Banks team up to give helpful hints on money

     Whether money is handed over by parents or it is hard earned cash, sometimes it slips away sooner than expected.  In an attempt to sooth those money management woes, banks around Milledgeville offer their advice to students.
     Donna Collins, vice president and financial center leader of the BB&T on West Greene Street deals with students and their money mishaps on a normal basis. 
     “The biggest problem we encounter with students is just that it appears a lot of students have never had to manage a checking account on their own,” she said.  “They’re just for the first time learning how to use the debit card and they get overdrawn from time to time.”
     Managing money is an issue many students face.  College is the first time some are on their own and it can be easy to fall victim to splurging or budgeting difficulties.
     Katy Wise Greer is a senior at GCSU and overdraws her account around five times a month.
     “It’s pretty bad,” she said.  “But I have overdraft protection.”
A lot of banks offer student credit cards with protection like the one Greer has.  The banks offer automatic approval with a valid college ID.  They decline if the patron has existing bad credit. 
     Overdrawing the account is the major woe students face.  It is something Collins offered simple advice for.
     “What we normally tell students is to keep a check register.   The way they need to think of it is that as soon as you use it, that money is gone from their account,” she said. 
     Lori Riddle is the branch manager and vice president of Magnolia State Bank on East Greene Street.  She places importance on paying bills in full when they arrive in order to tone down some of the stress.
     “What I see is too many times they run up the credit card and then it’s hard to pay the bank,” she said.  “Always balance bank statements.”
     Collins suggested keeping up with all receipts and writing the amount of money spent each day to avoid going over the available balance. 
      “It’s the client’s responsibility to keep up with what they have and what they’ve spent.  You can’t rely on the bank to say there’s no more money,” she said. 
     Sometimes it is not a matter of not knowing how to manage money but actually doing it.  College students are new to the world of responsibility and for some: classes offer all the responsibility they can handle. 
     For the college students that understand the importance of keeping up with their available balance but just cannot seem to do it, online banking may be the answer.
     “You do need to be organized and you do need to keep good records and that’s something maybe a lot of students aren’t used to,” Collins said.  “Sign up for online banking.”
Many students use online banking and find it helpful to manage their budget.  Few continue to overdraw after converting. 
     “(With online banking) you can access your bank 24/7.  You can see what items have cleared and you can stay on top of what your balance is,” Collins said.  “That is truly the best way to keep up with it.”
     Credit cards can sometimes help ease the stress of money but not always. They can be harmful if used irresponsibly.
     “I recommend a credit card because it is hard to live without them,” Riddle said.
     Credit cards can typically be linked to checking accounts for overdraft protection and tends to be the way to go for students with cards.
     “I think the credit card does help,” Collins said.  “I think where a  student can get in trouble with it is if they apply for multiple cards.  I would say in the beginning just maybe get one and make sure that you can handle it properly.”
     Collins also said saving accounts are a good way to manage money and save for the future.  Students with a regular paycheck can put some away each month. 
     Being organized and responsible definitely helps when trying to manage money but it is achievable for everyone. 
     “Sometimes it is tough for a college student to save because they are on a pretty tight budget,” Collins said.  “It’s all how people save.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 5 2007. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry