Financial Wellbeing
Money Management
Money management involves managing your personal or group/company finances. It includes a broad range of knowledge, including goal setting, budgeting, and saving/investing.
For free financial planning tools, click here.
Budgeting & Spending
A budget is a plan that shows you how much money you make and how much you spend. However, there is no one way to budget; popular budgeting strategies include the 50/30/20 rule, pay yourself first, zero-based budget, and envelope budget.
Money Habitudes® is a solitaire-like card game designed to help individuals gain insight into and potentially alter their spending habits. If you are interested in events using these cards, contact Suzanne Holloway (suzanne.holloway@ufl.edu).
Saving & Investing
Saving is setting money aside, usually for short-term goals like an emergency fund or vacation. Investing is putting money into assets that may increase in value over time for long-term goals like retirement. Nonetheless, both are important parts of a financial plan.
For more information on saving and investing, check out these links:
- Build Wealth Over Time Through Saving and Investing
- MyMoney: Save and Invest
- A Roadmap to Your Financial Security Through Saving and Investing
Credit Reports
By Federal law, you are also entitled to a free credit report if:
- You have been denied credit, insurance, or employment because of your credit report, and you should contact the agency for a copy of your report within 60 days of receiving a denial notice.
- You are currently unemployed and plan to seek employment within the next 60 days.
- You receive government assistance.
- Your report is inaccurate because of fraud.
You can order a free annual credit report from a centralized provider. To order your report, these are your options:
- Visit AnnualCreditReport.com
- Call 1(877)322-8228
- Complete and mail the Annual Credit Report Request Form to Annual Credit Report Request Service (P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281)
If you find errors in your report, you have the right to dispute them and seek corrections.
To learn more about credit reports, click here.
Consumer Protection
A scam is defined as a fraudulent or dishonest scheme aimed at making money or gaining an advantage, typically by swindling or tricking people. Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal (name, address, social security number, etc.) or financial information (bank account numbers, credit card) without your permission.
