As your graduate takes a giant step into adulthood, one of the best gifts you can impart is a guide to attaining strong financial health. The way we spend, save, borrow, and plan all impact financial wellness.
Where should you start? What tools might you gift your graduate? Let’s find out.
A Financial Wellness Guide
It’s no secret that financial stressors are at a peak. The impact of the pandemic and more recent global affairs has sent shockwaves through the world’s economy. On the home front, we are battling far-reaching, record inflation. Experienced adults are feeling financial stress, making now a critical time to set up our youth for success.
Most young adults want to be better educated about money and feel overwhelmed by the day-to-day onslaught of transactions. You can guide your graduate on the path to financial wellness by discussing ways to manage the essential aspects of finances:
- How You Spend: Understanding how to create, implement and manage a budget is more critical than ever. Don’t just tell your graduate to make a budget—show them how you do it. Successful budgets plan for necessary and on-the-fly spending while also portioning out a stipend for savings.
- How You Save: Portioning out a stipend to save on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis is only the first step in how you save. It’s important to be selective about where your savings resides. Educate your graduate about the kinds of accounts available for saving money and growing their financial portfolio.
- How You Borrow: Borrowing money isn’t just a necessity for large purchases; it’s also a tool that, when used well, raises a credit score. A high credit score allows for better borrowing. Help your graduate learn about loans and discuss the differences between good, risky, and bad borrowing practices.
- How You Plan: It’s easy to view a budget as a weekly task. The reality is budgeting contributes to a much larger financial picture. Large purchases—like a car or home—and future goals—like college tuition or starting a business—require an adept ability to plan. Explore your graduate’s financial goals and discuss ways to prepare for them.
- Plan For Annual Events: Have you shown your graduate how to plan for and file taxes? This is one of the toughest annual financial events for young adults. You can help them prepare by discussing how taxes work and strategies for encouraging a healthy tax return.
Two Tools Your Graduate Needs
Managing financial wellness can be challenging for even the most astute. Luckily, there are tools that can help. We recommend introducing your graduate to FreedomU.
FreedomU is a tool made for planning and managing finances. Not only can it be used to oversee finances, but it’s also a financial education portal dedicated to helping people make wise money decisions.
Choice Insurance customers gain access to FreedomU as a perk. You can boost your graduate’s financial wellness by ensuring they have access to the right insurance as they venture into car ownership, renting, and eventually home ownership. Our trusted advisors work tirelessly to provide our clients with the right insurance coverage at budget-friendly prices.
Let’s safeguard your graduate’s financial wellness together.
