Banker stresses budgets
by Monica Price
reporter

   Budgeting for the future could be the key to a student’s financial success, a bank representative told NE students recently.
   “Saving money is one of the hardest things to learn how to do, especially when starting on your own,” Greg Mangum, Capital One community    relations specialist, said in Practical Money Skills for Life.
   The seminar was directed at students who are entering the world of checking accounts, credit cards and budgeting.
   Students differ from most other banking groups because budgeting work, school and free time is something that they are fairly new to and just beginning to understand, Mangum said.
   “There are three important steps that everyone needs to remember: set your priorities, make a plan and stick to your plan,” he said.
   Having a budget puts students in control and helps them balance between their wants and their needs, Mangum said.
   Mangum believes the key for students is to start their budgeting now and plan further down the line.
   “Students need to be looking five to 10 years down the line instead of just next month or next semester,” he said. “Students seem to overlook their future expenses such as a house, kids or vacations.”
   According to Mangum, the biggest problems students face when budgeting their money are remembering ATM fees and balancing their checkbooks.
   “Verifying checks, deposits and debt/ATM transactions, correcting errors in the check registry and identifying outstanding transactions are the first big step a good banker can make,” he said.
   Mangum cautioned students to watch their purchases and ATM card usage.
   “You can’t have it all is the one thing that students need to remember,” he said.
   Anyone with banking and credit needs or questions can find help, Mangum said; people just need to know where to look. Mangum said the Internet has great resources and almost any bank will be more than happy to answer student questions.