Where can a National Guard college student go to gain financial knowledge and get advice?

2020-12-22T21:00:37-05:00

I’m currently on block leave for basic training and I had a DS for a very short time who tired to teach us about money and give us tips. I wish to learn more on this topic and what recommendations of banks and other such things. Sorry for the unclear question I’m very very Unexperienced in this topic do to me being a fresh high school graduate and not having much taught to me.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Dec 22 at 2020 9:13 PM

2020-12-22T21:13:55-05:00

PFC Private RallyPoint Member Congratulations on seeking to learn about personal financial management.
Other responders will offer other suggestions. My personal recommendation is for you to visit the DaveRamsey.com site and drill down for his books, Every Dollar budget tool and generally explore his site. His books will be work for you to read, that is how education begins, with work! He also has a money management course that is presented in various places. If you explore his “5” Step Plan and practice the precepts presented, you will be far ahead of your peers. One of his tenants is to have spousal buy-in for any budgeting plan. Couples need to plan spending as a joint enterprise. Best!

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 22 at 2020 9:45 PM

2020-12-22T21:45:44-05:00

I believe MilitaryOneSource still offers financial counseling for service members. If you're near any major Active Duty base of any branch, they all have financial counselors available as well

Response by LTC Eugene Chu made Dec 22 at 2020 9:50 PM

2020-12-22T21:50:07-05:00

Pasting web site link that may help with your situation

https://themilitarywallet.com/

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Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 22 at 2020 10:00 PM

2020-12-22T22:00:29-05:00

There are many sites to go to learn about saving and investing. Libraries are free and should be utilized as much as possible. Save as much money as you can. Live beneath your means. Before spending money on something, make sure that you actually need it. Do not make snap major purchases. Do your research to learn about mutual funds, stocks and bonds. Mutual funds should be no load and low fees such as Vanguard. Learn about asset allocation. Invest as much as you can in savings/retirement accounts. Stick with stock/bond mutual funds for the bulk of your investment money. Once you are experienced you can put a small portion of your money in individual stocks. Complete your own tax returns so that you can better manage your money. Saving and investing is a lifelong task so continue to gain knowledge. Save and invest wisely for homes, cars, vacations and eventual retirement. Good luck.

https://www.investor.gov/

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Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 23 at 2020 10:15 AM

2020-12-23T10:15:04-05:00

PFC Private RallyPoint Member Not sure what state you are in, but in Ohio we are granted free access to financial planning, might be worth looking into when you get to your first unit. Get with your team leaders and during processing make sure they know you want to seek it out, if it is available. If it is not, SFC Private RallyPoint Member pointed you to Military One Source; this program can help you with so many thing in your career, but will certainly provide great resources for your questions. Best of Luck!

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Dec 23 at 2020 12:59 PM

2020-12-23T12:59:38-05:00

I like Dave Ramsey's advice. Try https://www.daveransey.com. Also for investing I've used Edelman Financial Engines for decades. Check out https://www.edelmanfinancialengines.com. Edelman can help with picking the TSP investment that's best for you.

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Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 23 at 2020 1:04 PM

2020-12-23T13:04:50-05:00

If you are not in any debt now you are a world ahead of everyone else at your stage in life. Usually PVT's seeking financial advice have been referred and are in a very adverse situation.

Take all the advice given thus far with programs there to help guide you.

You hit the nail on the head as a recent HS grad. I wish you kids came out of school knowing how to make economic consumer decisions.

As a CFA/MBA I'm not there to dig into the specifics of your personal situation, but I'd generally guide you toward reaching the following goals.

1) Debt should generally only be use for things with a secondary/used resale market, such as a home or a car. Don't finance anything you can't sell and get out from under the debt.
1a) If you are carrying a credit card balance you are effectively financing your lifestyle. Imagine you are paying 15% interest a month on that Starbucks in your hand if you carry a credit card balance from month to month.
1b) Always read the fine print. I hate consumer debt structured loans. They hide the cost of the financing in the overall price of the package. There is a price for the product, and that price is the 100% paid cash price. For example, 0% financing but locked in at a dealer price that is higher than the cash price is actually the price of the loan. Otherwise, the 0% financed price would be = to the cash price, and it's not.

2) In regard to retirement savings, always utilize/maximize your tax shelter options before you go saving anywhere else. If you have not maxed out your employer sponsored plan yet and you find yourself constantly with extra funds then seriously think about bumping up your monthly retirement plan savings.
2a) Always read the fine print fee structure of retirement investing options. You shouldn't be paying anymore than 1% in fees for a given retirement fund. I personally don't pick anything over 0.25% in fees. I avoid front load fund and back loaded funds. I prefer a simple annual administration fee of 0.25% or lower.
2b) Do not invest in Closed End mutual funds. They can be manipulated by market players. They have a fixed number of shares, and the price of the fund can diverge up or down from the assets in the fund. An Open End mutual fund buys and sells assets as shares are bought and sold and shares will always be on par with the value of the assets in the fund.
2c) Bitcoin etc.... I'm not going to pretend I know how to game the market, but in a world of collapsing economies and electronic infrastructure if the power/communications doesn't work then how you are you going to exchange your Bitcoin. Also, my neighbor literally had $80,000 of Bitcoin stolen from him because his CAR WAS HACKED.

3) TIME. Time is the most important variable in any financial formula. Sooner is better than later, and more is better than less, but Sooner/Later always outweighs amount. The funds you save from age 20-30 will comprise 90% of your retirement savings at age 60. The person that starts saving at the same rate from 30-60 will only have 10% of what was saved in the preceding 10 years. I'm speaking very generally here for the context of this conversation, but TIME is that powerful.
3a) In regard to TIME in retirement investing, it is equally powerful and crippling consumers if too much debt is taken on too soon in life. Student loans are speculative investing with open ended load terms. The borrower "speculates" they will enjoy an income sufficient to justify the loan.

*****
That's all I got, sure there is more, but hope the above applies to pretty much anyone without getting too far into the weeds.

Don't borrow for something you can't sell, invest as soon as you can. Read the fine print because consumer financing contracts are always out to hide the true costs.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Dec 28 at 2020 11:20 AM

2020-12-28T11:20:27-05:00

The first advice that I can give is to get in touch with the Education and Incentives Office at your state National Guard Headquarters. These are the people that can guide you through all of the programs available to members of the Guard in college. As an example, my state will pay for 100% of your tuition to any College funded by the state in addition to GI Bill payments. So I guess my next piece of advice is to use these programs and avoid finishing College with $60,000 of debt. That is a huge financial advantage.
Next piece of long term advice is to pick a major that makes you employable right out of college. Too many college students end up with degrees that aren't employable or that the starting salaries suck, so they end up with degrees that they never use. So if you love Art History, I would look long and hard at the job opportunity available in that field.