The following segment about FCS and CSUN Saves has been excerpted from a CSUN Today article by Hansook Oh: CSUN Blazes Trail in Financial Literacy Education
The financial aid department also works with CSUN Saves, another program on campus dedicated to financial literacy. Spearheaded by family and consumer sciences professor Linda Bradley, the program is an affiliate of the national America Saves campaign, an initiative sponsored by the Consumer Federation of America. In addition to participating in the annual America Saves Week, CSUN Saves engages students through events and social media.
Bradley incorporates CSUN Saves into her family finance course as a service-learning project in which students organize and participate in the promotion of financial literacy on campus. CSUN is the first university in the country to use service-learning with an America Saves campaign.
“Our goal is to keep putting financial education information out in front of students any way we can,” Bradley said. “Giving students the opportunity to teach others is important, because teaching someone else helps enhance learning and helps you remember the material. They get out and talk to other students about the importance of saving money, setting goals and learning how to budget.”
Bradley said her class comes up with creative and fun ideas to reach out to students. In spring 2015, CSUN Saves hosted a financial resource fair and board game night where students played games such as Monopoly, CASHFLOW and Pay Day. Wells Fargo and CSUN’s Institute of Community Health and Wellbeing provided pizza and refreshments, while representatives from the financial aid department, Wells Fargo, Matadors Community Credit Union, 1st Choice Financial Education and Counseling, CSUN Smart Spenders and the CSUN Bookstein Institute for Higher Education in Taxation presented to students or provided information and prizes.
Students also use social media and written and multimedia content to promote financial topics relevant to their CSUN classmates, such as where to use a student ID card to get discounts, how to use coupons to save money, how to entertain on a budget and finding smart ways to earn extra income. The campaign also encourages students to make pledges to save money and come up with a plan to follow through.
Caterina Galvez, a junior majoring in social welfare and social justice, said she got involved with CSUN Saves after she realized the importance of financial literacy while transitioning into adulthood. She recognized she would soon be making financial choices about buying a home, contributing to a retirement fund and building an investment portfolio.
“It is very easy to make financial mistakes that can be both costly and take years to reverse if one doesn’t have an idea of how financial matters work,” she said. “From the class, I took away a multitude of financial ideas — from how to properly use credit to deciding whether I should buy or rent a car or home.”
She learned that goal-setting is important, Galvez said, as money management can be hard for CSUN students juggling multiple responsibilities with limited resources.
“Students face many challenges with money management due to limited income, rising prices of goods and having to pay for everyday needs and bills, as well as unpredictable needs like having to go to the hospital or buying a new part for their car,” Galvez said. “Money management also takes a lot of time and tracking, which most students can’t afford on top of classes, work, studying and social time.”
Bradley said financial literacy is very important for all students to learn, but especially for many of CSUN’s first-generation college students.
“A lot of students at this school support their family, and they have genuine financial concerns,” Bradley said. “It’s not just about saving money for a trip to the Bahamas for spring break — they are helping their parents pay rent. It’s about helping those students where they are now, and helping them move forward to get to better things.”