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Picture this:

You’ve made your grocery list, or you swing by the store to get some staples for the week ahead. Like many of us, you’re on a budget, so you’ve got an eye for deals and saving money. As you scan your food options, you notice that in addition to the many eye-catching (and slogan-worthy) brands offered for your favorite foods, there are also those more plain, but much cheaper options. And you ask yourself: Is saving the money worth it? Is that food going to be as good?

I’ve often wondered this myself, and took some time to learn about the differences between generic and name brand foods. Continue reading

When I went to college, my dad gave me my Social Security card and my Health Insurance card to hold on to for the first time. I’m grateful that I was privileged to have both of these items, and that my parents handled these things for me up until I was 18. But I didn’t exactly even know what they were or what they meant when I was 18.

When my dad also gave me a small safe to lock important paperwork up in, I was even more surprised.

Luckily, he explained what this important paperwork means and why and how I should keep it safe. Financial wellness includes understanding relevant financial paperwork!

Here are a few tips to keep YOUR valuable paperwork safe:

  • Slim down your wallet. What you don’t carry in your wallet is just as important as what you do carry. For preemptive protection, only carry what you need on a daily basis. Don’t carry around important paperwork, like a passport or Social Security card, on your person. If you are an international student and don’t have a state-issued ID card, get one so that you can leave your passport at home. Regularly clean out your wallet and remove unnecessary receipts or anything with identifying information.
  • Don’t share information, such as medical or insurance information, by phone or email unless you initiated the contact and know who you’re dealing with.
  • Keep a record. Make copies of paperwork you DO carry on your person – IDs (license, passport, student ID), memberships, insurance, credit cards –and store them in a secure, locked drawer or safe. If your wallet and everything in it were suddenly missing, you’d need to know what you had lost. In a personal notebook you keep in a secure place at home, write down all of the information from the front and back of your credit, debit, driver’s license, medical insurance and other important cards. Be sure to update the list as needed.
  • Protect valuables. If possible, get a small, waterproof and fireproof safe to put original or copies of paperwork inside. Even though a small safe could be stolen, it is still useful to protect it from damage and from other people. If you need your Social Security card or other info to confirm your identity (i.e., when you are being hired for a new job), be sure to return it to its safe storage place as soon as you can.
  • Keep the key or code to the safe in a secure place where no one can find it and make it complicated so that someone cannot easily guess it.
  • Report any concerns. Contact the police if you think someone is using your identity. If you suspect someone is using your Social Security number, either on purpose or by accident, you need to contact the Social Security Administration. If your Social Security card is lost or stolen and you need a replacement, you will need to show certain required documents, complete the application for a Social Security card, and take or mail your application and documents to your local Social Security office.

For more information on crime prevention, check out the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Public Safety. Thanks to Crime Prevention Officer Megan Howard for some of these tips above!

For more information about identity theft, check out the US Department of Justice.

Welcome (back) to Carolina! It’s a brand new year with new classes, new opportunities, and possibly new friends. Maybe you’re ready to hit the ground running or maybe you’re a bit anxious about all of these changes. Either way, Student Wellness is here to help you find your way. Specifically, we want to make sure that you know what resources are available and nearest to you for two reasons:

  1. If you know where helpful resources are NOW, then in times of need, you’ll know exactly where to go (or where to direct your friends)!
  2. We want you to become familiar with what resources this fantastic campus has to offer. I can tell you from personal experience that I WISH I knew these places existed, and I found out about them…4 years too late!

image from 5kmissionpossible.com

It’s time to WIN PRIZES! Here’s how to play:

  • Below you’ll find some of my favorite Carolina hotspots, split up by location.
  • Visit at least 1 spot in each location category (South Campus, Bell Tower, Old Well)
  • Take a selfie in front of the building or sign or whatever is accessible for you.
  • Post that photo to Instagram or to the Tar Heel Wellness Challenge Facebook Page with #THWC for a chance to win a $20.00 gift card for UNC Student Stores!
  • Come visit us at Student Wellness Services on the 2nd floor of the Campus Health (James A. Taylor) building, show us your pics, and EVERY PERSON will leave with a prize – whether it’s a pair of rockin’ sunglasses, a sweet notebook, or a surprise!

Jani’s Favorite Campus Hotspots
Visit each center’s website for some great online resources!

image from housing.unc.edu

Near the South Campus Dorms…

The Learning Center
SASB North
This center has a great supportive environment. They connect you with peer tutors, academic coaches, study groups, and learning disability and accessibility resources. They can also help you out with test prep!

The Writing Center
SASB North
Folks at this center edit and proofread papers and even help develop your unorganized thoughts into a full essay. They send a notice to your professor to let them know you’re taking advantage of their resource, you really care about the work, and you take it seriously. In my experience, this really helped boost my grades.

 LGBTQ Center
SASB North
This is a wonderful place to meet great people. The center also has a resource library and a cozy, safer space to relax in. You do not have to identify as gay, queer, bisexual, etc. to enjoy this space!

 Accessibility Resources and Services
SASB North
This center hooks you up with alternative testing conditions, provides assistive listening devices, provides means of alternative format course textbooks, and more. As someone who gets panic attacks and an increase in my anxiety in high-stress situations, I wish I took advantage of these services as an undergrad. You can BET I’m going to as a graduate student!

 Rams Head Rec Center
Near Morrison and Rams Head Dining Center
This gym has group classes throughout the day, exercise equipment, and a climbing wall.

Tip: To get from South Campus (first-year dorms) to Mid Campus (classes) the fastest – walk to Morrison, find the path that starts behind the dumpsters and goes through a wooded area. The path exits at the Campus Health Building (James A. Taylor Building)!

image from unc.edu

Near the Bell Tower…

 Women’s Center
Stone Center
This is a great place to chat and connect with people who are passionate about gender equity work. There are also tons of interesting classes, lectures, and performances hosted here throughout the semester.

 Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
3rd floor of Campus Health Building (James A. Taylor Building)
CAPS offers a range of mental health services from 1-on-1 counseling to group therapy.

 Campus Health Services
1st floor of Campus Health Building (James A. Taylor Building)
Feeling under the weather? See a doctor at CHS for free. You can also visit CHS for anything from a pelvic exam to immunizations.

 Healthy Heels Shoppe
Basement of Campus Health Building (James A. Taylor Building)
Get everything you need from prescription refills to popular over-the-counter meds and nutrition bars.

 Student Wellness Services
2nd floor of Campus Health Building (James A. Taylor Building)
This is the greatest spot on campus 😉 But for real – we offer a supportive, safer, and non-judgmental environment for conversations around health and well-being. We connect you to peer education groups, campus student groups and resources, or trained staff that can discuss an array of topics from HIV testing to microaggressions to decision-making to active bystander skills.

 Student Rec Center
Near Student Stores, the Football Stadium, on Stadium Drive
This is another gym on campus that has fun group classes and equipment. It’s very easy to stop by between classes.

 The Study Abroad Office
FedEx Global Education Center, up McCauley Street
The building itself is awesome with a lovely café and cozy study spots throughout. Advisors connect you to programs around the world depending on your interests, major, and goals. They’ll also work with you on how to transfer classes back to UNC for course credit. For example, I learned how to pick classes strategically at Dublin City University in Dublin, Ireland to count towards my Environmental Sciences and Engineering BSPH degree. I ended up not having to take some required courses at UNC and was able to take some fun electives my senior year.

image from unc.edu

Near the Old Well…

 Academic Advising
Steele Building, Near South Building and Saunders Hall
Do you have a hold on class registration because you haven’t seen your academic advisor? I suggest you visit advising on a regular basis, not just before registering for classes!

 Career Services
Hanes Hall (NOT HANES ART CENTER!), across from Saunders, near Carroll Hall (School of Journalism and Mass Communication)
Don’t wait until senior year. This is a great place to come chat about your passions and they’ll help connect you with jobs and internships throughout your time at UNC to figure out what you like and don’t like.

 The Office of Scholarship and Student Aid
Pettigrew Hall, North Campus across from the Franklin Street Post Office
Whether you’re an undergraduate or professional student, you can visit walk-in hours to ask advisors financial questions or to get info about financial aid and scholarship options.

SO, start clicking away, snap some pics, and get hashtaggin’! I hope to see you all in our office soon J

Jani

Credit Cards – Friend, Enemy, or Frenemy? 

Do me a favor – take a minute and open up your wallet.  If it’s anything like mine, it’ll have various IDs (OneCard, license, etc.), debit card, business cards, maybe some type of rewards card. In any case, your wallet is probably filled with all types of plastic cards.  One of the most prominent pieces of plastic in my wallet, though, is that sleek, transparent credit card. It beckons to me. It yells out “SWIPE ME! GO ONLINE AND BUY STUFF WITH ME!” Occasionally the card wins, but for the majority of the time, I’m able to turn down the volume to a whisper.

The ability, nowadays, to spend on a credit card is easier than it has ever been. Credit is widely available (although, admittedly, not as widely available since the Great Recession) there is no shortage of methods to spend it: swiping a physical card, making online purchases, or using smartphone apps.  It’s no surprise that college graduates, on average, have up to $3,000 in credit card debt.  Though that may pale in comparison to the tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt that many students carry, when you consider that most credit cards have an interest rate that hovers around 14% things can get ugly fast! That’s right, every time the monthly balance is not paid down in full, another 14% is tacked on, exponentially increasing your debt to the credit card company. If numbers are your thing, or you’re just interested in the way that interest rates work, check out this more in-depth, but easy to read article about credit card interest rates.

Why am I sweating this credit card stuff?  The reason is simple: having a stellar credit history and score will be a vital tool once you’re out there in the “real world.”  Virtually every large purchase you make—a car, home, or even if you’re renting a place—will require that you have strong credit. Having a squeaky-clean credit history can actually save you money, because you’ll be in a great position to get the best rate on your loan as possible.

Credit history can also be important when you are job searching.  Although there is almost no evidence linking credit history with job performance, in a study released just last year, nearly half of all employers check a potential job candidate’s credit history as part of a background check, and many have been denied employment based on a poor credit history alone! So not only does your money depend on good credit, your job might too!

You might be saying to yourself, “OK. I get it. Credit is really important and I should have a good credit history, but where do I begin?” Great question!  Here are a few simple things you can do right now:

  1. Here’s an obvious, but important step.  The best way to ensure a rock star credit history is to pay any and all bills on time – all the time! Life happens and there may come a time when you’re not able to pay a bill on time. If this happens, be sure to call your credit card company and notify them.
  1. Check out UNC’s online financial literacy program, CashCourse. It’s free to register and has plenty of useful information about credit cards and other financial topics.
  1. Monitor your credit report! By federal law, you are entitled to a credit report free of charge every year. Check the report for an inaccuracies or errors.

If you’re interested in other ways that you can improve your credit history and score, check out this great resource.

While a strong credit history is just one piece of the puzzle for optimal financial wellness, getting a head start now is a huge step in the right direction.  One that will literally pay off for the rest of your life!
This blog was written by Dennis Carmody. Dennis is an MPH candidate in the Health Behavior department at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. He is currently enjoying his summer practicum with the great folks at UNC Student Wellness.

March is Women’s History Month, and March 8th is International Women’s Day.  In honor of the day, and the month, here’s a quick look at some famous women throughout time who embodied the eight dimensions of wellness.  Enjoy! 

Cultural– Virginia Dare– As a North Carolinian I feel obliged to write about North Carolina culture, and who’s one of the most famous women in NC culture?  It’s got to be Virginia Dare!  She was the first person born in the Americas to English parents. While this is note-worthy, what’s even more interesting is the story of what happened to her.  To this day, no one knows what happened to the colony where Virginia was born, but there’s plenty of legend and lore surrounding The Lost Colony, and the mark it left on history.

Emotional– Rosalynn Carter– Rosalynn Carter is the wife of President Jimmy Carter, and a renowned advocate for mental health.  Throughout her husband’s political career Rosalynn defied traditional first lady roles and fought to promote positive change, awareness, and stigma reduction in the mental health field.  She created The Carter Center Mental Health Task Force and hosts the annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy.

Environmental– Wangari Maathai– A tireless fighter, Wangari Maathai was a prominent environmental activist from Kenya.  Founder of The Green Belt Movement, Wangari advocated for poverty reduction and environmental conservation through tree planting. Wangari was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

Financial– Suze Orman– Tired of the stereotypes that women don’t know anything about finances and can’t handle their money?  Enter Suze Orman. After barely graduating college, she was working as a waitress when she decided to open her own restaurant. After being swindled by a broker, Suze decided she could do the job just as well or better than the man who swindled her.  She taught herself everything about finances, and is now one of the most successful financial advisors in the world.

Intellectual– Toni Morrison– One of the most influential American novelists of all time, Toni Morrison wrote several critically acclaimed novels and stories about the experience of black Americans.  Included in her works are-The Bluest Eye, Tar Baby, Beloved, and Song of Solomon.  In 1987 Toni became the first black woman writer to hold a chair at an Ivy League University (Princeton University), and in 1993 she became the first black American woman to win a Nobel Prize.

Physical– Kathrine Switzer– Ultimate bad ass.  In the beginning days of the Boston Marathon no woman had ever run the race because the distance was believed to be too long for a woman’s body to handle.  Kathrine read the rules, and seeing no rules against women entering, entered with her initials and started the race.  Around mile 4, she was attacked by a race official who tried to take her number and eject her from the race.  With the help of her training partners, Kathrine was able to finish the race and went on to become an international advocate for female runners.

Social– Erin Pizzey – Women have been providing each other shelter from domestic abuse since the beginning of time, but Erin Pizzey was the first person to start a formal organization to protect these women.  Erin started what is now known as Refuge in 1971 in London as a place where abused women could and take shelter with their children.  Despite facing death threats and intimidation, Erin continues to open shelters and advocate internationally for survivors of domestic violence.

Spiritual– Ingrid Mattson– Women historically have not been at the forefront of religious movements, but Ingrid has created waves of change within the Muslim community as a prominent religious leader and interfaith activist. After converting to Islam in her twenties, she went on to receive her doctorate at the University of Chicago, and has continued to teach and chair Islamic Studies programs at universities in both the U.S. and Canada. Ingrid continues to advocate for a greater dialogue between faiths as a way to increase partnerships and understanding.

I love uplifting music with inspirational messages. Recently, I was listening to one of my favorite musical artists, Ledisi. She has a song called “Be Good To Yourself”, and the following lyrics from that song really resonated with me:

“Oh, when you’re traveling

Through the highs and the lows

Make sure you listen to your spirit

You gotta take care of your soul

Hold on, never give up

You can get through whatever

Always make time

For yourself, whoo”

 These lyrics resonated with me because they reminded me of a concept called the dimensions of wellness. Before we go any further, I’d like to define the term dimensions of wellness, in case you’re unfamiliar.

Wellness integrates your mind, body and spirit. The dimensions of wellness is a concept used to express that integration. The model used by UNC Student Wellness integrates the following nine dimensions of wellness:

  1. Physical Wellness which includes the ability to maintain a healthy quality of life that allows you to get through your daily activities without undue fatigue or physical stress.
  2. Emotional Wellness which includes the ability to understand yourself and adequately cope with the challenges life brings.
  3. Social Wellness which includes the ability to successfully interact with people in our world, participating in and feeling connected to your community.
  4. Spiritual Wellness which includes your search for meaning and purpose in human existence.
  5. Academic Wellness which includes the ability to open your mind to new ideas and experiences that can be applied to personal decisions, group interaction and community betterment.
  6. Occupational Wellness which includes the ability to get personal fulfillment from your job or your chosen career field while still maintaining balance in your life.
  7. Financial Wellness which includes awareness of your current financial state.
  8. Environmental Wellness which includes the ability to recognize (1) your own responsibility for the quality of the air, the water and the land that surrounds you and (2) that your social, natural, and built environment affect your health.
  9. Cultural Wellness which includes the awareness of your own cultural background, as well as the diversity and richness present in other cultural backgrounds.

(To learn more about any of these dimensions please click on the hyperlinks above)

As I reflect on my own journey as a UNC undergraduate and now graduate student, I realize that the dimensions of wellness are often neglected during this time of year. It’s finals time: so there are exams, presentations, and papers galore! Lots of attention is focused on the ‘academic dimension’ of wellness. However, even in the midst of finals it’s still important to, as Ledisi said, “listen to your spirit”, “take care of your soul”, and “make time for yourself”.

In light of the connection between your mind, body and spirit, I encourage you to “Be Good To Yourself” during finals and think about the other dimensions of your wellness in addition to the ‘academic dimension’. Taking a short break to pay attention to your physical, emotional, social, spiritual, occupational, financial, environmental or cultural wellness can help you feel more balanced. At first glance, this list of dimensions may seem overwhelming so here are some simple ideas to get you started.

Engage in Activity: Research shows that becoming more active can make you feel better.  Here’s some simple ways you be more active.

  • Take a walk.
  • Take the steps instead of the elevator.
  • Turn on some music and dance around.
  • Take a stretch break.

Connect with Others: Research shows a powerful connection between social connection and well-being. Here’s some simple ways you can build your social relationships.

  • Have lunch with a friend. For a list of on-campus dining options click here
  • Call someone from your hometown.
  • Watch a movie with your roommate. Tip: You can reserve movies for free at the Undergraduate Library- click here to learn more.
  • Need to talk to someone else? Consider talking with a UNC CAPS counselor. They’re open for walk-in first time counseling appointments on Monday – Friday from 9am-12 and 1pm-4. Check the events calendar on the home page for any closures for holidays and breaks.

Chill Out: There are many wellness-related benefits of relaxation. Here’s some simple ways you can relax.

Have other simple ideas for how to “Be Good To Yourself”? Share them in the comments section below!

Sources:

Brock, R. (n.d.). Kids in Action: Stretches and Warm-Ups Clip Art 18 PNGs. Retrieved from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kids-in-Action-Stretches-and-Warm-Ups-Clip-Art-18-PNGs-869484

Fox, K. R. (1999). The influence of physical activity on mental well-being. Public health nutrition, 2(3a), 411-418.

Hicks, M. (n.d.). two friends. Retrieved from http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/clip/friends5-color.html

Klein, S. (2012, April 16). Stress Awareness Day: 10 Health Benefits Of Relaxation. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/13/stress-awareness-day-relaxation-benefits_n_1424820.html

Perry, P. (n.d.) Music Clipart Image: Teenager listening to mp3 music player. Retrieved from http://www.computerclipart.com/computer_clipart_images/teenager_listening_to_mp3_music_player_0515-1003-0104-3355.html

Seppala, E (2012, August 26). Connect To Thrive. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/feeling-it/201208/connect-thrive

Terrigno, N. (n.d.). Friendship Globe Art + Border Graphics fro Multicultural Projects Retrieved from http://esl-multicultural-stuff-page2.blogspot.com/p/friendship-circle-clip-art-graphic.html

This summer when I got my fall tuition bill in the mail I decided it was time to sit down and really look at my finances.  I’ve always been the kind of person who has said, “Oh the money’s there, it’s fine! I’ve worked my whole life, there’s money in my savings account I can always use”

All the business majors out there are probably cringing as they read this.  But I don’t think I’m in the minority in thinking this way.  Myself, and a lot of people I know weren’t raised with an understanding of how to put together a budget, how to save for the future, how to put aside money for student loans, or how to navigate the system of buying a car or a house.

But with high student loan interest rates and the realization that my savings account probably shouldn’t be going to that $10 salad at Weaver Street, I decided to take control of my budget. Continue reading

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