Managing Financial Stress: A Guide to Budgeting in College

It is so exciting to step into college and filled with so many new experiences. And yet, it iss not really explained to fresh college students about the other factors of preparation they need to take besides education. College comes with the financial stress of trying to manage your money.

Financial stress can be a lot for a college student and it adds on to the conglomerate of other stress factors to worry about. This can cause a great deal of stress, affecting the overall well-being and mental health of students. Having to constantly think about how to manage money while being in college can definitely leave you with the inability to focus and take care of your needs.

Money is something everyone has to manage and is constantly on people’s minds. As I moved further into college, I would worry endlessly about how to continue affording school. According to an article post on Scholarship America, they state that Ohio State University’s 2015 National Student Financial Wellness Study found that 70% of college students reported feeling stressed about their finances.

There are a list of different expenses that college students have to worry about:

• Living Expenses (transportation, rent, utilities)
• Books & Supplies
• Tuition Fees and Loans

 It is always scary to have a constant concern of your bank account hitting zero and being unable to pay for necessities. All that thinking could lead to other factors like being unable to eat, sleep, or concentrate on your studies.

There are ways to help college students learn how to budget and manage their money to reduce stress throughout the college days. I hope this guide will help you get an understanding of where to start when it comes to managing your money.

Budgeting and Managing Income & Expenses

To help get an idea of where to start, you should begin with listing your income and what your expenses are. By understanding how much you make and how much you spend, you can get a better idea of exactly how much you are losing or gaining. There are also plenty of apps to use to track how much your expenses are costing you. Even without the apps, you can just make your own spreadsheet as well.

Once you have your spreadsheet or app set up, it is important to allocate your income to all your necessary expenses first. Whatever you have left should be budgeted in range of what you may need and then put into your savings. Having emergency funds is important, in case anything happens that requires a specific amount of money. This will also keep you prepared for the future.

To budget efficiently, there are other factors involved to help save you some money. College expenses consist of tuitions, textbooks, and other supplies. For textbooks, there are many ways to find used or rentals rather than buying a brand new textbook, only to never use it again. There are websites that can help you find discounts on textbooks such as CheapestTextbooks. You could also ask around and people may offer you better deals in your community. 

Scholarships and Financial Aid

College may have a lot of expenses, but they also provide great resources for finding ways to reeduce debt and financial stress. There are grants, scholarships, and financial aid that can assist students to help pay for their school. The Federal Student Aid assists college students with loans, financial aid, and debt repayment plans to give knowledge for those struggling. If you are a student struggling to pay for school, I would recommend applying for financial aid to see if you qualify.

Scholarships and grants are also ways to pay for tuition fees and book expenses. Many college websites have resources that explain how their scholarship and grant programs work. Some may need essays written and some may be more specific. It all depends on what the college and scholarship programs require.

With these tips and information on how to prevent your financial stress in college, it is important to remember to focus on what you can control. Financial stress is a nightmare to deal with, especially when you have to balance your college life. There are ways to take measures and reduce the factors that affect your finances as a college student. This is your moment and time to make sure you stay on track.