Students who want to prevent their wallets from getting too thin toward the end of the semester can take advantage of the services offered by the Financial Counseling Clinic.

The Financial Counseling Clinic is a campus organization that provides students with confidential financial counseling free of charge, said Anne Swift, clinic supervisor and program coordinator for the human development and family studies department.

“With anything financial in nature, we can be of help,” Swift said. She said the clinic can provide students with help in matters from reading credit card applications to managing debt.

The clinic provides preventive, remedial and productive counseling, according to a brochure. Preventive counseling helps students plan budgets. Productive counseling provides help with investments, and remedial counseling helps students who are having financial problems.

Ann Perkins, counselor at the clinic and graduate student in human development and family studies, said she would recommend an appointment with the clinic to any students making major purchases.

Perkins also said she would recommend the clinic to students who are having trouble managing their credit cards. Perkins said the clinic and its staff is “very beneficial” for students.

Swift said the clinic has 10 student counselors, most of whom are majoring in family financial counseling or finance.

To become a counselor, students must complete Human Development and Family Studies 283, 483 and 489, Swift said. These courses cover basic and advanced money management, as well as family financial counseling.

New student counselors have an experienced counselor working with them until they are ready to counsel students on their own.

“It’s an excellent career training experience,” Swift said.

Swift said a counseling session usually lasts about two hours, and the average number of counseling sessions a student will attend is three. She said many students need only one session, but students who are having serious financial problems often have several sessions.

Students can call the clinic to make an appointment, which can usually be set up within the week, Swift said.

Swift said she believes many students could benefit from the clinic’s services, especially freshmen who need to learn how to plan a budget.

The clinic is located at 1085 Elm Hall. Perkins also said Ames residents can set up counseling appointments for a nominal fee based on a sliding scale.