00:00If you want to be a part of the amazing group of young people and be connected with mentors
00:05and like-minded dreamers, head over to DisneyDreamersAcademy.com to apply now.
00:13Don't walk, run. Because applications are due October 31st. Coming up soon, a performance by
00:20Wanmore. The moment we've all been waiting for. But first, many of you are going off to college
00:26and will be responsible for your finances for the very first time. We are giving you the tools to set
00:32you on the right path with your finances early. Here is expert advice by GU contributor Ashley
00:39Williams. She's going to teach you how to get to that bag.
00:56Hey guys, this is Ashley here, financial guru. And I'm here to give you four finance tips that'll
01:07help you be more responsible this school year. Let's get to it. Financial tip number one,
01:14set financial goals. You might say, Ashley, what the heck are financial goals? I don't have any money.
01:22Well, guess what? You don't have to associate a financial goal with a dollar amount. Financial
01:28goals are literally any goals that get you started on your financial journey. So for my high school
01:35lady, that could be setting up a savings account. That could be getting that first job. For my college
01:42lady, that could be opening your credit card or even saving up for a car. You decide because this is
01:49your financial journey. But what I do want you to do is think about your financial goals over the next
01:55one, five, and 10 years. Yes, I said 10 years. Write them down. Put them in a journal. Put them in the
02:03notes section of your phone. Figure out what works for you. But most importantly, I want you to get an
02:09accountability partner. That could be your friend, your sister, or anyone in your family. But someone
02:15that'll make sure you're reaching those goals. Financial goal number two, budgeting. So for me,
02:22I really like to think of budgeting as what's coming in and what's going out. So let's think about four
02:29ways you can get started on your budgeting journey. First, let's figure out what's coming in. In finance,
02:36we like to call that your income. So as I spoke about earlier, that's money that you might receive
02:42from a job, from babysitting, whatever that might be. Any money that's coming in your pocket,
02:48figure that out and write it down. Next, step two, we figure out what money's going out the door.
02:55So for you, it might be that Netflix subscription. It might be that Amazon subscription. It might even be
03:03getting your hair done every two weeks. I know it's expensive to be a girl, but write it all down
03:09and figure out how much you're spending on a monthly basis. You can never start to save money
03:14if you don't know what's going out the door. Step three is to do a gut check of all those expenses we
03:22just talked about and really ask yourself, hmm, do I need to constantly pay that much money for makeup?
03:29Do I need to eat out that much? Figure out what you can cut back. But I want you to remember that this
03:35is very personal. There's no one answer for each person. So once you realize what's coming in and
03:43what is going out and you've done that gut check on what you can start saving on, you then start to see
03:49your bottom line and start to see how much money you can actually start saving and eventually investing.
03:56And both of those are really key so that you can start your financial journey and start seeing your
04:01money grow for you. Financial tip number three, paying for college. So for those that are starting
04:09to think about college, it's really important to also think about the associated price tag.
04:15For my high school ladies, don't just pick a school because your best friend is going there
04:20or because it's in a nice location. Also think about the associated price tag. So what I really want you
04:27to do even as early as ninth grade is to start to think about the different types of scholarships
04:33that you can get when it's your time to go to college. You can start by going on scholarships.com
04:40and start seeing a long list of scholarships that could be used in the next couple of years for you
04:46to start your college journey. And guess what? For my ladies in college, it's not too late for you
04:52either. You can always still visit that website and also download the Schali app which gives you
04:58access to thousands of more scholarships. It's really possible guys. So ladies, you now have what
05:05you need to start thinking about the scholarships that are available for you to make sure you're keeping
05:11your expenses low for college. But also as I think about my ladies who also are in their senior year or
05:18recently graduated college, I want you to really think about how you're going to tackle these loans.
05:24Private loans and even public loans have different ways you have to pay them back. But the most important
05:31thing for you is to make sure you have a plan. So start writing down your loans and the associated due dates
05:38and also download the app called coins. This app allows you to round up your purchases as you go to
05:45your favorite retail and then you can start paying towards your college loans. So for example, if you
05:52go to the store and buy a shirt for $19.60, maybe you can round that purchase up to $20. That additional
06:0040 cents will go towards your student loans. How easy is that? So guess what? Download that app today and
06:07you can start paying on your loans just as soon as today. Now for our last financial tip, building credit.
06:15Growing up, I'll be honest with you, credit sounded very scary. I had no idea what it was and I just
06:22thought it was borrowing money from other people. But guess what? As I've gotten older, I've now realized
06:29that credit is very important for my adult financial journey. One day I'll buy a house, a car, and you will
06:37too. And all of those things require a credit score. And so as you think about building a credit score,
06:44first I want you to understand what a credit score represents. It really represents your ability to
06:51pay back any money that you borrowed. And so with this being the case, you want to show that you're
06:57good for it. So you might say, Ashley, how in the world am I going to start building credit? I'm in high
07:04school, I'm in college, I don't know where to start. And I was you. But what you can do is get a secure
07:11credit card. A secure credit card is a credit card that has a limit that is backed by money that you
07:18have in the bank. So for me, my very first secure credit card had a $500 limit and I had to put $500 in
07:27the bank to show that I was good for the money in case I missed a payment, which I didn't and I
07:33recommend you don't either. But my point is that I want you to start looking up what secure credit card
07:40options there are for you. There are tons, trust me. So go out, figure out what works for you. And
07:46don't forget, you can still use the Mint app to also check your credit score as well. Lastly, I want to
07:52leave you with a challenge. And that challenge is to generate one additional stream of income.
07:59As you think about what that stream of income is, all I need you to do is think about different ways
08:04you can monetize the things around you. You can Uber, you can do hair, you can do nails, whatever it is,
08:11figure out a way to make money. And guess what? Check in with me. Check in with me on Instagram at
08:18Ashley Briana. And don't forget to go to essence.com, check in with the team and let them know how
08:24you're doing. You got this. You're not alone. And I can't wait to see you win with these four
08:30financial tips this school year.
08:32I hope you were all paying attention. You can never start too early on your path to financial
08:43success. Now that the wait is over here to close out the show, the moment you've all been waiting
08:50for a special performance by Wanmore.
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