Centris Blog
Future Vacation Planning
By Jamie Wagner, Ph.D. Summertime Planning For me, July Fourth has always felt like the summer hump. Once you’ve reached this holiday, it’s all downhill from there even though there’s still so much summer left! If you’re like many people I talk to they feel the same...
Top 10 Summer Travel Budgeting Tips
By Jamie Wagner, Ph.D. How to Travel on a Budget Summer is upon us. The days are getting longer, and everyone seems to have an itch to go on some kind of an adventure. I love to travel and my husband and I even have a growing “adventure wall” in our house where we put...
DTI: Demystifying Debt to Income Ratio
By Jamie Wagner, Ph.D. What is Debt to Income Ratio (DTI)? Debt to income ratio (DTI) is the ratio of the amount of debt you owe compared to your gross income. Or, to put it in slightly different terms, the ratio is a comparison of all of the debt you have compared to...
Economic and Financial Literacy Initiatives in Nebraska
By Jamie Wagner, Ph.D. Economic Fall April is Financial Literacy Month, and it's important to take a look at what our state is doing to educate youth. Ever since the financial crisis between 2007 and 2009, more and more focus has shifted to financial literacy...
Six Creative Ways to Save Money as a College Student
How to Save as a Student Being a college student can be an eye-opening experience especially financially. You are now an adult with new financial responsibilities. For some, it’s your first time paying rent, a cell phone bill, car insurance and other miscellaneous...
Identity Theft and Fraud: The Differences
By Jamie Wagner, Ph.D. Protecting Your Identity In today’s world of data breaches, compromised passwords and credit card fraud we’ve become accustomed to the idea of identity theft and identity fraud. It’s become so status quo that those two phrases are interchanged...
How to Travel on a Budget
Traveling on a Budget With spring and warmer weather around the corner, a vacation may be on your mind. Sometimes; however, finances can hinder you from taking that trip. Follow these tips and tricks and learn how to travel on budget. Don't Be Afraid of Airfare Some...
Should Millennials Be Saving for Retirement?
Why Millennials Should Be Saving for Retirement Many experts advise millennials to start saving money for retirement now. The future of Social Security benefits and if they will be available when most millennials retire has been a hot topic. Whether there will be...
Understanding Debt: Why It Isn’t Always a Negative
By Jamie Wagner, Ph.D. Understanding Debt If you read or hear much about debt it tends to be portrayed in a negative light. We talk about how much debt Americans have or the student loan crisis. I even wrote a post highlighting many negatives about debt here. However,...