When do you draw the line with spending? With the current economic crisis, a college student must know when to keep their money in their pockets and when it is OK to spend it.
Even if your parents are not working on Wall Street, they certainly have felt the effects of the economy’s downturn. A word of advice would be to avoid discussing the news headlines whenever possible. It is not like it isn’t already on their mind. Your parents’ do not need you bringing it up, as you yourself remain a physical reminder of why they must keep ‘pushing the rock’ and going to work every day to pay for your college tuition and life expenses. Lay off it when you return home and try to realize that it is a sensitive subject.
You don’t have to feel helpless when it comes to your parent’s stocks going down or jobs at risk, however. It is important to realize that the economy will not stay in turmoil forever. It has its ups and downs, like in 1929 and 2003 and will be back to normal eventually.
Caution is necessary when spending or dealing with your money. When on line at the mall, it would make sense to consider taking out one or two items out of your pile of clothes to save some money. Even preserving gas can add up to make differences in your funds that will benefit you in the long run. It also wouldn’t hurt to look for sales when shopping. These slight changes in your spending can relieve the headache your parents feel when having an awkward conversation about spending their money.
Another thing to reconsider aside from watching your expenditures would be your future career. People are being laid off and fired left and right on Wall Street, which should make those of you looking for a job in finance realize that it may be even more’ ‘ difficult than you think to land a job. If you are looking for such a career, think realistically about it and make sure to be creative when thinking of future opportunities.
Look to foreign markets for possible employment and maybe do some traveling or researching on other potential jobs before heading down to Wall Street for interviews. We have all seen the Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch career center visits disappearing off the schedules posted around schools; let this be a hint to all of you.
Now the new $700 billion bailout plan introduced by President Bush and Congress was passed by Congress in an effort to repair the markets and start the climb back up. In conjunction with the U.S., world financial leaders also poured billions into shoring up their financial institutions in Germany, France and England.
While some Americans believe this plan was only to put money back in the pockets of companies and of wealthy CEOs, this plan is geared to help everyone. The Wall Street CEOs will be spending more time in front of a microphone explaining their missteps than on the golf course these days. This is the classic Main Street versus Wall Street idea.
In reality, the borrowing of money that occurred on Wall Street is the same as small business owners in small towns across America. They are borrowing to pay for that cute little house on the corner that they couldn’t quite afford or for restaurants in town to keep the lights on and pay their waiters from day to day. The bailout plan was not directed at the super wealthy or privileged but for all Americans who are being affected by this crisis. We are all in this together.
The worst thing to do at a time like this would be to panic and sell all stocks you have in the market.
As Kevin Divney, the chief investment officer at Putnam Investments in Boston said on Bloomberg Television, ‘This could be the buying opportunity of a generation.’
Make sure to keep the economic crisis in mind when you go to the polls this November and think about which candidate will better serve you in repairing the economy.
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