College Students: Gain Self-Sufficiency By Earning Your Survival Money
This is a guest post from the fine folks at GoBankingRates.
The time you spend in college is a unique transition period you will never experience again in your life. You aren't under the strict guidance of your parents anymore, but you haven't become a fully autonomous being yet. It's a great time to learn the basics of adulthood before being thrust fully into the real world. How can you accomplish this? Start by earning your own survival money--the funds needed to cover basic living expenses like food, clothes and bills. By earning a paycheck from an employer, instead of one written by your parents, you will naturally learn to budget, save money and ultimately become self-sufficient.
What College Students Are Spending
Everyone knows tuition and school-related costs are outrageous, but the other expenses related to living as a college student can be just as alarming. It doesn't matter whether you live at home or on campus, either; if you are a college student, you're likely dropping loads of cash on things like food and entertainment. An infographic from Westwood College provides a look at the entire student budget, including tuition, fees and books, and breaks down how much you're spending in addition to education-related costs:
- Entertainment: 6.5 percent
- Apparel & Services: 6.7 percent
- Travel & Vacation: 4.7 percent
- Other Discretionary Expenses: 22.1 percent
Get a Job Already
Someone has to pay for all this, it might as well be you, Big Spender. You may not agree right now that a job should be part of your college life, but there are a multitude of benefits to working part-time, including: Independence. You don't have to call your parents and ask for more money--you already have your own. Independence from your parents is a joy you really have to experience for yourself to fully appreciate. Responsibility. Many college students are just fine with skipping class to nurse a hangover every now and then. However, if you're expected at work at 7 a.m., you might think twice about staying out late. Sound boring? It is, but you can graduate with a GPA you won't feel embarrassed about. More Fun. A steady source of income means you don't have to decide between eating that day or going to the movies. Having spending cash on hand does wonders for your social life.
Best Part-Time Jobs for Starving Students
So, if you're ready to start acting like a grown-up and take care of yourself financially, try to snag one of the best part-time gigs for college students: Paid Internship: This is the best possible scenario you could hope for. Just about every college offers school credit to students who intern, and many degrees actually require at least one field-related internship be completed before graduation. Paid internships are rare, so if you are offered one, take it and kill two birds with one stone! On-Campus Job: Colleges often offer on-campus employment to students, which is great because you don't have to commute or worry about fitting a job around your class schedule. You can find work in the campus restaurant or coffee shop, tutoring your peers or as a resident advisor.
Keep a Modest Budget
The most important thing to remember while in school is to incur as little debt as possible. Unless you are quite wealthy or were lucky enough to be given a free ride, you will probably graduate with student loans. Don't make things harder on yourself by racking up a credit card balance, too. Just because you now have a job doesn't mean you should quit eating Ramen noodles and shopping at second hand stores. You don't know what you're missing yet so live on the cheap while you can and save the lifestyle upgrade for when you graduate with a full-time position. By earning your own money during the college years, you will find the transition from dorm life to career life much easier than a lot of your peers. You will also set yourself up to experience a much more financially-successful future because you understand the concepts of budgeting and debt management.
