Smart Money

Participants in a Suffolk Week “Lunch and Learn” event on financial literacy for young professionals were advised to start saving early and often, even if it’s only in small amounts.

More than 75 participants attended the virtual seminar, which was moderated by the vice president of the Graduates of the Last Decade Council, Tyler LeBlanc, BSBA ’15. The informative 50-minute session featured financial professionals Jim Dever BSBA ’93, and Marlon Wesh BSBA ’18, who talked about the importance of saving money, thinking about retirement right away, and having a financial plan. They also took questions from the audience. Watch the full session.

Savings. Dever says that you should “pay yourself first,” meaning put money in a savings account before you pay bills or buy something. Even if it’s $5 a paycheck, getting into the habit of putting money away—what Wesh called “the muscle of savings”—is key to reaching financial goals.

Emergency Funds. One important result of saving money regularly is that you can build up a rainy day or emergency fund. Wesh cited the statistic that six out of 10 Americans don’t have enough savings to cover a $500 unplanned expense. “Many people are one medical bill or other life event away from going into poverty,” Wesh pointed out, so having that cushion is vital.

Retirement. Both Wesh and Dever explained the various ways people can save for retirement, either through IRAs or company-sponsored plans like 401k’s or 403b’s. Dever advised that you should take advantage of an employer’s retirement plan even if it’s your first job out of college—especially if the company matches your contribution. “Not doing that is like throwing money away,” he said. And using a regular savings account for retirement doesn’t make sense, either, according to Dever. “If that money is just sitting in bank, you’ll retire with tuna not with lobster.”

Debt. One audience member asked about prioritizing debt. Wesh counseled people to think about what the debt is costing them. In other words, using cash to pay down a 4% student loan makes less sense than paying down 15% (or higher) credit card debt. “It makes more sense to get rid of high-interest loans like credit cards because it’s costing you more than you could earn by investing the money,” Wesh said.

Goals. Obviously someone who’s just graduated Suffolk probably has different goals than someone in the 40s or 50s. Goals change, but it’s good to have them. “I need to give my dollars jobs so I can rate their performance,” said Wesh. Both Dever and Wesh said to think about what those goals are, figure out how much they’ll cost, and then how much you’ll need to put away on a regular basis to make them happen.