Braun Financial Literacy Program

• Students are encouraged to attend their academic class's designated BFLP event each semester, as well as any other BFLP events they find useful.
• To complete the program, students must attend six events total (timing can be flexible) and finish the Personal Finance 101 Modules on Blackboard.
• For students abroad or unable to attend in person, event recordings will be posted on Blackboard to ensure full access to the material.

Students who complete the curriculum will not only gain lifelong financial skills but will also receive a special BFLP graduation cord as a symbol of their commitment to financial literacy.

We hope you will join us on this journey! No matter your starting point, you can build a financial foundation that lasts well beyond William & Mary.

• Freshmen: Personal Finance 101 Modules on Blackboard | Fall & Spring
• Sophomores: Moving Off-Campus | Fall
• Sophomores: Personal Banking & Credit | Spring
• Juniors: Investing | Fall
• Juniors: Economics of Grad School | Spring
• Seniors: Budgeting with a Salary | Fall
• Seniors: Taxes in Your First Job | Spring

A budget is a spending plan that divides your income to cover expenses and tracks how closely your actual spending matches what you planned.

Budgets are not meant to force restrictive spending. If a budget is too restrictive, it becomes much harder to stick with over time.

The best budget balances progress toward financial goals with a lifestyle you can sustain.

• Budgeting is predicting income and deciding in advance how to use it based on what you value most.

Before creating a budget, write down all likely sources of income and all expected monthly expenses.

• Sources of income:  earned income (job), financial aid, investment gains, and other inflows.
• Types of expenses: fixed (rent), variable (utilities, groceries), and periodic (health insurance, textbooks).

Strong money management starts by separating needs from wants.

If you are unsure, try doing without the expense for a period. If it is truly necessary to function, it may be a need.

Savings is the portion of income set aside for future use rather than immediate spending.

• Emergency fund: unexpected expenses such as medical bills or bike repairs.
• Short-term goals: study abroad, textbooks, or a car purchase.
• Long-term goals: home purchase, children's education, retirement.
• Investments: funds allocated to long-term growth securities and other instruments.

Try not to exceed 25-30% of monthly net income on housing.

If living off-campus, include utilities, transportation, and roommate cost-sharing in your calculations.

Plan meals before shopping and stick to a grocery list.

Use unit-price labels to compare value across products.

Store-brand items are often lower cost than name brands.

If you are on a meal plan, maximize its value and stock up on snacks or fruit to reduce later spending.

Use tools such as CashCourse, Mint, YouNeedABudget, or Microsoft Excel templates.

Start simple and build detail over time.

Budgeting Basics

• NerdWallet Budget Worksheet: Free simplified budgeting sheets that keep a running total of income and expenses.
• Interactive Spending Plan Worksheet: A downloadable worksheet to organize your monthly income and spending plan.
• How to Read a Paystub: Explanation of common paycheck terms and abbreviations, with a sample paystub.
• Needs vs. Wants Worksheet: CashCourse worksheet to categorize recurring spending as needs vs. wants.

Cost of Living

• W&M Room Rates: Residence Life page with current on-campus housing costs.
• CashCourse Cost-of-Living Calculator: Interactive calculator for comparing living-at-home, on-campus, or off-campus costs.
• How to Choose an Apartment: General guidelines and considerations when renting your first apartment.
• What is Renter's Insurance?: Short Allstate explainer on renter insurance basics and what it can cover.

Budgeting for Food

• Unit Pricing Guide: Consumer Reports video on using unit pricing to compare grocery value.
• Eating Well on a Budget: Government-backed guidance for healthy eating while controlling food costs.
• The Real Cost of Eating Out: Cost and health tradeoffs of eating at home versus eating out.

Student borrowing options differ by eligibility, interest treatment, and repayment flexibility.

• Direct Subsidized: for undergraduates with demonstrated need; the Department of Education pays interest while in school at least half-time and for six months after leaving.
• Direct Unsubsidized: for undergraduate and graduate students; interest is the borrower responsibility from disbursement.
• Direct PLUS: for graduate students and parents of dependent undergraduates; not need-based, and maximum can reach cost of attendance minus other aid.
• Private Loans: for additional borrowing beyond federal limits; typically less favorable terms and fewer protections.

First-time borrowers must complete Loan Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note on the Federal Student Aid site before funds disburse.

Funds are generally disbursed at the start of each semester and any excess may be refunded to the student.

Students have 120 days from original disbursement to return loan funds.

Repayment options vary by loan and services, but common structures include:

• Standard Repayment: fixed monthly payments over a set period.
• Graduated Repayment: lower initial payments that increase periodically.
• Income-Based Repayment: payment amount linked to the borrower's discretionary income.

Use the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) for a centralized view of federal loans and status.

Loan Basics

• Federal Student Aid Glossary: Definitions for frequently used financial aid terms.
• W&M Types of Aid: Overview of major aid categories offered through William & Mary.
• FASTChoice for Private Loans: Tools and references for evaluating private borrowing options.
• Annual Borrowing Limits: Federal Student Aid FAQ and annual limit table by borrower type.

Know What You Owe

• National Student Loan Data System: Central federal loan database for borrower loan details.
• Loan Repayment Simulator: Import federal loans and compare repayment strategy outcomes.
• Compare Private Student Loans: LendingTree comparison of private student loan options.

Entrance and Exit Counseling

• Entrance Counseling: Required for first-time Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized borrowers.
• Master Promissory Note (MPN): Legal commitment to repay borrowed funds and accrued interest.
• Exit Counseling: Required when leaving school or dropping below half-time.

Loan Forgiveness Programs

• Teacher Loan Forgiveness: Federal eligibility requirements and application process.
• Pubic Service Loan Forgiveness: Federal PSLF guidance for qualifying public service borrowers.

Start by confirming whether you are required to file a return.

A common annual filing deadline is April 15. 

Tax forms differ by income type and employment context.

• 1040: general individual income tax return form.
• W-2: annual wages and taxes withheld from employment.
• 1099: used when you receive qualifying non-wage income, including some investment income.
• W-4: completed when starting a new job to set withholding preferences.
• I-9: employment eligibility verification form used when starting work in the U.S.

Identity protection is largely a set of repeatable habits.

• Do not provide personal information over phone calls you cannot verify.
• Go paperless when possible and shred documents with sensitive data.
• Review financial statements and credit reports for inaccuracies.
• Opt out of pre-approved credit offers if appropriate.
• Use strong device passwords and keep systems locked when attended.

Act quickly to limit downstream damage and create an official record.

• Request a credit freeze with at least one major bureau.
• File and FTC identity theft complaint online or by phone at 877-438-4338.
• File a police report when appropriate.

Tax Basics

• Tax Preparation Checklist for Students: Step-by-step checklist of documents and prep items before filing.
• Tax Forms and Their Purposes: Reference guide to common forms and when each is used.
• IRS Understanding Taxes Simulations: Interactive student simulations for practical tax scenarios.

Fraud Basics

• How to Protect Yourself from Fraud: CashCourse guidance on preventative identity-theft habits.
• Top 10 Ways to Protect Your Identity: Action-oriented identity-security checklist from CashCourse.
• Have I Been Pwned?: Check whether your email appears in known data breaches.
• Recovering from Identity Theft: Response steps if fraud or identity compromise occurs.

Understanding basic terms is the first step toward informed investing decisions.

• Securities: investable assets including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate instruments.
• Stocks: ownership shares in a corporation.
• Bonds: debt instruments issued by governments or companies.
• Mutual Fund: pooled investment vehicle that buys a diversified basket of assets.
• Index Fund: fund designed to track a market index such as the S&P 500.
• ETF: exchange-traded fund, similar to index funds but tradable during market hours.
• Dividend: portion of a company's earnings distributed to shareholders.
• Liquidity: ease and speed converting an asset to cash.
• Diversification: combing assets with different risk-return profiles to reduce concentration risk.

Active investing attempts to outperform markets through frequent analysis and trading, typically with higher effort and risk.

Passive investing is a long-term buy-and-hold approach that does not rely on constant trading and often aims for market-matching returns.

Your strategy should align with your risk tolerance (conservative, moderate, or aggressive).

Start by defining why you want to invest and when you expect to use the funds.

Time horizon influences suitable risk levels and portfolio design.

Determine how much capital you can invest consistently and estimate reasonable long-term return assumptions.

Account selection affects tax treatment, contribution rules, and access to investment options.

• Brokerage Account: flexible account for buying and selling securities.
• IRA: tax-advantaged retirement account opened by individuals, without employer sponsorship.
• Employer-Sponsored Retirement Account: plans such as 401(k) where employee and sometimes employer contributions are made through payroll.

Long-term discipline matters more than short-term prediction.

• Buy-and-hold core positions.
• Diversify across assets and risk exposures.
• Use dollar-cost averaging for consistent contributions.
• Maintain target asset allocation over time.
• Reinvest distributions when appropriate.

Investing Basics

• Investopedia Financial Term Dictionary: Reference definitions and explanations for core investing vocabulary.
• Risk Tolerance Quiz: Short assessment to estimate your investment risk profile.

Investment Strategies

• Guide to Diversification: Fidelity primer on constructing diversified portfolios.
• Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP): Introductory explanation of dividend reinvestment mechanics.
• Buy-and-Hold Strategy: Pros and cons of passive long-horizon investing.
• Dollar-Cost Averaging: How periodic investing reduces timing pressure and smooths entry points.