Drake looks to close out season on high note

Call it “Avoiding Debt” one-oh-one. Students at Luther College in Decorah will get the chance to learn financial lessons tonight which may help them avoid bankruptcy shortly after they graduate. One survey finds most students think they’re good money managers, but actually have poor spending habits, overdue bills and substantial credit card debt.Nathan Dungan is vice president of stewardship for the Lutheran Brotherhood, a financial services organization. Dungan will be among the speakers at the “interactive” event at Luther College tonight. He says a survey finds the average college student has a credit card balance of between 16-hundred and two thousand dollars. He says that’s significant because most students don’t have an active job and end up developing bad financial habits.Dungan hopes college students will take his advice to keep track of every dime they spend for one month in a ledger — then analyze the spending. He has a few tips that may help students to learn self-discipline. Too many of them, he says, don’t think before they spend.He says put your credit cards in a plastic bag, fill it with water, seal it, then freeze it. That way, you’ll have to wait for the ice to thaw before you can spend. Dungan says young people are now the number-one age group to file bankruptcy. This year, more than 150-thousand people in the U-S under 25 will file for bankruptcy. Tonight’s 7:30 event is free at Luther College’s Center for Faith and Life.The Drake Bulldogs close out the football season at Jacksonville. Drake is 4-5 after a loss at Southwest Missouri State and coach Rob Ash says a victory against a Jacksonville team that will play in the Pioneer League title game would be a positive finish. Ash says they are treating this as a bowl trip, they’re staying along the ocean, and he says the only drawback is that it’s their third straight road trip. Ash says finales are always big for the seniors who’ve put a lot into the program. Ash says it’s especially true for his players who don’t get a scholarship to play.