Hey all,

Welcome back to The College Blog! This post is covering smart money choices. When you get to college, you’re considered an adult—you navigate your social, academic, and medical life independently, but you also start to come into your own financially. With college comes, almost always, some level of student loans, and from that, most people who go to college gain debt of some level. And on top of that, you are responsible for, at least junior and senior year, food, clothes, medicine and doctor appointments, and just general upkeep and health of all kinds. It’s important to make smart money choices so you can continue to support yourself, while learning.

Smart Money Choice #1: “Do I want this, or do I need this?”

Whenever you’re in a convenience store with your friends, or perhaps getting supplies for your apartment from Target, there are always going to be eye-catching candies, or some nostalgic item you remember enjoying as a kid—for me, that’s Lego sets. Whenever you find yourself putting such an item in the cart with your standard utilitarian purchases, try and ask yourself if you really need that bag of M&Ms, or if you’re just craving a sugary snack. If the latter is the case—for me, it almost always is—you can always purchase a smaller bag size, and save yourself money.

Smart Money Choice #2: Budgeting

If you are someone who has great self-restraint, making a budget for each week/month/day, or however you divide up your cash, is a great way to save money. The dollar limit is something you set and enforce on yourself, on your own terms. If each month you only give yourself, say, $100 maximum for eating out, perhaps you will only do so during finals week—when all-nighters are the norm, and unfortunately, the dining centers are not 24/7. The rest of your money can be put towards upkeep of your dorm or apartment building, and you’ve saved yourself the stress of spending too much.

Smart Money Choice #3: It’s Okay to Treat Yourself

Remember that you are human. Sometimes, you need a mental health day. We all take one every once in a while. If you need to spend a little extra in order to pick yourself up after a bad test, or de-stress after studying, know that that is okay. You are the arbiter of your own actions. As I said, the rules you enforce on yourself, you enforce. Just make sure there’s a balance between treating yourself and maintaining financial health.

I’m not saying this to scare you, only to start your financial management off on the right foot. These few tips are for all of you to implement while still under some parental surveillance, so you can form healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

To your success!

Lara Rosenbach

Class of 2024