Hi there,

Spring is about to make its debut, which means more daylight, blossoming flowers, better weather, and of course, spring cleaning! It’s time to deep clean the nooks and crannies of your life: dorm, home, health, car and finances. Our spending habits usually change with the season. Now that the weather is warmer, you can adjust your budget to your lifestyle: such as cancelling your gym membership if you prefer exercising outside, or budgeting for a lower electricity bill since there’s more daylight. Take a day this month to go through your finances, clean‘em up, and then go enjoy the beautiful weather!

Congratulations to the top 10 finalists in each category of our 2017 Young & Free Michigan Scholarship Competition. There was a record number of over 28,000 votes this year! Education is so important to the Michigan First team, so we are thrilled to be days away from announcing the scholarship winners. Each winner will be contacted on or around March 6, and their photo will appear on the Young and Free Michigan website. Be sure to check back to see the winners!

Don’t have time to spring clean your budget right now? We’ve got you covered. Sometimes your brain cannot remember every little detail when you are trying to balance school, work, and a million other things. Well, as a First Gear account holder, you have the option of requesting Oops Forgiveness to help! Oops Forgiveness offers First Gear account holders the option to waive one overdraft fee every six months to help with slip ups or reversing your fee. To learn more check out YoungFreeMichigan.com!

In this It's a Money Thing video, Jen learns about the power of compound interest and the advantages of saving early and often.

March is in full effect so take it by storm. Spring clean your finances! You will feel so much better afterwards. Make sure you follow me on social media for some financial spring cleaning tips!

Be Easy,

Erin Winters
Young & Free Michigan Spokester