How To Survive Being Broke In College
I went to the library over the weekend and picked up a bunch of personal finance books. I got this cute little weird-shaped book written for college students. It includes a bunch of tips from college students on how to save and make money while in college. I realize that I'm not a college student, but the book looked fun and it only took about 20 minutes to read the whole thing. It said things like "Ketchup + hot water = Tomato soup" and "Never buy anything at the campus bookstore" and "Go out on lots of dates for the free food and entertainment." All great advice, I'm sure. :)
My financial advice for college students:
1. If you take out a student loan - get your degree! You're going to have to pay the loan back whether you graduate or not. So you might as well get something out of it. :)
2. Don't go to an expensive private school if you're not even sure what you want to study or do. Community college or a state school will do just fine while you try to figure it out.
3. Sell your old textbooks to a student taking the same class next term. You'll make more money and they'll end up paying less than if you go through the campus bookstore.
4. Keep track of your library books. I was always turning mine in late or even losing them. By the time I left school I had racked up an $80 library fine. :(
5. Get your financial stuff taken care of before school starts. For example, get an ID card for the state you're in, open up a checking account, get your ATM card, etc. I saw a lot of out-of-state students constantly asking for rides to the grocery store so they could cash a cash they'd received... or trying to find someone with a checking account at a certain bank who could deposit/cash their checks for them. Take the time to get all this set up properly in the beginning and you'll save yourself lots of time/headaches later on.
Obviously, I don't have enough advice to fill a book - not even a cute little book like the one I read, but it's helpful advice anyway. I COULD however probably write an entire book on How To Travel In Mexico & Cuba for Practically Nothing. Ahh, memories.
