Student Development Services wants to prepare students for the future by teaching them how to budget and spend wisely.

One Million Reasons is an educational program that teaches students how to handle money and prepare for the future. The program is a partnership between SDS, the Office of Financial Aid and the Office of Admission.

OMR focuses on three areas:

• Mastering the basics, which includes savings and budgeting.
• Developing your skills, which includes insurance and credit bureau.
• Considering the future, which includes investment and real estate.

SDS is providing online resources, in-class facilitations and programming. The financial aid office and the admission office are providing financial support.

“We think that students who graduate with more financial knowledge are going to be more successful at managing their funds and debt,” assistant director of financial aid Melet Leafgreen said. “Students will know how to pay off their loans.”

Leafgreen said that 6,280 undergraduate students are receiving some financial aid to attend TCU.

The assistant director of the sophomore and junior year experience Rachael Capua said there are “one million reasons” why students should learn about financial well-being.

“OMR came about because it’s so much more than right now,” Capua said. “It’s so much more than financial health. It impacts you emotionally, professionally, spiritually and personally.”

Chelsea Alexander, who is a TCU alumna and a senior financial adviser for Merrill Lynch, said the program will help students learn the jargon of finance and how to use those concepts properly.

“We live in a world of finance, and we need to know the rules of the game if we’re going to play,” Alexander said.

OMR ambassadors are students that represent their assigned colleges. They act as a link between the OMR program and the students of TCU.

Senior child development major and an OMR ambassador for the College of Science and Engineering Logan Skoog said she thinks students should focus on the financial demands of today.

“I think we get stuck with thinking about retirement and future kid’s college funds when someone says ‘finance,’” Skoog said. “Making it more connected to the students and what they’re doing is more effective than planning for future kid’s college funds. Students need to know how to save for their spring break trip and where those finances are coming from.”

Kat Edmond, a senior communications major and an OMR ambassador for the Bob Schieffer College of Communication, agreed.

“It’s important for everyone to learn as students first so they know how to be adults and handle their finances wisely,” Edmond said. “It’ll help students learn how to spend, save and give wisely.”

Faculty or staff can request a lesson for classrooms or organizations by emailing [email protected].