We are excited to announce the January 2022 Financial Goals Scholarship winner is Kaden! Congratulations!
"I am very grateful to be chosen to receive the 1st Financial Bank USA Financial Goals Scholarship this month. My goal to graduate debt free is off to a great start as a result of your support. I plan to use the funds from this scholarship toward my first year of college tuition. I cannot express how much it means to me to have the support of great organizations that invest their time and money into my future. This award will allow me to focus on my education and not the burden of it's cost. Thank you again for your support." - Kaden M.
There's no doubt about it; college is expensive. Tuition, textbooks, and room and board can really start to add up. Kaden knew he needed to be proactive. With help from his parents and a trusted financial plan, Kaden shares why he developed his financial goal for the future and how he plans to achieve it.
“When I started working my first job in March of 2021, it was my parent’s requirement for me to put money away in savings to prepare for my college years. Now that college is around the corner for me, we are looking at the financial burden of college and getting an idea of the actual costs of my chosen school, The University of Oregon Business School. Both my parents also attended this school and experienced the difficulties of paying back student loans for their college expenses. It took them a total of 10-15 years to repay. My goal is to set myself up for success and not struggles for my future by keeping my loan amounts as low as possible. Together, with my parents, we have worked to come up with a plan to increase my savings, secure scholarship money, and make investments to help meet my financial goal of graduating with as little student loan debt as possible.
The plan starts with a specific dollar goal for me to have built up in savings prior to leaving for college. I have been working as much as possible and will continue prior to leaving for college. I work on holidays earning holiday pay, and I put the extra money in my savings account. Other ideas included in our plan to are for me to stick to my meal plan to save me from spending on eating out. I will use resources such as Amazon subscribe and save to purchase items regularly used, which will save 5-15% per shipment. I will not take my car and pay to park it. I will stick to non-cost extracurricular activities such as sporting events where I can get free student tickets. My university has many free outdoor activities close to campus that are all things I enjoy, so I plan on taking advantage of these activities especially while living on campus. I will need to be smart with my spending and stretch the dollar as far as I can if I want to meet my goal.
You can see that my family has spent some time with me teaching me the value of a dollar, talking to me about the cost of college and importance of reduced loan amounts, and making sure that I am contributing to my own higher education. I am confident that my family and I will come close to achieving our debt free goal. I am working hard at securing some scholarship money to help contribute as much as I can. I also have a younger sister who will follow in my footsteps, and I hope my financial plan is something that can be passed down to help her during her college planning process. It’s important for me to be a good role model for her, mentor her through the process, and set both of us up for success by reaching the goal of graduating college debt free.”
Setting a financial goal, such as graduating debt-free, is a major objective that requires discipline and sacrifice. If you're interested in learning more ways to cut down on college costs, then How to Save Money in College (60 Tips) can help. Just like any ordinary goal, if you put your mind to it and take the steps necessary to achieve it, you'll have no problem reaching your financial goals.
Established in the year 1910, 1st Financial Bank USA (1FBUSA) provides quality community banking services in South Dakota, credit card and other financial services to college students and college graduates, and construction lending to builders, developers, and investors from coast to coast. 1FBUSA will award a $2,000 scholarship to a new winner each month. View full rules and eligibility at 1fbusascholarship.com.
