You’d like to think that college is a time to have fun, study, and learn a lot about yourself as a human being. In reality, it starts off like that but quickly turns into a few years full of stress. Granted, some people are more stressed than others, but one of the main problems for the average student is dealing with the financial side of things. Education isn’t free, meaning there are things you have to pay for – like your tuition fees.
As a knock-on effect of these fees, you’re often left with hardly any money to pay your way through your three, four, or five years in college. If possible, it is best to start saving while you’re still in high school and a resource like Bench Rest Gallery can help. But that’s not always possible and many students end up in their overdrafts or with loans on top of their student loans. So how can you avoid this? Ultimately, it’s all about being aware of the biggest financial concerns you tend to face in college. Here are some of the things that will drain your money, and how you can stop them from doing so:
Food
Cleary, a lot of your budget will be spent on food. The trouble for students is that they tend to follow pretty poor financial practices when buying food. Instead of choosing cheap meals, you pick expensive ones because they’re quick and easy. Thankfully, saving money on food in college is extremely straightforward. Shop at cheaper stores, don’t buy branded food products and cook your meals from scratch. These tips alone will already help you save a fortune, and there are many others out there to follow.
In my personal opinion, all books and study materials should be made free by colleges. It’s a complete scam that you have to spend thousands of dollars on tuition fees, plus an extra couple of hundred on study materials and books. Yep, you genuinely will pay that much if you buy all of the books brand new. Already, you’ve got an idea to save money; buy second-hand books. Even better than that; don’t buy them at all, borrow them from libraries. This helps you save an absolute fortune, particularly as you may not need a book for more than one year. If that’s the case, be sure to sell any books you did buy, recuperating as much money as you can.
Going out
Naturally, going out is a big part of college life. You want to go and party with your new friends, having a fantastic time. However, it quickly gets super expensive. One trick to save money is to drink beforehand in your room with friends. This lets you use the cheap alcohol you have at home, rather than spending something ridiculous for drinks in a bar. It limits what you buy on a night out, saving money. A second trick is to only attend student events. This is because they tend to have special prices and discounts for students, saving more money.
Uncontrolled spending
Another money concern in college is uncontrolled spending. Many people arrive at university with cash in their accounts for the first time and immediately go on a spending spree. The newfound freedom goes to their heads!
That’s why Daniel Lerner and David Lerner Associates talk about the importance of educating young people about money from an early age. They need to understand how it works, and how finite it is, before trying to make their way in the world by themselves. Failing to do so can lead to all sorts of financial difficulties in the future, and could even put your university career at risk.
For the most part, these are the biggest daily financial concerns for the average student. If you’re aware of them, you can take steps to save money and avoid living your college years in complete and utter financial turmoil.
