The Epsilon Epsilon chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority held a lecture on Feb. 10 in the psychology auditorium to educate the public on budgeting, investing and other helpful financial practices.
The sorority brought Brittany Holmes, a branch manager at Orion Federal Credit Union, to lead the discussion. Holmes joined AKA in 2009 and has served on the sorority's finance committee for a decade.
"The number one reason why budgeting and financing are important no matter where you are is because money matters," Holmes said.
Holmes said that not enough Americans are interested in budgeting. She said she intended to show the audience a more realistic way of managing their money.
"A study by U.S. Bank found that 41% of Americans use a budget to organize their day to day activities," Holmes said. "That means that only one in three households are actually organizing how they spend their money."
Holmes said that goals need to be set in order to determine the outcome of a budget.
"There are an array of goals that people have such as educational, social, financial and health goals," Holmes said. "All of these things affect your financial well-being because these are the things that are important to us."
Holmes said the key to planning a budget is prioritizing these common goals. She said the importance of each goal could change with any circumstance.
"Right now, your health goal could be at the top of your list, but if you fail an exam tomorrow, your education goal would be at the top of your list," Holmes said.
Holmes encouraged the audience to keep track of patterns in their spending habits when budgeting. She handed out worksheets with budgeting exercises for students to use at home.
Daija Lowe, first vice president of the chapter, said Money Monday is the first of several events for the sorority's "Skee Week."
"Skee Week is an international event where every chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha must meet targets assigned by our international president," Lowe said.
Lowe said the events are meant to educate the public, members of historically black colleges, women's health care, economic development, arts and global impact.
"These targets are meant to make sure we're giving back to our community," Lowe said. "Every four years, a new president is installed, and with their term, create new targets that they want undergraduate chapters to meet."
Ashley Sanders, a health studies major, said she learned about Money Mondays through the chapter's Instagram page.
"I like talking about budgeting and finance because I'm always looking for more ways to save money," Sanders said.
Sanders said Holmes' presentation was concise while being educational.
"I thought it was well put together without being too long," Sanders said. "The presenter kept me engaged the whole time."
Corryn Thomas, a psychology major, said she has less experience budgeting and wanted to learn.
"I had in interest in budgeting before, and when I saw the flyers for Skee Week, I was excited to come," Thomas said.
Thomas said she appreciated the presentation not being too complicated.
"I thought it was informative and helpful for people who might not have thought about budgeting before," Thomas said.
