Sometimes we’re in our steak years, and other times we’re in our salad years. We all go through phases when we’re on top of the world and the next round of drinks is on us; but often, to get to that stage, we need to go through some years of budgeting and college poverty. Watching your money during college can help you learn some crucial lessons in financial literacy early in life.
Get a Job
My first piece of advice is for students to get a job while in school, even if it’s just a few hours a week waiting tables. During my four years in college, I’ve had over 10 jobs and internships, often more than one at the same time. Keeping a relatively steady job is important for a few reasons: (1) The extra flow of income is pretty nice; (2) you often become good friends with your coworkers; (3) you can get a great letter of recommendation from your boss when you leave; (4) employers love to see work experience on a resume. Holding a job in college tells employers that you have good time management, among other valuable skills. So, even if your part-time job seems irrelevant to your dream job, you are acquiring more transferable skills than you think – you can stretch almost any job into an opportunity to build customer service, sales, financial, management, marketing, and conflict resolution skills.
Learn to Cook
One of the biggest expenses for college students is going out to eat. I’m not suggesting you need to be Top Chef-worthy in your culinary skills, but learn a few low cost, easy to make, and easy to store dishes. In dorms, cooking is almost impossible, so you need to get creative with your microwave. While ramen may seem like the holy grail of budget eating, remember that fruits and vegetables take almost no preparation and store well. I didn’t live with a real kitchen until my junior year, during which I invented “Chicken à la Kelli,” the height of cooking sophistication. I would take frozen chicken breasts, put a few in ziplock bags with a squirt of ranch dressing, let them defrost, and bake them for around 40 minutes. Voilà! Two ingredients and dinner is served. As I got more adventurous, I would add pasta and broccoli and maybe some cheese or sauce. If you are as lost in the kitchen as I was, invite some friends over for a potluck and ask them to teach you their signature low budget wonder.
Watch Your Beer Budget
Another big expense that tends to sneak up on college kids is the cost of alcohol. Assuming you’re 21, my recommendation is that you avoid buying drinks at clubs when you can. You can buy a bottle of liquor and have a few pre-party drinks; even if you don’t have a DD for the night, splitting a cab will still be cheaper than getting drinks at the bar. It’s also not the best idea for your wallet or your body to be going out every night – keep it to one or two nights a week and use that extra money to get a massage after all that dancing!
My Thoughts on Cash
Personally, I avoid using cash whenever possible. I think that in the year 2012 we shouldn’t need to use cash anymore. Multiple bills can get bulky, and I always feel uncomfortable with a lot of cash. If you lose it, it’s gone forever. It can rip and get wet. But there’s an important psychological effect to using cash – when you physically hand over money and realize that you have less now than you did before, it helps you understand the value of money and the weight of your purchase. So, if you have a problem keeping track of where your money goes, try using cash for a few weeks to buy everything and see if it helps you realize how much you are spending and on what. Ideally, if you have a smart phone, set up mobile banking for your debit card and check your account while you wait in the check out line. I think this has the same effect as using cash, but is much safer. Mint.com is a really great website I use to track all my accounts and purchases. Each month, you can get reports detailing what you spend your money on, and you can even get text and email alerts when your account falls below a certain amount.
Most of us will be in our salad years during college, but regardless of if you’re making bank or considering robbing one, if you follow these simple tips you’ll be in your steak years sooner than you think!
The Real World: College 