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Author: kdarnell

Preparing for Next Semester

Posted on by kdarnell

With finals right around the corner and winter break fast approaching, you may not even want to think about next semester yet.  However, it can save money to get ready for it sooner rather than later and you won’t have to worry about it when returning to campus.

There are many things you’ll need to consider when thinking about next semester including budgeting, financial aid, school supplies, textbooks, class registration, and class drop dates.

Budgeting

The first thing to do when preparing for next semester is to determine a budget.  A budget can help keep you on track and set financial goals, such as saving up for spring break.  It can help you know what spending money you have available and where you can work on spending less (and can even help you determine some New Year’s resolutions).

Financial Aid

Part of the budgeting process may involve student loans, scholarships, grants, and fellowships.  Look back over this past semester and see how much financial aid you accepted and determine if it was just enough or if you could have gotten by with less.  This involves taking a hard look at your spending over the past semester and seeing if there were times you could have saved money.  If you could have gotten by with less, then contact the financial aid office (http://www.k-state.edu/sfa/) to ask them to reduce the disbursement for next semester.  This will not only help you learn to control spending, but will also save you money in student loans and interest costs down the road.

School Supplies

School supplies can be relatively inexpensive by themselves, but over time, the total cost accumulates to a big amount.  Some ways to save money on school supplies are:

  • Make a list of what you need and stick to it.  It can be tempting to want to buy some supplies that could be useful, but you may not use them or need them when it comes time.
  • Buy in bulk.  If you know you will be using a certain supply frequently, it will save money to buy the large quantity that’s cheaper per unit.  For example, if you know you’ll be printing a lot of articles, contemplate buying the multiple pack of ink cartridges or the carton of paper instead of a ream each time you run out.  Costco can be a good place to look for bulk supplies
  • Look for coupons.  Many stores have coupons or weekly ads available on their sites and may advertise for upcoming sales.  Before setting out to shop, make sure to look for coupons or sales by going to the stores’ websites. Staples also has a 20-25% off brown bag sale for back-to-school times, so keep on the lookout for when that will be!
  • Think about holiday sales.  Some stores also have sales on holidays such as Boxing Day (December 26th) that can save you money.
  • Look around for what you may already have.  It can be easy to lose pens, pencils, highlighters, etc. Before going out and buying new supplies, scour your room for these missing items.

Textbooks

College textbooks can be a major drain to the bank account.  You can learn ways to save money on them by implementing these few tips.

Book requirements can be found at http://courses.k-state.edu/.  You can click course schedules, then select the year, select course schedule and finally select the department (which are arranged by colleges).  There’s a book icon you can click that will list the required, recommended, and optional books.  The direct link for next semesters’ books is http://courses.k-state.edu/spring2014/schedule.html.

Consider buying used instead of new.  Used books range from like-new to acceptable and are offered at a significantly reduced price.  Used books are sold by bookstores, major companies such as Amazon, and private sellers such as students who took the course previously.  You can compare used book prices at the following sites:

Consider renting textbooks instead of buying.  For some textbooks, you may only want to have the book for the course and won’t use it afterwards.  There are many sites, including Chegg and Amazon, that offer the option to rent the book for a month, a quarter, or a semester.  If you decide that you want to own the book after using it, you can pay the difference between the buy price and rent price and not have to return the book.  Beware when renting to return the book on time.  You may be charged late fees, an extra semester, or the cost of the book if you are late.

And finally, email your professors about buying international editions or previous versions.  Many textbook makers make a few changes and rerelease the book as a new version that can be charged at a higher price for those few changes.  Many times professors use the older version book anyway and would allow you to buy the old version as well.  This can shave a lot off the list price of the new version.  International versions typically have different covers, page numbers, and chapter orders than the United States versions, but contain the same information.  This can complicate reading assignments when you’re given the page numbers or chapter names, but can cut costs sometimes up to 50-75%.  For both of these options, make sure to ask your professors before making the purchases.

For more information on saving money on textbooks, you can visit http://lifehacker.com/5613591/the-complete-guide-to-getting-cheap-textbooks.

Registration/Drop Dates

You probably are already registered for classes next semester.  However, since your tuition is calculated based on the courses you are enrolled in, if you are contemplating adding or dropping a course, it may be helpful to make the final decision sooner rather than late.  That way, you won’t have to deal the complexities of either paying extra for a class added or going through the process of getting a refund to your account for classes dropped.

It’s also important to know when the refund drop dates are for courses.  These dates can be found by going through the academic calendar at http://www.k-state.edu/cgi-bin/eventview/registrar/academic.  For the spring 2014 semester, the last day to drop a course, but still get 100% of the tuition costs back is February 10th.  After that, you will only get 50% of the tuition cost back.  The last day to get 50% of the cost back will be February 17th.  If you are contemplating dropping a course, try and make this decision before these dates in order to get back your tuition costs.

The academic calendar will also inform you about the last days to drop a course before receiving a W or a WF.

Resources

For other money saving tips throughout the semester, check out these sites:

http://www.shmoop.com/college/save-money-in-college.html

http://moneyfor20s.about.com/u/ua/studentloans/best_college_savings_tips.htm

http://collegelife.about.com/od/moneyfinances/a/ManagingMoney.htm

http://blog.chegg.com/2013/08/02/on-a-budget-top-10-ways-to-save-money-at-college/

Christyne Stephenson
Peer Financial Counselor I
Powercat Financial Counseling
www.k-state.edu/pfc

Impact of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) on College Students

Posted on by kdarnell

In addition to figuring out how to pay for tuition, books, and housing, college students need to be aware of the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare, on their finances.

You’ve probably heard lots about this program, but there is still quite a bit of confusion and misunderstanding out there. The best way to approach this issue is to become informed about it. One reality is that the program will have a definite impact on health care insurance for students. One of the impacts is you will have more options to compare and contrast. You’ll need to figure out which option makes the most sense for you. One thing to know is that effective January 1, 2014 most people will need to have health insurance coverage that meets the requirement of the ACA, or pay a tax penalty.

If you are under 26 and your parents have health insurance that covers family members, the law allows you to stay on their plan in most cases. This is one very positive aspect of the ACA for young adults. We recommend that you check with your parents to see if this provision applies to you. If it does, staying on your parents’ plan might be the lowest cost option available to you. This coverage is available even if you are considered financially independent, and is available regardless if you are single or married. Costs for this coverage might go up, however, because many plans charge higher premiums when you add additional family members.

Check the provisions of your parents’ plan carefully if you are considering being covered by their plan. Some plans limit the physicians and other health care providers to those in their network. This is particularly true in the case of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs). If you attend school outside the community where your parents live, you might have to go to an out of network provider. This can result in less coverage or more expenses.

Another option to consider is the student health plan offered for students at KSU. In the past these plans had limits on their coverage. Limits on coverage is something that the ACA is addressing. According to Professor Roberta Riportella, Professor of Community Health at KSU, the KSU Student Health plan meets the requirement for coverage under the ACA. This could be a lower cost option for students that qualify for coverage. Check out the following website for info on this plan: https://www.uhcsr.com/SelfServiceSupport/Students/CollegeHome.aspx

A new feature of the ACA just now being rolled out is the online health insurance exchange. In this exchange you’ll be able to see the health insurance companies providing policies in your state. You’ll also be able to choose benefit packages ranging from basic coverage in the bronze plan to higher-level coverage in silver, gold, and platinum plans. You’ll pay more in premiums for the higher levels of coverage. You can access the health insurance exchange at the following link: https://www.healthcare.gov/

Professor Riportella has been very active in posting information to a blog that clears up a lot of the misinformation regarding the ACA. Her blog can be accessed here: https://blogs.ksre.ksu.edu/issuesinhealthreform/

Finally, Professor Riportella discusses the ACA and its impact on college students in the following archived recording from a session presented to students on November 5, 2013. If you missed her workshop you can check it out online. It would be worth your time to watch this informative session. The video at the beginning of her presentation covers a lot of the important info you need to know. Here is the link: http://www.k-state.edu/grad/students/workshops/aca.html

Rob Jones, M.A.Ed.
Peer Financial Counselor II
Powercat Financial Counseling
www.k-state.edu/pfc

Brewing Up a Challenge

Posted on by kdarnell

Powercat Financial Counseling is giving away two Keurigs! To put your name in the drawing for the raffle, all you need to do is complete a 10-question online scavenger hunt. The answers can be found on our website, www.k-state.edu/pfc. The form was an attachment on an email sent out to the student body by Jodi Kaus on October 22nd. The completed forms are due by 5:00 PM on November 11th. To submit the form, you can either email it to powercatfinancial@ksu.edu or physically drop if off in Union Room 809 in the Office of Student Activities and Services.

The winner will be announced at our Thrifty Gifting event held on November 14th at 4:30 in the Flint Hills Room of the Union. Come have fun and learn about ways to save money during the holiday season while also getting the chance to win other prizes.

Do you really want to win that Keurig? You can increase your chances by earning additional entries into the drawing. Scheduling a counseling session and signing up for one of the websites that are linked on the PFC website each gives you a better chance to win. More details of the bonus entries can be found on the scavenger hunt form.

Good luck!

David Biggs
Peer Financial Counselor II
Powercat Financial Counseling
www.ksu.edu/pfc

Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

Posted on by kdarnell

According to the Federal Trade Commission, young adults 18 to 29 make up the largest proportion of identity theft victims. That’s a frightening statistic, and one that Kansas State students need to be aware of. Here are some tips to help protect you from identity theft.

Shred everything. One of the many ways that identity thieves can acquire information is through dumpster diving. If you are throwing out bills, credit card statements, ATM receipts, or even junk-mail solicitations for credit cards and mortgages, you may be leaving too much information lying around. Buy a personal shredder and shred all papers with personal information on them before disposing of them.

Destroy digital data. When you sell or dispose of a computer or a hard drive, you need to take extra steps to ensure the data is completely destroyed. Just deleting the data or reformatting the hard drive is not enough. Someone with a little tech skill can easily restore files or recover data from a formatted drive. Use a hard drive erasing software to make sure that any personal information stored on hard drives is completely destroyed.

Pay your bills at the post office. Never leave your paid bills in your mailbox to be sent out. A thief who raids your mailbox would be able to acquire much of your critical information in just one envelope- your name, address, credit account number, your bank information including the routing number and account number from the bottom of the check, and a copy of your signature from your check for forgery purposes. Drop your bills at the post office or at least in an official drop box to ensure that this doesn’t happen.

Protect your Social Security number. You should never use your Social Security Number as any part of a username or password that you create and you should never give it to telephone solicitors or in response to spam emails. Knowing your full name, address and full Social Security Number, or even just the last 4 digits in many cases, can let someone assume your identity.

Analyze your credit report annually. It is possible to get a free look at your credit report once per year. The big three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) joined forces to provide free credit reports to consumers. The web site is annualcreditreport.com. You should review it to make sure the information on it is accurate and also make sure that there aren’t any accounts on there that you aren’t aware of or any other suspicious activity.

Jamie Engelken
Peer Counselor II
Powercat Financial Counseling
www.k-state.edu/pfc

Credit-bility

Posted on by kdarnell

Credit is an important part of your financial history. Whether you are interested in purchasing a car, a home, or even applying for a job, credit can either work for you or against you. Many people know that it is important to have good credit, but they aren’t exactly sure how to start establishing it.
Here is some general information that will be helpful as you strive to build good credit.

There are two ways in which your credit is measured- a credit report and a credit score:

Credit Report: There are 3 credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) in existence, which track your information regarding your credit. Institutions such as banks, credit card companies, your student loan servicer, etc., will send information to credit bureaus (not necessarily all of them) regarding your payment history, how much you borrowed, the number of credit accounts you have, and more. All of this information (good and bad), including a lot of your personal information, is on this report. A free annual copy of each report can be obtained at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

Credit Score: The credit bureaus assign you a score ranging from 350-850, with 350 being terrible and 850 being excellent. A free estimation of your credit score can be obtained at https://www.creditkarma.com

Now for a misconception: Many people think that if they get the utilities in their name, having a cell phone contract or similar things helps build your credit. Unfortunately, those things do NOT help you establish credit. The only time that these items will make a difference (in building credit) is if your accounts go into collections; that will severely hurt your score and put a major blemish on your report.

I am not saying that having utilities in your name won’t be of any help to you, because it can. Businesses, property management groups, or banks will often ask for credit references. If you have been a trustworthy customer, you should have a strong list of credit references to offer.

Here are some easy ways to build credit while in college:

1) Getting a credit card and using it to make small regular purchases and paying it off entirely each month. Essentially treating it like a debit card. WARNING: If a credit card is used improperly or impulsively (exceeding your balance or missing payments) you will end up doing the opposite of what you set out to do.

2) Taking out a small loan at a bank. Loans of various sizes are available at banks and you could take out a loan, simply hold on to it, then repay it when it’s due (principle and interest).

Remember that a good credit history takes time to build and the sooner you get started the better.

Good luck!

Sam Honey
Peer Financial Counselor II
Powercat Financial Counseling
www.ksu.edu/pfc