The journal primarily publishes clinical research that examines the empirical link between personal financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviors and personal and family well-being. It is published by the New Prairie Press, which was founded in 2007 by the Kansas State University Libraries.

The newest issue features works by several faculty members and graduate students from Kansas State University’s School of Family Studies and Human Services, which offers programs in marriage and family therapy and personal financial planning.

Contributions include:

• An editorial written by the journal’s editors, Kristy Archuleta, assistant professor and co-director of the university’s Financial Planning Clinic, and John Grable, Vera Mowery McAninch professor and director of the university’s Institute of Personal Financial Planning.
• Archuleta and several graduate students co-authored “An Initial Membership Profile of the Financial Therapy Association,” which describes the association’s membership diversity. Student co-authors included Anita K. Dale, doctoral student in personal financial planning; Dan Danford, doctoral student in personal financial planning; Erika Rasure, doctoral student in personal financial planning; Kelley Williams, doctoral student in personal financial planning; Emily Burr, master’s student in marriage and family therapy; Kurt Schindler, doctoral student in personal financial planning; and Brett Coffman, doctoral student in personal financial planning, Fort Mill, S.C.
• Rasure also wrote a book review on “Money and the Pursuit of Happiness: In Good Times and Bad” by Richard Trachtman.
• Megan Ford, a December 2010 master’s graduate in marriage and family therapy and now the ASPIRE Clinical Director at the University of Georgia in Athens, joined with Archuleta and Joyce Baptist, assistant professor, to co-author “A Theoretical Approach to Financial Therapy: The Development of the Ford Financial Empowerment Model.”
• Bradley Klontz, adjunct associate professor, and colleagues, wrote “The Effectiveness of an Interactive Multimedia Psychoeducational Approach to Improve Financial Competence in At-Risk Youth: A Pilot Study.”

(From K-State Today)

While the holiday season presents countless opportunities to overspend and create excess stress, remaining budget conscientious and stress-free over the holidays can be easy, according to Jodi Kaus, director of Powercat Financial Counseling.

It all begins with a plan.

“Have a budget ahead of time as to how much you can afford,” said Kaus. The free financial counseling and education program for students is part of the School of Family Studies and Human Services. “Make a list before you go into the store so you know exactly where you are going to shop and what you are going to buy instead of meandering. Be conscientious of all of those savvy things retail stores have you do to get you to buy things that weren’t in your budget or plan.”

To ensure a comfortable amount of money is available for holiday gift purchases, Kaus advises setting aside money ahead of time, separate from savings. Using reward points, shopping online and staggering purchases can also make a difference.

Kaus said other ways to reduce costs during the holiday season include:

• Creating a detailed shopping list;
• Creating a budget;
• Setting a price limit for each gift;
• Shopping alone;
• Participating in gift exchanges;
• Giving the gift of time;
• Considering layaway; and
• Being creative.

Additional cost-saving ideas include sending e-cards and newsletters as opposed to traditional holiday cards, hosting a potluck as a holiday dinner and celebrating out of season.

Travel is an important consideration for many people during the holiday season, and there are ways of minimizing costs, Kaus said. Reserving all travel accommodations early and together often results in lower costs. Flexibility and booking off-season are also beneficial considerations.

Kaus also recommends advantage travel miles for customers who frequent the same airline.

“A lot of people don’t even sign up for those programs,” she said. “You might be able to use some of those at the times you really need to travel some distance.”

With trips, event planning and large expenditures, stress is easily amassed during the holiday season. To avoid the holiday blues, Kaus says moderation is key. Taking personal time daily, modifying traditions, regular exercise and eating properly are among the most important ways of limiting stress. Managing meal sizes can play a significant role in limiting stress and not hindering holiday celebrations.

“You still need to have fun, celebrate and enjoy grandma’s pie,” Kaus said. “But if you overindulge on everything, then later on you’ll have a lot of guilt and some possible stress issues with overindulging. Going in with a plan is important.”

For more holiday shopping strategies and a holiday budget worksheet, visit Powercat Financial Counseling’s website at http://www.k-state.edu/pfc.

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“Every recognized profession has its top schools,” wrote Danielle Reed, executive editor. “Today there more 333 CFP board-registered programs, from certified programs (183) to undergraduate (103), master’s (41) and Ph.D. programs (6).”

To select the 10 top institutions, Reed wrote that she interviewed veteran planners and industry leaders.

K-State is one of only three of those offering four or more CFP Board-registered programs. About 200 are enrolled in the undergraduate, master’s, PhD. or graduate certificate programs.

School of Family Studies and Human had been long known for consumer-oriented financial research, began to place more emphasis on personal finance for individuals and families, says John Grable, director of the school’s Institute of Personal Financial Planning. One of the specialties of the graduate program is financial therapy, a program that started around four years ago, that brings together planners and therapists, social workers, psychologists and counselors.

“What we found is if you talk to a marriage and family therapist, they’ll tell you most families are facing some financial stress,” Grable says in the article.

Esther Maddux, professor in the master’s degree program, is also quoted in the article. She says most of the graduate coursework is done online, as students often have full-time jobs, and some are based far away.

Other schools named are The College For Financial Planning in Greenwood Village, Colo.; University of Georgia, Athens; Boston University; Kaplan; San Diego State University; William Paterson University, Wayne, N.J.; Texas Tech University, Lubbock; Utah Valley University, Orem; and Virginia Tech, Blacksburg.

Faculty are:

• Sonya Britt, assistant professor of family studies and human services and a financial therapist, association president, co-presented “Preliminary Considerations for the Development of the Financial Therapy Discipline with two researchers from the University of Georgia;
• John Grable, professor and director of the K-State’s Financial Planning Institute, association treasurer; and
• Kristy Archuleta, co-director of K-State’s Financial Planning Clinic and an assistant professor of family studies and human services.

Archuleta, Britt and Roudi Nazarinia Roy from the Salina campus presented “What is Theory? Moving Financial Therapy Forward through Theory.”

Graduate students included:

• Mary Bell, doctoral student personal financial planning, co-presented “Factors Influencing Financial Satisfaction,” with Grable and Britt;
• Bell, doctoral student Jeremy Boyle, Laura Irwin and Jurdene Ingram (both master’s students) co-presented “Developing a Solution-focused Approach to Financial Well-being” with Archuleta and Grable;
• Ronald Sages and Julie Cumbie, doctoral students in personal financial planning, co-presented “Does Mental Health Really Influence Financial Behavior?” with Britt; and
• Anita Dale and Scott Spann, doctoral students in personal financial planning, co-presented “Understanding Financial Mental Health: Exploring Predictors of Financial Anxiety” with Archuleta.

Three of the faculty members are members of the association’s board of directors: Sonya Britt, assistant professor of family studies and human services and a financial therapist, association president; John Grable, professor and director of the K-State’s Financial Planning Institute, association treasurer; and Kristy Archuleta, co-director of K-State’s Financial Planning Clinic and an assistant professor of family studies and human services.

Their presentations include:

• Grable and Britt will co-present “Factors Influencing Financial Satisfaction” with Mary Bell, doctoral student in personal financial planning.
• Grable and Britt will co-present “Preliminary Considerations for the Development of the Financial Therapy Discipline” with a colleague from the University of Georgia.
• Britt will co-present “Does Mental Health Really Influence Financial Behavior” with Ronald Sages and Julie Cumbie, both doctoral students in personal financial planning.
• Archuleta will present “Understanding Financial Mental Health: Exploring Predictors of Financial Anxiety” with Scott Spann and Anita Dale, both doctoral students in personal financial planning.
• Archuleta and Grable will co-present “Developing and Solution-focused Approach to Financial Well-being” with Bell; Jurdene Ingram and Laura Irwin, master’s students in marriage and family therapy; Jeremy Boyle, doctoral student in marriage and family therapy; and colleagues from the University of Georgia.
• Archuleta, Britt and Rudabeh Nazarinia-Roy, assistant professor in the School of Family Studies and Human Services at K-State Salina, will co-present “What is Theory? Moving Financial Therapy Forward Through Therapy.”

Prepared by K-State Communications and Marketing

But John Grable, director of K-State’s Personal Financial Planning Institute in the School of Family Studies and Human Services, says that may change as the financial world prepares to welcome a new crop of financial planners who have a passion for helping the middle class.

K-State has offered a doctorate program in personal financial planning for three years. It’s a distinctive program not only because it’s one of just two financial planning doctorate programs in the U.S., but also because of its hybrid nature. Students attend intensive on-campus sessions for 10 days every August, and complete the rest of the program online with seminars and speakers.

“I thought it would take students four or five years to get through the Ph.D. program, but they’re going through it much faster,” Grable said. “Next summer we will graduate our first students, who are fitting in a doctoral degree while having families and working full-time jobs.”

Grable said the students’ motivation is not driven solely by their large time and monetary investment, but by their interest in changing the way the financial planning business works.

“Typically, financial planning is focused on clients with a higher net worth,” he said. “It can be difficult to work with a client making $30,000 a year. These students, however, have a passion for helping the middle class gain financial knowledge and creating a model that could help more people find financial success.”

It may be a sign of the times, Grable said. In the current financial climate, some middle-class Americans have mortgages they are unable to repay or various other financial problems. In these situations, they may feel they have few places to turn for unbiased financial advice, creating a large need for financial planners with an understanding of their clients’ unique financial behavior.

For many in this economic position there is very little financial education readily available and little knowledge about how to access what is available, Grable said. The first graduates from the College of Human Ecology’s personal financial planning Ph.D. program will seek to help fill this information gap.

“Most students working to achieve this particular Ph.D. have a mind for business but a heart for helping others,” Grable said. “The Ph.D. is a research degree, so before they can go help people, they have to understand more about them. They’re asking, ‘Why don’t you know where to go?’ then learning about how they can help.”

Ron Sages, a doctoral student in the K-State program from Greenwich, Conn., said it’s important to him and to others already in the financial planning industry to pursue advanced studies that emphasize not just finance, but behavioral finance, all while maintaining their businesses.

“Over the past 39 years as a financial planning practitioner, I have been intrigued by the behaviors of some of my clients and their family members as they pertain to their financial well-being,” Sages said. “I want to better understand and research factors that contribute to both beneficial and less desirable individual financial behaviors.”

Grable said for many students in the program, working toward a Ph.D. in financial planning is a life dream and a way to expand the services they can provide to clients and to give back to their communities, especially young people just starting out.

Since students in the K-State program don’t have to leave their communities to expand their education, they can share their new knowledge with current and new clients as they learn.

“One of the outcomes will be a diverse group of highly educated and passionate professionals who can step up their services to clients,” said Anita Dale, a personal financial planning student from Lebanon, Ind. “There is also a big opportunity to provide a new client base with competent advice and education from well-rounded individuals who have experienced life in their communities.”

The program currently has 30 students, Grable said. The 10 students who are in their third year of the program will go to South Korea in May 2012 as part of the program’s capstone class. They will tour financial planning firms and present research to government officials.

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Budgeting should begin before a student even sets foot on campus, said Jodi Kaus, program director for Powercat Financial Counseling at Kansas State University. Students may have extra funding from high school graduation gifts, savings bonds or part-time job income, and it’s important to put that money to good use.

“Students should keep an emergency savings cushion for unexpected contingencies,” Kaus said. “They should articulate their own specific financial goals to prioritize how they want to make use of these extra resources. Using them for a portion of college costs could help reduce the amount of necessary loans and interest charges.”

First, make a detailed list of spending

Once students get to school, Kaus said they need to be in tune with their money. Making a detailed list of all spending items can reduce the chance of running into an unexpected expense.

“Laundry and haircuts are often overlooked, but these costs can add up over time,” Kaus said. “Eating out tends to be the biggest budget breaker for most students. It becomes a social event, but $15 here and there starts to eat into a budget very quickly.”

As students transition through their college career, Kaus said other budgetary items will need to be considered and planned for ahead of time, like the cost of living off campus or taking a study abroad experience.

Why students should avoid credit cards

Kaus cautioned students against supplementing their budget with a credit card or getting one without serious consideration, although recent laws have made it difficult for individuals younger than 21 to get a credit card without a co-signer, usually a parent.

Eric Higgins, head of the finance department at K-State, said the new credit card laws allow parents of young credit card holders to be more in tune with their student’s spending habits. This also can help alleviate mismanagement of credit at an early age.

“It’s a common problem, students not being able to manage credit cards,” Higgins said. “You don’t want to get into debt and then be forced to start from behind.”

Dos and don’ts for credit care users

Higgins said other credit card tips include:

• Don’t open too many lines of credit — holding more cards than needed — because it can hurt your credit score.
• Call to cancel unwanted cards immediately — don’t simply cut them up and throw them away.
• Pay credit bills off each month in order to avoid interest charges, and don’t use them as a substitute for cash.

Talk to parents

Instead of credit cards, Kaus said she urges students to have an ongoing conversation with their parents about their financial support and expectations. Parents may be willing to pay for some expense items, but eventually the student will most likely be fully responsible. Knowing these amounts is important, she said.

Higgins added that other means of income, including part-time jobs, starting a small business or investing in real estate or the stock market, can then be used toward some kind of savings plan that lays the first steps to a secure financial future, such as starting an individual retirement account.

“I encourage students to start thinking about investing and saving,” he said. “Save early and save often. When it comes to building wealth, the earlier the better.”

To make the road to financial success at a young age a little smoother, it helps to avoid some common pitfalls. Kaus said the easy part of making a budget it putting the numbers on a piece of paper. “The hardest part is changing your behavior toward managing your money,” she said. “Students should begin by establishing small habits that set them up for long-term success.”

Sidestep common budgeting mistakes

Kaus’ tips for avoiding budgeting mistakes include:

• Using a pocket-sized debit card register to record transactions.
• Paying yourself first by automatically directing a percentage of each paycheck to savings instead of checking.
• Setting aside 10-20 minutes each week to review a spending plan and monitor progress.
• Remembering to take into account any withholdings from paychecks.
• Always paying bills on time — possibly setting up automatic payments — because timely bill payment is the largest factor in determining credit worthiness.
• Monitoring credit usage. It is recommended that credit card holders use no more than 25-30 percent of their credit limit at all times.
• Avoid short-term solutions, like payday loans intended to cover a borrower’s expenses until the next payday. Higgins agreed, adding that there is never an instance that a payday loan would be helpful to a student. There are laws on how much these businesses can charge, but few regulations on their fees. “You will pay way too much in interest charges — the annual percentage rate is astronomical,” he said. “When you factor in fees, you could be paying as much as 500 percent. It’s a trap — students spend their loan check, and need money to pay their tuition. Payday loan places know these students get a check each semester, and if you direct deposit it with them, you’ll stay a check behind and never see the money. It’s a pit.”
• Check other options offered by your school. At K-State and other universities, emergency student loans are available. K-State, through the School of Family Studies and Human Services in the College of Human Ecology, also offers Powercat Financial Counseling, a free service for students that provides peer financial counselors trained in personal finance, planning or business finance. Powercat Financial Counseling is in the office of student activities on the ground floor of the K-State Student Union. More information is available on the Powercat Financial Counseling website or by calling (785) 532-2889.

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These two big life-changing events can be common this time of year, but a Kansas State University expert says college students, whether in school or getting out soon, should do some financial planning before planning the wedding.

Laura Weiss-Cook, graduate student in family studies and human services and peer counselor for K-State’s Powercat Financial Counseling, said students planning on marriage should begin by discussing their attitudes and expectations concerning money with their future spouses.

“Individuals should expect their partner will be open and honest with them regarding finances,” Weiss-Cook said. “It’s reasonable to expect your partner to live within the budget and financial goals you establish together.”

Students should learn their partner’s history of handling money and financial priorities. Couples should honestly reveal any assets and debts to their partner, she said.

A common mistake students make is not discussing ground rules for purchases of small and large items that could lead to further debt and cause conflicts, Weiss-Cook said.

“Facing financial issues as partners, having regular reviews of where things stand, as well as creating an environment in which both members of the couple can discuss money honestly and respectfully, can help prevent conflict,” she said.

Weiss-Cook recommends that couples not co-mingle the individual debts that they accumulated prior to the relationship. Individual credit card debt and student loans fall in this category.

Couples need to establish a division of money management tasks and have short-term and long-term goals for the future. “These goals typically consist of buying a home, having children, repaying debt, making investments, having a savings plan and planning for retirement,” she said.

Students can pay down pre-existing debt and avoid further debt by creating a spending plan that is in line with their financial goals. This plan will help couples live within their means while meeting savings or debt reduction goals, Weiss-Cook said.

“Decisions should be made with thought and research to determine if expenditures are both appropriate to their goals and the most effective way of meeting these goals,” she said. “An emergency fund of three to six months of expenses will help couples be ready for the unexpected.”

A spending plan also can help couples establish how much money is available for debt payments.

Another big decision is whether to consolidate checking and savings accounts. Weiss-Cooks says it will depend on individual circumstances.

“It’s not required to have a joint account,” she said. “Some couples combine every aspect of their finances and others combine none. Some couples may have an individual account but then also have a joint account they use to pay family expenses such as rent or a mortgage.”

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Mary Bell

Two Kansas State University researchers are crunching the numbers when it comes to the financial status of soldiers at Fort Riley.

The work is through a new collaborative project with the fort, named the Financial Resiliency of Fort Riley Service Members and Spouses.

“All Americans sometimes struggle with financial matters, and that does not exclude the military,” said Mary Bell, one of the financial researchers and a doctoral student in personal financial planning, Manhattan.

Along with Sonya Britt, assistant professor with K-State’s Institute of Personal Financial Planning in the College of Human Ecology, the duo is collecting and analyzing information on the current financial situations of deploying soldiers from Fort Riley. Data also will be gathered on how the soldiers and their families manage the pay increases and extra benefits they receive while deployed to a combat zone. After completion, findings will be shared with officials at Fort Riley, who may use the material in financial management and education programs.

For military members, personal financial matters often carry over into the job.

“For example, if I had a really poor credit score, my boss would most likely not know and it wouldn’t affect my life on a day-to-day basis,” Bell said. “But service members who need a security clearance will have a background check where they will pull their credit score. And if you can’t get that clearance in the military, you essentially lose your job.”

Sonya Britt

According to Britt, the thought is that soldiers who are struggling with financial matters may not be mentally or financially prepared for overseas deployment.

In November Britt and Bell dispensed a voluntary questionnaire to 2,000 Fort Riley service members before deployment. The survey included questions such as “Do you talk about finances with your spouse?” and “How much debt are you currently in?”

Upon return to the U.S., the same group of soldiers who completed the initial questionnaire will be asked to complete a follow-up survey measuring their financial practices throughout their yearlong deployment. This study will be the largest publicly collected sample by a university regarding financial matters of U.S. Army soldiers.

“Resiliency is a really big focus of the military, and this data is about that financial resiliency,” Britt said. “Although we personally won’t be offering any counseling or money management advice, we’re helping those service members and their families become financially resilient by collecting this data and giving it to Fort Riley so they can see what’s going on before and after deployment.”

Britt and Bell began surveying military spouses in late January.

Although the data analysis and collection isn’t complete, Bell and Britt say they have noticed some interesting trends, including:

• Demographically, of the 700 who completed the survey, the respondent’s average age was 26 years old. Roughly 50 percent have a high school education or GED, while around 40 percent have some college education. Eight percent completed a bachelor’s degree and 1 percent completed a graduate degree.
• Half of the participants have an emergency fund of less than $500. “Generally it’s recommended to have 3-6 months of your expenses in an emergency account. In this case, $500 won’t really stretch that far,” Britt said.
• Eleven percent have credit card debt of $5,000 or more. The exact amount of credit card debt of respondents is unknown, but the numbers seem comparable to the national average of $7,000 in credit card debt, according to Britt.
• About 75 percent indicated they have an internal locus of control. “Despite being issued orders, this means a majority of soldiers feel they have control over their destiny, choices and consequently finances,” Bell said.

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The campus-wide event is free and gives the public and prospective students an opportunity to experience K-State firsthand. Hands-on demonstrations, entertainment, exhibits and tours offer all a taste of what the university offers. Each college puts together an assortment of educational demonstrations and activities, many of them interactive and kid-friendly.

But the best, promises Cara Richardson, events director, will be in the College of Human Ecology where this year’s events will have a carnival feel.

Among the Human Ecology events, all operated by students, are:

• Cash vault. Step inside and win prizes from personal financial planning students.
• Miniature golf. Play on the lawn with hospitality management students.
• Burn calories. Take on an inflatable bouncer or obstacle course and win prizes from the Health and Nutrition Society.
• Eat hot dogs served by hotel and restaurant management students from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Justin’s patio.
• Bring the kids. Children 2 to 6 can choose from a room of developmentally appropriate activities.
• Ear. Ear. Free hearing screens by graduate students in the communication sciences and disorders program from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in 127B Campus Creek Complex
• Weather permitting, the day will include a jump house, obstacle course and train rides.

For a full schedule and timetable, check out the K-State Open House website. Open House hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.