A Huskie Bucks account is a prepaid debit account. Students can load money onto their OneCards as Huskie Bucks and use them for printing, laundry and food purchases on and off campus at specific locations.

Huskie Bucks lack purpose for students

Faith Mellenthin | Northern Star

Huskie Bucks can be used to purchase food off campus, which is a service that seems totally unnecessary. While Huskie Bucks can be used for laundry and printing, I don’t understand why the account works as a debit card that is separate from Flex Dollars.

Right now, Huskie Bucks are basically cash that students load onto their OneCards. It makes no sense to use Huskie Bucks at off-campus vendors when they could just pay cash or use their actual debit card. Students should only have one account that is separate from the meal plan, and that account already exists as Flex Dollars. It makes sense to have an account that funds can be put into that only works around campus.

Flex Dollars can be included with meal plans for residents and off-campus options, according to the Campus Dining Services webpage. Flex Dollars are not free, as the cost of them is included with the meal plan price, but they can be used at on-campus locations other than dining halls. Students can use Flex Dollars at the College Grind in the Holmes Student Center, the East Side Cafe in Gilbert Residence Hall and other “grab ‘n go” locations. The biggest deal that can come from Flex Dollars is purchasing $450 for $420, which saves only $30 per semester. Since these do not roll over, sometimes it means students pay more for their meal plan than they even use.

If the benefits of Flex Dollars and Huskie Bucks could be merged, then students would have more control over the amount of money they spend while on campus. It would also separate the campus dining from the off-campus vendors who all accept cash and card anyways.

Huskie Bucks teach money managing

Ian Tancun | Columnist

The Huskie Bucks program is a valuable asset that can be used to teach college students fiscal responsibility.

Not only do Huskie Bucks have many day-to-day uses at NIU, but various DeKalb restaurants — including Buffalo Wild Wings, Chipotle, Domino’s and Panera — also accept payment via Huskie Bucks, according to NIU’s website.

While being able to use Huskie Bucks for these various purchases makes the program worthwhile, there is an added benefit to having students use Huskie Bucks: it can help them understand the importance of being financially responsible.

In the U.S., households that have credit card debt have an average of $16,748 in credit card balances, according to a Dec. 14, 2016, report on nerdwallet.com.

Credit cards can be a dangerous thing. While they are absolutely necessary to help establish one’s credit, it’s all too easy to rack up a mountain of debt by using credit cards to make purchases with money we do not actually have. From personal experience, I know how easy it can be to fall into that pattern.

For many students, going off to college is their first foray into independent living. One of the most important lessons college-age students need to learn, so they do not become a part of the growing credit card debt statistics, is how to manage their finances.

With Huskie Bucks, students can only spend however much money is preloaded onto their OneCards.

Because students can only spend whatever is on their OneCards, they must be mindful of their balance and know what they can and cannot spend. Getting into this practice of knowing not to spend more money than is actually available now will pay dividends down the road.

The Huskie Bucks program helps students realize they cannot spend more money than they possess. Understanding this concept could potentially help them avoid racking up thousands in credit card debt down the road. For this reason, I think Huskie Bucks is a worthwhile program.