Financial Wellness

Juggling finances as a student can be tricky. ZipAssist offers a variety of financial resources and educational programs for our campus.

WHAT WE OFFER:

â–º Financial Empowerment Counseling

â–º Webinars & Workshops

â–º Monthly Newsletters & Challenges

â–º Budgeting & Financial Goal Setting


BALANCING ON A BUDGET

Are you ballin' on a budget?! This program provides plenty of opportunities for you to learn how to manage your finances effectively as well as practice these newly learned skills. Each month has a theme relating to financial wellness and the programming within that month will relate to that theme. Every month you can participate in the webinar lead by topic experts, attend an in-person workshop, complete an at-home challenge and receive a newsletter full of tips and tricks. The content learned in these sessions are applicable to the needs of college students now and will prepare you for long-lasting financial wellness. There are gift card and challenge opportunities available within this program. Become financially fit and take the challenge!

Take the challenge!


ADDRESSING BARRIERS & MISCONCEPTIONS

As a student you’re busy juggling coursework, internships, family, employment, a social life, etc. But if we’re being completely honest with ourselves, we all have time to budget. The true issue is we don’t have the willpower to budget, we have our priorities misaligned, or we don’t want to face something that’s complicated or scary to us. The good news is there’s plenty of free and simple tools available to help us budget and keep all of our financial information in one place! Whether we’re saving for retirement, a laptop, or just trying to get through the month, everything starts with budgeting. It’s time we make managing our money a priority.

Think of all the times you’ve splurged on new shoes, bought coffee on-the-go, or paid a late fee. You can save as long as you make it a priority. We often think we have to set aside large amounts of money to save, but that’s not at all true. Even setting aside something as small as $5 each week for a year will leave you with $260! Saving money can become equally addictive as spending money once you start watching that balance grow. It’s common practice for people to save what money they have leftover at the end of each month (which sometimes is nothing if they impulse purchase things). Instead, what if you set aside a set amount of funds at the beginning of the month before you spend it? Make saving a #1 priority!

Perhaps try a new motto like, “my family has always been bad with money, but I refuse to let that happen to me.” Behaviors tend to change once your perspective changes. We recognize that most students were not taught money management growing up, so this is why we offer the services we do! Check out the Balancing on a Budget program schedule here!

Shopping is a way for many people to cope with boredom, depression, and other difficulties. It’s important to recognize that while shopping can temporarily make you feel better, it’s a band-aid covering up a deeper issue. Impulse buying can even cause you to experience guilt or any of the previously mentioned emotions more if your purchase causes you to struggle financially. One helpful tactic is to replace your shopping habit with something else that makes you feel good but doesn’t require you to spend money. Maybe read a book, exercise, or watch a movie. It’s certainly acceptable to treat yourself every once in a while, but it should not be a regular and uncontrolled habit.


HELPFUL TOOLS

Are you ready to start budgeting but unsure where to start? ZipAssist has some worksheets available to help you better manage your money!

With these worksheets you can log your expenses, evaluate your current spending habits as well as create an actual budget.


HELPFUL APPS

We understand that not everyone does well with a pen-and-paper budget. Technology is at our fingertips, so why not utilize it to our advantage?

Do some research and decide which app is best for your needs. Below are just a few of the budgeting apps available. Would it be helpful for your spending habits to be tracked and sorted into categories? Do you need help planning your spending for the entire month? Do you need an app to set aside and save money for you?

There truly is an app for everything!


CAMPUS PARTNERS & ORGANIZATIONS


Students or Faculty & Staff, if you're asking any of the questions below, contact ZipAssist!

  • Are you wanting to learn more about the financial wellness programs we offer?
  • Do you need individualized assistance with your finances and budgeting?
  • Do you think your student group, employees or classroom would benefit from a workshop led by someone in our office about financial wellness?
  • Are you wanting to discuss financial wellness with students but don’t feel you have the resources or skills to do so?
  • Are you concerned about a student’s ability to manage their finances and affording monthly expenses?

FINANCIAL WELLNESS CONTACT
Kody Meade
Assistant Director - ZipAssist
Email: km122@uakron.edu
330-972-6478