“Money is the root of all evil.” Or is it?
This abridged version of a passage from the King James Bible is not just a common saying; it also summarizes most people’s outlook toward the “almighty dollar.” The media bombards audiences with stories about felons who commit atrocities to obtain wealth. Tales such as “King Midas and the Golden Touch” warn against greed and the afflictions it can produce. Yet, just as incapacitating is one’s own personal fear and worry concerning money – how to make it, how to get more of it, and how to stretch it enough to make ends meet.
These thoughts can be even more paralyzing for college students on the cusp of graduation, who will be venturing out into the professional world during the midst of an economic recession many claim is the worst financial downturn America has witnessed since the Great Depression of the 1930s. For this reason, Campus Ministry at Saint Peter’s College hosted a six-session Lenten discussion series on personal finance and spirituality during the season of Lent, an ideal time according to the program’s moderator, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry and Spirituality Brian Carreira, since “Lent is a time of preparation. We can prepare in a number of different ways. One of them is to get our financial house in order.”
Carreira, who interacts with many of the College’s students, realizes that young adults need to be educated in financial responsibility – a lesson not taught in the classroom and only touched upon at home. This inexperience with balancing personal finances can cause complexes such as anxiety and frustration, factors that began dominating Saint Peter’s student Rosemarie Driscoll’s ’14 life when it came to the mere thought of money.
“To be honest, I thought as little about my money as possible because the minute I started thinking about it, a paralyzing worry set in,” she said. “It also made me angry to think about money because everyone always seemed to have more of it than I did. Money was really just a big, troubling headache for me.”
Carreira was aware of Driscoll’s ’14 concerns, an observation that led him to invite her to attend the series. Carreira believed that if the program allowed Driscoll, as well as other participants, to view capital as a utensil of life and not the deciding factor of one’s happiness, then financial wellness could be handled with responsibility and not dread. He said, “The grounding idea is that money is a tool. It is not good, it is not evil, and it doesn’t have a mind of its own. The reason we believe these things about money is because we don’t make our relationship with money part of our conscious experience.”
Although reluctant at first, Driscoll decided to give the program a chance. While open to all members of the campus community, students primarily attended the various discussions, which focused on topics ranging from “Abundance: Learning to Save, Avoiding Debt” to “Living with Enough.” In a circle formation and seated atop cushions on the floor of Christ Chapel in Veteran’s Memorial Court, students enjoyed a relaxed environment as Carreira facilitated the question-and-answer sessions geared toward helping the students form a mental picture of their financial selves. According to Carreira, this was accomplished through a variety of self examinations.
“The personal finance and spirituality series provided tools to look at how money functions in our lives as individuals,” he said. “We examined our money stories, emotional associations with money, and we tracked what we spend and what we bring in. The spiritual aspect comes in because in becoming aware of our money selves, we learn where our values lie and seek places where we can improve.”
Students were also given a small notebook for recording their daily spending habits, and took quizzes that challenged their financial thought processes. The latter proved to be an eyeopener for Driscoll. “We took a quiz to organize our spending, and it drew attention to how much I spend on things I don’t really need or even particularly like that much,” she said. “It was very sobering.”
Sobering, as well as life changing. According to Driscoll, the series offered valuable techniques for spending and saving income, methods that she now implements to help alleviate much of her angst about money. She said, “They [the discussions] were fantastically helpful. Financial situations were frankly addressed, so I got the feeling that many people were struggling more than I would have guessed.”
Driscoll added, “In regards to the future, I thought it was very helpful that Brian laid out the possibilities of employment after graduation. Brian took apart the motivations we all have, the talents we could bring to the table and how that could eventually be turned into employment, and, in turn, money.”
In fact, the event was so successful that Carreira plans to host a similar discussion series next year, adding, “Next year, I’m thinking of moving some of the material online and making it more interactive.”