College and Career Readiness
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Financial Literacy Resources
CA CAREER ZONE - MAKE MONEY CHOICES (budget simulation)
BUILD YOUR STAX - (investing game)
TIME FOR PAYBACK - (college Debt/budgeting simulation)
HANDS-ON BANKING ASSESSMENT - (Access to customized financial literacy resources)
INVESTOPEDIA STOCK SIMULATOR - (free stock market game)
FREE FINANCIAL LITERACY ONLINE COURSES - (National Endowment for Financial Education)
MADISON TRUST COMPANY: FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR BEGINNERS - (Fun and engaging financial literacy games. Special thanks to the Lyndhurst STEM Club in New Jersey for recommending this resource!)
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Quick Finance Tips From Our College And Career Readiness Team
- GET A CREDIT CARD AND PAY IT OFF IN FULL EVERY TIME YOUR BILL IS DUE
- Don't spend money you don't have
- It is better to dip into your savings to pay off your credit card than it is to owe interest and lower your credit score.
- Check your credit score even if you think you haven't established credit because approximately 1.5% of minors are victims of identity theft.
- If you've racked up some debt on your credit card, pay it off before your bill comes
- INVEST EARLY
- Start investing as soon as you can and take full advantage of compound interest!
- When it comes to investing, try to diversify your portfolio with different securities (investments).
- SAVE, SAVE, AND SAVE SOME MORE
- Get a savings account ASAP if you haven't already
- Try to save 20% of your checks if you can.
- If you have direct deposit, we recommend setting up automatic payments that take a percentage of your deposit and put it in your savings account as soon as it hits.
- CONSULT A FINANCIAL ADVISOR FOR YOUR FINANCIAL QUESTIONS
- No, it won't cost you money. They earn their money off your investments!
- DO YOUR RESEARCH WHEN DECIDING ON LOANS, CREDIT CARDS, ETC.
- BUY PROPERTY AS SOON AS YOU CAN
- TRACK YOUR EXPENSES AND CREATE A BUDGET
- There are many free budgeting tools online
- CHECK LABOR MARKET INFORMATION DATA WHEN DECIDING ON WHERE TO APPLY FOR JOBS AND MOVE
- PREPARE FOR YOUR FUTURE
- Start investing in and saving for your retirement as soon as you get your first job - your future self will thank you!
- GET A CREDIT CARD AND PAY IT OFF IN FULL EVERY TIME YOUR BILL IS DUE