Introducing Young, Not Broke: A Publication on Managing Your Money for College Students
I had just received my first paycheck at the ripe age of 16 and my dad sat me down immediately and walked me through what I should do with it. “Save your money…let’s open a checking account…”
Except, I wasn’t listening. I was completely distracted by the thought of spending my OWN money for the very first time. By the end of the week, I had blown through it all. (It wasn’t a lot but still not ideal.) I went back to my dad and asked him to help me out and this time I listened.
That conversation with my dad started my financial journey. Most of what I know (which is not a lot) comes from my dad. I vaguely remember taking a personal finance class in high school but I can’t for the life of me remember a single thing from that class.
Throughout college, I’ve been inspired to learn more about the topic as I started to earn money through jobs and internships. I found that the more I learned about managing my money, the more confidence I gained about my future. While I’m nowhere near perfection and still have a lot to figure out, the confidence I did gain was empowering.
In my personal quest to learn more, I dove into the world of personal finance blogs and resources. While helpful, I found that these were mostly geared at a totally different demographic than me. Many of the authors of these blogs retired at 35 and now spent their time traveling and blogging. Others would aim to save more than 50% of their annual salary which is not easy to do and unrealistic for most of us. To put things into perspective: the average American saves less than 5% of their income and most financial planners will advise saving between 10–15% of your income.
Many blogs also assume the reader has a basic understanding of personal finances and the truth is not a lot of us do. I know I’ve had to Google the difference between a savings account and checking account the first time I heard of them. I was frustrated that I couldn’t find a reliable resource or even an app that helped me budget my money and figure things out.
Curious to see if my friends were facing the same frustrations I was, I decided to reach out. I posted on Facebook and asked them to chat with me about how they managed their own money. In these conversations, I found that many of my fellow classmates were in the same boat as me. We all had different financial circumstances but the root issues were the same.
Enter Young, Not Broke. A newsletter and publication that does 2 things: interviews recent graduates in different careers to understand their personal finance journeys and breaks down the basics of personal finance. Storytelling is powerful and learning how people like YOU in the careers YOU aspire to be in are managing their money makes it realistic. Having a strong foundation in any subject is key to mastering it. Put these two things together and you’ll have the baseline knowledge you need and motivation to get started to be the BO$$ of your money.
My hope is that everyone who comes by Young, Not Broke takes away something and is inspired to learn more. I hope it sparks conversation about money management in a healthy way, that isn’t clouded with frustration or anxiety-inducing. Whether you pay for everything yourself or get an allowance from your parents, whether you are buried under student loans or are in college with a full scholarship, or somewhere in between, there’s a place for you here. Young, Not Broke is for everyone.
With that, I want the content on YNB to reflect what YOU want. At the end of each newsletter, there will be a spot for you to tell me what you want to see in future editions.
I hope something in my vision resonated with you and I can’t wait to see where your financial journey takes you! Remember YOU control your money, not the other way around.
Peace and lots of love,
Kavya
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Remember the content on Young, Not Broke is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor.
