Big can be very overwhelming. Penn State has a very large student body. Reading a very long book can seem an ominous project. Running a marathon is a huge undertaking. Paying off a mortgage or a student loan or even a car loan seems impossible at first. Saving enough money for retirement (yep….enough money to live on for the rest of your life!) is an enormous task. Big is simply overwhelming. Because it’s….well….BIG!
A wise man (I’ve seen it credited to too many different people to try to attribute it) once said, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” This is the secret to turn overwhelming into accomplishment. Break it down into manageable chunks. Penn State has a very large student body…but Penn State Law is a much smaller and very familial portion that is easier to navigate. Reading a very long book can seem like an ominous project…but if you take it one chapter at a time, it adds up to a relaxing read. Running a marathon is a huge undertaking…but runners use mental math to break it into smaller distances (One 10K down…only four 5 milers to go!). Paying off large debts or starting a long-term savings plan is a scary concept, but one month at a time it all gets done.
It’s pretty typical for graduate students to live on student loan funds throughout the year. And these funds come to students in two giant chunks…one at the start of each semester. And that’s pretty overwhelming as well. It’s a lot of money all at once. And this is a lot easier to manage if you break it down into more manageable amounts. Bills typically come by the month, not by the semester (with the exception of tuition, fees, and books). So it makes sense to break down your refund by the month. Put that giant refund into a savings account. Preferably one that isn’t tied to an ATM or debit card. Set up an automatic transfer to your checking account for the beginning of each month. Then live on that amount for that month. Don’t transfer any funds early. If you blow your grocery money on clothes, you’ll have to find a way to feed yourself with what you have on hand…just like if your paycheck were coming from a job rather than from a transfer from your student loan savings. If you don’t tap into your funds early, it will actually last for the full semester. You truly do not want to find yourself eating nothing but ramen during exam time when your brain needs nutritious food the most.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you manage your money? One month at a time.