How to Not Be A Broke College Student
I am an undergraduate college student, and something I constantly hear being said (and say myself) is, “I’m so broke.” College is literally expensive in every way imaginable, and naturally, money is a common topic of discussion. I wouldn’t say that we intentionally revel in our “brokeness,” but these conversations are largely negative and do not help us change our own financial situations whatsoever. In this article, I will be writing about how to not be a broke college student.
Constructive Dialogue
Talking about struggles with money is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, constructive dialogue can further financial literacy. Our conversational habits with regard to money are closely related to our financial mindset. Unfortunately, the ways we talk about money are not always positive. By passively talking about being broke, we essentially speak it into existence by normalizing comfort in a financially precarious state. The difference between saying, “I am broke” and “I am broke, but working to change this situation” cannot be undervalued. When I talk to my close friends about money, we talk about things like investing, how to build credit, and how we can waste less money. This has easily improved my own finances, which is why I suggest that everyone pay more attention to the attitude they have when speaking about money.
Save More
Another way to not be a broke college student is to save more money. I know that this sounds obvious because saving money is not an original concept, but the ways in which we save money determine where our money goes. If you were to record every time that you spent money during a week and then analyze your spending habits, you might be disappointed. Even those who pay close attention to how they spend are not perfect and let some money slip away. If you genuinely try to spend less on everything that you do not need, you will realize how quickly you can save a considerable amount of money. This can be as simple as keeping a budget just to organize how you spend rather than spending anytime you need something. Think about every time you have bought something because it was only a few dollars; now imagine how much you would have if you simply did not make those impulsive purchases. That is how you save money, which is how you stop being broke!
Financial Offense
If saving money is the defensive component of your financial game, then making money is your offense. I know undergraduate students who do not have a job, and I cannot begin to imagine what that is like. Even those of us who are employed on campus make less money than we ideally would. Something I have personally done to supplement my usual income is take as many shifts as I can whenever my coworkers request covers. The only problem with this solution is that in order to make a substantial increase in your income, you will probably have to cut into time you would have spent on schoolwork. I strongly urge students to get a job that allows them to do homework during shifts. Even if you cannot write full papers while on shift, you can, at the very least, study at work and get paid while doing it. If you cannot work a job due to your academic schedule, there are many ways to earn money on campus such as being a TA or participating in research studies. Any income is better than no income, and by pairing wages with effective saving techniques, most students can improve their financial situation.
College is hard, and it is even harder if you are “broke.” As students or recent grads, most millenials and young adults of Generation Z are not financially prosperous, but by making a few slight adjustments to your relationship with money, you can at least avoid being a broke college student.
