Counselors provide financial tips for students

Today’s students are bogged down by a plethora of responsibilities. From school to extra-curriculars to jobs, many students struggle to find time to plan for their futures or begin developing skills that will help them further down the line.

One important skill that often goes unchecked in a frenzy of shopping and going out to meals with friends is financial savviness.

This skill, however, is an essential one in the world today, and developing an understanding of finances and how to manage money is critical for students. But this is not an easy skill to gain.

Every individual will have his or her own financial situation and goals, but there are some basics which every student can follow.

One tip that all students should follow is to create a budget. This means evaluating how much they spend in a given period of time.

For example, if a student has a job, he or she may earn $500 per month (this may vary from month to month) but may also have to buy gas, which could cost around $50 a month. Going through their average spending habits, students can gauge how much they spend on necessities, such as gas or insurance, and how much they spend on things that may not be necessary, such as shopping.

By understanding their budget, a student can look for ways to cut back on spending in one area to save for something bigger.

Beverly Groth, Milford High School counselor, suggests that one step to savviness is learning to save money. Many students have a goal, such as a computer or video game, that they want to purchase, but they have no idea where to start.

“What’s the target?” said Groth. A student should have a set goal of when she wants something, so that she can evaluate based on her budget how money she needs to achieve that goal.

Groth stresses the importance of understanding your budget. “You can’t let go of your other responsibilities,” she said.

In addition, she said that discipline is key to saving money. “It’s hard,” Groth stated, “you want the instant gratification of buying something, but you can’t have it.” Saving money is a skill, and it becomes easier with practice, so it’s important for students to start now.

Another tip for students is to start learning how banks and banking work. Heather Lutz, the personal finance teacher, discusses with her students the importance of understanding how their bank works. Researching different banks and different policies is important to understanding where the best place is for an individual to put his or her money.

Also if students can start saving money and earning interest on that money, it could benefit them later in college or afterward. “The longer you save it the more you get back,” said Lutz.

It may seem early to start worrying about saving for the future, but Lutz says “make it a habit.” The earlier students can start to understand their finances, the easier it will be for them later on down the line. It’s important to start saving now, and understanding how the bank will affect their futures is critical to being successful.

Lutz also had some of her students share the ways in which they save money. Ryan Robinson states that he does a 50/50 split with his pay and puts half in savings and half in spending money. Becky Busen states that she puts $100 of every paycheck in savings.

Another financial tip which is critically important to juniors and senior is to start looking into financial aid for college. Most seniors are in the midst of applying to colleges, but some may still be wary of how they will pay for it. Brenda Granroth, head of the career resource center, says that now is the time for students to start looking at scholarships for college.

There are thousands of scholarship opportunities for students. “You just have to look for them,” says Granroth. There are local scholarships and national ones for almost everything, so dedicating time to start looking for them and applying could take a lot of stress off of students who are unsure of their ability to pay for college.

In addition, there are thousands of websites online, explaining different scholarships and financial aid opportunities to students. Even on the Huron Valley Schools website under Milford Counseling, there is a section about financial aid for students (www.hvs.org/counseling).

Above all, Groth, Lutz, and Granroth all agree that the most essential thing that a student can do to achieve financial success later in life is to build good habits now.

By developing good habits, students will find it easier to make better decisions and will not be as afraid to face financial difficulties.