Navigating the terms of grad student finances
By Hiroaki Kono
I want to break a stereotype about college students and finance. “You don’t need to care about money if you receive a grant-type scholarship.” No. That is NOT true. Read more…
Eating a lot of fast food can quickly drain your wallet
By Mimi Wright
I get it. Greasy, warm, salty Chick-fil-A chicken paired with their signature sauce is a killer. So is a fresh, hot burger from McDonald’s. And tacos from Taco Bell. And Sonic slushies with Nerds. Where was I? Read more…
Look like you mean business on a college budget
By Perri Stewart
Making the transition from sitting in class in leggings and an oversized sweatshirt to dressed in full blown business formal clothes, is a move that takes a lot of thinking. Read more…
Sometimes those boring jobs make the goal worthwhile
By Jacob Lang
As all students know, the college experience isn’t cheap. Paying thousands of dollars in tuition is one thing, but when you add in costs for rent, food and social life, students end up dropping quite a bit of cash. Read more…
Meals at home can be a social occasion as well
By Sophia Moll
Everything costs money. That’s just the way life works. When people discuss saving money or you read articles on the internet for the best tips and tricks for spending less money, the usual suggestion is to cut back. Read more…
Work to succeed, work to pay the bills
By Tammy Ko
There are two types of ways to view college jobs: I need to support myself and provide for everyday expenses versus I work to build my portfolio for future hiring opportunities. Read more…
Aldi: A college student’s saving grace
By Liv Jackson
It is a classic tale of the broke college kid. In one moment, I am complaining about how I do not have enough money to go out with my friends, see a movie, buy a new outfit, or anything that falls into the category of recreational spending. Read more…
How to drink coffee cost-effectively in college
By Kaitlyn Hoevelmann
Drinking coffee as a college student can get expensive quickly. Whether we like it or not, many college students seem unable to fully function without a daily caffeine boost. Read more…
Budgeting for the important internship experience
By Gwyneth Helm
Finding an internship is a daunting task we almost all can relate to at some point or another. You may be wondering which companies to apply to, what types of internships you’re interested in and which cities are the best fit. Read more…
Working two jobs and being a full-time student—my friends can’t relate
By Alyxandra Haag
When I started college, I knew I was going to have to work. What I didn’t know was exactly how much I was going to have to work. Read more…
The unexpected cost of owning a pet in college
By Elizabeth Elkin
I found my cat outside the office where I worked in the summer before my junior year of college. I hadn’t planned on getting a pet this early in life; I figured that when I had graduated and had a stable job and didn’t plan to move in the near future, I would adopt a kitten from a shelter. The best laid plans, am I right? Read more…
Grocery shopping as self-care
By Emily Wolf
When it comes to preparing for college, most students don’t have “learning to grocery shop” high on their to-do list. Between the stress of student loans, parking, rent, and figuring out what you’re going to eat for the week, grocery shopping can get put on the back burner. I’m here to tell you that’s wrong. Read more…
Testing strategy to gain college admission
By Junyi Wei
You may have heard of Gaokao, which is the name of the College Entrance Examination in China. It is the toughest and most intensely competitive exam in China, perhaps even in the world. However, you may have never heard of Yikao, which is the name of the test for arts majors such as music, drama, opera performers and even broadcast announcers. Read more…
I’ve become a “Baddie on a Budget”
By Adedayo Akala
Personal finances, I don’t know her. At least I didn’t know her my freshman year of college. I am the type of person that, if I set my mind to something, I will accomplish it. The summer before my first semester of college, my goal was to save all the money I made. This way I would have more than enough for a shopping spree for “college clothes” and the cutest dorm room ever. Read more…
Studying abroad and learning my financial situation – a real eye opener
By Tina Tan
January and August are the two biggest months in a year for me and usually the most heartbreaking for my dad. That’s when my tuition bill comes due and the numbers will always show up on his account on time. Studying abroad is usually a costly experience, whether you are a US student studying in Europe or a Chinese student studying in the U.S. Read more…
Money management for students
By Minna Tian
Unless you recently won the lottery, managing cash is an essential skill that most of us should possess. In our daily lives as students, we are faced with a lot of competing priorities such as exams, papers, work and life, and family commitments, to name a few. For many people, there is no time left to manage our finances. Read more…
The joy that comes from giving
By Matthew Unthank
Giving away money is a horrifying concept for many college students. Through student loans, grocery shopping, utility bills and rent, sectioning off part of your budget as charitable giving seems absurd. However, this may possibly be the most important segment of your financial plan to include. It may sound counterintuitive, but giving away your two most valuable resources – time and money – is perhaps the best investment you can make. Read more…
A journey to college and another journey to understand finances
By Xumei Wu
Before coming to study journalism at the University of Missouri, I’d never left my native China. So, I thought I was prepared well enough to support my basic lives in America with jam and sausage – foods that can be stored for a long time – as well as bringing clothing for summer and winter. The reality though, is that you always spend more than you think. Read more…
How to save money during a trip
By Zhuoxiu Xing
I believe I am not the only one who likes traveling around the world. But as college students, the cost of an international trip is often beyond what we could imagine. I’ve traveled by myself since high school. I’ve been to Sri Lanka, Iceland, Morocco and so on. Looking back on these experiences, I’ve always felt that there were some costs that I could have saved. Read more…
College students struggle to establish credit
By Charlotte Norsworthy
JT Cavalenes was recently denied for his first credit card. He’s a freshman at Kennesaw State University and decided to apply for a credit card after his parents advised him to start planning for his future. Read more…
Why you should start building your credit in college
By Charlotte Norsworthy
Friends of Alexis Manson call her the “budget queen” because of her categorized budget spreadsheets and careful spending habits. “For me, building credit and good practices during college feels lower risk than waiting until after college,” Manson said. “I think it’s better to start learning right now while I have a bit of a safety net than wait and be overwhelmed by new expenses at the same time that I’m beginning to build credit.” Read more…
UGA Innovation Wants to Reach All Parts of Campus
By Caroline Odom
When Meriah Grove was a freshman at the University of Georgia in 2016, she walked into the office of the UGA Entrepreneurship Program and asked how she could get involved. “My passion and my life is creating something out of nothing,” said Grove, a senior advertising major from Roswell, Georgia. Read more…
Mobile finance apps won’t do the work for you
By Caroline Odom
Being in college often means feeling broke. One student wonders if he will be able to pay his rent. Another questions if he should stay home and cook or go out to eat with his friends. Even students who can rely on the financial safety net of their parents may question their financial situation as personal finances become personal for the first time. Read more…
Younger generations have different interests in personal finance coverage
By Erin Schilling
Money divides Baby Boomers and Generation Z’ers just as much as it connects them. Young people are now using the blasé “OK, Boomer” meme to defend against the “snowflake” snub from older folks, creating a virtual war in which no topic — especially money management — is safe from fire. Read more…
Collegiate health centers provide lower cost options for students
By Erin Schilling
Tish Thompson navigated life as an uninsured college student. With a part-time job, student loans and classes to worry about, her health insurance didn’t seem like a top priority at the time. “I knew about student insurance, but I had no money,” Thompson said. Read more…
Crunching the numbers for your gap year
By Savannah Sicurella
When Marla Ebert, now a career consultant in the University of Georgia’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences, opted to take a gap year before beginning a master’s program in higher education, she approached the decision with specific criteria in mind: she wanted a “well-rounded” experience to prepare her for the master’s program, to keep her attuned to the “student mindset” and to support her financially. Read more…
Think scholarships to defray the costs of studying abroad
By Savannah Sicurella
Studying abroad provides students the opportunity to experience cultural perspectives, styles of education and academic, professional and social environments different from their own. It can be a transformative thing, undergraduate study abroad alum Tatiana Anthonysaid, but the experience of living, learning and laboring in another country isn’t cheap. Read more…
How affordable is on campus housing?
By Ashlyn Webb
The choice between living on campus or off campus is a decision several rising sophomores at the University of Georgia must make when figuring out their housing for the next year. All first-year students at UGA are required to live on campus with the exception of those students who are from neighboring counties. They are allowed to live at home. Read more…
Students struggle to find housing in an affordable housing shortage
By Ashlyn Webb
Georgia Chambers, a University of Georgia student, and her roommates are searching for housing for the 2020-2021 school year, nearly nine months in advance of their move-in date. Chambers and her roommates are searching early because of the limited amount of housing that fits their budget close enough to campus to be practical for them. Read more…
Recent grad provides example for paying down student debt
By Jada Bowman
Maria Rodriguez is not alone as someone under the age of 24 in the United States with outstanding federal student loans. According to Enterprise Data Warehouse, that group totaled 1.69 million people as of June 30, 2019. But Rodriguez, who graduated in December 2018 from the University of Georgia with a degree in management information systems, wants to be rid of her federal debt obligations sooner than required. Read more…
Is paying for graduate school worth it?
By Jada Bowman
As graduation approaches many undergraduates contemplate continuing their education at the master’s level, but inevitably that decision involves determining if the benefits outweigh the additional costs. According to Mary Carlson, a University of Georgia professor whose field of study is personal financial planning with an emphasis in financial therapy, the answer should be straightforward: increasing student loan debt is not advisable if your intended career is not lucrative enough to pay those loans back. Read more…
Budgeting became real for me
By Mikaela Cohen
Last semester, I found myself in a scary situation. I received a letter in the mail stating that I owed $1,000 to a sorority that I hadn’t been an active member of since 2017. The letter said that I had four months to pay off the debt. After speaking with the sorority’s national treasurer and national finance coordinator, I realized I was obligated to the dues and fees for the semester that I left the sorority. Read more…
UGA students create unique products as college entrepreneurs
By Mikaela Cohen
The weekly schedules for Ayanna Grant, Amani Grant and Daysha Egson, mostly revolve around crocheting, which begs the question: “Why are they doing all of that crocheting?” All three, who are juniors at the University of Georgia, launched a clothing brand, Island Gyals LLC, in Athens, Georgia, and its unique products are all crocheted and hand-made by the three owners. Read more…
Bundle and save: College student finds benefits in bundling renters and car insurance
By Amy Scott
Insurance was the last thing on Katie Wallace’s mind when she was planning what she needed to do before going to an out of state school. She hadn’t even changed her residency from Colorado to Georgia as she entered her freshman year at the University of Georgia. Read more…
Drive time: What one college student learned from paying her own car expenses
By Amy Scott
Aaliyah Pauyo bought her 2005 Honda Civic for $4,000 when she was in college. She, like many other college students, knew a car would be useful for getting around campus and town. But Pauyo ultimately had to pay for the car and insurance on her own. Read more…
A balancing act: Research or jobs?
By Kelly Mayes
Undergraduate research is a vital part of the process of getting into graduate school, but for some students, taking a chunk out of their schedules to spend time in the lab is not that easy. While undergraduate research is a critical element in the education of students engaged in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), lower-income students struggle to balance the time required for their experiments and supporting themselves when laboratory jobs often do not pay. Read more…
Working in college: Worth the cost?
By Kelly Mayes
College can be a balancing act of so many things that it may not seem worth it to have a job. But working might actually be a benefit as long as students make sure to balance their time between working and their studies, said one soon-to-be graduating student at the University of Georgia. Read more…
Gap years can be valuable investment in yourself
By Skylar Nicholson
Erin Lamb chose to take a gap year between her freshman and sophomore years of college when she was then a student at Samford University. “Our society says you go to high school, you graduate high school and you go to college. So, it can probably be scary to break the mold on that, but doing that teaches you so much about who you are in relation to the world,” said Lamb, who used the time to intern in Guatemala and participate in the World Race program in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Read more…
Scholarships can help pay for study abroad
By Skylar Nicholson
Out of all college undergraduate students in the United States, only 10% will study abroad before they graduate, according to the Institute of International Education. Part of the reason for such low participation is directly related to costs, but Effie Antonoudi, a University of Georgia consumer economicsand financial planning professor, suggested that more students should consider applying for the vast number of scholarships for such travel that go unused each year. Read more…
Workplace navigation for the professionally inexperienced
By Samuel Leal
The pursuit of legally taxable income has taken me to some interesting places. Just after my high school graduation, for example, I had thought proving myself in the real world meant getting a job in the deli department of a nearby grocery store – but quit after a while because the free chicken wings no longer seemed to make that particular job worthwhile overall. Read more…
Technology investment awakening
By Hailey Mensik
Growing up, I hated when people asked me what my dad did. He was a technology salesman, working for companies like IBM, and it was boring to explain and even worse to watch people have to listen. His jobs were always stable and offered good healthcare. Commissions made some years better or worse, but didn’t force us to drain our savings – until two years ago. Read more…
How I got my financial life together
By Andy Blye
When I was in the Peace Corps I lived in a very rural village and did not have access to the internet. I served in an African nation called Zambia and I lived 80 miles away from paved roads and grid electricity. To avoid boredom way out there in the bush, I would download podcasts on my phone when I went to town and bring them back to the village with me. Read more…
Parking math for a student
By Raul Bencomo
A story about expensive parking? Nothing unusual here. Parking at our university is notorious for its expensive price tag, and inconvenience. You might conclude that an annual parking permit is the answer, but not so fast. Consider these two factors: The permits’ range in prices. Here in downtown campus, its $210 to $780. Depending on the days you go to class, you are better of paying the meter, Lyft or private parking lots. Read more…
Budgeting to travel
By Natalie Walters
I don’t think I’m alone in rolling my eyes at stories about millennials quitting their jobs to travel the world — and I’m a millennial myself. Often, there’s an important fact buried deep inside these articles: either they have a trust fund or they landed a $100,000+ salary out of college. As a young journalist from a middle-class family, I qualified for neither of those things. Read more…
Surviving the growing gig economy
By Austin Fast
It’s no news that young journalists can find it tough to land that first job. At the Online News Association’s annual conference held in New Orleans this September, I met a millennial who’d completed 13 internships and said potential employers still told her she “didn’t have enough experience” for entry-level positions. Let’s hope that’s an extreme case, but it illustrates the Catch-22 many journalists encounter when starting out in their careers. Read more…
Money goes by fast
By Lorenzino Estrada
Earlier this year I learned an important lesson about money: it goes fast. While it may seem like an obvious lesson that I learned much later than most, it’s a lesson that I was very grateful to learn. I learned this lesson as I was planning a vacation for my girlfriend and I after our sophomore year at Arizona State University. I had never planned a vacation before, my parents had always planned our family vacations every other summer and I anxiously awaited until the day we left. Read more…
Lessons about savings and going out to eat
By Molly Bohannon
Here are a few things about me. I just graduated from a private college in the Midwest. I also went right into graduate school, which means I haven’t even started to pay off my debt from undergrad and I’m already acquiring more! Because of these things I have decided to be careful about how I spend my money. There are two main lessons I’ve learned and implemented that I want to share: you can never put enough in savings and going out to eat is okay. If you do it right. Read more…
The importance of exchange rates
By Ayano Nagaishi
In my past 21 years, I have moved all around the world. In every country that I lived in, I learned a lot about its culture, language, life style, people, economy and more. However, I never learned specifically about money. When I was younger, it was common for me to get allowances from my parents and it was my decision to either spend or save it. I always had something I wanted to buy so I barely saved the money. Read more…
Money is easier to lose than it is to get
By Alyssa Valley
While my experience with money is not as elaborate as others, I think my experience and observation with it thus far has helped me to prepare better for later in life. I have two older siblings, so most of my life has been watching what they do and learning either what to do, or in some cases what not to do. One big thing I learned from my older sister was to make saving money a part of your paycheck. Read more…
The kind of power money has over people
By Molly Duerig
I was ten years old when I truly learned about the value of money. I was sitting in a fifth-grade classroom, listening to Mrs. Krysinski talk about diagramming a sentence or some such thing. A plane soared overhead. I plugged my ears. I put my head down on the desk and covered them. A couple people sitting at the same table of desks murmured something, but I just sat quiet and waited for it to go away. The plane, the fear. All of it. I didn’t understand how anyone could just sit there after what had just happened. Some weeks before. Nine-eleven. Read more…
Don’t let emotions make you go broke
By Agya K. Aning
As a younger man, I had a pretty terrible habit of making impulse purchases. This was especially true after I first moved to China and was routinely faced with the impossible boredom of not yet knowing anybody. Because I wanted to be around people, I went to where I could find the most of them — unfortunately, those places were often shopping malls. Read more…
