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What's the best advice that you ever received regarding your finances? For all of us, there's one piece of advice someone shared that stuck and we routinely follow without thinking about it. We asked representatives of American Airlines Federal Credit Union's senior management team to share the best financial advice they ever received.
Lori Hall, Senior Vice President of Member Experience
“I have worked steadily since I was 12 years old. In fact, before my 18th birthday, I had maintained steady jobs babysitting, cleaning, and working in the sports department of my hometown newspaper recording high school and college sports statistics for the next morning’s issue. The predominant memory from this time in my life was my father taking me to the Savings and Loan every payday, where I would deposit my check into my savings account. I would keep a bit of spending money, but most of my check was saved for future needs.
“He wholeheartedly believed in the importance of financial stability and creating habits of thrift to ensure long-term security. In addition to maintaining adequate savings, my family bought older, used autos with cash and paid off credit cards in full each month to avoid interest charges, as well as always paying debts on time. He believed loans were a valuable necessity, but ideally should be used in situations where there were good returns on that investment. This included loans like a mortgage, where the home would appreciate in value over time, or a student loan, where an education would lead to a career (and earnings) that justified the debt.
“These formative lessons have stayed with me over my life, and I’m grateful for the personal financial habits my parents helped me establish during my youth.”
Brad Aspgren, Senior Vice President of Operations
“I was taught that just because you can afford something, doesn’t mean you need to purchase it. My parents taught me, and showed me with how they ran our household, that if you cannot pay for something in full (except for a house or a car) save your money until you can. And if you charge something on a card, pay the card fully with your next statement. A running balance on a card earns high interest and paying it off each month will better your credit rating.
“They also taught us to live well below our means so we could save for a rainy day and the future, help other people, be charitable, and tithe to our church. My maternal grandmother taught me basics about investing in stocks when I was 13 years old, and I bought my first stocks then. Saving and investing are important habits to practice.”
Faith Anderson, Senior Vice President & General Counsel
“Early in my career, I worked for a department store as an assistant buyer. They offered all employees a 30% discount on store merchandise if we used the store’s credit card. I was very excited and felt like a grownup when I received my first credit card. I used it to purchase my first TV, cute outfits and shoes, and decorate my first apartment with items that I thought were 'necessities.' The shopping continued and the credit card debt crept up slowly. However, after a few months of paying for rent, groceries, a car payment and gas, I realized that my bill was reaching the maximum of my approved credit amount. I started to only make the minimum monthly payments.
“This experience scared me. I'd planned to work for only a couple of years and then go to law school. It taught me the importance of saving and budgeting and how it’s so easy to 'drown' in debt. Thank goodness I was able to stick to my plan, payoff the credit card and have some small savings before I started school. It was a hard lesson, but with diligence, I persevered.
Sean Gaven, Senior Vice President of Lending, Analytics and Digital Strategy
“I am grateful to my parents for many things, including growing up in a home where there was a high level of financial wellness due in part to my mom’s words of wisdom and my dad’s employment as a financial analyst in a large corporation. So yes, growing up in a home of modest allowances, part-time after school jobs and two good role models did provide a strong foundation to my financial education.
“But as they say, sometimes experience is the best teacher. As I graduated high school and headed to college, I had all the untested confidence that many of us have at that age. College was, of course, a great experience on many levels with a particularly joyous hobby of walking across campus loading up on college branded items, etc. from whatever booth was set-up at the time. A common booth in those days included banks and credit cards — fill out a big bank credit card application and get a free T-shirt. Like many others, I signed my name, got my T-shirt and was off to class.
“Of course, that T-shirt came with a price. Long story short, that revolving balance at 20%+ interest cost a lot more than a T-shirt at the student union would have. By the time I finally paid the balance (and interest), I had learned a much better lesson than whatever class I had been headed off to that day.
“Looking back, having a good foundation of financial knowledge and good role modeling from parents, friends, etc. is always a great start. Learning a few tough lessons along the way helps, too, especially if you can get them out of the way early in life. As I reflect on the wonderful financial wellness tools we have available to our members from SavvyMoney credit score monitoring to the Navigator, seminars, cents® magazine and so much more, I feel proud that we take the time and effort to help those on their financial journey wherever that journey may take them.”
Gail Enda, President and CEO
“When I first started working, a much more senior employee who was nearing retirement shared his savings advice with me: Build the discipline of saving. They recommended:
- Set up an automatic deposit to a savings account — if you never see it in your paycheck or checking account, it will be easier.
- Start small but the most important thing is to start. Just putting $25 per week in savings will turn into $1,300 by the end of one year.
- Every time you get a pay increase, dedicate 1/3 of your increase to your savings program. You can still enjoy the upside of the new pay, just not all of it.
"In addition to that advice, the advice I give my children is to make sure they're putting enough into their 401(k) to take full advantage of the company match. The match is a 100% return on your investment — it's the best return out there."