I was in the checkout line today at Wallmart and I happened to overhear a twenty something young woman complaining to her friend (at least I think the other girl was her friend)that she had to take a cab to work because her car had broken down and she had no money to fix it. I was slightly perplexed by this statement as I wondered why she didn't use a credit card or her emergency savings to cover the costs of repairing her ride. Apparently her friend was too because as soon as the thought went through my head, her friend verbally asked the corresponding question. The young woman responded that she was trying to avoid credit cards at all costs and thought that saving money for emergency uses was something that didn't need to be done until she was "older".
While I applaud her efforts to stay out of revolving credit card debt, the assertion that you need to be "older" to save for emergencies only revealed to me her immaturity. Unfortunately, if you have accumulated eighteen or more years on this earth, then you are officially "older" and unless you have parents to bail you out in the event of a financial emergency, an emergency savings fund is the FIRST thing you should consider adding to your financial repetoire.
How much exactly? Most personal finance experts that I have read recommend having a goal to save up three to six months of one's salary for emergencies. Because you're in college, you might have very limited cash flow or none at all (although in the event of the latter, you probably don't think about personal finances anyway). In any case saving is still very important and you should put away what you can. Maybe make a goal to put away ten to twenty percent of every bit of income you get. I doesn't matter where you put it initially just so long that you set it aside and DON'T TOUCH IT except for in the event of emergencies. Just doing this will put you miles ahead of your friends who don't and will lay a solid foundation for your financial future to come (not to mention keep your ride on the road when it inevitably breaks down).

In the financial world today there seems to be two types of advice: how to save for children and how to save for retirement for adults.But what about in between? What about that age when you're past simply saving for this doodad or that, but before you're ready to open up a 401(k)? That's where this blog comes in. Hopefully, through research and careful consideration, I can bring to you bits and pieces of financial know-how from a little known but very relevant perspective; that is, the perspective of a full time college student who has a limited income but still wants to do something meaningful (by meaningful I mean long term and actually accomplishes something). I hope that in reading this blog you will gain some insight, and if nothing else, it will get you thinking about your ever looming financial future that starts right now.