At a glance
“Build a habit of saving. Money is about hard work. Be frugal, not cheap. It is not about how much money you make, it is about how you manage the money that you do make.”
Retired bankruptcy judge John Ninfo shared financial wisdom to Alfred State students. He spoke to students educating them about staying out of debt and establishing solid financial practices.
Ninfo, who travels around the greater Rochester area educating high school and college students, shared that eight of the top 14 stressors in life are money related. He weaved stories and tales of the people he interacted with during his career as a lawyer and as a judge.
He told success stories of past attendees to his talks and covered ten lessons that students need to know when dealing with their finances. He told the students to, “build a habit of saving. Money is about hard work. Be frugal, not cheap. It is not about how much money you make, it is about how you manage the money that you do make.”
Financial Planning Professor Scott DuMond invited Ninfo to campus and was excited for Alfred State students to hear this message. “It was an amazing opportunity to have John share his wisdom and experiences with our students. He was able to share great advice and I hope the students that heard his message were able to take at least one thing away from what he said and start applying it to their own financial decisions.”
Ninfo founded the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) in 2002. It is a personal finance literacy program in which bankruptcy judges, trustees, attorneys, and court staff speak with high school and college students.
Ninfo was a bankruptcy judge for the United State bankruptcy court, Western District of New York. He was appointed to the bench in 1992 and served until 2011. He was the Chief Judge from 2000 until 2006. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1968 from Georgetown University and his J.D. from Boston University in 1973. Ninfo served in the United State Marine Corps, becoming Chief Legal Clerk to the Judge Advocate General of the 4th Marine Air Wing. He was engaged in private law practice with Underberg and Kessler, specializing in creditors’ rights and bankruptcy law.
Ninfo visits Alfred State every semester. If you are an interested educator or student contact Professor DuMond (607-587-3451 or DuMondSR@alfredstate.edu) for details.