Spring Break
Debtbusters teaches fiscal responsibility
Lauren Hoffman/Staff Reporter
Issue date: 9/28/09 Section: News
A solution to student debt may be 10 weeks away.
Debtbusters, a free 10-week program sponsored by the Health Education Resource Center, begins at 7 p.m. today in the Arcola/Tuscola Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.
Debtbusters will offer a different financial session every week. The main topics will be budgeting, getting out of debt, saving and investing. Other sessions will include credit scores, what is on a credit report and overall consumer wellness.
Each session will show a video clip from financial educator Dave Ramsey's series, "Foundations in Personal Finance." Discussion and a game with giveaways will follow the video clip.
This week's focus is "DebtBusters! Save Your Dough and Just Say No!"
This program is a way for students to become more financially independent. DebtBusters can help students learn money management skills that they might not be able to learn from an academic class.
Credit card usage is also at an all time high. Credit cards can be a dangerous tool to students when they are making only the minimum payments and overspending. Some credit cards have hidden fees, and many have high interest rates.
According to Ramsey, a person is likely to spend 12 to 18 percent more on purchases if they go shopping only with a credit card rather than using cash only.
Seventy-eight percent of college students have credit cards, and the typical student carries a balance of $3,200. One out of 10 college students carries a balance of more than $7,800, according to Nellie Mae, a student loan company.
For more financial information, students can contact the HERC at 581-7786 or herc@eiu.edu.
Lauren Hoffman can be reached at 581-7942 or at Dennewsdesk@gmail.com.
Debtbusters, a free 10-week program sponsored by the Health Education Resource Center, begins at 7 p.m. today in the Arcola/Tuscola Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.
Debtbusters will offer a different financial session every week. The main topics will be budgeting, getting out of debt, saving and investing. Other sessions will include credit scores, what is on a credit report and overall consumer wellness.
Each session will show a video clip from financial educator Dave Ramsey's series, "Foundations in Personal Finance." Discussion and a game with giveaways will follow the video clip.
This week's focus is "DebtBusters! Save Your Dough and Just Say No!"
This program is a way for students to become more financially independent. DebtBusters can help students learn money management skills that they might not be able to learn from an academic class.
Credit card usage is also at an all time high. Credit cards can be a dangerous tool to students when they are making only the minimum payments and overspending. Some credit cards have hidden fees, and many have high interest rates.
According to Ramsey, a person is likely to spend 12 to 18 percent more on purchases if they go shopping only with a credit card rather than using cash only.
Seventy-eight percent of college students have credit cards, and the typical student carries a balance of $3,200. One out of 10 college students carries a balance of more than $7,800, according to Nellie Mae, a student loan company.
For more financial information, students can contact the HERC at 581-7786 or herc@eiu.edu.
Lauren Hoffman can be reached at 581-7942 or at Dennewsdesk@gmail.com.
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