Financial Literacy at the University of Minnesota Duluth Niki Pechinski, Financial Literacy Educator

Financial Literacy at the University of Minnesota Duluth

Niki Pechinski, Financial Literacy Educator

Presentation Synopsis Live Like a Student at the University of Minnesota Duluth was created in June 2013 by Niki Pechinski, Financial Literacy Educator in the Office of Financial Aid.

The mission of Live Like a Student is to inspire positive financial behavior in students.

This presentation will demonstrate best practices and future trajectory in Financial Literacy at UMD.

Agenda• Best practices

– Get started– Initiatives– No such thing as “one size fits all” program!

• The future– For-credit financial literacy peer mentoring

“Housekeeping”• Financial Literacy at UMD is located in the Office of

Financial Aid– Provides a “holistic” approach to student finances– where financial aid meets personal finance.

• The Financial Literacy Educator position is full-time!

Best Practices• Start with young minds• Meet students where they are • Use your network• Don’t be a secret resource!

Initiatives at UMDWelcome Week Game Show

In-class presentations

1:1 meetings

Semester poster campaigns

Website and Social Media

Use Your Network• Be flexible with your message.• Future manager with a

departmental or R&D budget? – Manages your own

finances competently first! • Communicate with other

financial literacy professionals – Don’t reinvent the wheel – Share resources

Emphasize Financial Security

…not financial success.

Teach Fluency in the Basics

1. Budgeting

2. Borrowing

3. Credit

Provide Relevancy and Context

Two things happen for students in college:

1. Increase in financial complexity

2. Decrease in timely information related to finances

Paint the Big Picture• Provide resources that inform students about

their own financial situation– How to track spending and make a budget– Where to view student loan information– Where to retrieve and understand a credit report

The Future

• Debt Report Card• For-credit financial literacy peer

mentoring

Debt Report Card

• Student loan debt and repayment projection will appear in the online portal

• Comparison to national averages• Modeled after the wildly successful

“Debt Letters” initiative at Indiana University

Financial Peer Mentor Program

• Coming Spring 2016!• Train 25 mentors in financial literacy basics and

mentoring via a two-credit upper division elective• “Match” mentors with one or two mentees• Mentees and mentors work together for one

semester on mentee’s personal financial situation• Completely free for mentees!

Thank youNiki Pechinski, Financial

Literacy Educator

npechins@d.umn.edu

(218) 726-7039