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In today’s digital world, social media plays a significant role in our daily lives, connecting us with friends, family, and communities. However, with these connections come risks, especially for college students navigating their academic and personal lives. At the UW-Whitewater Financial Literacy Center, we believe that understanding social media safety is just as important as financial literacy. Here are some key tips to help you stay safe online.

1. Protect Your Privacy Settings

One of the first steps to ensuring your safety on social media is to review and adjust your privacy settings. Most platforms offer options to control who can see your posts, comment on your content, and send you messages. Consider setting your profiles to private and limit your audience to friends and family. This can help prevent unwanted attention from strangers.

Action Steps:

• Regularly check your privacy settings on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
• Be mindful of what you share publicly, as even seemingly harmless information can be used against you.

2. Think Before You Share

It’s easy to share updates and photos in the moment, but it’s essential to think about the long-term implications of your posts. Once something is online, it can be challenging to erase it completely. Consider how your posts might be perceived by potential employers, professors, or future connections.

Action Steps:

• Ask yourself: Would I be comfortable if my family or future employer saw this post?
• Avoid sharing sensitive information such as your location, financial details, or personal identifiers.

3. Be Cautious with Friend Requests

Social media is a great way to meet new people, but not everyone has good intentions. Be aware of friend requests from strangers, especially those who seem to have incomplete profiles or mutual friends you don’t know well. Scammers often create fake accounts to gain access to your personal information.

Action Steps:

• Verify profiles before accepting requests.
• If someone messages you with a suspicious offer or request, do not respond and consider reporting the account.

4. Recognize Phishing Attempts

Phishing scams can occur on social media just as they do through email. These scams often involve messages that appear to be from legitimate sources, asking for personal information or directing you to fraudulent websites.

Action Steps:

• Be suspicious of messages that create a sense of urgency, such as claims that your account will be locked unless you act immediately.
• Never click on links from unknown sources or provide personal information unless you are certain of the recipient’s identity.

5. Educate Yourself on Online Etiquette

Maintaining a respectful online presence is crucial not just for your safety but also for your reputation. Be aware of how your comments and interactions can impact your digital footprint.

Action Steps:

• Engage positively and constructively with others.
• Think before you comment or share controversial opinions, as they can spark unwanted conflict.

6. Keep Software Updated

Ensure that your devices and applications are up to date. Regular updates help protect against security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers.

Action Steps:

• Enable automatic updates for your operating system and apps.
• Use reputable antivirus software to protect your devices.

7. Report Suspicious Activity

If you encounter any suspicious behavior, whether it’s a message from an unknown source or a post that seems inappropriate, don’t hesitate to report it. Social media platforms have mechanisms in place to handle such issues and protect their users.

Action Steps:

• Familiarize yourself with how to report accounts or posts on each platform.
• Don’t hesitate to block users who make you uncomfortable.

No, not holiday season but scholarship season! UW Whitewater’s scholarships for 2024-2025 school year will open on December 1, 2023. The scholarships are now viewable in the students WINS account and can be searched by the students college (Letters & Sciences) or non applicable. We suggest students search in both areas to maximize their opportunity for scholarships and apply for all they can. Scholarships are free money and who wouldn’t want free money to go to school! PLUS the more scholarships awarded the less student loans a student will need.

But…don’t stop the search there! Students check with your family members to see if the company they work for has any scholarships available. Check with in your home town to see if any business’s, local Moose Lodge, VFW Hall etc. are awarding scholarships.

Lastly don’t forget to search for scholarships this spring online. UWW’s financial aid office as a list of safe scholarship websites. For more information on scholarship scams go to: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scholarship-financial-aid-scams

Good Luck!

In a recent survey Sarah O’Brien a Personal finance reporter found that 45% of the respondents know they are overspending since last reported in April 2021.  Credit card debit is at nearly $1 trillion in 2021 and is climbing.  Below are some tips to help/curb the overspending urges:

1. Start a budget or if you already have a budget it is time to re-evaluate your current budget.

2. Think about your goals: to be debt-free, go on vacation, buy a home and write them down and before you act on your spending look over your goals.

3. Leave the item in your shopping cart for at least 24 hours.  Do you have the strong need for the item or have you forgotten about it?

4. Unsubscribe from marketing emails.

5. Take your credit cards off of your apps on your cell phone.

Pick one, two or all of the above tips and implement a plan to work towards your goals and improve your overall financial wellness.  Take charge of your finances now to set yourself up for future success and freedom.  For more information or to set up a financial coaching session, contact the UWW Financial Literacy Center.

The recent release of the Higher Education Relief Grant, which will hopefully help students truly in need of financial support, the application deadline is March 15th. This grant is meant to assist students in need of money for costs such as tuition, housing, food, health care, child care, and any type of emergency costs.

When applying for the grant, which is the student’s responsibility and has been emailed to all students, make sure you follow the guidelines provided, and are in need of the money. Everyone who applies may not receive the grant as it will be based on the student’s FAFSA. Although, if you do not apply and believe you are in need you will not receive the grant. When receiving this grant, first make sure you accept the offer, then when the check is sent your way make sure you deposit it as soon as possible!

As a grant, it is not money that you will need to pay back. With this in mind, many may think it will cover the costs for a vacation, clothes, accessories, and whatever non-essential costs that may arise. Instead, this is an opportunity to pay off current expenses, costs, and future debt. It may seem very enticing to take that trip, but this could cause for future stress and create a financial burden that will hurt in the long run.

If you are in need of assistance as to how to allocate this money with your expenses, need help building a budget, or even want overall guidance financially, I urge you to visit the Financial Literacy Center.

As leases are signed for next academic year, there comes a time when you need to sit down and think about what you will need in order to move from the dorms into your own place. While getting out of the dorms may be a nice reprieve, there are some “behind the scenes” costs and ideas that you need to consider before making the decision as to where to live and with whom to live.

The biggest thing to consider whether or not you are prepared to handle a multitude of new responsibilities by yourself. No one is going to be there to clean up after you anymore, which means that you need to start doing it yourself. While cleaning the bathroom is not the most fun task in the world, it is a necessary step to help ensure your own personal hygiene.

Another major thing to know/consider is the structure of your lease. If your lease states that you and your roommate(s) are in a separate tenancy agreement, that means that each of you signs a contract with the landlord so if one person needs to move out or does not pay rent on time, the others are not effected. The other way that your lease can be structured is as a joint tenancy agreement. If someone is late on rent or wants to move out, all those listed on the lease can be affected.

A final thing to consider is an agreement with your roommates. It doesn’t have to be anything too fancy, but write up a set of rules and have all people living with you sign it with someone not on the lease as a witness. This way, if someone is not pulling their weight, or refuses to pay rent, you can have some legal recourse against them. This is especially important if you have a lease with joint tenancy. You do not want to be on the hook for your roommate’s part of the rent if they are delinquent in their payment, and a signed agreement with your roommates might help to alleviate your potential financial burden.

All of these things are ideas to consider before deciding where to move to and who you want to live with. You will have to deal with those other students every single day, so make sure you choose wisely. Moving off campus can be an excellent experience, just make sure that you have all of your ducks in a row so you can enjoy your time as much as possible.