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faculty q&a

Tis the Season for Saving

Dean Credle Shares Rules for Holiday Budgeting

Dr. Sid Credle

Dr. Sid Howard Credle

During the holidays, many Hampton University students are looking forward to winter break, Christmas shopping and presents. Even with limited budgets, many students buy gifts for their loved ones. Last year, Dr. Sid Howard Credle, CPA, dean of the School of Business, wrote an article that shared his “8 Rules for Holiday Budgeting.”

Credle’s rules suggest giving affordable gifts that are useful and buying them with cash. He also recommends managing your money year-round by implementing an automatic deduction of your income to your savings and resisting the urge to buy new cars and houses until necessary.

The Student Connection sat down with Credle to talk about his Christmas plans and how students can save money during and after the holiday season.

How can students exchange gifts inexpensively?
One of my favorite gifts was a $5 wrench because I use it all the time. I give people books that I enjoyed reading. Give something useful. You could give a used text book or a flash drive. You could take someone to dinner; it’s a nice gesture.

What New Year’s resolutions can students make to spend less money?
Stop buying junk. Don’t pay for anything you can get for free. Don’t waste money on expensive magazines if you can go to the library and read them for free. Stop wasting time talking for hours and running up your cell phone bills. Put yourself on a budget for the year. You don’t have a lot of money now, but it’s good to get into the discipline of planning for the upcoming year financially. That way you’ll do it for the rest of your life.

How can students invest their money before and after graduation?
It doesn’t matter how much money you have, by your junior and senior year, you should be developing a financial portfolio. You’re really not anything until you have 15 percent of your income in the bank. Once you start a job, discipline yourself and get into the habit of saving 15 percent. The next step is to invest some of those savings. Subtract your age from 100; the difference is the percent of your savings that you should invest. You have a chance of a lifetime right now. Now is the time to buy stock. Major corporations are worth one tenth of what they used to be.

What are your plans for Christmas?
I collect people for the holidays. I have people coming from New Jersey, and some relatives stopping by on their way to North Carolina. We always go see the Christmas lights at Virginia Beach. Nothing too extravagant; we Credles are a frugal bunch.

Who cooks the turkey at your house?
We both do because I’ve been known to ruin a turkey.

What’s your favorite ice cream?
Haagen Dazs’ Cherry Vanilla, but it’s only out three to four months out of the year. So I pick chocolate instead.

-Krystan Hitchock