Only 17 percent of college students seek information on personal finance and how to better manage their money. Enactus hosted Money Smart from the Start: Personal Finance Advice to Prepare You for the Real World for seniors Tuesday night.
Economics professor Colene Trent and Leaders Credit Union Branch Manager AJ Massey led the seminar. The professors discussed budgeting, saving and investing with students who will soon graduate into the reality of financial responsibility.
“Knowing that I will be out on my own, making my own financial decisions within just a few months was a major reason why I wanted to go to the lecture. Now that I am about to graduate college, I figured a refresher course on the basics of personal finance would help me out,” said Katelyn Walls, senior Christian thought and tradition and English double major. “Also, Enactus was smart and put ‘Free Chick-Fil-A’ in the subject-line of the email advertising for the lecture. That had me there before I even knew what the lecture was about.”
The seminar covered the basics of smart financing and the importance of a financially mature Christian lifestyle. Trent said students can bless others through their finances and encouraged them to give generously while living below their means.
Attendees were encouraged to think long term when making financial decisions and were shown that taking smart steps are necessary in any future career, regardless of income.
“The course taught students not how to make a lot of money after they graduate, but how to be good stewards of the money that they do make,” Walls said. “As with all courses at Union, this short lecture on personal finance integrated faith and learning—which is most valuable in the long run.”
