SMMC News & Events Blog

This blog highlights news, events, and informative articles on personal finance from University of Illinois System's Student Money Management Center. Feel free to navigate to different categories with the list of topics on the right or search for a specific topic next to the view all link below.

Friday the 13th is often considered an unlucky day, but let's talk about how to improve your luck with 13 financial planning tips!

We have defined a few financial terms to make it easier to stay up-to-date on how COVID-19 is impacting our finances.

Use this guide to identify what modules in the University of Illinois Financial Literacy Badges Program align with your financial education needs and make a learning plan for yourself!

"Informed consent" is an important aspect of medical care. Learn what it means, why costs are a required component of it, and your options if a medical professional has not provided informed consent prior to administering services.

A power of attorney (POA) is a tool to enable someone else to make decisions on your behalf. There are several types of POAs and their functions differ. Read this article to find answers to many questions about POAs.

Planning for the unexpected can ensure that you are able to weather a financial hardship should you lose your job, have a car repair, or any other unplanned expense. By having savings set aside for emergencies, you decrease the need to rely on credit cards or loans to cover emergency situations. Your college years can be an ideal time to create and build your emergency savings.

Whether you experience scams, fraud, or discrimination, you can file complaints with the appropriate agencies. Read the steps you can take to resolve a consumer issue or file a complaint if necessary.

We aren't able to accommodate workshops by request, but we have dozens of webinar recordings on YouTube and plan new, live webinars each academic year on different financial topics. You can empower your peers or students with increased financial knowledge by throwing a webinar watch party.

Discover tools to help you prepare for dealing with potential financial emergencies by watching this webinar recording from March 30, 2022.

Learn about the many government entities in the United States and in the state of Illinois that regulate financial industries and support consumers.

Friday the 13th is often considered an unlucky day, but let's talk about how to improve your luck with personal finance!

Watch this recorded webinar to protect your wallet and personal data during holiday activities by learning essential cybersecurity tips, spotting common scams, and handling holiday hacks if they happen. 

Dissect the ins and outs of health insurance by watching this webinar recording from April 12, 2023.

This article is meant to put people, particularly first-time travellers in the United States (US), on alert on the activities of phone call scammers. 

Explore how your spending can change the world by watching this webinar recording from March 29, 2023.

Find out how to protect yourself from fraud, recognize identity theft, and what to do if you're affected with this webinar recording from September 15, 2021.

Discover investing risks & rewards by watching this webinar recording from February 8, 2023.

Learn about money memes, digital assets, and more by watching this webinar recording from January 25, 2023.

Learn about tools you can use in estate planning, like power of attorney, wills, and more, from this webinar recording from December 8, 2021.

In episode 49 of Making Cents of Money, Nikki and Andrea talk about dealing with a financial emergency, not just how to plan but how to recover once an emergency happens.

In episode 46 of Making Cents of Money, Andrea and Nikki explain many tools for estate planning, including wills, transfers, power of attorney, and more.

In episode 40 of Making Cents of Money, Andrea and Nikki bid farewell to long time co-host, Jake, as he transitions off the podcast and on to the next step in his career!

Episode 6 of Making Cents of Money, Fending Off Fraud, discusses what you need to know about the different types of fraud scamers use (especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, how to prevent fraud, and what to do if you become a victim.

Episode 9 of Making Cents of Money, Financial Education and Financial Literacy, reviewed the state of financial literacy in the United States, programs for pre-K through high school students, and resources to help parents and teachers support learning about finances in a variety of ways.

In episode 31 of Making Cents of Money, Financial Security and Stress, Andrea, Nikki, and Jake talk about statistics related to both financial security and stress and tips to deal with them.

In episode 56 of Making Cents of Money, David DeCarlo, IDFPR's Regulatory Innovation Officer, discussed what consumers should know about digital assets and regulation in this new era of fintech.

Episode 8 of Making Cents of Money, Holiday Savings Tips and New Year's Goals, explored tips to help prepare for a less stressful holiday season over the coming year as well as ways to set S.M.A.R.T. goals, be it financial or otherwise.

 In episode 125 of Making Cents of Money, Jake Hamilton returns as a guest to tell us about a new resource for consumers and businesses regarding digital assets (e.g., cryptocurrencies). 

In episode 30 of Making Cents of Money, Inflation, Jake, Nikki, and Andrea discuss what inflation is as one of many metrics to gauge how an economy is doing and how it impacts our spending power as consumers.

Episode 13 of Making Cents of Money, Investing Basics, covered common terms and concepts related to investing in the stock market in preparation for our Get Savvy: Grow Your Green Stuff webinar, Investing Basics, on 3/10. 

In episode 57 of Making Cents of Money, Andrea and Nikki interviewed Alan Sorcher and Anne McKinley from the US Securities and Exchange Commission on strategic ways to approach investing to build wealth.

Making Cents of Money is partnering with the Illinois Department of Insurance’s Corbin Mcghee for a two-part series about Managing Risk with Insurance. In Part 1, learn why insurance is important and how the coverage you select impacts your wallet and your peace of mind.  

In episode 124 of Making Cents of Money, Corbin McGhee joins us again to continue our conversation on insurance from Part 1 published in early February.

In episode 66 of Making Cents of Money, Password Managers, we explore what password managers are and how they can be leveraged to protect your important information.

Episode 4 of Making Cents of Money, Preventing Identity Theft, looks at identity theft and fraud statistics as well as how we can protect our money from potential theft.

Episode 18 of Making Cents of Money, Professional Licensure in Illinois, helps us understand the scope of professional licensing in Illinois across many different industries and some protections in place for consumers.

In episode 39 of Making Cents of Money, Protecting Pets, Andrea, Jake, and Nikki discuss pet insurance and other ways to handle the financial risk of vet bills for our pets with Presley Fee, Digital Financial Planning Program Coordinator at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Episode 17 of Making Cents of Money, Real Estate, explains the world of real estate professions and what to consider when hiring professionals to help you buy or manage a home or other real estate property!

In episode 28 of Making Cents of Money, Tackling Insurance! (Part 1), Deputy Director of Consumer Education & Protection at the Illinois Department of Insurance, Patrice Dziire, talked to us about auto, home, renters, and life insurance. 

In episode 29 of Making Cents of Money, Tackling Insurance! (Part 2), Nikki and Jake talked with Laura Pellikan from the Illinois Department of Insurance about the basics of health insurance and ways you can get covered.

Episode 10 of Making Cents of Money, Taxes, discussed common terms, forms, and considerations for filing taxes in preparation for our Get Savvy: Grow Your Green Stuff webinar, Tackling Taxes, on 1/27. 

Episode 7 of Making Cents of Money, The Anti-Predatory Lending Database, discusses predatory lending and the Anti-Predatory Lending Database (APLD) in Illinois. Katie Liss from IDFPR Division of Banking breaks down predatory lending in mortgages and how the APLD helps mitigate some predatory lending practices.

In episode 68 of Making Cents of Money, The Financial Impact of Digital Illiteracy, Andrea and Nikki explore the financial implications of digital Illiteracy in our digital age.

In episode 127 of Making Cents of Money, our very own SMMC Support Specialist, Emmy Tither, joined the podcast to talk about how your data may be used with generative AI like large language models (LLMs) and what to do to protect yourself.

In episode 67 of Making Cents of Money, What's a Credit Report Anyway?, Nikki and Andrea discuss what's in your credit reports and how to get them at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Explore how Maslow's hierarchy of needs and the dimensions of well-being can help you set, prioritize, and manage your SMART goals.

Learn how to spot social engineering traps, protect your bank accounts, and recover from modern fraud, with practical strategies for slowing down under pressure, verifying familiar brands, and securing your identity before a scam costs you.

Learn about how variable insurance differs from traditional whole and term life insurance policies and what to keep in mind if you are considering variable insurance.

In this post, we cover financial foundations you need before investing—emergency savings, managing high-interest debt, and setting clear goals. Plus: how diversification and time horizons work, understanding the risk-return spectrum, and red flags to watch for.

Stay one step ahead of scams and fraud! Learn ways to protect yourself, recognize identity theft, and take action if affected.