Financial Literacy
Here at Florida A&M University, we want to ensure that financial literacy is a part of your life. The Office of Financial Literacy is designed to help students develop and build a firm foundation for financial stability.
Helping to Prepare for the Future
The more you know, and the more you understand the logic of managing your finances, the better prepared you will be for life beyond FAMU. We offer educational services including coaching sessions, workshops, tutorial, and events. However, we do not provide any investment, legal, or tax advice. The information we provide is for general education purposes only, and is not intended to substitute for the advice of your investment, legal, and/or tax advisors or to be the basis of specific trading or investment activities. If you need investment, legal and/or tax advice, please consult with a professional.
What is Financial Literacy?
Financial literacy is the ability to understand and effectively utilize various financial skills in a responsible manner. This includes budgeting, handling money, dealing with credit, debt, protecting your identity, and managing your personal finances. Financial literacy is the foundation of building your relationship with money, and it is a lifelong journey of learning. The earlier you start, the better you will be, because education is the key to success when it comes to money.
Why is Financial Literacy so Important?
Having the ability to understanding your finances enables you to make sound decisions now and in the future. In a college and/or university environment, there are many complicated and difficult financial decisions that are often being made for the first time. By expanding your horizons with reliable resources, exploring your options concerning financial literacy, and making the choice to stay informed, students are significantly more likely to succeed and avoid common financial difficulties. Having a strong financial literacy platform can decrease financial downfalls and eliminate debt, as well as help you to build credit and achieve financial stability.
Financial Literacy Topics
Financial literacy covers topics such as saving money, budgeting, and managing debt.
It is recommended to save at least 10% of your income. If you are able to save a higher percentage, then go for it!
Also, you should have different savings accounts (or buckets) for different needs.
Here are some examples of different types of saving accounts or buckets you should have:
✓ Core savings to hold your money securely
✓ Emergency fund to cover any unexpected expenses life throws at you
✓ Fund to save for a house
✓ Fund to save for a car
There are many accounts/buckets you can use to save for different things. For each
person, this will be different so take some time to figure out what you are saving
for and how much of your income you will allocate to each bucket.
P.S: A bucket in personal finance is simply a means of dividing up money into certain
areas. Certain savings accounts let you have multiple buckets under one account so
you can divide your savings into multiple categories.
One of the most important aspects of personal finance is knowing where you stand financially. You cannot do this if you are not tracking and budgeting.
First, you need to create a spreadsheet or table with two columns, one for income and one for expenses.
And… you guessed it! You will then list out all your means of income and then all the expenses you have (it’s best to do this as monthly income and expenses)
Rattler Budget Worksheet
Please use our Rattler Budget Worksheet as a tool to help anticipate your educational expenses. We have included some step-by-step instructions for completing the budget worksheet below. This worksheet is editable. You can type in your information, save as a PDF document, print and/or forward your information to the Financial Literacy Debt Advisor/Counselor for further review prior to scheduling a consultation.
One of the most common factors that keeps people from achieving financial freedom is debt.
If you don’t learn how to handle debt properly, you can find yourself in a deep hole
that is very hard to get out of! Unfortunately, for many people, debt will be accumulated
at some point in
their lives. Whether it’s student loans, a mortgage, or a car loan, debt will cause
you to pay more for the item/service in the long run due to interest so make an effort
to pay off your debts as
soon as possible!
Track every debt you have and start paying them down each month to save money in the long run!
As you are saving money, making money, and investing money, you have to make sure all your financial accounts are secure. Hacking is a huge issue that is continually getting worse as everything is moving to digital form.
With online banking, online investing platforms, and financial tracking apps, your information is all over the internet which can be a prime target for hackers.
To secure your financial accounts, you need to set strong passwords that are unique
to each
account and to set up two-factor authentication on your accounts if possible.
How Can I Learn More about Financial Success? The following resources can help you understand and improve your financial situation:
Want to Connect?
If you are interested in scheduling a coaching session or workshop, connected with one of our Financial Literacy Debt Advisor/Counselor via email to make those arrangements.
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Mr. Jermaine Kershner CASS Building, Room 203 jermaine1.kershner@famu.edu or financialliteracy@famu.edu |