Why learning money-management skills is essential
Money does you little good if you are constantly running out of it
College consists of constant debating while figuring out how to afford everything you need without taking out more loans. You are constantly asking yourself: Do you really need this? Is the price worth it? Am I just spending money to fit in with my friends?
The habit of constantly buying non-necessities on a weekly basis can eventually leave you in sticky situations wherein you can no longer afford to live on your own or even feed yourself.
Adults should be putting a priority on teaching the youth about managing their money and spending before getting to college. It is important that students, especially those who don’t rely on their parents for money, understand the consequences of spending ridiculously before becoming an adult and learning to spend on their own in college.
Even for those students who get all their money handed to them, they should know how to budget money. Eventually, the day will come when they will have to make money on their own and they need to gain these skills eventually.
A personal recommendation to others out there is to get a job as soon as possible. Even working a few hours a week can be extremely beneficial. Not only will working provide you money to spend, but it will teach you how to save that money and manage it for the future. A good sign that you’re finally getting a good grasp on spending money is being able to afford your own car.
If you are working hard enough to take out your first loan and pay it back successfully, you also may be on the right track. As you get older you will receive higher-paying jobs with more hours. This will be beneficial, but without a baseline understanding of spending, you may still find yourself without the money needed to be independent.
Freshman year is the perfect time to figure everything out. You are typically living in the residence halls and eating from a meal plan. Even though you may not be feeling the pains of being tight on money, your living on campus could mean you are accumulating loan debt.
Even as a freshman, it is important to begin working harder than ever to make sure you can afford rent, monthly fees, food supplies as well as those fun necessities in life for years to come.
If you are not taught early in life or typically have little care for the future, you will more than likely be in a very difficult situation in the future. Living in the moment is fun, but it isn’t always the best lifestyle. Instead, thinking ahead and figuring out your priorities is always the best option.