If you were to ask students around campus what they wish they had more of, there would only be one answer that rivaled time: money.
Budgeting money is one of the biggest problems college students face. Some have to pay their own tuition, many have to pay for rent, and most have to buy books every semester. With as much time as they spend in the classroom each week and the hours spent on homework and studying on top of that, finding a job and making a budget aren’t always easy.
Ferris public relations junior Kyle Bergman has been working throughout college to help budget money for rent.
“When I started college, I knew I needed a job,” Bergman said. “It took some time and I had to apply to quite a few places before I first got hired in at Meijer. It’s difficult to find a job sometimes because most places have trouble scheduling around your classes.”
Bergman now works at Lowes, where he says they give him good hours and are really flexible with his schedule.“
I work just enough hours during the week so I can pay my rent each month and still have a little leftover spending money,” Bergman said.
For Ferris public relations freshman Emma Thibault, coming to college for her first semester brought a lot of challenges, one of which was budgeting her money.
“Going into my first semester, it was the first time I had been unemployed for the past two years,” Thibault said. “Luckily, I went into the year with the mindset that I didn’t want to spend my hard-earned money foolishly. However, about halfway through the semester, I seemed to have lost that mindset.”
This semester, Thibault wants to budget more wisely. She said she plans to better manage the money she earned from working over break during the spring semester.
“Now, when I want to buy something, I’ll really take into consideration whether or not it is a want or a need,” Thibault said.
Thibault also says she’ll be searching for jobs in the future around campus and the Big Rapids area.
Budgeting money is tough as a college student, yet everyone has to sit down and go through with it at some point. Finding a part time job and working even a few hours a week can significantly help students manage their money.