| 72 | Become financially empowered |
If you’re like most college students, you probably don’t have many assets. But whether you have a lot of money or a little, knowing about your finances and managing them well are essential parts of adult life.
Financial empowerment is about knowing your options, setting goals, and being realistic about your finances. Unfortunately, personal finance isn’t covered much in school—gone are the days of learning to balance a checkbook in home ec class—and many college students flounder, panic, and bury their heads in the sand when it comes to cash and credit.
However, anyone can learn about personal finance and get on the right track. By educating yourself on a few ins and outs, you’ll feel much more comfortable about your financial future, no matter what fiscal circumstances you encounter.
HOW TO DO IT
1 / Assess your current situation honestly and frankly by answering a few questions.
How much money are you making on your own or getting from your family each month?
What are your essential monthly expenses (food, rent, transportation, phone, loans, school books, credit card debt)?
What do you have left over after expenses, if anything?
2 / Consider what you could do differently. Maybe your assessment shows that you need more money to sustain yourself. In this case, a higher-paying part-time job or signing up for another student loan should be your goal. Or maybe you have more money left over each month than you thought, but you’re throwing the extra cash away on expensive dinners, movies, and clothes. In that case, cut down your expenses and start setting aside some savings.
The idea is to get to a point where you can start saving, even a bit at a time. Once you get a regular salary, you can put money in a savings account weekly or monthly. No matter how big or small your salary is, depositing into a savings account regularly will add up.