Authors Note – Are you a medical student? Check out our med-school specific version of this article over on the AAMC Medical Student Well-Being page!)
Financial wellness matters for your academic wellbeing
Heading off to college for the first time, or heading back after a break is often accompanied by a seemingly never-ending to-do list! Students are flooded with information on course choices, campus activities, university policies, financial aid deadlines, and more as they face this exciting chapter of their life. As courses and new schedules become the main focus, it’s tempting for other areas of their lives to get pushed to the side. However, students do not cease being a whole person with interests, hobbies, and goals when they begin their college journey.
Individual areas of wellness such as academic, physical, emotional, spiritual, financial (and more) all work together to help students balance holistic well-being. When one area of wellness is lacking, it can significantly impact another area of wellness. Financial wellness plays a big part in this wellness ecosystem, especially while in college when costs can really add up. When a student is financially stressed, it can negatively impact their academics, emotional, and even physical wellness if not addressed.
This is why taking time to focus on your financial wellness and pursue positive financial behaviors while in college is crucial for financial success now, while managing a student’s budget, and later when you are managing a full career salary.
4 tips to stay financially well in college
How do you stay on top of financial wellness while in college? Start by empowering yourself with knowledge of your current financial situation and utilizing resources to stretch your budget. These 4 tips below will build upon each other to help you take inventory of your personal finances, and ace your overall financial wellness!
Tip 1: Understand your financial aid
Many students utilize financial aid to pay for their education and related expenses. But let’s be honest, navigating financial aid can be difficult! Here are a few steps to manage your financial aid account each term:
- Familiarize yourself with your school’s information system. This is typically the website you use to enroll in classes, pay your bill, and review your financial aid. By knowing where your school-related financials live, you can make it a habit to check back frequently to monitor any account charges and changes in your financial aid package.
- Complete your FAFSA application annually. The FAFSA opens every year on October 1st for the following academic year. Submit your FAFSA by your state’s priority deadline (it’s typically around February-April, Missouri’s is February 1) to have the best chance at state and federal grants – a.k.a FREE MONEY!
- Reach out to your financial aid office to meet with your aid coordinator to understand your personal financial aid package. This aid package typically includes a mixture of scholarships, federal loans, and federal or state grants. You can also discuss private student loan options as well.
- Set calendar reminders. Once you have met with the experts, consider setting a calendar reminder for important annual and semester financial aid deadlines. These may be the FAFSA submission deadline, financial aid disbursement dates, or the course drop deadlines which usually comes with a fee adjustment.
- Budget your financial aid. Finally, view your tuition charges, accept or decline offered financial aid, and budget any student aid refunds you receive each semester.
Tip 2: Set up a budget
Budgeting may not be your favorite task each semester, but it does significantly decrease financial stress when you have outlined a plan for your money. At the beginning of the term, map out your income and expenses. Income sources could be from employment, savings, support from family, or financial aid. For expenses, think of all personal expenses (such as living expenses, groceries, transportation) and school-related expenses (such as tuition and fees, study materials, and equipment) that you anticipate coming up. Then, subtract your total expenses from your total income. If your expenses are more than your income, consider reducing your spending on personal expenses, or looking for ways to increase your income, like utilizing financial aid or finding flexible employment.
Need a little help setting up a budget? Check out your school’s financial wellness resources. More and more schools across the country are introducing additional financial literacy and wellbeing programs beyond the traditional financial aid office that can offer financial education events and meet with students individually to address money management concerns.
At Budget Blueprints, we have several simple budget worksheets available for download in our Free Resource Library. One we LOVE for students is the 50/30/20 budget, as it is a great foundational budget system that can grow with the student as their income increases. Alternatively, if you really want to take your financial wellness to the next level, our Budget Planner is the perfect addition to your supply list – and is way cheaper than your textbooks 😉
Tip 3: Stretch your budget by utilizing resources.
Speaking of budgeting, there is nothing worse than running out of money earlier in the semester than you planned. Take advantage of your campus and community resources to stretch your budget throughout the term, while still nurturing other areas of your wellness. Consider these ideas:
- Search for free and reduced-cost events and activities in your city. Don’t forget to utilize student discounts!
- Cut grocery expenses by grabbing essentials at your school or community food pantry or by buying in bulk and splitting costs with a roommate.
- Take advantage of on-campus health and mental health resources at your student wellness center. You can often get reduced-cost care, annual immunizations, and potentially dental work (if you have a student dental clinic run by the dental school) all on campus!
- Prioritize applying for scholarships to help reduce reliance on student loans and to pay for additional expenses you incur.
Tip 4: Don't hide from your debt
If you are using student loans, know what you owe by monitoring the amount of student loan debt you are accumulating each year. At least once a year, log into studentaid.gov and create an account with your student loan servicer. When you review your debt, you are better informed to make decisions about financial aid options for the upcoming school year and more prepared to manage loan repayment once you are ready to graduate. Utilize the student loan simulator to help forecast your future repayment options.
Building financial well-being now, and later!
Each term, walk through the 4 tips above to review and organize your personal finances for the new semester. Once you’ve mastered these skills, keep working on increasing your financial capability! This may look like setting financial goals, prioritizing savings, monitoring your budget and expenses more closely, or starting to build credit. By the time you graduate, the financial knowledge you’ve been practicing will seamlessly transfer to help you manage your salary in your new career!
What do you think?