Oh, the tale of the ever broke college student. You know things are real when you start rationing your food down to the pieces of meat, to make sure you make it to the end of the week. So, what’s the solution? It starts with your mind. You have to be determined to get into a better financial status because there will be many temptations! Let’s get started!
Student Part-time jobs: There’s only so much your limited pocket money from your family can take you, except you are one of the Bezos’, Musks’ or Dangotes’ of the world. Like I wrote in my previous post (https://helloyoungerme.wixsite.com/helloyoungerme/post/10-tips-for-us-international-students ) foreign students in the US can only work on-campus, with a few exceptions. I also detail in the post how to go about finding on-campus jobs. There’s also an additional way to get paid as an international student. Most schools have what’s called Resident Assistants (RAs) or Peer Assistants (PAs). These are usually undergraduates who are offered free University Housing (Room & Board) and are paid to organize activities for their fellow residents in housing, resolve roommates issues, basically be the adult in charge of a residential floor. Don’t fret graduate students. There are also Research Assistants (RAs) and Teaching Assistants (TAs) that are usually offered to graduate students by universities. Both RA’s and TA’s get tuition benefits and usually get a stipend. So, if you are thinking of schooling in the US or if you are already here, start looking for applications for these jobs on your school’s website. Let me know if you need more details in the comment section.
Budget Budget Budget: Honestly, budgeting is just letting your mind know how much you are willing to forgive yourself for spending. You are saying how much would give you peace of mind. Going all structured and making Excel sheets might be your thing, or you might be like me and just have a boundary set up in my mind. Whichever way works for you and you can consistently stick with then do it that way. A piece of advice I would give on this is, try and go a month or 2 weeks with just observing how much you would need to spend on things (grocery, phone bill, eating out, subscriptions, etc) and if you can afford to live without certain things. Then keep that number in mind and use it for your budget for the rest of the time. A benefit of budgeting is it lets you know how much you will have left to actually spend your money on something you want!
Where you shop matters: From grocery to clothes to even books, doing the work to research more affordable options does pay off. Don’t be shy to ask others where they get such good deals from, there might be another one with your name on it. Also, try to limit how much you go to the grocery store, lol. If there’s one thing I have learned, if you go to the store 3 different times in a day, you could end up buying things every single time. There’ll always be that item you think you desperately need, so avoid the temptation!
Don’t be scared to try used items: I know buying used things might have a bad connotation, depending on where you grew up. They are always missing crucial pieces or they don’t just look right. For the most part, in the US, used doesn’t always mean bad. So as students, I would strongly encourage you to always opt for the used textbook choice. Textbooks are terrifyingly expensive here, seriously. Books for a semester can easily add up to $1000, especially if you are buying brand new. 2 Pro-tip here, first, some courses list books on the syllabus but you never really use them, so I would always ask the professor either by email or on the first day of classes if we really really need to get the books. Second, don’t forget to sell back your books once the semester is over! Also, for clothes, I would definitely check Goodwill stores, they sell very nice second-hand clothes, home decors, kitchen supplies and even furniture and more. If you want any more store recommendations, drop a comment!
Ask for Student Discounts: Oh my gosh, please never leave your dorm/apartment room without your student ID card, them deals will pass you by. From restaurants to clothing stores even to movie theatres, student discounts abound in the land. Even if you don’t see a poster or a sign up anywhere, don’t be shy to ask about any available student discounts. You know I’m big on just asking people, see post (https://helloyoungerme.wixsite.com/helloyoungerme/post/lesson-learned-1-raise-up-your-hand ). This is a place where your voice needs to be heard.
Cook and Pack your meals: You’ll probably hear your US colleagues refer to this as ‘meal prep.’ Pre-packing your meals for classes for the week will not only save you money but also time if you do it on weekends. So you won’t have to worry about it during the week and fall behind on it if you get too busy with your classes.
Testing out of classes: Just like you might already know, to finish your degree in the US you would have to earn a set number of credit hours. There would already be a determined list of classes your university would advise you to take that would be aligned to your degree requirements (please see your academic advisor to get more information on this and so you stay on track to graduate). So the more classes you take the closer you get to complete the number of credit hours for your degree. Another way to earn credit hours is by testing out of classes, which means if a class is required by your degree but you can prove you don’t need to take the class by passing a test on the class materials, then you would be given the credit for that class. I have seen this happen for foreign language requirements. So if you are already fluent in a foreign language, testing out of it instead of taking the class could save you money, since you won’t have to pay for the class.
Alright fam, that's all I have for now. Don't be a stranger, comment below or send me a message using the contact form (https://helloyoungerme.wixsite.com/helloyoungerme/contact) in the Contact section to ask questions or suggest what articles you would like to see. My YouTube channel is coming soon too! See y'all over there.
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