Student Credit Cards ? Great or Awful Idea?
Does a college student need a credit card? Better yet, should a college student apply for a credit card?
We all know that new credit card laws have made it more difficult for college students to obtain a student credit card. Now college students (and anyone that signs for them) need to think twice before getting that first credit.
There are many responsible credit card usage tips that college students can follow. On the flip side, there are also many college students that will fall victim to the credit card debt trap at an early age.
The question that I often receive in some shape or form is- should a college student have a credit card?
My answer is simple- all college students should have a credit card.
Before a mob of parents runs after me with blazing torches, allow me to explain myself.
Benefits of a Credit Card For College Students:
1. Build your credit rating.
When you make your first major purchase, whether it be a car or home, you will realize that one thing is very important- your credit score. This number makes a world of a difference. Before you do anything else you need to read about the importance of a credit rating.
The earlier you get a credit card the early you can build your credit rating. Yes I do realize the flip side here but please bare with me and continue reading for now.
Your credit rating becomes very important as you graduate from college and progress through your 20s. If you begin building up your credit at an early age you’ll notice some big wins.
2. Reap the benefits of a high credit score in your adult years.
A high credit score can save you a boatload of money over the period of a loan. A high credit score means that you have good credit. Good credit means that lenders feel it’s less of a risk to loan you money. Since it’s less risky to loan you money, you can receive a lower rate on major purchases when they happen, and believe me they will happen.
A lower rate may not seem like a big deal now, but trust me it will be one day. Unless you buy your first new car or first home with 100% cash, you’re likely going to have to apply for a loan. You don’t want to be in your 30s kicking yourself in the butt for messing up your credit or for having no credit.
3. Get used to a credit card.
Chances are very high that you’re going to have to deal with a credit card for the rest of your life. There are adults that refuse to possess a credit card or are vehemently against credit cards (see: Adam Baker or Matt Jabs), but it’s fairly rare to not have a credit card.
Cutting up your credit cards is too simple and it won’t solve the problem. You should get into the habit of using a credit card and paying it off monthly ASAP.
Okay now let’s go a bit further- what if you think the reasons for having a credit card are decent but you’re still not fully convinced on student credit cards? A college student should only have a credit card under the following conditions:
Student Credit Card Conditions:
1. It’s a student credit card with a minuscule limit.
A couple of hundred bucks to 0 max! Until you’ve mastered your financial situation completely you shouldn’t accept anything over 0. A high amount of credit available to you can be very beneficial, but it can also ruin you financially if you don’t control yourself. All college students should start off with the lowest limit possible and not increase it until income grows. On top of that, it’s also becoming more difficult for college students to get more than 0 worth of credit.
2. The student credit card is used for reoccurring monthly expenses.
I’ve automated my credit card to pay for my gym membership, cell phone bill, and a few online subscriptions (I swear it’s not porn!). A simple way to build your credit without buying useless junk is to automate reoccurring monthly expenses to your credit card. We all have monthly expenses. So why not simplify your financial situation and automate your monthly expenses with your credit card?
3. The credit card is only used in emergencies.
Yes I know that some will view an “emergency” as seeing a pair of jeans on sale at Banana Republic. This is where the 0 limit comes into play. Even if you lose control and splurge, you won’t go bankrupt because of it. You’ll probably have to suck it up and get an extra job to pay the credit card off, but you won’t destroy your finances.
A credit card is also extremely critical in real emergencies. Shit will happen in life. There will be times when you need money to pay your way out of trouble. Whether it be paying for a tow truck while stuck on the side of the road in the winter to having your flight delayed. Hopefully this sort of thing doesn’t happen to you. But if it does you can use your credit card and then pay it off with your emergency fund money when you get home
How a Venture Capital Firm Works
Venture capital firms acquire capital from accredited and sophisticated investors with the intent to make investments into private held businesses. On very rare occasions venture capital funds will make investments into publicly traded businesses. As stated above, VC firms only can raise capital from individuals and organizations known as accredited investors. In the case of individuals, a person must have a net worth of at least million or have earned an income of 0,000 per year in each of the last two years. Organizations (such as trusts, banks, and companies) typically must have assets exceeding million. If you are interested in the requirements regarding accredited investor status, you should visit the Securities and Exchange website.
Once the venture capital firm has raised capital from these accredited investors, the funds are pooled into one fund. Very large venture capital firms often have a number of Read more
Franchise Operations Manuals – How To Write A Franchise Operations Manual In Three Easy, Affordable Steps
Franchise operations manuals may seem daunting, especially for a company that has never written an operations manual before. Bewildered by the new business of franchising, with its legal requirements, franchise disclosure documents, operations manuals, training programs, etc., many companies delegate responsibility to a high-priced franchise consultant.
But using someone to write your franchise operations manual who knows literally nothing about your business, never makes any sense when everything is considered objectively. And, besides a hefty price tag of ,000 or more to write the manuals, using franchise consultants brings another, expensive result – legal risk. Here are some drafting tips and strategies from a recognized, international franchise expert.
Why Franchise Consultants Are Risky Business
Paying someone who knows nothing about your business, and having them learn it from scratch at your expense is really just common sense. Using franchise consultants for what is a relatively easy and straightforward task has never made any sense – except to the franchise consultants who charge exorbitant amounts to write an operations manual. It’s one of those little franchise secrets that the consultants don’t ever mention or discuss.
Using a franchise consultant to write a franchise operations manual also carries legal risk. The principal legal risk comes from including inappropriate topics, chapters and policies that are commonly found in company-owned, chain operations manuals. If these are included, as they often are in franchise operations manuals, very significant franchise liability issues arise. Because the franchise consultants are not franchise attorneys or experts, they are entirely oblivious to this risk. They don’t know where the bullets come from in franchise litigation. As a testifying and consulting franchise expert, I routinely find franchise operations manuals drafted by franchise consultants and do-it-yourself manuals containing inappropriate chapters or topics. And, because they rely on boilerplate manuals used for other clients, where (hopefully) all instances of burgers, for example, are searched and replaced with tax returns, the end result is not only dangerous – it is also very mediocre. Giving a mediocre operations manual to a franchise owner who has invested hundreds of thousands (or in some cases millions) of dollars in your franchise model is definitely not the best way to start or ensure a smooth franchise relationship.
The Best Practice Approach To Drafting Franchise Operations Manuals
Besides the expensive and legally risky approach there is another, best franchise practice approach based on almost three decades of writing, editing and reviewing hundreds of franchise operations manuals. The essence of this approach is also common sense – letting the true expert in your business write the manual. Typically that person is the founder of the business, or a small team of management personnel who know business operations inside and out. While a franchise expert should be involved in the process, the expert’s role should be limited to a planning and editing capacity.
Three Easy Steps For Drafting A Franchise Operations Manual
The drafting process begins with planning and developing the Table of Contents for the franchise operations manual. This includes making sure all the appropriate chapters and topics are included, and the inappropriate ones are not. Knowledge of franchise management best practices is essential here, and that’s why a franchise expert’s input and planning is so important. Because most franchise operations manuals are incorporated by reference in the franchise agreement (which is a franchise industry best practice) the franchise contract is also reviewed. Some operations-specific information may be inadvertently included in the contract by the attorneys, which is not a good thing. This needs to be moved out or appropriately amended.
The second step is giving the person(s) within your company who have drafting responsibility samples of operations manual writing styles, guidelines and instructions. With these, they can begin drafting each chapter of the manual using their extensive operational knowledge of the day-to-day, week-to-week, etc. aspects of your business.
The third and final step is having the franchise expert review each chapter as it is drafted and comment on the professionalism and sufficiency of the chapters from a franchise industry best practices and franchise operator perspective.
Summary
The first couple chapters are typically the hardest to draft, as you or your management personnel learn and apply operations manual drafting techniques under the guidance of a professional editor. But after that, it’s smooth sailing through the balance of the document. This approach produces a professional, easy to use and update franchise operations manual. It also ensures the most efficient use of resources and talent, and eliminates having to pay a franchise consultant ,000 or more for this relatively simple task. Whether or not a company ultimately franchises, the process of planning, documenting and implementing standardized operating procedures and systems via operations manuals, like blue chip franchise and non-franchised companies do, makes any firm operate more efficiently and competitively. In a franchise environment, it ensures consistent and uniform operations, helping personnel with different skills learn to perform tasks in a consistent manner throughout the franchise network. Finally, it’s important to realize the process of writing a franchise operations manual never stops. As the business model evolves, so must the operations manual – the ultimate reason why writing the manual yourself to begin with makes imminent common sense. As one franchise company executive observed “I found that not only was writing my own operations manual a cost savings; it was imperative.”
copyright 2008-2009, Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. – all rights reserved
For further information, visit the Franchise Foundations website
Centurion Leeds ? intelligent marketing and brand enhancement
Bid adieu to all the brain storming marketing sessions and late night meetings to work out strategies to enhance your brand visibility and market share. Now you can devote your quality time in building up your business empire by delegating the marketing issue to the experts of Centurion. Set up as a small marketing company in Manchester, centurion has come a full circle when it became a trusted name in direct marketing. Catering to an array of clients including Telecommunication / Internet, Gas and Energy, Financial Services, Charities, Sports and Entertainment, Centurion Marketing Ltd caters to the customised marketing needs of the customers with ease. No two customers are alike nor are their marketing needs. in case you were wondering all these days, why your efforts to emulate your competitors marketing strategies, failed to take off. One of the fastest growing direct marketing companies win the UK, Centurion Marketing Ltd will help you to improve their brand visibility and to improve sales both in national and international markets.
Centurion is contracted to many clients including FTSE 100 and the premier High Street brands. Direct marketing is a cost effective option that enables you to cut off many marketing overheads without slackening the pace of your marketing activities. Bang on target and focused, direct marketing is fast and also offers the convenience of tracking the conversion rates on the spot, which in Read more
Event Management Service Providers Manage Event Effortlessly
In the past few years, enormous growth has been observed in the business of event management system. Statistically, it is observed that every year app. 500 billion USD is spent on planning the event through out the globe. Let’s get familiar with the term and throw a light on what kinds of services are provided by event managers.
Meaning of event management
It is a process in which an event is planned and organized by event managers. It is a broad term and encompasses the allocation, control, direction and analysis of many resources like time, money, products, etc. for achieving objectives. Managing and planning an event is a taxing task, therefore business organizations prefer outsourcing the task to professional service providers.
These professional providers are competent enough in organizing and managing any event at any scale. Be it a birthday party or wedding, press conference, fashion shows or any corporate party, the range of Read more
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