Sometimes it’s true what you read on social media: adulting is hard! That’s why the University of West Georgia’s Center for Economic Education, UWG MoneySmart and UWG’s chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta teamed up to organize the “Adulting: Give Back, Get More” event, featuring speaker David Haygood of Sallie Mae.

The event invited students—and even faculty and staff—to get tips on how to manage personal finances and student loans. As if that wasn’t enough reason to attend, benefits from proceeds went to local charities to help fight hunger in the community.

“We’re here for two purposes,” said economics professor and Center for Economic Education Director Kim Holder. “We have this initiative to bring a lot of these services to the university to make sure that everyone knows how to be smart with their money. We would also like to encourage you to start to give back in whatever way that you can. So that’s what we had in mind here tonight, not only to allow you to be empowered in your own life but also to be able to do things for other people.”

Event organizers teamed up with Chick-fil-A and Alpha Gamma Delta to target hunger-fighting organizations and effort in the area. As a result, for every person who attended the event and paid their $6 entry fee, $5 went to Chick-fil-A to provide a box lunch for those in need locally, and the rest went to the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation to benefit local organizations like Alice’s House and the Carroll County Soup Kitchen.

Attendees to the event enjoyed a meal provided by Chick-fil-A and Dine West, while they learned some personal finance tips from Haygood, who’s first piece of advice was about building your credit.

“While you’re in college is a good time to start building your credit,” Haygood said. “Which, of course, leads to the question of ‘How?’”

He pointed out that if you take out student loans, that starts your credit profile. He also recommended contacting your local bank and acquiring a credit card with a small limit, such as $500, and whatever you spend on it, pay it off every month.

“I wouldn’t get a credit card with a high balance,” Haygood explained, “because what you’ll find is that over time you’ll just pay the minimum amount required and not pay it off at the end of the month, and then that leads to credit problems.”

He also recommended Dave Ramsey’s advice, which is to not use a credit card at all and simply save your money and pay cash.

“The mentality is to use your money wisely because by having a credit card you’re basically paying someone else to manage your money for you,” Haygood said. “You’re paying a fee in interest for someone else to manage your money, so you might as well save your money.”

Haygood also advised attendees to make a budget and to use whatever tool they find helps them most.

“There are plenty of tools out there to help you create a budget,” he said, “such as mint.com or the envelope system, you can even use an Excel spreadsheet. Whatever works for you, find a method and use it.

The topic of student loans generated a great deal of discussion during the event. Haygood explained the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

“So what is a subsidy? While you’re in school, on a subsidized loan, the interest is being paid for by the taxpayer, so it’s not your responsibility while you’re in school. An unsubsidized loan means that the interest is adding up and it’s your responsibility. If you have an unsubsidized loan, you may want to consider paying the interest on it while you’re in school. That will reduce your overall costs on that loan. That will help you not end up paying what is called capitalization, where you’re paying interest on top of interest.”

Attendees also asked about deferment and repayment plans. Haygood advised to begin paying off student loans as early as possible to avoid mounting interest, even if your paycheck doesn’t go very far.

“There are other options to pay that debt, like Income Driven Repayment plans, whereby while you’re working you can pay based on what your income is. So there are options out there that help you reach your obligation of paying that debt over time.”

He advised going to studentaid.ed.gov to explore other payment options.

Haygood closed with his top money mistakes to avoid in your 20s:

• Not contributing to your retirement plan. The idea that money can grow on its own happens when you start small and early.

• Buying more car than you can afford.

• Not starting an emergency fund

• Living on credit cards

• Failing to set financial goals. You get what you plan, so if you don’t plan you won’t get.

• Trying to keep up with the Joneses

• Not paying yourself first.

• Taking on student loans without learning about career prospects. If you don’t know how much you’re going to earn, you can’t determine what is a reasonable amount of money spend on your education.

• Be mindful of what your career is going to be before you borrow.

Haygood wrapped up the event by encouraging attendees to not let money management overwhelm them.

“You can take control,” he said. “You have the knowledge and the power to make wise decisions.”