Being responsible with money is one of the biggest steps into maturity, but sometimes sticking to it isn’t as easy as it sounds. For freshmen in college, who may not have any experience with freedom of their finances before, it’s so easy to be sucked into social situations that involve spending money, so it’s really important early on to make sure you have a solid foundation going into this new phase in your life. Coming from a low middle-class family, I luckily already had a background of being smart with my finances, including my tuition for college. We all know how expensive college is (especially those of us who are paying it off ourselves), so every outlet where saving money is an option is a good one to take. Easy things to do to try to achieve this are signing up for your college’s meal plans or making sure to get your textbooks second-hand if that’s available. Make sure though, not to mistake being savvy with your money with being unyielding with your money. It’s perfectly fine to go out and have fun once in a while. The key is making sure to lead in moderation, not in excess. Being young enables us to make mistakes and learn along the way for a lot of things, so the occasional splurge is always allowed, as long as it doesn’t break the bank!
