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Financial Literacy for College Students: CommonCents Financial Wellness Program

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Being a college student is stressful enough—your finances don’t have to be!

The CommonCents Financial Wellness program was designed to provide students with the necessary information to reduce financial stressors during and after enrollment at Lehigh and to maximize opportunities to become financially successful. Students will be invited to attend financial wellness presentations throughout the year and given the opportunity to work one-on-one with a Peer Financial Educator. These volunteers will help you identify your own financial goals and create strategies to reach those goals.

Financial Literacy Resources for College Students

Online Learning Tools

  • CashCourse is an online money management learning tool. All Lehigh students are eligible to use this free resource!
  • Crash Course in Credit by Mint.com is an online learning tool that provides you with valuable information regarding credit scores.
  • On Your Own is a website dedicated to resources and tips for living wisely on your own.
  • TeachFinLit.org is designed for high school educators. This website has many great videos, books and activities on a variety of financial wellness topics.

Free Budgeting Resources

  • Mint syncs up with your actual bank account and provides you with your spending data! There is also an app you can download.
  • MoneyStrands is similar to Mint. The app features a unique calendar that allows you to view your monthly bills and due dates. You can also set goals for yourself by adding pictures so that you can visualize your goal and track how much you’ve saved!
  • Albert- Money Management is a free app that allows you to text a financial question and helps you find savings you're missing, identify bills you're overpaying and pay down debt faster.

Student Loan Resources

  • ELMSelect allows you to view the most commonly used private student loan lenders of Lehigh students over the past three years. Though you are not required to choose off this list, it is a great place to start comparing loan options.
  • Federal Loan Repayment Calculator allows you to calculate the estimated monthly payment based on different loan repayment options.
  • National Student Loan Data System allows you to view your federal loan history and provides your loan servicer information.

Credit Report & Score

  • Annual Credit Report allows you to review your own credit report free of charge once a year from each of the three credit bureaus.
  • Discover Credit Score Card currently offers the ability to check your FICO score without a hard hit to your credit. This service is free of charge—you needn’t be a card member in order to request the benefit.

Career and Professional Development

  • Lehigh’s Career & Professional Development Office is available to assist in developing career skills such as resume/cover letter, interviewing, networking and job/internship searches. The office will also assist with expertise and questions, such as job offer and salary negotiations, and career explorations.