The Senior Class Council, along with the Young Alumni Council and Alumni Association Ambassadors, held a personal finance seminar Wednesday with guest speaker Bill Yoest. The two-time All-American offensive guard, who earned an economics degree from N.C. State, spoke on the importance of personal finance knowledge, especially during the economic crisis.

Senior Class President Adam Compton said the council was looking for a way to assist seniors as they move into the work force.

“We were trying to think of different things we could do to help seniors out,” Compton said. “The idea of a financial seminar came up and Bill Yoest has been doing seminars for Alumni, so we approached him about this.”

Compton said Yoest is a great speaker.

“It worked out well,” Compton said. “Everybody there was taking notes and eager to learn.”

Hank Howie, the director for Students Today Alumni Tomorrow and one of the individuals involved in the planning of the event, echoed Compton’s statements.

“I think it went really well. We had probably 25 people come out,” Howie said. “Bill Yoest opened the floor and people were asking questions for probably another 30 minutes after he was done speaking. He was very respectful of the questions and he was there to answer anything we had to ask.”

Howie said this is a topic that hits close to home for everyone.

“No matter how well off you were before, or how well off you thought you might have been before, everybody’s getting hit hard,” Howie said.

Compton said the seminar to helped answer common questions that result from transitioning from living off student loans, a part-time job, and money from parents into a workforce where money is no longer coming in.

“Tough economic times are here for everybody, not just students [and this] was just a good way to educate everyone because there are things we can certainly be doing even before we get out in the workforce,” Howie said. “It is important to start getting in that mindset, particular for the young alumni, people who have been in the workforce for one or two years, [as] there are things that they need to be doing especially now, when money is tight for everybody.”

Compton agreed.

“During this economic situation, finances are on a lot of people’s minds. And then also when the economy is doing well, you know, when you graduate, that is something a lot of people don’t know about because a financial seminar class is not required,” he said. “A lot of seniors or people that have just graduated, they get into the work force and they just don’t know.”

Affirming both Howie and Compton’s statements that personal finances and planning are unknown topics to many students and bolstering their reasoning behind such programs, Christina Wilson, a senior in psychology, is taking a personal finance class in order to better ensure a financially secure future and acknowledges its positive effects.

“I decided to take [the class] because I am about to graduate and felt like I really needed to get a better understanding of all the different financial obligations and pathways that need to be taken into account for current financial needs and future savings,” she said. “It has helped me tremendously to know and understand the different ways to invest money and save up for retirement and how important starting to save early really is.”

Taking into account the leading factors of debt and contributors to the recession, Yoest discussed credit card debt and the importance of a budget.

“The average American has $8000 in credit card debt, so that is something that a lot of people really need to really start thinking about — getting those credit cards paid off, planning for the future when you are younger, etc.,” Compton said.

“One of the main points that he talks about was to make a budget. It’s something so simple – you get your first paycheck and you figure out exactly how much money you are going to be making and then you figure out the expenses that you have to absolutely pay and then from there you see what you have left over. Not living outside of your means is key,” Howie said.

Overall the seminar was successful in educating people and attracting people with the main point, being to “Start thinking about [your future] now and start to slowly put away some money. Don’t wait ‘til you are forty years old … the sooner you start the better off you are going to be in the long run, said Compton.”

With its success, some students said they hope to see similar programs become more popular and numerous.

“It’s great that student groups [and] the University put on a program like this because its really useful information, and I think everyone could benefit from learning about it,” Wilson said.