Blog by Jcmunoz2009

Hello everyone. Well, it’s June already, and it’s almost time for the end of my session with you guys. I have so much going on this month, such as going to camp this week, coming back home and taking the SAT next week, and leaving for Baltimore for 2 months. It’s been fun blogging to you all this year, and I hope to do it again soon. Who knows,  maybe when I’m in college. Now, on with our next topic.

  Many people have a tendancy to think of budgets the same way they think of diets, difficult to maintain, but in my opinion, a budget is a necessary and very useful tool that can help you keep your financial situation under control. The 2-month program in Baltimore that I will be attending will provide me with paid work experience (a job in other words), so it’s important for me to know how to manage my money responsibly. Everyone should have a budget, reguardless of how much money you make. Here are some must-have categories that a good budget is comprised of.

1. Home: Your home is most likely your largest investment, and this will probably take up a good portion of your take-home pay. Now, if your house is already paid for, you should use this spot for any insurance you are putting on your home, or even for rennevations/repares.

2. Utilities: Pretty self-explanitory, right? This is the money you will set aside for the phone bill, electricity, water, gas, light, etc.

3. Food: Again, pretty self-explanatory. This category will be used for groceries, restaurants, and anything food related

4. Clothing: Yes, clothes should also be part of a budget. This section will help you not blow your money on those $250 pair of shoes you saw at the mall the other day. Besides, you need something to go to work in, right?

5. Transportation: This category is for car notes and auto insurance, as well as public transportation (buses, taxis, subways, etc).

6. Gasoline: This section is mostly for those who drive, although I recommend blind people and others with disabilities keep a section here too, especially if you need someone to drive you somewhere. It would be nice of you to help pay for gasoline since you’re in the car too.

7. Savings: What have I stressed in the past? Ahah, yes, here’s where it comes into play. Take ten percent  of your take-home pay, and put it in your savings account. IT’S THAT EASY! Before you know it, you’ll be watching your retirement  fund grow bigger and bigger each year. Oh, and I almost forgot. DON’T TOUCH!

8. Discretionary Income: This money is for you to do whatever you want with. So, after all the bills are paid, this is what you are left with to go check out that cool new band you heard in concert, or to go see your favorite sports team when they come home this weekend.

  These are the basic categories that will work for everyone. Keep in mind, though, not all budgets are created equal. You may have club or gym memberships, a church or charity that you donate regularly to, a new HDTV your making payments on, and things of that nature. Plan acordingly, and Remember to be smart. don’t go and put fifty percent of your paycheck in the clothing section.

  Plan your home and utilities acording to payments you have to make, and transportation and gasoline acording to your traveling habits and payments. Food and clothing should probably be planned after home, utilities, transportation, gasoline, and savings, and should have roughly the same amount. Savings should be no less than ten percent, and discretionary income will be whatever is left after everything else.

  Well, I think this will be good for now. If anyone would like to share their budget or budget ideas with me,then by all means send me a comment. I’d love to get your imput on this. I’ve got to get packing for camp tomorrow, and everything else going on this month. I plan to  write at least one more blog before the month is over, so stay tuned for that. Take care, and I hope you enjoyed reading this posting. So long!

  Hello everyone! 15 days till tax day. Have you filed yet? I sure hope so. This year you get two checks: your usual refund, and also your stimulus check that you’ve heard so much about. If you qualify for the latter, you will receive a payment depending on how many kids you have, and whether you filed as a couple or a single person. The package was set at around 170 billion dollars, and the government is spending 50 million dollars to tell everyone about the money that is possibly headed their way. You may have received information on the package in the mail earlier this month, informing you of the eligibility requirements, how much you can expect to get, and other such information.

  Here’s a dumb question, but one that not too many people think about. Where is the government getting all this money to hand out to everyone? Does anyone know? Well I found out not too long ago. The good news is that they’re not in the mint printing it up and causing inflation to soar. The bad news is that they’re borrowing, that’s right borrowing the money from outside of this country. Would you like to take a guess as to where exactly? Well, if you said China, you’re right. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t the majority of the things we buy come from China? If people use the checks to buy retail merchandise, and most of those products come from China, wouldn’t China get a good chunk of that money intended for our economy? Do the guys in the oval office know something we don’t  that makes the stimulus package the perfect recession-proof solution? Am I asking too many questions, and worrying about absolutely nothing?

 I already didn’t like this package because I felt it would do more harm than good, but now I fear it’s worse than I thought. Why is our government encouraging us to spend, when it should be doing the complete opposite. Look at the debt this country and its people are in, and now China may be cashing in on our problems. All that money could’ve been used for something else like improving education, creating more jobs, or some of the other things this country needs. I encourage everyone to save all or part of the money if you can, and don’t be tempted by ads you may run into next month. Comments, questions, or messages in general are most welcome. I’ll talk to you all again soon. Take care everyone.

  Federal Pell Grants are another form of financial Aid, and unlike loans, you never have to pay them back. These are usually given out through your school that you chose to attend if they offer the program. You are eligible to receive Pell Grants if you have not yet earned your bachelor’s or professional degree. You can receive Pell Grants once per term (semester, trimester, or quarter.) If your school does not use terms such as these, they must disburse Pell Grants at least twice throughout the academic year. As you advance throughout your college education, you may become eligible to receive other grants in addition to your Pell Grant., such as the Academic Competitiveness Grant, National Smart Grant, and others. More information about the Federal Pell Grant, other grants that are available, eligibility requirements, and more, can be found at

http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/PellGrants.jsp

  Undergraduates really want to take advantage of Pell Grants. It’s FREE MONEY, and who doesn’t love that?

  First let’s take a look at scholarships. A scholarship is an academic award, usually in the form of financial aid, that is awarded to a student for any number of reasons, including academic, athletic, and other tallents or achievements in school. Types of scholarships vary from a small amount, all the way to a full -ride, which will cover your tuition for the amount of time you spend in school.

  Chances are, the school you want to go to has some type of scholarship program. Many nonprofit organizations have fundraisers throughout the year, just to give the money away as scholarship(s) for students. most scholarships are opened mainly to high school juniors and seniors, but there are some out there that let students from 9th grade and up apply. Some great web sites that offer mor information on which scholarships are available right now are:

http://www.scholarships.com

http://www.collegescholarships.com

http://www.finaid.org/scholarships

  There are many more of course, but these will help get you started.

  Welcome back everyone. It’s now time to make education after high school look a little less scary, at least from a financial perspective. This month I’ll cover scholarships, Pell Grants, FAFSA, the danger of the “magic” plastic while in college, and why I think you should hold off on loans until you’ve explored the other options. If you think there’s little out there to help you pay for college, prepare to fire up your search engine after you finish reading this. That’s literally how easy it’ll be.

  I’ve broken this posting into several entries, so you can read about each form of aid at your leasure. Ready? Let’s get started.

  First of all, I would like to thank the folks at REI for giving me this opportunity to write to you all about financial independence. I am honored to be able to speak to you for the next 6 months. For February, I am going to cover ways to pay for college, since I will be headed there in a year and a half. After that, I will talk about saving, saving, and more saving. Of course, I am talking about money. I feel that we’re doing too much spending, and not enough saving. Look at where our economy is. Our government has just passed an Economy Stimulus package that will do little to get us out of the recession we’re surely headed for, and headed for fast.

  I hope you will stick around for the remaining months we have together. I encourage any comments, questions, etc. And of course, spread the word to anyone you feel could benefit from the information I provide. Well, this is all for now. Remember, I’m covering ways to pay for college next month, so spread the word, and I’ll see you back here soon.