The Arrival Guide

The end of summer signifies a couple of things: the end to long afternoons by the pool and trips to the ice cream stand. It also signifies something else to many young adults in college: the start of a new school year. Gone are the days of sleeping in your own, familiar bed, and the beginning of living on your own for a semester. While I find the "freedom" to be refreshing, my finances seem to get tougher to manage. I'm sure that I'm not the only one on a stricter budget as we head back to school, but I've found that following a few rules allows me to have enough money to live on, and sometimes I even have a little left over.

Maybe this first one is a little obvious, but it's also easier said than done. Chances are that you have a way to eat for "free." Whether it is an amount of money put on a cafeteria card, or being a part of a Greek organization, where they serve meals at the house, you have a more affordable alternative to going out to eat every meal. While it is not actually free, the prepaid cafeteria card or the dues your pay to a Greek organization before hand, cover your meals for the semester. Most college cafeterias don't just put slop on your plate either. Subway, Chick-Fil-A, and Pizza Hut have found their way into collegiate cafeterias. It is a good idea to eat at those places as much as possible, conserving the maximum amount of money.

Your education is very important, and maintaining the highest GPA possible to get a great job is the purpose of getting a college degree, but you may want to consider not buying a book for every class. This may not be the most popular advice that you'll ever get, but hear me out. Unless you're a freshman at a school where you don't know a soul, and don't have access to the internet, chances are that you can find a friend that has taken the class you're about to take. Even if you don't, there are websites where past students have critiqued the class. Find out if the book was ever used. Does your professor traditionally assign activities out of the book? Are there passages that are important to read from it? For English/Literature-type classes where a lot of reading from the book takes place, if the selections are published, most of them can be found on the internet, making the book not as important. I'm not telling you to never buy a book, because many times they are required to be able to make a high grade in the class, but make sure that you are going to use it before you spend your money. It's not like buying a college book is like checking one out from the library or renting one from Barnes & Noble. They get quite expensive.

Some students have a generous trust fund, or unrestricted access to their millionaire dad's credit card. Good for them. But most of us either have a strict allowance or a job to help pay for expenses. Create a budget for things like groceries, books and toiletries, but also for "fun¬ money." Yes it is a good idea to "eat for free" as much as possible, but allotting yourself a minimal amount of money to spend on you could prevent a huge spending endeavor. You could spend it on anything from going out to eat, a movie with your friends, clothes to concert tickets. After all, what would college be without a little fun?

College is a very important time in your life. There are a lot of things that occupy your time and brainpower already. Stressing over your finances should not be a concern. Look at the average amount of money that you have coming in every week, and look at your expenses. With the proper amount of analysis and consideration, creating a budget that is right for you will be easy and comforting.

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