Let's Talk About Budgeting in College

College is the gateway into adulthood, a time to learn, grow, and experience true freedom for the first time. However, with that freedom comes immense responsibility and learning how to do things on your own. People often talk about the transition to college and how to deal with being homesick, how to juggle classes and extracurricular activities, and how to just balance life in general. While most of these things are taught or talked about, we tend to be incredibly unprepared for handling money in college.

You always hear about the stereotypical “broke college student,” and while of course there are exceptions, a lot of college students can relate to feeling stressed about their budget or spending habits. Why do we drop $50 at the grocery store every week when we have a full meal plan? Why do we online shop when our closet is already full? Why do we go to Starbucks every day when there is coffee on campus? Or walking out of Target with a full basket when you only came in for one thing? Everyone is guilty of at least one of these, and it is crazy how fast things can start to add up.

No matter your spending habits, learning how to budget money is an important life skill and a good thing to start practicing while in college. As the saying goes, money doesn’t grow on trees, and it’s true. While it might seem easy enough to ask your parents for money now, that won’t always be the case. Start paying attention to how you are spending your money. Most people have one or two things that they spend a chunk of their money on, whether that be food, clothes, gas, etc. (of course that will look different for everyone depending on their expenses). Once you start to pay attention to your spending, identify your needs and wants, and cut things out of your budget that might not be necessary. That will help narrow down your budget and the money you can put aside.

One of the biggest expenses in college is budgeting spending money and going out in general. There are so many fun restaurants in and around Elon that we students love going to, but of course that costs money. All those restaurant bills can start to add up faster than you might expect, not to mention all those fees for clubs and organizations. Students love going out, so it can be hard to say no to things because you feel like you will be missing out. But realize it is okay to skip out once in a while, we promise your wallet will thank you!

While we aren’t quite full-blown adults yet, it is important to start thinking about these kinds of things in order to help prepare you for the future. We wish you the best of luck on your finance journey!