or collecting memorable life experiences. This is clearly a deeply personal definition. Don’t look to the Joneses to define that for you.

Once you make the determination of what you want the next chapter to represent, it’s time to figure out what that looks like for you. Does a focus on family mean weekly family dinners at your home or visiting all the professional baseball fields throughout the United States with your children? Does leaving a legacy mean you want your name on a building or does it mean funding your grandchildren’s college fund? Does collecting memorable experiences mean getting an RV and traveling around the country or high-adrenaline activities like jumping out of an airplane? The clearer the vision, the better you can prepare to make it a reality.

Now the last step is making the proper preparations to see this vision come to fruition. Life can throw you curve balls. Make sure that if it does, you’re prepared. Be sure to have a financial plan and meet regularly with your trusted advisor. Create an estate plan and make sure your affairs are in order to ensure that you finish the victory lap of your life well.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine what is appropriate for you, consult a qualified professional.

Due to the nature of my profession, I am solicited for financial advice in all aspects of my life from all types of people. Similar to a doctor who gets asked about symptoms at birthday parties, people often ask for my opinion or input on financial matters, particularly investing. As most doctors will tell you, it’s hard to give advice when you don’t know the particulars.

However, if someone is really eager or serious for guidance on investing, I will suggest that they do their homework. The information they’re looking for isn’t found on the stock exchange or the Finance section of a newspaper.  Most times, the information you need to start with is found a lot closer than you would expect.

The first thing to take into account are your financial goals. As I’ve mentioned before, being aware of your financial “why” can highlight good habits, change inefficient patterns, refocus priorities and ultimately develop a plan to help you achieve your financial freedom. Therefore, you need to be specific. Do you want to retire in 30 years? Perhaps you want to buy a house in five years or start a business in two. In these scenarios, your goals act as targets, and with the help of a good financial planner, you can develop an action plan with measurable steps to incrementally achieve them.

Another thing to be aware of is your risk tolerance. This isn’t a measure of whether you like to bungee cord jump or skydive. Rather, this is an indication of how much volatility in your investments you are comfortable with. This is something that needs to be determined for the individual as well as the household. Risk tolerance is a very personal indicator, and there are times that couples don’t see eye to eye. When new clients come in, we have them complete a risk tolerance questionnaire to not only to see how individuals may or may not be working together but to also figure out the most effective plan to achieve their goals. The last thing we want you to do is tackle investments that won’t achieve your goals in a timely.

As you can tell, these items are all very personal. What you’re saving for, how long and hard you’re willing to work towards your goals, and what your income and lifestyle needs are, both current and future, will all be factors in planning how to invest. I bring this up because so many clients come in referring to the advice their friends, neighbors or coworker gave them. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m all for educating one’s self. Let’s discuss your options. But please don’t think that investing in what your child’s Little League coach is investing in is automatically the best option for you.

Let me put it another way. I’ve been athletic all of my life, playing high school and college baseball and an avid golfer. Knowing that, I’m not going to start a new exercise regime with a leisurely walk around the block or bench pressing 400 pounds. It’s not that I don’t believe these fitness goals are valid – they’re just not valid for me. The same idea can be applied to your finances. If any of the factors I’ve mentioned are not aligned, you may discover that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and that you need to be wary of the barb wire in between.

I know it sounds odd, that investing should be more complicated. But the truth is knowing your financial self is much important than knowing the stock market when you first start investing.