As young adults, money management becomes more relevant in the lives of part-time employees, investors, savers, and even college students. Yet, with busy schedules and what not, these individuals often find themselves not being able to attend seminars or one on one conversations on how to pursue better financial health. Luckily, for those who attend Sonoma State University, the opportunity is one zoom link away. 

Every Wednesday night of Sept., Sonoma State University and Wells Fargo will be hosting their “Noma Nation Money Matters Financial Health Series,” which can be accessed through their Zoom link on their digital flyer. This series will provide three more workshops for those who are interested in receiving advice and better awareness of handling money. 

Mo Phillips, the director of Student Involvement, considers this event to be essential for college students and hopes it will provide great guidance when it comes to managing their money.

“We make a lot of mistakes when we are young, regarding budgeting getting credit and abusing it…this is an opportunity to learn about these things now,” said Ms. Phillips

Phillips explains that she too has made financial mistakes in college and uses that experience as motivation for this event. 

“I am hopeful that this series will help students learn things now that will help them to have a more stable financial future,” said Phillips. 

Previous workshops consisted of financial health and budgeting and saving. The remaining Wednesday night workshops consist of credit management, protection from identity theft, and responsibilities of student loan repayment. These workshops begin at either 5 p.m or 6.pm and will be recorded for those who can’t attend.

“The credit talk is next week and that is a key one for students to learn more about before they start to get credit cards. Building credit is important but there are ways to do it without falling into debt and not being able to easily get out of it,” said Phillips. 

The STAR reached out to Wells Fargo for a comment about the series but was unable to get a statement at this time. 

According to a survey conducted by The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administration (NASFAA), incoming college students are not as knowledgeable, or aware, of financial health than one would think. 

“The survey found that most respondents struggled to answer basic financial literacy questions, and on average only answered two of six questions correctly,” said NASFFA Senior Reporter, Allie Bidwell. 

“While nearly all respondents (90 percent) said they had experience with a checking account, just 60 percent were personal accounts, while the rest were joint or custodial accounts. Still, just 59 percent said they had checked their balances in the past year. Fewer students also reported creating (40 percent) or using (43 percent) a budget,” wrote Bidwell. 

Although the Money Matters workshops can benefit students, there are other resources available for those who can’t attend the series. 

Annuity.org, a free website that provides monetary advice, financial literacy is defined asnot letting money dictate one’s life, either positively or negatively. 

“To be financially literate means having the ability to not let money – or the lack of it – get in the way of your happiness as you work hard and build an American dream complete with a long and fulfilling retirement.”

Not only does Annuity.org provide advice on money managment, but it can also speak to those who see themselves starting businesses, looking into real estate, or in hopes of starting to plan out their retirement. 

 Prioritizing money can be difficult, especially for college students who are trying to manage their funds the best they can. Resources such as the Money Matters series, or Annuity.org, can be taken to one’s advantage and benefit those in the long term. 

So, whether you are a student who wants to gain more knowledge on money management or it  is your first time being introduced to financial health, the Noma Nation Money Matters Series is for you.