You know that you're on your way to full-out adulthood as you study your way out of this college you're in to get that career you want. Or just to ensure that you get any decently-paid job in general. But as a college student, you're bound to face several common difficulties.
1) Paying rent
This is probably the biggest one. If you go to a school that provides dorms for all four years, then this one's not for you. For those of you who have to live outside of the dorms, and therefore pay monthly rent, it's a real pain in the neck to feel that pressure every month when you lose a couple hundred bucks out of your account. Sometimes even having a job can't help pay for everything - you might need more than one job, plus take all those classes you're enrolled in, and try to finish on time.
2) Paying for necessities (in other words, food)
This is hard because now that you've just paid your rent, how are you going to go buy all the food you'll need to, I don't know...survive? You just watched that pretty bank account balance plunge once again, and even though you might have some cash left over, it's still going to be a problem to buy stuff to eat at times. You REALLY want to buy that huge chocolate cake just to celebrate that grade on your midterm, but you also want to stay healthy. BUT, here's the dilemma: usually the junk food is cheaper than healthy foods...so what do we do here?
3) Saving money in general
Need I even talk into detail with this one? We all have to save money for things other than rent. I have to save money for flights back home during some of the breaks - some of you might have to pay for a train or a bus ride, or for gas.
4) Printing papers/assignments
What do you do if you don't have a printer? You use the on-campus ones. But what do those do? They charge you. While it may be only a few cents per sheet, depending on how many things you have to print, you will see your student account balance go up...and let's face it, that's annoying. No one wants to see even 5 cents on their balance.
5) Saving quarters for laundry
UGH - I can't even begin to describe how much of a burden something so little can become. We're already paying thousands of dollars for college, so why on earth do we need to pay for laundry out of our pockets? Let's say you go to the laundry room and while,you're feeding the washer some quarters, you look into your wallet and realize you don't have enough; maybe you needed only one more. (Cue the tears and/or mental screams).
6) The temptations to go out with friends (and therefore have to spend)
This is always hard. You don't want to tell your friends that the reason why you can't go out with them is because you have no money for the weekend. You don't want to have them offer to pay for you and you don't want to make them feel like you're making up an excuse.
7) Paying for parking
First of all, WHY DO WE HAVE TO PAY FOR PARKING? Are you kidding? Charge non-students, not students. We're already paying sky-high amounts; you really have to charge us for parking?
In the past, some people thought that college was the time to burn money on junk food and drugs. Even though that's still the case with some people, it doesn't mean we all actually have money to burn. These 7 financial issues look pretty small, but they become monumentally obnoxious for nearly every student.
