Although credit card debt issues are common in the United States, individuals can solve their problems by finding their weaknesses.
About 100 students and Muncie residents were at Cooper Physical Science Building Wednesday night to listen to Tahira Hira, professor of personal finance and consumer economics at Iowa State University.
Hira spoke about the primary factors that affect people's financial decisions and shared some tips that can help save money in the short, medium, and long term.
Senior acting major Laura Spalla said the lecture confirmed and reinforced what students usually hear about saving money.
"It's information you hear all the time like 'save your money and live within your means'," she said. "But the way that she laid it out reaffirms everything that you thought you had learned about it."
Spalla said she thinks the best thing students can do is live within their means.
"We get into college and we get into the outside life and we think we need everything that our parents have - which they have accumulated throughout their lifetime," she said. "But we want it now, so I think that is our biggest problem."
Alice Spangler, chairperson of the department of family and consumer sciences, said lectures like Hira's would be helpful for students who are about to graduate.
"Students have money now," she said. "And they will graduate and start making an income that will take a lot of decisions to make."
Hira, appointed by former President George W. Bush to the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy in 2008, has conducted research in financial behavior in the United States and other countries.
Hira said students, like adults, are having credit issues which will affect their financial future.
"Credit cards make it easier for us to continue to spend beyond our means," she said. "And students are piling up a lot of credit card debt. So credit cards can be used, but only to make it a convenient mechanism of making payments."
Hira said she believed students can prevent credit debt if they get past their weaknesses.
"Think about your weaknesses," she said. "Acknowledge them, write down what you are doing wrong and find a way to correct them."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
