The Truth About My Money Mismanagement: Importance of Budgeting For Students
Bettye came up with the prompt “How I manage savings and budgeting.” I decided to take this thought and share the story of how I mismanaged my Money. This, in turn, brings up the importance of budgeting for students.
I look back and think if I had some training, I might not have gotten into the trouble I did.
Let’s just call this confession time for Jodie.
Quote of the day: “Progress requires unlearning. Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity.” from Atomic Habits
There are so many life lessons that need to be learned to have a successful adulthood. You can’t expect the schools to teach everything, but then again parents have their hands full too.
I’m not here to blame anyone for my lack of budgeting in college but it is a good jumping point for the importance of budgeting for students.
Lessons as a Child
I grew up with a mother who was very budget-oriented and kept her finances in order. Remember when the banks would send all of the canceled checks to you so you could reconcile your account?
Heck, we would even do that together, and she taught me by example.
One year in college, when I was at my dad’s during the summer, he had me keep track of all of my babysitting and grass-mowing income.
You could say that we learn from what we see, but then again, some of us have to be stupid first. I always think I learn more from my mistakes. And with my mismanagement story, I definitely learned the importance of budgeting for students.
My Money Mismanagement Story
What happened?
Well, it started with getting a credit card in college. Of course, college students don’t have any real money, but that didn’t stop me from shopping (shocking, I know). I did have a small job teaching gymnastics while in college, but it wasn’t much.
Therefore, my credit card debt built up.
Then I went to dental school which was even more of a time commitment to studying. I had odd jobs while in dental school, but there were a lot of expenses that I charged to my credit card.
The fact of the matter is I graduated dental school with about $7000 on that credit card, and no good plan to pay it off.
I realized it was a problem when I had to get a loan to buy my dental practice. At that point, I finally became more in tune with budgeting and money management.
Even though I was starting my career, beginning dentists make very little money unless they join a big practice. I bought a very small practice that was declining when the dentist passed away.
Therefore, it was hard enough to pay my salary to cover my rent let alone pay off the credit card.
So I worked more than just at my dental practice. I also worked doing hygiene for a different practice and I helped at the dental school with an experimental study.
When would I have time to work more? That’s when I got a job delivering the NY Sunday Times on Sunday mornings.
My ex and I would get up at 3 am to pick up the papers by the Denver airport, and then drive to a certain part of town to deliver them (in the dark) and get home about 8 am.
I made sure to use all of the newspaper delivery money to pay off that credit card little by little. After 14 months, the credit card was paid off and I stopped delivering papers.
Insider tip: I believe in the adage that money doesn’t make you happy. But having money management skills takes a huge Stress off your life. And having enough money to pay your bills is ideal.
Importance of Budgeting for Students
While it took me getting in trouble with my credit card to teach me a lesson, hopefully, with the resources available, others won’t have to go through that. Learning the importance of budgeting while you’re young is key.
Learning to budget:
1-Creates good habits as an adult
2-Allows financial freedom
3-Puts spending into perspective
4-Separates wants from needs
5-Enables creativity with money-saving tips, coupons, and recycling
How:
1-With the computer programs available nowadays, setting up a budget is easy with different budgeting apps.
2-Follow bloggers who concentrate on frugality. My favorite is The Frugal Girl (where I have been featured once).
3-Take financial classes both online and at your community college.
4-Since we realize the importance of budgeting for students, if you are older, mentor some younger people. Or if you are young, ask an older person for advice. One should never be embarrassed to learn.
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Where Bloggers Live
What is Where Bloggers Live? It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and hear all about the personal backstories and interesting details?
FYI, we don’t all post at the same time since we all have different schedules and live in different parts of the country.
Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Doghair
Taking time off: Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Taking time off: Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Sally at Within a World of My Own
The Series
We’ve been doing this fun series for a long time as you can see by the prompts below. These are only from the last year or so. Feel free to visit any that might strike your fancy.
Jewelry Organization
Favorite Bloggers
What’s in my Kitchen Pantry
My Favorite Website(s)
A Day in the Life: Weekend
Medicine Cabinet
Art Collection
Favorite Kitchen Appliances
If You Could Time Travel
What’s in my Suitcase (When it’s Empty)
My Hair Journey
Gratitude: Inspired by Women
Favorite Holiday Decor
Staying Warm in Winter
Messy & Odd Side by Side Refrigerator Organization
Thank You
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