5 Things Students Should Have on Their Radar If They Want to Save Money on Campus
Life in college is an exciting time full of new experiences, academic moments, and personal growth. While it certainly brings many good times, life in college can also bring financial surprises that catch students off guard. Many students who enter college have limited plans for spending (and probably limited money for spending!) and think they can use their money for social activities, travel, and other items they need to buy. However, money can disappear quickly even if students are on the same page financially. As a result, students want to be able to recognize behaviors and habits that keep them from spending when they know it is not needed! When it comes to saving money on campus, here are five behaviors students should not engage in.
1. Impulse Buying Around Food and Snacks
One of the biggest pitfalls to a student budget is overspending on food. This is especially true for impulse buying regarding fast food, coffee, and snacks. While it may make sense to spend 5 dollars on food or drinks between classes, it adds up quickly! A $5.00 coffee every day for the week is $25, that is $100 for a month with 4 weeks, and $400 for 4 months! The coffee shop, campus cafe, or campus fast-food convenience is an obvious way to spend discretionary money because there is no value in that expenditure. Many of those same incidental purchases are also lacking any nutritional value! Instead, students should consider meal planning and cooking simple meals.
2. Buying Unnecessary Textbooks and Supplies
Textbooks are extremely expensive, and buying every item listed as required or recommended from the campus bookstore can be a significant expense for students. Students often purchase textbooks they may never read or that are only for reference for a semester. Certain items such as calculators, lab equipment, new pens, and notebooks can be added to the financial burden of purchasing new textbooks if an alternative is not sought after.
Prices can be minimized by considering alternatives to a brand new book. For example, renting the textbook, purchasing used books online, or even sharing a book with the student sitting next to you are strategies worth considering. Digital books are also often cheaper, and you get instant access! A student should also consider whether the necessary supply is needed in the first place. Sometimes, all you need is a pen, notepad, or another student with a calculator! Careful consideration of your educational purchase will save you hundreds of dollars in a semester.
3. Paying Too Much for Social Events and Entertainment
What is college without socializing with friends, attending social events, and engaging in recreational activities? The fun continues, however, when your social life entails regular attendance at parties, concerts, or campus events, you may find this begins to contribute to considerable expenses. Between ticket prices, drinks, and transportation, it’s easy to spend far more each weekend than intended!
To minimize spending but continue to enjoy socialization, students should focus on low-cost or free activities that occur on-campus. Many colleges and universities will routinely host events such as inexpensive movie nights, sports games, campus speakers and workshops that will often be at no cost to students. Additionally, students can also opt to host a potluck dinner, a game night, or book study group with friends, which can all allow students to socialize without spending a lot of money. Students can save money and not lose out on enjoying a social life by ensuring their enjoyment factor stems players that do not include spending money or activities that require excessive financial amounts.
4. Not Setting up a Budget or Plan for Funds.
One of the biggest mistakes students make is failing to build a budget or account for expenses. When you don’t know what your income or what you can spend, it can be easy to overspend on little items that you might not even realize cost money, yet can place a tremendous financial burden on a student. Your neglect to build a budget also might lead to debt by utilizing credit cards and other forms of note to first purchase things you shouldn’t and then to ultimately pay off debt.
Budgeting for something simple monthly is an incredibly easy and effective way to prevent financial pitfalls. Your budget should include where all your income is from; a job, allowance, or scholarship you received, etc. Then you will need to put in the essentials; rent, food, utilities, transportation and so on. After that you would have set aside money for extra but beFORE moving on to the excess spending against the financial roadmap as mentioned below. You need to continually and frequently revisit your budget to ensure that your financial spending is inline with your own goals. If you get used to building a budget early on in college, you will start out with a good head start on building a financial responsible student and eventually person for life.
5. Giving in to Peer Pressure and Lifestyle Inflation
College is a time of discovery, and many students experience both lifestyles and spending habits similar to or as a result of their peers’ experience. A parent might prioritize groceries, but when your friends are purchasing expensive shoes, buy expensive shoes themselves just to fit in, rather than because they needed them.
Similarly, in the case of lifestyle inflation, students may feel they need to maintain a “certain image” on social media so they buy things (money on things) well beyond their means to maintain themselves somewhat appear affluent or trendy.
Regardless, the most important thing to avoid falling into peer pressure and lifestyle inflation and other forms of unnecessary spending is for students to build financial mentality and confidence to spend responsibly. In many ways, deciding to save money or live on a budget is not irresponsible; it is empowering. At the same time, students will need to separate from needs and wants, set their own version of financial success, and practice delayed gratification – all of which serve to protect students from forming opulent spending habits which may be responsible for their undoing. Learning how to say no to peer pressures or things society suggests you “need” to have is a big first step toward financial independence and financial security.
The Benefits and Challenges of Managing Finances for Campus Students
Many portray campus life as a time for freedom, adventure, and maturity. However, beneath all the fun and excitement lies a financial reality that many students find surprising and not easy to comprehend. Factors when budgeting while saving, or making good financial decisions are often unbearable while dealing with school, social time and rampant instant gratification. Regardless of the complexity of Money management while in school can yield many long-term benefits. The more students understand the good and bad aspects of responsibility for finance, the better they can make informed money choices and have a more stable and enriching experience on campus.
Positive Aspects of Managing Money Well on Campus
1. Financial Independence
One of the most immediate positive aspects of responsibly managing one’s finances is financial independence. Many students are relying on at least partial support from their own income, a scholarship, or allowances. Learning to budget, prioritize spending, and save means that students can rely on parents or loans less often. Benefiting from this independence can encourage confidence and responsibility. Students can take charge of their lives, at least financially, without being subject to constant breakdown from ever-changing financial burdens.
Reduced Anxiety and Stress
Finances can be among the most stressful aspects of being a student. It can stem from unpaid bills, a perceived lack of money for necessities, or reliance on credit. When students effectively manage their money (by tracking spending, avoiding debt accumulation, and maintaining at least a minimum balanced emergency fund), their money management greatly reduces anxiety and stress. When students put effort into planning about and spending money, they often feel safe, competent, and empowered to deal with the twists and turns of college and life.
Academic Focus Improvement
Financial security is the foundation for student academic success. A student who is anxious about money will focus their attention or energy on how to meet their next financial thoughts and away from studying. A student who can manage their money can engage in the classroom; participate in class discussions, use educational resources, and not have their mind drift elsewhere. The result can be still better grades, GPA, and an opportunity for internships or scholarships.
Ability to Create Life Skills
Learning to manage money while a student is not only about getting through college, but also development of life skills. Budgeting, saving, planning for future expenses and making sound decisions about spending money are all important skills that will follow through life past a college student. Students who adopt financial responsibility early will find it easier to deal with life experiences that involve financial obligations once they graduate; rent, mortgages, insurance, and investments. Learning these habits will also instill a level of discipline.
5. Saving and Investment Opportunities
Students who are responsible with their finances can actually enjoy accumulations of savings while they are in college. The money saved can be spent on opportunities for personal growth, academic travel or conferences, or funding a side project. Given the ability to save and invest, even a few dollars a week early in a student’s career will build a lifelong habit of wealth accumulation, while also giving students a level of financial stability that benefits them in their adult life long after their time on-campus.
Obstacles of Managing Money on Campus
Although the benefits may outstrip the challenges, students will have unique difficulties when it comes to trying to manage their finances. Understanding the challenges helps to consider your planning.
1. Limited Income
Most students draw their pay-checks from part-time work, scholarships, or rely on support from family. The fluctuation of income makes it difficult to keep up with expenses, even when students are trying to be responsible manage their money. The lack of predictability, such as unexpected medical expenses or course fees, can add additional financial stress to the already tight student budgets and force decisions about what is necessary in their budget and what type of discretionary spending is possible.
2. Peer Pressure and Lifestyle Expectations
Campus culture often pushes a lot of socializing, new clothes and expectations to observe or fit in with peer groups. Additionally, students may feel totally pressured that they have to spend money to ‘keep up’ with the demands to feel socially normal, or ‘part of the group’, leading to being overbudget and incurring debt. Balancing a social life with accountable or thoughtful money management does take either discipline or being strong enough to go against the greater common crowd because.
3. Impulse Buying
With online shopping, campus shops, and fast food at everyone’s fingertips, it’s easy for students to slip into impulse buying at every turn. The little costs add up quickly and your budget can be thrown off track. Self-discipline and understanding “needs versus wants” is something a college student will be challenged with continually in an overstimulating environment.
4. Financial Literacy
Many students arrive on campus without a solid history of budgeting, details of credit, or investment. Without the skills at any level of financial literacy, students are likely going to unknowingly make poor financial decisions that will negatively impact their finances now and potentially in the long-term. The knowledge gap could mean losing opportunities to save, misuse of credit cards, or misunderstandings about government issued loans for students.
5. School vs. Budget Management
Students may have to manage school work, part-time work, apply to multiple social requests/engage in social behaviors, and financially managing at once. It can be stressful to juggle everyone and everything, and the reality is, students will abandon one in lieu of others for a myriad of reasons, without even knowing. Even students that are managing their time well can be affected by time issues – for example, time constraint may impact students ability to track spending consistently, budget, or think of a way to curb spending.
In Conclusion
Being a college student while handling decision–making about finances and making money can be overwhelming, yet self–awareness and the ability to self-regulate are necessary when the time arises. When students are mindful to limit impulsive buying on food, unneeded back to school items, social activities, tracking spending or peer pressure, and therefore safeguard their finances, they also employ habits that may benefit them beyond a university setting.
Saving money is not only about self-restriction, rather it is about thinking through spending patterns, valuing the future over the present and short-term wants. Learning these future-oriented financial habits early provides students more than just cash, but also benefits such as independence, skill confidence, and the knowledge to manage funds well.
College is an investment into the future regardless of the course a student takes; current savings equals future opportunities, whether they be in the form of additional schooling, travel, entrepreneurship, or just less stress. By avoiding the issues or traps above, students have the tools in place to have a meaningful college experience while having an awareness for financial decisions. In the end, spending money wisely is not only about deprivation, but it is about living intentionally; expending funds in a way that is in line with the current moment while also giving thought to future opportunities.