Christopher Perme of Perme Financial Group, Garrettsville, recently came to the Personal Financial Literacy class of teacher Jake Derr at James A. Garfield H.S. hoping to help the group of mostly seniors avoid making many of the most common financial mistakes of those newly-launched on the stormy seas of money management.
He pointed out that long-term employment with a single employer is becoming a thing of the past, that company-sponsored pensions are disappearing, that health care costs are rising and that relying on an employer or the government for financial security is not the way to go. Personal responsibility is the only viable approach to planning for “the good life”, whether present or future.
Perme tapped into the wisdom of the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) who said ”We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” The PFG guru urged the students to begin saving early and to be consistent about it, the amount not being as important as the habit. Thinking long-term is the key to debt, credit, equity, unemployment, retirement…a whole host of money matters that all too often are ignored until the wolf is, quite literally, at the door and licking his chops.
Liquid assets, credit reports, building credit, insurance to protect income, credit cards vs debit cards, student loans, planning for contingencies–just about the only topic not covered was marrying for money. And on that topic, one might well recall the not-so-ancient wisdom of the saying : “Marry for money and you’ll earn every cent.”
Let’s hope that everyone listened carefully. Empty those nests!
