Recently, in a nationwide campaign, Bank of America asked college students to share practical money management tips and over 5,000 students offered advice for saving more, spending less and managing college debt.
"Now more than ever, it takes planning and saving to stay ahead. Students may not think they are in a position to take to take control of their money. But they are," said Farnoosh Torabi, author of You're So Money! How to Live Rich, Even When You're Not, who worked with the Bank on the campaign. "Opening a financial dialogue with your peers is a great first step."
Torabi appears as part of the campaign in webisodes posted on the Bank of America student life website morrisoncampus.com in which she discusses her top tips on how college students can save money. Students can download while visiting the site the Student Financial Handbook, a handy guide full of additional tips on money management.
PAY YOURSELF FIRST- Is one of the first steps that students recommended in managing their finances is a common refrain among professional financial planners.
"Set up a direct deduction from your paycheck," one Virginia Tech University student said, "Even as little as 5% from everything will add up quickly. If it is automatically deducted, you will never see the money and never have a chance to miss it."
Using a personalized financial spreadsheet to create a budget, embedding reminders on electronic calendars to pay bills on time and keeping track of account balance online also were strong recommendations.
"If you check your balance online nightly, you can automatically update the spreadsheet each day and maintain a current balance by subtracting any outstanding and pending items that have not yet cleared your account," a George Washington University student said. "This way you always know what you have, what you have to pay and what you have left splurge."
Textbooks are a significant recurring expense which also represents an opportunity to save. By buying used books or getting access to free books from the library that have been put on reserve, or Web sites that offer free or sponsored text downloads, students said.
Heading into the financial aid season, several students offered practical tips for tapping into a key source of income for covering tuition bills. Fill out the financial aid forms by February 1 to meet school deadlines and stake your claim to financial aid, and complete as many scholarship applications as you can, a University of Nevada Reno student said.
Although, most students in the Bank of America campaign focused on budgeting and spending wisely, others considered the other side of the financial management equation...managing debt, especially from college loans.
"If you can, you should start pre-paying your loan $50 a month, and by the time you graduate you have less to pay off," an Ohio State University student said.
Torabi, a senior correspondent for thestreet.com, offered her own tips to simplify money management for students in this complex economic time, including:
-Planning is key: Knowing what you want in you life, short and long term, can help you better asses your financial needs.
-Set your goals to save: If you have no money, create a practical revenue stream by tutoring fellow students or babysitting, jobs that create opportunities to save.
_Think free first: Seek out and use free resources, check out DVDs from the library and use your student ID to get discounts and access to museums.
I especially like this campaign because it focuses on college students during their financial opinion forming years. The earlier they start good financial habits the better because timing make a big difference when it comes to financial sense. The earlier you start the better.
We'd love to hear from more college students. Give us your money saving and financial planning tips.
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