Kansas State University

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Kansas State University is offering free financial workshops for all students to help you build financial skills and enhance your financial well-being on the following topics for Spring 2023 semester:

• Budgeting – Gain methods and tools needed to reach your financial goals.
• Credit & Student Loans – Understand the advantages and disadvantages of credit, how to improve your credit score and how to navigate student loan decisions.
• Money Beliefs – Determine who and what influences your money beliefs to help you overcome financial stress and build financial resilience.

You have the option to sign-up in OrgCentral to either attend workshops in-person or to participate in an online non-enrolled Canvas course. NOTE:You must sign into OrgCentral with your K-State single sign-on user ID and password.

PEER LED IN-PERSON OPTION: The 3 workshops can be attended in person in various locations around campus. Dates, times and locations of in-person workshops and registration can be found in OrgCentral at https://orgcentral.k-state.edu. NOTE: Only the in-person workshops are eligible for Cat Trax credit via the OrgCentral platform upon completion of a post-workshop reflection survey.

ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE OPTION: The 3 online asynchronous workshops are reviewed independently at your own pace via a free non-enrolled Canvas course by signing up in OrgCentral at https://cglink.me/2pS/s356.

As part of all the Building Financial Well-being workshops, students will schedule an appointment with Powercat Financial for a free college financial planning session which has been shown to reduce financial stress and positively impact student loan borrowing.

Let’s Go Abroad

Studying abroad can be one of the greatest decisions of your college career. Exploring and immersing yourself in a new culture has many personal benefits. It can improve your outlook on life, spark creativity, allow you to connect with different cultures and people, and create lifelong memories. However, studying abroad can be expensive. So, how can you afford to study abroad while already living on a college budget?

Create a Budget

Creating your budget should be the first thing you do when considering studying abroad. You will need to identify if you can afford to go abroad. This should be done months in advance before boarding your plane. This budget should be as in-depth as possible. Identify and estimate all foreseeable costs, (passport or visa applications, tuition, books, housing, meals, bottled water, plane and train tickets, transit (i.e. metro or taxi), souvenirs, and any possible excursions. Once these costs are estimated, you will need to look at your current bank account and other resources you will have access to such as scholarships, work income and financial aid to cover the total costs. Do you currently have enough money from these combined resources to pay for the trip?

The peer counselors at Powercat Financial are great at helping students identify their current budget. If you are not wanting to come in to Powercat Financial to create this budget, you will need to first find a budgeting tool to use.  We have a spending plan worksheet that you can access HERE, or I would suggest making a free account at www.mint.com. When starting your budget go through and identify if your expenses are a need or a want. Since we are trying to save for a study abroad trip, I would highly suggest that you cut down on the wants in your life. By cutting down on the wants you can put that money towards studying abroad. Another suggest I will make is to create a separate savings account that is strictly for going abroad. This way you can keep everything separate. If you have a job, consider putting 10-20% of each paycheck into the new savings account. Another great way to pay for the semester abroad is to apply for scholarships. K-State studying abroad scholarships can be found here: https://www.k-state.edu/abroad/current-students/funding/scholarships.html.

Does your Credit/Debit Card Work in Foreign Countries

Congratulations, you are in your study abroad program! You are now ALMOST ready to board your flight. You will now need to figure out if your current credit and/or debit card can work overseas and incur if any swipes made overseas are subject to additional fees. You can easily check with your bank on this matter and if need be, obtain a card that does not have costly fees. It is also extremely important to put each card you plan on using overseas on a travel notice. This way your card will not be frozen by your bank.

Establish an Emergency Fund

Finally, you will need to prepare for any surprises that can affect your finances and your abroad experience. You can include an emergency fund in your initial budget.  You never know what can happen (losing your wallet, pickpockets, extra travel, etc.) be prepared for the unforeseeable. It is important to always have a back up plan.

If you need help budgeting for your semester abroad or any other financial need, please visit Powercat Financial and we will love to help you! All appointments can be made on our website: www.ksu.edu/powercatfinancial

Eli McDonald

Graduate Assistant

Powercat Financial

302 K-State Student Union, Third Floor

918 N. 17^th Street

Manhattan, KS 66506-2800

785.532.2889

www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial

PowercatFinancial@k-state.edu

What Is Federal Student Loan Debt Relief?

It’s a program that provides eligible borrowers with full or partial discharge of loans up to $20,000 to Federal Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 to non-Pell Grant recipients. Multiple lawsuits have emerged to challenge President Biden’s executive order to cancel up to $20,000 per borrower and the final outcomes are not known as of this date. However, below are the details outlined by the Department of Education at this time.

What Types Of Student Loans Qualify?

• Nearly every type of federal student loan qualifies for forgiveness, including direct subsidized or unsubsidized loans and graduate or parent PLUS loans. If your loans qualified for the federal student loan payment pause, they are eligible for this forgiveness opportunity.
• However, most Federal Family Education loans (FFEL) and Perkins loans that are not held by the federal government are ineligible for forgiveness. Borrowers with this kind of debt who applied for a direct consolidation loan before Sept. 29, 2022 should be eligible, but all other borrowers in this category currently cannot get forgiveness.
• Private student loans are also ineligible for forgiveness.

 Who Qualifies?

• Individuals who made less than $125,000 in 2021 or 2020
• Families that made less than $250,000 in 2021 or 2020

How It Works

Apply today (but no later than Dec. 31, 2023). They will determine your eligibility and will contact you if they need more information. After it has gone through the process your loan servicer will notify you when your relief has been processed.

Where Do I Apply?

To apply for student loan forgiveness you will need to go to studentaid.gov to proceed. Alternatively, you can clink on this link that will take you straight to the application on studentaid.gov.

https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief/application

Will Student Loan Forgiveness Get Blocked By The Courts?

This is a question that a lot of students and borrows are speculating on and there honestly is no answer to this yet. The best way to keep up to date on what will happen is to go directly to studentaid.gov and go to their announcement page to keep up to date. You can find that link below.

https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/covid-19

Would I Qualify If I Take Out Money This Year?

Unfortunately, if you did not take out loans in prior years you would not qualify for this relief as well as if you had taken out private loans in the past instead of federal student loans.

If you need help creating a budget Powercat Financial is here to help we offer free and confidential appointments in-person as well as on zoom. Appointment can be scheduled by students online via Navigate with instructions found at www.ksu.edu/powercatfinancial.

Jaden Blansett

Graduate Assistant

Powercat Financial

302 K-State Student Union, Third Floor

918 N. 17th Street

Manhattan, KS 66506-2800

785.532.2889

www.ksu.edu/powercatfinancial

PowercatFinancial@k-state.edu

Powercat Financial is having our annual “Thrifty Gifting”  event coming up on November 8^th, from 4:30pm to 5:30pm in the Union room 227. During this event you will learn how to manage and save money during the holiday season. There will also be free food, fun games and lots of cool prizes!

In 2021 the average US individual budgeted around $1,000 on holiday gifts. With inflation at a record high this number is likely to increase for 2022. For most college students that can be the majority of their paycheck or savings, which in return could make the holiday season a lot more stressful than it needs to be. If you are looking to enjoy the holidays stress free, it is important to create a spending plan specifically for the holiday season. Whether you’re struggling with overspending during the holidays or are just simply looking for better ways to budget around the holidays, here are a few tips and tricks that I have found.

• Set a Maximum Spending Limit

The first step and arguably the most important step in the holiday budgeting process is to figure out how much you can spend. Now this is different on a person to person basis and can be tough to figure out for yourself, but it is important to establish a hard limit to ensure that you stay on budget. A good way to do this is to think of how many gifts you are going to be buying and find a reasonable gift price average. For example, if you are buying gifts for 8 different people and you want to spend $50/person than your overall holiday budget would be $400. Now if you project that you are going to have other holiday expenses such as travel, food or decorations it is important to estimate and add those on to your overall budget as well.

• Finding the Best Deals

One of the most crucial parts of the holiday budgeting process is finding the right gifts and also finding them at a decent price. There are plenty of stores that have early Black Friday deals. Places such as Apple, Amazon and Garmin currently have deals on a lot of their everyday items preparing for the rush of holiday shoppers. Attached is a blog post that has a lot of great early black Friday deals that are currently going on https://www.tomsguide.com/deals/best-black-friday-deals.

• Saving Up Year-Round

Holiday budgeting doesn’t just start a couple months or week before the season. It is very important to be thinking ahead throughout the whole year. The cost of holiday budgeting can often be overwhelming and un-doable for a one-two month budget. Save yourself some stress and financial burden by slowly saving up cash throughout the year for these special expenses.

• Find Other Work

If you are struggling to find room in your budget for these holiday expenses, you might need to find some seasonal/part-time jobs to help get you through these expenses. This new source of income can be used to cover most if not all of your holiday expenses.

Holiday budgeting can be stressful and can easily get out of control if you don’t closely pay attention to what you are spending your money on. That is why it is important to follow these steps to help lower your financial stress around the holiday seasons!

Feel free to stop by Powercat Financial and we can assist you in creating your holiday budget! We are located on the 3^rd floor of the Union in room 302.

Kolby Stein

Peer Counselor II

Powercat Financial

www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial

Money impacts everything else you do in life, so it’s essential to manage it well. However, it can be difficult to find programs or apps that can simplify the process of financial management. Included in this post are five of the best programs and apps that can help you with everything from managing money to learning about investments.

Best Money Management App: Mint

This free and widely respected app from Intuit, the makers of TurboTax®, can help you with several financial tasks: make budgets, track spending, pay bills, and keep an eye on investments. It allows you to connect all your accounts, including banks and credit card providers. Convenient features include bill payment reminders and customized budget tips based on your spending habits.

Best Budget App: You Need a Budget

This app can help you take control of your financial life by simplifying the budgeting process. Once you create a budget, the app uses an easy interface to help you stay focused on your spending and saving goals. It’s also easy to change your budget at any time with this app if your financial situation changes.

Best Finance App for Couples: Goodbudget

Based on the timeless “envelope” budgeting system, in which you set aside a sum from your paycheck for each spending category, Goodbudget helps you create a budget, share it with your partner, and stick to it. For students, financial management with your partner can be difficult during and after school. The sharing feature encourages healthy communication and helps to avoid moments of overspending.

Best Finance Tracker: Quicken

This app allows you to view all your financial accounts in one place, including banking, credit cards, investments, and retirement. It also includes features that help you manage your spending, view and manage your bills, and track your investments. Finances can be especially overwhelming for students or recent grads but an app like can help you make sense of it all.

Best Bill Paying App: Prism

Prism is the app you need if your biggest financial frustration is late fees. You import your billers and the app syncs your account balances, presenting them in an easy-to-understand format. You can pay bills directly from the app and/or use the scheduler to plan payments. Students often have to keep track of education, personal, and other expenses. An app like this can help manage those payments.

If you have questions regarding these programs and apps, or what other financial management tools are out there, Powercat Financial is here to help. We offer free and confidential appointments in-person and via zoom. Appointment requests can be made online at www.ksu.edu/powercatfinancial. If you are unable to make time for a full appointment you can always come to our walk-in days on the first Friday each month. The next walk-in day is Friday, November 4^th. Also, make sure to attend Powercat Financial’s Root Beer Sips & Money Tips workshop happening on October 18th & 25th at 6:30pm in Derby room 134 and then the Kramer Tallgrass room respectively!

RJ Salmen

Peer Counselor II

Powercat Financial

302 K-State Student Union, Third Floor

918 N. 17th Street

Manhattan, KS 66506-2800

785.532.2889

www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial

PowercatFinancial@k-state.edu

https://www.lifewire.com/best-budget-and-money-management-apps-4177452

https://www.incharge.org/tools-resources/best-money-apps/

What is Credit?

Whether you are signing up for your first credit card, purchasing your first car, or beginning a mortgage on a new house, the one similar aspect in all of these events is your credit score. Your credit score is an important factor in determining if you can reach your financial goals. Your credit score can determine how much interest you will pay on those loans and what types of loans you are eligible for. While the credit score system can be a great ally in meeting your financial goals, it can also be the downfall of meeting your financial goals.

Types of Credit

Installment Credit:

Installment credit is a single amount borrowed that will be repaid in installments over a period of time. There are three popular types of installment credit and they are the following;

1. Student Loans
2. Auto Loans
3. Mortgages

Revolving Credit:

Revolving Credit is a credit that is given a limit in your account that carries over month to month. Revolving credit has a minimum payment that is due each month that includes your balance and interest that may have accrued. The popular types of revolving credit are;

1. Credit Cards
2. Secured Cards
3. Store/Gas Cards

What Factors Affect My Credit Score?

1. Payment History – The percentage of payments made on time
2. Credit Utilization – The average percentage of credit limit used each month. It is recommended to only use 1% – 30% of your total credit limit each month.
3. Length of Credit History – The average age of all credit accounts
4. Credit Mix – The mix of your installment and revolving credit
5. New Credit – New credit at the beginning will negatively affect your credit score like when you apply for a new credit card.

What Should I Look For When Establishing Credit?

When looking into getting your first credit card or perhaps you are ready to get an additional credit card. These are some of the common terms you may encounter.

• Annual fee – the cost to have the card every year
• APR – Annual percentage rate. The APR determines how much interest will be charged on your leftover balance every month.
• Foreign Transaction Fees – Fees that are charged to the credit card when used outside of the United States
• Variable Interest – The interest rates will fluctuate within a range depending on the market
• Fixed Interest – The interest rate will remain the same for the life of the credit.
• Credit Score Required – What score the company requires to obtain the card.

You can discuss with your current bank their options for credit cards or you could use the following websites to compare different credit cards and find the best fit for you.

• Bank Rate – https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/todays-best-credit-cards/
• Card Ratings – https://www.cardratings.com/
• Nerd Wallet – https://www.nerdwallet.com/the-best-credit-cards

Where Can I Check my Credit Score?

A popular website that can check your TransUnion and Equifax credit scores for free is Credit Karma. https://www.creditkarma.com/auth/logon

• This website is secure and your score can be checked for free
• They offer a mobile app for Android and Apple devices
• You must create an account

Credit scores can range from 300 – 850, with 850 being the best score to obtain. Students may encounter only having a score of 600. This is because you are just establishing your credit.

Credit Score Ranges:

• Excellent: 750-850
• Very Good: 720-749
• Good: 660-719
• Fair: 580-659 (Average for new creditor)
• Poor: 500-579
• Very Poor: 300-499

How Powercat Financial Can Help

Powercat Financial is a free and confidential service provided to all Kansas State University students. You can schedule an appointment by visiting our website at https://www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial/. You will be able to meet one on one with a Peer Financial Counselor. We can also answer your questions about budgeting, student loans, transitioning into work, and credit.

If you are unable to make time for a full appointment you can always come to our POP UP TO POWERCAT walk-in days on the first Friday each month from 9am to 4pm. The next walk-in day is Friday, November 4^th.

Dylan Birkinsha, Peer Counselor II

Powercat Financial

302 K-State Student Union, Third Floor

918 N. 17th Street

Manhattan, KS 66506-2800

785.532.2889

www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial

PowercatFinancial@k-state.edu

Cited Sources

https://www.google.com/search?q=when+did+credit+scores+start&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS991US991&oq=when+did+credit&aqs=chrome.0.0i512l2j69i57j0i512l7.2560j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

https://time.com/nextadvisor/credit-cards/understanding-types-of-credit/#:~:text=What%20Are%20the%20Different%20Types,repaid%20with%20a%20different%20structure.