Financial Success in College

Submitted by Phil Amoa, Resident Assistant, Gwynedd-Mercy College

Financial success may come in different forms. Financial success does not only mean that you are financially independent, or you have been able to make thousands of dollars off the stock market. Being financially successful also involves making sure that by the time you graduate from college, you are not in debt or worse off than you started. As essential as it is to secure a part-time job to support your personal wants you must be aware of the “hidden regresses” that come uninvited. Your first paycheck brings you some degree or feeling of accomplishment. Your adult life is just beginning; you see the value of getting paid for work done. It goes without saying that it’s at a time where you start to take on additional responsibilities. The importance of communication and being able to be reached wherever and whenever, prompts you to procure a wireless. The apparent need of getting to and from your job involves the cost of a vehicle, driving insurance, gas and all other related transportation expenses. Indubitably, acquiring a job doesn’t always mean money inflow; it creates a path for money outflow. One needs to be prepared for the unexpected and the ability to be financially successful.

Credit cards: a friend or a foe? When the due date for bills draw nigh, and the checks are not coming in as often as you would have expected, many students feel pressured to use credit cards as a means of a short-term loan. This method where you plan on immediate repayment is not harmful; however, many students misconstrue that credit cards are an invention to make college life luxurious and comfortable. Wrong!

Saving is sometimes barely doable for some students, since they end up owing money to a multitude of credit card companies. Our system is designed so that without good credit, one is limited from doing a lot of things. It is thus sagacious if we use our credit cards wisely. Use credit cards for things you know will definitely bring you a return. For example, use your credit cards to buy gas to take you to work. When you decide to use your credit cards to buy all the possible clothes on sale; and the purchase is backed by the conviction of repayment after you graduate, put the credit card back in your book bag.

Credit cards can either make you or unmake you; this is because if you use them wisely, once you graduate, it will be easier to get a loan for a new car or a lower security deposit on that new apartment. For the college student that works, there is always a possibility of saving money, even if you can’t save a lot; you can still save a little. Try to research online banks that offer high interest rates on their savings accounts. The proliferation of online savings accounts has undeniably increased the interest rates, and thus the potential to earn more on your savings.

To be financially successful means to be free from debt, in the college perspective it is to try to avoid a post-graduation debt. Even if you consider yourself to be a “broke college student” you have the ability to be financially successful, if you make the effort to save efficiently and use credit wisely.

About the Author

Phil Amoa is the author of a time management book entitled Timerplan. He has also published numerous articles in a diverse range of topics. Phil is from Langhorne, Pennsylvania. He is a student of Gwynedd-Mercy College, majoring in Business Administration. Phil is a second year Resident Assistant who has conducted presentations at Gwynedd Mercy’s resident assistants’ training. He is also a Business and French Tutor at the Academic Resource Center. He plans on pursuing a career in law.