Waynesburg students learn money management in weekly seminar

Video courtesy of WCTV, Lachlan Loudon

Courtesy of the Department of Business Administration, Money Matters Workshop Series will be hosted on Thursdays in the Center for Research and Economic Development (CRED) Room 104. The next meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 10.

Money Matters is a seminar series designed to inform juniors and seniors about managing their wallets, going into topics like debt and cost of living.

Senior finance major Jacob Nicholas, an assistant in the program, believes in correctly utilizing and recognizing the concept of money, but not glorifying it.

“It’s really important for people to understand how to manage their finances and have a good understanding of what they’re making versus what they can use their money for,” Nicholas said. “I don’t think money is something to be glorified, but it can be a great tool to use. The better people understand how to use that tool to help themselves, help others, I think it is beneficial.”

The series will continue across the next three weeks in CRED Room 104. The series will cover subjects ranging from employee benefits to retirement planning, with speakers from the Department of Business Administration coming in to spread their knowledge.

“You want to be able to have your own financial freedom, and that involves knowing where your own money is coming from as well as where it’s going,” senior finance major and Money Matters assistant Roby Redinger said. “So the importance of budgeting is to keep track of your expenses versus your incomes just so you have an idea of where your money is, how you’re using it and how you can do those things better.”

Last week’s session featured Wesley Herschelman, instructor of business administration, who spoke about budgeting and cost of living. He encouraged the use of Microsoft Excel to create precise budgets and made a point about measuring your income.

“Do I really need to go to Chick-fil-A today?” Hershelman asked as an example to differentiate between needs versus wants.

The series was intended for upperclassmen who are about to be financially independent as they graduate from Waynesburg University. Associate Dean of Students Pat Bristor mentioned during the introduction how some health insurance policies expire for adults using their parent’s plans once they reach a certain age.

“Especially [in] this time of life as we are graduating and moving on from college for a lot of seniors, even juniors, who are looking at that down the road, I think it’s a great time to learn about that stuff if you’re not familiar, and become more familiar with it and learn how to use it as the great tool that it is,” Nicholas said.