Every parent tells you this; the best and smartest way for you to succeed in life is to get a proper college education. What they do not tell you though, is that college is also the best and fastest way for you to get into debt. With the many new opportunities for you to get into the practice of borrowing (e.g. student credit cards, student loans, etc.), it would be rare for a college graduate not to be already burdened with a heavy ton of debt even before s/he finds a real job.

However, college is also the time that you get to practice your financial skills, or develop them if you have not yet done so. This is because you are more or less independent from your parents, especially if you plan on living in the campus or somewhere near there. Also, you will be managing your own cash flow, budgeting, and most likely trying to earn extra cash to help you get by. To further assist you in maintaining a decent cash flow while you are still in school, here are some tips on surviving college on your own.

1. Do not buy a new car. Or better yet, do not buy a car at all. If you think that the only expense of having a car is gassing it up, you are quite wrong. Owning a car means you have to save some money for repairs and maintenance, buying insurance, and getting to be tasked as the new school bus of your entire college buddies community. If you live inside campus, you will probably not need a car. If you live off campus or if you still live at home and it is more practical that you drive your own vehicle then get a used car. A new car, aside from the enormous amount of cash you would need, would only depreciate in value and by the time you are ready to sell it, it would have already depreciated 80% in value. Just make sure that the second hand vehicle you buy would not be considered junk as that might mean more financial trouble.

2. You do not need a “neat” apartment. If you are living off campus, start bright and early when you look for it. There’s a good chance that all the best deals will be taken a couple of months before school term starts. Check for the nearest place that you can find, and maybe find a roommate that could split costs with you. Try not to be so dreamy and fantasize about parties that you can host. As long as the space is ample enough for you to sleep, eat, and study in, then that would be just fine.

3. Do not get more credit cards than you can afford. Remember that you have limited income. You do not have a stable job, and your allowance from your parents or from your part time employment would probably not even cover your basic need so three or four credit cards will not be a good idea.

See: Student credit card

Tags: college student credit cards, student cards, student credit cards

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 16th, 2008 at 9:24 pm and is filed under Allowance, Budget, Student Finances. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.