Comments on: Financial Tips for Students Entering College

By: qixx

qixx — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 05:33:47 +0000

I agree with get the degree as quick as possible. But i’d say know if that higher GPA will be valuable to you down the road. Lear the material as best you can. Don’t worry about the GPA unless you plan to move on to another school program after graduation (doctor, lawyer, etc). I’ve not had anywhere care about my GPA after graduation.

By: DonnaFreedman

DonnaFreedman — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:20:01 +0000

Although it’s harder to get a credit card these days, older students might still be able to get them. I think it’s a good idea to HAVE a card, but not to use it too much.
I would urge students to buy things they need anyway — cold medicine, weekly groceries, textbooks — with the card and PAY IT IN FULL as soon as the bill shows up. Then put the card somewhere safe; don’t carry it with you, ever, unless you’re on a specific errand to pick up cold medicine.
It’s great for you to have a credit history. It’s great for the card companies for you to carry a balance. Your choice.

By: World of Finance

World of Finance — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 03:54:27 +0000

Nice article. I indirectly learned about personal finance from my mom early on in life. Hence, I never wanted a credit card bc I don’t buy things unless I have the money. This being said, I didn’t sign up for a credit card during college, when they are very easy to get. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I finally decided I should get a credit card just to build credit (of course I would pay it off at the end of each month not to incur any interest expense). Being older with no credit, not bad credit or anything – just no credit – made it hard to get a credit card at this time. I had to start with a secured credit card to prove myself to the bank, which I did, before I could apply for a real credit card with an unsecured balance. For this reason, I would have gotten a credit card in college. :P But it’s not a good idea for most.

Don’t worry about the What-ifs, I think it’s great that you learned about personal finance through certain experiences (key – you learned from it) and never looked back. :) Congrats on your site!

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:45:46 +0000

How about don’t slack off and get your degree as quickly and with the highest GPA possible.

By: Elle Martinez

Elle Martinez — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:54:18 +0000

Great job with sharing valuable tips. I wish I opened the Roth IRA – I could’ve improved my retirement balance!

By: Cejay

Cejay — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:01:16 +0000

Great post. I wil second the advice about credit cards. They are marketed to the students so much nowdays. I went to college as a nontraditional student and had to pay for my education myself. I know that I studied harded and tried to get more out of the classes. I also like that you mentioned to be careful with part time work. My brother in law is currently attending school on a program that pays to retrain him in another field. He does not work but the state does give him a check that should be okay with budgeting. My sister wants him to work at the same time and I am always telling her to let him go to school. It is hard work in and of itself. Thanks for backing me up Flexo.

By: Miss T @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter

Miss T @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:08:15 +0000

I would also add look after your health. So many people end up just letting themselves go in college that when they graduate they end up being really unhealthy and even have serious medical problems. Medical problems cost money so it is best to look after yourself and prevent them. Plus, you want to actually be able to live your life once you are done your degree right?!

By: shellye

shellye — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:33:47 +0000

Great post – I stayed close to home for three of my four years in college, with my parents paying for tuition, room and board. I always had a job to pay for extras during those years, but I managed to join a couple of clubs and have a social life. However, when I graduated, I was in debt about $8k – not from student loan debt, but from CREDIT CARDS. Ugh. Even though I got a job immediately after graduation, I had hundreds of dollars in credit card payments to make every month.

My oldest is starting her second year of college and we’ve manage to pay for it with some grants and scholarships she’s earned on her own, plus help from us. I’ve also shown her the beauty of couponing and how she can at least save on food and other items in order to have money to blow on clothes, football games, movies and whatever. Her friends tease her about using coupons when she goes grocery shopping (I clip the ones she would use from my paper at home and mail them to her), but she’s laughing all the way to the bank. I’m proud of her.

My parting advice to her last year was: STAY AWAY FROM CREDIT CARDS! It’s not worth the t-shirt or water bottle. (Although I believe CC companies can’t do that anymore.)

By: Ceecee

Ceecee — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:09:30 +0000

Most students today may find this archaic, but it helped me that I did not have a car until senior year. Not only because of the expenses of insurance and gas, but when you have wheels you go out and find much more to spend money on. I walked everywhere(never needed to go to the gym) and never felt deprived. When I got the car, I traveled farther to bigger cities and found more ways to spend money. In retrospect, I am glad that I only had the car for one year of college.

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:06:40 +0000

What a resourceful post! To stop using my credit card, I put it safely in a drawer and didn’t take it out until it was absolutely necessary. I also stopped using brand name prdoucts and started using more generic products. You’d be surprised as to how much money you save. I also got off my contract phone plan. I wasn’t using all the minutes so I was wasting money every month. I did some research and ended up buying a pay as you go Net10 phone. Even though it’s not as glamorous as the iPhone, it gets the job done. I can make calls and send texts. With my $30 phone, I got 300 minutes free. I also just pay for the minutes that I want. These tips should work wonders for students on a budget.

By: AndyS

AndyS — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:43:44 +0000

A very comprehensive post here and great pointers for students starting on the final part of their journey to “adulthood”. I did a recent post on this topic as well and I would say you need to be cautious with part time work. Extra money is great while at college, and necessary in some cases, but don’t forget why you are here – to learn! When I was in college (or university as I called it) I knew a class mate who had 3 part time jobs (2 night jobs and one daytime retail role). This was great for his cash flow and he was always the biggest spender of the group. It also made him popular with others who would count on him for a round of drinks whenever he was at the bar. However, he sacrificed valuable study time for working (and maintaining an active social life) which meant he fell behind in his studies, including missed classes. He finally got back on track when he had to repeat and pay again for the entire semester, but still graduated a year after the rest of us. In financial terms, the opportunity cost of graduating a year later is equivalent to one year of salary from a full time job and the additional tuition costs – far more than most part time jobs are worth. Also you will be one year behind your peers in experience and top employers prefer not to hire students with poor grades. Money from part time work is great in the short term, but don’t over do working while at college because you could be sacrificing much more in the bigger scheme of things.

I like the Roth IRA option, but would be cautious of entering it unless you have enough free cash flow to last through college. Credit cards are dangerous, but do provide a lot of cash flow flexibility if used properly.

By: Mike L

Mike L — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:41:14 +0000

Good post as always! I, too, wish that I stayed more within my means during college on the credit card side.

One point that I have to disagree with is “not to let work interfere with your studies.” I’m not trying to pat myself on the back, but I worked full time — the whole time — while going to school full-time and I have to tell you, its the best move that I could have made. Upon graduation, when most of my fellow graduates had to start in the low 30′s because of lack of experience, I was running the accounting department that I had worked in during the years at school. I think as Bachelor degrees become more and more prevalent, experience will count for a whole lot more down the road, so knock out 2 birds with 1 stone and try to work in a job that you can grow with AFTER college (not at Krispy Kremes {not that there’s anything wrong with that})!

By: Hondo

Hondo — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:46:14 +0000

Great post. I was “fortunate” to pay my own way through college. Of course Uncle Sam helped me with Stafford loans but I will always remember what my parents told me before I left my hometown for college. They said, “Hey have a good time. If you want to stay there for 6 or 7 years go for it. You’ll have a blast but remember you’ll be paying for it.” I was out in 4 years on the dot! As painful as this was, it taught me some financial responsibility. I also worked throughout my whole college career. If I had done anything different I would have followed your advice on avoiding credit cards. I signed up for every little $500 limit card I could get my hands on. While I always made my payments, I spent more than I needed to while making my meager part-time job wages.

By: cherryblossom

cherryblossom — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:34:16 +0000

One thing I found is that going to school in larger city makes it easier to find part time jobs, internships, and better paying jobs.
In smaller cities the student body makes up a significant part of the population and can completely dilute the job market.

By: Amber Jones

Amber Jones — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:17:27 +0000

This is a great read. I especially like the part about knowing who pays for your college. It makes sense to try even harder when it’s someone else footing the bill!!