Financial Literacy/Advice

[Eja117]

ooooh ooooh ooooh.

Make sure to tell them that many foreign beers are not worth the price of import

[SquishPCfriar]

just advise them to stay away from credit cards period

[kgiessler]

This is going to sound like a very weird recommendation, please don't disregard it.

Selling on Ebay.

I'm a teacher (engineering) and it is something that I always encourage and help teach them to do.

Ebay is an amazing way to teach a person of any age (but especially kids) alot of valuable economic principles, while being exciting and multidisciplinary. 

So many lessons are there when you post an auction.  Supply and demand:  your going to get more for your item if less are available and people want them.  Sales and Marketing:  do you make an appealing auction page?  Do you tell the customer what they need to know about the product to feel comfortable about purchasing.  Customer Satisfaction / Follow Through:  Fast shipping, proper packaging, good communication after the sale?  Cost of doing business, margins (credit card payments have fees, money order does not, etc). 

There are so many things because you essentially run your own one-product small business for one week while that auction is running.

But the lessons go far deeper.  The one that really had impact on me was the value of my material goods.  I took care of my stuff as a child simply because my parents made me.  But when I started selling items on ebay, that discipline netted me a large amount of money, with little effort.  Every since I've started, I treat all of my stuff with the greatest of care, because it enables to me get top dollar for them when I resell.

And as soon as you start selling, you start buying.  You realize that you don't have to buy from the top to be happy with the circle of goods.  I routinely get items for far less than they would have otherwise cost me.  Combine it with resale, and most of my hard goods are simply borrowed from the economy for a small fee and a marginal amount of effort.  It greatly reduces my carbon footprint on the world, but still enables me to enjoy luxuries.  Little of my stuff comes from the factory, and little of my stuff goes to the dump.

Combine it with the HTML and internet lessons involved, and there is alot to be said for Ebay as a lesson for students.

As an aside, although its a bit crunchy for my liking, this video always stirs up great debate in my classroom:
http://www.storyofstuff.com/

[kgiessler]

Oh yes, and for all of the people that are saying to stay away from credit cards, I'm going to have to disagree.

When I turned 18, my parents encourage me to get several credit cards and use them properly.  I would pay them off every month fully on time.  I must say, having many accounts with all of the large firms that have had several years of positive data have helped me out greatly while looking for my first mortgage. 

[cdif911]

Oh yes, and for all of the people that are saying to stay away from credit cards, I'm going to have to disagree.

When I turned 18, my parents encourage me to get several credit cards and use them properly.  I would pay them off every month fully on time.  I must say, having many accounts with all of the large firms that have had several years of positive data have helped me out greatly while looking for my first mortgage. 

credit cards are a neccessary evil - but yes, you need to show responsibility - never ever miss a payment and always pay the whole balance off when its due..

we spent like 20 minutes just on how to read a pay stub, so there's more to do

I love the idea of ebay, I may do something with that at the end of the year for the kids left over after seniors graduate

[blake]

just advise them to stay away from credit cards period

It is true that CC's are horrible, but a person needs credit when they want to buy a car or home.  It will make their rate much lower.  The way around this?

Apply for credit cards as soon as you turn 18 that can only be used at a store you know you would never need.  For example:  If you are 5'4 130 lb guy, apply for a card at a big and tall store.  Every once in a while go purchase some accessory like a hankerchief on the card.  Then go pay it off that month.  Simple, but effective.

I am a financial planner for physicians, so if you need any seriously bad credit card stories send me a PM and I can tell you stories for days.

[libermaniac]

This is going to sound like a very weird recommendation, please don't disregard it.

Selling on Ebay.

Great idea kgiessler.  TP.

[GroverTheClover]

Oh yes, and for all of the people that are saying to stay away from credit cards, I'm going to have to disagree.

When I turned 18, my parents encourage me to get several credit cards and use them properly.  I would pay them off every month fully on time.  I must say, having many accounts with all of the large firms that have had several years of positive data have helped me out greatly while looking for my first mortgage. 

+1 Labeling credit cards as evil is akin to calling alcohol bad because people abuse it. Credit cards, if used properly can only help your credit score. I got my first credit card at 18 and my parents lectured me on responsible usage. "Don't spend what you don't have and always pay in full each month."

Edit: Another important tip is to read (scrutinize) the credit card contracts carefully to understand each and every one of the terms, particularly regarding how interest is calculated as well as fees if any. Not only will you learn something, you'll determine whether the credit card you're considering applying for is worth having.

Also related, I'd also try to pound home the importance of saving up and paying in full rather than financing everything from consumer goods to cars. Why pay extra in interest and bank (no pun intended) on being able to pay later down the line? Especially in an economy such as this, you never know what could happen. If you don't have the money to buy something, you probably shouldn't buy it. (Unless it's a home and you've got at least 20% down.)