State Treasurer

Nicole Aumell

March Update
Greetings New York State FBLA! I hope everyone had an amazing March and enjoyed the Easter holiday! For this month’s installment of “Make it Make Cents” I’ll be sharing 8 tips for a successful SLC next month! I’m very to meet everyone and thought I’d share some if my favorite tips to make SLC 2024 fun and memorable!

  1. Bring your best business attire! It’s amazing seeing everyone in professional outfits and showing off their FBLA pride
  2. Don’t forget your wallet! There’s opportunities to buy snacks and merchandise, but its always good to keep emergency money with you as well
  3. Participate in workshops! The State Officer Team has worked diligently to create a wide range of workshops you can attend that truly elevate the SLC experience
  4. Watch the Talent Show! If you’re feeling like having some extra fun, consider signing up to show off your talent on stage
  5. Attend the FBLA Disco! This dance is going to be so exciting, make sure to bring a disco outfit 😉
  6. Visit the campaign booths! Take some time to meet the candidates for state office that could be leading you next year
  7. Join the Goosechase! The Goosechase has various prompts and trivia questions you can earn points for and ultimately win glory for your chapter
  8. Finally, have fun and don’t be afraid to meet new members!!

See you all soon!!! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, email me at treasurer@nysfbla.org!

February Update
Greetings New York State FBLA! I hope everyone had a great February and enjoyed a nice winter break!

For this month’s installment of “Make it Make Cents” I’d like to recognize chapter treasurers all across the state! If an adviser or member wants to nominate a chapter treasurer for a highlight, please email me at treasurer@nysfbla.org with a brief description of how this individual has helped your chapter, how long they’ve been an FBLA member, and their favorite financial tip. I look forward to hearing from everyone and in the meantime, if you have any questions, concerns, or would like to reach out, please feel free to contact me!

January Update
Greetings New York State FBLA! I hope everyone has had a great start to 2024! There are some inspiring opportunities for the next few months before SLC in April. For instance, members can participate in the Program of Work still as all submissions are due on February 15 by 11:59 pm. Additionally, members can always submit articles to The FBLA Express and compete at the
upcoming SDMs across the state. Also, I encourage members to send in any pictures of fundraiser activities to the State Historian!

For this month’s installment of “Make it Make Cents”, I’m giving members the option to share their favorite or most useful financial tip to be used in an upcoming Instagram post. I want to hear from members as this project will benefit others and further promote financial literacy. Please send your financial tips and tricks to me at treasurer@nysfbla.org!! I look forward to
hearing from everyone! 🙂

December Update
Greetings New York State FBLA! Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone had a great holiday break! I definitely enjoyed spending time with my family, friends, and cat!

As we say goodbye to 2023, it’s great to establish new habits and set goals for 2024. Therefore, this month’s lesson for “Make it Make Cents” deals with how to avoid impulse buying. I’ve found myself looking at advertisements on social media and then immediately going online to buy products, however, this can be financially damaging and cause problems in the future. Impulse buying can be avoided by using the 24-hour rule, which includes finding a product and then taking 24 hours to research, read reviews, compare prices, and overall letting your brain fully process the decision before buying. You can also ask yourself several questions before making a purchase like is the product a want or need, what are the long-term effects of the purchase, and is this easily affordable or will sacrifices need to be made for a budget to work? This can help alleviate the initial temptation to buy a product if it will be a financial burden or not beneficial to your well-being. Also, you can create a shopping list and strictly stick to those items while taking notice of products you come across that could be future purchases. As mentioned before, modern marketing, especially on social media, can lead to impulse buying, but if you know what accounts are more likely to cause unnecessary purchases, blocking or changing your activity filters can help minimize the want to keep buying more and more. Lastly, consider creating financial goals for 2024 that have specific targets, such as saving 50% of your paycheck or making a monthly budget of $150, to help maintain your finances and eliminate the ability to continue impulse buying, as there’s a risk of not meeting your goals.

Overall, there a several ways to be smarter with money management in 2024, and stopping impulse buying is a significant first step in improving your financial state. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or want to reach out, please email me at treasurer@nysfbla.org!

November Update
Greetings New York State FBLA! I hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday and break! I’m very grateful for the opportunity to serve as State Treasurer and meet and work with countless amazing individuals within the state membership. I’d like to extend a special thank you to all District 7 and 8 members who made our FDM an unforgettable experience full of learning
and fun! I hope all attendees enjoyed themselves and found a new opportunity to invest time in during the FBLA year.

In my previous update, I discussed FAFSA and federal aid options for members planning to attend college next year. As a reminder, the FAFSA application officially opens December 1 and is lengthy, so I encourage those planning to fill it out to set aside some time to ensure it’s done correctly!

For this month, the focus of “Make it Make Cents” is how to write a check! This is an important life skill everyone should learn, and the first step is to fill in the date at the top right corner of a blank check. Following this, write the name of the person or company the check is being made out to on the line next to the text “Pay to the order of.” Next to the dollar sign, the amount of money should be written in numbers and on the blank line beneath the name, write the amount with full words. The next step is optional, but a memo can be written in the bottom left corner to remember what the check is for. The final step is to sign your name in the bottom right corner once everything is filled out correctly. The process is straightforward, but an essential skill you can use in your everyday life!

Look out for a special Instagram post regarding writing checks @newyorkfbla! If you have any questions, concerns, or want to reach out please email me at treasurer@nysfbla.org!

October Update
Greetings New York State FBLA! I hope everyone had a very fun-filled and safe Halloween!

For October, the focus of “Make it Make Cents” will be FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Since college application season has started for seniors and many underclassmen begin the college search, I feel it’s important to understand what FAFSA is and how you can best utilize it. To begin, FAFSA is a federal application all students can use to earn financial help from colleges. Once the information required in the application is submitted, colleges can use this to determine if you will receive any federal aid and may even award their own aid. However, FAFSA is dependent on an application for each separate year for a college student. Therefore, it’s crucial to make note of the dates FAFSA opens, and then you can begin filling out the form! The application for the 2024-2025 FAFSA, which applies to many NYS FBLA members, is December 2023, and will not follow the usual October 1 opening due to form undoing changes to make the process easier. Overall, be prepared for when FAFSA opens this year to start efficiently financing your future!

Lastly, I look forward to seeing most District 7 and 8 members at our FDM on November 3! Come ready for an exciting day of learning about fun opportunities and ways to boost your FBLA involvement!

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or would like to reach out, please contact me at treasurer@nysfbla.org!

September Update
Greetings New York State FBLA! I hope everyone has experienced a smooth transition into the school year!

For this month’s installment of “Make it Make Cents”, the focus will be credit cards vs. debit cards. As many members have financial  responsibilities and more businesses require cards for transactions, it’s important to narrow down the difference between credit and debit. To start, credit cards use money borrowed from a bank up to a certain amount whereas debit cards use money that has been deposited in an account. Moreover, debit cards use direct money, but credit cards are binding as you need to pay the borrowed money back, with added interest. Rewards cards come in the form of credit cards for travel and can lead to earning points, cashback, or other offers, but it’s crucial to not overspend with these cards and make payments on time! Negatively using a credit card can impact your credit score and affect finances for long periods of time. On the other hand, debit cards draw from your bank account and famous examples of these are a Visa or Mastercard that’s prepaid. A debit card can help you avoid debt and provide fraud protection; however, it won’t help you build credit. Overall, I encourage everyone to weigh the pros and cons of owning either a credit or debit card and then make an informed decision that will be most beneficial to you!

Be sure to follow the state Instagram at newyorkfbla for alerts of upcoming opportunities. Additionally, feel free to reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns at treasurer@nysfbla.org!

August Update
Greetings New York State FBLA! In the words of Taylor Swift, “August slipped away into a moment in time” but was still full of focus and productivity.

As State Treasurer, I want to help all members and chapters achieve success in every aspect of financial management. Therefore, each month I will be sharing tips and strategies that relate to financial literacy skills. The theme for this month is budgeting! Budgeting is crucial to any business and for FBLA chapters, can help you maximize your year. I urge all chapters to set up a budget at the beginning of this school year as it will improve organization and influence chapter goals. Remember to think realistically when budgeting – refer to what has consistently worked in the past and expand upon it. Moreover, keep any budget simple and easy to keep track of. For instance, maintain budget lines for meetings, conferences, and entertainment. Also, build flexibility into your budget for different circumstances. Finally, chapter leadership should collaborate on creating a budget to ensure a variety of perspectives are taken into account!

Several exciting initiatives are in the works and following the state Instagram at newyorkfbla will alert you of upcoming opportunities. Additionally, feel free to reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns at treasurer@nysfbla.org!

July Update
Greetings New York State FBLA! I hope everyone is enjoying a very relaxing and refreshing summer vacation. I’m beyond excited to be serving as your 2023 – 2024 State Treasurer this upcoming year! I want to emphasize the importance of understanding financial literacy, especially for all members of FBLA as they prepare for the next steps at the college or career level. Additionally, I plan to host virtual workshops and create finance lessons for NYS FBLA social media accounts, so stay tuned for these opportunities. Another goal for this year is to promote money management and set members up for financial success!

As we shift our focus to a fresh FBLA year, the new State Officer team has been busy at State Officer Training. The team participated in several teamwork activities and workshops that helped inspire ideas for a fun and engaging year! In addition, countless hours of effort and hard work were spent developing the newest Program of Work, which includes distinctive challenges that reflect our state theme of “Flying to the Future”. I encourage all chapters to consider participating in the POW, as it’s a great way to become more involved and unite your members. Specifically, the Membership Services Committee created the challenges of “Early Bird”, “Ready, Set, Recruit”, and “Creative Competition” that all motivate members to make connections and use critical thinking skills. I’m looking forward to seeing what we accomplish with this POW and feel free to visit the designated page on this website and look at what the State Officer Team created!

I’m a firm believer in planning ahead and being prepared, so I suggest chapters consider making a simple budget for this year that can be updated by month or any realistic time frame. This can help ensure your chapter is on track with all your finances and influence fundraisers. Using spreadsheet software such as Excel or Google Sheets is an efficient method of budgeting that is applicable to the modern business world. Try making a few savings goals for the year and then build your budget around them! If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions don’t hesitate to reach out and contact me at treasurer@nysfbla.org!