1. JOUR 2410-503 Dec. 6 News 5
A certified financial planner gave examples of students’
lack of financial literacy and awareness to a group of student
journalists November 12.
“It’s interesting how many people come into Red to Black
and they don’t even know how many loans they have out or who
they’re with,” said Luke Einerson, a financial planning doctoral
student at Texas Tech.
A lack of financial literacy and awareness can be
detrimental to a student’s financial future. There is help for
students who want to manage their assets, but do not know how to
do so. Einerson, a Red to Black employee, gives students
coaching and advice about managing money.
Red to Black is a service where students can get financial
coaching. Einerson said a student can go there for advice on
budgeting, debt, student loans, and other financial issues. The
service is paid for in tuition, so Tech students can walk in and
get help free of charge.
Susan Moore is a bank manager at Prosperity Bank in
Abilene, Texas. She said it is rare for a person to walk into
her office, and be financially literate. People of all ages have
come to speak to Moore, and she said generally they have no clue
what they are talking about.

2. JOUR 2410-503 Dec. 6 News 5
“You’d be surprised how much middle-income people don’t
know,” Moore said.
Einerson said being knowledgeable about money and knowing
how to handle it, can put a person ahead of the curve. He
believes, with students, budgeting and money mismanagement are
issues he encounters most frequently.
“People will come in with loans and blow through the
student loan by the middle of the semester, and they don’t have
any money left,” Einerson said. “If you get budgeting down, you
are like 90 percent of the way there.”
Red to Black volunteer, Carl Larimore said he sees students
with similar issues coming to get advice, often because they are
unaware of how to properly maintain a budget. He said based on
past his clients, the cause of mismanagement is usually due to
an ignorance of financial matters.
“I think that financial literacy is extremely important for
everybody, not just students or middle-aged adults,” Larimore
said earnestly. “Everybody needs financial literacy of some
kind.”
He said a base knowledge of things like debt, credit,
retirement plans, and insurance will help students become
successful adults. In order to increase student financial

3. JOUR 2410-503 Dec. 6 News 5
knowledge and awareness at Tech, Larimore suggested a personal
financial planning course be required for all majors.
Richard Gass, senior from San Antonio, is enrolled in a
personal financial planning course. He hopes to receive a
University Studies degree at the end of the semester, and
immediately start studying personal finance in graduate school.
Gass explained why he wanted to study personal finance.
“When it comes to finance, a lot of people are uneducated,
and I didn’t want to be one of them,” Gass said.
Gass said his personal financial studies have increased his
financial literacy. He said various courses cover various ranges
of financial issues from budgeting to income tax accounting.
Gass also suggested people do not care about finances until they
are faced with financial issues.
He explained that when he was 20 years old, he did not pay
much attention to how he spent his money. He said he would
essentially work and throw money away. He said he did not care
about saving and investing because he was ignorant to it.
Now at the age of 29, Gass said he thinks it is kind of sad
that for nearly ten years he worked, and has no remnants of the
money he made.

4. JOUR 2410-503 Dec. 6 News 5
“If you’re not educated in it and you don’t know about it,
then you don’t care about it really,” Gass said, “and once you
know some of the stuff you learn in these finance courses, you
start to take it a bit more seriously in your own personal
life.”
Einerson said students need to start learning about
personal finance and begin saving now. He said if students do
so, they can save themselves grief as they get older. He said
often young adults do not realize the impact of choices they
make now on their future.
Gass searched his flash drive and found his tax returns. He
said he got his highest tax return at the age of 22, and
basically had $17,000 over the course of a year to spend however
he wanted to.
“Honestly, I don’t know where that $17,000 went that year,”
Gass said. “I made $17,000 and had nothing to show for it. I had
no investments or savings. I just spent money on beer, pizza,
DVDs, and playing video games.”
Einerson advises students to pay attention to their
personal finances, and to be willing to get help if they do not
understand something. He said he acknowledges situations are

5. JOUR 2410-503 Dec. 6 News 5
different for everybody, but that there is help out there for
people who want to increase their financial knowledge.