'Journey to Financial Wellness' teaches students how to manage money after college
CMU alumnus Anthony Lazzaro gives his afternoon presentation "Student Loan Calculator" at the Journey to Financial Wellness Conference on April 17 in the Bovee University Center.
Central Michigan University students learned more about managing finances and budgeting after college at "Journey to Financial Wellness" on April 17.
Hosted by CMU's Financial Wellness Collaborative, the conference featured informational sessions with faculty members, alumni and community members who aimed to teach students how to better handle their finances.
The event featured several breakout sessions, with topics such as "The Importance of Finances After Graduation," "Salary Negotiation" and "Get Smart About Credit."
Kelsey Stewart, Assistant Director of Financial Aid, discussed paying for college through loans in her session “Federal and Student Loan Debt & Repayment." She discussed the differences between government and private loans, the parent PLUS loan, repayment plans, loan terms and interest rates.
She emphasized the importance of budgeting and living frugally in college while minimizing the number of loans taken out each year. She also encouraged students to visit the office of financial aid to discuss their specific loan situations.
Comstock Park sophomore Danielle Swafford said she attended the conference to learn about handling her own finances.
“Finance as a whole is something that’s really scary to a lot of college students,” Swafford said
Manager of Financial Services John Gawryk presented “The Importance of Finances After Graduation.” He began his talk with a discussion on the economic situation the millennial generation is facing. College-aged members of the workforce were better off in 1989 than young members of the workforce today, he said, because inflation has outpaced wages.
“College is no longer a ticket to the middle class,” Gawryk said. “It’s a supply and demand issue. You’re the biggest generation this country has ever seen, you outnumber the baby boomers.”
Gawryk’s talk focused on how to repay student loans as fast as possible after graduation.
He also discouraged students from keeping all of their money in the bank because the return rate, the rate at which one’s savings account grows annually, is far lower than inflation. Keeping no more than $5,000 in a savings account is preferable with the rest of one’s savings in stock market investments.
“You can’t borrow your way out of debt,” he said.
