Do something smart with your refunds

Brooke Kelly
Managing editor

I, like many students, am anxiously awaiting my refund! I am checking my account balance every day, hoping for a different figure, and while I have some wants I DEFINITELY plan to take care of once I get some refund money, I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t stop to think of how I could do something smart with at least a little bit of my money.

My fellow students who are receiving refunds, what do you plan to do with your money? Do you have any plans to pay down debt or make an investment move?

If you are getting a refund from your student loan, do you understand the penalties of defaulting on a student loan? According to last week’s Clarion-Ledger article, “Defaults on Federal Student Loans Growing,” Mississippi’s college students are falling behind on their student loan payments at a higher rate than other students across the nation. If the trend continues, the CL article said Mississippi colleges and universities could start facing penalties from the federal government.

Students at Mississippi’s HBCU’s are in some cases doing an even poorer job of paying back student loans,  making their credit scores drop drastically, which in today’s world affects everything from being able to get other loans to being able to get a job in some cases.

I believe many of our problems with credit cards, student loans, etc. have to do with not understanding the fine print. After doing some research, I found gocollege.com to have a very informative section on student loans and defaulted student loans, that even helps students learn how to know their options when money gets low and they think they cannot pay student loans back.

Beyond avoiding defaulting on student loans, I think it is extremely important for students to take the time to analyze our financial situations when we get refunds.

Some of us are getting tax refunds soon, if we haven’t already gotten them, and some students are receiving refunds simply because they have left over pell grant money and other extra money.

Whatever the case may be, my sincere hope is that we, as black students, who statistically come from more humble financial backgrounds, learn to do something smart with some of our money instead of spending it all at the mall, on rims, on our hair, or on a trip.

I have many things to learn when it comes to knowing how to invest, but with diligence I believe anyone from any financial background can learn how to pave a better financial future for him or herself and future generations.

We need assets people! We need to find ways to keep the money rolling in, instead of always going out.

Commentary expresses the views of the writer, not that of The Flash or Jackson State University.  If you have comments, contact Brooke Kelly at theflash@jsums.edu.