thomas neill, cpa, cgma finney, neill & company, p.s
TRANSCRIPT
Thomas Neill, CPA, CGMA
Finney, Neill & Company, P.S.
Seattle Pacific UniversityLife After College
Managing Your Money
My Background…
•Certified Public Accountant, State of Washington for 30+ yrs
• Shareholder, Finney, Neill & Company, P.S., local CPA firm, working with businesses and individuals
•Board Member, Washington State Board of Accountancy
•Continuing Education Instructor in the area of Ethics and Regulation
• Treasurer, Bethany Community Church
• Former Adjunct Faculty, SPU and NSCC
•Graduate of the U of W Foster School of Business, 1980
•Married 37 years, four kids (one SPU graduate!)
Graduation is Approaching – Now You Can Start Worrying!
• Four (or more) years of college, and now you are about to be launched into the “real” world.
• Many of you will now be faced with having to deal with the everyday stuff of life, including your finances
• We will cover many topics quickly this afternoon, with time for questions – hopefully!
Today’s Topics
• Student Loans
• Credit Cards
• Credit Score
• Budgets
• Savings and Investing
• Words of Wisdom
• Questions
Student Loans – Time to get out of debt
• Simply put, pay off your debt as soon as possible
• This will reduce your overall interest costs
• Student loan are real debt, and cannot be canceled
• Pay on Time! Never ignore delinquent notices. This can have an impact on your credit score
• Deferrment or Forbearance – work with your lender
• Repayment plans – if your loan is a federal loan, you may be able to modify repayment plans – see http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans.
Student Loans – Time to get out of debt
• Check with your lender to see if there are other repayment options
• Loan consolidation for multiple loans
• Extension of loan term
• Modification of terms
• Forgiveness –
• Public Service Loans
• Teachers Loans
• Remember – Budgeting helps!
Credit Cards – Beware!
• Credit cards are a tool, but a potentially dangerous one
• Don’t get cards just because you get mileage or points
• Interest rates – be aware of Teaser Rates – often high
• Stick with one card – discounts don’t warrant getting a card. Don’t use one card to pay off another
• Pay in full every month – don’t charge more than you can afford each month
• PAY ON TIME!!
• Avoid cash advances – these can carry higher rates
• Don’t exceed the credit limit
• Review Statements
• Protect personal information
Credit Score
• This is a rating system used to rate your credit worthiness, known as your FICO score
• Important to establish a good score – used to determine insurance costs, employment, costs of debt
• Start small – get a small loan or credit card, comply with terms of agreement
• Negative impacts – paying debts late or not at all, too many charge cards, paying interest only
Budgets
• This is, simply put, a plan for coordinating your income and expenses. There is no average budget!
• What works for you depends on your spending and savings priorites
• Find the budget tool that works for you – don’t just look at your bank balance online to see if you can afford something
• Tools – Excel, Mint, Quicken, pen and paper. The key is – use whatever tool consistently. This is not a now and again thing – you have to develop discipline!
• Ask for help – remember everyone else is in the same boat
Savings and Investing
• Start small
• Understand compound interest
• Contribute to your retirement plan
• Save thru payroll deductions or automatic investment plans
• Bank your raises
• Keep paying down loans
• Pay off your credit cards
• Reinvest dividends
• Keep track of where your money goes (i.e. budget)
Words of Wisdom…
• Determine if you are a spender or saver – know yourself
• If you are in a relationship, find out what each other is, and most importantly, COMMUNICATE about finances. You should both be on the same page about your money, related goals, etc. Money is a key component in divorce
• Watch your card/account statements like a hawk. It is not a safe world out there
• Watch your impulse buys. Retail therapy can cause issues
• Tithing – don’t feel guilty if you cannot afford 10%. God wants a cheerful giver
Questions…..