So in our last blog we showed you all some great methods for budgeting and we are hoping that you all have adopted one of them. However, you may be asking yourself, what now? I mean, you’re writing down your expenses and trying to stay within the dollar amount you may have assigned yourself for a certain item, but is that enough? What if we were to tell you that according to ACC’s Student Financial Wellness Survey, 50% of ACC students have reported running out of money 3 or more times in the past year? With that being said, we want to share with you some resources to help you save money.
The program Succeed is not an ACC program as it is run through Foundation Communities, however, it helps students attending ACC and Texas State. The way it works is that participants deposit into a special savings account at Greater Texas Federal Credit Union, and Foundation Communities matches each dollar saved. Accounts can be used for home purchase or college tuition.
The most that you can contribute is up to $500 of your own so that they will match it with $1,500 of theirs or $2,000 in total. The requirements to qualify are that you are either a non-traditional student or a 1st generation student attending college, and you have to fill out a simple questionnaire. Unfortunately for now they have stopped taking applications for the Fall but if you fill out the questionnaire, you will be placed on a waitlist for the spring semester.
Another great resource that is guaranteed to save you some money, are the food pantries located in every ACC Student Life Centers. You can go in and check out a couple of items with your student identification the centers are open. Some locations even offer other perks such as the Riverside campus which partners with the Central Texas Food Bank and gives out fresh foods such as meat and veggies. They hand out the food the first Friday of every month from 9 to 11 am. At the Cypress Campus, Student Life receives Starbucks items donated by Reveal Ministries every Monday and is free to students. The items are either a sandwich of some sort or a protein box and are available on a first-come, first serve basis. So, make sure to take advantage of it.
With these two programs we just mentioned, we are barely scratching the surface of resources available to ACC students. Make sure to also check out the Student Support Center which offers both free childcare if you qualify or assistance with books. Be sure to always read the flyers everywhere you go because the money is there, it is just waiting for you to find it.
Just think about what you could be doing with all of the extra many you save by taking advantage of these programs. Learning to budget and stretching your finances is an ongoing process.