Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

    Penny Pinching

     

    Being in an environment where the temptation to spend money is stronger than the will to save money, it’s no wonder students have problems budgeting.

    The late night trips to Whataburger, the early morning stops at Starbucks and the occasional bag of chips with a soda can really burn a hole in your pocket.

    With the freedom to do whatever they want, like waste money how and when convenient, most students just can’t seem to resist the temptation. Soon, all of those frivolous expenditures have racked up enough overdraft fees to pay for an entire semester of college.

    According to WhatsMyScore.org, a website by Visa dedicated to help young adults understand the importance of budgeting and earning a good credit score.

    “You’ll be shocked by how much you spend on little things – a coffee every day, a bag of chips here and there, quick trips to the grocery store. Keeping track of your expenses is the first step toward financial sanity,” senior biology major Maddie Tepe said. She has to constantly montitor her spending.

    “I have about $1,000 a month for rent and bills then what remains goes toward groceries and gas, my only ‘spending’ money is what I make at work, and that’s either saved or I’ll go shopping,” adds Tepe.

    Mint.com offers ways to help create budgets and track monthly spending, The free website Mint.com says it’s the, “best free way to help manage your money.”

    Using the accounts you upload, Mint.com can track your checking account, savings account, credit card account, and even student loans, meaning every transaction is automatically updated to your Mint account and categorized accordingly.

    Using a pie chart, Mint.com creates a graph of your spending based on category. This feature allows you to see exactly where the majority of your money is spent.

    Mint.com also suggests ways for you to save base on an estimate of what you spend that every month, how you spend money, the likelihood to pay off debt, and your estimated credit score.

    Erika Rendon, senior English major says, “I don’t spend much money in the first place, but because I have too many bills to pay, rent, gas, groceries, credit cards, etc., saving money is essential.

    Though the temptation to buy something nice for once can be tempting, I just have to remind myself what I need to do first before I spend money on something I probably don’t even need.”

    Websites like Education-Portal.com have dozens of tips for college students to save money; looking for scholarships, renting books instead of buying, looking for sales at grocery stores for food and at the mall for clothes asking about student discounts. Restaurants, bars, theaters and stores offer student discounts.

    Saving money doesn’t have to be difficult. But  in order to succeed the will to save has to be stronger than the need to spend.

    Students can save by simply opening a savings account and putting money into it every week, other week or month as low as $10 or $20, and it will gradually increase with interest and by the time graduation time comes around, students could have enough for a nice down payment for a new car, or even enough to move somewhere new.

    Budgeting is also key in college life and professional life. Maintaining and staying on budget will help students know exactly how to spend, how much to spend, and when to stop spending. No one likes being broke, so starting on a good track and maintaining it will help every student live a less worrisome college life.