Financial Accountability

Many college students must manage and balance a checking account for the first time when they enter higher education. Just because you still have checks in your check book does not mean that you still have money in your account! A mastery of financial matters will provide you with a framework for your future security.

Also, in order for the organization to become and remain financially healthy, each man must follow through on this basic expectation of membership through financial responsibility, as well as, live up to his own personal financial commitment to Delta Chi. The skills provided in this area are designed to assist you in this endeavor.

To ensure your future success, you will need to have a solid understanding of the importance of personal financial stability and the skills that go with financial management. The key to these skills is a proficiency in budgeting and your ability to follow a personal budget. Once you have mastered this you will have the knowledge and capital to move on to more advanced financial skills such as investing, sheltering, and building a retirement portfolio. The skills you will acquire through this Area of Mastery are:

• Personal Budgeting and Credit
• Account Tracking
• Fiscal Responsibility
• Advanced Financial Strategies

To achieve mastery over this area, complete the following four activities. Below each activity you are provided with sample options that you may utilize to fulfill the activity. Remember, these are only sample options, you may choose to come up with your own options that may better suit you or your chapter's needs. Follow up your accomplishments in your Learning Journal. Finally, once you have completed all activities within this Area of Mastery, finish the area by answering the concluding Critical Reflection questions within your Learning Journal.

Understand your personal financial obligations and pay bills in a timely manner.

• Invite the chapter treasurer and finance committee to develop a one-page handout outlining individual financial obligation to the chapter and financial responsibilities to Delta Chi. Ask questions to clarify your chapter's financial responsibilities. Complete a Chapter Dues Promissory Note and Chapter Dues Installment Note in triplicate. Turn a copy of these papers into the chapter's treasurer, the chapter's Alumni Board of Trustees and keep one for you personal records.
• If the chapter collects its dues through and independent agency such as the university or Omega Financial, inquire about your payment options and the consequences of late payments. Be sure to keep the receipts of all your payments to maintain a financial record of your payments.
• Invite a staff member from the campus credit union or a community bank to talk about the use and abuse of credit cards. Ask the speaker to give reasons for maintaining a positive credit rating during the program. Also ask the staff person to use examples of different credit cards that bear different interest rates or annual fees.

Learn the skills necessary to maintain a personal checking account and positive credit history.

• Invite local alumni members to teach the procedures necessary to reconcile a checkbook. There might be a junior or senior member in the chapter who is willing to lead this discussion. Have each member bring his own personal checkbook and work through the Balancing a Checkbook worksheet. By the end, participants should be able to teach new members how to balance their checking accounts.
• Several personal checkbook systems are available on computer. One program, Quicken, is an inexpensive and user-friendly program that allows you to maintain your checking and savings account, pay bills, and see exactly where your money goes. Purchase the program and begin using it. Other members may also want to have access to the program.
• Do you plan on being a home-owner? How are you going to pay for graduate school? What is the impact of your credit rating on your future? Acquire your own credit rating. Then visit a bank and see if you would be able to get a loan for a car, a house, graduate school, etc. Find out what it would take for you to get these types of loans. Where does your future stand in terms of your credit and your ability to acquire financial assistance?

Review resources concerning personal finance and financial success.

• Obtain a few resources on personal finance and investing. A few good books are The Wall Street Journal Guide to Personal Finance, How to Survive Without Your Parents' Money by the Princeton Review, Investing for Dummies or Personal Finance for Dummies. Utilize these resources to become familiar with the basic concepts of personal finance. Make a list of the resources you found and share it with the rest of your chapter at your next meeting.
• Take a business class, which will cover such topics as investment, credit, banking, and financial planning. Once you have finished the class, write down some of the key concepts you learned during the course. Reflect on how this class has changed your attitude toward money.
• Gather and review resources concerning the stock market. Then research and choose a few stocks to watch the Wall Street Journal. Follow your chosen stocks over the course of a three-month period. Note how the market affects the prosperity of your picks, as well as, how your stocks fared over the time period. Continue to periodically check you picks to see the changing trends over a longer period of time.

Develop a personal budget and future financial plan.

• Complete the Monthly Cashflow Analysis worksheet, detailing your personal income and spending habits. Take the information you gain to develop a personal budget based on the analysis. Once you complete the analysis, decide how much money you can reasonably deposit into a savings account. Develop the habit of depositing money into savings every month.
• Start gathering information to develop a four-year financial plan designed to ensure your personal financial success and to make sure that you have enough money to graduate from college. Complete the worksheets entitled Your Priorities with Money and Monthly Cashflow Analysis. Invite a recent alumnus to discuss the immediate cost upon graduation, or contact an alumnus and discuss these issues with him one-on-one. Develop a personal, four-year financial plan based on this data.
• Speak to a local member of the business community about the investment strategies he uses. Then ask him about how you could use these strategies to your best advantage. During your conversation, take detailed notes about how and what he began his investment portfolio with and what he would have done differently if given the opportunity.