BY DEBORAH EVEREST-HILL
In honour of National Financial Literacy Month, McMaster students have an opportunity to learn about money management and talk about it in an interactive and entertaining way.
On Thursday, Nov. 20, students will be able to check out the new Mac’s Money Centre website — featuring the Enriched Start video-based money management tool.
The live demonstration will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mills and Thode libraries.
In addition to providing information and resources on budgeting, credit, student loans, bursaries, interest rates, saving and general money management, the new website includes tips, videos and quizzes designed for students.
“Many students are concerned about debt but are hesitant to talk about it,” said Gina Robinson, associate dean of Student Affairs and director of the Student Success Centre.
“We need to break through the barriers and get students communicating about money.”
Over the past year, the Student Success Centre has collaborated with the MSU and other university departments such as Student Accounts, Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships and MIIETL to develop a strategy to address financial literacy at McMaster.
While financial literacy initiates have been springing up across the country since the creation of a national task force, there has been little focus on university students. “Students tell us that they want to be independent when it comes to their money,” said Robinson, “but they need to be savvier.”
“Learning about financial literacy and management is incredibly important,” said Rodrigo Narro, VP of education for the MSU.
“Unfortunately, students rarely know where to go to gain this knowledge. I’m incredibly excited to see the MSU and Student Success Centre work together to bridge this knowledge gap.”
In January, third and fourth-year McMaster students will have an opportunity to enrol in an introductory course on personal finance basics.
Offered by the DeGroote School of Business, the credit course will provide basic information on banking, credit, money management, and investing as well as tips on insurance and retirement planning. Watch a short clip about the finance course here.
Faculty, staff and students interested in championing this initiative are encouraged to contact Gina Robinson at robing@mcmaster.ca or Rodrigo Narro, MSU VP, education, at rodrigonarro@hotmail.com.
Click here to learn about other National Financial Literacy Month activities including the selfie contest (#FLM2014). The deadline to enter is Wednesday, Nov. 19.
Join the conversation on Twitter at @MacsMoneyCentre.