Money Management for College Students

In recent times, the mere process of getting admission in a reputed college has proven to be daunting on the psyche and pockets of many families involving the students. In such a case, it becomes even more daunting when the child has to reside in a different city to attend the institution while surviving on personal expenses. Unless carefully managed, the money arriving through parents and family may well end in a few days, leaving the students in an uncomfortable position for the rest of the month with respect to personal finance.

Here are a few tips for college-going students to maximise their pocket income to last the whole month while sustaining themselves on a limited stipend from the family.

1. Determination of Essential and Non-Essential

The basic point of confusion among the students is the decision of classifying an expense as essential or non-essential. This is especially applicable to items that might seem a necessity due to peer pressure but actually are a luxury for the students. This requires a strong will and a keen sense of observation for classifying which objects augment the stay at the college and which objects can be put off for buying till a later stage.

2. Saving Money on Supplies

It is easy to save money while in college, especially if one lives on the campus premises. This requires a good amount of scouting for the sources of cheaper amenities such as a store selling used books. Additionally, technology can also be used to augment the savings by downloading the books from the internet rather than buying them in hardback or paperback. For office supplies, the old strategy of buying them in bulk applies to college as well, effectively saving money in the long term.

3. Sharing Expenses with Friend/Roommate

The adage – ‘Sharing is Caring’ –can be modified to ‘Sharing is Saving’ in the case of college-bound students.This is especially advantageous to students bunking up in a dorm that enables living in close quarters with other students. Daily expenses such as groceries and furnishings can be shared between the inmates of a dorm, saving the students quite a good bit of money.

4. A Meal Plan Subscription

A plan that ensures the constant delivery of meals and snacks to the doorstep of the students is much more desirable than searching cheap eating joints on a daily basis. A subscription to one such meal plan saves up on a considerable amount of money and time that can be utilised in more productive purposes.

5. A Check on Impulse Spending

The biggest source of a financial drain for the students is their impulsive spending on a few luxuries that are avoidable. For combating this vice, strong will-power is needed along with a good sense of classification of expenses between essential and non-essential expenses. It is better to skive off on a few luxuries and spend money on essential items for everyday living.These are a few strategies that can be employed by college-bound students to stretch their monthly stipend from their families. Students are highly encouraged to apply these tips in their lives to see their financial stability increased on a limited budget.