Make The Most Of National Financial Literacy Month

Being a college student and handling a successful budget can be extremely difficult. On top of all of your other responsibilities, you now have financial aid, scholarships, loans, and basic college expenses to take care of. Here are tips to make the most of national financial literacy month and get in the habit of being financially savvy.

1.  Schedule an appointment to apply, check, and submit your financial aid early for the upcoming school year.

Making plans at your earliest convenience to tackle your financial plan towards receiving additional aid is very good. The application doesn’t take too long to fill out if you have the proper document or have requested by mail a report of it from the Internal Revenue Service. Stay organized, write down what you need to bring upon your follow-up appointment. It’s a rewarding feeling once you know you can cross this task off your to do checklist. Who knows what scholarships and major designation funding you qualify for!

2.  Set up a one-on-one appointment with a financial coach as soon as possible on campus to access your college saving budget.

So, upon entering college you’ve heard that textbooks, additional technology courses, on campus fees, parking, eating, and saving for cars and other finances can quickly deplete your pockets on a frequent basis.  Take valuable time out of your busy schedule to read through all the resources made available to you by your school’s financial aid center.

3.  Attend upcoming money week workshops on campus.

For example, at Houston Community College, we are currently in the process of celebrating #FinancialAidFridays throughout April.  If you choose to attend one of these informative workshops at one of the designated local campuses, you will have a chance not only to be the winner of a great scholarship, but HCC’s Houston Money Week is popular for giving you additional tips and professional advice for you to work on your budget.  You’ll meet great people that you potentially add to your professional network.  There will be seven meetups this month, just inquire!

4.  Take an online course on personal financial literacy or read a book about it.

Have extra time after long day at school?! Utilize your free time to do thorough research online with college professional websites such as well known CollegeBoard and Entrepreneur.com.  Another great way to learn about how to meet your personal finance goals is to read amazing books such as the popular Freakanomics book.  Access free virtual education online 24/7 with several courses for personal finance from great resources such as Udemy.com, Coursera, ALISON, and Khan Academy!

5.  Subscribe to a financial advisor’s podcast, read online about financial advice, or subscribe to a newsletter or financial success blog via email.

For college gals, we love to read blogs on how an inspiring woman got to her position, and famous lady entrepreneurs such as The Intern Queen and HerCampus’ ladies really have made an impact in the millennial and Gen-Z realms, and have ultimate success guides you can access with just your fingertips.   This is for the fellas, too. Subscribe to colorful, entertaining, and informative email newsletters of your favorite blogs and entrepreneurs (i.e. Mark Cuban) and you’ll have loads of information to intake from how to budget over the holidays to finding additional sources of income while living the college life.

 

Do you have any other tips to practice for national financial literacy month!? Share in the comments below!

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