Financial Literacy
Managing your personal finances can be difficult. If you’re like most students, juggling a full course load, part-time (or full-time) job and other commitments to sports teams and social clubs is all you can handle. Although you are busy, the WPI Office of Financial Aid thinks it is important to take some time to understand your personal finances.
The WPI Financial Literacy program is here to help. Through a variety of workshops, presentations and reading materials our goal is to provide you with the tools and services needed to help manage your personal finances and build your financial knowledge.
Be sure to check back periodically for updates
What's New
"Dollars & Sense"- Financial Wellness Newsletter
The WPI Office of Financial Aid is pleased to announce the latest addition to our Financial Literacy Program, Dollars & Sense. Released monthly, this newsletter will provide you, the students, information regarding our financial literacy program, upcoming gradute and undergraduate financial deadlines as well as useful information pertaining to financial wellness. Check out current and prior issues below:
Financial Literacy LISTERV
Receive emails about upcoming events and current trends in money management. To request subscription, send an email to jsparling@wpi.edu with the subject "Add me to Financial Literacy Listerv". If you would like to receive emails to an account other than your WPI email account, please indicate this in your email.
CashCourse
WPI has partnered with the National Endowment for Financial Education. One of the programs they offer is CashCourse, an interactive online program designed to educate individuals on a variety of money management topics.
Please visit the CashCourse website to start learning today!
Tell us what you think
The WPI Financial Literacy program is seeking ideas for new workshops and sessions related to personal finance. If there are topics you would like us to cover we want to hear from you!
Workshops and Events
Manage your Money
Track your Spending
The best way to understand where your money goes is to track your weekly spending. This small step will help you realize where your hard earned money is being spent. Once you understand where you spending your money, it will become easier to take control of what you are buying and cut out any “useless” expenses.
Remember: TRACK EVERYTHING! That iced coffee each morning at $2.50 certainly adds up over the course of a year.
Use this worksheet or create your own
Have you noticed anything after a week of tracking your spending? Are you spending more money than you have? Are there any areas for saving (i.e. cutting down on those iced coffees or utilizing your pre-paid meal plan as opposed to going out every night?)
Develop a Budget
Now that you know where your money is going each week you are ready to create a monthly budget. Having a budget (and sticking to it) will allow you to spend your money more appropriately. The best part about a budget: you are the one creating it so you chose where your money is spent.
Helpful Hints when creating a budget:
· Create a budget that fits your lifestyle. If you enjoy going out to eat, budget for that expense. Odds are if you create a budget that does not fit your lifestyle you will not stick to it anyway.
· Spend less than you make. I know this sounds obvious, but if you create a budget in which you are spending less than you make you avoid carry over debt from month to month. AND you can put that extra money into savings.
· Keep it simple. Pretty self-explanatory. Try and avoid a confusing budget. Too many categories can get confusing.
There are many budget templates and worksheets available. This particular template allows you to assign a monthly figure for certain expenses and then compare what you actually spent to see if you stayed “within your budget” during the month.
Sample Budget worksheet or ceate your own
Try an online money management tool
Budget Simple (www.budgetsimple.com) Budget Simple works under the simple philosophy that to create a balanced budget you must spend less (or equal to) what you earn. It's designed to be simple enough for anyone, and best of all it's free!
Mint (www.mint.com ) A popular resource for many people, Mint.com tracks your spending and allows you to customize your own budget. Best of all, it is free to join!
Additional Resources...
**NEW- About to start a job? Good! Perfect time to start thinking about retirement. General information about employer retirement plans
Confused with all the Financial Lingo? Check out this list of commonly used financial terms and definitions
“I didn’t buy that, so why am I being charged”- What is Identify theft & how do I avoid it?
Want to know what others are saying? Check out this list of Personal finance blogs and financial websites
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: May 02, 2012 15:10:45