Why College Students Need to Learn to Budget

CHATTANOOGA (mocsnews.com)- College students can be reckless when it comes to spending money. This is an incredibly important issue among all college students because not learning how to budget can have a serious impact on their future. 

There are many reasons why students need to learn to budget in order for them to have a successful future. First, if they do not learn, they will likely have a much harder time saving money.

It can be difficult for everyone to try to save money, but it is especially difficult to try when you were never taught or learned how to save money.

Second, if they do not learn, they will likely not be able to support themselves without having to live paycheck to paycheck. A common goal for college students is that they want to be successful and stable with their savings in the future which is why learning budget now is so important.

Third, if they do not learn, they will likely struggle to live somewhat comfortably. As stated above, living paycheck to paycheck can be incredibly anxiety inducing. Figuring out how to budget sooner rather than later will help to produce a somewhat comfortable life money wise.

Yes, it can be incredibly hard to begin budgeting when you have no idea where to start. However, once begun, it is very easy to maintain that routine.

Sydney Brown, an alumnus of UTC, has been budgeting for the past 2 years. “I began budgeting when I was in my sophomore year at UTC, and it literally saved my financial situation. I was 20, broke, and struggling to figure out how to get out of my current situation,” says Brown.

Sydney found an online budgeting website where she entered her spending, income, and other information and the website laid out a plan to help her begin her budgeting journey. The website she used can be found here.

Another undergrad graduate, Morgan Griffin, said that budgeting helped her to be able to pay for grad school. Griffin said that without it, she would not have been able to further her education.

One way to begin a budgeting journey is to do sufficient research. It can be very overwhelming to begin such a big task but with the proper information, it is easier and can be done better. An informative article can be found here.

Doing this prior research can take some of the pressure off of the student because they will go into it knowing more about the whole process. Yes, it is a big process to figure out by yourself, but in the long run it is very helpful and promotes a more successful and fulfilling life.

Another way to prepare is to ask friends about their experiences. Every person has a different experience when learning how to budget and even when they are actively doing it.

Maya Santos, an undergrad student at UTC, has never budgeted but is very excited to begin. Santos says, “I have never budgeted or even tried to, and it is so daunting. A lot of my friends budget and I am super interested to begin.”

Santos is ready to begin her budgeting journey and was given this website by her mother to help her learn a little more about it.

Overall, budgeting is an incredibly important task for college students to begin because it will set them up for success in their future. Budgeting will help give students to tools for success.