In order for financial advice to have any value to a person, said person needs to have some sort of cash flow.  While I can’t recommend dealing drugs to make bank, without a job or a free flow of money into an account, talk about renting apartments and securing loans is as pointless as doing a rain dance in Atacama.  So how does a person go about getting a thing called a “job?” 

Well, it doesn’t hurt to drive, cycle, walk, meander, amble, saunter, or whatever to town and answer a help wanted advertisement.  You can even yacht to your local sea port and get a job gutting fish.  However, I’m assuming if you own a yacht, you probably already have the cash to make credit and finance talk relevant to you. 

For those of you who don’t wish to leave the homestead in order to apply, check the classifieds in your daily newspaper.  Better yet, look online for a job!  It’s wicked easy to do.  Websites like Career Builder, Monster, and Hot Jobs can be excellent resources for finding a job that matches your individual credentials.  These sites can be especially helpful for upcoming graduates.  Not often does your hometown paper list job openings from across the States; however, you can find any job, anywhere, with the use of online employment sites.

Keep in mind though that merely applying is not enough to land a sweet job.  Also, there are a few things not to do if you’d really like to get a job and have some moola.  

1) Don’t say only negative things about you last employer. It doesn’t matter if your last boss was Bill Lumbergh or your granny, spin negatives into positives. Most people are on generally decent terms with their grandmother anyhow, so badmouthing your gramma because she threw rocks at you while you mowed her grass will not win you bonus points. Instead, say, “My previous boss was very intense, so I learned to work under pressure.”

2) Don’t fill out your application with purple crayon. Recognize that employer’s can perceive laziness in an application. What? You forgot to dot every “i” in the word “indivisibility?” Granted, indivisibility isn’t something that shows up on a resume often, but if you do use the word, don’t mess it up - especially if you listed “attention to detail” as one of your attributes.

3) Don’t be ridiculous. Use common sense on your application, resume, and cover letter. If you put (and I have seen this), “I have been training both mentally and physically for a position with your company,” on your cover letter for an accounting firm, your chance at being hired is slim. Besides, how do you physically prepare for a white-collar job? Finger dumbbells? Please have someone you consider to have common sense read over what you submit.

Hopefully you’re at least able to get a paper route or a job washing dishes.  A little money doesn’t add just relevancy to financial information, it can add fun to your life.  On the other hand, bumhood has its own advantages - personal freedom and lots of savings on hygiene products.

Situations are few and far between where the consumer benefits from decreased competition.  This was realized a long time ago when Congress passed a little something called the Sherman Antitrust Act.  However, Parker Bros. Monopoly, where the plan is to take out every SOB in sight through cutthroat real estate ventures and sometimes defrauding the banker (I play to win), is major fun for everyone.  Actually, I’d like to rephrase that:  Monopoly is major fun for everyone at first.  Then, one by one, the game turns to sheer agony for each person as his wheelbarrow or Toto dog is destroyed by the ever-present thimble empire.

Alas, decreased competition is actually lending a hand in one area: student loans.  Believe it or not (but believe it because I said so), the mortgage crisis has positively impacted the market for student loans, sort of.  While more than 100 firms have jumped ship from the RMS Lending Crisis, visibility of remaining vessels has increased.  Parents and students alike are now seeing the greater affordability of federal loans.  Once put off by extensive FAFSA forms and deadlines (yes, deadlines), college education payers are finding comfort in the often lower-than-private 6.8 to 8.0 percent terms of federal student loans.     

According to BusinessWeek, 27 percent of students who financed college costs with a credit card did so out of convenience rather than because of necessity.  Granted, the FAFSA form has some 100 plus questions, but a few grand in interest savings isn’t enough to tickle your fancy?  No wonder the elder half of society finds the younger generations to be lazy.  Remember, your grandparents had to fill out a 3,000 question application full of staples and lead-based ink while walking uphill over broken glass just to be able to apply to receive the application for government financial assistance.  Credit cards, which can be useful in paying for an education, are usually reserved for once all of a person’s federal aid is depleted.  You wouldn’t mortgage your hotel on Park Place to pay for a house on Baltic Avenue would you?  No, you would probably use a little strategy and take your time to pass Go to afford that. 

We are witnessing an epic event - less choices yielding savings for consumers.  Actually, it’s a Hallelujah miracle.  Kind of like when I own everything from Saint James Place to Boardwalk and someone hits the railroads and Luxury Tax on the way to Go. 

In a society fixated on wealth and consumption, seeing millionaires donning a frugal lifestyle might appear as anomalous as a Cubbies World Series appearance.  Given the typical connotations of being loaded, it is almost counterintuitive to suspect that 20- and 30-somethings are creating a trend of financial prudence and moderation.  However, this is exactly the case! 

A small, but growing group of America’s upper class is shedding its image as haughty-taughty, cash burning machines.  Instead, many eco-friendly YAWNs (young and wealthy but normal) are trading hummers for hybrids.  While immense wealth may grant new financial freedoms, a person is not forced to drop 20 G’s on a doorknob for his or her luxury condo.  Instead, many millionaires have millions because they live modestly.  Furthermore, we all have heard the cliché, “money can’t buy happiness,” (although I’d rather be wealthy and unhappy than poor and unhappy).  These YAWNs, while maybe not the most exciting bunch, often focus the power of their wealth on charitable causes.  Okay, so maybe you don’t have a spare hundred thousand lying around to help erect a new homeless shelter, but you can learn some valuable lessons from these textbook-level exciting people. 

• Live within (or below) your means. You can’t retire unless you have some money stashed away, and money stashed away for next month’s credit card bill doesn’t count. Thanks to the miracle of compound interest, money put away today will grow to be much more in the future. Cutting back here and there now can permit you to live in luxury 30 years down the road. But you have to make sacrifices early, because 100 dollars put away in 30 years is just 100 dollars; 100 dollars stashed in the interest vault 30 years prior will be worth over 320 dollars (and that’s at a humble 4 percent rate).
• Define what success means to you. If you judge your self-worth by the size of your checking account or the exclusivity of your credit card, your happiness may be only at the whims of a turbulent stock market. These YAWNs donate money not because they have to, but because they find fulfillment in activities other than hoarding material possessions. This sentiment can also have a profound effect on the retirement fund: a lessened need for a Lambo in the driveway clears room for charitable donations as well as rainy day savings.

So life as a YAWN might not live up to the glamour of Richard Branson’s private island, but who can afford that anyway? (Richard Branson.)  While a short jaunt to your local bank to make a deposit to your savings account is unlikely to bring the adrenaline of a skydiving adventure, it is a bit less expensive., unless of course you decide to take your private jet.

It’s that special time of the year again.  The sweet song of summer begins to wind to a close and Labor Day becomes the last beacon of safety from the enclosing perils.  JCPenney kicks it into high gear and Mom and Dad begin to show glimmers of hope as they look forward to the beginning of a new season.

Back to school, back to school
To prove to Dad that I’m not a fool
I’ve got my lunch packed up
My boots tied tight
I hope I do not get in a fight

Yes, it is the magical school year start.  And for those who are college bound, the magic can make you happier than a member of the Mickey Mouse Club or gloomier than rain on your birthday after your dog died in a flood.  But fear not class of 2013, your freshman year will be what you make of it.  Like your financial future, it is you who holds to the key to your academic success.  Hand in hand, good grades and good pay trot along like The Fox and the Hound - that is unless you decide to major in something completely obsolete such as Gutenburg Press construction. 

While tuition and book costs may be sky high, keep your spirits just as elevated (and well above the U.S. dollar exchange rate).  Many statistics exist stating that college graduates will out-earn their high school diploma counterparts; but a college degree can be more than a financial investment.  While the degree may bring a higher paying job, it’s the task of learning responsibility during the college prime that carries over most to financial success.

Time management and organization are not just attributes great for a high QPA; these things also contribute to financial stability.  Keeping track of your income and bills, and when your bills need to be paid, can be a daunting task.  Throw in trying to manage some cash for retirement and you’ve got a full plate.  College is more than just preparing yourself with a degree; it’s about picking up skills that can be used for life (corny, but true). 

During my freshman year I was told it takes two weeks of doing something to make it a habit.  While making something routine may actually take 13 or 15 days, depending on your learning curve, good habits created in college will have real results in the workplace and elsewhere.  So as the August heat begins to temper, know that the next season is much more than just another autumn.