What Every Bright Eyed College Freshman Must Know About Money Part 2
written by Credit-HQ ExpertAlso create a system where you keep track of your spending. When you are using a debit card, it is easy to lose the receipts for each payment. If you don’t pay attention, you can come to the end of a day or the week and have no idea what happened to all your money. So keep ATM and debit card receipts and update your checking account ledger every day to avoid this kind of disaster.
There are other automated systems at your disposal to help you manage your money. Online banking and automated alerts when your account is in trouble can really help you out when you have a million things on your mind relating to your schooling. By using online resources, you can manage your money and still keep up with your school work.
Your wallet is going to fill up with cards because along with your ATM and debit card, you should also launch into the world of credit cards by heading off to college with a credit card to use when appropriate. The good thing about learning to use a credit card wisely in college is that you build a good credit history this way which is a real asset for you when you graduate and you need a credit history so you can buy a car or for other necessities of getting your adult life underway.
Which credit card you decide to apply for may be something worth discussing with your financial advisers which are probably your parents. In some cases parents will take out a student credit card and the bill will go to mom and dad to pay. The credit limit is low so you cannot abuse the card but it gives you some credit to fall back on and it gets your credit history moving. This is a great way to get your start in the world of credit.
If you are trying to pick between several credit cards and you don’t have parental or other issues to consider, take into account the interest rate they are going to charge, whether there is an annual fee for having the card and what their policies are if you pay the card a day late. While all credit cards charge a fee for late payments, there is a lot of variety to these policies so pick the one that have policies that are best for you. It will mean reading the fine print of the credit card offer which is usually on the back and printed small to discourage you from reading it. But get a magnifying glass and read those terms and conditions of the card so you don’t get broadsided by credit card charges you agreed to without knowing it.
Financial aid is an important part of paying for college, particularly if your parents are not paying for everything out of a trust fund. Even if you are not paying the bills yourself, you may need to work with your parents to make sure financial aid has been researched and that you are getting everything you can from low interest students loans, grants and scholarships. There are dozens of tuition wavers and other financial aid resources out there if you look for them.
Click here to see Part 3: What Every Bright Eyed College Freshman Must Know About Money Part 3
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