Comments on: Share your best college money tip, win a t-shirt

By: Kara McGuire

Kara McGuire — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:44:14 +0000

Thanks for all of the great tips. All of them were helpful.
I asked around and the favorite tip came from Hillary. Congratulations. But I’d say MC is a close runner-up. I luckily landed in a place where I’m happy, but should have done more career soul-searching during college.

Readers, keep the tips coming.

By: Snookie B

Snookie B — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:29:26 +0000

They should raise the credit card age to 21 instead.

By: CSE

CSE — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:28:51 +0000

A piece of advice for college students who drink: Get a PT job at a bar. It pays well, work is often fun, on your off days you’ll likely get a deal from friendly bartenders, and it will minimize how much $ you spend at the bar since you’ll have to work nights that might otherwise be spent spending money.

By: squirrelygerg

squirrelygerg — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:21:51 +0000

Been out of school for 8 years. I majored in graphic com - with an emphasis in web technologies. So, pretty much all of my core major classes required using a computer. Didn’t want to shell out 3k for a Mac so I used the labs. Yah, it wasn’t the most convenient but it was doable - the labs were open 24 hours.

I can’t imagine anything more annoying for both the students and the instructor - TRYING to teach to a room full of people tapping away at their laptops.

Sure laptops and desktops are super cheap now and having one is really a non-issue. I would definitely argue though that it more than likely distracts from the learning experience rather than enhancing it - but that is a subject for another blog…

By: Ann Marie

Ann Marie — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:48:50 +0000

Understand your student loans. Avoid private loans like the plague. The interest rates can be increased at any time and they can never be discharged in bankruptcy. Use only government loans and work to pay the rest.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:29:52 +0000

@squirrelygerg

It’s been a while since you were in school hasn’t it?

Using computer labs is a pain. Sometimes finding a working computer can be a complete nightmare, trust me, in college I had to support them. Often times labs will close before you’re done if you’re a late night person like most college students are.

I’ve been out of college for 6 years and at the time most people didn’t have laptops in class but now, I would expect to see just about every classroom full of them. Not buying a computer really isn’t a good option, this isn’t to say that students shouldn’t try and buy the least expensive equipment that does what they need it to do.

Using the labs to do your printing on the other hand is the best plan. Better quality and significantly cheaper per page (if there’s any cost at all) than that “free” inkjet printer from Best Buy.

By: MC

MC — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:53:57 +0000

Work. Try different types of jobs hopefully in fields you may be interested in and don’t wait until you’re in your final semesters to do your internships to get a taste of what you may be doing for years to come. At that point you may be committed. An education is a large investment in time and money and should be taken advantage of to save you time and money later in life

By: squirrelygerg

squirrelygerg — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:40:45 +0000

Couple of things that I did to save some coin or use it smarter…

1. Never ever take the unsubsidized stafford student loan overage check… Only use what you need and give the rest back and opt to pay the interest while in school.

2. It is only a deal if you need it… Contrary to what Target might be pushing on the TV commercials - dorm rooms don’t need to have matchy-matchy foax designer interiors.

3. You pay a fee for computer labs - use them. You do not need a laptop or personal computer. Use the labs you are paying for.

4. Live on-campus and if possible get an RA job to pay for your room and board.

5. Use a laundromat rather than the junk machines in most dorms / apartments. Even if per-load is more expensive getting all loads done at once and only needing to run one dry cycle saves time and money.

By: steve

steve — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:24:56 +0000

Other then the money managing tips, find a bank with a location near your school. Going to school out of the metro area, my community bank didn’t have a branch where I went to school. Cashing checks written to you when someone owed you money from the previous nights beer run, or cashing a paycheck (eeks, I’m old I was in school prior to direct deposit) was a chore. Then I wised up and opened an account at a bank I knew would be in my schools area, as well as back home. Sure made life easier!

By: Hillary

Hillary — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:15:56 +0000

The most important thing for me during undergrad was to use cash for just about everything. I always knew how much money was in my credit union account, and I had a credit card for large purchases and emergencies, but paying cash for all the small things kept me a lot more honest about if I could afford things. now that I’m in grad school everything goes on the credit card, but it also gets paid off at the end of the month with everything else.

also, no cash advances from credit cards, ever.

for students at the U, going with a credit union (Affinity Plus is open to all U of M students and employees) rather than TCF will save money when the inevitable hiccup happens.