Hard Earning Money in College - Featured Image

What Should You Do with Your Hard-Earning Money in College 

/2 Comments/in , /by

Whether you are just starting college or already a college student, you have a lot of things on your mind. You probably have to worry about school, tuition, bills, insurance, and so forth. You start having a lot of responsibilities that you get stressed and overwhelmed about everything. Most college students have to start being responsible because it is part of life. According to Forbes, college students can waste money up to $49,000 on things like textbooks

You have to start being independent and take care of yourself because no one will do it for you. You may have some help from your parents, but overall, you have to do most of the work. 

You start picking up part-time jobs to pay for your expenses. You want to spend your hard-earned money on things you want rather than your expenses. However, that is not a clever idea. You need to manage your money so that you don’t become broke. Most college students spend almost all their money on parties, clubs, or bars every weekend. 

If you want some money after graduation, you should learn to take care of your finance. Here are some tips and tricks on what you should do with your hard-earning money in college. 

Save and Spend Accordingly

Most college students don’t know how to budget and end up overspending on many things they don’t need. If you have a budget, you know what you need to save and spend. You have to start thinking about your needs and wants so that you can begin to understand how to budget. Think of ways to shop and save like a pro. 

Many of you have been used to buying things you want, but now you have to transition to an adult mind. You have to pay for your expenses. 

You have to learn how to manage your expenses and your lifestyle. With school and work, you have to save and spend accordingly. If you spend all your hard earning money on the things you want, what is there left for you, right? 

By creating a budget, you can see how much you can spend every month. This can also come in handy, especially when Christmas comes around because that is the time most people go broke. If you save a bit, you have money to buy Christmas presents for people. You can create a budget by writing it out or downloading apps that can help you calculate. 

Start a Side Hustle

Some people end up graduating feeling lost and don’t know what to do with their lives. They end up doing something completely different than their degree. 

For backup plan purposes, you should invest some time and money into a side hustle if you end up not using your degree after graduation. Who knows, you might have a successful business after you finish college, and you might work for yourself rather than go look for a job. 

Do you want to start your own business, or do you want to work for someone? What kind of lifestyle do you want?

You don’t have to start something big; it can be a little hobby like starting a Youtube, selling on Etsy, writing a blog, and so on. Not everyone has a side hustle in college. It is an option if you want something more in life. 

Invest

Not many students think about investing when they are in school. By investing, you can earn extra money on the side to pay or spend on things. You can start investing in the stock market or cryptocurrency. You can start small and slowly build up your portfolio if you want. However, you have to understand how the system works. Don’t put all your money in without a clue what the stock market or cryptocurrency is. 

You are doing it at your own risk. Suppose you are afraid of doing it on your own and are busy with your schedule. There are brokerage companies that are willing to do it for you. They will take a percentage, but you do get some returns too. 

Investing is a long-term game, so if you start your first year of college, you will have a lot of money when you graduate. Time makes a difference when you start early. 

Build an Emergency Funds

Personal finance can be confusing to most college students, and you probably might not have an emergency fund yet. According to The Hill, 40% of college students are saving for an emergency fund. Even if you don’t have one now, it is never too late to start one. Some students leave home to go to college, so they are on their own. They are independent who have to take care of themselves. 

When unpredictable things happen out of nowhere, you are going to need your emergency fund to help you during your dire needs. 

Pretend you become unwell, and you have to go to the doctor. You get a medical bill that is way out of your budget for the month. This is when you get money out of your emergency funds. 

So it is extremely important to put some of your hard-earned money into an emergency fund when something unexpected were to happen. 

Start paying off Student Loans Early

Most people start paying off their student loans after college, but if you start paying off early, you’ll be in better shape compared to your peers. 

If you start paying your student loans early, you’ll start developing a healthy habit at an early age which is extremely hard to do at a young age. By creating this habit, you will be in good standing in the future. Even though most people want to have fun with their hard earning money, you can start small.

Even if you can only afford $10, that is still a huge difference. You’ll eventually understand how it can affect your interest rate. 

Final Thoughts

Money comes and goes, so you should always think twice when using it.

These strategies are something college students do not think about when they are in college. It is recommended that they should start to understand and learn the foundation if they want to start being financially literate, even if it’s just a little. Most students are too worried about other things that they neglect their finances. If you start early, the better you are when you enter the real world. 

Are You Considering an MBA? Answer these 2 Questions First!

/in , , /by

At the end of last year, I was in a career funk. So I considered going back to school to get my MBA (Master’s of Business Administration). I figured with an MBA, you can practically do anything from advancing in your current field or make a complete switch to a new one. Every company values an MBA.

I was so excited! I previously considered the possibility of getting an MBA and my life was in a good position to do night classes. So I began picturing myself adding the letters “MBA” behind my name on business cards and looking up schools.

However, I quickly hit the brakes!

Ask These 2 Questions Before You Pursue an MBA

With many of my friends going back to school or are currently in school. I ALWAYS ask them these 2 simple questions that BLOW THEIR MINDS.

So I decided to ask myself these 2 simple questions to see if I can pass my own “Should You Get An MBA” test.

1. What is the EXACT dream Company and Job Title you want after graduation?

You should know this.

Most people get an MBA because they want to do something in business. They think they need an MBA for potential promotions or career growth.

However, what you should do is FIRST figure out what your dream job is.

You can’t just say “something in business”. If you are going to spend $140,000 or more on an MBA (average MBA costs according to Investatopia). Plus years of your life. You should identify the exact company and job title you want before you even start school. Come on, it’s your DREAM job.

This is a role you’ll potentially be doing for the rest of your life. You should have a clear idea of what it should be. Knowing this will guide every future decision you make within your MBA program, including the electives you take and the networking events you attend.

What’s the point of getting an MBA if you don’t know what you’ll do with it? Seriously? So take a moment and write down your dream job title and company.

2. Have you reached out to your dream company yet?

Once you can identify the exact job title and company you want, you should reach out to that organization and ask what they look for. This should ideally be less intimidating than pondering a future $140,000 MBA student tuition bill.

Usually, a company’s Human Resources department would be willing to meet with you if you tell them you’re considering going back to school to gain the skills necessary to work at their company.

When you meet with your dream company’s Human Resources Department (or any department), you should ask them some of these questions.

My dream job at your company is a Marketing Manager (or whatever it is), what is the typical salary range they get paid?

You should ABSOLUTELY know how much your future job pays because this will inform you how long it’ll take you to pay off your newly acquired student debt. Plus it’ll give you an idea of the lifestyle you can expect once you graduate with an MBA.

While it’s not all about money, you should be aware if your post-MBA salary can cover your student loans for the next 20 years. Are you ok with only eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?

What degrees or education do your current Marketing Managers have (or whatever your dream job is)?

This will give you an idea of the education level of their current employees. Some employees may have MBAs and some may not. You should probe deeper into what the HR team looks for in your dream position. Perhaps you don’t need an MBA and you may have the necessary experience to apply that day.

If you need to get an MBA for that position, ask if they have a preferred school or partner with any specific schools. If your dream job regularly partners with a local university and hires exclusively from there. That university may need to be on your radar for potential schools.

Does your dream company offer internships?

Yes, you’re getting an MBA but knowing if your dream company has an internship program is huge. Many companies will hire interns who are working towards their degree and help them grow into the position. There is no reason to wait till after you receive your MBA to apply to your dream company. You should use every opportunity to start making connections.

What does career growth look like at that company?

If your dream job is to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), they won’t just hire you out of school. What entry-level roles will you need to start off with and how does one become a CEO? How did the current CEO get his role and what did they do before that? Some jobs aren’t attainable right out of school, even with an MBA. You need to understand what your career path would look like moving into your dream position. You should understand what this looks like.

When I considered an MBA, I failed this checklist

Last year when I considered getting my MBA, I went full-throttle and visited 3 different universities. This included dropping in classes and meeting with professors.

I received all the brochures, met with all their “advisors” and compared costs ($39,000 – $80,000). I did soft applications and confirmed I would be accepted to each of them.

I was so freaking close to full-out applying.

I knew I wanted to do something in finance because I LOVED writing about finance (hence why I started a blog). So I figured I’d get an MBA focused on finance.

This is how most people start the MBA journey. They love the idea of a degree, so they first get an education THEN figure out where they want to work.

I know this because that’s how I choose my bachelor’s degree. I went into Landscape Architecture without actually knowing if it was my dream job. I just thought it would be fun to draw and select plants. I didn’t learn till after internship opportunities and after graduation that it’s not what I wanted.

So I took this MBA checklist and failed.

When I looked at my dream job, there were some finance positions like Financial Planner, Mutual Fund Manager, Financial Analyst that sounded interesting. Yet when reviewing, I wasn’t drawn to them with such vigor that I could stomach another $140,000 in student loan debt.

Only one position that I was excited about, sounded fun, but it earned even less than I was making now. So I had to ask myself if I would be willing to take on $140,000 debt for a lower-paying job? It wasn’t a great option even with all the extra ways to make money out there like selling photos and earning money from walking.

Do the Math on your Future Tuition

According to Investatopia, the average MBA program costs $140,000, with higher-ranking schools costing more. They’re factoring in tuition, living arrangements, books, and peripheral expenditures. That’s more than the average night-only MBA program I was looking at.

Now factor $140,000 student debt at 6.8% interest which is the average Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan according to Federal Student Aid. Having that kind of student loan debt is similar to buying a house or literally thousands of lego technic sets for my kids.

However, the common response to seeing these numbers is that you’ll be paid more after your MBA. That is perhaps true. The average salary of MBA graduates in a full-time program was $126,919. This was taken from US News when they interviewed companies mainly on the east/west coasts which usually provide a higher salary than the Mountain States and Midwest.

Conclusion

Most people like me had to make an insane decision in high school to pick a college major before entering college. So at the same time, I was focused on rehearsing for the school musical and wondering if the homecoming queen liked me (she didn’t). I was asked to choose a degree that would affect the rest of my life. I was not ready.

Going back to school for your MBA doesn’t have to be like that. There isn’t any timetable, no matter what college recruiters try to tell you about upcoming semester deadlines. You have all the time in the world to choose if an MBA is right for you.

So if you’re considering going back to school for an MBA, you should have an idea of what your future will look like. You should identify your dream job at your dream company. This is your opportunity to do WHATEVER you want in the world, and create a plan that extends after graduation.

Student Loan Debt is a Crisis – Just Look at the Stats

/0 Comments/in , /by

The following is a guest post by Erica Butler, a freelance writer from Nevada working to pay off her student loan debt.

Welcome to 2017. It is a year full of change from a new presidency down to the debt that students have taken on, thanks to student loans. You have probably heard many of the current statistics about how Americans owe something like $1.4 trillion in student loan debt. This debt is owed by a rough estimate of about 44 million borrowers. When the most recent graduates from 2015 have a whopping $28,000 or more in student loan debt. This number is concerning because it is actually up an entire six percent since last year.

But, what does this actually mean for you? When you take a look at the big picture, it can be difficult to make the numbers feel personal, so we are going to break it down a bit more for you to ensure you can better understand what the student loan debt situation looks like and what it can mean for you.

Okay, let’s go ahead and take a look below.

Overall Statistics for Student Loan Debt

We talk about the total student loan debt, which is at $1.4 trillion spread across a total of 44 million borrowers. Out of those 44 million borrowers, 70 percent of them are current college students.

There is a total default rate of about 11.3 percent and a delinquency rate of 5.41 percent. Each borrower carries a rough estimate of $27,857 in debt. Some borrowers will owe much more and some will owe much less. Remember, the estimate student loan debt per borrower from 2015 is $28,000.

Overall Statistics for Federal Student Loan Debt

These statistics below are for federal student loan debt ONLY. Remember, there is a difference between federal and private student loans. Federal loans are the most common types of loans that students receive since private student loans are harder to obtain.

The total amount of outstanding federal student loan debt is equal to $1.29 trillion with direct loans equaling about $949 billion of that. There are over 40 million borrowers who have federal student loan debt. The total number of borrowers with federal direct loans is 31 million.

Interesting and Shocking Student Loan Debt Statistics

Below, you will find some additional student loan debt statistics that are both interesting and shocking. We believe that these stats are good to know because they help to put the entire situation into perspective.

  • There are more Americans that hold student loan debt than there is in population in over 200 countries
  • Over 60 percent of borrowers have had to wait to purchase a vehicle due to their debt
  • Student loan debt is the second highest form of debt. It is second to mortgage debt
  • 90 percent of private student loans are co-signed
  • Over 40 percent of borrowers wait to have a family because of their debt
  • Over 70 percent of borrowers have put off saving for retirement due to their debt
  • 30 percent of borrowers have waited to get married because of student loan debt
  • 71 percent of borrowers have delayed the purchase of a home because of student loan debt
  • Student loan debt increases by about $2,667 per second
  • 37 percent of borrowers currently are paying down their debt

Students Who Incur the Most Debt

Unfortunately, student loan debt hurts certain types of students more than it does other types of students. While it may not seem fair, it is just the way things work out and it means that you need to be that much more cautious as you start to borrow student loans.

The first type of student that suffers the most is the graduate student. This is because the cost of graduate student loans is more than that of an undergraduate loan. In addition, depending on the type of graduate degree you choose, you may incur much more debt. For example, a law degree can require you to borrow up to $150,000 or more. A medical degree can cost up to $160,000 or more.

The second type of student that suffers is the student that heads off to a for-profit school. This is because the cost of classes is much higher because the school wants to make a profit. The debt here is often heftier and students cannot always keep up with the amount.

The last type of student that suffers the most is the student who drops out of college and does not complete a degree. Uncompleted degrees account for about 59 percent of student loan borrowers.

Get Your Financial Future into Perspective

The student loan debt statistics that have been provided above are shocking and they may even scare you a bit. There is a serious student loan debt problem and it does not seem to be getting better at all. If you want to secure your financial future, you need to make sure that you are careful when it comes to how much you borrow and you should always learn the most you can about your student loans before you sign the contract.