Financial literacy is never as cut and dry as the college pamphlets would make it seem. Planning all of your finances months in advance is extremely difficult and being able to adapt to any crazy financial emergency can seem impossible.
I started my freshman year thinking that I would be able to find a job right away and avoid becoming the stereotypical broke college student. It ended up being far more difficult and I didn’t get hired until the end of October. Sadly, because I had spent almost two months living off of my savings, I was already pinching pennies and struggling to pay bills.
The best thing to happen to my bank account was the start of winter break. I was able to work full time and start reinvesting in my savings. If you are able, work during your breaks. Take on as many hours as possible and keep your expenses to a minimum. Allowing yourself to save money will help you when your engine cracks or you spill orange juice on your laptop. It will make it so you don’t have to choose between eating one day and paying your bills.
By the time I got back to DU in January, I had saved up enough to cover my first tuition payment of the winter quarter. This being said, I still struggled to make payments throughout the quarter.
While I have some scholarships, I still had to take out a hefty loan (on which I make monthly payments) to make sure I could attend DU. I made the mistake of paying above my minimum and by the end of the second quarter, I was once again dirt broke.
Make sure to keep a close eye on your bills. Track when they come in and when they are due. Try to pay these bills as soon as they come in so you aren’t tempted to spend the money somewhere else. Also, always make sure to keep money in your savings, and don’t spend more than your minimum if you can’t cover all of your bills for the next month without tapping into that account.
Finally right around March of last year, I finally found out one of the reasons I couldn’t make ends meet. It turns out I had filled out my financial aid paperwork incorrectly and it was costing me more than eight thousand dollars a year. I eventually got the issue fixed but it cost me a ton of worry and likely a lot more money than it should have.
My main point is that you should always have a firm grasp on what you are paying for, here at DU. What does your scholarship cover and what exactly are you still paying for? Make sure you understand where your financial aid is coming from and trust me when I say, make sure your financial aid is correct.
Financial planning is something that takes a great deal of practice and even more effort. You will have to learn how to keep track of your expenses and your income, and you will need to be able to save even when you can’t seem to make ends meet. It is tough, but if you give some of these tips, and the tips in the DU pamphlets, a try, you should be able to manage.
