What is financial wellbeing? Before taking Barnard’s Financial Wellbeing course this fall, I was pretty much clueless as to how to manage my money in college. Now, I am well-versed on the subject, and you should be, too.. We students juggle not only tuition and textbook costs, but also shopping sprees, coffee runs, and Sunday lunches. Money affects a large part of your life, from your free time to your happiness. That’s why it is so important to learn about financial wellbeing, from creating a budget for yourself during the school year to building credit and investing in the future.
Merielen Espino, Riya Rao, and Gabriela Martinez Rodriguez started training to be financial ambassadors before the LeFrak Center for Financial Wellbeing was created, and ever since then, their work has greatly expanded! After their training, they became certified as financial instructors and built their program with the mission of teaching financial fluency for everyone. There is also a program for international students adapting to finances in New York. These programs are semester-long, and are beginner friendly! What is unique about this program this semester is how they kick off each session; Riya, a junior at Barnard, notes that program ambassador Merielen started to include “historical implications of what we learn that session…which ties into why that’s important for this community, especially [being] a women’s college where we want to support each other and empower each other”.
I interviewed these ambassadors, curious to learn about what they strive to achieve in this program.
- Merielen wants the students who come to each session to not only attend, take notes, and ask questions, but also “take action…We emphasize putting it into practice, especially because it is a beginner course that is not only supposed to introduce [financial fluency] but also get them comfortable with opening accounts, navigating their finances for the first time…and being independent”.
- Gabriela, a sophomore at Barnard, encouraged students to take their program because “[women] have been systematically left out of the conversations and spaces where we can learn about money and manage money…Regardless of your [family background] or what kind of spaces you have been in before, this [program] gives you the opportunity to sit down in a room and think about and learn about money on your own…it puts everyone on the same level of understanding”.
- They all emphasized that with more knowledge, you can gain more confidence in managing your money independently. And that space to effectively learn about that is right in the LeFrak theater, every Monday evening!
We also talked about common misconceptions about things like credit, high yield savings accounts, and investing, merely a few of the topics we have covered in this unique program. Gabriela, Merielen, and Riya reflected on the fact that it is common for our generation to believe you have to be at a certain financial footing in order to invest or open a high yield savings account, or that opening multiple credit cards is risky. Riya talked of the “misinformation around us, especially because there are so many finance bros…who have their own opinions about [money]”, and how that might scare people in confronting their finances and learning about where they are at. However, Merielen emphasized that even though we live in a digital generation where we are subject to many misconceptions, “[everyone] should look at their finances and face their finances because that’s step one before you start getting a hold of your finances…finance impacts everyone”.
Having a sense of what you can do with your money instead of hiding your bank app will force you out of your comfort zone—in a positive way! You will be equipped to make good decisions that will enhance your lifestyle, beginning in college and throughout your life. I highly recommend checking out the LeFrak Financial Wellbeing Certificate Program and meeting these three amazing ambassadors who strive for more financial fluency across Barnard campus.