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...

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...