Elven Riley, personal money management expert
Elven Riley, a secondary instructor at the Treasury Department at Stillman School of Business School, is renowned for his competitive space for mergers and acquisitions, as well as his expertise in financial services and technology (Fintech). However, he is also considered an expert in personal money management and recently joined a panel of experts gathered by the personal finance website Wallethub to share budgeting advice.
Riley wrote a web-based textbook at Seton Hall on financial literacy, inevitable money decisions (Great River Learning, 2024). This spring semester, 201 undergraduate students are enrolled in his online 1 credit personal money management course. Students study graduate credit and debt decisions, and feature topics include pay, credit cards, school loans, mortgages, equity investments and income tax.
“Unfortunately, budgets aren’t something that is often taught in schools. The good news is that it’s a skill that’s never too late to learn, and it’s actually much easier than it looks,” said Adam McCann, a financial writer at Wallethub.
When asked about the benefits of having a budget, Riley said: As humans, we often choose to ignore the facts, but that doesn’t make them erase. By ignoring the facts, some of us who are Hollywood rom-com and lucky bugs can work, but most of us are just paying the price and penalty later. The budget is just a ruler. They measure how much you used. That’s the truth. ”
Riley has set up two important tips that will help people create and stick to their budgets.
“Budget is a ruler. Budget is a reference measurement, and rarely changes the reference measurement. So, every month, I don’t infuse an entertainment budget with actual spending up to a month. I took over 200 practice shots on the soccer net and then started to aim for success. During that time I continued counting and didn’t move the goal post. I frame my spending decisions by drawing your future self and staring at the total spending over several months compared to your budget. What does your future self say to you today? It may seem ridiculous, but finding those words and saying them out loud right now will help you learn from the budgeting process.”
The entire Wallethub interview is available here.
Category: Business
