The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 1, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Page: 4 of 6
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4 The Rambler
College Life
January 21, 2009
T -jy. q. t T/x-i 1 y A^ Wealth achievable when lifestyle
O ; reflects proper financial principles
i
Tiara
Nugent
Bottom line, saving must be your priority.
Living within your means and working
must be your lifestyle. That is not to say
work should consume your life, but rather
play a significant role in it.
People often criticize the American
Dream. "You can't get everything
you want just by working hard," realists
say, and much truth abides in that
observation. Sometimes, however, all
that's really needed to materialize one
of Americans' most traditional dreams -
big bucks - is hard work, wisdom and a
smidgen of patience.
Discipline is the primary ingredi-
ent in both living debt-free and wealth
building. As Zig Ziglar said, "If you do
the things you need to do when you need to do them, then
someday you can do the things you want to do when you
want to do them."
When someone mentions
budgeting, you might flaunt
your plumage and think, "Oh,
I have one." What does living
on a budget entail? Allocated
spending.
Before the month starts,
make a list of all needed expenditures and "name" every
dollar entering your pocket. First, allot money to pay your
monthly bills, including debt, phone, rent, etc. Next assign
an amount to gas, food, clothing, entertainment and yes,
even "blow" money. A budget must be a plan you can stick
to, so be careful not to lace yourself too tight.
Laying out a written budget puts a new pair of lenses on
your eyes. Be prepared:
tracking your previous
spending habits may
surprise you. Small and/
or impulsive purchases
add up fast.
For example, con-
sider Joe, who eats a
meal out during his daily
lunch break. Even the
deluxe fast food meal
deals charge many pretty
pennies. Average $8
or so a day, that means
$160 a month, and totals
out at $76,800 after 40
years. Yes, that waste
seems ridiculous, but
many Americans spend
it.
Times of fatigue and
stress or "I owe it to my-
self' syndrome lead to
squandering "feel good"
splurges. Rigorously
sticking to a written spending plan will curb frivolous over-
spending, eradicate overdrafts and, consequently, eliminate
much stress and guilt. A great way to keep yourself in check
is a "budget buddy." Challenge a friend of relative to take
control of their fi nances and hold each other accountable to
persevere.
The final component of a budget - one of utmost im-
portance - incorporates devoting a set percentage of your
income to savings.
Why save?
We all expect unexpected events. You
know that at some point your car radiator
will give out. Flealthy as you may have
always been, you will get sick or experi-
ence a physical accident one day. Don't let
those occurrences surprise you. Set aside
a portion of your savings as an emergency
fund and take the "expected unexpected"
in stride.
The second mega reason
to save relates back to your
spending. Large purchases -
such as a piece of furniture,
TV, vehicle or laptop - paid
for in cash come with no
repercussions - i.e., no credit
card statements. Additionally, paying in
cash will likely ensure your purchases are
wise choices. Parting with a few hundred
dollars in cash ignites much more pain
than swiping a card. You will think twice
before swapping good ol' Uncle Ben's
portrait for merchandise.
Americans' Financial Facts
• Only 32 percent of Americans would
be able to cover a $5,000 emergency
without going into debt for it, according
to a Gallup survey.
• Savings rate for 2006 was -1 percent,
reported the Bureau of Economic Analy-
sis. This was the lowest rate since the
Great Depression.
• U.S. Bankruptcies Courts say 2005
bankruptcies totaled 2,078,415. Chapter
7 bankruptcies equaled 79 percent of
those.
• Total U.S. consumer debt hit $2.7 tril-
lion in April 2006, the highest level in
history according to the Federal Re-
serve Statistical Release.
Lastly,
save to
build
wealth!
Mutual
funds of-
fer valu-
able returns. Just make sure
to always research what and
where you invest. Do not
merely take someone's word
on a "prime" investment
opportunity - prove the
benefits and establish the
credibility of the investment
yourself.
Saving to build wealth
is the first step to assur-
ing yourself a prosperous
retirement. Retirement?!
I can hear your astounded
reaction. That milestone
stands a long way away in
the future, you say (along
with that aforementioned 53
percent who are unprepared). Yes it does, and that's exactly
my point.
Retiring as a multi-millionaire sounds appealing but
unrealistic, right? Not if you do the math on a 30 year old
couple properly investing/saving only 500 dollars a month
from age 30-70. And you would be surprised at how fast
even $50 a month could help if you start now. Space won't
allow me to go into detail here, but an IRA or an employer's
401k option definitely constitutes something to look into.
The earlier you start, the more money you have at retirement
OR the earlier you can afford to
retire. Besides, I know all too
well how procrastination works -
establishing retirement ASAP is
essential!
Building a savings, work-
ing to become debt-free and
providing for the future offers
security and boosts self-esteem.
You become empowered. Money
is not in control of you; you are in
control of the money.
I'm sure by this point you
are wondering where I've got-
ten all this jargon and on what
grounds I attempt to advise. These
pointers are not my own, how-
ever.
Last November I enrolled
in Dave Ramsey's Financial
Peace University, a series of 13
hour-long classes explaining and
advising financial debt matters.
Ramsey, a nationally syndicated
radio host and best-selling author,
thoroughly covers everything
from all types of insurance and
health financial planning, to
budgeting, "debt snowballing,"
mutual funds, retirement funds,
and every type of investment under the sun (as well as how
to legally do it tax-free).
I have hardly been able to communicate a fraction of
Ramsey's insights to financial victory, or delve into any of
these topics to the depth he communicates. I would strongly
urge anyone looking to gain knowledge on and success in
personal finances to attend Ramsey's live seminar in Dallas
on March 28 and/or invest a small sum in one of his books.
For more information on Ramsey's Financial Peace Univer-
sity's resources and for online assets to managing money,
visit www.daveramsey.com.
Bottom line, saving must be your priority. Living within
your means and working must be your lifestyle. That is not
to say work should consume your life, but rather play a sig-
nificant role in it. Others may think you're crazy - America
is certainly not a frugal or debt-conscious country - but the
settlements you will reap later will far outdo anything those
skeptics will obtain.
As Ramsey delights to quote, today "Live like no one
else so that later you can live like no one else."
Tiara Nugent is a senior English major and is editor-in-chief for The
Rambler.
• According to the Retirement Confi-
dence Survey, 53 percent of Americans
have less than $25,000 in retirement
savings: 43 percent of those are over
age 55, and 30 percent believe they
only need 250,000 or less in total retire-
ment savings.
Sitetp i Hf © fc-
Rambler photographers needed.
twurambler@yahoo. com
Face it.
Wesley an joins student communication a la mode
Ryan Authier
Cartoonists
wanted.
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ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Taking its next step into the information age, Texas Wesley an
is entering the realm of social networking. Facebook, second only
to My Space in social networking with more than 140 million
members, according to Alexa Internet Inc., is now host to our
university's own page.
Wesleyan is taking a modern tech-
nological stride with its Facebook mem-
bership. Although there are no bumper
sticker applications, super pokes or clear
preferences for pirates or ninjas, there
are some very useful bits and gadgets for
students, faculty and alumni.
"On Texas Wesleyan's page, all the
different types of users ~ alumni, faculty
and staff, current students and potential
students — can interact with each other,
ask questions, share their opinions and
generally stay informed about what's go-
ing on at the university," said Communi-
cations Specialist Amy Batheja.
The first thing to take note of is, well,
the notes. Replacing typical Facebook
missives concerning breakups and week-
end clubbing, the university is taking advantage of this feature to
post news and information about upcoming events. There is also
a link to the Ram Calendar.
Scroll a bit further down and you will see that Wesleyan has
also utilized the discussion board, inviting talk about everything
from advice for incoming freshmen to local hot-spots.
Taking advantage of Facebook's media potentials, the school
has uploaded, and will presumably continue to upload, loads of
photos from campus events and some videos promoting various
aspects of the school and even a message from University Presi-
dent Hal Jeffcoat.
Are you are a music major and want to find the pictures from
the last concert? Maybe you're a soccer player and want a full-
sized action shot. Now you know where to look.
"It's nice to be able to find pictures from all of the events
Texas Wesleyan University
TEXAS WESLEY
around campus," said junior English and exercise science major
Joakim Soederbaum. "The athletic department takes really great
photos, but only a few are available on the main site. Having
them on Facebook will be very nice."
In addition to the standard features such as the mini-feed and
the wall (which students can comment on freely), there are also
sections dedicated specifically to future students, current students,
alumni and the city of Fort Worth.
Though the bulk of these sections are
merely links back to the Wesleyan Web
site, it simplifies the navigation of the
original site.
A noticeable detail of Wesleyan's
page is the graphics. Designed primarily
by members of Wesleyan's information
and technology department, they stand
out against the drab blue and white of
Facebook's layout. Wesleyan hopes that
any curious high school seniors or poten-
tial transfers who stumble upon the page
will be impressed by the variety and
diversity expressed through the entire
page.
There is potential for the university's
Facebook involvement to go beyond just
this site. Coming in March, the Center
for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, headed by Dr. Amy
Collier, will host a Web 2.0 seminar for teachers focused on in-
creasing student-teacher interaction via Facebook.
Dr. Stacia Neeley, associate professor of English, is one who
has already taken advantage of Facebook's teaching benefits.
"I do look forward to exploring the pedagogical use of
Facebook as it expands its functions and keeps college students
informed of events on their campuses," she said.
The school has even decided to draw a bit more attention to
the page by offering a chance to win a prize pack full of Wesley-
an gear to whoever becomes a "Facebook fan" of the page before
Feb. 1.
So next time you are updating your status or adding some
pictures, stop by Wesleyan's new page. You never know whose
face you might see.
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Nugent, Tiara. The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 1, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 21, 2009, newspaper, January 21, 2009; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201270/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.