Hello, dear one!
If you pay attention to the U.S. economy, you won’t be surprised to read headlines like the Business Insider stated:
“Markets may be on a tear this year, but the economy is under the most pressure since 2008 and could still easily fall into recession…”
I possess a few degrees, but none of them taught me about money and wealth management. In 2009, I worked three jobs to keep the roof over our heads.
My money pain eventually became a blessing as I sought help and embarked upon a financial literacy journey.
Since numbers were my weakness, my mentor taught me three actions that transformed my financial stress into money ease today:
Observe. Question. Execute.
My mentor asked me to raise money awareness by observing others,
“Fools learn from their experience, but you can learn from their experience to avoid being a money fool.”
It’s time for back to school again, so let’s explore the financial investment or loss of a college degree.
As a mother, I’ve raised money awareness by observing the behaviors of other parents and their college-age children.
Most of my neighbors, friends, and colleagues don’t have old family money laying around the houses. Instead, they work hard to pay for their children’s college.
As I observed, the majority of them failed to calculate ROI, the return on investment, before they sent off their children to college.
For about four years, the inquired expenses including tuition, books, and room and board can add up to a substantial amount.
Now let’s question the reality of a college degree.
Will this sheet of paper be an investment for a life-long and practical skill or just an experience for hanging around a university campus?
By the way, one student in my neighborhood went to a university because it was in her dream town!
Really? I would suggest she get a job, live there, and learn the cost of living there.
For a student who is obtaining a definite degree, how long will it take to pay off the total cost after college?
What are the most valuable and employable college degrees? What are the worst ones to squander money on?
As you question, reality will kick in.
A degree in graphic design from the prestigious Stanford can be overlooked by any hiring company, while a degree in computer engineering from a humble state university can be turned into gold.
Some college students had entered a desired university without a determined major, all at the expense of their hard-working parents’ labor.
If you lose money on a useless college degree, you can make it back. However, how can you repay the detriment of low self-confidence when you’re jobless with a college degree? The choice for a college degree is either empowering or reducing a student.
After observing enough cases, I questioned myself: What have I learned from these unprepared parents, and how can I ease my financial life to guide my son?
I always admired what Benjamin Franklin said about assisting the poor, and I applied his principle to my son’s financial education:
“I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.”
I executed a decision with tough love for my then 13-year-old son.
Instead of agreeing to fund any college he wanted, I requested my son to strategize a step-by-step plan to rationalize the necessity of my financial commitment to his future college.
I challenged him to research the financial return of college degrees. He was shocked to discover that many college degrees were impractical and a waste of money!
I also told him that I would sponsor 80% of his college expense and expect him to pay for the rest through a student loan or his work savings.
My request elicited his curiosity to read everything about student loans, and he concluded that student loans were the biggest traps for college students.
I don’t expect the school system to teach my son money management, let alone financial freedom.
It’s my responsibility as a parent to encourage money conversations and help him develop a money habit with three actions: Observe. Question. Execute.
Understanding money is like driving a car or cooking a meal. It’s an essential skill.
I used to drool over newer houses, fancy cars, and designer goods, but I would have toiled myself at work to afford them. That’s slavery to the obtained stuff.
Everyone has a rich definition. For me, it’s a simple life with minimal debt and maximum freedom to be where I want to be.
And I learned from the Bible that the poor are ruled by the rich as the borrower is the slave to the lender (Proverb 22:7).
Either you master the money, or money will master you. It’s a choice when you raise your money awareness.
I bless you the best friend to your money and achieve money ease with these three actions: Observe. Question. Execute.