What is financial literacy? It means knowing how to wisely handle your money. From saving, budgeting, loans and credit, learn the tools you need to be money smart at MSU! We have many resources for you to choose from, including classes, events, scholarships and even an app!
HDFS 138 – Introduction to Financial Literacy – 2 credits, fall semester only, restricted to freshman and sophomores.
HDFS 238 – Personal Finance – 3 credits, fall, spring, or summer semester, open to all MSU students.
HDFS 438 – Applied Resource Management Practicum – 3 credits, fall or spring semester, open to juniors and seniors in College of Social Science.
HDFS 454 – Family Resource Management – 3 credits, fall or spring semester, open to juniors and seniors in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies.
Typically held both fall and spring semesters, the Go for the Green team hosts free educational workshops and presentations, scholarship opportunities and events focused on educating undergraduate students around key money management issues.
MSUFCU is a key partner and provides the following free services:
Financial 4.0 Website and Mobile App
MSU Federal Credit Union’s (MSUFCU) Financial 4.0 program has a website and mobile app with financial literacy content created for MSU students by their Financial Education department and MSU student interns. Content includes financial articles, information about upcoming events, quizzes to test your financial knowledge, financial calculators, and more! Visit https://msufcufin40.evergreen3c.com/ or download the mobile app available on iOS or Android devices by searching for Financial 4.0.
Financial 4.0 Sessions
MSUFCU offers free financial literacy sessions virtually and in-person in all five campus neighborhoods. Sessions range from 30-45 minutes and some classes may even provide extra credit for attending. Topics include but are not limited to:
Financial literacy sessions can also be requested to have a Financial Educator speak with your class, organization, or fraternity or sorority by emailing financialeducation@msufcu.org.
The Minor in Resource Management from the Individual, Family, and Societal Perspective provides interdisciplinary knowledge from an ecological perspective, preparing students to manage, counsel, and work in a wide range of placements in human service, nonprofit and for-profit sectors. The minor also prepares students to be more literate and capable personal money managers.
Meet alumnus Paul Pradel and learn about his financial planning journey and his passion for sharing about financial literacy.
As part of the 2023 Go for the Green Paul Pradel Financial LIteracy Ambassador Scholarship Program, the following students created infographics and videos describing financial literacy, why it's important and some strategies: Hayleigh Atkin, Maggie Carless, Matthew Dorado Farietta, Parameswar Nair, Maddie Shlaimoon and Tushar Thakur.
Image description: The green and white infographic includes symbols such as a piggy bank, a credit card, signature, dollar bills and conversation bubbles. The text reads Go for the Green! Why financial literacy and includes the following text:
Image description: The infographic is titled spartan budgeting, has many symbols of the helmet and money and has the following sections and text:
Defensive budgeting section reads that saving $5 a day on coffee could lead to nearly $1,500 in savings over a year. Avoid debt like you would avoid spoilers. One in three households carries credit card debt from month to month. Avoid lifestayle inflation as income grows.
Allocation strategies section reads MSU offers a variety of financial literacy courses such as HDFS 138 which is an introduction to financial literacy and HDFS 238 is personal finance. Use the 50/30/20 rule for budget allocation, which means allocating 50% of your income to necessities such as housing, utilities, transporation, 30% discretionary expenses such as entertainment and dining out, and 20% to savings and debt repayment.
Image description: The image has two columns, one with the do's of saving and one with the don'ts. The do's column includes plan ahead when grocery shopping, buy in larger quantities, cook and eat at home, envelope money for your budget and build an emergency fund. The don't column includes impulse buy and frivolously spend money, waste food leftovers, buy fast food or eat outside, pay subscription you will rarely use and go overboard with gifts or celebration. The image includes text at the bottom that reads a survey found that 66% of college students could not answer four out of five basic financial literacy questions correctly. One in three students said they actively maintain a budget. MSU provides tailored financial literacy courses for college students.
Erica Tobe, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Studies; and Extension Specialist, MSU Extension, tobee@msu.edu.
Amanda Guinot Talbot, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Education, Human Development and Family Studies; Director of Women’s Leadership Institute, College of Social Science, guintoam@msu.edu.