College Brain Fart

• 2/17/2008 - Saving in College

That good old "Starving College Student" label is pretty accurate for some people I know - they forgo food for the latest CD or a gym membership or, on ocassion, something that makes sense, like rent. But being a college student means you have more expenses than food, style, or rent - you need to pay for tuition, books, parking passes, school supplies, etc. So, naturally, money will be tight, even with a well-paying job.

How, then, does someone afford all the extras? For example, I want to study abroad in April of next year. The total cost is close to $20,000 for a whole academic year. Even with a scholarship or two and convincing my family to cover airline expenses with frequent-flier miles, I still have a great deal to save. I also don't want to go into debt over this, so what am I to do?

Put simply, I have put a hold on spending. I work an average of 12 hours a week at a very good restaurant and save my tips. So, considering that I make a weekly average of maybe $45 in tips, I don't have a ton to save.

So, here's my budget (broken down as best I can) per week:

Rent: $0
Car Payments: $0
Insurance: $0
Utilities: $0
Food: $3
Extras (leisure): $0
Extras (necessities): $2

Therefore, total spent per week: $5.00
Total tips saved per week: $40.00

It's a little embarrassing for a college student - heck, it's pretty embarrassing for anyone who wants to be independent - to be a live-at-home college student. I live with my parents and don't even drive right now. Come March, I'll be driving to school every day, meaning I'll need to allocate $30 a week for gas and a pretty hefty amount for insurance every month. BUT I've come up with a solution for that, too:

Carpooling. I can split the cost for gas, anyway, and the money for insurance will be well-spent so long as I can use the drive to pick up a few more hours at work and maybe get a second job. If I can succeed in the second part, I can actually start saving more.

But it is awkward, as you can imagine. I have to be careful what I get to eat, borrow things I'm interested in, and spend nothing without reason. But you know what?

It's worth it.

Barring loss of job or unforseen expenses, I should be able to afford the whole thing (along with a scholarship) with no loans, no interest, and no problems.

So, like I said, just spending reasonably. Combined with other ideas, like scholarships, college can become somewhat reasonable.

I really don't have much more to say, so ta!

-Rem