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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2000)
Wednesday,Amman, Wednesday, August 23,2(X)0 I £// fp ti ik* QH 6»v v T (y Page 3 THE BATTALION Frceshmaunt Filecamccce 1(0)11 Tips and tricks for avoiding debt during the college years ■ ART VILLANUEVA/TheBa 3s his mother goodb|t rps of Cadets this fall, ME outinued from Paw aid she did not expect fid etc with returning cadets to:| sources because Restel red for a busy move-inda; t today allows volunteers! their efforts on helpingtk d was intended to alleviai; g on Sunday, but otherelt- need Residence Life’sdeti' an official welcome day, ited new students and pat pecial and welcome and® would be a good way tod« d. He attributed the succ® m to the AggiesV/ffihgntei id help one another. ;oing to work anywhere, k here,” Sasse said, graduate of the University id, “It is just to mewl about. There is a cam ranscends age and status, isslin, a resident advisor in and junior recreation,park: major, said check-in hit h experience thus far. Oft who will be livingonli: ve have arrived and bees- to move in today, e RAs are excited abouttk hey are the sprit ofthecaic i said, only assists those livings kum said Residence Lit ; no arrangements to bt| reshmen. sy get on campus, we i,” he said, i that if the program haJi would be that parentsar time off work to helptk e in today. talio tditor in Chief lanaging Editor iuddin, City Editor la, Graphics Editor 3, Sports Editor i, Sports Editor i, Sci/Tech Editor loff, Aggielife Editor n, Aggielife Editor )inion Editor ison, Photo Editor Photo Editor 5, Night News Editor t, Copy Chief Radio Producer :on, Web Master udent Publications, a unit ol the Oep^P' f ' ,, 1013 Reed McDonald Building. 7; E-mail: batt@unix.tamu.edu; Webs* e campus, local, and national idvertising, call 845-0569. Advertising^ office bouisareSa.m.toSp.m. krt ^ 1 Student Services Fee entitles each te Battalion. school year, $30 for the fall or spring* 1 ** charge by Visa, MasterCard, Dis«)W,i> l * , * ,<f ' 4726) is published daily, Monday isters and Monday throughltasdayrirf'’' sity holidays and exam periods) atTefl^ lallon, 7843-1111, By Stuart Hutson The Battalion When Alex Ly received his new credit card his freshman year, he never imagined that he would be $4,500 in debt by the time he was a senior. “It is really easy to spend more money than what you have when you don’t actually see the money changing hands,” said Ly, a Texas A&M senior aerospace engineering major. “This is especially true when you are buying things online where you only have to enter the card number and expiration date.” The fall semester is quickly approaching, and as students prepare themselves for trials of college courses, one examination is com monly failed by freshmen who are new to the concept of independence — the test of fi nancial responsibilities. Activities that seem to take care of them selves when students are home with their par ents can quickly add up to unexpected debts for those who never realized how much gro cery shopping or even doing laundry costs. In compensation, many stu dents misuse financial tools of fered by lending and credit institutions to cover the spending gap. The result can be a debt that adds to the money pit students dig with student and emer gency loans; however, there are some simple ways to avoid the road to financial ruin. Choose your accounts wisely In any college town, banks are as ubiqui tous as gas stations, and choosing the right bank can be an ordeal matched only by a vis it to the local DPS. “Everyone needs to look at the require ments imposed and services offered by nu merous lending institutions before deciding on the one that they use,” said Jeremy Roark, a customer service representative with Wells Fargo Bank. “All financial institutions are different in some way. While one checking account may be perfect for one person, an other person may not be able to keep up with some requirements that may come along with the checking account. Don’t just assume that every place is the same.” Roark said students should balance requirements and service charges (such as ATM fees and overdraft charges) of numerous banks before choosing one. “For some people, a minimum balance is a good thing because it can come along with benefits, and it may provide some level of in surance,” he said. “For others, it just may not be possible to keep that amount in the bank.” Practice safe banking At some point in time, everyone has lost a dollar bill or some spare change in the cush ions of a friend’s couch or through a hole in the pocket of their favorite broken-in jeans. However, losing a check or credit card may be a much more costly experience. “Never leave your checks or cards laying around where someone else — even your roommate — can find them,” Roark said. “I’m not saying that everyone can’t be trust ed, but it just provides too easy of a chance for someone to misuse your credit account or pass a check in your name.” Roark also said that every one should be cautious when using an ATM. “Never use an ATM in a dark or suspicious area, and when you are using a machine guard your PIN number from others’ view,” he said. “Also, if you do any trans action online, be sure you initi ated that transaction — in other words don’t respond to a solicita tion like you would get via email — and make sure that you log off properly so that someone can’t follow you and use your credit account or see your bank files.” One word: Budget If there is one word that freshmen tire of (besides “class” or “test”), it is “budget.” Parents, professors and counselors all seem to say nothing else other than, “You should learn to budget your time better,” or “You should learn to budget your money better.” In the case of mon ey, the advice should be well received. “Establishing a proper budget and sticking to it is crucial to financial survival,” said Deborah Rabi- nowitz, a counselor for A&M’s Student Coun seling Service. “Most college students have this finite amount of money they can spend, and you have to be able to know where to spend it on the nec essary things before you can spend it on the enjoyable things.” Rabinowitz said making a budget too strict is often one of the largest mistakes made. “When you sit down to make up a budget, you should consider your income, and then where you have to necessarily spend that in come,” she said. “But, if you don’t allow some extra for a little free-spending or entertainment, the budget will usually end up a failure.” “It is a lot like being on a diet that only lets you eat five things. Eventually you are going to break down and eat something else, and when you do, you are most likely going to go on an eating binge and develop a real problem ” Rabinowitz also suggests that students keep close tabs on where and when they spend their money so that they can determine whether the budget is working. Remember to phone home For many freshmen, income from parents is essential to financial survival, but freshmen usually have enough problems communicat ing with their folks without bringing money into the mix. “College is a time when students are gain ing independence while parents are learning to let go. This can bring in a lot of control is sues, and unfortunately, these usually involve parents controlling the student through use of money,” Rabinowitz said. “It may be a form of bribery such as, ‘I’ll pay you a little more if you are a specific major,’ or it may be something as severe as ‘You don’t get any thing if you aren’t in the Corps of Cadets.’ ” She said the best way for parents and stu dents to resolve the issue is to plan the stu- r "Freshmen don't really need credit cards, especially if you live on-campus, because most haven't learned to balance money and what they want. There is plenty of time later to get one." - Frankie Kalbow, senior elementary education major —rise Checking "Make up a shopping list and stick to it when you go to the store so that you only buy what you need. You will probably buy a few extra things, but at least it won't be as bad." -Carl Eggenberger, senior animal science major "Always budget the amount that you want to spend for fun for the weekend. A lot of times, people will spend most of their cash while they are just having fun and not thinking about what they are spending." -Ben Burt, senior theatre major "Credit cards are evil tools if you don't watch how you use them. They are great in an emergency, but can be addictive if you constantly use them for online buys and traveling." -Alex Ly, senior aerospace engineering major WISE I FULLY LEARNED) GHTS FROM JPPERCLASSMEN dent’s income on the basis of an estimated budget that is revised as the student learns more about how much college costs. “After the budgeting, the student should keep track of exactly what they spend mon ey on and then share that information with their parents,” Rabinowitz said. “That way, the parents have a better understanding of what is going on with the student.” Credit cards: necessary evils? “Credit cards are evil tools that will suck your money away,” Ly said. But, if used properly, credit cards can of fer vital assistance in times of emer gency or when traveling and can help establish a credit history. “The trick is knowing when you can use them and when you shouldn’t,” Rabinowitz said. “I see a lot of students who have gone into debt because, for some reason or other, they just didn’t control their use.” To keep a lid on the charges students rack up on the monthly bills, Rabinowitz suggests that students use only one credit card and ig nore incentives offered by companies and de partment stores. “[Credit card companies and stores] dan gle these incentives like ‘20 percent off elec tronics’ in front of the faces of students and end up convincing students that the cards will offer some big benefit that they never deliv er,” she said. Rabinowitz also suggests that students should not get cards until they know they can financially handle them. “They are great in the emergency, but, in the meanwhile, they are just extra stress,” she said. “As for developing good credit, there are other ways — like paying bills on time.” A R The Best Seat In Town ^ \ V3nA\m\ted checking O V \'No monthly service charge \ ¥ree Check 8c ATT^vV Card \ \ Free hankSmart Home BarAdng \ \ First 50 checks are Iree V \ Check salekeeping (f \ \ 8 convenient locations O \ 11 MM' FIRST . if#jnerican ^^BANK Open your account online. www.first-american-bank.com Member FDIC p_ We’re here to help. Call us. llll B ^ narcrest Dr./260-4300 • 1660 Briarcrest Dr./260-4300 • 201 S. Texas Ave./260-4350 1001 W. Villa Maria/260-4488 College Station: 701 Harvey Rd./260-4477 • 711 University Dr./260-4333 • 2717 Texas Ave. S./260-4360 Caldwell: 114 S. 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