Ron Lieber, NY Times Your Money columnist, published his article, A Financial Checklist for Your Newly Minted High School Graduate. Mr. Lieber’s checklist includes the following items:
- Budgets: how to create and maintain one.
- Banking: how to balance a checkbook and maintain a bank account.
- Mobile Payments: how to be smart about using mobile payments.
- Information Hygiene: passwords, social security numbers and identity theft.
- Doctors, insurance cards, meds: how to make a doctor’s appointment, how to use insurance, etc.
- The W-4 Tax Form. How to fill this out and what it means.
- Roth IRA. Taking advantage of the eighth wonder of the world, compound interest.
- Authorized user credit card. Parents can help children establish good credit by getting what’s known as an “authorized user” card in the child’s name.
- Credit freezes.
- FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid form.
- Student loan spreadsheet.
- Health data and privacy. Once a child turns 18, parents have no legal right to access the child’s medical records. Children should consider executing a HIPAA and Advance Medical Directive.
- Grades and disciplinary proceedings. Parents, although usually footing the bill for college tuition, have no right to see grades and disciplinary actions. A release filed with the college is required for this type of access.
- Insurance. Auto, health etc. Time for child to learn the basics.
See full article at A Financial Checklist for Your Newly Minted High School Graduate, NY Times, June 1, 2019.
Posted by Lewis J. Saret, Co-General Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal..
