Christopher Best - Benefits of College Education

Christopher Best is a passionate teacher and student who is devoted to furthering his education. He will soon be obtaining a Master’s in Finance from Florida International University. Christopher Best knows that a college degree could improve the rest of your life. The following are just some of the many benefits of pursuing a college education:

                                                       

• More Money – The ability to make a higher income is typically one of the key reasons for most college students to get their degrees. College graduates statistically make significantly more money during the course of their careers and often earn upward of $20,000 per year more than peers without college degrees. The earning potential varies by field and often increases with a higher-tiered degree.

• Better Career Choices – College degrees make prospect employees stand out to employers and many employers will not consider applicants that do not have at least a Bachelor’s degree. Employers and hiring managers consider college degrees to be indicative of talent, drive and trustworthiness.
• Happier Home Life – Couples and parents with college degrees often report a happier home life than families without higher education. This is likely caused by a higher income, more time, less stress and better job stability, all of which contribute to healthy home lives.

If you’d like to pursue an education similar to that of dedicated students like Christopher Best, consider balancing it with a full-time position to make it more feasible. Best successfully balanced his education with his work and the results were well worth the extra effort.

Christopher Best - Budget Like a Finance Student

Christopher Best is an experienced businessman who has managed his own business since 2008. In addition to his home business, Christopher Best’s aptitude for finances extended to becoming assistant treasurer from a past teaching position. Today, Best has entirely switched his career to finances and, in doing so, he has learned valuable industry skills. Among the most common skills for finances students and pros like Best is careful personal budgeting, and the following steps will help you do the same:

• Assess Your Fixed Expenses – Your fixed expenses are your bills that cannot be changed. These include mortgage payments, car payments and other monthly financial obligations. Look at your monthly bills and record their total as the first step of building your budget. This is also a good time to call insurance companies and credit card companies to ask for lower payments. 

• Assess Your Variable Expenses – Variable expenses are those that are subject to change each month and those that you can eliminate. These might include groceries, clothes, gas and more. Take this time to assess what you can cut down and set limits for each variable expense based on what you can afford to spend. This is the second part of building a simple, yet comprehensive, budget.

• Self-Assess Adjustments – Every month or every three months, sit down with your budget and self-assess any required adjustments. This will help you tailor your spending to your changing income and expenses so that you can continue to follow your budget.

Christopher Best uses the above tips to manage his personal finances as carefully as he manages finances in professional positions. Applying similar tips to your own finances can greatly improve your monetary management and improve your financial outlook.