Archie Hayes 
College should be one of the best experiences in your life. You should enjoy both your studies and the extracurricular activities found on your campus, you should surround yourself with friends for life, and you should be excited by the prospect that you have your whole life ahead of you. You should be able to enjoy all those things and more, but that does not necessarily mean that you will. Unfortunately, life in higher education is not plane sailing for some people simply because they get themselves in serious financial trouble while at college. As a carefree student, that is incredibly easy to do.
Fortunately, we are here to help you circumvent all the financial fiascos and monetary mishaps that you are likely to face during your time as a student. Put the advice laid out below into practice, and you will be able to enjoy your college years without having to worry about your cashflow.
Choose your college wisely and explore your financing options
The decisions that you make regarding the college that you attend and how you choose to finance your course will have an impact on your ability to stay on top of your finances as a student.
You must take your time when making these all-important decisions, as some of your options will be cheaper than others. Compare the fees charged by different educational institutions and be sure to study all of your scholarship and grant options.
Stay on top of your bills
You might not be able to earn a full-time wage, but that does not mean that you will not have bills to pay. Whether it is your student accommodation landlord chasing the rent that you owe or your phone network provider asking you to pay off your monthly tariff, there will always be someone out there requesting payment from you.
The last thing that you want to do is fall behind on your bill payments, simply because that could negatively impact on your stress levels and subsequently distract you from your studies. What is more, missing bill payments may hurt your credit score and ultimately ruin your financial future before it is even started.
Whatever you do, do not get lazy when it comes to keeping on top of your bills during your time as a student. Sorting out your payment schedule might not be the most interesting of jobs, but it’s necessary.
Should you ever struggle to keep on top of your bills, you should consider taking out a car title loan. What is a car title loan? This is a type of short-term loan that will allow you to use your car as collateral in a borrowing agreement. Do not worry, so long as you pay back the money that you borrow from your lender on time and in full, you will retain full ownership of your vehicle.
Keep your cost of living down
You must keep your cost of living down as best you can. If you do not, you will quickly find your spending habits spiraling out of control.
You can keep your cost of living down by:
- Creating and keeping a financial spreadsheet that documents your spending
- Performing a cost-effective ‘big shop’ once a week rather than going to the store multiple times
- Taking advantage of travel discounts for students
