Financial Wellness and Other “Useless Crap” Financial Wellness and Other “Useless Crap,” back by popular demand, was presented by Professor Elicker, which is enough reason in itself to have attended it. In addition to the prestigious speaker, you can never know enough about finances and managing your money while you’re in your 20’s and a poor college student. As usual, there were many things that I learned, (most that terrified me). For the average college student, our average debt is $31,289 by the time we’re seniors in college. Despite that daunting number, a diploma will mean better money in the future and a larger payoff in the end. Savings of 3-6 months’ worth of expenses is the rule of thumb for emergencies, and a good amount of money for retirement will help you live the life you want, as social security payments are not enough. Not all money being saved should be put into savings accounts – there is a “best” place to save money depending on what you’re saving for. He also talked about student loan debt, and he told us to take full advantage of our grace period after graduation, putting the money we earn during that time into savings. This is the opposite of what I thought is good to do, as I thought paying it off early is best. He told us to think about the different repayment options we have while paying them off, and to ask about discounts through auto pay. Tax paid on the interest of student loans is tax deductible! And, in usual Elicker-fashion, we learned some fun facts – Bruce Springstine was the first artist to have a recorded CD, Dr. Seuss coined the word “nerd,” Betsy Ross was the only real person to ever be on a PEZ dispenser, and bats are the mammals with the highest rate of