Cameron McCarty Interview

Anchor intro: going off to college is an exciting time for students.

But before they head out on their own, it's important they understand how to manage their money.

Financial professional cameron mccarty, owner of vivid tax advisory services, is here with four topics to cover before your student heads off to college.

Q: 13 years of education, and it seems many of our high school graduates are heading off to college without money management skills.

Why is that?

Money management is not typically a subject kids are taught in school or usually included on state- mandated tests.

A national report found just five states in the country scored an a when it comes to teaching students financial literacy (source if you choose to use fact: champlain college).

Q: what should these college freshmen know about money management?

College is a great time to start building credit, which is crucial for leasing an apartment and buying a car.

But it's important to understand the difference between credit building and overextending.

There are 4 important areas that will help college students form a strong foundation for money management.

Setting a budget even if the student has no income during college, a budget can still be an effective tool.

Create columns with any money coming in and money going out.

Set an amount for each week and stick to it.

Make sure students are thinking ahead and seasonally.

Such as buying books, traveling home for thanksgiving and buying gifts for the holidays.

A budget worksheet is a great place to start, and i have one on my website, vividtaxadvisory.com.

Checking & savings accounts if your teen doesn't have a checking account and a savings account, you should set them both up before heading off to college.

Teens need to remember to keep track of how much money is in the account so they aren't hit with fees for bouncing a check or overdrafting.

Shop around to find a bank with convenient atms near campus to eliminate out-of- network charges.

Credit cards when choosing that first credit card look for a low interest rate (apr), an extended grace period, low penalty fees and a card with no annual fee.

Once you get that card, it's tempting to go on a spending spree, but students should never buy more than they can pay back right away.

Students should also keep track of the payment date so they don't get hit with a late penalty.

Missing a payment can also drag down their credit score.

Credit card debt is one of the worst kinds of debt because of the high interest rates and we have a tendency to buy things we don't need.

Student loans borrow only what you need.

You don't have to accept the entire amount of a loan you're