Paper or Plastic? What to consider about paying for the little things.
Let’s start at the beginning. You’re entering school, and find out that maybe financial aid doesn’t fully cover all your expenses, like books, supplies, maybe a meal or two a week that goes under the radar. You think to yourself… “well ok, maybe I’ll get a credit card — I mean I have to start building my credit history up anyway, right?”
This is an extremely common scenario among new and even existing students. According to the Washington Post, in 2010, it is estimated that students will spend anywhere between $700 to $1,110 annually on textbooks. This does not factor in living costs (room and board, or rent and utilities if in an apartment), things like your cell phone plan, and other incidentals that hindsight never sees ahead of time.
Therefore, having a plan for paying for these types of things is absolutely essential and rewarding. Today, there are a lot of different options.. and I’ll go over some of them with you to help figure out which of them, or combination of a few works best.
1. Student Credit Cards
Controversial, but very useful. In the current world and economy, a good credit history is an invaluable tool for everything from getting a great apartment to potentially a job (yes, some actually do credit checks), among other things. A favorable credit score is a very clear indicator of your ability to plan and be responsible for your finances, and that translates very clearly into the workplace and beyond.
So what’s with the stigma attached to our little plastic wallet buddies? Well, for starters… if you charge things you can’t afford to pay off in a reasonable amount of time, you’ll run up a large bill. One way of putting an artificial ceiling on your spending and preventing this is to set an intentionally low credit limit. If you don’t make a lot of money on a monthly basis… set it around $300, and that way you’ll never owe more in minimum payments than you can afford to pay.
2. Scholarships
Scholarships are definitely a favorite among students, basically because they’re free money. There are tons of opportunities on the Internet to apply and be eligible for scholarships. One such example is a service like ScholarshipPoints. They have drawings every month up to $10,000 and the only thing you need to do is register and participate in their earnings activities. Some examples of these can be anything from reading a blog post like this, to following someone on Twitter, or taking a student survey online. Very simple, pretty easy, and really rewarding.
Controversial, but very useful. In the current world and economy, a good credit history is an invaluable tool for everything from getting a great apartment to potentially a job (yes, some actually do credit checks), among other things. A favorable credit score is a very clear indicator of your ability to plan and be responsible for your finances, and that translates very clearly into the workplace and beyond.
Similar Posts:
- What is Student Loan Consolidation?
- Students Benefit from New Student Loan Law
- Tips for Paying off Student Loans
- Need to boost your credit score?
- Secured and Prepaid Cards Still Options for Students
