I recently found myself at a local nature center and noticed a poster on the wall describing the effects of water pollution. The poster featured a fish mowing his lawn underwater warning of pesticides that end up in the water supply. The title was “We All Live Downstream” and it got me thinking about the different types of financial “runoff” we’re exposed to and how we effect each other’s financial well-being.

In the U.S., no one exists in a bubble. With 24-hour news on your radio, tv and PDA there’s no getting away from the financial decisions we see others make. This exposure creates a domino effect on how we manage our own money. If enough dominos fall we get a boom or a bust. The most recent domino effect was the spending of emergency funds. First individuals did it, then banks did it, now the Federal Reserve is doing it. Consumers stopped saving for several years, then banks lent out everything they had to earn fees and now the billion-dollar bailouts will keep the country from saving anything for several years to come.

What can you do about it? Once you recognize where the financial influences are coming from in your life you can affect them. The dominos headed your way may be friends, family, your work environment or your own bad habits. Are you happy to stay and watch Netflix when your friends want to go out to dinner and a movie? Do you enjoy simpler vacations than the rest of your family? Are you feeling dragged out to shopping you don’t really enjoy? Many people spend any extra money they have because they don’t know what else to do with it. Offer some suggestions - maybe a simple dinner at your house. Get takeout. Maybe a pizza. Whatever it is, start your own domino effect. Your friends may all be better for it.

If you’ve been thinking of buying a home recently you may be aware that mortgage rates are at very low rates. This translates into more house for less monthly payment. However there’s a catch - two, actually. The first is that you need stellar credit to get a mortgage these days. A credit score of 720 or above will get you the under-5% rates we’re seeing now. However to build a stellar credit score you need to pay close attention to your debt payments. Are you making them on time? Are you only sending in the minimum payment? After the fallout of banks lending to borrowers who couldn’t afford the payments, banks are being especially careful that borrowers have cash and savings to keep the mortgage payments coming. Check your credit score at www.myfico.com to find out where you stand.

The second catch is the down payment. During the housing boom borrowers were able to get into homes with no money down. Not anymore. There are federally-sponsored programs like FHA that will enable you to put down only 3.5% of the value of the home but the privilege comes with hefty upfront fees and monthly payments. How’s your savings account these days? Looking a little thin? If you’d like to buy a home in the near future start building it up so you have the cash on hand to make lenders happy and home sellers jump at your offer.

Buying a home today is still possible and buyers who have planned for their purchases are making out like bandits. When credit was cheap people were purchasing homes on whims instead of plans. If this is something that’s important to you get your credit and savings in line so you, too, can get the deal of a lifetime.

As a Peace Corps Volunteer you learn very quickly how far a small contribution can go. Several non-profit organizations are now using the web to reach out and ask for small donations from people around the globe. For every contribution received, the donor receives in return confirmation of how the money was spent. Donors come away with a deep sense of satisfaction that the money was put to good use and the receivers get the opportunity to prove how well the money was spent, and perhaps ask a little more.

Websites available to make targeted donations include:

Givemeaning.com lists specific projects and causes that need support around the globe. Receipts for tax-deductible contributions are available on a case by case basis. There are no administrative or credit card processing fees to reduce the contribution. You can also start your own fundraising initiative to get your own cause out there.

At Kiva.org you can make an interest-free loan to entrepreneurs in poor countries. When the loan is repaid you can lend it out again, putting the same $25 or $50 to use over and over again. Kiva works with microfinance institutions that are local and accessible to the poor entrepreneurs, mostly women.

If helping out schools is close to your heart check out DonorsChoose.org. This site enables teachers to ask for funds for specific purposes such as DVDs or chairs for the students. You can locate classrooms in need by state or topic. You can even purchase gift cards for friends and family to donate to a charity that is meaningful to them.

These sites all offer a big bang for your contribution buck. You get to learn about the person or class in need, make an affordable contribution and know you have made a significant difference in that person’s life. Word of caution: watch out for sites that charge high credit card and administrative fees for processing your contribution.

Whether you’ve shacked up with a roommate or loved one paying bills can be a relationship killer. No one ever seems quite sure whose turn it is to buy toilet paper or pay the phone bill. Things get even murkier when romance is involved. A simple solution to avoiding the next blowout can be constructed with only pencil and paper - tools found across the globe. Make a list of the household expenses that go into making your home the rompus room you enjoy it to be. Determine each person’s fair share and have them initial the expenses they agree to pay regularly. Go online and set up automatic billpay to have each person’s bills paid on time, sans late fees. Then post the initialed list someplace you’ll see it like next to the emergency cookie stash. The cable will never be shut off again and your relationship will be stronger for it. Now who’s turn is it to do dishes?

Are you a Peace Corps volunteer trying to save money while posted in the third world? Are there banks and secure Internet connections where you are? If so, you may have more savings opportunities than you realize. The Web has made debt management, saving and investing far more accessible and streamlined for individuals trying to manage their finances.

While serving in the Peace Corps you want to keep your financial management as paperless as possible. Forwarding your personal financial information around the world is an open door to identity theft. Consider taking your financial management online. Web-based banking enables you to receive e-bills so that paper bills are no longer sent to you. You simply log on to your bank’s online banking page and view the bills there. You can also set up your online bill-pay to pay these bills on a regular basis so you don’t have to worry about payments being received on time.

What sort of banking services are available where you are? Submit a comment and I’ll try to make relevant banking and personal finance suggestions based on the services available to you.

Welcome to the Starting Strong blog, a personal finance blog for Generations X and Y. Whether you are just checking out the Peace Corps, are currently volunteering or are already back stateside this column will help you navigate the ins and outs of debt management, saving and investing. Knowing how to manage your money will give you the freedom to keep the work you love no matter what it pays. I welcome your comments, suggestions and questions.

Getting Started
The first step to building wealth is being honest about what you need. We all need to indulge every so often in the freedom to spend. These essential luxuries help us cope with the stress we encounter every day. If gone unchecked this need can also be expensive and addicting. The key is to find a low-cost thrill that gives you a sense of freedom. Once you find it, indulge just enough to keep you entertained and establish this lifestyle as a “need.” Everything else is a “want” no matter how bright, shiny or newly printed. Serving in the Peace Corps provides the exact lessons you need to make this distinction: the difference between survival and comfort. Creating a lifestyle around this self-knowledge will keep you centered and profitable. Now, on to the growing wealthy part.

Organizing Your Finances
The first step to organizing your finances is to put all of your information in one place. Collect all of your financial information — including the scary yet mind-numbingly boring statements — and put them all together. Then one by one organize them into three piles:

• What you have — checking, savings and money market accounts, savings bonds received as birthday presents from grandparents, retirement accounts, even the cash you keep hiding around your apartment that you dig up when you’re really broke.
• What you owe — these are the statements with the scarily high numbers and percentage signs. This pile consists of student loans, credit card balances, car loans, mortgages and personal loans to family and friends. Keeping on top of your debt payments is critical to maintaining a high credit score so that you can have the career and home you’ll want one day. The top healthy financial habit is paying your debts on time.
• What you want — don’t worry if this pile is a little thin. Some people seem to know from birth exactly where they want to live and what they want to do (i.e. a seven-year-old who wants to be an actuary). If you can only picture the next 12 months you can still start building healthy financial habits that will enable you to follow your dreams once you figure out what they are.

The next step is to 1) list all that you have, as well as how much it is earning each month; 2) list each debt account by account number, balance, interest rate, monthly payment amounts and due dates — all of this information can be found in your statements. Examine this list closely — do you need to contact a lender or two to space your payments out over the course of the month so they are not all due in the same week? Compare the two lists. Don’t worry if you owe more than you have — it will all even out in time. With your interest rate information from each of these lists in hand, shop around to find better deals to increase the interest you earn and decrease the interest you pay.

Your Top Priority
No matter where you live or what you earn your first priority is to pay your debts on time. Making timely minimum payments has the largest impact on your credit score. A high credit score is critical to landing the job, car, apartment, education or home you’ve been working for. These opportunities are only available to those with excellent credit. Automate your debt payments, check your accounts every few months and you’ll come back to lower loan balances, a high credit score and a wealth of opportunity.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Starting Strong— protecting yourself from identity theft while overseas.

Good luck!

— Rebecca Schreiber