Monday 14 July 2014

Eduloan encourages a culture of financial discipline with Eduxtras By David Scholtz, Chief Financial Officer at Eduloan



What your parents taught you about money and how they handled their finances has a direct bearing on how you, as a student, manage your study bursary or loan. It all boils down to your financial education and learning by example.

Most people are rather uninformed about personal finance, and this shows not only in their own finances, but also in how their children manage money. This does not mean that all students are inexperienced in handling their finances, but a considerable number of them do need guidance to make their bursaries or loans last through the year.

Eduloan views itself as a responsible company that would like to help as many students as possible in furthering their careers. As one of South Africa’s foremost providers of study finance, we want to do much more than simply give students access to funds. We want to encourage a culture of financial discipline, to make sure students use the funds available to them responsibly. Eduloan aims to be a catalyst, an enabler that takes students from their present situation to becoming responsible and contributing South Africans. 

 We found that students were spending too much money on entertainment and personal luxuries that had nothing to do with their studies. Long before the end of the academic year, these students were presented with a shock: their funds were depleted! 

This is where Eduloan’s Eduxtras product plays an important role. In essence it is a budgeting system whereby the bursar can determine and allocate funds for a specific item, called spending pockets - like meals, accommodation, books, and even cash.

Secondly, Eduxtras helps control spending on essentials. We implemented processes that prevent students from spending their bursaries or loans on, for instance, cigarettes or alcohol.
Used to a limited amount of pocket money, or in some cases no money for personal use at all, students are granted a loan of, say, R25 000 in their first year of study. Too many students, and in particular those from a poor background, this is an incredible amount of money that will, in their minds, last forever.

The most important aspect about Eduxtras is that students are taught how to budget and are left with a clear picture of where they stand financially in any given academic year, knowing exactly what they can spend on and what not. It is a tool that teaches the students at an early age how to work with money and make it last for the period it was intended for.  We force students to stick to their budget, at the same time inculcating in them a sense of responsible money management.
We have developed a financial education booklet that we hand out to students to help them understand money matters. When activation of their Eduxstras card takes place, Eduloan representatives are there to explain the finer details about security and using the card.  It works very much like a bank debit card. The student can use the card to pay but the system can also facilitate payment by using cell phone technology with the same pocket technology.
The student and the bursar can draw a real-time report on the spending done. Whenever a transaction happens, they can see that their account is debited and how much money is left for future purchases. In cases where the full amount in a specific spending pocket, for example books, is not used up, the bursar is refunded that amount by the end of the year.

Eduxstras is a scalable, workable solution that helps the student reach his or her academic goals and assures the bursar that the money granted is spent well. The system gives bursars access to a full report of what the student is spending money on, which allows the bursars to adjust the spending pockets for, say, accommodation or meals, should they feel that these are not sufficient. 
Over time, students learn to understand their spending patterns. Later on, when they have graduated and are not part of the Eduxtras system any longer, we hope that responsible budgeting and prioritising expenses will have become second nature.

Eduloan’s aim is to see more financially balanced students, who understand that a financial buffer needs to be built to protect them against unexpected expenses, understand the difference between good and bad debt, and who can manage the funds available to their advantage.
ENDS



ABOUT EDULOAN

"Education drives the nation forward. Our mission is to empower individuals to become that driving force in their own way."
Eduloan is a leading education finance specialist operating in Southern Africa. Committed to making education both affordable and accessible to all individuals looking to further their education. Since its inception in 1996 Eduloan has awarded over 750 000 study loans to the value of more than R4billion and continues to help thousands across Africa unlock their true potential.

By making study finance as affordable as possible, Eduloan ensures that a large number of individuals who would otherwise not qualify for educational finance now have the means to improve their lives, the lives of their loved ones, and our nation as a whole through education. The Eduloan vision is to improve people's lives through financial access to education. Eduloan understands the real costs associated with furthering your education and offers study loan solutions that cover not only course fees, but additional expenses such as textbooks, registration fees and technology which includes laptops, tablets and other study equipment that may be associated with your studies. Eduloan also offers fund and bursary administration solutions to assist students and bursars alike in effectively managing bursary funds, training funds, CSI funds, cashless payments and class attendance of students and learnership beneficiaries.

As a registered credit service provider, Eduloan is fully committed to empowering Southern Africans through our product offering. Eduloan is a proud Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Level 2 contributor.
For more information, call Eduloan’s Client Services Department on 0860-55-55-44 or visit www.eduloan.co.za. Follow us on Twitter/EduloanSA and Facebook/EduloanSA.

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