Money Matters on Campus

Money Matters R ON CAMPUS How Early Attitudes and Behaviors Affect the Financial Decisions of First Year College Students Average age is 18 years old, 40,000 students 91.2% were freshmen Loan/Debt/Credit Card Behavior 28.2% have a credit card 24.6% have more than one credit card 23.7% have over $1,000 in debt 7% have been late on a payment 5.3% have OVER $5,000 in debt as the amount of spend any money left over at the end of a pay period (“If I have money left over at the end of a pay period, I just have to spend it") student LOANS state that “my life would be better if I owned certain things I don't have state that "I'd be happier if I could afford to buy more things" state that “banks should not be surprised when students incur large debts" state that “it's better to have something now and pay for it later" INCREASE report financial related stress (“I worry about debts"; "It bothers me quite a bit that I can't afford to buy all of the things l'd like") students are more likely to: report that within the past year they've “bought something even though [they] knew they couldn't afford it" Banking Behavior 86% have a Checking account of these 12.4% did not 22.5% account 58.4% have a PERSONAL account JOINT 6.7%- know type CUSTODIAL account 7.5% of students reported reported that they wrote a check when they knew they didn't have enought money in the bank to cover it Spending Attitude/Behavior A 24% have felt others would be HORRIFIED if they knew of their spending habits. have bought things even though they 20% COULDN'T AFFORD THEM Financial Attitudes A 79.2% BeT worry about DEBT 60% 30.7% think it's okay to have an overdraft fee if you know you can pay it off. believe it's better to have something now and pay for it later Employment Plans for the Next Year 58.3% plan to have a full-time job 31% plan to have a part-time summer job 26.2% plan to have an internship 25.5% plan to have a full-time summer job If there is hope to scaffold student's positive financial So now behavior, we have to address risky attitudes and what : behaviors early. Focusing only on knowledge based education, and reactive financial policies isn't enough for future generations. Promising areas of improvement include encouraging younger generations to gain real experiences with money, (such as having checking accounts), and making experiential financial learning available on a broader spectrum.