Personal finance is an issue every student at BYU–Hawaii must tackle at some point. Fortunately, there are tools available to students to help them become what Alan Akina, president and CEO of 101 Financial and alumni of BYUH, calls “financially educated.”
When it comes to finances, Chi Man Leung, a senior from Hong Kong studying psychology, said it is useful to know what things she can buy within a budget she has set for herself. “It can help me to use the money wisely,” she shared. “It’s like knowing what kind of things I need instead of what things I want, so I don’t waste lots of money and time.”
Akina, a former counselor in the Laie YSA 1st stake, said he also struggled with finances when he first left BYUH. Years of experience and learning about his own finances enable him to help others relieve their own financial burdens. 101 Financial serves as a learning resource for individuals and families that face financial issues or just want to become more financially stable.
Akina said he and those who work with him teach families in the home to create a guaranteed learning environment. “We all know 101 is the beginning, the basic stuff that we wish we would’ve had,” he said.
The number one tip in managing personal finances--what Akina called the golden rule of money--is for the amount of money you spend to be less than the amount that you bring in each month.
Peter Banks, a volunteer instructor in the business department, supports this golden rule. He said, “Rule number one: spend less than you make. Rule number two: see rule number one.” Banks also said students can and should be engaged in researching and learning how to become financially stable. “To me, decision points happen at a very young age,” he said.
One of the resources Akina himself has provided is his book, “The Super Duper Simple Book on Money,” which can be downloaded for free at his website: alanakina.com. The book can be purchased on Amazon as well.
“This is a great first step for people,” Akina said. “It contains the five money principles that everyone needs to know.” He wrote the book for people who are financially illiterate.
The five money principles are these:
- Money In: Your income.
- Money Out: Our expenses.
- Money We Owe: Debt.
- Money We Grow: Our investments.
- Money We Share: How do we give back and help other people.
Akina emphasized this last point by saying how important it is to help others. “Even if you don’t have money, you can always donate your time.”
He shared his experience living as a young family in the Temple View Apartments. He said he would spend time coaching and organizing events, such as helping Kahuku High School students volunteer at the Special Olympics in Honolulu.
Another tool available to students recommended by both Banks and Akina is the personal finance class taught by P.J. Rogers. Highly recommended by Akina, he said the class makes learning about personal finances “fun and interactive.”
He also shared, “Maybe 5 percent of us use algebra today, but 100 percent of us had it in high school. None of us have money classes. But 100 percent of us have to use money. Everyone is going to use money, but why don’t they teach us?”
Akina, Banks, and many others recommend Rogers’ personal finance class. The Personal and Family Financial Management class is available in every semester but requires a few prerequisites.
For American students, Akina also shared creditkarma.com, a website to check your credit score at no cost. “You need to know your credit score,” said Akina.
He said the website not only gives you a glimpse of where your credit score is at, but it also offers different tools that teach about credit. “Why your score is [where it is], what you can do to bring it up, what you can do to affect it.”
The site will pitch credit card offers, but allows users to see their credit score for free.
A final tip given by Banks is to be realistic with your income and the stability of that income. Akina said to turn to learn from your parent’s example. “Most of us will learn what not to do, right?” he said.
“We will know, and hopefully our parents will be truthful with us and say, ‘You know, I didn’t do the best, but I’m glad you’re asking because I’ll tell you what not to do’.”
There are other resources that can be useful in learning how to manage personal finances, and Akina and Banks both encourage students to research and learn for themselves how to become financially educated. “The more [money] you make the more you realize you don’t know about money,” Akina said of his early financial struggles. “I guess the one thing that drove me, the question that just rang in my head was ‘is there a better way?’”
He shared his desire to learn helped him reach the point of financial success where he sits now.