#CollegeStudentFinance #BudgetingTips #SavingMoney
Creating a Realistic Budget
For a 24-year-old college student juggling work and full-time classes, the struggle to keep savings afloat is real. The key to overcoming this challenge is to create a realistic budget that aligns with your income and expenses. Start by calculating your weekly income and listing all of your expenses. Identify essential expenses like rent, utilities, groceries, gas, and bills, and allocate a fixed amount for each category. Be sure to set aside some money for savings and unexpected expenses as well.
Managing Expenses
Take a closer look at your expenses and see if there are any areas where you can cut back. For example, could you find a cheaper gym membership or consider canceling subscriptions like Spotify? Look for ways to reduce your grocery or gas expenses by meal planning, carpooling, or exploring cheaper options. Consider negotiating lower rates for bills like internet or phone services. Every dollar saved can make a difference in the long run.
Exploring Financial Alternatives
Consider exploring financial alternatives like refinancing your car loan to lower monthly payments or finding a roommate to split rent and utilities costs. Look into student discounts or government assistance programs that could help alleviate some financial burden. Additionally, consider selling items you no longer need or taking on a side hustle to earn extra income.
Seeking Professional Advice
If you’re still struggling to make ends meet, consider seeking advice from a financial advisor or counselor. They can provide personalized insights and strategies to improve your financial situation. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and explore all available resources to get back on track.
Final Thoughts
Remember that financial stability is a journey, and setbacks are normal. Stay committed to your goals, stay disciplined with your budget, and stay proactive in seeking solutions. With perseverance, determination, and a bit of creativity, you can overcome financial challenges and build a solid foundation for your future. Good luck! 🌟
First off, I just want to say you should be proud of yourself for working hard and setting yourself up in the future. From personal experience, I know how tiring it is to work and go to school at the same time.
To be honest, your situation makes me a bit nervous. You’re one bad stroke of luck away from having the whole system collapse. One medical emergency or car accident and I think you could find yourself in a pretty tough situation. That being said, unfortunately, that’s the reality for a lot of people starting out in their 20s.
Do you have a safety net in case that happens? For example, some young people who are trying to make it on their own have the option of moving back home with their parents worst case scenario, whereas others will be on the street.
I think my advice for you heavily depends on how much risk you want to take and how much a safety net you have.
If you have no one to lean on if things get tough, then personally, I recommend you go to part time in school and find a higher paying job. With this new job, you can build an emergency fund of 6 months worth of living expenses and maybe some savings so that in the future, you could go back to full time.
If possible, I would try and still go part time as opposed to pausing your education because once you stop going to school, it’s a lot harder to get back into it in my opinion.
If you do have a safety net and you only have to do this for a little bit longer, then I don’t think it’s horrible to just tough it out either. That being said, if you’re already burnt out and your mental health or grades are slipping, then I think it’s best to change things up and figure out a different way to keep moving forward
It is ok to be struggling. You will learn and grow
One thing I would suggest is just a slight change in mindset: car repairs and doctor’s visits are not “unexpected” they are just unplanned.
The reason I make that distinction is because there are many things in life like this that are going to happen. Passports and licenses expire; accidents happen; tires and windshield wipers and toothbrushes wear out; shoes and t-shirts break down. Sometimes family members get sick or worse and you need to go to them and help. All of those things happen to everyone at some point, and thinking ahead a little bit to plan for these is a good habit to start to build early.
Because you don’t have a buffer at all (I’m assuming you incur CC debt because of these unplanned expenses) you send extra money to the card, but then have to charge things because you don’t have money. It’s a seemingly endless cycle for sure.
So I would suggest that, instead of sending extra money to the card, you use your extra funds to build up a savings buffer so that when your next “emergency” happens you can use your saved up money to pay for it. Commit to no new card charges until the card is fully paid off. So it may seem like that’s a worse position, but it enables you to actually pay off the card at some point instead of staying in a vicious cycle.
I would also suggest that you could do without Spotify for 6-8 months and just accept that you can listen to ads for a bit to help dig yourself out of the hole. You could use that subscription savings to pay extra toward your debt, and then you’re kind of doing both things, accelerated debt payments and savings.
Your car payment is actually not that bad, and I wouldn’t really recommend changing it unless you can sell it for more than the loan amount and get something like a Civic or Corolla for cheap. But you may not get as good a rate as you have now due to the market, and you don’t want to be upside down or adding to your debt here.
Gym membership is relatively cheap, but are you using it? $10 is a bargain if you’re getting a lot of value out of it, but not so much if you only go once in a blue moon. (And again, some of these things don’t have to be a “forever” decision but a “for right now” one.)
I also want to say, you’re being a lot more responsible with your money than I was at your age and even older. Working through college isn’t a cake walk, and sometimes struggling is okay for a little while if it means not having to struggle so much later.