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Not many people relish diving into financial issues and educating themselves on the finer details of interest rates, detailed approaches to saving, or the fees attached to a credit card. However, this lack of knowledge can easily lead to a series of progressively difficult events. In “Financial Literacy, Beyond the Classroom,” New York Times writer Richard Thaler describes the importance of “just-in-time education.” A high school student sitting through a lecture on finance is not really going to understand the significance of the imparted wisdom. However, they will need the information just in the nick of time before their bank account gets overdrawn or something else harmful occurs. One approach for remedying this is to develop some simple rules that can easily lodge in the mind. Here are some we believe in here at Foster Care to Success:

Simple Financial Rules

1. Rent your books through www.chegg.com  to save a BUNDLE! Or, if you need to buy them, check out www.directtextbook.com to find the cheapest source online.
2. Use your student discount.
3. If you save, you’ll have money when you need it. (Think vehicle repairs!)
4. Stick to your grocery list and don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry.
5. Don’t take out any more in loans than you need.
6. Watch for hidden costs. – fees attached to credit cards, giving friends rides without getting gas money, interest rates that accrue on loans.
7. Use technology to help control your finances. (Overdraft text message alerts, phone alerts when you’re going over your data allowance).

Financial literacy increases confidence and makes anyone ready to take on the world.