Navigating the labyrinth of financial aid, budgeting and managing student loans can be a worrisome, and sometimes scary, task for a college student. Many students run through the money maze blindly, often trying to solve the puzzle without very much financial knowledge.

“Ignorance, in the money situation, isn’t bliss,” UK Director of Student Financial Wellness Tiffany Jackson said. The UK Financial Wellness team and the MoneyCATS program, powered by PNC Bank, seek to eliminate financial ignorance with their comprehensive personal finance education and counseling.

In their continued efforts against financial ignorance, the UK Financial Wellness team and the MoneyCATS program proudly opened the new Student Financial Wellness Center on Monday, Jan. 30.

“I was talking to some of my roommates about how broke I am; I just don’t know where my money goes. I have two jobs and I get paid well for them, but I didn’t have any money,” marketing sophomore Breanna Fairley said, explaining why she began to visit the Student Financial Wellness Office.

In a recent press release from UKNow, UK also announced a new partnership with iGrad, an online financial planning platform. The iGrad platform delivers valuable financial information directly to students’ computers and smartphones. By logging into iGrad, users can view student loan snapshots and take part in multiple budgeting and money management courses. The iGrad platform will continue to be available to users after graduation as they begin to manage their finances as working adults.

The new Student Financial Wellness Center will be a place where students can receive person-to-person financial advising.

“(Jackson) did so well about communicating that they’re not here to judge you,” Fairley said. She said Jackson told her that if she needed a cup of coffee every morning she would help her budget for that without judgment. Members of MoneyCATS and the Financial Wellness team realize that everyone’s financial situation is different, and financial advice needs to be tailored to the individual.

The iGrad program can be found on the UK Financial Wellness website at www.uky.edu/financialwellness. MoneyCATS can be reached at [email protected], and the Student Financial Wellness Center is located in Patterson Hall between Boyd and Holmes Hall.