Pictured Above: Alyssa Hobbs, left, and Quincy Nauert enjoyed attending Breaking Bank and learning new things. Both agreed that budgeting is more difficult than they thought it would be. | Photo by Leah Nelson

The Breaking Bank program provided a Monopoly-like interaction for students to learn how to manage their post-graduation budget.

Students went to different tables where they had to make decisions about their life such as what type of housing they would have after graduation, whether or not they would live with a roommate and if they were going to buy a new or used car.

Diego Perez (left), Akeem Malky and Shreyash Gubda (right) all said they lost money faster than they thought they would. Gubda said in the future he’ll remember not to buy all new things and his friends agreed.

“This event is an opportunity which lets students make mistakes so they don’t make them in the future,” said Joey Gemuenden, the Northwest Quad’s coordinator for residence education.

While some decisions seemed obvious at first, students learned that some of the life decisions they’d made might hurt them later on.

“I heard a lot of students say ‘I should have bought insurance,'” Gemuenden said. “Insurance is a small long-term cost that some people don’t think they need until they do.”

The event allowed students to make their own monthly decisions on the average salary of their major.

“I hope (students) got a realistic idea of what their financial situation will look like,” Gemuenden said.

Diego Perez, a freshman from Bolivia, said he came to the event to spend time with friends and to learn something new. Perez lives in Humphreys Hall and is majoring in chemical engineering.

Perez said the event reminded him to think before acting and not to invest everything you have.

“I was surprised how fast I lost money,” Perez said.

Quincy Nauert, a freshman from Rockwall, Texas, said he enjoyed the program and learned a lot of valuable information and tips. He learned that the last day to file taxes is April 15. Nauert is majoring in psychology and lives in Hotz Honors Hall.

Josh Farrar, a freshman majoring in Chemical Engineering enjoyed Breaking Bank. He learned that budgeting has more to it than he originally thought.

“It was surprising how many unforeseen events can happen in life,” Nauert said.

Alyssa Hobbs, a freshman from Bentonville, said she saw a social media post about the event and thought budgeting was an important skill to know. Hobbs is majoring in animal science and lives in Hotz Honors Hall.

“I learned that an unsubsidized loan accumulates interest on it,” Hobbs said.

After students completed their monthly spending, they ‘spent’ the money they had left over by making bets on prizes and entering a raffle to win a Nintendo Switch, AirPods and Eno hammock.

Breaking Bank was held March 27 in the Verizon Ballroom. It is a personal development component of University Housing’s @Home series. The @Home series consists of signature events during the 2018-2019 academic year that focus on promoting academic success, personal development and multicultural competency.