Tag: College Living

Essential Money Management Tips for Students

Money Management Tips College

Adjusting to college life is filled with obstacles, but basic financial management is one of the biggest challenges students must overcome to be successful not just in college, but in life. Unless you are living on trust fund, the costs of student life can be overwhelming. However, adopting simple money management habits like smart budgeting and spending can make all the difference in the world.

In order to form a strong foundation for money management, there are two essential steps students need to master:

#1- Know where your money is going.
#2- Create and follow a realistic budget.

Mastering these two steps will take time and patience. But the payoff in the long run is freedom from financial stress, dept and the means to provide for yourself and others.

#1 Know Where Your Money is Going

If you don’t already do this, get into the habit TODAY of keeping a spending log. Knowing where your money is going will allow to to take control of your finances and give you the ability to buy the things you really want in the future. A spending log is a very simple but powerful tool to get started. Click here to learn more and to download a spending log you can begin using today.

#2 Create and follow a realistic budget

Following a budget will ensure that you have enough to provide what you need and allow you to reach goals like saving enough money for Spring Break, buying a new bike etc. For this to be successful, it may take months of practice and patience and a willingness to make sacrifices.

To create a budget you can actually follow, review your spending log to see where your money is currently going and where you can cut back. To do this, you must determine between what you need (food, clothing, rent, gas, textbooks) and what you want (the other stuff). Here’s a great tip from the article, 10 budget tips for college students.

You must learn to balance between needs and wants. Your needs will always come first, and your wants second. You have to live within your means, so if your wants exceed your needs, you must either get another job, or sacrifice those wants. It’s a tough thing, but you can do it! It’s only for a little while. List monthly income sources, including savings, wages and parental allowances, and then write down estimated expenses for the month. It isn’t easy to identify college living expenses in advance, but you should try. Take costs such as school supplies, food outside your meal plan, personal care items and laundry into account. Then, try managing your budget and tracking expenses using an online personal finance management tool like Mint.com, which helps you easily create and stick to a budget.

Resources

Click here for a simple budget worksheet to help get you started. You can also learn more about personal budgeting, visit StudentAid.gov/Budget.

We recommend The Live Like a Duck program for students. This money management program provides tools and tips to help students and their families make sound financial decisions while you attend the UO.

photo credit: $23 lunch/beer/dessert 2009-11-02 12.05.49 via photopin (license)

City of Eugene and UO leaders to go door to door in campus neighborhoods

Photo Source: "Around the O" University of Oregon
Photo Source: “Around the O” University of Oregon

Leaders will welcome students, share information on unruly gathering ordinance

To celebrate the start of the academic year and to welcome back University of Oregon students to Eugene, university and City officials will visit residents door to door from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Started in 2009, the Community Welcome event is an opportunity to create neighborhood relationships and to provide information about respectful and safe off-campus living experiences.

City of Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and others will walk door to door to greet off campus students on Tuesday September 30th
City of Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy will join Interim President Scott Coltrane and other campus and city leaders to walk door to door to greet off campus students on Tuesday September 30th
Scott Coltrane Interim President
Scott Coltrane Interim President

“The Community Welcome is a great way for us to connect with our students and campus neighbors,” said interim President Scott Coltrane. “We are a community that benefits from each other and looks out for one another. We want our students who live off-campus to know how to stay safe, be respected and respectful, and be to good neighbors. This face to face interaction really helps us build these relationships.”

Approximately 100 people in small groups will distribute approximately 2,000 “Your Neighbors and U” brochures during the evening event that will cover more than 70 city blocks. In addition, neighbors and rental property managers have already started distributing the information to tenants. The booklet contains information that encourages students to meet their neighbors, keep themselves and their belongings safe, know local laws, use sustainable transportation options, and party responsibly. The publication includes information on municipal ordinance on unruly gatherings that holds hosts criminally responsible for unruly gatherings where alcohol is present and at least two illegal activities are taking place.

“The University of Oregon and its programs, faculty, staff and students make considerable contributions to our community in so many ways,” said Mayor Kitty Piercy. “I enjoy this collaborative effort to welcome the students each year and let them know how much we value them. It’s also important to help them understand the importance of getting to know their neighbors and being responsible members of the community.”

Mayor Piercy and Interim President Coltrane will be joined by Associated Student of the University of Oregon (ASUO) President Beatriz Gutierrez; City Manager Jon Ruiz; Eugene Police Department Chief Pete Kerns; UO Police Department Chief Carolyn McDermed; UO Dean of Students Paul Shang; and neighborhood association leaders.