Do you understand loans and credit? Many students don’t. As part of Financial Literacy Week at Delta College, a representative from Chemical Bank paid a visit to Delta to inform listeners about the basics of credit.
Patricia Franklin-Lindsey, Assistant Vice President of Business Development at Chemical Bank in Saginaw, spoke at the event. She said she has been banking for over 20 years.
Franklin-Lindsey noted that employers check the credit history of potential employees. She discussed the “four Cs” of credit – collateral, capacity, capital and character.
Franklin-Lindsey also pointed out that when things happen in a person’s life – a divorce, loss of a job, a death – this is shown in their credit.
“Everyone has a story, and your credit report tells that story,” said Franklin-Lindsey.
Amy McPike, Coordinator of Campus Life, said she thought this event was important for students to attend.
“As an institution of higher education, we focus very much so on your education in the classroom,” McPike said. “But what we hope to do with events like Financial Literacy Week and some of the other programs that we offer is to help further develop you holistically as a person – not just academically, but personally.”
Franklin-Lindsey suggested that people save their money and pay with cash whenever possible.
Franklin-Lindsey said that mortgages could be paid off a lot quicker if the individual adds $50 to every note. When someone is paying off a mortgage, interest is paid off first, then taxes, then insurance and finally the principal.
“We waste a lot of money in this society, and a lot of it goes into other people’s pockets,” Franklin-Lindsey said.
Chemical Bank currently has a certificate of deposit program in which individuals can put $200 into a CD and get an additional $800 loan. Over the next 12 months, the individual is to pay off the $800 loan. At the end of the twelve months, they have a $1000 CD saved. Franklin-Lindsey said that the program is “a great way to save money” and noted that individuals get a reward, not a bill, at the end.
Franklin-Lindsey said that no one should ever need more than one credit card. She said that an individual’s limit should be what they can afford. She noted that it is important to “be mindful and careful about how we use credit.”12