A representative from AccessLex gave a three-part webinar at California University of Pennsylvania, and the third and final installment occurred on Oct. 12.

Jamey Roberti and Nan Li organized a financial webinar for Cal U students, with guest presenter Jacqui Carroll, the Retail Director-Central West for AccessLex Center for Education and Financial Capability.

“Personal finance is a lot more personal than it is finance. It depends on you,” said Carroll. A person has to know themselves and make financial decisions that are the best for them personally.

Carroll gave a PowerPoint presentation about lots of things you can do and tips to help and encourage people to manage their money better.

Carroll says that finding ways to save money wherever possible is one of the most helpful things a person can do. When she originally started stopping at thrift stores, she couldn’t wait for the day that she wouldn’t have to anymore. “I can now buy anything I want now, and I still stop at thrift stores,” said Carroll.

She also gave many other tips to help people, specifically college age students, save money and make better financial decisions. One of these was to write down your goals. It makes a difference when you can write down your goals and put them somewhere you see them often and are reminded of them versus when they just exist in your head and only think of them when you happen to remember them.

One of the most important things that Carroll said is to know what you’re going to do with your money before you have it. Most people know at least a rough estimate of what their paychecks are going to look like, so she encourages people to make a budget to plan for how much money goes where, and this includes putting some money into your savings. Thirty nine percent of Americans have no savings at all, and that’s not a good situation to be in. Anything could happen, such as your car breaks down and you need to pay a mechanic to fix it, or your washing machine needs replaced. These things can be costly, and if you don’t have savings, that’s never a place a person wants to be.

The organizers also gave their input about financial decisions. Jamey Roberti said that some things he does to prevent impulse purchases are to log out of amazon and not to save your credit or debit cards. “Sometimes it feels good to look at my savings, but not spend it,” said Roberti. This can be helpful in tracking your progress when it comes to saving money.

Sometimes, your goals might not be the best, but you can follow through on them easily. “I’m not good at making smart goals, but I’m good at following my goals,” said Nan Li, one of the organizers of the webinar. Everyone has weaknesses when it comes to managing money, being aware of them is the first step in making better decisions.

At the end of the webinar, Nan Li mentioned that they will be hosting a couple more webinars in the future, so if you’re interested in that, be on the look for an announcement from Title III Grant.