| It is very important to notice that the current | | | | stores within campus, customers pay more than |
| generation of young people is getting more and more | | | | usual for this extra privilege of 'convenience'). There |
| involved into a lot of things which were either | | | | remains the day ahead. There's lunch and dinner. The |
| nonexistent or possible in the past. Besides the usual | | | | overdue rates at the video store. That planned |
| late night drive-in movie or mid-afternoon soccer | | | | movie date the succeeding night. Not to mention the |
| practice, today's technologically savvy youths can | | | | real responsibilities. Payment for rent electricity, |
| write a letter, talk to a friend, listen to a playlist of | | | | heating and water bills... not to mention tuition fees. |
| more than a thousand songs, update a social | | | | And nothing but a limp, twisted wad of money |
| networking personal page, and send a letter of | | | | intended to last for the rest of the week. |
| application to a favored university, all at the same | | | | It is but human to succumb to the pressure of |
| time, and all this while squeezing a stress ball with one | | | | spending while there is money to spend it with. Even |
| hand. It obviously shows that for today's youth, a | | | | matured, responsible, emotionally stable adults fall for |
| whole world of opportunities lies within their reach. | | | | it, so why should young people be blamed for it? The |
| But with opportunity comes corresponding | | | | real problem is the lack of education, both from |
| responsibility. And, more often than not, there is | | | | adults and friends. The spending habits that start |
| money involved. Now, more than ever, today's | | | | early on in life carry through to adulthood. A teenager |
| generation of ecoboomers needs to know how to | | | | who spends sixty dollars on a fad shirt now may |
| manage their personal finances, wisely and | | | | spend several hundred for another later on in life. |
| responsibly. That responsibility is emphasized even | | | | These so called little things tend to stack up and |
| more for those enrolled in a university. | | | | become a huge financial crisis. It is better for young |
| Take the case of an average college student. The | | | | people to learn how money does and does not work |
| day begins at around midnight with either a late night | | | | as soon as they gain their freedom in college, as |
| out together with friends with boxes of pizza with a | | | | soon as they get their student driver's license, before |
| lot of six packs, or a full blown house party with beer | | | | they graduate from high school. The earlier, the |
| kegs and the works. Night wears on, and the next | | | | better! Because in the real world of credit cards and |
| morning reality kicks in with a vengeance. All those | | | | mortgage payments, anyone who does not know |
| wasted money on beef jerky and nacho chips, now | | | | how to stretch, squeeze, scrimp and save money for |
| nothing but crumbs on the filthy floor. There's laundry | | | | all its worth ends up in financial trouble, to say the |
| to do. Papers to finish. Food that was stocked up for | | | | least. And it is very disheartening to splurge all day |
| the week is gone from the previous night's party. | | | | with nothing to answer for it but candy wrappers, |
| There's a trip to the nearest store to restock. If | | | | pizza boxes, dirty laundry and old magazines. Young |
| there is a car involved, there's gas to think about | | | | people should learn more about taking care of |
| (since there are practically no convenience store | | | | personal finances, while they are still young and |
| within reasonable distance from a university; for | | | | ready. |