“Money never sleeps, pal.” –(Gordon Gekko, Wall Street, 1987)

By: Mike Kelsey

The world has changed quite a bit since 1987.  Republican Ronald Reagan was the president, the median household income was $25,000, Gonzaga only had 2100 undergraduate students, and cell phones were the size of house bricks. However, some things are oddly the same. The Lakers beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals, the NYSE is recovering from a tough fall, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) is on the big screen, and financial literacy is still a difficult concept to grasp by most college students. As the finance sector of the population relishes in the sequel to Wall Street being played in theaters, we thought we would  use some of Gordon Gekko’s better lines from the original 1987 film to describe why financial literacy is a problem for college students, and give a couple of useful tips.

“The most valuable commodity I know of, is information.” (Wall Street, 1987)

Every good student should know that the more they know about their financial information the better.  The number one hurdle that trips students regarding personal finances is the simple act of tracking their expenses.  Fortunately this can be as simple as keeping a register on a piece of paper, or downloading a clever app for your phone that tracks expenses for you.  Keeping a register of any kind will also build skills that may be applied sooner than your daughter or son thinks. By his or her junior year, your student could be living off campus with as many as four or five bills coming due each month.  Knowing how to account for those bills will help with purchasing decisions in the long term. If the age-old “I don’t have time to write all my receipts down” excuse comes up, encourage your student to explore a more automated expense tracking system. Websites like www.Mint.com and www.moneyStrands.com compile account information into a single site, clearly shows how much money is being spent each month, and in what categories. These sites help build budgets and constantly encourage savings through tips and its functions. However, if you ever question a website’s security you should refrain from putting any financial information onto it. Only use sites that have been proven safe and have the proper credentials.

“Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.” (Wall Street, 1987)

Not exactly, and at a Jesuit institution like Gonzaga this is an exact opposite principle that we teach; however, this quote is pertinent because just as greed landed the film’s antagonist in jail for 23 years, greed can easily land many college students in another serious problem: debt. The FDIC recommends that most adults carry no more than two to four credit cards at a time (including rewards cards for department stores or airlines), especially college students. With each credit card that is obtained a person’s buying power is increased by thousands of dollars. With impulses being hard to control in college as it is, no one needs the temptation of high buying power at their fingertips. However, all credit cards should not be shunned, having one and using it for small purchases that can be paid off easily can really help a student’s credit score for down the road when bigger purchases will need to be made. Keep in mind, credit cards aren’t the only way to build credit. This can also be done simply by holding some bills, such as a cell phone bill, in a student’s name and having them pay it off each month. Help your student avoid the greed is good” philosophy and recommend that they carry as little amount of plastic as possible.

“Every battle is won before it’s ever fought. Think about it.” (Wall Street, 1987)

By learning to save and finding cleaver ways to do it, the battle against financial illiteracy can become significantly easier. A simple savings plan of putting money away each month is another good personal finance habit to develop. However, with limited income as a college student a more practical way of saving is by actually finding good deals on the things you use most. A few simple ways to do this are things like leaving a car at home to avoid the gas expense and cost of maintenance, buying used books instead of new when possible, knowing where all the Gonzaga discounts are and actually using them, and taking full advantage of the meal plans offered (if your son or daughter constantly has meals in the COG or dining dollars left over at the end of the semester, consider a cheaper meal plan the following term).  Great deals can be found on entertainment too if you know where to look.  Plenty of websites are available to discover more savings, as well as phone applications to download if your son or daughter has such a capability. All these things just take a few short minutes of research, try them out for yourself and pass them on to your students.

“If there’s one thing I learned in prison, it’s that money is not the primary commodity in our lives, time is.” (Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, 2010)

Students will spend hours putting together plans for the weekend or what time they need to get in line for basketball tickets, but try to encourage them to take a slice of their free time and implement some of these tips.  For your son or daughter the time is now to develop healthy habits. At Gonzaga we encourage healthy habits of the mind, body, and spirit. Balance is the most important aspect of a Jesuit education and often we waste far too much time by not giving it enough thought. Taking the precious commodity of time and applying it in a healthy way will save vast amounts of money in a college career.