The Nitty Gritty Truth: Finances

A pilot must seemingly be his or her own of everything, you know, like a 'Jack of all trades' type of thing.

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The details... okay, the not so good ones that make your skin crawl over and over again until you feel like throwing up. Well, finances are gross. In fact, the word finances makes me want to throw up faster than when I smell eggs cooking. No, I do not like eggs at all -I will not eat them. With that spiel being said, I must now make note of the truth: everyone needs to understand basic financial aspects in order to survive in this money thriving world. Without money, the world would cease to exist due to the sheer dependence. Remember the saying 'what keeps the world going around?' Well, that is what I am referring to at its fullest. 

Just this past semester I was able to take a class that really referenced my personal finances and helped me catch up on everything I needed to. The balance of everything seemingly clicked with my mind. As a pilot, it is beyond detrimental that each and every soul understands their own finances. Flight training is so expensive, and so is living. Everything must reach that perfect equilibrium so then all will be well in the land. I thought I would share a few things within this post from an essay I wrote that explained what I learned from this personal finance class. 

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Throughout this class I have actually determined that I have learned a lot about myself. In terms of learning about myself, the budgeting project really helped me see more of who I was regarding my ‘money’ identity. It seems quite interesting to say that, but after making, following, and adjusting my monthly budget, I was able to fully see just what I was doing. I have always wanted to know where my money is going, and this assignment really pushed me to dig deeper and really analyze what I was doing. The way I spend my money affects what I can and cannot do. I learned that when I place restrictions in the money department, I am able to feel more comfortable with when and where I spend my money. I found myself asking the question: do I really need this? Would I really benefit from this? Most of the time the answer was no, and I found out that giving in to unnecessary things is actually detrimental to financial status. The concept of inflation was another thing that I was able to take away from this class. I really was able to dig a little deeper when it comes to the idea of inflation. My grocery bill used to be super cheap until the past few years it really raised. When making a new and revised budget, inflation really does affect how much money we all spend on expenses. Overall, tracking expenses is a mere necessity in life. Without tracking the full picture, it is impossible to understand the money flow. I really found this project worthwhile. 

    Since beginning this class I would say that I have really been implementing the concept of saving. Throughout this course I learned the value of money, and that value changes. There are unknown situations where I may eventually have to have money right away -like in an emergency. However, I truly learned to take responsibility and opened up a savings account where I just store money that I save every month. This savings account is only to be broken into when I absolutely need it. A second implementation I have made has to do with the expenses category. I have made sure that I have a greater cash flow coming in rather than going out. This allows me to keep everything stable. With my student loans I have been able to successfully live comfortably with my income, expenses, and so forth. This class has helped me understand that I need to create a plan for the future as well. I have already begun planning for the future in regards to money by setting a certain amount aside for that future day when I will need it. Health changes and I do get sick on occasion, so this class has also taught me that I need to have good health insurance and money set aside to help pay those expenses off. While I do not get sick all the time, I still need money for that in case I do. Unforeseen circumstances has been something that I have been leery of. Ever since beginning this class I have had reassurance that everything will be okay if I save enough money and spend it responsibly. Emergency funds are so important. 

    When I exit college and proceed to the next path, I see myself getting further educated with stocks and bonds. I would love to invest money in certain airlines and companies. This is important to me, especially after learning about it in this class, because I can find a new way to make money on the side. I never would have felt comfortable with the idea of stocks and bonds prior to taking this class, so I definitely feel way better regarding the matter. Another topic I will implement from this class is that of retirement. I can start saving now, but with college and all I really cannot do much. In the long run, I will take advantage of that 401(K) retirement plan the best I can. I will consult with some finance specialists regarding setting up a plan, but I do know that the airlines have amazing retirement plans, so I am not too worried there. I realize that I have so many opportunities ahead of me, which is purely amazing all together. This class has been a great help to my financial future, which is awesome. I feel a lot better about the future just by taking this class.