Get Smart with Your Money

Teens make many purchasing decisions every day. These small transactions can add up over time and impact their financial well-being. Over the long term, smart decisions can mean the difference between having significant savings and struggling with debt. Practical ideas and strategies for getting high quality goods at reasonable prices are one discussion topic. In venues such as the mall, grocery stores, discount stores, thrift shops, and online retailers, readers learn to stretch their dollars when buying consumer products and entertainment. Sidebars provide additional information about finding true deals and avoiding scams and poor merchandise. Buying the things they want at prices they can afford is a consumer skill teens can carry with them for life.

This informative book provides everything your readers will need to know about negotiating the deal, warranties and service contracts, and getting a loan when buying their first car. It offers helpful tips on fuel conservation, buying hybrids, and how to maintain the car. The final chapter discusses smart cars, cycles, scooters, and mopeds (non-car options).

It's a huge step for a person to decide to start their own business. Whether it's a small babysitting business or a corporation, the principles remain the same. Readers explore the ins and outs of entrepreneurship, from finding ways to finance business dreams to how to grow business in a difficult economic climate.

The book provides approachable advice for sound investing. Saving and investing are important parts of planning for a person's future. They are ways of increasing an individual's wealth, in addition to working and earning a salary. This book discusses banking and bank accounts (how to open an account, the types of accounts that are available, simple and compound interest, how to make a deposit and to write a check, how to use ATM cards, budgeting strategies, and managing accounts, including online). It also explains investing both for retirement and to increase wealth. Readers learn about a variety of investment types and how to analyze a stock.

Going to college. Buying a car. Taking a vacation. All of these things require saving money. Readers are provided guidance on saving and planning for the future.

Any first job is a thrill. It provides a sense of worth, not to mention the pay. A first job presents an opportunity to "get smart" with money, helping young workers to see exactly how money comes and goes. Good money management involves learning how to prepare a budget, how to spend wisely, how to save and invest for the future, how to satisfy the laws, and how to help improve society. This compelling book gives readers a solid foundation in first job smarts and much to think about in the workaday world, a world of demands and expectations, regular hours, and important tasks to perform.

Through this engaging book, students learn how to make a good budget, one that includes income, expenses, and savings. Knowing how to earn, spend, and save money are important money management skills. Using good money management skills can help a person become financially independent. Readers also learn that making and following a budget can help them reach their short-term and long-term goals. This book explains how to set up a weekly expense record (how to set up categories), make a monthly budget, use budgeting tools (including those available online), setting financial goals, evaluating and adjusting budgets, and wise savings and spending strategies.

Today, the average person cannot buy a car or a house without borrowing money. Many people cannot go to college unless they have loans. Even small purchases, if made online, require a credit card. Borrowing, or credit, is a fact of modern life. Students learn about the ways to take control of credit, making it work for them. This compelling book about credit and credit card smarts provides a thorough explanation of secured and unsecured credit, the types of accounts, calculating interest, understanding statements, choosing the right card, traps and trip-ups, fees, billing cycles, minimum payments, balance transfers, and cash advances. Readers will learn about credit scores and credit reports, whether they are a good credit risk. The book describes the steps readers can take in guarding their credit and personal information, and the steps that need to be taken if ID theft happens to them.

In a challenging economy, getting a job is difficult. It is even harder for high school students with little or no work experience. An internship can provide that crucial experience and be the first step on a path to a rewarding career. This helpful guide explores the important role of internships in making career decisions and achieving career success over time. Readers learn about the different types of internships that exist, how to land a great internship, and how to impress an employer while on the job. Readers also learn how to use the internship to enhance their personal and professional growth and to make career choices. A clean, bright design and color photographs increase the book's appeal and highlight important points.

The Internet can be a consumer's friend, but it can also hold dangers. Teens learn how to use the Web and digital tools to their benefit when making purchases, by researching products, comparing prices, and participating safely in online auctions and swaps. In addition, teens learn how to manage finances digitally, through online banking, bill paying, budgeting, and investing. The text explains consumers' legal rights when doing business online, as well as steps to take to protect money and personal information.

This exciting book provides solid tips in planning for a first apartment, including strategies to help in searching for one. It also offers readers guidance in trying to avoid possible differences with roommates (such as suggestions for terms to be covered in a roommate agreement). Students learn about planning for the costs of living on their own, budgeting for expenses, including moving, rent, utilities, food, transportation, and maintenance, as well as those expenses that are unexpected. The application, inspection, and rental agreement stages are explained, as are the steps for moving out of an apartment.