BUSINESS & AG LIFE
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2019
THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD — 3B
Millennial Money: Break free of your parents’ money patterns
By Sean Pyles
NerdWallet
You can likely thank (or blame)
your parents for some aspects of
how you turned out. Maybe you
have your mother’s eyes or your
dad’s habit of chewing with your
mouth open.
How you manage money is
another thing you likely picked up
from your parents — whether they
intended you to or not.
While nearly 90% of parents
believe it’s important for their kids
to grow up with good fi nancial
habits, almost half don’t know how
to discuss money with their kids,
according to a 2019 survey of 1,000
parents conducted by Edelman Fi-
nancial Engines, a fi nancial adviser
fi rm. Further, 25% of respondents
never or almost never talk to their
children about household fi nances,
the survey found.
If your family avoided fi nancial
topics, you may fi nd yourself un-
comfortable managing money and
unaware of the effect your parents
had on your fi nancial behavior. But
part of growing up is acknowledg-
ing what you learned from your
parents — both good and bad —
and correcting course as needed.
To claim your fi nancial indepen-
dence, defi ne what your money
goals are, understand how to
achieve them through daily actions,
and focus on long-term fi nancial
freedom.
KNOW YOUR HISTORY AND
YOUR IDEAL FUTURE
If you don’t already, track your
money management for a month.
Document your income, bills and
savings.
Now think about how your
parents managed money while you
were growing up. Look for areas of
overlap to understand the money
habits you learned. Did your par-
ents carry loads of credit card debt
or run behind on bills? Maybe they
were frugal savers. If you aren’t
sure how your parents handled
fi nances, ask them.
“I think having the money
conversation with your parents is
important, especially if you come
from a household where money
wasn’t actively talked about,” says
Paul Golden, managing director of
communications at the nonprofi t
National Endowment for Financial
Education. “Ask about the chal-
lenges they dealt with and how
they managed them.”
Next, think about where you
want to be. “Put fi nancial goals
in perspective of life goals,” says
Kristen Holt, CEO of Green-
Path Financial Wellness, a credit
counseling and fi nancial wellness
organization. “Maybe you want to
retire early, or spend time writing a
book, or spend time with kids when
you have them. What’s the life that
you want to have?”
TIP: Compare your money his-
tory to the fi nancial future you
desire. If you dream about being
a homeowner, for example, but
fi nd that you aren’t saving enough
monthly to build up a down pay-
ment, see how you can adjust your
spending habits.
REWORK YOUR MONEY HABITS
As you reviewed how you handle
money, you probably started to see
some patterns. Financial habits are
built on daily actions. Identify those
you can take to meet your money
objectives.
“Once you have your goals
articulated and prioritized, under-
stand that you can’t make every-
thing happen all at once,” says Levi
Sanchez, founder of Seattle-based
Millennial Wealth, a fi nancial plan-
ning fi rm. “But you can start the
better behaviors and habits that
can get you there.”
Budgeting is a simple, powerful
habit. The 50/30/20 budget, where
half your income covers needs, 30%
goes to wants and 20% covers debt
payments and savings, is an effec-
tive method to ensure you channel
your money in a way that supports
your vision.
Sanchez recommends automat-
ing habits so your goals are easier
to achieve. If you want to increase
your emergency fund, set up regu-
lar transfers from your checking
account or paycheck so you don’t
have to think about it.
TIP: Break your goals into
smaller, easily achievable actions.
Each of these steps will help you
build the money habits that create
fi nancial independence.
FOCUS ON THE LONG TERM
The point of carving out your
fi nancial independence is to ensure
you are making informed money
decisions that refl ect your values.
But it’s also about setting yourself
up for long-term fi nancial success.
That means sticking to healthy
habits but being fl exible enough to
respond to life changes.
“Part of your money habits
should be regular assessments of
how you're doing,” Golden says. “We
all need to be realistic that things
fi nancially are not always static.
You're going to ebb and fl ow out of
different circumstances.”
TIP: Your fi nancial goals and pri-
orities will likely change over time.
Check to make sure your habits
are on track every quarter. And
reevaluate your goals annually, so
your money management evolves
along with your priorities.
FSA state executive director reflects on diversity of Oregon ag
Barry Bushue
Executive Director
Oregon Farm Service Agency
As the weather starts to
slowly get colder and wet-
ter, most of the crops are
harvested and equipment
cleaned up and put away
for the winter. It’s the time
of year when farm organi-
zations have their annual
meetings and farmers get
together to talk about the
past year and what the
future holds.
There are a number of
challenges the industry
faces, and these meetings
provide farmers with infor-
mation and tools to help and
educate.
Kellie Frank, district
director, Karie Walker, farm
loan manager and I attended
parts of the 2019 Tri-State
Grain Growers Convention
in Spokane, Washington.
We provided updates to the
Oregon Wheat League on
ARC/PLC, Margin Facilita-
tion Program, and had some
discussions about hemp
production.
We also had the opportu-
nity to hear from USDA's
Deputy Secretary of Agricul-
ture Stephen Censky, who
joined the convention as
the keynote speaker for the
luncheon. We also received a
state legislative update. Peter
Zeihan, geopolitical strategist,
was a keynote speaker for
Friday's breakfast and spoke
at length about trade and the
world economy. The confer-
ence was a great opportunity
to hear from farmers and
ranchers from Oregon and
other states.
Oregon FSA will also have
representation at the Farm
Fair to be held Dec. 4-5 in
Hermiston. Outreach and
education are important parts
of our goal to provide excellent
customer service to Oregon’s
farmer and ranchers.
Oregon FSA recently held
a very successful training for
our conservation programs
that refl ected any changes or
updates resulting from the
2018 Farm Bill. It was held
at the Pendleton Conven-
tion Center and attended by
our district directors, county
executive directors and Pro-
gram Technicians, and local
NRCS conservation special-
ists. These trainings are also
an important part of our
ability to enhance customer
service.
As Thanksgiving approach-
es, I look forward to spending
time with family and friends.
It is always a good time to
refl ect on the bounty that
Oregon farmers and ranch-
ers provide. It reminds me
of the diversity of Oregon’s
agriculture. I am glad to be
part of an agency that serves
our dedicated and committed
farmers and ranchers.
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