Southwestern Advantage Blog

Chris White is a CFP® and a ChFC® (financial planning's highest standard of knowledge and trust) with Southwestern Investment Group / Raymond James. He started as a Bookman with Southwestern Advantage. Recently, Chris shared his simple steps for financial stability with our Student Reps and a powerful story of how his experience with Southwestern Advantage changed his life. Learn more about the Chris White Wealth Team: http://southwesterninvestmentgroup.com/team/chris-white/

One of the things I enjoy about working as a Student Leader in the Southwestern Advantage Program is that I get help college students save more money in a summer than they ever thought was possible. Seriously, how many college students SAVE over $5,000 in a summer?  Even if a student were to make that much in a different internship, it's common to end up spending most of it by the time the fall semester gets rolling. Unfortunately, many students have never been taught how to handle that money in a smart way. Very few high schools teach money management, and a lot of parents never cover these topics with their kids either. So, the celebratory spending begins in August and ends when the money is gone. Granted, it can be fun to spend money this way, but it certainly is ineffective for building any kind of long-term wealth (which, thanks to the rule of 72 , is incredibly easy to do if you start at 19 - 22 years old). Good news: you can start being sm...