When the landscape is money, how do Catholics walk in faith?

"Money is a necessity, a means of exchange in our society. People are not stressed over money; they're stressed over what they need it for," said Dr. Severin Carlson, dean of the school of business at The College of Saint Rose in Albany.

Dr. Carlson noted that CSR has an academic program that leads toward participants becoming certified financial planners. However, he said, no matter how much someone learns about managing money, finding a "comfort level" with it can be difficult. For example, he said, two generations may have vastly different feelings about the stock market. Senior citizens who experienced the effects of the Great Depression tend to distrust the stock market; those who only know of it since the 1980s may see it as a positive force and not worry about a crash.

Saving up

The expert said that a 25-year-old who starts saving and stops at 35 may actually accrue more money than someone who doesn't start until they're 35, because the interest on the younger person's savings will have longer to build up.

No matter how young you are, Dr. Carlson believes that it's important to learn about the retirement plan at your workplace and get involved in it. Most people, he said, make the mistake of waiting until they're 55 to start planning for retirement at 65 -- and learn that it's too late to accumulate enough money to live comfortably.

Budgeting

"One of the first things a person has to do is build a budget -- not to constrain them, but to figure out what their regular expenses are," he stated.

BY sitting down with bills and records, a person can find out what they spend on average on their home, food, utilities and other expenses. Dr. Carlson suggested that a typical budget start with the following categories:

* home (including rent or mortgage payments),

* food,

* utilities (including gas, electricity, cable TV, phones, cell phones and pagers),

* automobile (car payments, gas and repairs),

* insurance (home, fire, car, etc.),

* clothing,

* entertainment (including going out to dinner, which isn't part of the normal food budget),

* vacations and

* the holiday season (Dr. Carlson suggested office "Christmas clubs" as one way to save money for gifts).

Surprises

Every budget, he said, has two sides: inflows and outflows. Inflows are easier to understand, since most people know how much they earn. Outflows can be more difficult. "You need to think about what kinds of payments you need to make every month, and when are they due?" he explained.

Sometimes, people forget to factor in a once-a-year payment like the school taxes some mortgage holders pay every September. But even these need to be built into the budget, said Dr. Carlson.

Credit

"It's very easy to use this piece of plastic -- [but] then, when I have to make a payment, where is this going to come from?" Dr. Carlson asked. "You have to go back and say, `Is this something I really need to be spending my money on? The new car would be nice, but I really don't need it yet.'"

The expert noted that most people have a lot of expenses, but their mistake usually falls in not watching where their money is going. Budgeting, he said, is something "most people don't do until they have bills and can't pay, and realize, `I've spent more than I make.'"

Another error for families can happen when one person consistently takes care of the bills. Dr. Carlson stated that "a lot of the anxiety is decreased" if both members of a couple understand what the bills are and when they're due. If one person usually pays the bills, he said, the other should try it for a month to better understand it.

Cutting back

Some people prefer to use every dollar they earn; others aren't comfortable living that close to the edge. Either way, people who want to cut their budget need to look at the categories they can control.

"That differs for everybody," the expert added. For example, every family has a certain level of housing it needs, but cars can be more or less expensive depending on tastes. Some families might also question whether they need cable TV, while others have different priorities.

Dr. Carlson remarked that "for somebody who says, `I don't have the slightest idea where my money goes,'" writing down every single expense for a period of time may be a good idea.

People often forget to "sit down and think about where the money goes, whether it's something simple like, `I'm going out to lunch every day,'" he noted. In many cases, small expenses like $3 a day for fast food can total up to a large amount of money.

Charity

In addition, he said, people in the business world are often overwhelmed with requests for charitable donations to a host of organizations. "In many cases, that is tax-deductible," he stated. "You say, `I'm making a $200 donation, but I'll have less of a tax bill in April.'"

The rule of thumb for most people when considering such donations is "family first," said the expert: People want to meet their family's expenses and then give the extra to charity.

For those who feel they can't donate financially, Dr. Carlson mentioned "volunteering instead of writing a check."

Walks to raise money for a charity or time spent volunteering at a shelter can be just as valuable as financial giving, he said, because "hopefully, that cuts down on the dollars and cents expenses" of the organization. (09-28-00) [[In-content Ad]]