By Toma Lynn Smith
The Financial Fiesta lived up to its name with an abundance of personal finance information. The event offered valuable information not just for the college years but for the years following college as well.About 800 students were treated to food supplied by Moe’s Southwest Grill, which was paid for by Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, KHEAA, and The Student Loan People. At the fiesta, a variety of local businesses set up booths to offer information ranging from the Federal Reserve to taxes. The majority of fiesta volunteers at the booths were U of L alumni, staff, and students. In order to entice students to the fiesta, door prizes were given away, including iPods.Each student who attended had to sign in and was given a “passport”. The passport described each topic featured at the many booths. In order to qualify for the prizes, students were required to get a stamp from each booth. The original conception was in the fall of 2005 when “the provost’s office encouraged REACH and the Student Financial Aid Office to consider programming to help students better develop financial literacy skills,” said Cathy Leist, Executive Director of REACH Undergraduate Affairs. REACH, Resources for Academic Achievement, is located in Strickler Hall and offers free tutoring, free highlighters, access to computers and free coffee.One of the masterminds of this most recent fiesta is Professor Sharon Kerrick who served on this year’s organization committee. She was essential in bringing in the many companies and various resources that were featured at the fiesta.Manuel McMillan, Sr., was the Master of Ceremonies; he announced the door prize winners and told what each booth had to offer. McMillan was critical of students who abuse credit cards.KHEAA’s booth provided pamphlets about personal budgeting. Jeff Hayden of KHEAA’s marketing department urged students to “borrow what you need.” The fiesta also encouraged students to have insurance. Norman Fallot of Associated Insurance Incorporated, strongly suggests that all students should have the following insurance: health, car and home or renters.The Better Business Bureau was also there, providing information on Consumer Credit Counseling and Identity Theft.
Credit card debt
Credit card debt has become a serious problem in the U.S. today. Here are some stats from http://creditcounselingbiz.com:
? On average, 20 percent of Americans have “maxed out” their credit cards. ? Average credit card debt is $8,400 per household in the U.S.? Approximately 185 million American consumers have at least one credit card.? The average household pays $83.33 in credit card interest per month.? The typical credit card purchase is 112 percent higher than if using cash.? An $8,000 debt, at18 percent interest, will take over 25 years to pay off and cost more than $24,000 in the long run.
