Girls with padded muscle shirts, professionals in business attire and neon-green T-shirt clad volunteers stormed the hallway of the Blackhawk Cafeteria Thursday afternoon.

The Illinois CPA Society’s “Financial Fitness Day” initiative visited NIU to educate students about debt and financial planning.

“This is an outreach to all students,” said Elaine Weiss, president and CEO of the Illinois CPA Society. “Financial fitness is like nutritional fitness – moderation is a really good way to maintain balance.”

Weiss and her colleagues offered free financial advice from on-site CPAs and distributed informational materials on credit card debt, budgeting and smart savings plans.

As part of the day’s two-hour event, the group administered a six-question quiz about financial fitness. Participants received a free water bottle and were entered in a drawing for a free iPod.

“Most people wouldn’t know the answers to those questions,” said Richard Alexander, a junior mathematics education major. “I have a financial planner that I work with on a regular basis.”

The Illinois CPA Society’s Web site offers links to financial advice, membership information and employment or internship opportunities, at www.icpas.org.

Sophomore criminology major Aquaus Austin got his first credit cards during his senior year of high school.

“I’m about to go pay my credit card bill right now,” Austin said after filling out the quiz. “It’s hard to believe, [the quiz] made me think maybe I don’t need so many credit cards.”