Kansas State University

Many students are responsible responsible for helping pay for their own college education which can be daunting. You begin looking at tuition rates and start to wonder how you are going to be able to pay for all of this. Then you remember your advisor telling you to fill out the FAFSA, but you truly have no idea what that is or why you need to fill out yet another form. You also are starting to wonder once you fill the FAFSA out, what happens next? If I get offered multiple loans, which ones should I accept? How do I even accept them? I know there are a lot of questions running through your head at this time, but we are here to help and answer all of your questions here at Powercat Financial. Just follow these three simple steps:

1. Fill out your FAFSA information ASAP:

FAFSA stands for “Free Application for Federal Student Aid”. The college you are attending will use this information to determine your federal aid eligibility. The amount of federal aid you receive is based on many factors such as your expected family contribution, year in school, enrollment status and the cost of attendance at the school you will be attending. This federal aid can come in many different forms such as grants, subsidized loans and unsubsidized loans. We will go over these in more detail here shortly, but for now, we’re going to focus on filling out your FAFSA. First of all, you need to go to www.studentaid.gov/fafsa to start the application process. I would advise sitting down with your parents or a trusted adult to help aid you through this process. It will first ask you three questions: If you are a student, if you are a parent filling out the form on behalf of the student or if you are a preparer helping a student fill out the form. Select whichever applies to you. If you have not created an account through studentaid.gov already, you will be required to do so at this time. You will then go through 6 different categories filling out information that pertains to you and your parents. These categories include things such as your demographics, school selection, dependency status, parent’s demographics, as well as you and your parent’s financials. This can be a lengthy process, but it is very important to do in order to be eligible to receive federal aid. Once you are finished filling out all of this information it is then processed by the US Department of Education and is sent to the schools you selected within the FAFSA. This can take anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks, so be patient! You will also receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) typically within two weeks of filling out your FAFSA. Once the school has received your information they will then determine how much financial aid you are eligible to receive and prepare a financial aid award letter that will be sent to you or posted within the student information system (KSIS). This can vary from school to school but will usually arrive shortly after you have received your acceptance letter from them. Finally, you have received the federal aid that has been offered to you, now what? There are probably many different types of aid that you have been offered and this is where we move into step #2.

2. What aid should I accept? Difference between a subsidized and unsubsidized loan?

This is the step of the process where many questions arise. If you are a student at or plan on attending Kansas State it would be a great idea to schedule an appointment with us at Powercat Financial so we can go over your financial aid with you in detail. The first and most important thing is to see if you have been offered any grants. Grants are FREE MONEY that the government gives you if you have demonstrated a need for financial aid. Free money is always the best, so make sure you accept any grants that are offered to you!

Next, you might see that you have been offered a “direct subsidized loan” or a “direct unsubsidized loan.” What is the difference in these two loans and which one should you accept first? The Direct Subsidized Loan is offered to students who demonstrate financial need. The federal government will pay the interest that grows on your subsidized loans while you are in college, so it does not accrue on your principal amount. A direct unsubsidized loan is offered to students and is NOT based on financial need, therefore almost everyone who applies for the FAFSA will be offered some amount of an unsubsidized loan. Unlike a subsidized loan, with the unsubsidized loan, the interest on your loan will grow and add on to your existing loan amount. An important thing to note is that all federal loans are currently on hold due to Covid, and no interest is being charged on any loans until May 1st, 2022. However, starting May 1st, 2022, your unsubsidized loans will start accruing interest.

So based on that information can you guess which loan you should accept first? Hopefully, you’ve figured out that the subsidized loan is a better option than the unsubsidized loan because it grows interest-free while you are in college. Both of these loans have a six-month “grace period”, which means once you graduate you have six months until you have to start making payments towards them. Also, after those six months have ended you will have to start paying the interest on your subsidized loans instead of the federal government paying it. You may also find out that you are eligible for federal work-study. Federal work-study provides part-time jobs for students with financial need, which allows them to earn money to help pay for their education. Kansas State participates in the federal work-study program. Being federal work-study eligible can be a very attractive asset to you and is important to tell employers when applying for jobs. This means that the employer isn’t paying all of your wag as the federal government is helping pay a portion of your wage. Which makes it easier for you to obtain a job from them. Also, you do not report work-study income on the following year’s FAFSA unlike other work income. Many on-campus jobs at Kansas State are eligible for work-study. To recap this section, accept financial aid in this order 1) Free money first! (grants/private scholarships) 2) earned money (work-study) and 3) borrowed money (remember to accept your subsidized loans first!).

3. Accepting your Federal Student Aid:

So how do you go about accepting your financial aid? Your student aid offer letter will include directions on accepting aid. Follow these directions carefully. Here at Kansas State, you can do this by going to k-state.edu and logging into KSIS then navigating to the Financial Aid tile. Here you will see all of the financial aid that has been awarded to you. This will include any private scholarships, federal grants and federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans. It is a very simple process after this. First, go through and accept all of your scholarships and grants. Next, an important thing to remember is that you do not have to accept the FULL loan amount. You can type in the amount of loan that you would like to accept for the full year, but remember this loan is for the full school year (or both semesters). If you are unsure how much to accept or which loans to accept, schedule an appointment with us at Powercat Financial as we can help assist you on how much you will need to accept!
Applying for and accepting federal student aid can seem like a daunting task, but I hope this blog has helped you understand it in a simpler way. If you have any other questions please reach out to us at Powercat Financial, we would love to assist you!

Kolby Stein

Peer Financial Counselor I

Powercat Financial

www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial

powercatfinancial@ksu.edu

Becoming a millionaire may seem like quite an aspirational goal, but an attainable one in the future for most K-State students. No games, no gimmicks but a big dose of compounding. Compound growth that is, which simply means earning interest on top of interest.

Here is a quick example:

1. If you started with $500 and earned 9% annually, you would have $545
2. The second year, you start with $545 and earned 9% annually, you would have $594
3. The third year you start with $594 and earned 9% annually, you would have $647

Get the picture?

Can $50 a week get you to $1 million?

Compounding works best over long periods of time, but you don’t have to begin with a large amount of money. If you started as a student saving and investing as little as $50 a week ($2,600/year), that would grow to a million dollars over the next 40 years (assuming a 9% average annual return). The primary purpose of investing even small amounts early, is to build that saving and investing muscle and create the habit. Once you graduate and start working, your saving and investing will no doubt increase along with your income.

Even more powerful compound growth after graduation

Let’s turn to an example that looks at growing your money after you graduate and start your first job. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov), the median U.S. income in 2020 was $67,860 for those with a bachelor’s degree and $98,436 for those with a master’s degree. Keep in mind that income amounts will vary widely based on your years of experience, field of study and geographic location. Many employers will even match your investing through an employer sponsored retirement plan, like a 401(k) or 403(b). A common employer contribution match is 6%, so we will use that in our example. Using a $60,000 income, here is what getting to a million dollars looks like when using the power of compound growth:

• $60,000 income after graduation
• You save and invest $9,000 (15% of your income)
• Your employer matches with $3,600 (6% of your income)
• Assuming a 9% return
• 24 years

The total value of your account after 24 years would be $1,054,631. Yes, you will have over a million dollars while you’re still in your forties! Do you think you could do it even sooner? Do you think it will take you longer? Or perhaps you think the rate of return should be higher or lower? Have a little fun trying different assumptions yourself, with this investment earnings calculator from Bankrate: https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/investment-goal-calculator.aspx.

Compound growth and the stock market

As you can see, this concept of compound growth is a powerful, passive way to grow your money through saving and investing. It can get complicated, but a simple way to start investing in the stock market, is through an index fund.  These funds are simply a basket of stocks or other investments that follow a particular index. An index fund can be in the form of mutual funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs); just remember that they are simply a basket of stocks or other investments and designed to spread your risk across many different investments.

One of the best gauges for the U.S. stock market is the S&P 500 index. The S&P 500 is the 500 largest and most widely held U.S. companies and include brands familiar to most of us like Apple, Amazon, Google, Chipotle, Starbucks, Nike and even Tesla. When you invest in an S&P 500 index fund, you are the proud owner of a piece of these companies, and the hundreds of others included in the index. Have a look at the current list of all the S&P 500 companies here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_S%26P_500_companies.

The average return of the S&P 500 index over the past 20 years was 11% and you can find the most current returns on any investing app or website such as Google Finance (https://www.google.com/finance/quote/.INX:INDEXSP). Most major brokerage firms will offer an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 in addition to many other investments. Place where you can invest in the S&P 500 index via either a mutual fund or ETF include investment companies such as Vanguard or Fidelity, plus there are many others.

Learn more from Powercat Financial

Understanding the power of compound growth is just one of the many areas that can help you on your journey to financial success after college. Powercat Financial can help you with education around your personal finances through one-on-one counseling sessions or group presentations, via Zoom or in person. We can educate you on investment terminology and foundational knowledge, however we cannot give you specific investment advice. Appointment requests can be made by clicking on the purple buttons on the Powercat Financial website at www.ksu.edu/powercatfinancial. Don’t forget you can also stop in and ask a question without an appointment at our next scheduled “Pop-Up to Powercat Financial”, located on the Union 3rd floor in room 302 the first Friday each month (March 4, April 1, or May 6) from 9am to 4pm.

If you are a graduate student, be sure to join us for the upcoming “Grad Money Hour Series” in March and April, where investing and several other money topics will be discussed. You can get the details and register here: https://www.k-state.edu/grad/student-success/student-council/studentaffairs/

Jacqueline Koski

Peer Counselor I

Powercat Financial

www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial

powercatfinancial@ksu.edu

It’s your senior year. You’ve worked so hard to get here and all of your hard work is about to pay off. You know your resume inside and out and you’ve memorized the perfectly worded answer to every interview question under the sun. You interview with company after company searching for the right fit. Finally you find it, the job that’s perfect for you. You rock the interview, send a thank you letter, and wait. One week later, it arrives. The thing you’ve been fighting tirelessly for four years to get is finally here. You got the job offer. You jump up and down screaming with joy… but now what. The job offer is full of details that you don’t understand. Is the salary really what you’re worth? What is a 401k and what does PTO mean? Luckily you remember that Powercat Financial is a free service available to you as a K-State student and they are here to help.

Know Your Worth

The first thing we tend to see or think about when we get a job offer is the salary. After all, you went to college in hopes of learning skills to help you get more money when you graduated. Many students look at the salary on a job offer and think that’s it, take it or leave it. Maybe you think it’s too low and you’re worth more, or maybe you think that it seems high because you’ve never made that much before. No matter how you feel about what you’ve been offered, it never hurts to compare it to what others are making in a similar position with similar experience. One of the best tools for doing this as a recent K-State graduate is the career center’s website (https://www.k-state.edu/careercenter/about/stats/kstatepostgradstats/salary.html). Every year, the career center gathers data about recent graduates and publishes this data to help you make the most informed decision possible. This website can help you see what others in your major and job location are making right out of college to help you understand how competitive your offer is. If you still think your offer is great and you’re happy with it then good, but if you’re disappointed and feel like you deserve more then don’t worry because that number is not set in stone.

Many students are nervous to negotiate their salary because they feel like they don’t have the experience or leverage to negotiate but this is not true. You bring value to a company, and if you got the job offer then your potential employer sees that. Often employers will expect you to negotiate and offer a lower starting salary with that in mind. When negotiating an offer it is always important to be prepared, be respectful, and be open to compromise. You should communicate your gratitude first and then present your argument with facts and statistics such as information you got from the career center. Remember to be confident and professional to show the company that you are worth their investment.

It’s Not All About the Salary

While the salary may be the first thing you think about, money is not everything. There are a lot of other factors that will contribute to your future happiness that have nothing to do with money. For example:

• What is the company culture like? Is this a place where you see yourself working long term and are the people fun to be around? A good company culture and good people can make or break a job. Remember that you have to interact with your coworkers every day and it’s hard to enjoy what you do when you don’t get along with your colleagues.
• Work-life balance is something that we don’t tend to think about when evaluating a job offer, but it is extremely important. A lot of jobs right out of college can be extremely demanding and require you to work a lot of hours. The last thing you want is to get burned out in the job meant to start your career.
• Location is another important factor to consider. After all, not all of your time will be spent at work. You want to make sure that the job is in a place that you want to be and somewhere you can see yourself living.
• Opportunity for advancement is something else to consider. This may only be your first job, but it might be important to you that you have room to grow in the company.

Employee Benefits

The benefits a company provides can sometimes be the most important part of a job offer. Unfortunately, they can also get pretty complicated so here is a list of some of the most common employee benefits that you can expect to see in your job offer:

• Retirement plans are arguably the biggest and most important employee benefit that companies offer. The most common type of retirement plan offered by firms is a 401k. 401k plans are defined contribution plans which is just a fancy way of saying that you are responsible for contributing to the plan and your employer may match your contributions or a percentage of your salary. There are many other types of retirement plans, but you are less likely to see them in a typical job offer.
• Insurance is another huge benefit that firms offer their employees. A company may offer you discounted coverage, or pay the full premium for you. Types of insurance include disability, health, dental, vision, and sometimes life insurance. These can be a large out of pocket cost for individuals so this benefit is an important one.
• PTO stands for paid time off and a company’s PTO policy can be a big benefit especially for people who have never had such a luxury before.
• Bonuses can be another benefit used to incentivize workers to do their best. For some companies these bonuses can be a big advantage.
• Gym Memberships are becoming a popular employee benefit and one that many students are happy to have in a job offer.

Job offers can be exciting and scary all at the same time. So when you get a job offer and you don’t know where to start, come to Powercat Financial where one of our experienced peer financial counselors will walk through the offer with you and answer any questions you may have.   We also have a handy ‘job comparison tool’ on our website you can download and use today at https://www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial/work/job-offer-evaluation-worksheet.pdf.

Ryan Kohr

Peer Counselor I

Powercat Financial

www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial

Do you enjoy talking about money with your significant other or is it a topic you strive to avoid at all costs? A study from Northwestern Mutual found that money was the leading cause of stress among Americans. When you add in a second party who might have different ideas about how to handle money, that stress often escalates. This is particularly an issue for college students whose finances and relationships are muddled by the complications of college life: student loans, work-school balance, and, of course, the complex navigation of dating apps. But regardless of what studies tell us, finances do not have to be a stressful point in a relationship. Here are a few simple strategies that can help new or experienced couples avoid financial friction.

Understand Each Other’s Money Personality

The key to good financial well-being and relationship health is knowing and understanding each other’s views and behavior towards money. If you know what to expect, you can make compromises, and there won’t be as many misunderstandings along the way. Each party should talk about their financial background. This includes anything from their parent’s financial beliefs and habits to their own formal and informal financial education. These conversations are obviously not easy to have, but they create a platform whereby couples can have healthy conversations about money with a partner in the future.

The Klontz Money Script Inventory (KMSI) is another way couples can understand their partners’ money beliefs. Money scripts are the unconscious beliefs about money – rooted in our childhood – that ultimately shape our financial health. The short assessment, which you can find at https://www.yourmentalwealthadvisors.com/our-process/your-money-script/ is designed to help you learn about your own money belief system to improve your financial understanding and decision-making. Couples should share this information to gain insight into the other’s approach to money and, more importantly, how they can work together to live healthy financial lives.

Time It Right

Since conversations about money are often emotionally charged, choose a time to talk about your financial situation or make decisions when both of you are at your best. Both of you should establish boundaries and expectations for what financial conversations will look like and when you will plan to have them. Choose a specific time to meet and topic(s) to discuss and stick to it. This will increase healthy communication habits and deter tension when having money conversations.

Collaborate

Often, one partner deals with most of the finances: managing all bills, budgets, savings, investments, and insurance policies. However, it can be beneficial for both partners to understand and be involved with their finances. Collaboration can help couples establish both individual and combined responsibilities over finances based on their comfort level and skills. Ultimately, ongoing input from both partners will strengthen your relationship and create a true partnership.

Find an Unbiased Financial Counselor

Sometimes the best way to avoid financial tensions, regardless of a couple’s current status, is to work with an objective third party, whether that’s a financial professional, a marriage counselor, or both. A financial professional can work with you and your partner to review your financial situation, identify gaps in their communication, assist in establishing goals, and provide professional and knowledgeable advice. Powercat Financial at Kansas State University is that resource for students. We are a free and confidential service that provides financial information and helps students prepare for the future. Couples are encouraged to come in – together or separate – to discuss their financial circumstances and learn more about how to balance financial responsibilities and their relationship. You can schedule a free appointment at https://www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial/.

Celebrate Success!

Discussing financial matters can be exhausting. You should celebrate success every once in awhile when you and your partner achieve your goals. Set aside a portion of pocket money that you and your partner can each spend every month on something you love, whether it’s a massage, a picnic, or a night on the town. For K-State students, this could include sweet trips to the Varsity Truck or a day trip to another city. These activities can reinforce financial habits and improve you and your partner’s relationship.

These steps are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to love and money, but they can go far to improve financial teamwork with your partner. Repetition and reinforcement are key to implementing these habits and achieving your financial and relationship goals.

If you and/or your partner need help creating a budget, managing student loans, or learning more about healthy financial habits, Powercat Financial is here to help. As mentioned earlier, we offer free and confidential appointments in-person as well as on 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, February 4^th.

Also, make sure not to miss our upcoming event Love & Money! Attendees will be provided helpful resources and tools to manage finances with your partner by K-State Professor of Practice, Dr. Megan McCoy, Ph.D, LMFT, AFC(R), CFT-ITM, and Powercat Financial peer financial counselors. The workshop will be held Thursday February 10th from 4:30 to 5:30 pm in Union 227. Attendees must RSVP by February 3rd through WuFoo at http://bit.ly/PFloveandmoney. Couples are welcome as long as one attendee is a K-State student.

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://news.northwesternmutual.com/planning-and-progress-2018

https://www.yourmentalwealthadvisors.com/our-process/your-money-script/

https://www.comprehensiveadvisor.com/love-and-money-financial-planning-considerations-for-couples/

https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/pressroom/b/news/posts/survey-finds-financial-honesty-is-hard-to-come-by-in-american-couples-1952288921

https://www.moneymax.ph/personal-finance/articles/financial-tips-couples

It is hard to imagine that the holiday season is already just around the corner. If you are anything like me you are probably wondering where the time has gone this semester. With the holiday season coming up, this means holiday gift giving. This can be an extremely stressful and expensive time. Luckily Powercat Financial is here to help. We are going to discuss a few tips and secrets on to manage the holiday stress and keep your wallets full. First, let’s discuss holiday stress management.

Acknowledge your feelings: This is easier said than done. If you are spending time with family during the holiday season you may be celebrating the holiday for the first time without a loved one. Know that it is normal to feel sadness and grief. Find a safe place to express these feelings, you cannot force yourself to be happy because it is the holiday season. For some of us spending time with family can bring on a mix of emotions. Again find a safe place to express these feelings. If these feelings are difficult to acknowledge on your own, reach out for help. Talk with a trusted relative or friend.

Be realistic: The holidays do not have to be perfect or live up to previous year memories. Families grow and change, traditions and rituals change with families. Find ways to recreate to these traditions that can meet the needs of the family change. As families grow so do differences. Set aside grievances until a more appropriate time for discussion. Be understanding if others get upset or distressed when something goes awry. Opposite parties can be feeling the effects of the holiday stress as well.

Take a breather: Spending time with family and friends can be a lot. It is important to make time for yourself. Find an activity you enjoy doing; take a walk (if you can bear the cold weather), read a book, mediate, do yoga, etc. Find something that reduces stress by clearing your mind.

Now, let’s switch and discuss how we can save money while holiday shopping.

Create a Holiday Budget: Budgeting for the holiday season starts NOW. It is important to consider where your holiday spending falls in relation to your average monthly spending. To find this relation you will have to sit down and create a regular month spending budget. When you do this I suggest making coffee and putting some classic holiday music on. Once this budget is created you can carve out the extra cash for holiday shopping.

Make a list of people you need to shop for: This will make it easier to set a budget. At times it may seem cut throat when you limit your gift recipients, but this will reduce your stress level. I find it difficult to shop for all of my family. While I can get something for each person in my brother’s family, just cannot afford it. So I get one gift for all of them. This is a great way to reduce the number of people on your list.

Compare Prices: After you have gone through the hassle of creating a holiday budget and a recipient list, you can start your shopping. Shop around to find the best deals in town. Surfing the web makes it easy to find the best deals in town. Many stores will price match the deals you find online.

Now that you have a few tips and tricks up your sleeve to handle the stress of the holidays and shopping you are ready to dominate them.

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 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. The next walk in day is Friday, December 3^rd. We also have a handy holiday budgeting worksheet and shopping guide you can use on our website in the right side column at https://www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial/budgeting/.

Upcoming Event: Money Management for All – this is a financial workshop sponsored by SGA, Student Governing Association with Powercat Financial on Tuesday, November 16^th at 5:30pm in the Union Big 12 room or via Zoom. A link can be found on our website at https://www.k-state.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.ksu.edu/powercatfinancial

PowercatFinancial@k-state.edu

Often credit cards can be daunting for college students because we have heard all the stories about massive amounts of debt stemming from mismanagement of credit cards. Although you can put yourself in bad situations by misusing a credit card, it may not be as complicated as you think to responsibly use a credit card to begin building a credit score.

What is Credit?

Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately but promises either to repay or return those resources at a later date. In terms of credit cards, this is the trust that the credit card companies have that allows you to make purchases with their money that you would pay back to them at the end of the month, or over time.

The reputation that you build through borrowing money and paying it back forms your credit score and credit report. These two reflections of your credit reputation often are used interchangeably but are actually very different. A credit score is a number that reflects an individual’s creditworthiness based on their credit files, while your credit report is a detailed list of all your credit transaction within the past 7 years. In college terms, your credit score would represent your credit GPA while your credit report would represent your credit transcript. Although no one knows the exact formula that is used to determine your credit score, we do have a good idea of the different weighting they use when determining your credit score.

1. Payment History (35%): Payment history is the biggest factor when determining your credit score at 35%. This is simply whether or not you pay on time the amount owed.
2. Utilization (30%): Utilization is the second biggest factor in determining your credit score at 30% and represents how much of your available credit (credit limit) you are using each month. As a general benchmark, try to avoid using more than 30% of your credit limit each month to satisfy responsible utilization. For example, if I had a credit limit on my credit card of $1,000, I would try to avoid spending more than $300 with that card.
3. Length of History (15%): Length of history represents the length of your credit history, with longer relationships with creditors being viewed favorably. For this reason, it is a good idea for college students to get a credit card and start using it for routine expenses such as gas or groceries to begin building up their credit history, keeping that credit account open for a long period of time.
4. Shopping for Credit (10%): This portion rates how often you are opening new account or applying for different credit cards. The more often you open new accounts and apply for credit, the more poorly this area will be reflected in your credit score.
5. Mix of Credit (10%): Mix of credit is based on the kinds of credit you have with a mix of cards and loans being preferred. Credit cards would be considered revolving credit while a mortgage would be considered installment credit because it is a contract to repay the loan over time.

Why is it important?

Credit becomes important for various reasons. Your creditworthiness (credit report and credit score) will determine the interest rates which you will receive on loans. These loans can be a mortgage to buy a house, a car loan, etc. Having good credit as opposed to bad credit causes lenders to have more confidence in your ability to pay the debt back in full and on time, causing them to offer lower interest rates due to the lower risk they are taking. Your credit worthiness can also even affect your ability to get a job, especially in the financial industry. As your credit worthiness one measure of your responsibility with money, having bad credit may cause an employer to second guess your ability to manage money within their company. Another way your creditworthiness can impact your life is your ability to rent from a landlord. While applying for an apartment, duplex, condo, etc. the landlord often checks your creditworthiness so that he is confident in your ability to keep up with rent payments.

Tips for Credit Use in College

Now that we have established what credit is and why it is important, let’s talk about some responsible ways that you can start building credit in college. The first step to building credit is getting a credit card. As there are many different credit cards, it can be a daunting task to select the one that is best for you. A site like www.nerdwallet.com is a great place to start as they have a great credit card comparison page that allows you to compare hundreds of different cards so that you can find the best one for your specific spending needs.

Now that you have selected your credit card, it is time to start building up your credit. First look at your credit card limit and determine the recommended utilization for your card. The benchmark for over utilization is around 30%, so avoiding spending over 30% of your card limit will assure you are not receiving negative utilization on your credit report. Some of the items that would be great to purchase with your credit card are purchases that you must make each month that you are 100% certain that you can pay off at the end of the month such as gas and groceries. Another good tip is to set up automatic payments so that you do not forget to pay your credit card bill every month. Automatic payments are set up by linking your bank account to your lender’s website so that instead of having to write a check or pay the bill manually, it will just take it directly out of your bank account.

For more tips and tricks on how to responsibly start building you credit or any questions you have on credit please visit Powercat financial so that a peer counselor can help you!

Anytime you want help with student loans, job offers, budgeting or have additional questions about other financial topics, remember Powercat Financial is available for Zoom or in-person financial counseling sessions. They may be requested via our website link at www.k-state.edu/powercatfinancial.

We also have walk-in days on the first Friday of every month where students can simply walk-in without an appointment to ask a quick money question and get a free pop. Our next Pop Up to Powercat Financial day will be December 3rd.

Do not miss our other upcoming event:

Money Management for All – a financial workshop sponsored by SGA Student Governing Association with Powercat Financial on Tuesday July 16^th in Union Big 12 room at 5:30pm!

Alex Miller

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