Paying tuition and credit card bills can be the beginning of some Iowa State students’ financial headaches.

The program “Money: Where does it go and how can I have more of it?” will be held today from noon until 1 p.m. in Room 236 of the Memorial Union. It will attempt to teach students about the services available in the Ames community to help alleviate financial stress.

The YWCA-sponsored program will be led by Ruth Freeman, employee of ISU Cooperative Extension, and Anne Swift, director of the ISU Financial Counseling Clinic.

According to a YWCA press release, the program will share strategies for figuring a budget, managing limited resources and finding additional help.

Swift said she and Freeman will cover the basics, including spending plans, record keeping and the problems associated with credit.

“We’re hoping whoever needs the program will come,” Swift said. “If there are holes people have dug themselves in, hopefully [we can help].”

Judy Dolphin, executive director of the YWCA, stressed this program is not directed at anyone in particular.

Many ISU students, Dolphin said, are experiencing the “money crunch.” She said many are lacking funds around the holidays and may wonder how to find money for spring semester costs.

“It’s important for people to hear ways they can budget their money,” Dolphin said.

Dolphin also said a significant portion of the program will be devoted to credit and credit cards.

When the credit card bills start piling up, Dolphin said students do not realize the kinds of burdens they are accumulating.

“There is a real concern that college students are buying into this easy credit syndrome,” Swift said. “College students are more and more mortgaging their future.”

Dolphin said the program will be directed at more general types of financial problems, and any severe matters should be confronted in a one-on-one manner of financial counseling.

“[This program] is more about recognizing issues about money, how you evaluate [credit situations,] and it’s an opportunity to ask questions,” Dolphin said.

Freeman is expected to discuss goal setting, making a spending budget and the cost of credit. “To manage resources you need to set goals — short-term, intermediate-term and long-term,” Freeman said in a recent press release.

Freeman is also expected to instruct the audience about the importance of a spending plan.

Swift is expected to cover the use of credit and record keeping. She will also show a short video entitled, “The ABC’s of Managing Your Money.” The video will show the audience how to keep track of their spending.

Dolphin said an intensive money management seminar will be offered for this spring semester. The YWCA and the ISU Extension will co-sponsor a five-part workshop targeted at the 20 and 30-something crowd.