By: EVA MONHAUT
emonhaut@iu.edu
Staff Writer
“Money, Money, Money. I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills, I have to pay,” sound familiar? If you can relate to those classics lyrics from Money Money Money by ABBA, you may benefit from some of the tips covered in the three-part lecture series collaboration between IU South Bend’s Honors Program and 1st Source Bank.
The first event in the series took place on Wednesday, September 19 in the student housing building. Speakers Mari Hernandez and Luis Zapata of 1st Source Bank focused on how to save money and keep a budget. In addition to being the Vice President of Financial Wellness at 1st Source, Zapata teaches courses on banking and finance here at IU South Bend in The School of Business and Economics.
Hernandez is the leader of the IU South Bend branch of 1st Source, located in the main hallway in the administration building. She has recently completed a Bachelor’s degree in organizational management from Bethel and is currently working towards her Master’s.
Between the two of them, several helpful insights were shared with students looking to save money for their futures and create a budget. See “Tips for saving and budgeting money” for some of the highlights from the lecture.
“We want to have money saved up because life is going to hit you… saving for emergencies is that safety net for you,” said Zapata.
Honors Program Director, Neovi Karakatsanis, was eager to discuss the importance of money management.
“The Honors Program determined that the basics of money management—budgeting, saving, investing and even giving—are key to our students’ long-term success, and we decided to devote the fall semester of our Honors Talks Series to this topic, hoping to better-educate our students on the importance of being smart with their finances,” said Karakatsanis.
“We want students to think seriously about the consequences of the decisions they take, such knowledge will help them avoid debt and improve their long-term financial security,” elaborated Karakatsanis.
More information about the upcoming talks on October 16 and November 20 will be available on Titan Atlas. Both talks will be from 6-7:15 P.M. in the Study Room of the Community Building in Housing. These talks will offer insights into other important financial topics such as building good credit and saving for the future.
Some Important tips for saving and budgeting your money:
- Set up specific, realistic goals with deadlines
- Automatically save a certain percentage of your paycheck before paying any expenses. Putting money into saving allows it to collect interest and build emergency funds.
- Keep pay stubs and ledgers of your expenses.
- Consider downloading an app, there are a lot of apps out there to help you keep track of your expenses.
- Avoid “money leaks,” that is, small regular expenses that add up over a period of time. For example, a daily cup of coffee can add up to around a thousand dollars by the end of the year.
- Know your net income after deductions.
- Chart out your needs versus wants and prioritize these expenses.
- Invest your money to increase your savings
- Use tools such as online banking, mobile banking, and money management
