Lifestyles

Managing Your Money as a College Student

October 4, 2007

By Ashleigh Stricker

Many college students today find themselves in a large amount of debt because of money mistakes made early in their college careers. As a result, many of these students are finding themselves juggling a full-time job and full-time school and still have no money at the end of the week. The question is: How do students balance everything and maybe even have a little extra at the end of the month?

Students at MBU like Jennifer Nolan find balancing work and school to be difficult. “Sometimes, living life is hard when living paycheck to paycheck,” she said. “There are emergencies.” Nolan works 30 plus hours a week at a daycare and attends MBU 12 hours a week.

According to NellieMae.com, a student’s biggest mistake is credit card debt. The average student is more than $5,000 in credit card debt. Limiting credit card spending until a larger chunk is paid off can help with such a problem.

Nolan said: “Don’t go out so much. Do free things like game night or movie night. And don’t buy Coach bags.” Making a budget can also help to prevent things like overdraft charges and unnecessary fees that start adding up at the end of the month. Trying to save during full-time summer jobs or taking on a second job during the summer break can also help to pay off debt. Try to cut back on things such as cable TV or internet service. Most coffee shops offer wireless now, and MBU campus has wireless for students.

Attending college is a choice that should be made with time and care and should further one’s abilities and skills. Students may ask if financial instability now is worth furthering their education. According to Nolan: “I will make more money later than I’m making now. Not having money now, I will benefit from later.”

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