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College Budgeting Made Easy

 

    With tuition on the rise of and lack of money management on the part of college students, youcandealwithit.com provides assistance for financial struggles.

      More than 83 percent of college students have at least one credit card and the average balance is $2,347, according to HSH associates. The typical college graduate owes $3,262 on their credit cards and almost $20,000 in student loan debt upon graduation.

      Vincent Campbell graduated from HamptonUniversity in the spring he has more than $40,000 in loan payments. He said that he will be paying for college for at least 10 more years. “I took out as many loans as possible and also had credit cards. I did not think about paying them back until I graduated and now I regret it,” he said.

    Credit cards, bills, groceries-how do college students manage all of their finances?

    Youcandealwithit.com is a website that can assist students with credit card bills to loan payments to grocery bills. The founders of the site found that many college students do not properly handle student loans or day to day spending. It is equipped with easy to follow steps for loan repayment, how to deal with credit card debt and also provides a journal for daily expenses.

    With such great sites available, are students using them?

     In an unscientific survey of ten college students, it was found that many students rely on parents for assistance in budgeting or do not think much about how college will affect their financial stability.

    “I do not have any debt but I do heavily rely on my parents to supply all of my financial needs. When I had a job my money came and went, so I realized that focusing on school is more important than trying to make money,” says Howard student, Dominic Cooper.

     The survey showed that many students have trouble managing funds and do not have much financially stability.

     Dana Pharr, a Hampton University student says, “I am horrible with managing my funds, I don’t have any loans or credit cards. I only rely of scholarships and my grandmother. I am partly financially stable due to the fact that I depend on other people for money!”

     Youcandealwithit.com advises that students to create a monthly budget, learn how to prioritize spending based on needs vs. wants and track and make adjustments as their finances change. In the survey some students have started early in making an effort to be more conscious about their spending.

    “I manage my finances by not spending a lot on unnecessary items I used to get when I was at home like getting my nails done every week along with my hair etc. I do feel financially stable because my parents and I have worked on my budget and how much money they are giving me per month,” says Deanna Ingram, a freshman at Spellman College. Deanna’s parents put a certain amount of money into her account and is used for items that pertain to health, school or food, not clothing items.

    Regardless of current financial status, any college student could use websites such as youcandealwithit.com as a guide to better money managing decisions. However, most students in the survey admitted that it is not very likely that any of them would use a website to budget their money but would like to be more careful about what they spend money on.

    A Georgetown University student says that she has become much more realistic about her spending. She is a sophomore with loans up to $10,000 dollars per semester. “With all of my loans and expenses, I know that I must pay attention to my spending and stick to a very strict budget,” says Jessica Conley.