Making Money Real Part 3: Crypto & Investing Made Simple

Investing can feel intimidating, but it’s a critical step toward financial independence. In the final episode of the Making Money Real series, Dr. Kristen Carioti, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Mount Mary University, breaks down the fundamentals of investing. With her expertise in economics and passion for financial education, Dr. Carioti shares actionable strategies to make investing accessible and approachable for everyone. From understanding the difference between saving and investing to exploring the appeal of cryptocurrency, this episode equips listeners with the tools to confidently take their first steps into the world of investing. Whether you’re a college finance instructor or someone looking to grow your financial knowledge, this episode is packed with insights to help you or your students succeed.

What We Talk About
Here’s what’s covered in the episode:

• Saving vs. Investing: Why investing is essential for long-term financial freedom.
• Beginner-Friendly Strategies: The power of dollar-cost averaging, index funds, and automating contributions.
• Making Investing Accessible: How to help students see themselves as investors and take their first steps.
• Cryptocurrency: Its appeal, risks, and why it’s more of a hobby than a retirement plan.
• Practical Classroom Applications: Guiding students through setting up accounts, understanding options, and seeing the magic of compounding.
• Empowering Students: Why financial freedom is achievable for everyone, regardless of their starting point.

About the Author
Dr. Kristen Carioti is a Sage author, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Mount Mary University, and a passionate advocate for financial literacy. With over two decades of teaching experience, she specializes in personal finance, applied economics, and creating inclusive learning environments. Dr. Carioti is dedicated to equipping students with the tools they need to build lasting financial independence, inspiring them to think of themselves as savvy investors and confident decision-makers. 

Beyond academics, she enjoys weightlifting, journaling, and spending time with her family. Her textbook, Introduction to Personal Finance: A Step-by-Step Guide to Financial Freedom, empowers learners to make informed financial choices with clarity and confidence. 

This episode brought to you by Sage Vantage. Learn more at collegepublishing.sagepub.com/vantage.

Transcript

00:00:00:00 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Welcome to the Stage College Publishing podcast, where we explore new ideas and actionable insights to foster education and personal growth. Hello, I'm Katherine, look at you. I'm an associate professor of instruction in the Department of Organization, Strategy and International Management at the School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas. I'm also a Sage faculty partner for business.

00:00:28:18 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Today's episode focuses on an issue that weighs heavily on many students and graduates alike. Student loan debt. This topic goes beyond numbers. It shapes long term life choices and opportunities and deeply personal ways. Together, we'll examine how student loans impact post-college life. Challenge common myths and share practical steps for managing repayment strategies that work for people in diverse circumstances.

00:00:56:17 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Joining us again is Dr. Kristen Carioti, the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Mount Mary University. Kristen is passionate about equipping students to manage debt and make informed decisions. With her background in economics and her firsthand experience helping students conquer financial challenges, she brings unmatched insight to this topic outside of work. She stays active by walking, weightlifting, and even getting creative with her trusty label maker.

00:01:24:23 - Kathryn Lookadoo
That last one we have in common? Kristen. Welcome back. It's wonderful to have you with us again. I shared a little bit about your expertise, but why don't you tell us more about what inspires you to tackle topics like student loan debt?

00:01:37:08 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
You know, I think so many students, avoid their student loan debt because it's so scary, right? So they have debt. But they don't really even maybe know their balance. I know for me, I took out a lot of loans because I was in school forever. And I had loans from undergrad. I went to a private institution for my master's degree. And I had loans from there. Luckily, none for my PhD.

00:02:05:21 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
And I also was kind of an avoider. I kind of just, like, didn't want to think about it until I got through my degrees. And so, I just want students to feel like they know. You really just empower students to feel like they know, what their balance is.

00:02:24:17 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
What repayment will look like for them. And that, you know, they see it as an investment in their future.

00:02:30:18 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Yeah. Thanks. Yeah. I love that idea of, like, stopping the avoiding because it wouldn't. You're uncertain about what to do with it. Just don't really want to think about it. So, Yeah. Absolutely. Well, I love that commitment to helping students better understand and manage debt. And so starting off, how do you see student loan debt affecting students lives beyond their college years?

00:02:55:07 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
Any kind of debt? I mean, not necessarily just student loan debt, but any type of debt is rife with stressful feelings, right? Because you can feel anxious over repaying it. You can feel resentment over, you know, the degree that you chose or the career path. And so you resent having to pay your loans.

00:03:17:13 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
Some students are in denial. Like, we're just talking about, or maybe feel embarrassed about how much money they took out for their degree. So there's all these feelings associated with student loan debt. And then it comes at this, like, time where you're so vulnerable, right? Like you've left, you know, this, like, comfortable, maybe comfortable college time. And then you are thrust into, like, adulting. And so there's so many parts of adulting that, you know, you have to learn and figure out.

00:03:50:03 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
And I just think it's like, particularly tough time, to then have to manage and start, a debt balance that you are expected to pay off. And, yeah, I mean, it's just part of adulting, but it's for some people, just like a mild, you know, burden. And for other people, it could be devastating.

00:04:13:17 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Wow. Yeah. So what are some common misconceptions students hold about loans, and how can they avoid falling into some of those traps? Or kind of that anxiety pressure?

00:04:25:08 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
Yeah, I think that's a great question.

00:04:27:11 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
There is an overreliance on forgiveness programs that I see a lot of students are sort of expecting. I think there's just so much political uncertainty with forgiveness programs to really be able to count on these. It's not that it can't be a Plan A for some students, but they should definitely have a Plan B and really understand all of the rules and qualifications that go along with that forgiveness program. So just knowing that those loan forgiveness programs can change and not necessarily count on them or have a really good backup.

00:05:04:09 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
Another thing is just really know the difference between federal loans and private loans. Federal loans, you get by applying for the FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and those loans, they don't check your credit score and they have lower interest rates. Private student loans, they do check your credit. Sometimes you do have to have a cosigner, and they have higher interest rates. So understand the difference between the two. You want to take advantage of federal loans first and use private loans only if you have to, because of the interest rates on them.

00:05:50:15 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
I'll say the third misconception is that you can be like that, maybe you don't have to pay back your student loans or that it's not that big of a deal if you don't pay them back. You get a six-month grace period when you graduate college, and then after that six-month grace period, you are expected to make every single payment, every single monthly payment on your student loans. The consequences of not paying them, you can go into default with your servicer. You can have your wages garnished. And it really does damage your credit score. So even if your credit score wasn't checked to get the federal loan, if you don't pay back your loans on time with monthly payments, it'll impact your credit score. And then there's, like, a ton of other, you know, problems that will come when your credit score is impacted.

00:06:43:05 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Yeah, absolutely. Oh, man. I'm already just thinking, like, how it could just spiral and then just be so overwhelming for students. What can students do now while they're in school to prepare for easier repayment later?

00:06:58:16 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
I love this question. I would say so. I'm an economist and I'm a labor economist. So I think a lot about the jobs that people choose and the career paths that they take. I would say, number one is to not take out a loan on a degree that you're not going to actually use. And so that can be a really hard thing to, like, recognize in yourself, because you might already be started on something and be like, I'm going to be a nurse. So I'm working on my nursing degree. If you're starting to feel like nursing is not it for you, and you need to think about like an off ramp to that or something different.

00:07:38:27 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
You know, making those decisions like earlier than, you know, and not going through with it, you know, you can put so much investment in, you know, both time and energy, but also your, your student loans into a degree that if you're not planning on using it, you might need to rethink your career path while you're in college. So I think that's like kind of the number one thing, just like be really intentional and thoughtful about the loans that you take out and why you're taking out those loans.

00:08:10:17 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
I think there's so many different ways to try out careers. And I think that students can really find these, like low stakes, low cost ways of experimenting and exploring these careers so they can do like, you know, we all know about internships. That's an easy one. But also like check out, like, try to do a job shadow that's like free and doesn't take very much time. I would also say to try to, work between your undergraduate program and a graduate program. If you do plan to go to graduate school.

00:08:42:21 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
Get some work experience and figure out is that the right career for you before you take out more loans or you take out loans for a graduate program? I see a lot of students like, have an idea of what they want to do, but then when they get into it, they don't realize, like, oh, this is what it is. I'm not really maybe interested in that or what's that person doing over there? I think that looks more interesting or that's a better fit for my strengths. So just try things out early and often. Before you commit to, more loans.

00:09:18:25 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Yeah, absolutely. As you were talking, I was thinking, like, every internship I had in college was me deciding I didn't want to do me do.

00:09:28:03 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
I had an internship between my sophomore and junior year of undergrad, and I realized I didn't want to go into finance. I liked finance, but it wasn't something that I wanted to do necessarily. But then I learned about economics, and I like that summer or that, you know, fall decided to double major and go into economics as well. So many times it's not showing you what you want to do, but maybe what you don't want to do. And it can be really expensive, right? When you invest a lot of money into your education.

00:10:00:24 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Yeah. And when you're an also as you're kind of continuing to invest that money in your education in that time, it's just like, well, you don't always feel like you can pivot. And so having you talking about like, well, you can pivot, but you should do it before you graduate. Like, you should think about what your major is and what you want to do.

00:10:18:25 - Kathryn Lookadoo
I think that's so important. Same thing with informational interviews. That's something that we do at our school. In order to get students to not only, like, decide if this is a career they want, but also see the path of how to get there. Yeah. And so.

00:10:33:06 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
It's free. It takes like, you know, less than half a day, right? Yes. Get up and get it done. And, people love talking about themself. I'm always like like everyone wants to help a college student, you know? So people like to talk about, like, this is how I did it. This is how I would do it over again. This is my advice for you.

00:10:53:00 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Absolutely. Yeah. So, so cool, so important, such, such good tips. And for graduates who are already struggling with loans, what is a good first step to regain control and explore their options?

00:11:06:13 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
So the first thing is really just to not avoid—and really get a clear understanding of where you're at. You can go to StudentAid.gov, which is where you can find all your federal loans. Not everyone knows who their loan servicer is, and you could have more than one. But the federal government has a website for all federal loans. So, StudentAid.gov: you can go there to find your loan balances, your interest rates. You can look up what your monthly payment will be—there’s a simulator so you can see your expected monthly payment and repayment terms.

00:11:45:12 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
If you have any private loans, those would have been through a bank or credit union—so you can check directly with them. You can also look at your credit report if you're not sure, since that would have all your loans on it as well. So first, just figure out: who do I owe money to and where? Then go back to your budget, which is your tool to help you make a plan. That helps you know: how much money do I have coming in, how much is going out, and what is a realistic monthly payment for me? Can you make your monthly payment?

00:12:23:21 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
And if so, great. If you're struggling, then maybe you need to contact your loan servicer and figure out what other repayment options you should explore, so that you can potentially lower your monthly payment. Loan servicers want to work with you because they want to get paid back—they want to help you figure out what the best repayment plan is. For federal loans, there are eight different plans. Everyone starts on the standard repayment plan, but some students don’t know there are other ways to repay a loan. You might need to look at those, because they might be a better fit for you—as well as loan consolidation.

00:13:15:00 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
I should say loan consolidation, not debt consolidation. Debt consolidation is for other private loans or credit cards. Here, I’m just talking about student loan consolidation.

00:13:14:18 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Yeah.

00:13:15:00 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
All loan, I should say loan consolidation, not debt consolidation because, debt consolidation is like for other private loans or credit cards. I'm just talking about student loan consolidation.

00:13:27:14 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Got it. Awesome. Well, yeah. All all very good tips and things to think about. Like, and it goes back to that idea of like negotiation, which you and I have talked about before, of kind of empowering yourself to look at options and to to know what's going on and know what you can do, knowing those options. Well, that's a wrap for today's episode. Kristen, thanks once again for your thoughtful advice and helping demystify student loans. Before we close, is there any final advice you'd like to give listeners?

00:13:59:18 - Dr. Kristen Carioti
My final advice is just to point out some data that I think is really encouraging. One third of borrowers are pessimistic about the value of their education while they're paying back their loan. Okay, the good news is that once that student loan has been paid off, students are no longer really pessimistic about that debt. So only 12% of borrowers who repaid their debt report that the cost of their bachelor's degree exceeded its benefits. So I think that's just really encouraging that most students do see value in their college degree and using student loans to get their degree.

00:14:36:28 - Kathryn Lookadoo
That's that's good to hear. Well, thank you, Kristen. And to our listeners, if you are ready to deepen your financial knowledge, check out Kristen's textbook Introduction to Personal Finance at College Publishing dot Sage pub.com. And don't miss the final episode in our personal finance series. We will be talking about investments from stock to cryptocurrency and how to build a solid foundation for financial growth.

00:15:02:24 - Kathryn Lookadoo
Subscribe to Sage College Publishing Podcast and share this series with colleagues or students who will appreciate it. Until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and here's to your financial success.