College-Aged Problems and Sher’s Blog Medley #7

We recently had a visit from a young dating couple. One just graduated from college, and the other just finished up freshman year.

Besides having lots of laughs, our conversation turned towards the state of education. It was great to hear their thoughts on where the public school system failed to prepare them for post-high school education and also some of the struggles friends are going through in securing employment after gaining one, or more, degrees.

I was encouraged because I didn’t know if it was just the ‘old-fogies’ lamenting these things. I was happy that they weren’t oblivious to the many challenges they face, and also that they were planning (and pretty impressively I may add) their next steps.

I am more motivated than ever to try and help educate the young adults with whom I come in contact. From our conversation, and ones I’ve had with others in the same age group, it seems this couple may be the exception – not the norm.

We need to do a better job of preparing our children to make serious financial decision. Even more than that, it’s imperative we teach them how to make decisions :-).

Everything isn’t sink or swim, we can start early in these life lessons. It’s not the governments job to educate children, it’s primarily the parents’, and believe me, they need it.

 

Now on to the posts!

 

 

Kevin from Out of Your Rut explores what needs to change in order for someone to find work. He does a great job of explaining the current employment landscape. This is the first part of a continuing series that promises to be really helpful for those needing an income.

After finishing his debt management program, Travis from Enemy of Debt broke his number one rule of shopping! Of course, I am guilty of doing the same thing… often. But I am really working at it!

I love DIY projects, but it doesn’t always make sense to take certain tasks on. Miranda at Bible Money Matters shares when to skip the DIY and call in a professional. My worst offense is not valuing my time, but I am trying to learn that now.

Buying a used vehicle is a popular piece of advice, but is there ever a time to not follow that? Jason at One Money Design decided to purchase a brand new SUV, even though he intended to buy used. I think with the options set before him, he made a good decision for himself and his family.

Kylie Ofiu shares how she got the money to pay for her mini-vacation. The most I’ll do is try to lessen the grocery budget. Thanks to this post, I will be working on multiple strategies I could use to get money in a pinch!

 

Some other fun posts:

Continuing my love affair with languages, here are 25 words that are their own opposites.

Lifehacker gives some ways to stop yourself from being distracted.

And here’s an interactive chart showing the common causes of death at any age.

 

Enjoy the sunshine everybody 🙂