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.

Financial education is essential for college students, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to make informed financial decisions that will not only enhance their college experience but also pave the way for long-term success.

Whether you are saving for a goal or dealing with debt, the Rule of 72 offers a simple, yet effective way to estimate the time it takes for money to grow or for debt to balloon due to compound interest. 

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.

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

This article highlights some of the factors that influence financial knowledge, factors that affect one's appreciation of financial concepts, habits, and decisions.

Hundreds of students end up unable to register every semester because they owe money back to the university, even after receiving a refund.

Learn how to avoid being one of them.

Budgeting empowers you to work toward reasonable financial goals, keeping you from overspending and accruing debt. Explore steps you can take this week to start building a budgeting habit.

Curious about automatically diversified investment options? Learn the key differences between Mutual Funds and ETFs, and find out which might be the best fit for your situation and financial goals.

The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office holds over $5 billion in unclaimed property, and through the I-Cash program, residents can easily search for and reclaim forgotten assets, with nearly $299 million returned in 2024. 

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, otherwise known as FAFSA, is “the largest source of financial aid to pay for college”. Read about important dates, tips & reminders for filing.

If you're looking for a better understanding of how to categorize expenses in your budget or spending plan, explore the differences between fixed, flexible, and occassional costs.

Hundreds of students end up unable to register every semester because they owe money back to the university, even after receiving a refund. Learn how to avoid being one of them.

Kwabena Sarfo Adjei, SMMC Support Specialist and LLM student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's College of Law, describes how he was able to get out of his rental lease after finding the rental property did not meet his expectations.

Suhas Vetri Annamalai, SMMC Support Specialist and student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Gies College of Business, discusses multiple factors to consider when deciding if refinancing your international student loan in the U.S. is the right choice for you.

As we get closer to the tax filing deadline for the United States, it is important to knwo the intricacies and important forms for filing taxes.

Hundreds of students end up unable to register every semester because they owe money back to the university, even after receiving a refund.

Learn how to avoid being one of them.

Searching for part-time work? In order to land that side hustle, it helps to know where to go, how to prepare your application materials, and what to ask when it comes to the interviewing process.

Discover why you keep throwing good money after bad decisions and learn the psychology-backed strategies to break free from the sunk cost trap that's costing you hundreds in subscriptions, investments, and everyday spending choices.

If you have a digital badge from the University of Illinois Digital Badges Program, you may have noticed that there's a new backpack system to use. Since the transition from Mozilla Backpack to Badgr Backpack, there's a new way to create collections that can be placed on LinkedIn. 

We created a tutorial to help you display your badges on LinkedIn after you've transitioned to using Badgr.

When it comes to retirement-focused investing, understanding the tax treatment and rules of different accounts is essential for long-term financial planning. In the U.S., these typically fall into two main categories: Traditional and Roth accounts.

Vision impairments can complicate how people manage their money. Learn about ways that people with reduced vision or blindness can be empowered to navigate finances on their own.

Get some idea starters on how to overcome spending temptations, just in time for the shopping season! 

There are many measures we can use to track our personal finances. Typically, we talk about the subjective measures of financial well-being in the Student Money Management Center, because we're focused on helping our learners understand the nuance of financial decisions. However, traditional, objective financial measures, like net worth, can also be helpful in tracking our progress towards financial goals and gaining confidence.

Has Your New Year's Resolution Failed? Try a Seasonal Theme!

Federal borrowers in public service who never made a payment due to the pandemic pause or SAVE plan forbearance may still qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Follow these steps to see if you're eligible and what to do now if you are.

Students across the University of Illinois System are needed to Defeat the Debt Monster between October 1 – October 29 for a chance to win one of three $25 gift cards.

Discover ways to defeat your personal debt monster!

Looking for a financial institution on campus? Explore our Google Map for locations on or close to each campus in the University of Illinois System.

There are more things to consider with a job offer than salary. Read this article to learn how to evaluate the true value of a job position. 

As we get ready for our first Get Savvy webinar of fall 2022, Inflation: When Prices Rise, we wanted to share a little bit about shrinkflation - what it is and how to cope with it as a consumer.

Episode 11 of Making Cents of Money, Saving for College with a 529 Savings Plan, explored 529 plans, including how they function, a bit on their history, and how they differ from other savings vehicles. Listen to special guests, Fernando Diaz and John Mitchell, from the Illinois Treasurer's Office to learn more about options in Illinois.

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.

Your data in AI tools goes further than you think—stored indefinitely, used for training, aggregated across conversations. In our new blog, we discuss what happens to the data you feed to LLMs, and how to protect yourself while still using AI effectively.

Many students end up unable to register every semester because they owe money back to the university, even after receiving a refund. Learn answers to frequently asked questions about refunds and get entered to win one of five $50 gift cards.

About half of students at the University of Illinois take out loans to fund their degrees. Make sure you're not surprised by the amount of student loans you have taken out when you graduate by taking the Know What You Owe Challenge which runs until December 15.

This article compares stocks and cryptocurrency as investment options, focusing on risk management for new investors. Stocks offer established regulatory protections, proven diversification strategies, and centuries of historical data, while crypto represents a newer asset class with extreme volatility, limited oversight, and minimal performance history. The key message is that both require informed decision-making, but they serve different risk tolerances and investment goals.

When it comes to healthcare, it's hard to keep track of out-of-pocket costs and how it can impact our overall healthcare expenses in a given year. This article sheds light on this complicated topic so you can make more informed choices for your overall wellbeing and your wallet.

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

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.

About half of students at the University of Illinois take out loans to fund their degrees. Make sure you're not surprised by the amount of student loans you have taken out when you graduate by taking the Know What You Owe Challenge which runs April 1 - May 1, 2023.

Is having to find consistent, affordable food always putting you in a bad mood?  Read our article about ways to fight food insecurity to learn of resources that can help.

Lists are helpful for all kinds of things, but how can they help you focus your spending?

Mobile wallets are a digital way to keep your financial tools and resources in your mobile device. Learn more about the risks & rewards of mobile wallets so you can best protect your hard-earned money.

Looking to establish a relationship with a financial institution? We've highlighted reasons you might need one and steps to opening a checking or savings account in the U.S.

About half of students at the University of Illinois take out loans to fund their degrees. Make sure you're not surprised by the amount of student loans you have taken out when you graduate by taking the Know What You Owe Challenge which runs November 15 - December 15, 2024.

If you or your loved ones experience a disruption in your Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds this Saturday, here's where to go to find food.

When considering decision-making in terms of your finances, it’s important to understand behavioral economics so we can develop healthier spending habits and save money along the way.

There have been a lot of changes recently that impact student loan borrowers. Can you tell myth from fact in the sea of student loan misinformation? Take the Fact Check Your Debt Quiz by May 1, 2025, to find out.

"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.

In episode 116 of Making Cents of Money, Mark Smith from Gies College of Business who teaches Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign discusses what to consider when buying a business.

About half of students at the University of Illinois take out loans to fund their degrees. Make sure you're not surprised by the amount of student loans you have taken out when you graduate by taking the Know What You Owe Challenge which runs November 14 - December 15, 2023.