Creating A Budget That Will Get You Through Unscathed
As all college students know, a college budget is the biggest hurdle they will have to overcome in order to graduate. Most college leavers get into a ton of debt even before they get their first jobs, and the sad fact is sometimes, getting through college without debt is a nearly impossible task.
A university education does not come cheap and if you want a truly fruitful experience, you know that your parents will not be able to cover everything that you need in college. Accept the fact that you will need to shoulder some of the financial responsibilities. Accept that you will need to get a job, if not a string of part time jobs. Be agreeable to a life of scarcity, and try to find ways to make it better for you.
There are two major areas in your budget that you can control so that you can have a good life in college and graduate with decent memories.
One area is your income. Before you get into the university, save as much money as you can. You can start working part time a couple of years before you enter school. You can even take a year off school after high school graduation to have enough money to live comfortably through college. Scholarships and grants are good options and you do not even have to be a genius to be approved for one. Early on, make sure that you are making respectable grades and averages, and that your school’s faculty and administration know you and like you. You may apply for more than one scholarship or grant and your academic and character standing are both vital to your application. Your salary from your student jobs, summer jobs and the likes should all go directly to your savings account. Except for life and death emergencies, do not dip into this savings nest.
Before you get into college, you could also take out a student loan. This has to be clear; this financial aid needs to be repaid. As much as possible, you should get a subsidized government student loan under your name. This type of aid will not accrue interest and your repayments for this would start six months after you graduate. Prepare to work at least one part time job while in college.
The other area of concern is where you are going to spend your money on. Use your student loan for the tuition, you do not have any other choice because this money would go directly to the educational institution anyway. The rest of your money should be carefully divided into the rent, books and other school materials, transport fees, food, communication, and clothes. Hopefully, you have enough grants and salary savings to last through four years, but that is highly unlikely. The trick is to subdivide your savings into the four years and commit to only spending a fourth of your savings per year. Make up the difference by living it cheap and getting a part time job.
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