$tudent fund$
Rent, utilities, cell phones, and car payments are just a few of the bills that Utah State University students pay every month. Often, it can be hard to make ends meet, but maybe skipping a Saturday morning breakfast at Angie’s or eating Top Ramen every meal can help make the money stretch a bit more.
Cutting coupons and barely making ends meet seems like an essential part of any college student’s college days. Managing money becomes second nature for anyone not fully supported by their parents. It becomes a part of college life students say.
“My freshman year, I lived off of macaroni and cheese,” said Karilyn Flake, a junior from Payson, Ariz., dual majoring in elementary education and special education. “I barely had enough money for school, and that was it.”
There are roughly 2,000 freshmen on the USU campus this semester. Some freshmen have some background in financial planning, but many are still left in the dark.
According to the USAA Fresh-man Finance 101 survey, 79 percent of college freshmen surveyed have not talked about a budget for discretionary expenses with anyone.
“To put a budget together, teens should have ‘the talk’ with their parents about how much college costs, including discretionary spending, how much has been saved and what parents and teens will do to cover the shortfall,” June Walbert, certified financial planner for the USAA a nonprofit finacial planning orginization based in Texas said in a press release.
“This discussion is very important because, according to the survey, parents and teens estimate they will have a combined median debt of more than $15,000 upon graduation,” she said.
Molly Barker, a freshman from Salt Lake City majoring in exercise science, said she wishes she knew how to manage money better. “I always thought budgeting was for parents and accountants, but now that I’m at college I have had to learn how to manage my money,” she said.
Walbert said freshmen aren’t the only culprits of poor spending habits. Students are spending their money on just about everything from shopping sprees at American Eagle Outfitters to dinner at Taco Bell, she said.
“Students cite college costs as the most challenging aspect of college, but that won’t stop them from splurging. Nearly one in 10 students plans to spend $500 or more per month on non-school related items, such as movies, music, dates, fast food and clothes,” Walbert said.
Freshman or not, managing money can be a hard thing to do. Walbert recommends that freshmen only have one credit card with a low spending limit of $500. She also suggested paying off the balance of the credit card in full each month to avoid high monthly payments.
“After two and a half years of college, I think I’m safe to say I know how to manage money,” Flake said. “But who knows where I would be if it weren’t for Top Ramen.”
-alexisann@cc.usu.edu