Broke College Student? Think Again!

Not only can personal finances feel overwhelming or cause an increase in anxiety on a regular day-to-day basis, but as college students, that may be the case to an even greater extent. Saving money can be extremely hard as a student. Not only are you a full-time student—going to classes and doing homework in your free time—but who doesn’t want to go out to eat, hang with friends, go to concerts, and spend nights out on the town, in addition to being a student?

As a senior, I think I have officially mastered saving money as a college student, and I am here to help you do so as well. If you’re anything like me, you love to spend, spend, spend your money the first few months you arrive to school! Not that I necessarily want to spend my money, but typically I end up getting excited to be back with my friends and always find myself out and about. That said, I am sure you’re now wondering how I’ve managed to save money while doing so.

In the “Ted: The Way We Work” series, Thasunda Duckett’s speaks of ways to improve smart spending and saving in her video called “6 ways to improve your relationship with money.” One thing she mentioned that I found extremely important to recognize was that “Money is not the end-all be-all. It's the mechanism to accomplish whatever your goals are. It does not define you. It's just a mechanism to accomplish what matters to you most.”

When taking into consideration what matters most to you, saving money becomes a whole lot easier. For example, I am an extrovert, which means spending time with other people and doing fun things is a part of my nature, and of course, with school, I most likely am found out and about on the weekends, not the weekdays. Knowing I will most likely spend a decent amount of money on the weekends, I keep spending money during the weekdays to a bare minimum.

Spending money on things during the week, such as going out to eat or online shopping, for example, used to be a weakness of mine out of boredom. However, I have realized that my happiness really only comes from doing fun activities with people I love, not spending on unnecessary things.

Seeing as we are in a pandemic, saving money may be a lot easier for some due to the fact that certain places that heighten the desire to spend may still be closed. However, the pandemic may also be the downfall for a lot of people’s spending habits. If there is one piece of advice I can give to you, it is to re-read what Duckett said, which was that “Money is not the end-all be-all. It's the mechanism to accomplish whatever your goals are. It does not define you. It's just a mechanism to accomplish what matters to you most.” Once you find what matters most to you in life and what makes you happiest, you will master the art of saving money and spending only on things that you deem necessary for your happiness and mental health.