Monthly Archives: April 2015

Financial Tips

Financial Tips for After College

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As a graduating senior, I’ve been a bit worried about what to do after I graduate because of stories I’ve heard of other people’s experience. I’m concerned about what will happen after I get a job and how to budget for my rent, groceries, taxes, bills, etc.  What if I skip an important step? What if I do something now that drastically affects my future? What about retirement? Investing? What should I do?

Well, recently I’ve learned a few tips on maybe how to get financial settled after I graduate. If you are having the same concerns as I am, these should help!

  1. Create a budget. Start working out the details about your expenses and your income. With that, pay yourself first and create an emergency fund.
  2. Think about your expenses. Consider the expenses that come with a first job: taxes, transportation, food, travel, clothing, etc. Make sure you leave room in your budget for these new expenses! Also plug up any spending leaks of items you can cut back on.
  3. Make on time payments. Make sure you’re making on time payments on your student loans. Debt and late payments can have negative effects on your credit score.
  4. Take advantage of your employer’s retirement plans, such as 401(k) and IRA. The sooner you start investing in your retirement, the less stressful retirement will be for you.
  5. Considering graduate school. If you’re thinking about graduate school for an advanced degree, weigh the cost vs. benefits first. Consider if an advanced degree will increase your annual salary or only increase your student loan debt. However, with a little research you can find scholarship opportunities for graduate students that help cover the cost of tuition.

There are many other tips and financial topics to consider, so read up on the current events and stay knowledgeable about the financial world. Start getting involved with any self-help books or read up on current events with financial websites. If you have any questions or concerns, but not the resources to answer these questions, the internet is a place to find answers, but be wary of sharing any of your personal information especially related to your finances. Phishing, internet and email scams, is the number one way identity thieves target their victims. If you’d rather have a professional to discuss with, you can look up non-profit organizations that conduct financial counseling in your area.

If you’re about to graduate, you still have time to access some very beneficial financial tools before you go! Financial Foundations is partnered with CashCourse, a free online financial education tool with articles, budgeting wizards, worksheets, and more to help you understand and plan your personal finances.

You may even come into Financial Foundations and meet with our coordinator to start a budget and get some financial counseling before you graduate! Don’t wait and contact us today at Financial Foundations or call us at (254) 710-3109!

Identity Theft, Workshops

Identity Theft and How to Avoid it

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In February 2015, FTC released in its Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book that 18% of identity theft complaints come from the consumer age range of 20-29 for the year of 2014. In the years before, the percentage of identity theft complaints for the age group of 20-29 were the highest out of all the other age ranges given.

With that being said, the people who are most susceptible to identity theft are college students. Meaning us! We are the most susceptible to having our credit card stolen, our ID taken, our information handed out to untrustworthy people, and any other identity theft out there. Why are we targeted?

  • We don’t regularly check our bank/credit statements
  • We usually have a clean credit and a good score
  • We usually over share information over social media, cellphones, and internet
  • We potentially carry too many sensitive items in a purse or wallet

 

There are probably even more reasons as to why college students like us are more susceptible to identity theft, but we don’t HAVE to be.

There are many ways to keep us safe from identity theft. Here are some ways on how you can avoid and protect yourself from identity theft:

  • The number one thing you can always do to avoid and prepare for identity theft is to regularly check your bank statements and credit report!
  • Report any and all unusual activity on your credit report. Make sure to keep information that you filled out for any report.
  • Secure your technology by using a firewall and having anti-virus protection on your computer, a password on your phone, never saving your information on a public computer, and shutting down or logging off from computers after use.
  • Beware of scams. Phishing are email scams that ask for personal information. There are even scholarships and student loan scams: if it asks for a fee upfront, it’s not legitimate!

 

This and more will be discussed in our upcoming workshop “Credit Cards and Avoiding Identity Theft” on Thursday April 9th, at 5:30 pm in Jones Library room 105!

You can also check out CashCourse where most of this information is available with specific details and even more ways to avoid and protect yourself from identity theft! Go to CashCourse.org and sign up. It’s a free online financial education tool with many helpful articles and tools to help you understand personal financial topics.