Know Your Personal Finance Blindspot with these 10 Points!

I’ve come to the realization that most college students’ blind spot has to do with their personal finances. It's partly why students feel unprepared towards graduation. 

So, during your college years, keep these 10 personal finance points in mind: 

1. Budgeting is necessary! Use the tools & resources (all free) we have to help you stay organized
   • tuition/fees
   • housing/meals
   • books/supplies
   • transportation/other costs
2. Have a SPENDING plan!
• Know where money goes, draw up a plan on what your income and expenses are, and adjust the plan accordingly by seeing where you can cut to save.
• Align your spending with your values, but also make sure those values don’t cause you to overspend!
• Know your financial identity (FI): is the way you approach money management—what you think about and rely on when you’ve got decisions to make. 
• Set goals for what you want to buy in the future!
• Be a saver! Cut coupons! Shop for best deals! Buy USED/refurbished over NEW.
• Keep consistent (monthly) balance
3. Be a Saver! Earn more, spend less.
   • Will save on: gas, parking, insurance, maintenance!
• Pay yourself first (over coffee/drinks/fun)
• Little savings add up over time. 
• Save for rainy days, save for your desired purchases!
• Find ways to save: avoid driving to save on insurance and car expenses, most campuses are designed for students to just manage without a car. 
• Cut coupons, shop refurbished, buy used items.
4. Look out for fraud: shred important sensitive documents
• Avoid oversharing on social media
• Act quickly when fraud is noticed (report to the Federal Trade Commission)
5. Avoid unnecessary fees (insufficient funds or below a minimum balance penalty, etc) ⇒ use bank’s notification systems, password-protect everything.
6. Soul search: know your goals, the earlier you figure out what you want, the more time you will save.
7. Save documents for records: physical or electronic copies. 
• School-related (pending applications, signed contracts, FAFSA offers and agreements, courses/grades/credits)
• Income-related (pay stubs, tax returns/w-2’s)
• Account and service agreements (loans/credit cards, contracts for utilities - phone/internet, etc)
• Records of coverage (insurance policies, car title and registration, receipts/warranties)
8. Consider how to live while on Campus:
• Campus housing, renting in apartments or room-share
• Campus housing usually has all utilities and meals taken care of, while living on your own, you are responsible for basic utilities additional to internet costs/TV services, and renter’s insurance.
• Room sharing may be the medium between dorming and renting from an apartment. 
9. Find good roommates: surround yourself with good people!
• Be realistic: set out your expectations so you won’t be upset later on.  Consider how bills are split and how (food, furniture, utilities, etc), and also find ways where there can be benefits from each other.  Cleaning duties and rules of entertaining friends and significant others should be discussed 
• Cut household expenses, save money!
10. Take care of yourself - get a good health insurance coverage 
• Schools usually provide a good plan, look at various plans and make sure you have a healthy team to take care of you!