Think Smart, Invest Smart Financial Literacy Development Seminar

Major J.B McGinnis visited Southern University on Monday, March 7, as the guest speaker for The Financial Literacy Development Seminar.
Southern University’s Office of Dean of Students teamed up with First Year Experience to create a series of leadership events that are geared towards first and second year students in order to enhance their experiences and expand their resources here at the university. This start in the leadership series provided information on financial literacy.
This seminar was designed to help students understand their finances in terms of credit, loans, and saving.
“I didn’t even know what a credit score actually was, I just always heard people say they had bad credit,” said freshman Nursing major Shauntina Colton.
The seminar began with a quick introduction of the keynote speaker, McGinnis, whom is a retired U.S Army Engineer Officer; former Quiznos franchise owner, owner/CEO of JBM Seminars, Pre-Bankruptcy Counselor and an active Real Estate Investor. McGinnis has been traveling around the world attending conferences and workshops vigorously in his efforts to bring awareness and give answers on debt, credit, bankruptcy and other things of that nature, all of which make him qualified to lead a seminar on financial literacy.
“This gives the opportunity for collegiate students to know exactly what to do as far as credit and debt is concerned, “ said Southern University’s Associate Dean of Students Ryan E. Tucker.
There were many viewpoints on McGinnis’s agenda that he planned to share with the audience in attendance for that evening. He reviewed topics such as debt and the psychological aspects of debt, what a credit score is, FICO and Vantage credit scores, the difference between having good and bad credit, the benefits of saving and how to save money. Students were able to gain vital information on these topics and McGinnis hopes that the students will take heed of the importance in the information that was given. For example, over 70 million Americans do not have a good credit score and college students on average have the worst credit scores in the nation.
“I found the program to be very beneficial. It is important that we as college students learn how to graduate with less debt and a good credit score. I learned things tonight that I can use for the future to help me manage my money better,” said Tierra Lane, a junior from Lake Providence, Louisiana.
McGinnis emphasized the importance on credit card debt and establishing credit at a young age while in college. He also suggested some ways for college students to save money. Some of these ways to save money include saving your change, avoid shopping when you’re hungry and to use your meal plan effectively and as much as you can.
The next leadership development seminar, “How to Stay on Fire without Burning” will take place on Tuesday March 29 in the Cotillion Ballroom.