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Author: ekoochel

Road trips ahead!

Posted on by ekoochel

A great way to spend the weekend is traveling around the country to see new and exciting places. Whether it is following a sports team or visiting friends, the possibilities are endless when developing a road trip. Not to mention, you gain a greater appreciation for the destination after a road trip of sightseeing and adventure. Being in a centrally located area of the United States makes it easy to go to different places. Colorado, Missouri, and Texas are just some of the states that would make a good weekend trip! Although flying may be faster, it is much more expensive than driving. Here are some steps to ensure a successful road trip with your friends on a budget.

The Destination

This should be the number one question when traveling. Where do you want to go? Once you have selected your destination you can begin planning how long it will take to get there, and determine how long you would like stay. It’s important to note that in some places your will dollar will not go as far. For example, a trip to a larger city may be more expensive than a trip to the countryside. One way to save on expenses is to travel in a group, then you can split the cost of food, drink, transportation, hotel, etc. You can also save a considerable amount of money by making plans early.  Take advantage of deals and discounts that come along with booking your trip in advance.

The Travel

For some people traveling is the worst, but for me traveling is half of the excitement. The travel makes the place you are going a lot more special in my opinion. Depending on where you are going, it could take a couple of hours or a day to get to your destination. One side effect of being on the road for so long is unnecessary stops or expenses. You can avoid this by packing your own food and drinks so that you do not have to spend money at a gas station, or on fast food. When you are with other people be sure to split the cost of gas, it can be one of the greater expenses for the trip, but minimized if everyone contributes.

There are several expenses that come along with traveling. Hotel, food, and entertainment are three major expenditures on a road trip. You can reduce your spending if you ratio your spending and plan your trip ahead of time. You can start by putting a little money aside each week to start saving for an upcoming trip.  Come see Powercat Financial for all for all of your budgeting and financial questions. We would be happy to help you set up a savings plan to ensure your best road trip yet!

Joshua Zdeb

Peer Financial Counselor I

Spring Is in The Air

Posted on by ekoochel

With only one day left of winter and with warmer temperatures outside, we are getting more anxious to go outside and do things. However, that might be costly for the wallet. Here are a few tips to how you can save money and be more prepared for the Spring with very little inconvenience.

Spring Break, NOT Spring Broke

Spring Break, NOT Spring Broke is an event arranged by us, Powercat Financial, on Thursday March 2nd from 12 – 1:30pm in the Student Union on the Ground Floor Courtyard. The event will consist of some minute to win it games with great prizes. We will be giving out four 10oz Yeti tumblers and three 30oz Yeti tumblers. There will also be a money vault with real cash! In addition to great prizes, we will be giving out financial advice and tools you can use to help you be financially successful both for Spring Break, and while in college in general. There will be a special tip work sheet for Spring Break. This event is in collaboration Wildcat Wellness week, and aimed to help students be money savvy and make college even better.

Apps That Make You Money

There are several apps and websites designed to pay you, offer rewards, or even a free product just for providing a review. All of the above are great ways to save and even earn a little money while in college. The easiest of them all is Pocket Points. You simply open the app and lock your phone during class. The more time you are off your phone during class, the more points you get. The more points, the better discounts you get to both local and online stores. The app is as good as it is easy and even helps encourage you to stay off your phone and pay attention while in class. Here is a great article to learn more about the different apps that help you earn money with a review of what they do. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gobankingrates/20-apps-that-make-you-mon_b_7949606.html. It is always highly encouraged that you do your own research and find the apps that work best for you.

Saving While Shopping

Several stores around Manhattan offer customer rewards cards, they are a great way to save money both in the long and short run. For example, Both Dillons and Hy-Vee give you fuel points in addition to in store discounts and special deals. Dillons offers participants one free item every Friday just for having their app and purchasing the free Friday download. Some stores offer a discounted price just for simply having the card. Keep in mind that there is a difference between rewards cards and in-store credit cards, a rewards card does not require a credit check! You can also save while shopping by finding the cheaper stores. Aldi is known to be a cheaper grocery store and an easy way to save money on at least the basic necessities.

Budget

With the warm weather also comes thoughts about Summer. If you have plans or want to make plans, now is a great time to start saving. This can be done very easily by filling out the spending worksheet on our website, http://www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial/budgeting/.  We ask you to prioritize needs vs wants and to make an estimated budget. Based on this you will track your actual spending and see what spending habits may need to change in order to save as much money as you would like. A budget does take time and discipline but it also is the best way to save money in the long run and help you plan to do the things you want to do.

Finally, remember that Powercat Financial is here to help! For more tips, and help completing a spending plan make an appointment with a peer financial counselor today at www.ksu.edu/powercatfinancial.

Kristin Gundersen

Peer Counselor I

 

 

Your Guide for Senior Year

Posted on by ekoochel

Senior year, while characterized by fun, maybe too much from time to time, can also be characterized by overwhelming stress regarding finding a job. At times, finding a job may seem impossible, but the good news is K-State is here to help you succeed in this endeavor…and here’s how!

Meet With Your Career Advisor

Meeting with your career advisor is an excellent way to jump start the job hunting process and to help you go the extra mile to set yourself apart from other candidates. Whether you don’t know what type of job you want or you want advice on how to score a job in your favorite city, your career advisor at the Career Center is here to help you. You can set up your free advising appointment by calling the Career Center at 785-532-6506.

On top of this, your college may also offer career advising services. For instance, if you’re majoring in the College of Business Administration, you can meet with a Career Coach by calling 785-532-3982 or by emailing CDBusiness@ksu.edu and receive some specialized advice for your specific major. If you’re outside of the College of Business, I recommend contacting your department and seeing what services are available.

Did I mention it’s all free?

Your Resume

Unless you have already been networking with recruiters, your resume is the first impression that employers will have of you. Making sure your resume is free from error and top of the line can be difficult with only one set of eyes. Having your resume looked at by your parents, roommate, coworker, etc. can help make sure that your resume isn’t tossed out for an “it’s/its” catastophe. It can also be difficult to put your expereinces into words, so having a professional in your industry review your resume can help as well. Asking your professors or your professional mentor to review your resume can also be a great way to make it through this stage of the job hunting process. The Career Center also offers resume critique drop-in times from 12:00-4:00pm Monday through Thursdays.

Interviews

Interviews can be terrifying, but luckily there are some resources that will help reduce this stress and help you obtain your dream job. Many K-State colleges host their own mock interviews conducted by professionals in the industry. You can also set up a mock interview with your career advisor. If you’re tight on time and your interview is around the corner, the Career Center has some awesome tips for acing your interview at http://www.k-state.edu/careercenter/documents/interviewpreparationpresentation.pdf. Further, looking up some common interview questions like those at the Glassdoor (https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/common-interview-questions/) can help you prepare for your interview.

Career Fairs

While the All-University Career fair is in the Fall, K-State offers several in the Spring! The Business Career Fair is coming up on Februray 22nd, as well as Education On-Campus Interviews will be coming up on March 6th. The Design Expo, for opportunities in architecture, product design, graphic design, and more, will also be coming up on on March 10th. For more information on any of these events, please visit http://www.k-state.edu/careercenter/students/events/.

Job Offers

Congrats on the job offer! You did it, but now which job offer do you accept? For some, this can be an easy decision based on location, type of job, start date, or other factors that are important to you. A lot of the time though, it can come down to the compensation. You may miss out on an awesome opportunity by only comparing salary to salary, instead of taking the benefits offered into consideration. Benefits such as health insurance, vacation time, 401(k) plans, and disability insurance can all greatly increase the value of the job offer. You can find lots of great information on how to analyze a job offer by using your free account at www.saltmoney.org. You can also set up an appointment with a Powercat Financial Counselor (www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial/services) and you and your counselor can work through it together!

Jillian Taylor – Peer Financial Counselor III

 

 

Ski the Slopes the $mart Way

Posted on by ekoochel

Spring Break is just around the corner and that means it’s time to plan your ski trip! There are many venues and resorts you could choose to go to while on your trip and for a great price, if you book ahead. You must keep a few things in mind while you’re planning your budget friendly trip.

How many people are going?

You must know the amount people going, not only for traveling and carpooling purposes, but also for sleeping accommodations. Trivago website, a popular travel planning website, says that you should look ahead of time and book a hotel at least one month in advance in order to find the cheapest prices. So mark it on your calendar when you want to leave for your ski trip and book your hotel in one-month advance. This will ensure you save money, rather than just booking it the day of and paying an inflated price due to the popularity and demand for hotels because of skiers during spring break. http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4070411.html

How many days are you staying?

The amount of days you stay is not only important for booking the hotel and knowing how long to book it, but for also financial reasons as well. It is statistically proven that the more days you spend skiing, then the less you spend each day.  Refer to the photo below. You can notice that you spend less on the 5th day compared to the 4th day and so on and so forth. Keep in mind, the longer you stay the less expensive per day it is for you, BUT the total price will keep increasing. Ski resorts want you to stay longer and that’s why they decrease the price per day. But you should have a set amount of days you are planning on staying and stick to that instead of staying longer and longer because of the good price because this could affect your budget substantially. This should be taken into consideration when planning your ski trip budget.

Do you have Ski Equipment?

Another thing you should take into consideration is the ski equipment you need in order to ski. Do you have ski pants or skis or ski poles? You need to know ahead of time where you plan on getting your equipment if you don’t have any. You should compare prices and not settle for the first one you come across. Maybe ask family members or friends if you could borrow ski equipment from them so you can keep the cost of the trip low.

What’s your Budget?

Last but not least, you should know your budget and how much you want to spend on your trip. You will have to know the cost and fees to go skiing and also the other expenses that will occur, such as food and gas expenses. There are several tools you can use in helping you budget for your trip. One tool is an app you can download on your phone called Mint. This app allows you to connect your bank and credit card and thus tracks the spending. You can say you only want to spend X amount on this category and mint will help you keep track of how much you are spending and let you know how much you have left. It can be a very helpful. Another helpful source would be the budget spreadsheet on the Powercat Financial Counseling website www.ksu.edu/powercatfinancial. If you click on the Budgeting tab on the website, then you will be directed to lots of great information and excel spreadsheets that you can utilize in your budgeting process of your trip planning.

And finally, don’t forget to have fun. You can make a lot of memories and have a ton of fun on college ski trips without breaking your bank. You just have to remember to create a budget before you go and map out all of your expenses. Keep track of your money when you spend it and mentally think, Is this part of my budget? This will help you have fun and also not stress about money. Now you should be ready to Ski the Slopes the $Mart Way!

Hannah Eilert – Peer Financial Counselor I

New Year, New Space

Posted on by ekoochel

Just as the New Year has seen a number of new changes, Powercat Financial has too! Not only do we have a new name, Powercat Financial finally has moved in to our new location. With all these changes, we want to share our new space with the people it benefits: the students of Kansas State.

New Location:

Gone are the days of meeting in small study rooms in the basement of Hale Library. Powercat Financial is proud to now be located on the third floor of the Kansas State Student Union in room 302. Students no longer have to worry about being late to their session simply because they can’t find the room.

New Space:

Powercat Financial now is able to conduct client sessions in a more professional setting as we are no longer trying to crowd too many people in a too small space. Each meeting room is equipped with a large computer screen that can easily be seen by everyone in the session. All of our meeting rooms also have large windows, so the days of meeting in small rooms with only florescent lighting are a thing of the past. If you are just wanting to stop by to say hello or maybe you have a quick question you would like to ask, we now have a front desk so go ahead, stop on by.

Student Benefits:

Powercat Financial’s new location allows us to offer our services to students in a convenient and easy to access location on campus. Powercat Financial makes asking your financial questions easy with our peer to peer financial services. Simply go to our website, http://www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial, click “Request an Appointment”, and complete the appointment request questions to schedule your session. It’s as easy as that! You don’t even have to leave campus to receive help answering your financial questions. Peer Financial Counselors are available at varying times between 8 am and 5 pm on Monday thru Friday, so there’s no excuse not to schedule an appointment.

Come See Us:

Whether you are wanting to schedule an appointment to get help with your financial questions or you just want to come see what all the talk is about, come on over to our new space on the third floor of the Kansas State Student Union. Simply take the northeast stairs or elevator across from the Union Little Theatre to the third floor and we are on the left!

Larissa Liggett
Peer Counselor I
Powercat Financial Counseling
www.k-state.edu/pfc

Planning for a SMART New Year

Posted on by ekoochel

Image result for new years and planning

As we approach the end of the year, we often reflect on what we have and have not accomplished throughout the year.  When we set our goals and New Year’s resolutions, we have grand ideas and plans.  One way to achieve our plans is to set SMART goals rather than general ones.

Be specific.  It is difficult to achieve a vague idea.  For example, set a definitive goal of I would like to take a vacation in June to California instead of I would like to take a vacation someday.  Not only does this give you a time-frame, it allows you to research what you need to achieve this – such as costs.

Next, your goal should be measurable.  By knowing the details, you can set incremental goals to achieve the bigger, overall goal.  Take my trip to California – I need to know the cost I plan on spending and when I am going, so I can start saving now.  For instance, if my trip is going to cost me $500, and I plan on going in 6 months, I need to save just under $85 per month.  I will be able to measure my progress each month as I save money.

Your goal should be achievable.  If I currently have no income, it will be very difficult to save $85 per month.  A better goal at this point would be to find a job, so I can have the money to save for a vacation.

Having a relevant goal is important.  If it does not matter to you, you will not be motivated to achieve it.  Personal values and aspirations are necessary components of setting goals that matter to you.  Why do I want to go to California?  For me, it is not just a fun vacation, but I have family there that I haven’t been able to see for a while; therefore, I am more motivated to save money each month.

Finally, having a time-frame will help you reach your goals.  While I would love to go to California next month, I will not have the time to save the money by then.  Also, setting the time-frame far enough out (June), but not too far (such as sometime in the future) gives you more specific direction.

Whether your ambitions are financial, related to school or a future job, as you approach goal-setting next year make sure you set SMART goals.

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-frame

Fulfilling your New Year’s resolutions will be within your reach!

Shari Humbard
Peer Counselor II
Powercat Financial Counseling