Graham, TX , March 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Codie Hedge is the President and Senior Lending Officer at Graham Savings and Loan. “I am glad and honored to join in and discuss financial topics today for our young adults who are trying to grow into leaders,” Hedge said excitedly. Kyle Anderson is a financial advisor with Edward Jones. He quickly expressed what the Future Farmers of America (FFA) has done for him personally and professionally. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the FFA and what it taught me:The leadership skills; the owning your brand; building your brand. I owe all of that to the FFA and also my parents and the way that they raised me. There are a lot of things that we can relate to the business world back to the leadership skills that we learned in the FFA. I’m excited to take those leadership skills and implement them into my business and bring them back to the youth of Texas and America,” Anderson said with conviction.

Anderson and Hedge offer their financial expertise not only to adults but especially to young people. “As a 16- or 17-year-old young adult, you don’t feel like you own a business or have business decisions to make yet, but in reality, [you] do. They are their business and the decisions that they are making now or a couple of years from now, will tie into who they become… these are the earliest business decisions that they are ever going to make,” said Hedge.

Anderson, who was also an FFA officer, offers young people spending advice. “Learn to live within your means. Starting those habits will set you up better in the future. This will tie back into building your brand now to set yourself up for business opportunities in the future,” he emphasized. “You are not guaranteed a six-figure income,” he added.

Credit cards are another topic that the financial advisors discussed. They are offered to students and college bound students must navigate their use, especially when offered in high school. “Credit cards have their place,” according to Anderson. “If you are disciplined and you can handle that, then a very small credit card where you can put a couple hundred bucks on it and pay it off at the end of the month, you are building good credit. If you are not disciplined, don’t get a credit card,” he added.

Another focus for young people is the cost of college. Hedge suggests that the process of paying for college needs to be thought about in a student’s junior year and sometimes their sophomore year depending on the complexity of the degree. “The debt needs to match the outcome of the college degree is the simple way to put it,” emphasized Hedge. “What are my goals with my degree? What are opportunities in the real world after I get that degree?” Are the questions Hedge raises. Hedge believes that students must ask themselves as they determine their college pathway and the cost of their education. “You need to make financial decisions eight to ten years before you are ever going to see the fruits of that labor. College debt needs thoughtful decisions…Get your FFA peers and guidance counselors to help you with those decisions,” Hedge said. “This is one of the first business decisions that you will make,” he added.

Other information offered by Anderson and Hedge is about the need to save for current and future expenses. “Savings is so important. But, it may be impossible if you don’t learn to live within your means. Savings doesn’t have to be $1000 a month to in order to turn it into wealth…it is security for your future and everybody else,” said Hedge. Anderson also believes that savings is the key to planning for life expenses such as purchasing a home and retirement. “Start early and start often if you can…When you get out of college you are planning for the future. Set your goals and know what you want to achieve.” The longer you wait the more you will have to put back in [to savings] to play catch up,” He emphasized. An additional piece of advice he offers is to get an emergency savings account set up with three to six months of savings.

Listen to the full podcast interview by Aaron Alejandro with Kyle Anderson and Codie Hedge on your favorite podcast channel

· #" Kyle Anderson And Codie Hedge Interviewed by Host Aaron Alejandro on Growing Our Future Podcast Leadership Skills Learned through the FFA Nurtured the Success of Kyle Anderson, Financial Advisor a...