Money On My Mind

Man, I wish I had a money tree growing in my backyard! 

Being a college student is not cheap!

Wells Fargo believes that the expenses of the average college student are:

• $9,047: Room and Board (dorm or apartment costs, water, electricity/gas, cable, Internet, phone, and/or food)
• $1,137: Books and Supplies (books, school supplies, lab fees, and/or a computer)
• $1,989: Personal Expenses (clothing, laundry, toiletries, haircuts, and entertainment)
• $1,073: Transportation (vehicle fees, parking, gas, maintenance, and travel costs)
• Variable: Miscellaneous (insurance premiums,monthly cell phone bills, or health expenses not covered by insurance, such as office visits, treatment, and/or prescriptions)

So the average student spends an additional $13,246 (AT THE VERY LEAST) plus the cost of tuition, which is already high enough!

And have you thought about what students who pay for their own bills must go through on a monthly bases?

College is one of those times when you are really tempted to splurge (i.e. going out to eat daily, shopping all the time, having lots of extra curricular activities, etc.), yet you shouldn’t (financially speaking)…but you do anyway.

Money management is one of those essential life lessons that we must begin to practice starting NOW because once we become “full-fledged” adults, we won’t have anyone to fall back on when we make poor financial decisions.

Ways to lessen spending and actually conserve money include: 

• Cooking instead of eating out
• Renting textbooks instead of buying them
• Carpooling to save on gas
• Only have a limited amount of money in your wallet, so that you aren't tempted to spend your life savings at the mall 

Utilizing these tips will definitely keep money off your mind.

“To know yourself, you must first sacrifice the illusion that already you do.” 
― Vironika Tugaleva