If you’re a 20-something, there’s an entrepreneur out there who wants to talk to you about money in your own language.
Eric Bell, 28, had the feeling there was a big gap in the information available and nobody was reaching young people in a way that spoke to them. So he came up with the business plan for a site called YoBucko.com that offers financial guidance for young people. And now it’s a potential way for him to make money.
Adding to his street cred, Bell doesn’t hide the fact that he started out with $100,000 in student loan debt.
“I’m in the trenches with people, not speaking to them from my ivory tower,” he told The Sacramento Bee. “Rather than hide behind the facts and pretend to be someone I’m not, I prefer to share my story openly so I can speak from experience, not theory.”
Two financial plagues on 20-somethings
Public enemy No. 1 for young people is student loan debt. It’s so easy to borrow and it becomes a burden beyond the pale. Don’t do it.
Go to cheaper school if you have to. Work while you’re in school if you have to. Do two years at a community college before going on to graduate from a four-year school if you have to. Do anything other than taking on a mountain of debt.
Meanwhile, a government study finds that nearly half of all young people overdraw their account. Moreover, a significant number of them overdraw more than 10 times a year.
At the core of this mess is the debit card. Using a debit card makes tracking your spending more difficult. As an alternative, go cash only.
