Financial Tips for College Students

While summer is still in full swing at our house{although it’s going by way too fast}, I realize it’s time for many of our college students to start packing up and heading to campus for the fall semester.  I don’t suspect I have many college-aged readers, but I thought it might be a fun to discuss some financial tips for college students.

I don’t like to live life with regrets, but if I were to do it all over again, I’d be more deliberate and intentional with my finances during my college years.  Not only that, but I’d thank my parents much more often for the sacrifices they made so I could graduate college without having to take out any loans.  I thought I appreciated it then, but I know I appreciate it now.

Disclaimer: I know that the decision to attend college {or not} and how one chooses to pay for it is a very personal decision.  There is no judgement intended.  I’m just sharing my heart on the topic.  🙂

Avoid student loans if at all possible
I was incredibly blessed that my parents paid for my college tuition, so I realize that many people may think I have no right to speak about the difficulty in finding a way to pay for college without incurring debt.  Kev accrued a little bit of student loan debt during his final year of school {we were married at that time}, but thankfully the vast majority of his schooling was paid for through his G.I. bill benefit, which he earned for his service in the Marines after high school.  So while I don’t speak from a lot of personal experience with student loans, we have seen and heard about how crippling student loan debt can be from our friends.  I have friends who are still paying on their student loan debt when they graduated over 10 years ago.  I feel for them and can only imagine the frustration they must feel.

While I know that sometimes student loans are simply unavoidable, I’d encourage every student to try and avoid them at all costs.  At this point, it’s assumed that college grads will have student loan debt to pay off, but try to be different if there is any way!  If loans are 100% unavoidable, I’d fight hard to keep them as small as possible.  Choosing a college is a huge decision, but here are some questions to ask yourself when considering the cost of paying for it.

– Could I go to a community college for 2 years and then transfer to finish my degree?
– Are there in-state schools that are more affordable than the private school I really love?
– Could I work to save up money for some of my tuition before I enroll in classes?
– Are there any work/study or co-op programs available?
– Have I investigated every scholarship or grant under the sun?
– Is military service an option for me {National Guard, ROTC, etc.}?  

Say no to credit cards
I distinctly remember lots of representatives from credit card companies hovering around the dining hall during the first week of classes my freshman year of college.  Those representatives try to convince college students that you need to open up a credit card account in order to start establishing your credit.  Don’t listen to them.

I’m not 100% against having a credit card.  Especially as a young woman on a college campus, I think it could be appropriate to have one for emergency situations.  But, I don’t believe there’s many other reasons that you’d need one, and probably even fewer reasons to have more than one.  I’ve heard of college students going crazy with their new-found freedom from their parents, which oftentimes includes a brand new credit card and lots and lots of accrued debt.  If you don’t have the cash to pay for something, then you truly can’t afford it.  Please, I beg you not to get started on that path at such a young age.

Practice being a good steward of your money now
It’s never too early to learn good stewardship of your money.  Even if your parents are footing the bill and providing your spending money, you can still start learning to live on a budget.  My parents paid for my education, but it was up to me to come up with my spending money.  I didn’t live on a regular budget, but I wish I had.  I’m sure I could have spent my money more wisely if I had taken the time to begin the practice of budgeting.  

If you don’t have parents footing the bill, then you probably need a budget more than ever.  If you are working to pay your own school bills, using a budget will help you plan the best way to spend that hard-earned money of yours.  I would hate to see any of it go to waste when you are working so hard to balance the tough demands of an academic load and a job.  Even if you are taking out some student loans, keeping a budget will help you to allocate those funds as effectively as possible.  Perhaps a budget might help you borrow less than you anticipated.  

Consider the financial implications of your major
My father still laughs when we talk about my major in college.  I went to a liberal arts college, so my major was probably not the most practical one I could have picked.  I had a reason for choosing it, but God took me down another career path where my specific major wasn’t all that important…and that’s okay because I know it was my Bachelors degree that helped me more so than my specific major.

I’m not saying there’s never a reason to major in Art History or Classical Studies {sorry to pick on those two for this post!}, but I am saying to think about the possible financial implications of your major before you make your final decision.  That way, you have an idea about what it could mean for your future employment and salary potential after graduation.  We knew that when Kev majored in History, his career options would probably be limited to education unless he narrowed it down further and got an advanced degree.  We were okay with that because he planned to be a teacher and we knew going in what that would likely mean for his salary.

Work a part-time job if possible
I’d encourage every college student to work some sort of job during school.  There might be certain semesters when your workload is simply too demanding, but there is so much value to working even a part-time job.  If you’re paying your own way, then a job is probably a given.

But, even if you aren’t paying your school tuition, working a part-time job is a great way to start building up some savings.  Wouldn’t it be great to actually graduate college with some money in the bank?

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