By Mark Muckenfuss

Nicole Avila, a molecular biology major, knows she spends more shopping than she probably should, and that she should budget more carefully. She’s likely not alone among her freshmen peers at CSU Monterey Bay. 

“I just don’t want to face it,” Avila said.

But a Feb. 27 workshop for students in the College Assistance Migrant Program helped her do just that. Students with the Second Year Experience, a support group for students in what is considered the transition year, are presenting a four-part series on financial literacy to the CAMP group at its weekly meetings. The goal is to help guide students and others toward making wiser decisions when it comes to money. 

Monday’s session was the second of the four sessions. The workshops are open to anyone. The final two will be held March 6 and 20, at noon in Room 108 of the Student Center. 

Daisy Moore is the Mentorship and Equity in Transitions to Achieve Student Success student affairs generalist and director of Second Year Experience. She began the Feb. 27 workshop by asking the CAMP group a question.

“The biggest reason students drop out of school is what?” she said.

A student suggested it was money. 

“Yes,” Moore said, “money.”

That’s why it is important for students, as well as others, to be able to control their finances and make the most of what they have. 

Moore then looked on as second-year students Aaron Wickware and Ash Sokhom led the group through a series of questions designed to help them identify what style of money manager they might be, and then provided some strategies for making those styles effective. 

For instance, those who like to see their cash in physical form, were encouraged to have a series of envelopes, one for each of their budgeted expenses, such as rent, food and entertainment. The budgeted amount for each expense would be placed in each envelope to better keep track of the cash flow. Various apps and spreadsheet programs were suggested for those who were more inclined to track their finances digitally or on paper. 

Avila said she found the session helpful.

“This kind of put more into perspective what I’m spending money on,” she said. “I feel like I’ll take the time to sit down and figure out where my money is going.”

Wickware said he thinks few of his peers budget their expenditures.

“A lot of my peers don’t actually know how to manage their funds,” he said. “But I have the knowledge now and I can spread it among my friends.”

That knowledge has helped him as well. 

“I found out I was actually losing money each month,” he said. 

Now, he is taking steps to balance his budget and regularly set aside some savings.

Moore said financial literacy is one of four pillars of the Second Year Experience program. The other three are building identity, mindfulness and career development. Events are planned for all of these, but she said students can also make suggestions for workshop topics. 

She encourages students who wish to attend the other financial literacy sessions to register on MyRaft, although it’s not required. 

Go to the Second Year Experience web page for more information.