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Students and Finances BY WlLLIESHA C.LAKIN Staff Writer “As my grandfather used to say, ‘Credit cards are gonna ruin this country.’” Junior Jonathan Coleman, a management and marketing major, perhaps summed up college students' financial problems with some age-old advice. With the start of the year 2000, some things seem to have stayed the same. Students all over the United States have a financial dilemma or two at one time or another in their college careers. The nonri for many college students seems to be getting student loans and paying them off years after graduating. Coleman recognizes his positive budgeting attributes. “I'm a good manager of mon ey,” Coleman said. “[I] just don't spend 11^ it until I need it.” Coleman is like V many students who take advantage of their V bucketing habits early in W their collie life. f Michelle Wright, assistant director of the Of fice of Financial Aid and Scholarships, hopes students make plans for their college funds as early as high school. Her office even presents col lege nights for high school students to plan for financial aid. “Think futuristic,” Wight said. She described the financial aid process as something requiring “timely” completion, because many scholarships and aid programs have limited funding. She warned stu dents not to “rely soley on” financial aid, and she recommended par ticipating in the work-study program if a job is necessary. Work study may be easier for students who have time management concerns. Wight also noted theimportance of staying on track with the fi nancial aid application process. “Keep up and follow through,” Wight said. “Be mindful of the entire process. Be aware of all the options.” Students who come to the financial aid office can be referred to other sources for help with “debt management” and other tips on handling funds, such as online sources, especially for scholarship searches. “The financial aid office is a good place to start, Wright said. MoneyCentral.com, a site run by the Microsoft Network, de votes pages of financial articles for parents of college students. Tips include pre-paying for fixed expenses such as tuition. The site emphasizes “non-tuition expenses” that must be budgeted as well, such as travel expenses to and from school, entertainment expenses, food, clothing, and essential needs like medical and dental fees and insurance. The site even recommends keeping a journal of daily spending. “Record your money habits for three days,” the article be gins. “Write down every penny you spend.” The site also mentions online banking, in which parents and their college-age children can keep up with accounts. Another online source^ Edu.com, gives important tips about bud geting as a college student. This site recommends saving all receipts for expenses to compare budgeting with actual spending costs, i ne site suggests reward ing yourself for han- OPI tiling money wise ly and deciding 1 the “difference be- 1 tween your needs and wants.” “Needs are those ■ things you have to buy or you’ll get hungry, fall wl asleep in class or fail that *, test,” the article suggests, f “and wants are those things ' you don’t have to buy, but still think you 11 cue without — such as that new trendy sweater. Coleman has tips of his own for students. “Always know how much you have and what your limits are,” Coleman said. He mentioned tithing, or giving 10 percent of his earn ings to his local church, as an important part of his budgeting. “If we give to”Him, He's gonna give back to us,” Coleman stat ed as a simple reason for tithing. Coleman constantly emphasizes not using credit cards regular ly. He thinks students should just “get rid of [credit cards] completely if you can.” The only credit card he carries is American Express. He said it's the best one “if you have to have one at all.” “Be on a cash-only basis,” Coleman said. “If you don't have the cash for it, you don't need it.” Home remedies offer alternative to drugs Before you read this col umn, please take note that I am not an expert in this field. To be honest, I know close to nothing on this subject. The — what could be called — “research” completed to write this col umn will probably be in complete in many ways, sucn as tnougnt, compre hension, and/or action. Assignment and deadlines aside, I seek en lightenment on any suoject I am “in the dark” about. So please do not get bitter about any of my mis comprehensions. Chances are, I won’t really carp that much. Thank you, and enjoy the column. In recent years, I have noticed an upsurge of references to alternative medicines in the wo Ad (but that could be because I have been opened to more avenues of the media). I occasionally see an infomercial or two about books providing home remedies for illnesses. In grocery stores and supermarkets, I see shelves lined with Gingko Biloba and St. John’s Wort. On news magazine shows, I am informed of new ways tech nology is improving society’s health problems. Being a generally apathetic-to-the-world” per son, I shrugged everything off and continued on with my business. But upon receiving this assignment, I have found that “inside motivation” to go a little in-depth about what these things are and what they can do. Whenever I was sick as a child, my mother had various ways of making me feel batter. When I had the chicken pox, it was calamine lotion and some sort of Benadryl thing. I don’t re member much, but I know I didn’t go to the doc tor for it and I got better within a week. The chicken pox is somewhat major, so we had to use the pharmaceuticals. But if it was something little, like a cold, home remedies are, in my opin ion, better than over-the-counter medicines. Chicken soup is a wonder drug in my opinion. If I were ever sick, chicken soup always made me feel better, and I am sure your parents did the same. At school, when everyone pretended they were sick to get out of classes they didn’t like, it was com mon practice for the school nurse to give us a “mir acle mint.” Yeah, yeah... it’s all in our minds. We faked it, but I was just citing it as an exam ple for this “scientific” approach. But the point is that little things can always be cured by home reme dies. There are so many herbal medicines on the mar Medicine see page as Ricky DeLeon is a journalism major and can be reached by e-mail at: gckfeatures© yahoo.com Campus Notes Tutors needed Students interested in becoming tutors may sign up to do so Wednesday and Thursday on Greene Street. For more information, e-mail Tom_Wmslow@hotmail.com. RAD to hold weekend class Students may sign up for the Rape Ag gression Defense class being held from 10 am. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 pm. Sunday. For more informa tion, call Officer Garbade at 777-0855. Fraternity celebrates Founders Week The Kappa Iota Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity is holding its annual Founders Week celebration. Events in clude a Treatment of Women Forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Harper College and a church service at 11 am. Sunday at Bible Why onAtlas Road. A bus will leave at 10:15 am. from the Russell House. Counseling services to be offered The Counseling and Human Develop ment Center will be offering the fol lowing groups if enough interest is shown: Drop-in Meditation, Interper sonal Relations Group, LD and ADHD Support Group, and Thesis Support Group. For more information, call 777-5223. Leadership confer- - ence to be held The Office of Leadership Programs an nounces its 14th annual Student Lead ership Training Conference. The theme of this year’s conference is “The Art of Leadership: Painting Your Palette.” SLTC will take place from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Feb. 5. For more infor mation, call the Office of Leadership Programs at 777-6688. ■ CORRECTIONS The Gamecock strives to report the facts correctly and responsibly. If you come across any inaccuracies in our re portage, please let us know. Applications available in the Housing & Student Government Offices, the Russell House Information Desk, and the Campus Activities Center. Due TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1 in the Housing Office. * Need Some Cash? Help Sera Tec Help Others by Donating Life Saving Plasma New donors or anyone who has not donated in 6 months can earn. $25 * First Donation $40 - Second Donation Regular donors can earn $40 * per calendar week. — No appointment necessary Bring I.D. with Date of Birth and Student I.D. SERA TEC BIOLOGICALS (formerly Bayer Plasma Center) M, W, F 7:30AM - 4:00PM • T, TH 7:30AM - 5:00PM JHE ART OF LEADERSHIP IZZZ 'PaJ0&tX& ' Student Leadership Training Conference 2000 Student Organizations: Send 4 Members, Send 5th FREE By January 21, 2000 (Early Registration): $20 for USC-Columbia participants $30 for non-USC-Columbia participants After January 21, 2000 (Late Registration): $25 for USC-Columbia participants $35 for non-USC-Columbia participants Presented by: Office of Leadership Programs Department of Student Life Division of Student and Alumni Services Registration will not be accepted after January 28, 2000 Make checks payable to Leadership Programs. For more information, please call 777-6688. Does a part-time job that pays $8.50-$9.50 per hour and won’t interfere with your class schedule sound too good to be true? At UPS, most students work in operations. There’s plenty of time to study and to recharge while working 3-5 hours a day. To arrange an interview for employment contact United Parcel Service at 822-6294 < - -/I .. nrtun 1 /inn^ii->ii.ii'<'^ _