Monday, August 25, 2008
Going Off to College?
Getting Going: What Every Freshman Needs to Know
By ANDREA COOMBES
August 24, 2008
If you're about to start your freshman year in college, you're likely fretting over the homework load and how to avoid embarrassing yourself in front of your classmates.
Meanwhile, your parents' fears as you take this major step toward adulthood are running as rampant as their imagination will allow.
But now that the first tuition bill is paid, the one thing likely neither you nor your parents is focusing on is money. You should. Here's one reason why: Almost one-fourth of undergraduates had credit-card debt in excess of $3,000, according to a study of students' credit histories in 2004 by loan provider Nellie Mae.
That's a chunk of money to owe on an entry-level salary, and worse if you're paying off student loans, too.
To start your adult life on the best financial footing possible, consider these 10 rules while you're in school.
1. Be specific. Talk with your parents about who is paying for what, and how. When David Robinson, who teaches a personal-finance class at the University of California at Berkeley, asks students who is paying, for instance, for their semester of study abroad, many college students have no idea.
Not knowing details can lead to unrealistic expectations. Parents, if you're struggling with your own finances, discuss your situation with your student. Don't worry about looking bad. She already knows you're not perfect.
2. Create a budget. Come up with categories, estimating a monthly spending amount for each. Note to parents: Help your kids with this, but don't be judgmental. "It's really helpful for them to come up with their categories," says Susan Bruno, a personal financial specialist in Rowayton, Conn.
Your budget may change once you're on campus, so revise as needed. Send a weekly email update to your parents -- it'll help you track spending.
3. Set up accounts. And pay attention. Create a checking and savings account -- even if the balances are low -- to get the hang of balancing a checkbook. Once a week, before your daily visit to Facebook, visit your accounts online. Check to ensure that transactions are yours -- sad to say, but identity theft happens, and young adults' "friends" often do the stealing.
4. Learn from mistakes. It's inevitable: You will trip up with your finances -- just ask your parents! -- and those errors may cost you money. Don't beat yourself up. Figure out where you went wrong and move on. Credit-card late fees are a common problem.
Gerad Soman, a senior at Loyola University, Chicago, solved it by setting up automatic payments from his bank account.
5. Practice with plastic. First off, realize that it's possible to live without credit cards. Many people do. That said, if you decide credit cards are a good idea -- for emergencies or to create a credit history -- then start slowly. Craig Watts, spokesman for Fair Isaac Corp., creator of the FICO credit score, says his three teenagers started with gas cards (the type that work only for gas). "They had to pay those bills. That teaches kids in a hurry," he says. Or, become an authorized user on a parent's account, with an agreed-upon maximum limit. (Note that the latest FICO model gives fewer "good credit" points to piggyback users, Mr. Watts says.) Or, get your own card with a low limit to ensure you don't overspend. Pay your full balance monthly.
6. Work part time. It's nice if the job is somehow related to your career goals, but even if it isn't, work anyway. "It gives them a little structure it teaches them some responsibility and gives them some experience handling money," says Gary Buffone, founder of a family-wealth consulting firm in Jacksonville, Fla. Some universities advise freshmen to delay employment, so check with your adviser first.
7. Educate yourself. If your school doesn't offer a personal-finance class, then take an accounting class. Mr. Soman says doing so "taught me about balancing assets and liabilities."
8. Just say no. There will be times -- when friends head out for a nice dinner, say -- when you will want something you cannot afford. Practice resisting the urge to spend anyway, says Mr. Robinson, the University of California lecturer. He has students imagine their friends going to Lake Tahoe for a weekend. "I get 250 kids to stand up and say out loud, 'I'm sorry, that sounds lovely but I just can't afford it.' "
9. Start a Roth. If you work, ask your parents whether you can borrow $4,000 to fund a new Roth IRA. Then pay them back over time, says Linda Lubitz, a financial planner in Miami. Note that you can't put more than your taxable compensation into a Roth, up to $4,000 a year.
10. Learn how to cook. Eating out is one of the fastest ways to bleed money, so learn to cook. Mr. Soman's dad taught him over the phone how to barbeque food. "Ever since then I'll buy food early in the week," he says. "I'll do one big BBQ of steak and chicken and it'll last me about a week."
Write to Andrea Coombes at andrea.coombes@dowjones.com
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Rule #9 mentions starting a Roth IRA. Contact your Catholic Aid field representative about starting a Roth IRA!
By ANDREA COOMBES
August 24, 2008
If you're about to start your freshman year in college, you're likely fretting over the homework load and how to avoid embarrassing yourself in front of your classmates.
Meanwhile, your parents' fears as you take this major step toward adulthood are running as rampant as their imagination will allow.
But now that the first tuition bill is paid, the one thing likely neither you nor your parents is focusing on is money. You should. Here's one reason why: Almost one-fourth of undergraduates had credit-card debt in excess of $3,000, according to a study of students' credit histories in 2004 by loan provider Nellie Mae.
That's a chunk of money to owe on an entry-level salary, and worse if you're paying off student loans, too.
To start your adult life on the best financial footing possible, consider these 10 rules while you're in school.
1. Be specific. Talk with your parents about who is paying for what, and how. When David Robinson, who teaches a personal-finance class at the University of California at Berkeley, asks students who is paying, for instance, for their semester of study abroad, many college students have no idea.
Not knowing details can lead to unrealistic expectations. Parents, if you're struggling with your own finances, discuss your situation with your student. Don't worry about looking bad. She already knows you're not perfect.
2. Create a budget. Come up with categories, estimating a monthly spending amount for each. Note to parents: Help your kids with this, but don't be judgmental. "It's really helpful for them to come up with their categories," says Susan Bruno, a personal financial specialist in Rowayton, Conn.
Your budget may change once you're on campus, so revise as needed. Send a weekly email update to your parents -- it'll help you track spending.
3. Set up accounts. And pay attention. Create a checking and savings account -- even if the balances are low -- to get the hang of balancing a checkbook. Once a week, before your daily visit to Facebook, visit your accounts online. Check to ensure that transactions are yours -- sad to say, but identity theft happens, and young adults' "friends" often do the stealing.
4. Learn from mistakes. It's inevitable: You will trip up with your finances -- just ask your parents! -- and those errors may cost you money. Don't beat yourself up. Figure out where you went wrong and move on. Credit-card late fees are a common problem.
Gerad Soman, a senior at Loyola University, Chicago, solved it by setting up automatic payments from his bank account.
5. Practice with plastic. First off, realize that it's possible to live without credit cards. Many people do. That said, if you decide credit cards are a good idea -- for emergencies or to create a credit history -- then start slowly. Craig Watts, spokesman for Fair Isaac Corp., creator of the FICO credit score, says his three teenagers started with gas cards (the type that work only for gas). "They had to pay those bills. That teaches kids in a hurry," he says. Or, become an authorized user on a parent's account, with an agreed-upon maximum limit. (Note that the latest FICO model gives fewer "good credit" points to piggyback users, Mr. Watts says.) Or, get your own card with a low limit to ensure you don't overspend. Pay your full balance monthly.
6. Work part time. It's nice if the job is somehow related to your career goals, but even if it isn't, work anyway. "It gives them a little structure it teaches them some responsibility and gives them some experience handling money," says Gary Buffone, founder of a family-wealth consulting firm in Jacksonville, Fla. Some universities advise freshmen to delay employment, so check with your adviser first.
7. Educate yourself. If your school doesn't offer a personal-finance class, then take an accounting class. Mr. Soman says doing so "taught me about balancing assets and liabilities."
8. Just say no. There will be times -- when friends head out for a nice dinner, say -- when you will want something you cannot afford. Practice resisting the urge to spend anyway, says Mr. Robinson, the University of California lecturer. He has students imagine their friends going to Lake Tahoe for a weekend. "I get 250 kids to stand up and say out loud, 'I'm sorry, that sounds lovely but I just can't afford it.' "
9. Start a Roth. If you work, ask your parents whether you can borrow $4,000 to fund a new Roth IRA. Then pay them back over time, says Linda Lubitz, a financial planner in Miami. Note that you can't put more than your taxable compensation into a Roth, up to $4,000 a year.
10. Learn how to cook. Eating out is one of the fastest ways to bleed money, so learn to cook. Mr. Soman's dad taught him over the phone how to barbeque food. "Ever since then I'll buy food early in the week," he says. "I'll do one big BBQ of steak and chicken and it'll last me about a week."
Write to Andrea Coombes at andrea.coombes@dowjones.com
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Rule #9 mentions starting a Roth IRA. Contact your Catholic Aid field representative about starting a Roth IRA!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
New Member Appreciation Event
Catholic Aid Association is hosting a New Member Appreciation Night with the Saint Paul Saints! The event is taking place on Monday, August 18. The pre-game events (dinner) starts at 5:00 PM and the game starts at 7:00 PM.Whether you are a new member, or you've been with Catholic Aid your entire life, you are invited, please contact Heather Vargo if you would like to attend!
Here's Heather's contact information:
hvargo@catholicaid.org
651.490.0170 ext 187
800.568.6670 ext 187
Reflections on World Youth Day
Alisha Hafner of the St. Jude of the Lake Council in Mahtomedi, Minn. said, “World Youth Day was simply AMAZING! Words cannot describe how I felt from the enthusiasm of all the pilgrims around me. It was such a moving experience to see so many young people gathered together for the same reason.”
“The most valuable lesson I learned at World Youth Day was to just take a step back from everything going on and remember the reason I was there… It was so easy to get caught up in the excitement of everyone that sometimes I forgot the reason for everyone's excitement. Being in such a beautiful place, such as Sydney, added so much to World Youth Day, while at the same time sometimes distracted pilgrims from the message of World Youth Day. Overall, World Youth Day was a spiritual growing experience for every pilgrim present.” - Alisha Hafner
Here is a photo Alisha submitted of her group. This is the Saint Helena WYD Group, Minneapolis, Minn.
Alisha Hafner and her tour guide, Simon.
“The most valuable lesson I learned at World Youth Day was to just take a step back from everything going on and remember the reason I was there… It was so easy to get caught up in the excitement of everyone that sometimes I forgot the reason for everyone's excitement. Being in such a beautiful place, such as Sydney, added so much to World Youth Day, while at the same time sometimes distracted pilgrims from the message of World Youth Day. Overall, World Youth Day was a spiritual growing experience for every pilgrim present.” - Alisha Hafner
Here is a photo Alisha submitted of her group. This is the Saint Helena WYD Group, Minneapolis, Minn.
Alisha Hafner and her tour guide, Simon.
Reflections on World Youth Day
Jacqueline Noggle of the Saint Helena group says that “Adoration at the vigil was my most favorite moment because I could feel the holy spirit more powerfully then I have ever felt Him before. I felt this overwhelming sense of joy and hope I couldn’t stop smiling.” Above is a photo of Jackie's World Youth Day group from Saint Helena's Parish in Minneapolis, Minn.
Reflections on World Youth Day
Matt Kuettel of St. Anthony and Maria-Hilf Council in Saint Paul, Minn. said, "While seeing the Pope was an experience that will not be forgotten, I think that hearing his words has affected me more. The Pope is a very holy man, and while he is the vicar of Christ, he is not Christ. His words, however, are more important because he has been given the authority to speak for the Church, and under the guidance of the Spirit, his words are never wrong."
Matt says that his favorite moment of World Youth Day "was praying in front of Christ in the Eucharist at our Catechesis site. There was a real peace and beauty in the church and prayer was easy. Listening to Christopher West and other speakers were also great opportunities to continue my conversion to Christ."
"I am very grateful to Catholic Aid for all they did to help me go to Australia. Their financial support helped me acquire the funds necessary to make the lengthy trip and I am a better person because of it; thank you Catholic Aid." - Matt Kuettel
Matt says that his favorite moment of World Youth Day "was praying in front of Christ in the Eucharist at our Catechesis site. There was a real peace and beauty in the church and prayer was easy. Listening to Christopher West and other speakers were also great opportunities to continue my conversion to Christ."
"I am very grateful to Catholic Aid for all they did to help me go to Australia. Their financial support helped me acquire the funds necessary to make the lengthy trip and I am a better person because of it; thank you Catholic Aid." - Matt Kuettel
Reflections on World Youth Day
Kelsey Schlichting of the St. Joseph in Miesville, Minn. said, "Upon arriving in Sydney, the excitement grew more and more with each new country flag I saw. We finally came to Olympic Park which was the location which would be our home for the next week and a half. It wasn’t just our home, but also the home of 5,000 others from around the world. The dome we stayed in housed people from all around the world -- All the way from the unfamiliar country of Togo, all the way to our neighboring state of Wisconsin. This was a defining point of the trip for me. Walking into this dome, (it resembled an air plane hanger), and see sleeping bags and air mattresses, and rows and rows and rows of people upon more rows of people. To realize that this was only a small fraction of how many people were attending this event, and I was part of it. I was part of it all. Every night when we came 'home' to the dome, there was a relief that flooded over me kind of, to see all the other people there, knowing that I wasn't alone in this. I wasn't the only other person on this pilgrimage to strengthen my faith. I wasn't alone."
Kelsey talked, too, of her faith being strengthened, "My faith was strengthened immensely on this trip. I didn't realize during the trip itself, but afterward, I realized how much closer the trip and its excursions had brought me to Jesus Christ himself. The priest we traveled with preached to us one day about getting closer to Jesus and knowing Him. He told us that Jesus knew us so well, and he loved us so much… we don't know him like he knows us. Once the priest had said this, my eyes opened a little bit wider to everything. I brainstormed ways for me to gain a closer relationship with Jesus. This is only one of the ways my faith was strengthened in this journey I took."
Kelsey talked, too, of her faith being strengthened, "My faith was strengthened immensely on this trip. I didn't realize during the trip itself, but afterward, I realized how much closer the trip and its excursions had brought me to Jesus Christ himself. The priest we traveled with preached to us one day about getting closer to Jesus and knowing Him. He told us that Jesus knew us so well, and he loved us so much… we don't know him like he knows us. Once the priest had said this, my eyes opened a little bit wider to everything. I brainstormed ways for me to gain a closer relationship with Jesus. This is only one of the ways my faith was strengthened in this journey I took."
Reflections on World Youth Day
Andrew Vandal is from the SS Joseph & Elizabeth Council in Sykeston, ND. Here's what he had to say about his experience:
My favorite moment was when we started meeting the other WYD pilgrims. The most memorable was when I started making international friends with my light-up Frisbee.
My most valuable lesson I learned is that no matter what race you are from, or the color of your skin, all the pilgrims in Sydney believed in the same risen Christ. I could see it in every pilgrim’s faces that they were ready to meet St. Peter’s successor and proclaim their faith with him.
It was a thrill to see the Pope. I could feel the Holy Spirit radiating from him. You could tell from his smile that he was happy to be there. I got close to fifteen feet away from him when he came to the Randwick Racecourse.
It was fun to be around other people from other nationalities because then you could find out who was the first missionary of their country and other things about them. I also had fun trading trinkets with the different countries.
What I was reminded of again about my Catholic Faith is that no matter who you are or where you are from, somewhere in the world someone is praying for you.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Catholic Aid Association Names Youth Volunteer of the Year
Two outstanding, young individuals were recognized with a first-of-its-kind award by the Catholic Aid Association Saturday, August 2, for the hours of service and fellowship they have given to their peers, community and Catholic Aid local council.
Kevin Young, of
Catholic Aid asked for nominations of young members (ages 18 - 30), who have, through example and accomplishment, provided outstanding volunteer service to his or her community and/or council throughout the past year. Both winners exceeded expectation in their involvement, and Catholic Aid was proud to honor them.
Kevin Young is a recent graduate of
“Kevin is a team motivator and team leader,” Huskie Track Coach Scott Daninger said. “He’s a great role model and contributes to the success of each person on the team by his encouragement and commitment.”
In addition to athletics, Young is also an honor student and a member of the National Honor Society, with which he assists in organizing service projects with the student body. He also balances a part-time job and a leadership role with the youth group at St. Benedict’s parish, where helps teach religion to sixth-graders and contributes to his Catholic Aid Council activities.
Kevin plans to attend
Overman too, is a recent high school graduate and academic luminary. Lori graduated Valedictorian of Melrose High School and held numerous leadership roles within her class. She was Captain of the Speech Team, President of the National Honor Society, Treasurer of the Band Council, a leader in the 4-H Club and was crowned a Stearns County Dairy Princess in March of 2008. She continues to be a promoter of dairy products, including as a dependable helping hand on her parents’ dairy farm.
Lori’s exceptional service is given not only to the local community, but to the global community as well. She has completed two mission trips to
“Lori is dedicated to her family, school, community, and parish,” said Overman’s nominator, Kathy Welle. Lori will also attend
Thanks to the efforts of Overman and Young, it’s a high bar that has been set for future winners of the Catholic Aid Youth Volunteer of the Year Award. The Catholic Aid councils and communities that have benefited from their efforts thank them, as does the entire Association, for the example they set. Congratulations.
The Catholic Aid Association, founded in 1878, in
For more information about the Catholic Aid Association, call 651-490-0170 or 1-800-568-6670, or visit the Web site at www.catholicaid.org.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Theology on a Stick? What is it?
Catholic Aid became an official sponsor of 'Theology on a Stick.' This is a really great event that is presented by the Cathedral Young Adults (CYA) of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. They have brought spirituality into the pubs through their successful “Theology on Tap” series. Now they’re bringing faith to the fair for five nights.
Dubbed “Theology on a Stick,” the evening event features an exciting mix of questions about God, the meaning of life, and how to enter fulfilling relationships. Each topic is followed by a question and answer session and the CYA’s traditional “grill the priest” open Q&A. All events take place at St. Bernard’s diner, The Bulldog Lodge, located just inside the Snelling Avenue entrance to the fairgrounds, at the southwest corner of Dan Patch and Cosgrove Avenues. CYA volunteers will be handing out “Theology on a Stick” souvenirs each of the days the evening event will be held which include Friday, Saturday and Wednesday nights of the fair from 7 to 11 p.m.
Friday, August 22
Saturday, August 23
Wednesday, August 27
Friday, August 29
Saturday, August 30
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