{"id":66,"date":"2020-10-09T04:23:50","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T11:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aland26446437b3.wordpress.com\/2020\/10\/09\/things-i-wish-i-knew-about-finance-in-college\/"},"modified":"2024-02-21T18:47:54","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T18:47:54","slug":"things-i-wish-i-knew-about-finance-in-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomocredit.com\/blog\/things-i-wish-i-knew-about-finance-in-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Things I Wish I Knew About Finance In College"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" data-width=\"3126\" data-height=\"2084\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*1uf8OacVCzZd01H34vLFxw.png\"><\/figure>\n<p>When I was 4 years old, I remember thinking, \u201cI can\u2019t wait to be an adult!\u201d Then, when I entered my first year of college, I had to be an adult and I had no idea how. Adulting is hard, I get it. A big part of adulting is learning and growing from your mistakes, and a big mistake that most people make in college is not learning how to manage their money. Personal finance isn\u2019t something they teach you in high school, so don\u2019t feel bad about not knowing anything! Here are some things I wish I knew about finance in college, so that you don\u2019t have to repeat my mistakes!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Don\u2019t spend more than you can\u00a0afford.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" data-width=\"3126\" data-height=\"2084\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*RhyGVJJyxxOfWkTRP9Bw5Q.png\"><\/figure>\n<p>I was fortunate enough to have my parents pay for my expenses in high school. I didn\u2019t see the money leave my bank account so it didn\u2019t occur to me that I might have been spending a lot. When I started college, I started paying for my own expenses and it hit me how bad my spending habits were. I ended up spending without taking note of how much I was spending, because I was so used to just buying things without a care in the world. After I started noting my spending habits, I ended up saving a lot of money and only bought things I needed. Make sure you only buy things that you can afford and always take note of how much you spend so you don\u2019t get any surprises at the end of the month!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Put some money into\u00a0savings.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" data-width=\"2401\" data-height=\"1667\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*PuAI8FrsPOHU-LlikJ5Uxw.png\"><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s tempting to spend all of your money because with more money you can buy more things! However, that only gives you temporary satisfaction. Putting your money into a savings account is an investment into your future. You never know if you might run into a tough financial situation in the future. If you start by saving five dollars a day, that can add up almost $2000 in a year! This can also help when paying off student debt in the future. When you put money into a savings account, you also earn interest! Consider looking at a high-yield savings account since it has a higher interest rate than a regular savings account.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Take out loans\u00a0wisely.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" data-width=\"1800\" data-height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*3tHWVJih2zst2VUJZ1SHfA.png\"><\/figure>\n<p>Student loans may seem like free money since you don\u2019t have to pay it back immediately. Some students might end up using this money for non-school related expenses. It\u2019s important that you manage your loans wisely so that you don\u2019t end up with a huge debt at the end of it all. Learn about the different types of loans your school offers. It\u2019s typically recommended to take out subsidized loans first whenever possible before considering unsubsidized (private) loans. The government will pay for the interest on subsidized loans while you are still in school, but unsubsidized loans will start accruing interest the day you take it out. When it comes time to pay off your loans, make sure to start with the loan with the highest interest.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Turn your hobby into\u00a0money.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" data-width=\"3321\" data-height=\"2044\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*rI-uc9EfBhA2bS0Tc9iI5Q.png\"><\/figure>\n<p>You can make money out of doing just about anything! With the help of the internet, it\u2019s become even more simple to sell your services. If you\u2019re interested in photography, consider offering your services for graduation photos! For those into arts and crafts, you can sell your work using different platforms, like Instagram or Etsy. I even knew someone who was cutting hair in their apartment! Not only can you make money, but you can also add these experiences onto your resume or portfolio. Get creative and almost anything can earn you a stream of income.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Understand how credit\u00a0works.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" data-width=\"2564\" data-height=\"2001\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*fVA7lUuNAfQDXG0x6Bfl3A.png\"><\/figure>\n<p>You hear it all the time, but everyone really does need credit. Having a good credit history will help when buying things like a car or a house. Your credit score basically tells the banks how trustworthy you are with money. Getting your first credit card to start building credit might not be easy. Credit card companies look at your credit before deciding if they can trust you with a credit card. Luckily, there are some great options for students. Students can become an authorized user of their parent\u2019s credit cards. If students want their own card, they can consider a student card. Student credit cards consider the fact that you may not have a credit score and are geared towards college students. Another great option is <a href=\"https:\/\/tomocredit.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TomoCredit<\/a>. The Tomo card is great for college students and international students who don\u2019t have a credit score. There are no interest fees and Tomo will never do a credit pull, which means it won\u2019t lower your credit score in any way! It\u2019s important to start early, because the longer your credit history, the better!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When I was 4 years old, I remember thinking, \u201cI can\u2019t wait to be an adult!\u201d Then, when I entered my first year of college, I had to be an adult and I had no idea how. Adulting is hard, I get it. A big part of adulting is learning and growing from your mistakes, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[21,29,40,102,103],"class_list":["post-66","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tomocredit-consumer-value-report-california-credit-score-growth","tag-college","tag-credit-cards","tag-finance","tag-student-loans","tag-students"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Things I Wish I Knew About Finance In College - TomoCredit Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tomocredit.com\/blog\/things-i-wish-i-knew-about-finance-in-college\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Things I Wish I Knew About Finance In College - TomoCredit Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I was 4 years old, I remember thinking, \u201cI can\u2019t wait to be an adult!\u201d Then, when I entered my first year of college, I had to be an adult and I had no idea how. 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