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5 Financial Lessons I Learned In College

This past weekend I traveled to my alma mater, Colorado State University. My old stomping grounds changed, as new buildings and flashy designs populated the sprawling campus. But despite the changing landscape, it felt familiar.

There are countless memories — exceptional and horrific — that span my 5 years of life in Fort Collins, Colorado. One of the most poignant and relevant were the many financial mistakes made during my tenure. It was here that I started a crazy financial roller coaster that led me to nearly $40,000 in student loans and debt. It was here that I first noticed a panicky daydream where I would be sucked into the ground and have no way out of this horrific financial hell.

After reflecting on my visit and time in Fort Collins, I realized that I’ve changed — like the campus landscape. I’ve learned a lot about myself and some financial lessons along the way. Today, I wanted to focus on 5 key aspects that college helped me understand about personal finance. What I would’ve given back then to know this information now!

1. Friends influence frugality
Unsurprisingly, the people you surround yourself with greatly influence how you spend your money. If you’re trying to be a more frugal person, it’ll be vital to find friends that support and approve your way of life. It can be radically different from the party, work-hard-play-hard mentality at some campuses. Additionally, if you attend a private college/university, you may be around people with larger bank accounts. It’s important to reflect on who you are and what your inner compass is telling you about finances.

2. College is expensive, put extra funds in a savings account
While I was fortunate to have parents that paid for college, I didn’t budget well — if at all. My parents gave me a little spending money and I did exactly that, spent it! It wasn’t “saving money.” I burned through the money. From expensive dinners to luxury road bikes, I was a faux-millionaire with an unquenchable need to spend. Much of this could’ve been solved or stifled with a good budget. And it’s never too early to make a budget! College is the ideal time to figure out these important “adult” issues, as you should have money coming in and out. If you ever have extra funds — whether you’re the campus pot dealer or have generous parents — stock your funds away for rainy days.

3. Question your student loan “award” unmercilessly
Student loans are often called “awards” after you apply for and fill out the FAFSA. Unfortunately, these are not anything of the sort. Student loans are powerful debt instruments that are issued by the federal government, with changing terms and interest obligations. These are complex, dangerous, and can spiral out of control rapidly. With any decision to take out student loans you need to be unmercilessly skeptical and defensive.

4. Avoid car-friendly/needed campuses
I sold my car over the summer. It’s been a difficult adjustment, as the current university — Iowa — isn’t particularly bike-friendly. Wherever you intend to go to school, consider public transportation and (wide) bike lanes. You should be able to receive free transportation on buses with a student ID. Look out for bike racks, too! Ideally, you’d be able to sell or avoid buying a car altogether.

5. Find “easy” jobs and double-up on work
College campuses have tons of jobs for students. If you’re an exceptionally busy, motivated student — and I hope you are with what college costs — it’s important to find a job that allows you to double-up on work. For instance, you could get a job as a server that pays very well, but that could make it difficult to take full semester course loads. Thus, you sacrifice one part of your life for another. An alternate option — especially if under a time crunch to graduate — is to find a desk job at a residence hall or an office assistant position. Oftentimes, these jobs have downtime and allow you to sneak in some study time. Now, you can be efficient and make some money in the process. What could be better?!

Frugal Articles of the Week

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Today I wanted to feature a few frugal articles that caught my eye this week. Curl up in your favorite reading nook and enjoy. Hopefully these encourage you to live frugal lives!

Do You Give Money to Panhandlers? by J. Money
This is an important, age-old question that J. addresses. Should you give money to panhandlers and homeless people? What happens when you do and how will others think about the decision?

Human civilisation ‘will collapse’ unless greed culture is stopped, report warns by Andrew Hough
Unfortunately, our reckless abandon and consumption of natural resources is hurting us all. This recent Telegraph article highlights how our consumption and luxury cultures/needs push us careening down an unstoppable path of climate change. We need to reduce what we use for more reasons than our budget — it’s about everyone’s well-being.

What 2,000 Calories Looks Like by Josh Barro, Troy Griggs, David Leonhardt, & Claire Miller
It might surprise you to see this New York Times story about calories in food in a list of frugal articles. Incredibly, when you eat out you’re not just spending more money — you’re getting tons more calories. When you make food at home, it’s often healthier and contains fewer calories.

7 Financial Lessons Learned from My Parents’ Debt by Erin M.
I was shocked by this intimate and detailed article focusing on the lessons that one personal finance writer took away from her parents. The most powerful takeaways center on reducing possessions and that “Keeping up with the Joneses” feeling. Well worth a read!

Frugal Articles of the Week

By Frugaling Leave a Comment

Today I wanted to feature a few frugal articles that caught my eye this week. Curl up in your favorite reading nook and enjoy. Hopefully these encourage you to live frugal lives!

The Cheapest Generation by Derek Thompson and Jordan Weissmann
While this article was actually published a couple years ago in The Atlantic, I just recently read it. It catalogues the many challenges that major companies are facing from Millennials. Companies like Ford are getting desperate, as the latest generation refuses to buy cars at the rate of their parents. While a clever title — “The Cheapest Generation” — I found it to be inherently pessimistic. Instead of being the cheapest, Millennials could be considered the most “green,” “eco-friendly,” “budget-conscious,” and more.

Flowchart: Should I buy this? by Callie Enlow
Good Magazine has been a leader in publishing articles about environmental, political, and socioeconomic issues. In this latest feature, Callie Enlow created a flowchart to show readers what they should and shouldn’t buy — to provide a roadmap. It’s worth your time, especially during the holiday season.

A Big Safety Net and Strong Job Market Can Coexist. Just Ask Scandinavia. by Neil Irwin
Here’s a politically controversial topic that looks at the high-tax Scandinavian countries. In America, we tend to assume that the more capitalist our economy is, the better we all perform. In reality, the evidence regarding these “free market” principles can be somewhat dubious. Neil Irwin masterfully presents a basic thesis: high-tax countries actually have lower unemployment rates.

The Opportunity Cost of Parents Leaving Their Village by Femme Frugality
Femme Frugality is an inspiring author and parent, who talks honestly about family dynamics and home life in her latest article. Femme provides insight into the pressures put on families — financially and psychologically. Despite these pressures, she emphasizes the powerful opportunity for collective action and shared help. It’s worth a read!

You Aren’t Frugal Enough!

By Frugaling 21 Comments

The world currently exists in an infinite growth paradigm — an impossibility that will lead to the planet’s destruction if not curtailed — where increased production and consumption are desired. A pressure to work, spend, and consumptively “contribute” can come from both internal and external sources. This environment makes frugality challenging.

Individually, I struggle to save money, eat out less, and make healthy financial choices. It’s easy to pull out excuses: I’m tired, stressed, or too busy. This monologue pushes me to spend on items that should make me feel relaxed and content. They don’t. My precarious budget necessitates and encourages an alternative. Moreover, I’m motivated to reduce my environmental impact due to climate change. To consume is human (i.e., food), but to buy endlessly and without reason is disastrous. But I can’t say it’s easy, as I must be continually mindful of my spending. Mistakes happen when I’m not actively working at it. Last weekend I spent about $35 going out for food and drinks, in a moment of total unconscious spending.

Along with this self-promulgated racket, there are also social pressures that encourage spending. Society has certain expectations about wealth and success. Usually, achievement in the eyes of our capitalist system requires a paycheck of about $50,000 or more — with continual raises and bonuses. Income must also be spent conspicuously. In other words, you should find ways to spend on things that provide no material value — they just occupy space (i.e., larger cars, homes, and the crap to fill them).

If you aren’t making these purchases there can be a social reaction or rejection. This is where frugality gets messy. For instance, I tried a dating site that asked whether I owned a car. The question seemed innocuous enough, but upon further inspection I realized it was aimed at attractiveness. See, asking whether I had a car was meant to give information to potential women. They would be asked the same thing, but I could see many women’s profiles needed the man to have a car. It made me feel bad. Not having a car made me less attractive; an obvious societal pressure, which still felt unexpectedly horrible. I clearly wasn’t meeting the expectations of those on the site. I wished I owned a car momentarily.

It’s not just cars. Look at the phone in your pocket. If you’re a millennial, it’s likely a smartphone — mine is! When you see someone pull out a flip phone or a “brick,” you may judge that person’s income level and status — I have. But is that fair, right, or healthy?

The greatest challenge to my frugality has come from those who verbally question my decisions (fortunately, none of my friends 🙂 ). For example, there are people who tell me I’m not frugal enough or could/should be doing better. Essentially, they’re saying, “You’re trying to be frugal, but you haven’t met my expectations. If you really want to be frugal, you’d do this…” The other critique I receive is that my frugality hurts the economy. By reducing my consumption, I’m somehow not doing my part. When I more accurately reflect on these situations, I realize that something about my goals are creating a reactionary defensiveness in some people.

I’ve found that my method of talking about frugality and saving money greatly affects how safe others feel about their own choices. A spendthrift may inherently be insulted and/or self-conscious by my choices. What they don’t realize is that their social pressures (or critiques) can act on a healthy budget to encourage conformity and consumption.

Becoming more frugal isn’t without challenges — both internal and external. The frugal life isn’t always easy, but it certainly feels rewarding when done right.

5 Financial Lessons I Learned In College

Frugal Articles of the Week

Frugal Articles of the Week

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