Heading off to college?
We have some tips to help you make the best money moves your first year.
Advice Id Give My College Freshman Self
College kids are busy.
Robertson applied for scholarships when she was in high school, but she also wishes she knew to apply for them while in college. The side-by-side portraits of Robertson are from freshmen year, left, and from now. Photo courtesy of Melanie Jean Robertson
Probably not as good as youd like.
It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.
But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?
Ask one of these companies to help…
1.
What I found was that a teacher will list a textbook, but youll never touch it.
Wait a week, unless its clear you need it the first day.
When Youre in College
Remember waaay back in high school and all the time you spent applying for scholarships?
Glad thats finished, right?
But wait: Theres more scholarship money to be had.
I just wish I had known about it a little bit sooner, she said.
I could have been applying for scholarships right from the get-go.
Budgets Are Your Friends!
Budgetingdoesnt need to be overly complicated just remember to include the essentials, Poole noted.
If you have a job, always budget for gas, she said.
It will help so much in the long run.
And put aside at least some for an emergency fund especially this year.
I wish I had planned a little bit of a budget for then.
Use One of Your Electives to Take a Financial Literacy Course
We get it.
Beach volleyball probably sounds like a lot more fun than financial literacy when youre choosing freshman year electives.
(Hes also the younger brother of The Penny Hoarders Email Content Writer Grace Schweizer.)
Thats something I wish I had thought of in my freshman year.
Weve [covered] credit cards, credit scores, student loans, she said.
It provides the basic knowledge you better know as a college student.
I had never had that large of an amount of money before in my life, she said.
Ill be fine, Ill get more.
I spent all of my refund, and I really wish I had saved it.
It turns out, college and life gets more expensive after you move off campus.
I really wish I had saved at least some of that to provide a little bit of cushion.
It could have helped me buy one more text book or helped me buy more clothes for interviews.
But my freshman year self definitely would not have listened to that advice.
Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a staff writer/editor at The Penny Hoarder.
Readher bio and other work here, then catch her on Twitter @TiffanyWendeln.
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
