Student's guide to the financial universe

Student living is brutal when you have to take care of your own expenses. There are way too many bills when you don’t have the experience of paying for everything by yourself. But it just takes practice and tips- lots of tips.

Food:
Students constantly have potlucks and food events put on by the university. You don’t always have to go out to a restaurant to get a chimichanga or a slice of pizza. Keep looking at the events boards around campus and the light posts that have thousands of posters on them. You can sometimes find gold on those posters, or at least find a decent concert to go to. Either way, it’s a win.
If you do go out, avoid eating at restaurants around campus. They’ll gouge you more than anyone. Walk a few blocks away and the price will drop significantly.
Stock up on cereal. You can never go wrong with carbs coated in sugar. It’s cheap, takes forever to go bad, and you can eat it as a snack or a meal. Just be warned about scurvy.

Credit Cards:
If you can’t pay for it every month, don’t use it. The interest rate that you’re paying is worse than almost any loan that you can get, and if you don’t make payments regularly and on time, your credit rating will take the hit. You might not care about your credit right now, but you will as soon as you’re out of school.
Plan way ahead for what you’re going to use your card for. I use my credit card every month to for my cell phone only. And e-bay, but only when I really need metal lunch boxes with Chewbacca or Han Solo on them.

Stash $20 in your wallet for emergencies. Getting stranded can be brutal, and $20 is a great start for getting a meal or a cab home. And if you lose your wallet, you won’t cry yourself to sleep over that much cash. Using credit cards in emergencies is dangerous because you’ll be tempted to pay more than you have to. Avoid charging anything when you’re panicked; it’s easier to see how much you have to spare when you’re paying cash. If you have a flat tire, you don’t need to buy platinum rims, although they would be a nice touch.

Scholarships:
Get as many as you can and apply for everything. I have friends who are getting science degrees on welding scholarships because they were the only ones who applied. Studying and applying for scholarships can pay better than most part-time jobs, and you get to do it on your own time.

If your marks aren’t as high as you would like, wait until the middle of the term and then start looking for scholarships. The academic ones are given out at the beginning and end of the terms, and the artistic ones are in the middle. You can get a lot of cash by writing essays on how hard it is to be a student.

Cash in on your hobbies. There are a lot of foundations out there that would love to give you money if you show a little interest in the arts, like drawing and singing. You can do what you love and pay for your schooling and have enough money left over to save up for your big purchases when you get out of school.

James

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