Navigating Housing and Renting Issues as a College Student
By Morgan Brown
Amari Tillman is a 19-year-old second-year undergraduate at the University of Georgia. Midway through her sophomore year, the safe path she had travelled by living on campus split in front of her. Should she finally leave the campus and dive into apartment life, or should she continue enjoying the benefits of living and studying in the same place? Read more…
Financial Planning and Millennials
By Steffenie Burns
Millennials have been criticized for being egocentric, easily distracted, unmotivated to work and frivolous with their finances. While some in the older generations may still believe such negative stereotypes about millennials, research has indicated otherwise about their financial habits. Read more…
College Students Should Start Building Credit Sooner Rather than Later
By Zachary Hansen
Going off to college creates a lot of new freedoms for the average student. With this increased independence also come extra responsibilities that weren’t present before. Among these, managing debt can be one of the most challenging. While the 2009 CARD Act banned issuing credit cards to anyone under 21, many students still end up with some form of credit card debt before graduation. According to a 2016 Experian study, about 30 percent of grads-to-be had an average balance of $2,573 in credit card debt. Read more…
Credit Cards: What Students Should Know
By Becky Burgess
Credit cards can be intimidating for students, especially since many of us don’t know how to manage and maintain them. For senior Sociology major Noga Baruch at the University of Georgia, a credit card was the first step for establishing credit before graduating college. But she said spending and paying back the money can prove difficult. Read more…
Student loans: Burden or Investment in the Future?
By Conner Burks
Do you, a relative or close friend have student loan debt? Chances are all three hold some outstanding student debt. Student loans are now the second biggest type of debt in America only behind mortgages, but eclipsing credit cards. According to Forbes, more than 44 million people in the U.S. have outstanding student loans totaling $1.3 trillion. The average student in the class of 2016 had $37,172 in student loan debt. Read more…
Millennials Cash In On Financial Apps, Highest Saving Generation
By Heather Bryan
Anything from shampoo to a treadmill can be purchased at the touch of a button on a smartphone. It only makes sense money can be managed the same way through an increasing array of mobile apps. People, particularly millennials, use apps for budgeting, spending, investing and pretty much everything in between. In fact, millennials are coming out ahead of past generations when it comes to saving and investing. Read more…
By Kaleigh Galvin
When it comes to the infamous juggling act of college life, Andrew Dugan, 21, has been forced to become a master. On top of a full course load, the fourth-year religion student works 25 hours a week on campus to fight the looming reality of student loans, while also maintaining heavy involvement in his local church. “My biggest sacrifice is personal health,” he said. “There have been multiple weeks this semester alone that I have averaged thirty hours of sleep – maximum.” Read more…
Four Things to Know Before Signing a Lease
By Savannah McCoy
Renting an apartment or house is a milestone in a young adult’s life. It’s typically one of the first steps toward independence. No longer dependent on parents and paying for your own housing is a critical step toward adulthood. Before signing that first lease, however, renters understand their rights and responsibilities. Those obligations go beyond the obvious “you pay me, I’ll provide you housing” relationship between renter and landlord. Read more…
College Students Need More Financial Education
By Rakel Johnson
College is a place where students learn all kinds of new skills. In addition to learning academically, they are also learning a plethora of life lessons. However, a lot of college students feel they are collectively lacking in one important area that applies to the real world: financial education. Many students still feel ill-prepared to make their own major financial decisions. Read more…
Understanding the Tiny House Trend
By Rachel Hinkle
Ashley Jonasson, an entertainment and media studies student at the University of Georgia, has been interested in tiny houses since they became popular through television shows on HGTV and other networks. She is considering building her own tiny house one day and had a few questions about the tiny house movement and where it is projected to be in the future. Read more…
From Piggy Banks to Building Personal Credit
By Devon Tucker
An exciting, but uneasy part of moving into adulthood is the need to become financially independent. Â No more allowance or piggy banks. The real world requires one to establish credit, but college students are far more likely to carry only a debit card rather than a credit card, explained Brenda Cude, a consumer economics professor at the University of Georgia. Read more…
Budget Builders: Advice for Those Entering, Existing in or Exiting College
By Josie Wall
The average student graduates with over $30,000 of debt as of As of April 2017, according to USA Today. The prospect of such a bill after graduation can deter many from even beginning the process of higher education, but there are ways to plan ahead and stay out of the hole. Read more…
Emergency Savings: Because It Could Happen to You
By Kalah Mingo
Elizabeth Medlock, a third-year linguistics major at the University of Georgia, walked to her car in her parking deck in Downtown Athens, Ga. She had a yoga class to attend, however, something was wrong. Her car was not in her assigned parking spot. She almost started to panic, but remembered she parked in a “future residents” spot closer to her apartment the night before. Unfortunately, she forgot to move it and her car had been towed. It would cost $150 to get it back. Read more…
Budgeting Tips for New Graduates
By Kelly Miller
Life after graduation for college students can mean many things: a change of pace, a chance to explore and a time to discover. However, with that freedom comes great responsibility. College grads are thrown into the “real world,” where training wheels come off, and bills are sent to them instead of their parents. Read more…
Young People and Overcoming the Fear of Taxes
By Maureen Sheeran
Alexa Gilomen, a senior at the University of Georgia said she doesn’t consider her taxes to be “a huge deal” now, but added, “I feel like in the future, it is going to be scary.”  Matt Goren, who teaches personal finance in UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences, said students should overcome any fears about taxes by simply jumping in. “Give it a shot,” he said. “I think people think taxes are really confusing, and they’re really not that bad.” Read more…
Students and the Search for Housing
By Angelina Lewis
Caroline McHam, now a fourth-year consumer economics student, first came to the University of Georgia without knowing anyone, and the quest for housing was a daunting search. A friend of a friend led her to her roommate, Maddie Baker, who has since become a best friend. McHam said Baker had many qualities she looked for in a roommate, and since they were both in the honors program, it seemed to be a perfect match. After their first year living in the Myers honors program dorm on-campus, the two decided to move to an off-campus apartment. Read more…
Six Steps to Develop Good Money Habits
By Emily Haney
When it comes to personal finances, students typically fall in to one of two categories: seasoned or beginner.  J.T. Lynch, a sophomore at the University of Georgia, falls in to the latter category. Lynch said his parents covered only the basics of dealing with money while he was growing up. “It was just pay off your debt and use credit cards for emergencies,” said Lynch. “I really don’t know how to do those things, but I know I should. I don’t know how to save.” Read more…
By Katherine Sauceda
Recent studies by the U.S. Census Bureau show more millennials are choosing to live in major cities after graduating college rather than suburban areas. These educated millennials’ population in cities has grown by up to 78 percent within the past few years, according to a Forbes report. Read more…
By Kristin M. Bradshaw
Following the turn of their first tassels, graduated high school seniors enter the collegiate world wide-eyed and inspired by their new-found independence. While some have the soft cushion of their parents’ savings accounts, others with fewer resources find the move stressful. Read more…
Climb Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt
By Mary Grace Heath
Credit cards can be a great tool to have in college. They can help you develop good spending habits, earn rewards and build your own credit history, which will be important if you want to buy a house one day. But credit cards can also become a dangerous burden if they are used incorrectly, leaving students in major debt. Sometimes students don’t recognize the consequences debt can have until they are too far in. Read more…
College Connect:Â Earning Money from a Job that Pays Other Dividends
By Ron Davis
I’ve put in countless hours at the journalism school over the past few years. I am now in my final semester of college, still putting in those same hours, but now getting paid for it. Following a strong semester, I impressed my professor enough that he offered me a position to be his lone undergraduate teaching assistant. Read more…
College Connect:Â Making Sure You Earn Your Own Good Credit
By Ron Davis
Before my sophomore year of college, my dad gave a credit card that was to be used strictly for emergencies. The problem was, the card had my name on it, but wasn’t linked to my social security account, but to his, rather. It did nothing for my credit score. Read more…
College Connect: Treat Your Self!  Retail Therapy to Match a College Kid’s Bank Account
By Natalia Amandari
We’ve all had that moment. You see something nice in the store. Or maybe it’s a pricier drink at the coffee shop. You think to yourself:  No, I shouldn’t. I’d be better off saving that money. But then another thought creeps into your head…I just did well on my last exam, so it’s time to…Treat yourself! Read more…
College Connect: Eating Healthy on a College Student’s Budget
By Natalia Almandari
For most college students, living on your own for the first time also means cooking and grocery shopping on your own. Between classes, work and friends, it can be easy to resort to eating out every day or whipping up a quick bowl of ramen noodles. Read more…
College Connect: Tackle the High Cost of College with Parents as Partners
By John Messer
Finances in college have been a rollercoaster so far. Actually, it’s more like juggling dynamite which may or may not be lit while riding a rollercoaster and Iron Maiden is blasting at top volume. Between housing, food expenses, tuition, considerations for studying abroad, etc, and etc, the only positive emotion I feel is abject amazement that it’s working out as well as it has been so far. Read more…
College Connect: Decisions, decisions, decisions: How to pick among multiple job offers
By Carolyn Heger
The recruiting season for many majors is in full swing this month, with company recruiters visiting college campuses to encourage seniors to apply for their jobs. There is a significant amount of stress involved in networking with representatives from different firms, submitting job applications and interviewing for various positions. Read more…
College Connect: Saving for Retirement Early: Why It Matters and How to Do It
By Carolyn Heger
When I was in high school, my grandfather frequently stressed to me that I should begin saving for my retirement early. Back then, putting money aside for me to spend when I would be in my 60s and beyond was not at the forefront of my mind. I was focused on applying to colleges at that time, not on whether I would have enough money to live comfortably once I would stop working. Read more…
Planning and Restraint Help Me Make It On My Own
By Michael Boyer
I have been managing my own finances since I was about 15. This was never a huge issue until I came to college. In high school, I could count on one hand the number of times my parents gave me money for something. I didn’t ask, and they didn’t have anything to give me. I knew they had their own money problems. Fortunately, I earned enough from various jobs – from lifeguarding to fixing iPhone screens – to pay my expenses. Read more…
By Veronica Graff
For most, college is about embracing bankruptcy and finding peace within the fact that you’re simply broke—that was quite the wake-up call. Spending money is like gaining weight, it’s definitely noticeable, and the proof is in your bank account, but for some reason you don’t make the connection that those smoothies or juice cleanses and even those shoes that you had to have, eventually add up to a hefty credit card payment. Read more…
By Sydney Maki
College is hard on your bank account. The fiscal responsibilities you’ll have after graduation hit even harder. This summer was my last as a student, and as financial aid dispersal season loomed close, I wondered what my life could look like in another 12 months. No more would I be able to craft a formula of savings and paychecks minus rent, utilities, textbooks and groceries to calculate how much my student loans needed to be. Read more…
By Mitchell Atencio
When I was 10-years-old my family and I moved into a new house. We moved from a medium-sized suburban house in Chandler, Arizona to a custom home in south Gilbert. First off, I recognize the privilege in this, I wouldn’t feel right writing this if I didn’t acknowledge that. But, that’s not the point of this. The point is finances and saving and the lessons learned. Read more…
By Kara Carlson
Over the summer I had the opportunity to intern in Seattle, and explore a new city I had no familiarity with. Living in a new, big, and expensive city all summer completely on my own made me really see money and budgeting in a new way. Being in a new city, I naturally wanted to take in as much of the sites, tourist attractions, local food and of course Seattle coffee as possible. The catch of course was how to manage this while balancing most of my costs on an intern’s salary. Read more…
Early Credit Training Pays Off
By Joe Gilmore
I learned at a very young age how important credit is. My parents opened up a bank account for me when I was still in elementary school or junior high. I got my first credit card in high school. Since then, I have been using it to build up my credit score so that when I need to take a loan the interest rate will be acceptable. Read more…
Tackling Student Loans and Credit
By Jimmie Jackson
For a first-time college student, it can be hard to figure everything out financially. You have to fill out the FAFSA in order to be offered scholarship, loan, or grant options. I filled out the FAFSA for my first year of undergrad at the University of Illinois. This was my first time having to know all about interest rates and such. At the time I qualified for subsidized loans that did not collect interest because the government would cover the interest. Read more…
By Gabriel Sandler
“Two paintings for 1200 baht.” In a small art booth in Chiang Mai, Thailand, as it rained outside and my friends wandered away down the market street, I decided to stay and haggle. This is how I started. I wanted two paintings: one blue and black, an ethereal river town at night, the other black and orange and yellow, silhouetting a fisherman in a small boat, floating in front of a tree line. It was July 2012, I was 18 on a cultural immersion/community service trip. I wanted souvenirs. Read more…
Saving in School, Saving on Your Own
By Ethan Millman
Over the past few years as a college student, like almost any other student, I’ve had to become more frugal. As a first semester freshman, I didn’t hesitate to go to every dinner, movie or other social event to attempt to solidify the friendships I’d always heard would be the most important of my life. And for the first few months of college, I lived like this with no reservation. But given how unsustainable a lifestyle this was, it’s no shock that changes came relatively quickly. Read more…
By Courtney Beesch
My first set of consistent paychecks began when I was 15-years-old, working as a hostess for a local food joint. After finishing my school day, I’d wipe down menus, seat families, and make sure there were enough crayons for children accompanying their parents. I didn’t need the extra cash, but I felt a sense of pride in knowing that the money I did spend came from my own pocket. Read more…
Still a Lot to Learn About Money
By Arren Kimbel-Sannit
I thought long about how I could best illustrate the impact of money or finances in my life. I thought I might write about financial hardship, about paychecks getting stuck in the mail, or stipends getting delayed, and having to eat bread and peanut butter for a week. Read more…
By Andrew Wei
This summer I got a speeding ticket. I wasn’t going as fast as they said I was but I guess everyone says that. Without a doubt, it was a new experience. I’ve been pulled over before, but I don’t think anybody gets used to seeing the red and blue lights flicker on behind them. Read more…
By Andres Guerra Luz
Some people have to live paycheck-to-paycheck, but for me, I did it because I was dumb. It was my freshman year of college and I was a student worker at Arizona State University, where I study journalism. At my job, pay was good. It came every two weeks, so I had to make sure not to blow my whole paycheck in one week. Read more…
Starting a Mortgage While in College
By Erdenetungalag Erdenekhuyag
I am a student at University of Missouri who already have a mortgage. A home is typically the largest purchase for almost every student. The average home sale price in the U.S. is more than $300,000, according to the recent research conducted by St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. That’s a lot of money for anyone, but especially for someone who may be paying for college too. Read more…
How to Avoid From the Exchange Rate Stress
By Erdenetungalag Erdenekhuyag
This is my second year at University of Missouri (MU) and I am from Mongolia where one US dollar equals to 2500 tugrug, the Mongolian national currency. Since I came to the US, just in a year, the Mongolian Tugrug depreciated in value by 17 percent relative to the US dollar. This means all my costs here increased while my parent’s income remains unchanged in Mongolian currency. Read more…
Saving Money On Things of Short-Term Value
By Abby Ivory-Ganja
College students buy a lot of stuff – and often they don’t use it very long.  You might need something for the dorm, but different for an apartment. Tastes (and fads) change. We’ve all bought something and then kind of regretted it. Whether it’s a book or piece of clothing, you aren’t getting full value from the item anymore. Read more…
Students Can Save Money while Eating Out
By Abby Ivory-Ganja
As a college student, it’stempting to eat out. In fact, some near-campus restaurants take our student meal charge, so it’s even encouraged. If you aren’t careful, you’ll end up spending more than you realize on food. Lunch can cost $10, and diners about $20. That can really add up. Read more…
Troubled In Managing Your Financial Accounts? These Mobile Apps May Help.
By Huiqi Xu
An international student may have many accounts. I’ve found it difficult to manage my accounts as well as credit cards. Using an app on your smartphone or tablet is one way to put everything in one place. Read more…
How to Increase Credit Scores as an International student
By Huiqi Xu
Most international students have this problem – how to build credit in the United States when they are starting from zero? It was once a problem to me when I first came to the U.S. But luckily, I found an efficient way to increase credit scores within one year. Read more…
Maintaining a Healthy Credit Score in College
Learning About the “B” Word – Budgeting!
By Emma Diltz
Credit cards are a necessary evil, and it is better to start young to boost credit. It’s difficult to purchase a house or a car without showing fiscal responsibility. But, many young people, and even some matured adults get some level of anxiety when thinking about spending money they might not have. Read more…
Be Prepared When You Consider Post-College Move to NYCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â
By Kouichi Shirayangi
Many college students aim to work in New York City after graduation. The searching can be daunting – weighing neighbors, commute time, cost and safety. You may have heard that New York is a very expensive city. That’s because it is. Read more…
For Many College Students, School Combines with Parenthood
By Kouichi Shirayangi
Nothing can be more satisfying (and thrilling!) than introducing a new life into the world. Yet being a first-time parent can be daunting, especially when considering the cost of raising a new infant. Add to that the stress finding out a baby is on the way just after getting handed by Masters in Journalism diploma. Read more…
College Students and the Equifax Breach
By Lauren Steffens
You’re a grad student. You’ve had a credit card for a couple of years, and you’ve been responsible. In fact, thanks to the Credit Card Act of 2009, it;s rare that you could get a credit card under your own name until you were 21 and had an income. That’s because credit card companies were now forbidden to basically hand out credit cards to college freshmen. Read more…
Applying for Graduate School – A Cost Analysis
By Lauren Steffens
I’ve been taking part-time graduate classes, but am seeking to enter a program full-time. I’m also working part-time, so the cost of applications is weighing on me. I am applying to MFA programs – master’s in fine arts. Because there are only a few doctoral programs in art, an MFA is considered a terminal degree. Read more…
Football May be a College Classic, but it’s Pricey!
By Alex Schiffer
For a lot of college students, Saturdays in the fall are the most unproductive day of the week. When college football season is in full swing it’s a tall task trying to get anything done on game day. Read more…
By Alex Schiffer
It’s a situation probably every college student remembers to some degree; the first time they got offered to drink alcohol in college. Sometimes that offer comes at a house party, other times in the dorms and heck, maybe if you have a good fake ID or know the right bouncer, maybe at a bar. Read more…
College Connect: In Today’s Work Journey – Be Prepared for Detours
By Philip Joens
As a student at the University of Missouri I’d often spend nights working at an on-campus dining hall—usually working in the dishroom or cooking cheese burgers on a hot and greasy grill— and say to myself, “There’s got to be something better than this.” Read more…
