Every student at some time or another has been a victim of the epidemic known on college campuses as bad investments.
Usually, it starts with a check from a job or the more popular scenario, a financial aid check. From there, the check is cashed or some students have the check directly deposited into a bank account.
Then students might take a journey to the mall visiting various favorite stores of choice, depleting money along the way.
Before students know it, they have the latest clothes, people jealous of their shoes, and have cell phones that do almost everything.
However, reality soon hits with an empty gas tank and refrigerator.
There are ways to save and invest money and get material objects desired at the same time.
Over time, items such as clothes, jewelry, shoes and cell phones become old and out of style.
“Students tend to spend money on items that depreciate,” said George Smith, an investment consultant at the Capital City Bank.
“This means that the items lose their value and it doesn’t make any money for the student in the long run,” he said.
Investing money can change that.
The most popular forms of investment are stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
“Before choosing a particular stock, students should perform extensive research in order to know what the money is going towards and into what business it is being invested,” said Dwayne Knight, also an investment consultant from Capital City Bank.
Knight suggested, “The best thing for students to do to start investing is to seek an investment professional for advice.”
“Mutual funds are similar to stocks; however, with this form of investment a student can invest in 200 different stocks at one time instead of just one,” Knight said.
Along with investing money, students must invest their time as well. With the investment of stock, an investment of time will keep the student up to date on the stock chosen. It is essential to know how the market works in order to be successful and not lose money.
“Purchasing a stock and then neglecting it would be a waste of time and money,” Knight said.
Newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal have a listing of stocks for stockholders to view on a daily basis.
Websites on the Internet provide numerous ways to keep up with mutual funds and stocks.
Bonds, another form of investment, take time to reach their maximum value. Once purchased at a particular amount, they gain value as the years progress.
Besides the plus of watching money grow, there are other positive outcomes to investing money, like having money for the future.
After graduation, before acquiring that dream career, there will be money waiting to help with life expenses.
Getting that business planned will be much easier with invested money as a foundation.
Try to stay away from the instant gratification that tangible objects bring and make all the money earned throughout college really count.
To all the future rattler millionaires, just remember, that a little money goes a long way when saving and investment comes into play.
contact Shari Loftley at famuanlifestyles@hotmail.com