In these bad economic
times, everyone is focused on
the “bigwigs” getting stimulus
packages and bonuses
while one of the largest struggling
populations is being
forgotten about: the twenty
somethings struggling to
make ends meet and still get
an education.
Times are tough for everyone
and will most likely continue
for a while. So what is
there to do? The best thing for
students and young adults is
to make a budget and stick to
it.
Most Bucks students seem
to agree that the toughest
thing is keeping their gas
tank full and getting enough
hours at work.
“If they cut your hours,
how are you supposed to
have money to get to work?”
said William Devonte, a 22-
year-old political science
major from Levittown.
It often seems it’s the college
students whose hours
are cut so that adults with
families can get more hours.
It’s times like these that budgeting
becomes important.
Budgeting not only allows
one to see where the massive
amounts of money are going
to or where some could be cut
back, but it also serves as a
tool to use to persuade your
boss to give you more hours.
When beginning a budget,
start with the necessities.
Figure out how much gas you
need in your car each week. If
you know how many times
you fill up a week, then you
already have a good estimate.
If you are the type of person
who likes to put $5 or $10 of
gas in the tank whenever it is
handy, a good tool to figure a
budget out is as follows: take
the amount of miles you
drove from the trip meter and
divide that from the number
of gallons of gas you put in
your car. That number, most
likely in the mid to upper
teens depending on the type
of car, is the number of miles
to the gallon you are getting,
Then simply figure out the
distances to the places you
know you have to go, add in
a few extras for the
“unknown” trips and divide
that by your miles per gallon.
You will then know the number
of gallons you need a
week in your car and can
include that figure in your
budget.
Credit card bills and student
loans are another issue.
Divide the sum of your
monthly bills by four and put
aside that number each week.
That way, you are less likely
to be crunched for cash the
day you must make your payments.
If you have to pay room and
board, that is another bill that
can be divided into a weekly
amount to put aside. Keep a
jar or envelope and every pay
week take out a small
amount, so come the end of
the month your bank account
doesn’t have the big goose
egg.
Cigarette smokers whose
wallets are suffering from the
recent tobacco price increase
of 62 cents a pack might want
to consider quitting. If quitting
is too hard, try not to be
picky when it comes to the
brand and just get the cigarettes
that are on sale. Most
stores have a two- or threepack
special price which
equals about a free pack at all
times. Normally Marlboro
has many deals.
Coupons are another
money-saver for everything
and anything. Go onto the
websites of your favorite
restaurant, energy drink supplier
and even cigarette company
and you can join mailing
lists or download printable
coupons to receive savings
on products and services
that interest you.
While these are only a few
tips, they are almost foolproof
for saving a few dollars
a week. Those dollars can go
toward larger, more important
bills or even into savings
for something in the future.
In these tough times when
no one really seems to
remember that college students
are already struggling,
we need to take every extra
step to secure our own financial
future.