Money 101

by Diane Cooley

Ask an 18-year old if they have a credit card. Almost 20% of them will tell you that they have 4 or more and 21% of undergraduates with credit cards will also have balances between $3,000 and $7,000*. Add on the loan debt that many of these students build up obtaining an education and you begin to understand why college students are finding that a firm grasp of money management is increasingly important for survival in today’s world.

Student Fiscal Services (SFS) is offering Money 101 sessions to help these students avoid or escape this financial trap. The hour long session presented by the SFS Outreach Unit is interactive with exercises to get students involved and thinking about:

1. Earnings
2. Budgeting
3. Investments
4. Loans
5. Credit cards
6. Credit reports

Several presentations were made during Autumn Quarter including:

• Customized versions at orientations for new dental students, Chemistry grad students, and GoMap (Graduate Opportunities & Minority Achievement Program);
• Three small group sessions at Schmitz Hall for interested UW students;
• A simplified version at a local high school.

Reactions to the sessions included “awesome,” and a senior commented, “I wish I’d heard this as a freshman!”

In our annual survey last spring we asked students: “On a scale of 1 to 5 (high), how well do you know how to manage your finances?” Of those responding, 42% checked one or two (low). Money 101 is a Student Fiscal Service effort to decrease this number.

Sessions are offered each quarter. Anyone interested in finding out when the next one is scheduled or signing up to attend may email the SFS Outreach Unit at sfscust@u.washington.edu.

*September, 2002 issue of the Greentree Gazette in their article “Where credit is due”

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