MY WORST COLLEGE MONEY MISTAKES
College life is complicated and with so many changes going on in our lives at the time we begin college we often feel lost and confused. We must choose a major, pay for college, learn to do many things on our own that we have never done before and finance it all with very little money and time. If only we had a magic wand or three wishes from a genie to help us through these many obstacles. Well I don't have a magic wand or wishes to grant, however I have something that can be beneficial to help you through this trying time.
I have asked some other great bloggers to help me create some posts to hopefully help you recognize and avoid some errors we all make. This series will provide you with some short stories of times where we made a financial mistake in college that you may be able to learn from and hopefully we can help you prevent some of the same mistakes. If you are like us and have made some of these same mistakes as well at least maybe it will help you to realize that you are not alone in this journey towards financial freedom. Even with mistakes like these you can turn your financial situation around and begin to build a brighter future.
I want to share just a quick story myself about a college money mistake that I made. Keep in mind that not every college student is the same. Some are more or less educated than others and some have more money available to spend for college. I know not all of these money mistakes will fit all of you, but I believe at least some will ring true for each of us.
My story in a condensed version is this I did not grow up with the best education. To be completely honest money was rarely discussed with me growing up. I did not know how to properly handle money on my own when I graduated high school and began college. I graduated from high school and began working a full-time job right away and knew fairly quickly that I wanted to go to college but I did not know what I even wanted to do. I was broke most of the time and worked hard for everything I had, but I felt that I needed to get a degree.
So I enrolled in my local community college and applied for some financial aid and was denied everything including loans. With an education that was not the best and no help preparing to pay for college I was in a bad place. No matter what I knew that I was going to attend college and so I decided to make it work. I have always been a girl who goes for my dreams and I have always believed in myself, no matter who tells me I can't make it. I was determined to get a better education and so I started college determined to pay for it in cash.
I quickly I realized this would not work because I did not have the money to afford tuition and books as well as all my other expenses. My biggest money mistakes began when I started using credit cards to pay my tuition and books. Doing this was such a disaster because I knew nothing about credit cards and interest rates and what this would lead to. When I graduated high school and enrolled in college I remember the flood of credit card acceptance letters I began to receive within that first few months. It is crazy and unsettling to me that credit card companies tend to prey on young people the way they do.
If I could go back now there are many things I would do differently after high school due to the mistakes I made with my finances. I would definitely stop to take into consideration whether I could afford college before starting and look for either jobs that provide tuition assistance or tuition reimbursement while in college. I would also have saved prior to starting college and would have set myself up more for success. I also would take more time to research all the great scholarships and grants available to students before starting college.
My best advice for younger people starting college today is do not finance college or related costs on a credit card. If you can't afford it, trust me you cannot afford to use a credit card.
Things I would do differently today
1) Try for some scholarships
There are many scholarships available that many students are not even aware of. They actually have books available at your local library of scholarships to apply for or websites like the ones below.
https://www.chegg.com/scholarships
https://www.fastweb.comhttps://www.scholarships.com
2) Save more money and not get my first credit card so young
I would have prepared ahead more for the financial strain that comes from college and all of the added expenses of college life. I would not have signed up for that first credit card and I would have educated myself more on what a credit card is and how it works before using it. I would save as much as I possibly could while working my first few jobs and make some changes in my spending to prevent getting myself into more debt through the use of credit cards.These are just a few of the key things that stand out to me today that I would have done differently in my financial situation both preparing for, and dealing with college life.If you want to read more of my money story and my advice on college money management, you can head over to these posts to read just a little more of where I came from and what I have learned from those mistakes.
What I wish I knew as a college studentLearn from my money mistakes
I decided to do this series of posts based on some conversations I had with some fellow bloggers regarding our college money mistakes. I found that we all had somewhat similar stories but with different lessons learned that I felt could benefit someone. We learn more through our mistakes in life than we do when things are going right. I have found a great appreciation for others stories of triumph and perseverance through the hard times. I think these are the moments in life that we can help change and shape others lives through our honesty by being real about our mistakes.