There are many costs involved with going to college including tuition, books, housing, entertainment, and food.These costs can quickly add up and make life after college a financial nightmare.
To avoid getting into a sticky situation yourself, here are ten practical money tips for you, the college student.Try some of these tips to lower the amount of debt you end up with, and to help clear your head after graduation.If you are the parent of a college student, send them this list.
1.Be Careful Of Promotions On Campus
There are certain companies and organizations that make money by preying on naive and unsuspecting college students. Some examples of this are credit card companies, loan companies, and employers looking for dirt cheap labor. Just be aware of the people out there hoping to make an easy buck off of you. Regardless of the endorsements, read the fine print.
2.Don't Eat Out All The Time
It may be convenient and tempting to eat out frequently, but it can end up costing you a lot of money. Start keeping track of how many times you eat out every week or month, to see how the costs add up. You might be surprised by how much money you spend on food.
3.Use Your Credit Card For Emergencies Only
With all of the expenses associated with going to college, it can be very easy to rack up a lot of credit card debt. So instead of making poor decisions with your credit card, save it for emergencies only. It is easy to overspend and spend without thinking when you're paying with plastic, but when you pay with cash, things are very different.
4.Commute To School
Living off campus and commuting to school is an option that can help you save a bundle of money. This is especially true if you go to school on an urban campus, where rent can cost a lot of money. The cost of gas, insurance, parking, and maintenance can be far less than paying for rent in many cases.
5.Buy Books Online Before The Semester Starts
Most college students know that buying books on campus can be a big rip off. The profit margins at college and university bookstores can be as high as 50%. The main reason why students buy from these book stores is because of convenience. It's so much easier to get your books on campus and go right to class, but the costs are just too high. If you plan ahead and buy your books online, you can save yourself hundreds of dollars per semester.
6.Consolidate Loans
Do the math and find out if consolidating your school loans will make it easier to pay them off in the future. In many cases, loan consolidation can help simplify and reduce your overall debt and interest payments.
7.Get A Part Time Job
If you have time outside of your academic and social life, consider taking on a part time job to make extra money. Having a part time job will give you some extra cash to pay for the things you need and help you avoid adding more to your debts. Many schools offer work/study programs that pay students tax free.
8.Max Out Financial Aid And Scholarships
Find financial aid and scholarship programs to help pay for your education and other expenses. There is probably a scholarship program for your particular major, ethnicity group, or background. Most of these scholarships require a simple essay and resume and can be well worth the time and effort put into applying for them. The bottom line is, if you're not maxing out the amount of financial aid and scholarships you receive, you're leaving money on the table.
9.Take Advantage Of Student Discounts
Ask around to find out about restaurants and entertainment venues that offer discounts to college students. You can get discounts on meals, movie tickets, concert tickets, and clothing just for having a college ID. If you're going to spend money on these things anyway, you might as well try to get a discount.
10.Study Hard
The best way to save money in college is to make the most of the money you're spending. If you study hard and do well academically, the thousands and thousands of dollars you spent to go to school will have been that much better spent. So do the best you can and make the most of your tuition dollars.
College is expensive and is getting more expensive each year. Most college students are unprepared to face the financial burdens that are required to earn a degree. With these ten tips, you’ll have a better chance of maintaining your financial health throughout college.
上大學涉及的費用很多,包括學費、書、住宿、娛樂還有伙食。這些費用會迅速地疊加起來,并把你的畢業后的生活變成一個“理財地獄”。
這里有10個實用的理財訣竅,讓你避免自己陷入棘手的情況。嘗試這里的一些建議來減少你最終的債務,同時幫助你畢業后還清債款。如果你是大學生的父母,給孩子們看看這些建議。
1、小心校園里的促銷活動
有一些公司和組織通過獵食那些天真的沒有疑心的大學生來賺錢。例如信用卡公司,貸款公司還有尋找廉價勞動力的雇主。要知道外面的這些人只是想從你身上簡簡單單地賺到錢。無視其他羅嗦的協議,先認真看看關于小字體的附屬條款。
2、不要總是在外面吃飯
頻繁地去外面吃飯雖然很方便也很誘人,但是它會吃掉你一大筆錢。開始留意每星期或者每月外出吃飯的次數,看看這耗費了你多少錢。你可能會對你在伙食上的花銷感到驚訝。
3、只在緊急狀況下才使用你的信用卡
加上和上大學相關的所有費用,大量的信用卡債務很容易就會被構架起來。因此,與其根據你的拙劣的決定來使用信用卡,不如省下來應急。當你用信用卡買東西時,很容易透資或者想也不想就把錢花掉,但是如果你用現金付款,情況就不一樣了。
4、通勤上學
住在校外和通勤上學是一個能為你省下一筆錢的選擇。如果你在市區的校園里上學則更是如此,房租就能花掉一大筆錢。在許多情況下,瓦斯、保險、停車和維修的費用可以遠低于支付租金。
5、在開學錢上網買書
很多大學生都知道,在校園里買書就像被洗劫一場。學校里的書店利潤率高達50%。學生在這些買書的主要原因是方便。在校園里買書可以方便地拿了書就直接去上課,但是費用太高了。如果你事先計劃好在網上買書,每學期你可以給自己省下幾百塊的美元。
6、合并貸款
計算并找出,合并你在學校的貸款是否會使得將來更容易還清。在許多情況下,合并貸款能幫助你簡化和減少你的總債務和利息。
7、找一份兼職
如果除了學術和社交活動你還有足夠的時間,考慮從事一份兼職來賺點外快。有一份兼職能給你帶來額外的現金來購買必需品,還可以幫你避免增加更多的債務。許多學校提供給學生免稅的半工讀計劃。
8、最大化財政援助貸款和獎學金
尋找財政援助貸款和獎學金來幫助你的教育和其他方面的開支。很可能會有為你的特殊專業,種族或者背景所提供的獎學金。大部分這種獎學金只需要一篇簡單的論文和一份簡歷,而且你投入其中的時間和努力能獲得相當不錯的回報。如果沒有最大限度地獲得這類財政援助和獎學金,你就等于把它們白白錯過了.
9、利用學生折扣
問問周圍的人了解關于提供大學生優惠的餐廳和娛樂場所。只是因為你有學校的ID你就能在吃飯、電影票、音樂會門票上打折。無論如何,如果你打算在這些方面花錢的話,你還不如嘗試打折。
10、努力學習
在大學省錢的最佳方法是讓你所花的錢價值最大化。如果你努力學習并在學術上最的很好,上學所花的成千上萬塊錢將更有價值。所以,要全力以赴,做到最好,充分利用你的學費。
大學很貴,而且每一年都變得越來越貴。許多大學生沒有準備好面對獲取學位所必須的經濟負擔。根據這10條建議,你將有更好的機會在整個大學期間來保持你的財務健康。