Health and Human Services Professional Development

Deep in Debt? Start Managing Now by   Linda Simpson   on   July 9, 2013   Managing debt early in life is critical, and poor choices in college, or young adulthood, can lead to long term consequences.  Although student loans may be inevitable in order to achieve a college degree, it is the discretionary spending that must be monitored and kept under control. Student loans should be used for tuition, not to fund spring break trips and weekend entertainment. A poor credit score will lead to higher interest rates on loans or the inability to even get a loan.  Some excellent resources are provided below to help you stay on track now so that you will not be suffering consequences for the next 20-30 years on the “fun” that you are having today. Resources: www.cashcourse.org  – Sponsored by the National Endowment for Financial Educators and offers online workshops www.money.cnn.com  – offers several articles, tools, and guides on money manag...

Will You Live the American Dream? by   Mikki Sherwood   on   September 10, 2013   Adam Levin   is the former Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and is the founder of Credit.com and Identity Theft 911. He recently posted on   Huffington Post’s   Business Blog. He titled his writing,   “The New American Dream: It’s Not What You Think.”   Mr. Levin cites a recent credit.com poll that found that approximately one in four people between the ages of 18 and 24 would describe the “American Dream” as being free of debt. Interestingly, in the past, home ownership was the definition of the American Dream. Historically home ownership has been seen as the pinnacle of stability and success for U.S. Americans. In fact, old laws required that citizens be required to own a home before being allowed to register to vote. The recession, however, has caused young adults to view the ownership of a home as far out of reach. In fact, basic...

Drowning in Credit Card Debt by   Guest Author, Ashley Bigard   on   July 26, 2014   It is not uncommon to graduate from college with a high amount of debt. Student loans can quickly add up, yet another contributing factor is the use of credit cards. Credit cards are more available than in the past, enticing a majority of today’s college students to use credit cards to pay for their living expenses. This is making it even easier for students to end up in debt upon graduation. Knowledge about positive financial behavior is related to responsible credit card use among college students. Luckily, there are many tools that can help students gain the knowledge they need to live within their means so that credit cards do not have to be an option. There are apps, websites and calculators that can assist with budgeting. In addition, many universities provide financial literacy education to students. The best thing a student can do is figure out a budget and...

Eating on a Budget: 5 Ways to Fill Your Belly When Your Wallet is Empty by   Natasha Chong Cole, MPH, RD   on   August 8, 2014 Eating healthy does not have to be expensive.  Here are 5 ways to stretch your food budget: 1.       Drink More Water Instead of spending money on bottled drinks, invest in a  filtered water bottle  and refill often! Bottled water is no different from tap water in terms of  safety . If you’re not a fan of plain water, here are some  tips  on how to make drinking water taste better. 2.       Plan Your Menus Check out deals at your local grocery store and plan meals based on what’s on sale. Create menus and  grocery lists  in advance and stick to your budget! 3.       Bulk Cook and Freeze Once you plan your menus then the next step is to find recipes that you can bulk cook and freeze. Bulk and  fr...

Don’t Let Credit Card Use Drown You in Debt! by   Ashley Bigard, Guest Author   on   November 17, 2014 It is not uncommon to graduate from college with a high amount of debt. While student loans can quickly add up, another contributing factor is the use of credit cards. Credit cards are more available than in the past, enticing a majority of today’s college students to use credit cards to pay for their living expenses. This is making it even easier for students to end up in debt upon graduation. Knowledge about positive financial behavior is related to responsible credit card use among college students. Luckily, there are many tools that can help students gain the knowledge they need to live within their means so that credit cards do not have to be an option. There are apps, websites and calculators that can assist with budgeting. In addition, many universities provide financial literacy education to students. The best thing a student can do is figur...