The Students' Lifestyle

Missguided by oneblogger featuring a peplum dress

One of the biggest responsibilities you have in college is being able to manage your expenses. This is when your credit starts and everyone wants a piece of your wallet. There will be a lot of temptation while in college, but here are the three biggest things you'll have watch out for while in college.

Credit cards

You probably started getting these as soon as you turned 18, but these little plastic cards can cause you to end up in big debt. If you know you're not ready for a card just yet but still get pesky offers in the mail, contact the credit card company and ask them they remove you from their list. If you do have a credit card, the easiest thing to remember is to never go over your limit. You know what you can realistically pay for a month and you should keep that number in mind before you swipe your card. Also, be sure to make your payments on time and never go over your spending limit.

Loans

This is the most evil and most unavoidable one of them all. Most college students today can't attend college without getting a loan, and will have a wall of debt waiting for them when they graduate. Only take out what you need to pay for school, and be sure to keep up with your interest rates and who your lender is. If you ha e a federal loan, remember you can signify how much of your loan you need want to take put if what you have been awarded exceeds cost.

Not Saving

One problem with money is not saving it,which can be hard for those of us with more month at the end of our money. Making small changes now with little income will help you along the way in the long run. For Instance, cutting out a weekly habit like going to the club or buying a drink for lunch could save you a few dollars a week you can put towards saving.  Setting up an automatic monthly transfer from your checking account to your savings account will also help you save overtime. Other options are to bring back the piggy bank from childhood and dump your spare change in everyday. My husband did this and ended up saving a few hundred dollars this way.  Savings are great to have,because they'll  always be there for a rainy day or when your car breaks down. It will also help you reach some goals like traveling for a vacation, or building up to a deposit on a new home or car.

These money traps can sometimes be easy to fall into,but can be easily avoided with the proper precautions. What other money downfalls have you been faced with in college? 

Shannah and I have been raving about Swagbucks since we both joined last year, and now we're giving you another reason to join- shopping! School is about to start again and we know you're looking to refresh your desk and closet.  Since you're going to be shopping anyway, why not earn points while doing it?

If the tuition for college isn't killing you, then the cost of textbooks surely will. With some books  running up to $600 and no guarantee you'll use it much in class, it's a good idea to find cheaper ways to buy your book. Here are a few resources you can use to get your books for free or cheap. 

Don't Buy it

It's not uncommon to hear students say that they didn't even need to buy the textbook to pass the class. Usually in lecture classes, you can skip the cost of the textbook and rely on the notes given by the professor. Always ask your professor or former students how much of the class relies on the text, and you'll be able to see if you need to head to the bookstore or not. Checking out reviews on rating websites helps a lot as well.

 Tara Simone

Okay, so I've made some huge leaps in the past year. I got married in October, had a baby in May, and moved to California in July. Add that in with continuing my last (God,I hope) year in college, things have been kinda hectic. I haven't blogged about it because I've been super busy trying to get my new life together and anytime I started an update in draft, I could never finish it. There are a lot of things I'm still trying to work out, but I'll keep you all updated on the progress.  Anyway, I'm back on the wagon now and won't keep you so in the dark. So with that said, we apologize for our absence and hope you keep reading!