Let’s be real here. Having all the money in the world as a college student would easily be one of the best things in the entire universe. Think about it. Nice cars, nice clothes, no financial aid, money to blow on big, fancy parties. It would literally be everyone’s dream. But lets face it, the overwhelming majority of us are not living this kind of life. We have to worry about paying for tuition, making sure our LionCash and Meal Points don’t run out, doing our laundry, and paying for the dang ramen noodles and oreos that we have stashed away in our rooms. Life as a college student is hard, but when you’re given the task of managing your money, the load can be sometimes unbearable.
Going into freshman year, the excitement of being an independent person who had to take care of myself thrilled me. As much as I was going to miss my family, I was excited that I could now purchase anything that I wanted, whenever and wherever I wanted. With the swipe of my card, or the touch of a button, State College was mine to take over. But then things got ridiculous. A couple downtown shopping trips here, a room stashed full of all the food I could imagine there, and a few too many payment-required parties later, and I found myself strapped for cash. My parents texted me like, “So….about that LionCash balance Em….what’s goin’ on?” The truth was, I had no idea. I was so blind sighted by the idea of being in charge of my own life, that I was never fully aware of all the responsibility that being a full-time college student requires.
While I am so grateful that I have a family that can support me financially, I also realize what an important skill being able to understand your finances is. After all, we are all going to be REAL adults some day, paying for bills, doing taxes, having a mortgage and a 401K (still no idea what that is). It’s important that we being to get a grip on some of these things now so that when we do have to face the real world, we are ready for it. Money is a precious thing and shouldn’t be spent wastefully.
One of the biggest lessons I learned from first semester was to try and save money whenever you can. I walk wherever I can to avoid using buses or taxis. I try to limit the number of times that I eat out and instead try to just stick to the dining halls. It seems silly, but even trying to squeeze laundry into one load instead of two can help to save some cash. When I do go shopping, I always try to go for the bargains and ask myself if what I’m buying is really worth it. Finally, one of the most important ways that you can save money as a college student is by renting textbooks or buying used ones. In many cases, the used books are as good as the new ones and as far as renting goes, if you’re not going to use the book after the class, then who cares?! Look for little ways that you can save money in your own life. It can make such a difference in the long run!
jjh5589 says
NO!!! Don’t remind me of all the money I don’t have!! 🙁
Honestly it’s so hard to have a grip on reality and money in college. You’re surrounded by a world that doesn’t seem real. It makes sense that most college students would get carried away with spending money that their parents have to call them up and ask them what the hell they could be spending their money on?! Everything that you said Ive been trying to do; spend less and go out less. One big thing that could help us college students is working over the summer and making money so that when school come back around we can be spending our own money in stead of our parents. This will help us learn a sense of money because we worked hard for it over the summer and will help us make decisions on whether its worth it to buy that 5th Penn State hoodie or go out to the Waffle Shop again.
Diana Mary Alnemri says
Ugh I hate how true this is. I am so bad with money. When my parents fill up my debit card, I’ll either spend it all within a couple weeks, or never touch it for a month in fears of losing any. I am also so grateful that I have parents giving me all the financial support I need right now, but like you said, it’s going to be a real struggle managing myself later on. I know a few students who are paying for college all on their own right now and I know this isn’t anything new or surprising but, to me, I couldn’t believe it. But aside from right now, I feel like when the day actually comes that we have to manage our own money, we will be fine.
Shannon M Mcculloch says
Seriously, it is the struggle. I feel like I spend less money when I’m here than I do at home since I go to the movies, and out to eat with my friends a lot at home. But some extra college expenses always seem to find a way to sneak into my life and it is definitely not the greatest when you swipe your PNC card and see the balance in the double digits. I’m a professional bargain shopper so thats not a problem!! It’s the online shopping that gets me… did you ever just fill up your cart until you have looked through the whole website and see a grand total of almost 1,000 dollars and consider spending your tuition refund thing on the clothes?? I have. Does that make me a shopaholic? Nah, only using my resources.