Reader Questions Josh on 29 Jan 2009 04:13 am
Open Mic: Question From a Reader
This weeks Open Mic question comes from Curtis Lake, a college studen in Grand Rapids, New York.
I am a daily reader of your site and while I enjoy the articles, they also frustrate me. I am a college student with an extremely limited income. Because of this, doing things like saving for an emergency fund, opening a retirement account or creating passive income are out of the question. What can I do to improve my personal finances when I am making just enough money to survive?
Thanks for the question, Curtis. How to save when you are barely getting by is a question I hear frequently, and it is certainly a fair one.
First of all, at this stage in your financial life what you don’t do is more important than what you do. You may not be able to save money yet, but are you avoiding credit card debt? Are you doing everything you can to minimize the amount of student loans you need to take out? Simply avoiding debt (or limiting it in the case of student loans) will put you in excellent shape when you graduate and begin making a real income.
Second, have you actually tracked your expenses to see if there is anything you can cut back on? College is a blast and having fun is important, but could you go out one less night a week and perhaps save that $50 or so a month? Use Mint (it’s free) and analyze your spending over a three month period. See where you can cut back on little things. It all adds up. Finding even $20 a month to cut out and put towards an emergency fund could put you in great shape when you graduate.
Lastly, is it possible to pick up a part-time job, or pick up more hours if you already have one? Obviously your studies should come first, and you should still leave time for fun, but if you can pick up even 10 hours of minimum wage work a week you could add $200 or more a month to your bottom line. And if I said $20 could go a long way, imagine what $200 could do?
I understant the money frustrations of being in college. It was less than a year ago I was there myself. But by simply avoiding debt, cutting expenses wherever possible and possibly picking up a part-time job you can set yourself up for a fantastic start financially after college.
What advice would you give Curtis? What did you do in college to save or earn extra money?
If you would like to be featured on Open Mic, send your personal finance related question to centsabilitytowealth@gmail.com
Technorati Tags: personal finance, emergency fund, retirement, saving, debt
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