Economics Undergraduate Begins Saving Initiative in Durham

Economics Undergraduate Begins Saving Initiative in Durham

21 February 2013 11:30AM

Junior economics major Steven Blaser has created the Duke/Durham Saves initiative to promote savings both on Duke Campus and in the Durham Community. This project is being sponsored by the student group Financial Literacy Initiative as well as the Duke Financial Economics Center and Personal Finance @ Duke.

"This program will help undergraduate and graduate students overcome the barrier to entry for savings while also promoting financial education which is essential to breaking the spending cycle,” Blaser said. “It is great to have worked with so many different students and organizations to make this a reality.” 

Duke/Durham Saves is a local initiative dedicated to promoting savings and financial awareness both on Duke’s campus and in the local Durham community. Through helpful resources and specialized savings accounts with partner financial institutions, Duke/Durham Saves believes that anyone can build wealth by developing positive spending and saving habits. In addition, the program will partner with many local not for profits and other organizations with similar ideals to maximize impact on the community.

“We have found that education about savings and personal finance is dangerously low, especially among financial aid and lower income householders, and we want to reverse this trend and help people budget," explained Blaser. "Our organization has the manpower and resources to do what a lot of the smaller organizations cannot accomplish, and the best part is that our job is to help the small organizations find new constituents."

The program will also hold financial education seminars and sponsor a competition between undergraduates and graduates through the rest of the semester to see who can create the most accounts both on their website and at partner financial institutions.

Any students with questions or that would like to join or participate in the program can reach out to Steven at steven.blaser@duke.edu or dukedurhamsaves@gmail.com.