By Meredith Loveys

It�s my future. So how am I going to pay for it? I am very interested in money, finances, and investments. I have had a "money coach" or financial advisor since I was nine years old. Since I am the youngest of four children, I am aware of the many expenses that occur once high school is over. I am also aware that the cost of a university education is not cheap.

I know that I will have to contribute my share towards my education by saving and investing wisely. I have a part-time job, making $100 each month. All students should find out what the cost of their education will be, and then see how much they can expect to get from available financial sources. My hope is to pursue a university education without having to pay off a large student loan once I finish. I have learned from my financial advisor and from my own experience that it is very important for young people to invest in RESPs. It is important because by investing $2,000 a year the federal government will contribute $400 to your RESP. This is the equivalent to making 20 per cent interest on your investment. This is a great opportunity for youth to benefit while saving for a post-secondary education.

As long as I can remember, I have been interested in finance. I have read a lot of good literature on investments and investing wisely. One of my favorite books written for children about finance is, "When I Grow Up I�m Going to be a Millionaire," by Ted Lea.

One of the factors I would consider when saving and investing my money is choosing which mutual funds to invest in. This is very important. My financial advisor has shown me, during our meetings, that mutual funds can be either "safe" or "risky". In a safe fund your money will gain slowly over time, but the good thing is that the principal has only a slight risk of loss. By investing in a risky fund, your money will fluctuate up and down at different rates. Risky funds are often unpredictable. A technique that many people use is dollar-cost averaging, which is the practice of putting in frequent small amounts of money rather than one large amount. This method of investing ensures if you lose some money you won�t lose it all. In other words, by putting money in at different times, it will do better over the long term. When I choose my funds I always try to divide my money equally into safe or risky funds. I had about nine or 10 years since I started investing, so I had the time for my investments to grow.

For financial advice and information I would turn to my "money coach". I know that the information is credible if the person is working for a reputable company. It is very important that a financial advisor be smart and knowledgeable, as well as trustworthy. Your financial advisor must have good people skills and be able to relate the investment information to you so that you can understand it. Another good quality to look for in a financial advisor is their accessibility. An investor needs to know, at anytime, how their investments are doing and get a statement update. The advisor should make time for young people, because, if you are treated well, when you grow up you will make more money that you could invest.

An experienced financial advisor should ask you certain questions as guidelines. How long are you planning to invest? What do you need the money for? What type of personality are you? In other words, are you a risk taker or conservative?

My financial goals are to earn enough money to put myself through university and I plan to achieve this by earning as much as I can, investing wisely and borrowing as little as possible. I will try to contribute to my RESPs as long as I can. I have created a vision for my financial future and where I see myself. I have created realistic goals and time lines for investing and I am sticking to them. What you want to do and how you want to live your life has a lot to do with what you do now. It has been fun and challenging to pick out funds I am interested in and watch them grow. I am planning to pay for my future.