Welcome to the Ask an Exec series: a series where I ask our UNT Her Campus leadership team questions about their lives and their advice for new students!
One of the biggest concerns for college students around the country is finances. Arriyah Pullen, the treasurer for Her Campus here at UNT, has some advice on how students can manage their money. Arriyah is a finance major in her junior year. She’s particularly interested in personal finance and business management.Â
Arriyah’s biggest piece of advice for students is simple: “Start your credit off.” Although an often intimidating step, getting a credit card is important to building your credit score. “Open up a student [credit] card and make sure you have your own account,” Arriyah suggests. Make sure you do your research when choosing your credit card. Some cards have different requirements, and knowing how a credit card works is important to avoid getting into debt.
How do you earn more money? Being in college is expensive, ask anyone. From housing, to tuition, to food, to textbooks–costs can pile up. How do you pay for it? Well, even though you’re busy with classes, Arriyah recommends that you “pick up a part time job, either on campus [or off-campus]; something as little as retail or serving. Just a little part time job to keep on the side while in school.” Having income coming in, if you don’t already, can help you manage some of your money stresses and cover your expenses.
Managing your money isn’t just about working, though. You need to make sure you’re saving money where you can. “Stop eating out so much,” Arriyah says. “Try to find deals, like coupons when it comes to getting your hygiene stuff.” Most students also have access to a lot of student discounts that they don’t know about. Keep an eye out for local student discounts, and consider checking out StudentBeans, a website that compiles them so you can see what deals are available.
Another big stressor for students is student loans. Often unavoidable, student loans can become a problem after graduation if you’re not wise about them. “You don’t have to take out all your loans. Just take out however much you need for that specific school year,” says Arriyah. “Most people get [into student loan debt] because they’re taking out more student loans than what they actually need, when they could just take out the amount that will cover their schooling and nothing extra.” By being mindful of how many loans you’re taking out, you’ll save your future self.
Arriyah offers some realistic perspectives on investing for students based on what she learned in her classes. “We learned that we should start retirement around 21. As far as investing for students, it’s really not realistic right now, but you could start investing in yourself [by] making a savings account and investing 20% of your income into it.” Of course, investing as a student is possible, but can be stressful, and sometimes you simply don’t have the money for it as a student. Even if you don’t feel comfortable investing right now, you can work on building your savings, so that when you graduate you can.Â
Finally, budgeting can be made much easier by using the right tools. Often, the right tools are the most convenient ones. Most banks have features on their apps that make it easier. Often, Arriyah says, “You can go and see what you spend money on. It’ll tell you an estimate of how much you spend a month and in what categories, such as entertainment and fast food. Then you could create a budget from using that.”
Although money management can be stressful and confusing, working to take concrete steps can drastically decrease your financial anxiety. You can also use the resources on campus, like the Money Management Center, to help you get on track. Hopefully, these tips from Arriyah can help guide you to a more peaceful financial future.