My name is Lauren McCammon and I am the new Program and Volunteer Coordinator for Financial Beginnings and Operation HOPE.  It is with great pleasure that I am able to help educate the youth regarding the importance of managing their money, so that they can make informed financial decisions. So often we find ourselves wondering why we were never able to save as much as we expected, why we spent more than we budgeted for, and why finances seem much more difficult than we ever imagined. My mission is to stop this vicious circle; to empower the youth into realizing their full financial potential and to help them not make the same mistakes that many others did before them. Education is power and it is time we put that power to good use.

I have been working with the youth for quite some time now. I worked as a gymnastics instructor and office manager at Naydenov Gymnastics for over five years, where I managed all aspects of the office as well as the activities in the gym.  I have been a nanny for over nine years, six years with the family that I currently still work with and I am also a personal assistant for that family.  I am a fitness model for various sports apparel companies, as well.  I also happen to be a student who is working to finish a degree in Business Administration with a major in Finance, from Washington State University Vancouver, and my expected graduation date is May of 2012.

My diverse background has really helped to prepare me to fulfill my mission of educating the youth regarding the importance of managing their money. Financial freedom is possible and through Financial Beginnings and Operation HOPE I know that we can empower, motivated, educate, and inspire others into creating a successful financial future.

A year has passed since I arrived at Financial Beginnings. It does not seem that long ago that I first stepped into my office at the Bank of the West. My time at Financial Beginnings is one that I will always cherish. Working closely with Melody Thompson and David Bell has been one of the best experiences of my life. Their passion for Financial Education is matched by none that I have met.

During my time at Financial Beginnings my main focus was on programs. I brought on over 2000 new students and 20 new schools. Schools I brought on, such as Minter Bridge and Free Orchards, have already begun signing up for 2011-2012 school years. I have to say it feels really good knowing that I made a sustainable impact.

I also helped revise our student materials while serving on the program committee. Working with a small but highly efficient committee allowed me to implement changes within our curriculum. While there are still plenty of improvements to be made, I am delighted to know that some of the ideas I brought will live on in our student text long after I am gone.

While this is my last day with Financial Beginnings, this will not be the last time you hear from me. I plan to stay on as a guest writer. I am off to a Master’s Program in Statistics at UCLA. Without a doubt I will come across interesting topics related to finance and I plan to share them accordingly. Thank you for reading!

Whether it’s a car or computer, each time we make a purchase, there is a risk of product failure. To be a smart consumer, we have to weigh the costs and the benefits of a warranty. We must ask ourselves, what is the worst that can happen? And then contemplate how much loss we are willing to accept. For me, a warranty almost always makes financial sense. I tend to have bad luck with my products – they are simply not built to last.

I have an extended warranty on my PS3, it cost me $80 and nothing has gone wrong. But the two year coverage ends this Monday, so now I can only hope nothing goes wrong. I have a three year warranty on my television (only one year left!), and a five year extended warranty on my car (only two and half left!). My car warranty cost me $2,500 in 2009 but since then, I have saved over $8,000 because of it. My car has been extremely problematic.

Most products come with a limited manufactures warranty, like my cell phone. I had it for five months when it started acting funky, so I took it to the Sprint store and they gave me a new one for free. Credit card companies also offer free warranty extensions on products purchased with the card. Check your card member agreement terms to see if this is available to you.

I read an interesting argument against purchasing extended warranties. The idea is, instead of purchasing the warranty, you take the money you would have spent on the warranty and put it aside in a separate saving’s account. Do this for every product for which you could have bought extended warranty. You have now created a funding source for repairs. Since it is unlikely that all your products will break at the same time, you can withdraw funds as items fail.

This strategy would not have benefited me due to the ridiculous problems my car has had, but for some people, this strategy would work. Everyone has a warranty story, some good, and many bad. What’s your story?