Money 101

Using MyOwnBiz

BPL Catalog

In Brooklyn

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Turning a passion for music into profits takes perseverance.

What money goals do you have?

Do you want to be independent and not rely upon others for money?
Do you want to save money so you will have money when you need it? (For example, to go to college, to buy a car, etc.)
Do you want to save money so you can start your own business?

Throughout your life - even if you aren't quite ready to start a business - you need to make smart choices about money. By doing that you'll be able to reach your goals.

You want to save money to buy recording equipment for your biz. But, one day you see this really cool pair of sneakers that you would love to have. If you buy the sneakers your savings will be a lot less than they were. If you don't buy the sneakers you'll probably be able to buy the recording equipment within the next couple of months. So, think carefully about the goals you set and whether or not you have to have that cool new thing that you would love to have. If you don't really need it, maybe you should wait until your savings are enough for both what you need and what you want.
You have a monthly budget. The budget is divided into food, entertainment, and clothing/accessories. A bunch of your friends want to have a night out that is going to cost more than your entertainment budget allows. Do you just ignore the budget and go out with your friends anyway? If you do, how are you going to eat? Where are you going to get the money you need for food? So, think about when it's OK to play around with your budget and when it's not.
You have a credit card and you know that every month you can afford to pay $50 to the credit card company. But, you think it's time to buy a new computer, which is going to cost about $2,000. If you put that purchase on your credit card, your minimum monthly payments will be more than you can afford. So, before making the choice to buy the computer with credit, think about what will happen to your credit rating if you can't pay your credit card bills.

There is a lot to think about when it comes to making money decisions. To learn more, check out Brooklyn Public Library's resource guides: Moneywise: Resources on Managing Money for Teens or check out our list of finding money resources.