"Don't spend more than you earn."
Have you ever heard that? This phrase is thrown around all the time and it is ringing true more and more in our society today. It is a hard habit to break when you become a college student.
People, college students to be specific, are choosing to spend far more than they earn to put the cherry on top of their school tuition sundae of debt. An easy way to avoid this dilemma is to prepare or budget for something you want.
If you're considering purchasing something with a bigger price tag think about ways you can save up for it. Take a certain amount out of your paycheck every week make that purchase a positive one. When you save up for it, you won't feel guilty and you will probably feel even better about your purchase.
Get this...when you don't spend more than you earn you start saving money! It's quite simple, but a hard habit to begin.
Most students today would not be in the significant amount of debt they are in if they chose to spend LESS than they make.
It's a simple rule to follow that could change that sundae to a "guilt-free" one.
I love this picture. It defines the financial situation of college students. I like the comparison you've made with a sundae. The guilt of eating something bad for you is compared to the guilt of overspending. Nice job! Oh, do you think there is a budget calculator for college students?
ReplyDeleteI am glad you enjoyed the post! If I am reading your comment question correctly--I do believe there is a bugdet calculator for college students. While it's almost inevitable that we will be in some type of debt we can begin a plan to becoming debt-free for when we gradute we have already begun a plan. Essentially, after we make these tips a habit you can become your own budget calculator.
DeleteThis is such an important topic to discuss. It may seem like it’s obvious but it can in reality be pretty difficult for some people to do. This is something that I have had to work on a lot when I entered college. When I was in high school all of the money that I made I could just spend on whatever I wanted; I did not have any bills to pay. So, when I entered college I found that I could not do that, I actually needed to save money. This was pretty hard for me to do. I think it took me a year to really learn to save my money! Old habits are hard to break.
ReplyDeleteI was in a very similar situation as you were. It is extremely difficult to get out of habit of what your used to doing essentially our whole lives. Growing up we all received some money or things we needed from our parents/guardians and that basically became a "habit" of it's own. When we become independent college students we have to form a whole new habit and that is really difficult with our busy schedules. I am so glad to hear you have found a way to save your money, it's so important!
ReplyDeleteI love this blog because it is relevant to almost all students all over the country! I know I sometimes have trouble budgeting my money. It can be difficult because sometimes we don't think of the the consequences of our actions and we only do what is easy now. Have you checked out IU Moneysmarts? It's a new program through IU to teach students about financial literacy. http://moneysmarts.iu.edu/
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting subject and I agree with Lowell it is one that relevant to students everywhere. As an almost always broke college student I try to keep my spending to a minimum, especially on large items, and find ways to cope around losing my savings. Although I agree with the recklessness of college spending when looking at the photo, I started to think of other reasons why college students spend so much without little regard to their funds. For instance, in today's technological savvy college environment, one needs to the most up to date technologies in order to stay ahead in school. Or another scenario, perhaps students are just trying to compete with other students they see buying the latest tech gear and are achieving better results in school. While I don't have an iPad or feel the need to have one to better my education, all I'm saying is there are people that feel that way and see it as part of the college experience.
ReplyDeleteI like this. It is definitely uncommon for people to stuggle financially throughout college and spend more than they should, putting them in even more debt when they are done with school.Not Spending more than you earn is a good concept to follow because a lot of people spend their loan money or financial aid on things that arent necessary.
ReplyDeleteLove this post and I kinda feel like this can be applied for all of America in general. Credit card debt is crazy and sorta avoidable. Save when you can and don't spend what you can't support, I wish more students / Americans understood this. It seems we live in a consumerist culture nowadays.
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