Students, faculty and staff can improve their financial health by attending the Consumer Affair Club’s Financial Education Day.

The event will be in the Hobo Day Gallery on Wednesday, April 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 The event will feature booths, 30-minute sessions and one-on-one counseling, said Liz Ratzlaff, senior consumer affairs club president.

 “College is a time of newfound freedom and preparing for a successful future,” Ratzlaff said. “But a lot of times that can spell trouble for some people.”

 The booths, sessions and counseling will be headed by a variety of professionals from places like Lutheran Social Services, the SDSU Extension and Ameriprise Financial. To keep the event fun, door prizes like concert tickets, a Fitbit and gift cards will be given away, Ratzlaff said.

 Consumer affairs adviser Soo Hyun Cho encourages attendees to use the one-on-one counseling sessions.

 “The attendees can sit down with one of the financial counselors who are experienced professionals in helping individuals to better their finances,” Cho said.

 During one-on-one counseling, attendees can discuss any financial questions they may have. These professionals are also willing to help attendees evaluate their current financial status, Cho said.

 This is the second Financial Education Day held on SDSU’s campus. The consumer affairs club hopes to see more students of all different majors this year ranging from first-year students to graduating seniors.

 Ratzlaff recognizes that talking about finances may be intimidating but Financial Education Day has a really laid-back atmosphere.

 “No one wants to sit down and talk about how broke they are in college,” Ratzlaff said. “All of these vendors know that the people coming here are needing help and don’t have a lot of knowledge in this, or do, but are coming to better themselves.”

 While both Ratzlaff and Cho hope students can attend the entire event, students with packed schedules should at least try to attend the student loan repayment session at 11:30 a.m.

 “That affects a great majority of students,” Cho said. “It takes an average of ten years [to pay off student debt].”

 Because it takes nearly a decade to pay off their loans, college graduates often put off major life decisions like marriage and having children until they have a better handle on their finances, Cho said.

 “I can’t stress enough how much students need this information,” Cho said.