This week at NOVA Online!

Happy Monday! Who was hoping for a little extra snow this morning!?

Is today the first day of your NOVA Online course? Review the Critical Enrollment Dates blog post to make sure you get off to a great start. Join us for today’s NOVA Online Orientation webinar or request a recording!

Join our Virtual Student Union– NOVA Online’s VSU has a new look! Are you taking online classes and looking to connect with other students outside of a classroom setting? Check out our Virtual Student Union or VSU. This is an engagement hub where NOVA Online students have access to create a profile, join discussion forums and connect with other students. In celebration of our new site launch, students will be eligible for raffle prizes once they create an account and interact on the site. Drawings will be done weekly and monthly through the fall semester. Join now!

Engage in your Community! Did you miss our Community Involvement Fair? Check out our community volunteer booklet to learn more about the variety of non-profits participating and volunteer opportunities available: Community Volunteer Booklet. Email us at elistulife@nvcc.edu and tell us where and when you are volunteering and we will send you a FREE NOVA Student Life T-shirt to wear!

Financial Avenue – Financial Literacy Contest – Twenty $100 NOVA bookstore gift cards towards educational costs at NOVA will be given-away throughout the 2016‐2017 academic year to randomly selected students NOVA Online who successfully complete Financial Avenue web‐based financial literacy modules! For more information visit Financial Aid’s Financial Literacy Blog. Official contest rules and registration to participate can be found here.

Want to write for the NOVA Online Student Blog? Share your story? Connect with your peers? Send us a writing sample to get started. Email NOVA OnlineStuLife@nvcc.edu for more information.

Summer Wellness Series: Financial Wellness

money jarThis week’s topic for the Summer Wellness Series is Financial Wellness. Through financial wellness, you can learn to live within your financial means, plan for future financial health, learn to think short and long-term in order to manage your resources is essential for a healthy financial experience including learning to be a good consumer.

Here are some resources to help you improve or maintain  your financial wellness:

Mint.com is a free app that helps you organize and balance your budget. It organizes your transactions by categories, you can set up and track your budget, and you can see your balances and transactions at a glance.

As a NOVA student, you have access to CashCourse – Your Real-Life Money Guide. You can register for a free account and go through the financial tools. NOVA Financial Aid is giving away twenty $100 grants to students who participate in specific topics. Get started on some of topics, and stay tuned for more information about the grants in the fall.

This Financial Fitness Library provides you with guides, resources, and tutorials to help from credit scores, to saving, to planning for retirement. This 66 Ways to Save Money Guide, provides you with tips to save in transportation, insurance, housing, utilities, and others!

Do you know of or use any apps to help you track your budget? What helps you stay on track each month? Continue this conversation with us in our Virtual Student Union. Connect with peers on this topic and learn more about resources to maintain your financial wellness! Use #SummerWellness to share your pictures and stories.

Money Smart Week

banner for smart money week

Money Smart Week® Returns April 18-25, 2015
Saving for college? Preparing for retirement? Repairing your credit? Just wish you were better at managing your money? Sign up today for one of many financial education programs during Money Smart Week® April 18-25, coordinated by The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and hundreds of local partner organizations in your community.

Money Smart Week events are open to the public at businesses, financial institutions, schools, libraries, nonprofits and government agencies on topics including kids and money, credit building, managing student debt and retirement. Event information is available at www.moneysmartweek.org

Follow the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on Facebook for the latest Money Smart Week information.