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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2019)
PAGE D2, KEIZERTIMES, SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 Teens: Want to retire with millions? McNary teacher can tell you how By BROOKLYN FLINT Keizertimes Intern High school is a time for fi nding yourself, fi guring out futures and making choic- es. At the top of the list of anxiety-producing fears is student loans and ending up broke because of college. A 2018 study by Forbes Magazine found that there are more than 44 million U.S. residents who owe debt from student loans alone. Those indebted former stu- dents and graduates owed roughly $1.5 trillion at the time and the numbers con- tinue to escalate. However, there are ways to avoid such crippling debt, said Ryan Kirch, a social studies and economics teach- er at McNary High School. Kirch also works in property investment where he owns a certain amount of property and rents out to people. As a junior enrolled in Kirch’s economics and fi - nancial literacy class, I’ve been on the receiving end of his advice for staying out of debt and transitioning into life as an entrepreneur. The fi rst advice Kirch of- fers is opening an investment account as soon as possible. When Kirch was a junior in high school, he was re- quired to take an economics class and was fascinated with money management. “I’ve always had a business mind,” he said. Next, Kirch advises “al- ways paying yourself fi rst” and creating good habits. He pays himself fi rst by putting money in his investment ac- count for his future. If you open an investment account at age 18 and start putting in 5 to 10 percent of your paycheck in that ac- count, you will have roughly $20,000 at age 27, Kirch said. If you stop adding money to the account and leave it alone, you will have about $2 million by age 67. From such a simple start, anyone could easily become a millionaire, he said. Another suggestion is be- ing decisive about wants vs. needs. Many adults live pay- check to paycheck because they spend money as quick- ly as they make it. The inter- est alone from an investment account could be used for necessities like food, water, and bills. That means that the money in a normal check- ing account can be used for Kim May Salem author to visit KCC Photo Illustration things on the “want list.” Even though an invest- ment account can make things easier, Kirch said it’s still important to learn how to save money and say “no” to some of the things that ar- en’t essential. puzzle answers “Anytime I have a big purchase, my limit is $100. Anything else, I sleep fi rst and see if I still want it the next day,” said Kirch. Saying “no” to the things we want is especially diffi - cult in the age of social me- dia, which can be a toxic environment. The presence of “infl uencers” showing off new gadgets, fancy clothing and seemingly endless va- cations makes people want to live that lifestyle because it looks glamorous. Howev- er, social media infl uencers never show the bad parts of what they do or how much money that lifestyle costs. Add in the ease of credit cards and you can swipe as much as you want without looking at the price. Credit card debt is an- other reason so many young adults end up scrapping for money. Learning to better save your money is a safer bet than opening up a new credit card, Kirch said. To save money, open a sav- ings account and put some of your paycheck into it every payday. The savings account will be used for things you want in the future. Now you can look at the remaining amount of money in your checking account and make a list of the things you want and fi gure out how they fi t into your budget. Kim May, author of The Moonfl ower, will visit the Keizer Cultural Center for a presentation on Wednes- day, Oct. 23, at 6:30 p.m. May will talk about her path to becoming a pub- lished author, read from her recent novel and answer audience questions. Admission is free. The Keizer Cultural Center is located at 980 Chemawa Road N.E. May said she collects genres like a crazy cat lady collects strays. She has writ- ten in fantasy, sci-fi , thriller, young adult fi ction, histor- ical fi ction, steampunk and poetry. Copies of her books will be available for purchase at the event.
