Written by Kate Schoen
As a college student during these rough Coronavirus times, many would believe, “what’s the point of saving money if we can’t go out? What’s the point of budgeting if I have no where to spend my money on the weekends?” Well, there is so much more to saving money and budgeting than you think, for one, consider your future. Budgeting your money is important as a young college student because it can prepare you for the future more than you could ever imagine. Consider the following….rent for a house or an apartment, food and grocery expenses, going out money, clothes expenses, and so on…the future is right around the corner for us college students.
Clocked In I am going to share with you what it is like to work for your money. Ever since I was 16 years old, I had a steady job during high school along with every summer. Not only did it teach me many life skills such as leadership, communication, problem solving, and teamwork, but it also taught me the value of money. Many say, “money buys you happiness,” but I believe money actually teaches you life experiences. Working for money teaches you the value of each dollar you earn, along with the value of working hard. With work, comes the idea that you can just spend all your money on all the things you have ever wanted. When I first started working, I was blowing my money on an Apple Watch and clothes every week. Soon I learned that I needed to budget my money if I wanted to be successful later in life. My tips for you are to budget your money in sections. For example, I put my money into three different sections: spending money, savings, and rent/grocery expenses. By budgeting your money into useful sections, you learn the value of each dollar you earn at work. Budgeting money is so important as it teaches you the life skills of hard work and saving for the future.
Clocked Out As all of us are college students, we absolutely love to spend money, at least I know I do. After a long day of work, the first thing I think of is food. What fancy restaurant can I go to after working my butt off all day? What gas station can I go to to get soda and candy? What online store can I go to to buy the newest stylish trends? For me, I realized that I was blowing through money the first few weeks of working, and I had barely any money for spending money in college when I would go out. I knew I had to make sacrifices. If you want to have the time of your life in college, knowing you have a steady bank account, then I would suggest budgeting for you. I would go out on the weekends and spend loads of money at different restaurants and bars, but soon I realized that if I did not budget how much I had each weekend then I would have no money left. When I am off the job, I calculate how much money I can use for fun stuff for me. It is super easy and one of the most helpful techniques to have. For example, you make $300 one week. Take about $75 of that earnings for spending money on the weekends. And you still have $225 in your savings. Budgeting and managing my money was one of the most helpful tools I have ever used to make sure I have a steady bank account at all times in college. You never want to be that college student that can’t go out because you’re out of money. Budget your money for a successful, fun college career, I promise it will help in the long run.