Mr. Chris Hogan, financial coach and protégé’ of Dave Ramsey, presented his “7 Baby Steps” to achieving financial security before a near-capacity Mitchell Auditorium filled with students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community members. His presentation was titled Your Financial Decisions Today Will Determine Your Financial Future.
Hogan talked about a shift in the way of thinking in order to tackle debt and get on the track to financial wellness. “Guard your mind; be careful of negative thoughts and how you think. Surround yourself by people who believe in you.” He said people can achieve their dreams by writing down their goals and mapping out how they will get there. “A dream without a plan is a wish. You have to have a plan.”
Hogan tailored his common sense approach to financial wellness to college students, who made up the majority of the audience. Many students were seniors, and Hogan predicts that at graduation they may feel like it is time to reward themselves for their achievement. However, he strongly cautioned them, and all attendees, against car loans, credit cards, and other debt, and instead encouraged them to get busy saving: building up emergency funds and participating in their employer’s 401k or 403b. He discussed numerous other financial wellness strategies and tools.
Hogan ended with a touching story. It was a lesson about the importance of giving to others when you have positioned yourself to be financially sound. “Good things happen when you give,” he said. “Don’t wait for ‘some day’ to give. Have that heart about you.”
He took questions from the audience, and stayed nearly a half hour afterward as students lined up to ask for financial advice, autographs, selfies, and handshakes.
An all-American football player and national champion in college, Hogan is best-selling author of Retire Inspired: It’s Not an Age. It’s a Financial Number. For over a decade, Hogan has served at Ramsey Solutions, spreading a message of hope and financial peace across the country as a financial coach and Ramsey Personality. Hogan helps people plan for their future and reach their retirement goals through his Retire Inspired Podcast and Retire Inspired events.
Hosting Hogan while on the USI campus were Mr. Tim Mahoney, instructor in economics; interim dean Dr. Brian McGuire; and Mr. Shawn Robey, instructor in finance.
Published October 29, 2018