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Personal Finance Gurus Fail With First Generation Savers

By Frugaling 3 Comments

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Does anybody know how to study?

The struggles of a first generation college student

Join me on a small aside — I promise it relates. An organization called the College Board is responsible for creating the Scholastic Reasoning Test (SAT). This exam is one of two major college entrance tests (the other is the ACT). Score high enough on the SAT, and you could attend almost any university. Likewise, entrance scores can often influence the level of aid given to entering freshmen students.

One variable can influence your SAT score, admission chances, aid opportunities, and much more; it’s called, first generation status. These college students are the first person in direct, immediate family to pursue a secondary education. Essentially, parents of first generation college students must not have attended college themselves. Born and raised in a family without ties to college can directly affect your success in higher levels of academia.

In nearly every category, with decades of data, they’ve found clear differences between first generation and non-first generation college students. College Board researchers have found that first generation college student are less likely to take preparatory courses for the standardized exam, take fewer advanced placement courses (AP) prior to college, and are less likely to take accelerated math courses. These are just a few of the hurdles for these disadvantaged students.

Family role models for academic success can be scarce. Study habits may not have been learned. Monetary support may be nonexistent. First generation students may struggle to connect with peers on campus. All of these factors raise the risk for dissatisfaction in school, higher dropout rates, and mental health concerns. Frankly, it pays to have family ties to education.

Similar status as a first generation saver

Maybe you’re wondering, “What does all this college student talk have to do with personal finance and money, Sam?”

I’m glad you asked.

Similar to college, first generation savers face serious tests — analogous problems exist. Lessons are passed down from generation to generation. Inheritances can be shared and kept within families. Strong principles and techniques for smartly minimizing individual tax responsibilities are taught. (Heck, how do you think Romney only paid about 14.1%?). First generation savers frequently have friends in comparable financial predicaments.

Starting, customizing, and following a monthly budget are learned. It helps if your parents teach you. Additionally, when you can see how they save and manage their money in action, a good cycle can be learned. The first generation saver doesn’t have the opportunity to learn from parents. As the first savers in a family, they’re bucking a pattern of money mismanagement — the waters can be murky, challenging, and lonely.

Jim Cramer Tulane University Photo
Photo: Jim Cramer at Tulane University (Credit: Tulane Public Relations)

Is willpower the key ingredient to saving?

Personal finance gurus stress individual power, will, and grit. They propagate unscientific expertise that suggests they have the tools to balance your budget, reduce debt, create emergency funds, and retire with a sizable nest egg. For the most part, their help and advice can really help. Unfortunately, their one-size-fits-all advice isn’t often tailored for first generation savers.

Willpower-based economic education is far too common. It’s the ill-conceived bumper sticker of American personal finance policy: one must have the will and energy to save — that’s all it takes. Otherwise, you’re a lazy failure because you cannot commit to these steps.

I’m afraid that does an injustice to more multicultural groups who don’t necessarily have the same role models and social support for financial success. Frankly, most personal finance advice is distilled and created for a certain population; one that has the means to believe in free will and individual power.

We need more diversity among financial gurus — socioeconomic statuses, races, genders, persons with disabilities, and more. Voices need to come to the table and share their individual experiences. While some advice and feedback may not fit, there’s hope in knowing that more people are out there sharing openly and acknowledging the team effort that’s necessary to come back from tens of thousands in debt.

Filed Under: Save Money Tagged With: Act, college, debt, education, Finances, first generation, Gurus, loans, Personal Finance, Romney, SAT, saver, Student Loans, taxes, university, Wealthy, Willpower

How I Earn A Living As An Actress

By Frugaling 33 Comments

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How I Make Living as an Actress Money
Photo: Stefanie

This is a guest article from Stefanie! She’s trying to find ways to stretch her budget in one of the most expensive cities out there, New York City. A graduate of New York University’s drama and psychology programs at the height of the financial crisis, Stefanie discovered the world of financial planning out of necessity. Thanks for sharing your insight, Stefanie!

A couple weeks ago I shared some of the joy and the hardship that comes from my career as an actress. Today, I want to share how I earn a “living.” And by that I mean, quite literally, how I afford to live when I’m not working in “the business,” or when I’m being grossly underpaid, or when I don’t know how long it will be until I book my next gig.

In order to keep my days free for auditions and my schedule open for performance opportunities, I avoid jobs in the traditional 9-5 realm and focus on what many in the personal finance world call “side hustles.” My so-called “hustles” have ranged from being a trade show hostess at Comic Con to administering the musical theatre department at the New York Film Academy.

But my goal today isn’t to indulge you in crazy stories from my various gigs (maybe another time), but to share how I built and maintain an arsenal of side hustle options for whenever I need an income boost.

The conventional route of applying for jobs has never earned me enough to get by. Instead, my personal and life skills have served me most in making a living. Here are my top 5 recommendations to anyone trying to do the same.

1. Be a Nice Person

I could have also called this point “networking,” but there’s something inherently impersonal and limiting about that word to me. I’ve found that when you do your best to be a good person to everyone you come in contact with – in business or your personal life – opportunities follow.

In my five short years with the professional world, I’ve gotten countless jobs – in the industry and on the side – from relationships I have built with people personally and professionally. You never know where opportunities will come from. Be good, do good, and watch it come back to you.

2. Add Value

My biggest source of freelance writing work comes from people who have found or read my blog, not from the applications and proposals I send out. I do my best to contribute value in every facet of my life – online, among friends, or in a professional setting.  When people see that I have some level of expertise to offer, I automatically become a resource which may lead to a future job opportunity.

3. Talk About It

I got my job at New York Film Academy two weeks after talking to friends about my unemployment benefits running out. I wasn’t asking around for jobs (though I don’t think that’s a bad idea as you’ll see in my next point). Quite simply, I talked openly about what was going on in my life.

Rather than being embarrassed or ashamed of unemployment or tight finances, being forthcoming can put you at the front of someone’s mind when an extra income opportunity arises.  I get texts from friends all the time about babysitting gigs – my sittercity profile never saw that much action.

4. Ask

I have gotten side hustles from Facebook statuses – no joke! Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there or simply ask what’s out there, as you’ll never know what you might find. 

5. Deliver

For goodness sake, when you get an opportunity (income, volunteer, or otherwise), work hard and put in the effort. Be prompt and professional, no matter how casual the setting. If you overdeliver, you’re practically guaranteed a future gig or recommendation.

What tactics have you used or found most valuable when looking for work or extra income opportunities?  How do you make your living?

Filed Under: Make Money Tagged With: Act, Acting, Actress, Income, Lifestyle, New York City, Pay, Side Hustles

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