By MICHELLE BERAN
Cottonwood Extension District
I often hear adults complain about a lack of financial skills with young people.
There are times that I certainly understand the frustration as I learned to make change at my first job at age 13. There are other times that I remind myself, and others, that if someone doesn’t teach them, they can’t know what they don’t know.
In my role as a Family and Community Wellness agent, I get to lean into twenty years of banking experience and utilize great financial resources from K-State Extension.
I have had an opportunity to work with several small groups of college students.
In one of the sessions, we work through wants versus needs and that can sure be a tough conversation! This is followed up by setting SMART financial goals with the students looking at goals between now and the end of the school year, intermediate goals of 3-5 years, and long-term goals of 8-10 years.
As a reminder, SMART refers to Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. I am always impressed by those whose intermediate and long-term goals include where they wanted to be in their career and the tools they would need to save for a house.
The next step is identifying sources of income and categorizing expenses. We pull all of those pieces together into a basic budget. One of my favorite questions – from more than one student – is “if I have money left, how much should I be putting into savings?”
I look forward to working with groups like this to take a hard look at how to be an efficient grocery store shopper, work on basic cooking skills, and other skills that can help them be more effective adults and employees.
Practicing written skills such as a business letter or email help these young people realize that every interaction with a supervisor, mentor, or co-worker can help, or hinder, their opportunities for advancement and greater financial stability.
We have several great publications and tools if you need to take a look at your financial goals and move your household toward financial stability and security.
Keep learning. Keep showing grace and kindness!
Michelle Beran is a Family and Community Wellness Agent in the Cottonwood Extension District. For more information on this article or other K-State Extension resources, email Michelle at mberan@ksu.edu or call Cottonwood Extension District – Barton Office at 620-793-1910.