To state the obvious: Adulting is hard. There are plenty of things school didn’t teach us that we need to be successful as adults: taxes, self-defense, insurance, first aid, budgeting, the list goes on. That’s where Odyssey comes in. The creators at Furman have written a few articles to try to teach millennials some of the finer points of adulting that our school system conveniently left out.
High school economics courses may teach about inflation and monetary policies, but they just aren't enough to prepare future college students for living on minimum wage and suddenly having to pay for everything on their own. This was a huge shock to me when I started college, and I often lived off of five dollars at a time while waiting for my next paycheck. Hopefully these tips will help you to not make the mistakes I did.
1. Make a list of what you need to spend money on versus what you want to spend money on. These can be different for everyone. Some people may need to pay for gas to get to a job, while others may not have a car on campus at all. Consider everything--groceries, clothes, gas, alcohol, movies, and anything else you are likely to buy. Prioritize each of these categories.
2. Be realistic, but frugal. Put a dollar amount to each category, keeping it as little as possible while still meeting your needs (but maybe not your wants). Consider how much you make in a week or a month, and do not pull from more than this, even if you have a credit card.
3. Keep emergency money. Do not put your entire income into your budget. Add to a savings account with every paycheck. You never know when you'll have to pay for surprise hospital visits or car repairs. Take my word on this one.
4. Don't forget about annual expenses. When laying out your budget, you might not be thinking about annual or semi-annual expenses, such as oil changes, textbooks, and buying Christmas gifts. Put aside a little bit from each paycheck to save for these expenses, but remember that this is not the same thing as your emergency fund.
5. Use a budgeting app. There are tons of apps out there. Personally, I love Mint and Acorns. Mint lets you create a budget and tracks it for you by categorizing your credit card purchases. It will even remind you of upcoming bills so that you have one less thing to remember among all of your due dates and exams coming up. Acorns is an investment app that invests your spare change from credit card purchases into your Acorns account. It essentially forces you to save money. I always forget that I even have this account, so when I finally remember, I have around $100 invested. It's the best surprise, especially when I'm stressing about about finances.
6. Don't max out your credit card. Credit cards are great to have, but they can be dangerous. Use your credit card for small purchases, like gas (most credit cards will give rewards for gas or groceries), and pay them back as soon as possible.
Finances are tough in college, but living like a broke college student doesn't mean you have to have $10 to your name!
