Sacramento State students were greeted by the Student Financial Services and career center staff in the Redwood Room on March 3 for the “How to Win at Life” event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Participants went around the room to get an estimate of how their expenses would be after graduating college. After completing their rounds, they received a $5 campus dining gift card.

“I think students will get a realistic look at what their financial future is going to be,” said financial representative and one card specialist Candace Ensley. “Some of them are walking out of here having no idea how much these things actually cost.”

First, they needed to pick a career. Volunteers suggested that even though students are in a certain major, they did not need to pick a career in that field.

After choosing a career, they found out how much money they needed to spend on taxes, social security and insurance. After inputting the estimates on the worksheets, they were led to another station where they were shown a variety of transportation and housing options.

If students obtained loans, they found out their actual loan amounts by signing onto the National Student Loan Data System website.

Students found out their “needs and wants” totals by calculating the amount of money spent on food, clothing, gifts, pets, etc.

One station at the event was called Wheel of Fortune where participants spun a wheel and had either a positive or negative financial incident.

Senior kinesiology major Emmanuel Ivory Ford played the game twice in hopes of winning the game his second time around.

“The wheel of fortune got me again. I had a family emergency this time, which put me under debt. It’s just so much money,” said Ford.

The Student Financial Services center offers free private financial counseling through appointments in their office in Lassen Hall.

The career center on campus provides many resources such as teaching students how to gain internships, volunteer experience, part-time work or full-time work. They also help conduct mock-interviews in addition to resume and cover letter building.

Career counselors help in directing students on how to successfully transition into their career field. Students are encouraged to drop in during their office hours Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We really encourage students to use campus resources at the career center. Not only do we help identify dreams or careers, but we help to pursue them as well,” said career counselor Dave C. McVey.

The next events held by the career center will be the “Educator Recruitment Expo,” on April 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the University Ballroom, and “Internship Awareness Week” on April 27 to May 1 with the locations and times to be determined.