So you've got about $7.23 to your name. You spend $3.25 on a white mocha, $2.20 on lunch and $1.50 on a pack of scantrons, which leaves you with about 28 cents. Does that stop you from continuing to use your awesome, handy dandy ATM check card? Oh no.
You decide to buy dinner for all your friends, knowing that it will cause your account to go overdrawn. You can't hit up your parents; they'll think you're irresponsible. You can't ask your friends; you still owe them $10 each. So where do you turn? Why not to your good ol' friendly personal bankers at your local bank. Bad idea.
I've been working for large banking institutions for about three years now, and I can't tell you how many times I speak to college students who overdraw their accounts time after time, looking for some sort of a hand-out. I'm pretty compassionate when it comes to them, considering I know how hard it is to be a college student and deal with unexpected expenses.
But when I see that a late-night crunch to Taco Bell or an enormous purchase at Macy's is the item that put you overdrawn, my niceness goes out the window.
It's irritating to me to see college students not being responsible with their lives. It gives the older generation a reason to say that young adults are not conscious about what they do, or that they aren't dependable when it comes to handling their lives.
I hear students complain every day that their parents or other adults come down on them for not taking control of their responsibilities. I say, take care of what you need to do and don't give those full-of-opinion adults a motive to say anything concerning your life. There should be no reason for poor decision-making when it comes to your wallet. If you don't have it, don't spend it.
Just one day, I would like to come out of work and say how older, "all-knowing" adults are the ones who can't manage their own accounts. Bank supervisor Angelina Torres agreed that college students often need guidance when it comes to managing money.
"There are so many tools for college students to get educated on their money," Torres said. "It all comes down to them actually wanting the information to help them out in life." For many, college is a time when budgeting and financial planning abilities are truly put to the test.
Money is a huge issue during the span of a person's college life, and learning how to handle it is half the battle. Adults our age need to know how to balance living life in the moment and living life in reality. Students need to start paying attention to things they need versus things they want.
Do you really need those $175 jeans or $400 game system? Well maybe, but what about actually saving for that item instead of praying your ATM card gets accepted at checkout.
Rest assured if you don't have money for food, I guarantee you'll find food in your own home or apartment. Ramen noodles, Cup-O-Noodles, generic foods or spaghetti will definitely make your dinner complete.
Students, please start taking responsibility for your finances. Hearing how you swear you didn't know you didn't have any money or crying that you don't have enough to buy books, food or a Blue Book because you used your card 18 times and now have racked up $500 in fees, gets old.
Don't look for a hand-out or a courtesy gesture. Rather, look for solutions to help you start protecting your investments and learn how to spend maturely.
Ultimately, creative financial planning and willingness to settle for less will save the average student a good amount of money, which can be very helpful in affording to splurge away from Ramen. Twenty-eight cents might not be much, but it sure beats paying that plus all your fees just to get back on track after you spend money you don't have.
Rosa Pastran can be reached at [email protected]
