College Budget 101: Keeping Gen Y on Track

August 28, 2013 by Tamara Bell

Jodi Kaus is director of Kansas State University’s student financial planning center, Powercat Financial Counseling, which began in 2009 as the first peer-to-peer college financial education program in the state. With more than 15 years of experience in wealth management and financial planning, Jodi oversees students trained to provide individual financial counseling, financial presentations and interactive events centered on increasing the financial capability of all Kansas State students. A 1991 graduate of Kansas State University, Jodi received her law degree in 1994 from the University of Kansas School of Law. She is also designated as a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor.

With college students converging onto campuses over the next few weeks, vendors will be trying to sell them everything from magazine subscriptions to cell phone plans. But with all the spending possibilities, how can young adults budget their dollars so as not to be in the red by the third day of classes? Jodi joins Keeping Up with Gen Y to talk about ways to make a budget, and sticking to it, easier for college students. She also discusses how seniors can prepare for their financial situations after graduation, whether they have a job or not.

Filed Under: World Tagged With: budgeting, college, financial planning, gen y, Jodi Kaus, Kansas State University, Keeping Up with Gen Y, student loans, tamara bell

About Tamara Bell

Tamara Bell is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Y Gen Out Loud, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides a platform for Generation Yto discuss national politics and public policy issues.

Tamara began her journalism career as a staff reporter for the Dallas Times Herald. A few years later, she moved to York, Pa., as a political reporter for the York Dispatch, covering local, state, and national government as well as writing investigative stories for the mid-sized daily newspaper.

A Texas girl at heart, Tamara returned to Dallas a year later to work as press relations director for the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. John Bryant. The next year, she moved to Austin and the Texas Legislature, where she stayed for 15 years. While at the Legislature, Tamara worked for Democratic House members as Chief-of-Staff and Press Secretary, and as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Senate State Affairs Committee chaired by a Republicansenator.

In 1996, Tamara became co-owner of a political newsletter covering state issues and elections. As Editor-in-Chief, Tamara helped shape the weekly publication into a must-read for state officials, legislative aides, and lobbyists. More recently, Tamara wrote a regular column analyzing coverage by the Texas Capitol Press Corps for an online political publication. She also works as a lecturer in the Advertising Department at The University of Texasat Austin.

Tamara has also been a judge for the 2010 Bright Ideas Award given by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, served as a panelist at the Society of Professional Journalists 2010 Region 8 Conference where the theme was How to Save Journalism, and has been a guest lecture for the Advertising Department’s Internship course, speaking about the jobs outlook for graduating seniors.

Tamara earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She resides in Austin with her son, Jackson.

Tamara Bell is also the Host of Keeping Up with Gen Y on WomensRadio. Keeping Up with Gen Y offers discussions, interviews, and commentary about important issues of the day from the perspective of Generation Y (18-to 30-years-old). Aimed at all generations interested in learning about and inspiring young people, this show features professionals, experts, researchers, and members of Gen Y who share insights and experiences about the topics on the minds of today’s young adults.