By Ashley Hays/reporter
Students learned how to manage money at the Save and Build for the Future presentation April 5.
NE financial aid specialist Joe Rodriguez helped students with financial aid and helped them understand the importance of budgeting.
“They don’t teach the basic needs of how to balance a checkbook in school anymore,” he said. “A lot of millennials don’t even know what a registry is.”
Rodriguez gave students suggestions on making saving as simple as possible. He told students to treat their savings accounts like another mandatory bill.
“Pay yourself first,” he said. “Transfer money from your checking account to your savings account before you pay your electric bill, your cable, anything. You’re more likely to save if you treat your savings account as a priority, like rent or electricity.”
When saving for something, Rodriguez said to be specific.
“Instead of saying, ‘I want to buy a computer,’ say ‘I want to buy a Mac 18-inch laptop,’” he said. “Having a goal will make it easier to follow through with.”
He suggested students write down their savings goals and place those goals somewhere they can be seen.
Rodriguez said timing is an important part of setting goals.
“Set a time frame to reach your goal,” he said. “Decide when you want to meet it and stick to it.”
Rodriguez also explained the benefits of keeping money in a bank.
Cash is more susceptible to being stolen, lost or ruined when kept on hand, he said, adding that for people to earn interest, they should invest their money into a savings account.
