I know the holidays are long gone, but if you’re young and just went through your first holiday season without school as an excuse, you probably racked up the charges on your card. It’s okay. I wouldn’t recommend doing it again, but it’s understandable. You’re not alone! Millions of others do the same thing. The only thing is, millions of others are in credit card debt and don’t save any money. Don’t be like that! Nurture the sugar daddy within. And please, follow my advice, which follows below.

There was an article a couple of weeks ago in The New York Times about American graduates finding jobs in China. It profiled a number of adventurous twentysomethings to show why it’s better to be there than here:

Shanghai and Beijing are becoming new lands of opportunity for recent American college graduates who face unemployment nearing double digits at home.

The article is good, but Xin Lu at Wise Bread wrote a post taking it a step further by offering 6 tips for those who are really interested in working in China:

Globalization is happening whether we like it or not, and if you are adventurous enough, working in China is a good opportunity to advance your career and also gain some perspective on the most populous country in the world.

So if you’re twentysomething and looking for the how-to, then check it out. China is the current land of opportunity… and actually, you really don’t even need to speak the language. You’ll likely learn on the job.

Have you been? Do you agree? Would you move there for a job?

Photo credit: stock.xchng.

Take action now! Serena recently got involved by speaking on a panel about student loan and credit card debt at Campus Progress’ National Conference. Click here to learn more.

Video credit: Student Over Banks.

Do you have six months of living expenses squirreled away for a crisis?

Video credit: Howcast.com.

The wife is a nurse and her husband is a mechanic operating his own successful shop. Together they have three children, one of which is a nineteen-year-old daughter named “Julie.” Julie began her first year at a local college in September 2008. Her parents told her they’d financially support her while she was in school, meaning that they would pay for her rent, food and other things. However, Julie was determined to get a job like her friends and earn some money. She picked a local restaurant to apply for a waitress position. The restaurant owner “Sally” and her husband “Jim” hired Julie. Julie had fit their perfect server profile: young and naïve college student.

Prior to Julie’s first shift the owners told her that since she was on probation she was not entitled to her tips for two weeks and that she would only get paid $8 an hour. Although Julie found that probation rule odd she agreed to give the owners her tips for two weeks. (As a side note, withholding a person’s tips is wrong.) After the probation period ended, Julie didn’t get the paycheck that she was entitled to. She went to the restaurant on her day off to talk with the owner about her check. She sat down in a chair in the owner’s office for almost an hour before Sally would speak to her. Sally walked in and out of her office a handful of times before finally acknowledging Julie, saying: “What do you want?”

“I’m here to collect my paycheck,” Julie said. “Everybody else got a paycheck and I didn’t.”

“Oh, you didn’t get a paycheck?” Sally replied, nonchalantly. “I’ll notify the accountant and have her look into it.”

The conversation ended as Sally walked out of the office to talk with a vendor. Julie left the restaurant.

The next evening, Julie went to the restaurant to work her shift. Just as she was about to start, Sally sent her home, saying: “I don’t need you tonight.”

“But I planned on being here and earning money tonight,” Julie said.

“We are not going to be busy tonight so I need to let a server go,” Sally explained, detached. Meanwhile, her book showed many reservations.

“You could have given me a courtesy call; instead I drove all the way here thinking I was supposed to work,” Julie said, upset.

“Like I said, I don’t need you tonight,” Sally said, firmly. “The other servers can handle the floor.”

“Fine, I’ll go. Did you look into my paycheck?” Julie asked.

“I forgot,” Sally replied and as she walked away from Julie she said: “Call me tomorrow to remind me. Go home now.”

Julie was furious at how she was being treated. She couldn’t believe how hard it was to get a paycheck out of the owner for the hours she had already worked.

The next day, Sally called Julie and asked her to come to work as another server had called in sick. It was Julie’s day off.

“I can’t come to work today. I already have plans,” Julie explained.

“You’re not being reliable,” Sally said to her. “You need to always make yourself available. I’ll find someone else.”

Click. Sally hung up the phone before Julie could remind her of her paycheck.

A few days later when Julie went to the restaurant to work her scheduled shift she inquired about her paycheck.

“The accountant cut your check,” Sally said and handed the check to her.

That evening as Julie served customers she pocketed the tips, as the probation period was over or so she had thought.

“Where are your tips?” Sally asked Julie at the end of the evening when she was counting the cash flow.

Julie pulled the tips out of her apron and showed Sally who took them.

“Your ‘unreliability’ stretched your probation period another week,” Sally explained. “Those tips belong to the restaurant.”

Although Julie was flabbergasted, it dawned on her why the server turnover was abnormally high in the restaurant.

Julie had enough of punishing herself by having allowed another person to treat her with no respect. She quit. (Good for you, Julie!)

…Unfortunately, even in the so-called “civilized 21st Century” people still allow money to influence how they treat other people. Moreover, people still allow people with money to treat them differently. Although in this story Julie fell victim to an employer perpetrator she did eventually take her power back by quitting.

—-
Written by: Lana Marconi. For more information on Dr. Lana Marconi’s private therapy practice in the Orange County, California area, and to download her self-help books visit: www.drlana.com.

Photo credit: stock.xchng.

As you will recall from my previous post on building a budget, so this week is of course information on how to implement a budget, plus some ideas on how to keep yourself faithful. Check the video!

I want to thank all of you for enjoying my vlog series but unfortunately my time has come to an end. I have to concentrate on some other projects, but I want you to know how much fun I’ve had doing this. Hopefully you have learned a lot, and I will stick around and visit from time to time! Thanks again to all of you.

Xo,

Clint

They’ve got the basics covered and do so with a well-organized and interactive website. What do I mean by the basics:

Do you need to better understand the risk-vs.-return ratio?
Do you need to better understand the importance of diversifying investments?
Do you need to better understand the importance of saving for retirement?
Do you need to better understand the importance of employer-sponsored retirement plans?

If so, click over and experiment with different financial variables, learn how to compare investment opportunities and manage credit and debt. There is a difference between saving and investing:

Saving: The act of putting money aside for future use.
Investing: The act of making it grow.

To some, the above definitions might appear simple and seem like common sense, but for many young adults; financial literacy is typically achieved through trial and error. These blunders can have a costly impact when they lead to credit card debt or a lifestyle that forces you to spend more than you earn.

DollarsfromSense.com is the best beginner’s guide to managing money I’ve seen on the Internet and helps Gen Y move beyond Generation Debt. Take a look!

Photo credit: stock.xchng.

“Jalapeno” arranged to be married to an American man. After their ceremony in southern California they lived together and tried to endure a marriage that was established on convenience more than it was positioned on mutual romantic love. Throughout the years Jalapeno got educated and even learned the English language, becoming quite proficient in it. She also became entitled to the many benefits attached to being married to an American: a family visa, work visa, and to be citizen of America, all of which she achieved. When she got all of her green light cards she divorced her husband and began her journey as a single and legitimate working woman in America. Working in the home loan business she made decent money for herself, especially when the economy was in a positive cycle. With her lucrative salary she was able to support herself and even buy a house on her own. She was an amicable person with a growing circle of friends.

Jalapeno, however, had a problem: drinking too much tequila. One evening as she was driving her Mercedes (that she leased with her own money) she was pulled over by the police for speeding. When the officer gave her the infamous breathalyzer test so as to check her blood-alcohol content and when she failed the test he realized she had been drinking under the influence of alcohol. Her blood-alcohol level exceeded the normal level. She was unable to drive and she later needed to appear before a judge in court for her irresponsibility. Along with having to pay more than $10,000 in fees, her license was suspended for 30 days and she needed to attend Alcohol Anonymous classes, which she did, for a while. When the 30 days passed Jalapeno received her license back. As the economy went into a down cycle, Jalapeno sold her house and moved into an apartment she rented in a Newport Beach complex.

A few years after her first DUI, Jalapeno was driving home from a night out with friends and smashed her silver Mercedes into a tree at the apartment complex. She missed a turn as she was trying to park her car and called it a night. A neighbor heard the loud crash and called 911. The police came immediately and gave Jalapeno the breathalyzer test. Her blood-alcohol content exceeded the permissible level for a driver. She was ordered to appear in court, again. In addition to having to pay more than $10,000 in fees, her license was suspended for one year, she had to attend Alcohol Anonymous classes, and she had to go to jail for thirty-days. She was sick over having to go to jail. She barely ate for days before the Newport Police Station sent five—not one, but five—police officers to her home to transport her to the Santa Ana jail. The five officers who escorted her cost her an additional $500, $100 per officer, which she later got a bill for in the mail. When she was in jail she barely ate as well—getting even skinnier—and she had a hard time going to the bathroom because she was emotionally a wreck: frightened and nervous from being in a strange and guarded environment where every move was monitored.

Upon her release from jail Jalapeno became adamant on preaching to her friends and loved ones to take a taxi should they drink and drive, telling them that the consequences of a DUI are not worth driving intoxicated. Jalapeno has also been seriously practicing what she has been preaching.

Jalapeno’s license was returned to her a few weeks ago. When she eventually buys a car for herself she has to have a breathalyzer device installed in it. Before she tries to start the ignition she has to breathe into the device. If she is intoxicated the car won’t start. This protective factor will cost her $80 a month for three years unless, somehow, the insurance for her car goes into someone else’s name.

Should Jalapeno have even one drink, drive a car and get into an accident whereby another person is killed she would be sentenced to jail for murder. Should Jalapeno drink and drive again and get a third DUI she would face even tougher consequences: going to jail for at least four months along with having her driver’s license suspended for three years and having to attend DUI classes for eighteen months. Jalapeno would also face the real possibility of being deported to Mexico for not being a responsible American citizen.

Jalapeno is fortunate in that her intoxicated driving never injured another person or herself. Her DUIs and their consequences—including financial costs—have acted like extreme wake up calls for her to take hold of the wheel and be a responsible citizen, which she now is.

I personally thank Jalapeno for allowing me to share her story with others in the hopes that her story will prevent other people from drinking and driving and perhaps even save lives. For that Jalapeno is my hero.

—-
Written by: Lana Marconi. For more information on Dr. Lana Marconi’s private therapy practice in the Orange County, California area, and to download her self-help books visit: www.drlana.com.

Photo credit: stock.xchng.

Have you ever built a budget before? Ben told me he hasn’t, and that’s why I’d like to tell him how. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bigger question to answer than I’d first anticipated. Rather than bore you with all the details today, I’m going to start you on building your budgets now, and when we meet next time, you’ll be able to figure out how to solve problem areas with your budget.

Please leave me questions and comments in the space below.

What Can You Find?
Just about everything. Most common are electronics like refrigerators, microwaves, coffee makers, electric kettles, tvs, printers and speakers but you can also find couches, chairs, shelves, cleaning supplies and kitchenware. Often these items are more expensive to ship back and forth than they are to replace and things like microwaves and refrigerators have often been passed through the rescue sale for years. Just about anything you could need to furnish a dorm room (or an apartment or house for that matter) can be found at a rescue sale.

Some Surprising Finds
This past week I’ve developed the habit of meandering from collection point to collection point to see what I can find. So far I discovered a fantastic 1L water bottle, and two bags of coins. Although I’ve been enticed by several nifty things, I’m trying to limit myself in this scavenging as I prepare to move across the country and snagging larger items would just mean stuff I’d have to get rid of later. I’m pretty disappointed in my fellow Gen-Yers though if they’re literally getting rid of bags of money! Especially since each bag was just shy of ten dollars and the bank is only a mile and a half away. (Though I probably shouldn’t complain because I now have an extra twenty dollars in the bank.)

Going to a Rescue Sale
If you live in a college town, Rescue sales (or their equivalent) generally happen in the fall when students are arriving on campus. My school holds two, one for freshmen and one for the entire student body, and there will usually be times up advertising when the sale starts. Both are open to the public. Be sure to arrive in advance (when in the market for a couch I showed up an hour early) so you can get a good spot in line and be ready to run in. If you love the adrenaline rush of finding a good deal, this is definitely your type of event. For more laid back scavenging, some items will be collected in accessible spots during the period when students are moving out. And of course, if you’re going to the sale be sure to bring cash. As long as you’re not too concerned with appearances (or willing to do a little bit of cleaning up) college rescue sales offer great deals for students and townspeople alike.

Photo Credit: Green Colby