Student life is awesome, exciting, and full of adventures and new people. Even despite those sleepless nights, student years are something we remember for the rest of our life. That’s a true fact. However, there is also another side of student life too few people talk about. Yep, we mean the financial problems of college students.
According to the US national survey that was conducted by the Ohio State University’s Center for the Study of Student Life, more than 60% of students worry about their finances. Almost 19 thousand students from 52 different colleges and universities were interviewed. Around 32% said that they were neglecting their studies due to financial problems. What’s even worse, most students said that they are forced to go into debts in order to pay for tuition.
Another research was published by the Wisconsin HOPE Lab. The results of the survey turned out to be striking. One-third of all interviewed students struggle to get food. The same percentage of the students have some difficulties with paying for their houses/flats/rooms. Almost 9 percent admitted to being completely homeless.
Of course, the test scores of such students are much lower than those students who have no financial problems. The chances of graduating are also getting smaller. Nevertheless, three-quarters of students try to do their best in order to graduate. They think they made the right decision when they entered college even despite having financial problems.
Money Management As A Key Solution To Financial Problems
So, what are the reasons for such disappointing survey results? The answer is pretty obvious. Of course, some students come from dysfunctional families, but most students simply have no time to manage their finances correctly. Classes, tests, exams, papers, books… It’s not that easy to keep track of all costs while a great deal of time is devoted to studies.
However, correct finance management is an essential part of stressless student life. That’s why we offer you to take a closer look at several essential budget managing tips:
- Create a budget. This is the very first step each student should do, regardless of the amount of money he has at his disposal. The main idea of creating a budget is to identify how much you are going to spend on your needs and how much is left on your wants. Figure out how much money you can spend per month and make a list of the things you should pay for first. Only after that, identify how much you can spend on entertainment like visiting cinemas, or playing at online casino with iDeal payment service for depositing, or anything like that.
- Use a savings account. If you feel you have enough money to cover all your monthly expenses, put some money on your savings account. Whether it is $20 or $100, set them aside, and that’s all. Maybe, those “rainy days” will start one day, and you’ll need to have some funds on the “emergency account”.
- Apply for scholarships. Scholarships are the greatest opportunities for students to make money. Check what scholarships are available and what scholarships you can be qualified for. Apply for as many scholarships as possible. If you put much effort into it, you can get a pretty decent amount of money and pay all your bills easily.
- Build your credit score wisely. Student years are the best time to start building a credit history. However, stay away from those credits you can’t really afford. If you are not careful about that, you can easily get into the “money pit”. Research all the credit card options available for you and think which one might be the best for you, considering your capacity to pay.
- Work while studying. Nowadays, there are a lot of job offers for students. You can find a part-time job in order not to affect your studies. Working while studying has many benefits, such as earning extra money, gaining valuable work experience, and developing skills. However, it also has some challenges. Therefore, you must be careful and responsible when choosing a job that suits your needs and goals. Alternatively, you can start working as a freelancer, which is very popular these days.
Should You Feel Guilty About Your Small Spendings?
Following all the above-mentioned tips will definitely lead to a great result. However, we all are human beings, and we all can suddenly splurge on something we haven’t been thinking about before. For example, after a stressful week filled up with tests and exams, a student got carried away at a party in a local nightclub.
How will he feel the next day? Right! Guilty.
Or, for example, a hard-working man found a pair of brand shoes just for $99 in an online store and ordered them while sitting in his office. He will also feel guilty. The question is, should we feel guilty about spending hard-earned money on something we really enjoy? Of course, we shouldn’t, but only if it doesn’t affect our family budget much.
In order to stop feeling guilty about unpredictable spendings, you should plan your budget carefully and devote some part of it for such small and unpredictable spendings. And the most important thing for you to remember – we live once, so do what you want to do and don’t feel guilty about that!
