Financial Killers During College- The 3 C’s

That’s right, there are three C’s that many of us spend most of our money on and then turn around and claim we can’t save money because it is too difficult. If you haven’t guessed yet, the three dreaded C’s are clothing, cars, and courses. I know that most of you will stop reading the article at this point because you live by some of these C’s, but please just hear me out on how I feel they hinder your financial goals when you’re young.

1. Clothing. This is one of the basic needs of life, to be clothed properly at all times. It is also nice to have dress clothes so that you can look good when you go out or to look proper when you go for a job interview. But you definitely DO NOT need to buy the newest TNA pants or Sean John T-shirt every pay check, leaving minimal money for savings and food. I personally believe in having a nice sized wardrobe with clothing for all occasions, but I built my wardrobe up slowly over the past few years, buying a new article of clothing every once in a while. I am not telling you to never buy clothing or to walk around looking like a scrub, just to not let your weekly new jeans be the reason you never save any money.

All I am saying is that when you do the math most young people spend a small fortune on clothing every year. All of this money could be saved or worse case scenario half could be spent on clothing and the other half could go into an investment or savings account where your money will steadily grow. Let’s look at the math of a young person who goes shopping every week to buy the trendiest clothing:

$100-200 a week x 52 weeks = $5,200-10,400 Do you believe that? If you spend $200 a week on clothing (which will only get you a pair of pants) you will blow over 10 grand a year. The funny part is most young people will spend way more than $200 a week when they go shopping, but I do not even want to look at those numbers because I do not want to depress anyone.

Here are some tips that I follow when I go shopping:

i. Go at the end of a season. People think it makes no sense but trust me if you buy your summer clothing for the next year after the current summer has just ended, you will save a ton of money.

ii. Buy in bulk. Do not go to the mall every week buying a new pair of pants, just wait until a time where you feel you absolutely need new clothing and go buy enough clothing so you will not have to go for another lengthy period of time.

iii. Go to warehouse sales. Most of our favorite brand names have warehouse sales once in a while, and you may not find the newest style there but you will surely find the best deals.

2. Cars. I already know the counter argument to this, – “You need a car to get to school and work.” This may be true but you do not need a $20,000 car with expensive rims, a DVD player, and a flat screen to get around. All these hip hop videos and pimp my ride shows have left young people convinced that they need expensive cars with ridiculous upgrades. The truth is that these are extreme luxuries, needing a car to get to your job in another town is not the same as buying a car so you can drive to your job which is right on the bus/subway route.  I am not telling you what decision to make when it comes to purchasing a vehicle, but all I will suggest is for you to really think it over before buying a car. Do you absolutely need a car? Is the 20 minute bus ride to school so bad? Do you really need to watch DVDs while you are driving? Can you carpool to work/school?

If you think about it for a lengthy period of time and come to the conclusion that you absolutely need a car because your work or school is too far or too time consuming to get to, then let me give you some suggesttion on how  to save money.

i. Buy used and bargain hunt. Think of car that you really want and then go to all of the online car trading sites and check all of the auto trader magazines until you find someone selling that car for a reasonable price. When you find the right seller, try to bargain to reduce that price a little bit.

ii. Buy a car that will be fuel efficient. I know that most cars that are good on gas do not look the hippest, but who cares? As long as you are spending less money than everyone else who cares if they have a Hummer and you have a Toyota Corolla?

iii. Plan your trips. Now that you have a car do not just get into it and drive around town, plan your trips wisely. Drive only when you need to get somewhere urgently, and a little walk down the street never hurt anyone (depending on your neighborhood).

3.  Courses. I am not contradicting myself about school, do not go to school is not the message, the message is choose your courses wisely. I have seen too many people my age squander away thousands of dollars because they got into a program that they realized wasn’t for them or took a course they did not enjoy. Just like anything in life you must do you research prior to beginning a course or an entire program. The best ways to conduct research are to speak with people who have taken the course/program, go to www.ratemyprofessors.com to ensure you choose the right professor for the course, and to never stop working hard. Before you even consider taking a program or course then you must at least read the description and realistically ask yourself if you are going to be able to commit yourself fully to the task at hand. If you insist that you must drop a course or program then do it within the specified deadline that includes a refund. Education can be the greatest investment you will ever make, but if you keep on dropping courses/programs and not doing the work, it will put you in financial despair with many years of debt.

Photos: Michael_Lehet, fotographix.ca