making the most of your money while in college
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Making the most of your money while in college. Using your college-educated brain to make wise decisions about YOUR money. What to know about your Financial Aid. Get to know your Financial Aid counselor Know what makes up your financial aid award - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
USING YOUR COLLEGE-EDUCATED BRAIN TO MAKE WISE DECISIONS ABOUT
YOUR MONEY
Making the most of your money while in college
What to know about your Financial Aid
Get to know your Financial Aid counselor Filing your FAFSA on time = being in line for more aid Know what makes up your financial aid award
How much “free’ money; how much in loans that will have to be paid back
Ask why, if your award changes Each year your cost of attendance will go
This means you will need more $ each year to stay in school
Know how much loan debt you are accumulating
Scholarships
Check within your major area of study Some departments offer scholarships only to juniors
and seniors – check websites, ask facultyCheck the Gonzaga Scholarship Database at
www.gonzaga.edu/financialaid (scholarship search)Check with your church, Rotary, Lyons Club, and
Chamber of CommerceGoogle Scholarships for College Students
NEVER pay for scholarship information Beware of scam ads
More Scholarship Sites
www.thewashboard.orgwww.aie.orgwww.brokescholar.comwww.collegeboard.orgwww.collegenet.comwww.collegesuccessfoundation.orgwww.fastweb.comwww.finaid.orgwww.free-4u.comwww.latinocollegedollars.orgwww.osac.state.or.uswww.scholarshipexperts.comwww.schoolsoup.comwww.coheao.com/about-2/scholarship
How to help yourself along the way
Know which loans can be affected by the types of jobs you get after graduation (*some future jobs can lead to loan forgiveness)
Check with Gonzaga Student Loans officeFind out about Public Service Loan Forgiveness - where your job after graduation can make you eligible for loan forgiveness (http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students)
Get a job NOW! Help pay down your tuition On-campus job (FWS or Institutional) Off-campus job (SWS or Community Job Board)
How to help you save along the way
Don’t eat out when you’re already paying for food on campus
Buy used books, buy on-line or rent them (CHEGG.com)
Take the bus or walk (student bus passes available in Crosby)
Use your student id for student discounts at area businesses (www.gonzaga.edu/benefits -->work/life -->employee discounts)
Track the money you spend - it goes faster than you think
Get cash at point of purchase not at an ATM that charges you $1.50-$3 per transaction!
Paying down your tuition costs by getting a job
(or how a minimum wage job can save you a bundle)
I know it doesn’t seem like you can earn much by working a few hours a week at minimum wage, but the reality is a lot better than you think, so take a second look!
10 hours per week x 4 weeks x minimum wage = $379 monthly earnings -$279 put toward tuition $100 spending money per
month $279 put toward tuition x 9 months each academic year $2511 put toward tuition
in one year x 4 years
$10,044 Amount you did not have to borrow
and pay back!!
Being Prepared
“A collegian who graduates without having learned the responsibility of a regular job is a graduate who isn’t prepared for the realities of the world.”
-----Yoder & Sons Spokesman Review
Having a degree just isn’t enough.
Working & Taxes
As a full time student, social security & medicare taxes are not taken out of your on-campus wages, so you take home more $
Be sure to file your taxes at the end of the year Everyone filing taxes can take a “standard
deduction” This typically offsets a student’s taxable wages,
meaning you may not have to pay Federal Income Tax
By not owing any tax, you’ll be eligible to get your Federal Withholding amount back
Budgeting: It’s basic add/subtract
It’s basic – Income less Expenses Calculate your monthly income from all
sources Calculate your fixed expenses like tuition
payment, car payment, gas, cell phone, books
Saving for a trip home or study abroad The difference is what you have to spend on
entertainment
The Cost of Debit
Even if you do not have money in your account, banks will “advance” you money to cover your debit purchase. This is a loan. Your overdraft fee will run you a minimum of $20 per occurrence and will go up depending on how long your “loan is for” and how many times you make purchases without sufficient money in your account.
Even though each debit transaction is electronic it doesn’t actually post against your checking account until the merchant “batches” his transactions, which could be twice daily, daily, every other day… So, when you check your account balance to see how much money you have, it isn’t necessarily a “real time” picture of what you have in your account!
The Cost of Credit
President Obama signed the Credit CardAccountability, Responsibility & Disclosure Act
in 2009 which made it illegal to issue credit cards to anyone under 21 years of age without
a parent’s signature.
The true cost of credit – an example
You charge a $10 pizza on your credit card 15 times as a freshman
You charge other items while in school as well
You only make the minimum payment each month on a card that is charging you 19.5% interest and the total never seems to go down
By the time you graduate those 15 $10 pizzas that originally cost $150 will have cost you $400 dollars.
Being smarter than your credit card
Delay using a credit card for as long as possible
Pay cash or don’t purchaseIf you do use a credit card - Paying only the
“minimum” costs you in a big way – credit card statements now show you how long it will take, and how much it will cost you if you pay only the minimum. So, pay attention!
Always pay a little more than the minimum and only charge emergency items
