awilliams@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — Many college students are living on their own for the first time and figuring out how to pay for an apartment, food and some clothes to show up to class in.
These first-time budgeters do not have to fall into the trap of credit card debt and searching the couch cushions for enough change to buy a McDonald’s value meal.
With a little planning and thought into their expenses, students can get through their college days with enough cash and build good budgeting habits for later years, said Barbara Cooper, EIU Health Education Resource Center Financial Health Education Coordinator.
The biggest mistake most college students make is the overuse and dependence on credit cards.
Most students will be offered a credit card during their first year in college and they will be excited about the credit limit they given to them by the credit card company, Cooper said.
However, the debt on a credit card can add up quickly and soon students have more debt than they can afford.
“It can become a continuous cycle,” Cooper said.
Sometimes parents will pay off their students credit card debt in an effort to bail them out, however, this leads to continued bad spending habits when students think they can spend what they want without consequences.
The best way for students to cut down on their credit card debt or any kind of spending is to take a serious look at their wants versus needs.
When a student comes in to the Health Education Resource Center for help with their financial situation, Cooper said one of the first activities she has them do is to start tracking how their money is being spent.
Cooper will give the students a worksheet to track their spending over three days to see if their are any extra costs that are stacking up.
People can be surprised at how quickly the little items they purchase regularly are costing them in the long run, even a few sodas and a candy bar out of the vending machine each day can add up at the end of the month.
Cooper said she helps students look at how to cut down on those extra costs and keep their costs more on their needs.
Weekend expenditures like going to the bars, eating out or buying cigarettes can be expensive habits for students on a tight budget.
Even treating oneself to a nice dinner after a hard test can start a bad habit, Cooper said.
“Emotional buying is something students forget they may be doing,” she said.
For the daily living, Cooper has some recommendations for how students can pinch pennies, beginning with their living quarters.
Students have to be realistic to what they can afford in an apartment, and share the cost with roommates if at all possible.
To cut down on monthly bills, students should try to conserve water and energy and avoid cable packages that includes services they don’t really need.
As gas prices soar, students need to think about consolidating errands as much as possible and finding someone to carpool with when returning to their hometown for the weekend.
People should always go to the grocery store while keeping in mind how much they are willing to spend and stick to that amount.
By starting these good budgeting habits now, students will be prepared for when they enter the job market and start getting their first real paychecks.
Once someone gets their first job out of college, the temptation is there to buy a new car or a new house, but this isn’t the best way to get started out.
“A lot of times students get out of college thinking they can have all of what their parents have, when it took their parents years to obtain all of those things,” Cooper said.
The wiser step to take is to start thinking about the future and saving for retirement as early as possible, she said.
“We have to be careful,” Cooper said. “We have to be comfortable in our futures.”
For more information on the Health Education Resource Center’s financial programs go to www.eiu.edu/~herc/programs/financial.php.
Contact Amber Williams at awilliams@jg-tc.com or 238-6858.
Source: http://www.jg-tc.com