Spend Well

Manage Your Money, Manage Your Life

Mission: Building a financially astute student population.

Why is Spend Well important to health and wellbeing?

According to a Capitol One Spendwise Survey, 73% of Americans ranked their finances as the most significant source of stress in their lives. Regardless of income, learning the principles of smart financial decisions makes a positive impact on every aspect of our lives. Poor financial management may reduce our overall wellbeing, costing us much more than just money.

Highlights

  • Through the leadership of Jason Tomlinson, Vice President for Finance and Administration, TWU established the Student Financial Literacy Department, naming Chalese Connors as director. After extensive research and planning, this department became the Student Money Management Center and opened in August 2021.
  • Institutional Membership in the Texas Association of Collegiate Financial Education Professionals (TACFEP).
  • Institutional Membership in the Higher Education Financial Wellness Alliance (HEFWA).
  • Student Life, in collaboration with Institutional Development, has developed financial crisis management processes including student emergency scholarships. 
  • On the Dallas campus, the Financial Aid Department implemented Financial Literacy Week offering scholarships as incentives for student participation.
  • Receiving grant funding for support, the Department of Diversity, Inclusion, and Outreach has established the Mobile Go Center which aids students in the completion of college applications and FAFSA/TASFA.
  • Multiple courses have included assignments specifically targeting the mission of Spend Well. Some of these include:
    • FIN 2153, Fundamentals of Money Management: This course, offered in the TWU Core Curriculum, provides students with critical information that impacts human financial behavior for individuals as well as society. This course seeks to address the wellness of society through financial education and understanding money decisions that have an impact on the household.
    • KINS 1902, Fitness & Health, Enhanced Personal Wellness: financial education component was added to the curriculum to demonstrate the tie between finances and health
    • MATH 1013, Financial and Quantitative Literacy: added an assignment using the a free online budgeting tool
    • UNIV 1231, First Year Experience: a financial literacy module was added to this course in Fall 2020 and introduces students to free online budgeting resources.

Committee Members

  • Kittpong Boonme (Ken) - COB Accounting and Finance (co-lead)
  • Stephany Compton - Library (co-lead)
  • Pam Baker - COB Accounting and Finance
  • Linda Barnett - Occupational Therapy-Dallas
  • Megan Burke - COB Accounting and Finance
  • Flora Beth Ligeti - Library
  • Kimberly Dews Mory - Communication Sciences and Oral Health
  • Gabby Pringle - Student Money Management Center
  • Jeff Scott - Financial Aid

Goals 2022-2023

  1. Increase Spend Well’s presence across all three campuses.
  2. Promote Student Money Management Center and other financial resources across all three campuses.
  3. Schedule speakers for financial topic events.

Student Organizations

These student organizations reflect and support the overall mission of Spend Well:

  • Accounting and Finance Society
  • IMA/CMA – TWU Chapter
  • National Association of Black Accountants

Page last updated 2:34 PM, October 13, 2022 

Health and Wellbeing

Jones Hall, Denton Campus
940.898.2221
Wellbeing@twu.edu