Resources & Tools – Community Financial Fund

On-Campus Resources

Associated Students Food Bank
Associated Students Legal Resource Center
Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
Money Matters Website– Student Financial Guide with many good resources listed (most updated version of workbook below)
Money Matters– Online PDF Workbook published by Dean of Students Office
Financial Crisis Response Team– The team exists to assist undergraduate and graduate students who face financial emergencies that may jeopardize their path to graduation through emergency funding and resource connection. They can provide students with emergency housing vouchers, food security resources, and other forms of emergency assistance. In addition, the team is administering a new bridge housing program that can provide students with temporary housing relief to those who are eligible. The team can be reached at FinancialCrisis@sa.ucsb.edu and will follow up within 24-48 hours of contacting them.
Food.ucsb.edu: The online UCSB hub for all basic needs resources at UC Santa Barbara, including information about the resources noted above, as well as where to find prepared meals, Food Nutrition and Basic Skills workshops and resource guides.
Basic Needs and Calfresh Advocates: Advocate are here to connect students to food and financial resources, and assist with their Calfresh application. CalFresh is a federal food nutrition assistance program. Those who are eligible can receive up to $204 per month for groceries! After students apply, they will receive a plastic electronic benefits card that is reloaded each month. The advocates host several drop in hour locations across campus, including the Food Security and Basic Needs Advising Center in the UCEN 9:30 AM- 4:00 PM Monday-Friday. They can also be reached at UCSBcalfresh@gmail.com.
Financial Wellness: Moving Off Campus Module
Other Financial Wellness Modules

Off-Campus Resources

4 Tips On How To Be Financially Smart

Remember the most important aspect of any kind of change is to start small. Don’t overwhelm yourself. You CAN do this! Start with what you can control and be consistent.

1. Add up how much you are spending on eating out (yes, 2 A.M. visits to Freebirds count).

Once you’ve totaled how much you are spending, make the decision to spend half or a quarter of that amount. It doesn’t mean you can’t eat out or have IV Deli deliver midnight snacks. It’s about thinking ahead and planning so you use your money wisely, and get the most VALUE out of your money.

2. Speaking of value, the next time you’re buying something think about how long it’s going to last you and how much VALUE it’s bringing to your life.

You may be wondering why I’m capitalizing the word “value.” Well, because it is the most important aspect of your purchase. We often get sucked into stores by the SALE sign or because it’s cheap, but more often than not we don’t NEED whatever we are buying. A great example of a cheap product with NEGATIVE VALUE is fast food. I know, I know. I love me a double-double with animal style fries as much as the next person, but make no mistake, that food isn’t good for you, therefore, it’s a negative investment offering you a negative value in return for your money. Why not spend that money on learning how to do something new or save it for a post-graduation trip? Again, I’m not saying don’t eat out. I am saying eat out less, and save the money you would have spent on a burger and fries for something you will remember forever!

3. If you do nothing else, give yourself a weekly budget outside of your bills and groceries budget.

I give myself a $50.00 per week budget for things like a manicure or eating out. If I’m lazy and don’t pack a lunch, I end up spending all of it on food and there goes my primping and/or other miscellaneous budget. I do this because once I started adding up my expenses I realized that I had spent thousands of dollars on food, and I had nothing to show for it except maybe some extra pounds every now and again. I now invest my money in myself by taking a yoga class or going on epic adventures and trips.

4. Leave your credit cards at home when you go out! The reality is that sometimes we need credit, but it’s how we manage it that matters.

Before you make ANY purchases on credit, asses you financial situation. Write down how much money you earn after taxes (let’s call this your “bring home”), and compare it to what you want to buy. If your bring home is $380.00 a month, and you want to purchase a new iPhone for $1,000.00 with your credit card, at a 22% interest rate, you will be making $200.00 payments for at least ten months. After interest, you will have paid almost twice as much for the phone! Instead, wait to buy the phone until you’ve stacked the cash for it. Save $120.00 every month and when you meet your $1,000.00 goal, go buy it!

Additional Resources

On-Campus:

UCSB Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships

2103 SAASB
(805) 893-2432
See: Financial Aid and Work Study Peer Advisors

AS Food Bank

University Center 3167 A
(805) 893-2276 / ucsbasfoodbank@as.ucsb.edu

Cal Fresh Peer Advisors

UCSBCalfresh@gmail.com

EOP

SRB Rm 2210
(805) 893-4758
Mentorship, Grants, Referrals for social services

Santa Barbara:

Department of Social Services

Assistance with: Affordable health care, Job search and preparations, Making ends meet, Preserving families
234 Camino del Remedio, Santa Barbara, CA 93110
(805) 681-4401

Social Security Admin Building

Assistance with SSI, Medicare, and disability benefits
22 W Figueroa St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(866) 695-6285

Unity Shoppe

110 West Sola Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (805) 965-4122
1219 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (805) 564-4402
Vouchers for grocery store and thrift store
School clothing and supplies

Statewide:

California Unemployment Insurance

English: 1-800-300-5616
Spanish: 1-800-326-8937
Applications can be found at http://www.edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/Ways_to_File.htm

CalWorks

Financial assistance and daycare assistance for families only
Apply at http://www.benefitscal.org/