Managing Your Finances $
Some Basic Tips
Keisha Monge
Office of Leadership & Student Involvement
Leadership Lab 9/27/13
Focus Areas
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Financial Planning
Financial Aid
Protecting Your Identity
Protecting Your Credit
Credit Cards
Paycheck Deductions
Tenant Rights
www.cashcourse.org/cmc
Resources
Financial Planning
•
•
•
•
http://vimeo.com/60345640
Step 1: Define your financial goals
Step 2: Make plans to reach your goals
Step 3: Take action until your goals become a reality
Resources available on cashcourse.org/cmc
• Understanding Needs vs. Wants Worksheet
• Budget Worksheet
Financial Aid
Eligibility for Financial Aid
• Cost of attendance – Expected Family Contribution
(EFC) = NEED
• FASFA4caster on www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov helps
determine eligibility for federal aid and expected
family contribution
• Rap explaining FAFSA process
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embed
ded&v=e2d7IfFgxTs
Factors for Qualifying…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Academic Performance
Full or part-time status
Involvement in Athletics and extra-curriculars
Military experience-you, your parents, your spouse
Your career choice (nurses, teachers, etc.)
Willingness to serve in military or service org.
Religious, cultural, or ethnic background
Contact Financial Aid
• When to Communicate
-You forgot to report key information
-Your financial situation has changed
-You have a question
-You receive outside aid such as a scholarship
Contact Information
Student Financial Aid
121 Rollins Hall
757-683-3683 (office) 757-683-5920 (fax)
http://www.odu.edu/finaidoffice
When you don’t have enough…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
File an appeal if your situation has changed!
Apply for more scholarships
Get a job
Reduce expenses
Talk with your parents
Take out a private loan
AmeriCorps
ROTC
Find a job that offers employee education benefits
Finding scholarships
• College Board
www.collegeboard.com
Fast Web
www.fastweb.monster.com
The Princeton Review
www.princetonreview.com
Edupass(for internationals)
www.edupass.org
NASFAA-info for specific
majors
www.nasfaa.org/students/A
bout_Financial_Aid.aspx
• Gates Millennium
Scholars www.gmsp.org
• Hispanic Scholarship
Fund www.hsf.net
• Japanese American
www.jacl.org
• Latin American
• www.inesc.org
• United Negro College
Fund www.uncf.org
• And many more…
Protecting Your Identity
Top Ten Ways
Don’t give personal information over the phone
Go paperless.
Shred everything.
Review financial statements.
Use a secure mailbox.
Opt out from pre-approved credit card offers.
Keep technology secured.
Don’t get hooked by “phishing” scam.
Check your credit report with 3 national agencies.
www.annualcreditreport.com free each year
10. Report identity theft.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Protecting Your Credit
Your Credit
• Your credit rating is like your GPA-easier to maintain
than to repair!
• National Foundation for Credit Counseling
www.debtadvice.org
• Don’t assume your account balance at the ATM or
online is correct. There can be a lag in time for
purchases to be processed.
• Check your statements, your annual credit reports, and
try to maintain your budget.
Check Bouncing
• Your bank charges a fee, which can be as high as $38
per check.
• The store charges a fee.
• There are possible overdraft charges.
Debit vs. Credit Cards
• If your debit and credit cards are stolen and used
fraudulently- the protection available on the cards is
different.
• For Debit cards, your liability is $50 if the fraud is
reported to the bank within 2 business days… but if
longer than 2 days you could lose up to $500.
• For Credit cards, your liability is capped at $50
maximum.
Credit Cards
Managing Credit Cards
1. Choose your credit card-don’t let it choose you.
2. Avoid signing up for multiple cards.
3. Read the terms and conditions before signing up.
4. Read the mail your cc company sends. (required to
give 45 days notice of any rate increases)
5. Opt to have a fixed credit limit that you can’t exceed.
Credit Cards cont.
6. Only charge what you can afford to pay back.
7. Pay off your balance each month and on time.
8. Never co-sign for a friend’s credit card.
9. Report lost or stolen credit cards promptly.
10. Make a plan to pay off large balances.
Paycheck Deductions
Where is my paycheck going?
• FICA: Federal Insurance Contributions Act-These are
contributions to Social Security and Medicare. You pay
6.2% to SS and 1.45% to Medicare. Your employer
also pays the same amount on your behalf.
• Federal Income Tax-Paid to the federal government
and calculated as a percentage of your income, range
from 10-35%.
• State Income Tax-paid to the state and calculated
depending on your home state.
• Local Tax-Some cities also charge a tax.
• Use the Paycheck Analyzer on
www.cashcourse.org/cmc to calculate your take-home
pay.
Tenant Rights in
Virginia
VRLTA
• Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA)
• Certain rights when 1. moving in 2. renting 3. before
eviction
• You are covered by VRLTA if you live in an apartment
building or multi-family housing. (multi-family means
you share heating, hot water, entry and exit, or some
other service w/ another unit in the same building)
• You are also covered in a single-family house if your
landlord rents out more than 10 homes in a county or 4
in a city.
Leases
• Lease- a contract stating what the landlord will do and
what the renter will do
• Terms- how much, security deposit details, when rent is
due and when it is late, amount of late fee, length of
lease, if utilities are included, if appliances are
included, how much notice is due when moving out
• Month to Month Tenancy- no lease, just pay once a
month, tenancy can be ended by the renter or tenant
with written notice 30 days before the rent is due
Leases-Important Tip
• If you and the landlord agree to
something that is not written in
the lease, write it down either on
the lease or a separate document
and have both parties sign and
date. Keep a copy for yourself.
Security Deposit
• Under VRLTA, a security deposit cannot be more than
2 months rent (first and last)
• The landlord may hold a portion of the deposit to cover
unpaid utilities. You must receive written notice at least
15 days before and confirmation 10 days after payment
is made.
• Within 45 days of when you move out the landlord must
return your deposit or send you an itemized list of
damages
• If you have lived there for more than 13 months the
landlord must give you interest on the deposit.
Payment
• By law your landlord is required to give a written
receipt upon request by the tenant whenever the rent is
paid with cash or money order. Always request a
receipt when paying with cash/money order!
• If you want an accounting of all charges and payments,
you must provide a written request to your landlord.
He is required to provide 12 months or the length of
the tenancy, whichever is shorter within 10 business
days after receiving your request.
Payment cont.
• If you do not give the proper written notice when you
are moving, you may be held liable for additional rent
even if you are no longer living on the premises.
• The landlord may not shut off utilities, lock the tenant
out of the rental unit, or evict the tenant without giving
notice and going to court.
• This information is not legal advice. Go to
www.vlas.org for legal information and resources.
Sharing Housing
• Roommates should discuss the following and have a
simple written agreement• Utilities: the portion of each utility, including
telephone, that every tenant is to pay. It may be
advisable for each utility to be billed to a different
tenant.
• Rent: the amount of the rent, the date it is due and who
is responsible for making payment to the landlord.
Insurance
• The landlord is not responsible for
damages to a tenant’s property unless it
is caused by negligence on his/her part.
It is hard to prove negligence.
Repairs & Maintenance
• Under Virginia law, unless properly agreed
otherwise, all landlords must do these things:
- Follow building and housing codes affecting health
and safety
- Make all repairs needed to keep place fit and habitable
- Keep in good and safe working order all electrical,
plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air
conditioning, and other facilities and appliances that
the landlord supplies
- Prevent or remove rodent infestations.
- Keep clean and safe any common areas used by more
than one tenant.
Tenant Responsibility
• Under Virginia law, all tenants must do these things:
- Keep your rented space and plumbing as clean and
safe as conditions permit
- Use all utilities and appliances reasonably
- Get ride of trash
- Do not destroy or damage property, or allow others to
do so
- Follow the lease and reasonable rules of your landlord
Resources
• www.cashcourse.org/cmc tons of information, financial
tools, worksheets…
• http://www.odu.edu/finaidoffice Student Financial Aid
• www.annualcreditreport.com Free reports from 3
national credit agencies
• www.vlas.org Virginia Legal Aid Society
• www.studentaid.ed.gov Federal Student Aid
• www.fafsa.gov Free Application for Fed. Student Aid
• www.optoutprescreen.com Stop most credit card offers
• www.nfcc.org National Foundation for Credit
Counseling