Family and personal financial advisor Elder Jeffrey Hill advises listeners on ways they can start making better financial decisions
Personal finance can be intimidating for college students, but Elder Jeffrey Hill, a BYU–Hawaii service missionary and business professor with more than 20 years of experience, said strong financial habits begin with tracking spending and sticking to a budget. Joined by Alden Pua, the new co-host and a sophomore communication, media and culture student from Indonesia, and Julia Aunai spoke with Hill about saving, budgeting, investing and financial responsibility.
Hill said his approach to money is captured in his financial literacy Instagram account, “Joyfully Within Your Means.” He said the goal is to spend intentionally on things that truly matter, rather than on habits or impulse, so that money becomes a source of value rather than frustration.
When asked what is the biggest financial mistake Hill has witnessed college students make, he said it is failing to take care of their finances. “They don't know what they spend. They don't know when they're running out of money,” he said, adding that the money slips away without a second thought. He said the most important tip for students is to track finances.
Habits to start early
To track finances, Hill said keeping a budget should be at the top of the list. He said students should differentiate between their needs and wants to guide their spending more intentionally. “The goal with our finances isn't to get rich. The goal of our finances is that all of our needs can be met and that finances don't need to be a stress for us,” he remarked.
He said the three financial habits every student should develop are budgeting, creating an emergency fund and starting to invest. “People ask me, ‘When should you start investing?’ I say ‘yesterday’,” he said.
Hill explained one of the easiest things to invest in is a diversified Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). “An ETF or a mutual fund has lots of stocks in it,” he said. “With a good investment firm, you can invest as little as $5 in an S&P 500 ETF. And with that $5, you own a little bit of 500 different companies. And so you're never at risk of one. It's not really risky.” Hill added investing is less about how much you contribute and more about building up the habit.
Building stress-free finances
In a game called “Financial Red Flag or Green Flag,” Hill evaluated five scenarios and determined whether a certain decision was financially smart. From using a credit card daily to spending money on multiple streaming services, Hill broke down each situation. When asked if a student sending money back home is a red or green flag, Hill said some financial decisions require context. “We want to be generous, but at the same time, the real purpose of being here is getting the best education you can,” he said. “So you can get a job later on that would give you a much bigger salary, so you could help out a lot more.”
At BYU–Hawaii where different cultures are represented, differences in traditions regarding dating can arise. Hill said when a couple reaches the point of considering a long-term future together, they need to have conversations about finances. “A couple who can openly talk to each other about money and sex will do a lot better with their marriage because it's the misunderstandings in those two areas that cause so much conflict in marriage,” he remarked.
Hill also commented on the challenges students face when friends have different financial circumstances. He said students need to respect one another’s financial situations and recognize not everyone can afford the same activities. “You need to just strive to get what you need and then as many wants as you can living within your means,” he said. Living within one’s means should remain the priority, he said, even when social pressure exists.
Hill said money is not something students need to be afraid of. “The principles for having stress-free money are easy to understand. They're just hard to do,” he continued. He said students developing habits such as budgeting, saving and investing can build a strong foundation for long-term financial success.