Here’s something all college students share: they deal with a lot of stress. Homework, tests, papers—if you’re in college, you’re very familiar with the causes of stress. A common statement is, “Why do all my professors have to throw all these tests and papers at me at the same time?”
Turns out a lot of the agony is self-inflicted. According to the American Journal of Health Studies, in a study on college students’ stress, “Students, in general, experienced higher stress due to pressure and self-imposed stress as compared to changes, conflict, and frustration.”
Not managing your time correctly is one way of imposing undue stress on yourself. Procrastination means you have to deal with more work, all at once. There’s the standard stress from changes and conflict. Then there’s the stress you create for yourself because of poor time management.
Have you seen this TED Talk with Psychologist Kelly McGonigal? In it, she reveals that stress is only bad for you if you view it that way. College is your chance to problem-solve and use these time management techniques. This is your chance to view stress as a good thing, a thing that gets you going.
Organize
Organization can be as simple as keeping a three-ring binder with sections for each class. Keep syllabi and other course materials in each section, and plenty of paper for notes. It’s also a good idea to organize your class schedule in blocks. Long breaks between classes often don’t end up as study time. Charge through all your classes, leaving yourself blocks of study time, as well as important periods of leisure time to balance your life.
Live on campus
You don’t want to be late for class. Some professors won’t recognize your attendance if you’re late, which may hurt your grade. Some professors even lock the door after a certain amount of time has passed. Living on or near campus will help eliminate tardiness. It will also eliminate stress from commuting. But a caveat: you have to follow the other time management techniques on this list to make living on campus work for you. No matter how close you are to classes, it doesn’t mean you’re managing your time efficiently.
Focus
If you can’t focus on your studies, your time is wasted. It’s easy to say, ‘Hey you, pay attention!’ But that’s not very helpful. When thoughts unrelated to your academic focus enter your brain, try the following:
Be patient with yourself—frustration doesn’t help; it’s easy to get frustrated when you judge thoughts as ‘bad’
Give yourself space—clear unneeded clutter from your workspace
Label—it’s not about ignoring thoughts or judging them; label distracting thoughts so you can file them away in categories
Make an inventory—sum up important thoughts and questions to deal with; list them
Labeling and categorizing distracting thoughts helps you deal with them, instead of dwelling on them. This is part of practicing mindfulness and appreciation.
Still having trouble focusing? You might have too much stuff. Too many external distractions can make it hard to focus on the subject at hand, especially if it’s a subject you’re not particularly enthused about. You may want to consider decluttering, storing things you don’t need somewhere that offers a student discount. See this Guide to Student Storage. Or, sites such as Craig’s List are a good place to make a little money on your stuff.
Segment
Don’t try and do all of your work at once. Break large projects into smaller segments you can manage effectively. This will keep you from pulling ‘all-nighters’ that lead to fatigue and lower quality work. Space your work throughout the week.
Plan ahead
Write assignments, as well as test and quiz dates, in an electronic or print calendar. Then, take a minute to prioritize and determine what you need to begin first. Since you’ll be breaking assignments into segments, place the harder, longer assignments at the top of your priority list and start chipping away at them. Then, after a certain amount of time each day, move on to the easier stuff and knock it out.
Get a head start
Now that you’re planning ahead, consider studying for tests as soon as you know they’re coming up—not at the last minute. Cramming for tests is a waste of time. Research indicates it leads to average scores, and you forget the information not long after cramming it into your brain. You may even forget it during the test. Furthermore, cramming negatively affects the brain because it conditions you to feel anxious, frustrated, confused, and panicky.
Ask for help
This is a key part of coping with stress, networking, and learning new things. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, talk to a professor, advisor, or fellow student. You may learn a new strategy, a new approach for tackling a task. And, you’ll be networking, which is a vital way of spending your time in college.
In her TED Talk, Kelly McGonigal points out that stress is a natural reaction that serves an evolutionary purpose. Its primary function is to help the human being survive. Indeed, stress helps facilitate connections between people. Without these connections, we wouldn’t be where are. Consider your college stress a good thing as you continue finding ways to manage your time.
Bio: Daniel Matthews is a writer with a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing from Boise State University. You can find him on Twitter.
Paper defense is no less important than its creation. No matter how good you are at essay writing, you have to remember that you also have to be able to explain your paper to the tutor, defend the thesis by providing proper arguments and also answer teacher’s questions – both those regarding the contents and the form of your essay. Sometimes well-written and prepared paper has low rating only because of student’s diffidence. But in most cases it happens due to the lack of preparation. Students aren’t ready for catch question, forget the most important data from their paper and have a fail at long last.
Everything depends on you. How to make your paper defense successful?
Preliminary preparation.
Student needs to rehearsal paper defense at home. It is important to highlight conceptual core of the work and formulate it by your own words. You should keep writing according to the literary language and the scientific style of speech. There must be three parts: introduction, major part and conclusion like in thesis. Write it on the other paper and read few times, then try not to look into your notes while you’re telling. Remember that a good speech consist not only from text, but also your listeners’ reception. While you’re speaking, imagine that you want to ‘sell’ your text to ‘buyers’ who are sitting in front of you. It gives a confidence boost to the report.
PowerPoint presentation.
It is most effective way to hold audience spellbound. You should keep logic of information feed. Images must illustrate your words and consist of short text explanations. The most horrifying thing in the presentation are yellow letters on the white background. Will teacher see what is written? It makes him think that you are ‘without a soul’ and don’t respect him. You need to create beautiful presentation, which can ‘sell’ your information to the groupmates and teacher. What can we advise? Use the original templates on the website poweredtemplate.com. Be sure, presentation which is pleasant to look at will make your paper defense better.
Do not try to look smarter than you really are.
Student must understand what do he say. Teachers probably know all the material not worse than you, they are fed up with stock-in-trade. Show your own examples from life or scientific literature which will illustrate topic of your report. It convinceі qualifying commission that the author of the essay write the work by himself. A good idea is to add your own conclusions related to the theme of your work.
Use hand-outs.
Report will be more understandable to the audience when they see some thesis from your work with their own eyes. It can be illustrations, photos, audio, video, you can even print some slides from PowerPoint presentation and give it to the professor and few examples to your audience. Also this will draw attention away from you for a while, so you could spy into your notes.
Don’t worry, be happy.
Psych yourself up for success. If you follow our advice, you haven’t any reasons to worry. Have a good night’s sleep, set yourself up for best mark and paper defense will pass entirely without incident.
Good text, bright presentation and confidence in yourself are the main keys to successful paper defense. Follow simple recommendations and be ready for the highest mark.
Author’s bio:
David Gutierrez has worked in the field of web design since 2005. Right now he started learning Java in order to get second occupation. His professional interests defined major topics of his articles. David writes about new web design software, recently discovered professional tricks and also monitors the latest updates of the web development.
Across the USA, tens of thousands of college students are graduating this month with freshly minted diplomas — and piles of debt. In 2014, the average student borrower had nearly $30,000 in loans.
Put simply, the system of paying for college is a mess. Soaring tuition has made student loans the nation’s second largest category of debt behind mortgages, with 43 million people owing $1.3 trillion. More than one in six are at least nine months behind on payments.
With students balking and default rates on the rise, candidates for national office are proposing a variety of solutions. These range from increasing the already large federal subsidies for higher education to relying more on online classes. But the best ideas might be those percolating up from states and individual universities.
At Purdue University in Indiana, for instance, the school has decided to remove some of the risk students take on by having the college make a calculated investment in their future. The “Back a Boiler” program calls for Purdue students (known as Boilermakers) to pay a percentage of their postgraduation income rather than repaying the fixed amount of a loan. It is open to juniors and seniors beginning this fall, with plans for expanding it within a few years.
Students who choose this program sign something known as an Income Share Agreement. Purdue’s would last nine years, starting six months after graduation. The percentage paid would depend on the amount of money the college puts up, the student’s major and the time before graduation.
USA TODAY
Put ‘Boiler’ plan on back burner: Opposing view
For example, an economics major entering her junior year, who needs $13,000 in financing, would agree to pay 4.81% of her income beginning in late 2018. On average, a student like her would start with an annual salary of $45,000, with the amount rising 3.72% per year, meaning she would pay $21,320 over nine years.
That figure is almost exactly what she’d pay with a government-backed PLUS Loan with an interest rate of 6.84%. But she’d have the comfort of knowing that she’d get a break if she graduated into a weak job market and spent two years finding full-time work.
One of the beauties of the program is that it takes risk off the backs of young people at a vulnerable point in their lives. Another is that it could greatly reduce the number of students behind on their payments and help students understand the value of their degrees.
The federal government has a similar income-based repayment program, but the Purdue approach has the logic of the market behind it. While the university is currently financing the program itself, it is counting on attracting outside investors. And Purdue President Mitch Daniels sees the program being replicated at other universities as well.
Because investors would count on an engineering major making more money than an art major, they’d accept a lower percentage in the Income Share Agreement. Percentages would likely rise or fall over time depending on earning track records of each major.
Will this work? Will students and investors go for it? The only way to find out is to give it a try.
USA TODAY’s editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news stafF
Eloy Ortiz OakleyPresident, Long Beach City College and Regent of the University of California
Every year the challenge of managing the cost of a college education continues to grow. The average cost of public universities is nearly five figures a year, and families at private colleges can expect to pay three times the cost of a state school.
Of course, heading directly to a four-year university out of high school isn’t the only route to earning a university degree. Community colleges are an attractive option for many students looking for a more affordability, and quality preparation for the rigors of a university. President Obama has recognized this and recently launched the Americas College Promise to make community college more attractive to all Americans.
Maximizing the success of our transfer students demands that two-year colleges and four-year universities nurture and maintain collaborative and effective relationships. And when we extend that collaboration to the K-12 system, we begin the positive step of seeing our institutions as one educational ecosystem focused on student success, instead of three silos focused on institutional success.
Long Beach institutions recognized this need for collaboration and relationship building in 2008, when we came together and launched the Long Beach College Promise. Over the better part of the last decade, Long Beach City College, California State University, Long Beach, the Long Beach Unified School District and the City of Long Beach have collaborated on a variety of initiatives to improve college preparation, access and completion. The vision has been to create a college-going culture amongst all the communities we serve. This comprehensive program has become a model for the nation, and was used by White House education leaders to help shape the America’s College Promise proposal.
The Long Beach College Promise engages students at an early age, with 4th- and 5th-grade college tours, and a greater focus on college preparation throughout their LBUSD experience. By the time LBCC students are prepared to transfer, the College Promise has strengthened the bridge between LBCC and CSULB. The City of Long Beach has worked to increase internships in the region, so our students and graduates can supplement their educations with real-world work experience. Each partner in the College Promise fulfills its part to provide incentives, services and support, with a seamless transition for the student.
The program offers such benefits as a tuition-free academic year at LBCC and preferred admission to CSULB. Our partner CSULB offers education and assistance, summer programs, bridge programs and special advising to our students at LBCC.
Thanks to the Long Beach College Promise, more high school graduates are completing foundational coursework at LBCC and advancing to CSULB or other four-year colleges and universities. LBUSD students who attend LBCC and then transfer to CSULB graduate at higher rates than other transfer students entering the university.
Forging relationships between school districts, two-year colleges and four-year universities isn’t easy. It calls for a focused commitment and investment of time to raise the bar of student success.
Strong relationships have to be cultivated at all levels. The institution’s CEOs must create a collaborative spirit that infuses the institutions from the top down. Faculty must collaborate more effectively to build solid transfer pathways. Researchers must freely share data so that student success can be measured across time and across institutions. Each work group must take ownership of their respective roles and goals. Most importantly, each institution commits to taking responsibility — and being held accountable — for the academic success of each child in the greater Long Beach region.
These relationships are critical, but are only the beginning. Measurable outcomes should be defined in a plan, and that plan should be part of a larger promise or agreement. Each group must to be willing to make the outcomes a priority.
Establishing relationships between two-year colleges and four-year universities is a long-term endeavor. Commitment to program goals, regular dialogue and shared accountability are all crucial components the Long Beach College Promise.
It takes time and effort. But it’s a smart investment of resources that benefits students and local communities, because college graduates statistically earn more and contribute more to the economy. Long Beach residents have recognized this, and donated generously to help fund the Long Beach College Promise. Donations to the LBCC Foundation have enabled us to offer a full tuition-free academic year at LBCC to qualified LBUSD graduates. More than 12,000 students have received the scholarship since 2008.
Throughout California and the nation, these types of partnerships will become increasingly critical to help students meet their higher education goals and reach their full potential.
A similar version of this article was published in EvoLLLution earlier this year.
Follow Eloy Ortiz Oakley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/eloyoakley
Effective Study Methods To Increase Productivity At College
BY ALYSSA SELLORS
Amongst all those hunger quenching hostel nights at the nearby Maggi-point or the countless hours spent over the phone just because you forgot your girlfriend’s birthday or the evening football matches on the field, studies often take a backseat unless exams are only a day away. Judging by the time-crunch every student faces (which is kind of their own doing), indulging in smart study methods seems like the way to go unless you want to repeat a subject come summer vacations.
Here’s a little anecdote of how students can make their learning experience more productive and efficient:
Education Videos And Their Procurement: One of the most exasperating tools that helps a student understand the intricate details of each subject is through educational videos that are available on the web. These videos have been abstracted by highly experienced professors from all around the world to help you have an enriching experience. So, next time when you decide to squeeze up all your monthly Internet bytes over a continuous Game-of-Thrones-watching-spree, think again!
But how do we extract these videos from their main source in order to view them anytime at our own comfort? This is where Vidmate enters the fray. This amazing software lets you download educational videos in the desired format and the quality that you prefer. This is indeed a great app for students who want to take e-learning to the next level.
So, if you miss your classes or were busy cracking up jokes with your best friend during the lectures, Vidmate is there at your disposal.
Open Coursework Material: Many universities and schools have put their entire material like videos, books and other graphic material online for the whole world to access and use it. This data has been provided by some of the topmost universities of the world.
One of the most comprehensive coursework materials have been produced by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, popularly known as MIT. Another great example is Stanford’s Engineering Everywhere, a platform which helps you watch videos, download content and do a whole lot more than simply ‘reading’ data.
Three-dimensional applications: This is a nascent and emerging field but it has helped many students all around the world take a deeper look into the concepts. These are flash applications that allow you to change the setting of the system and see how the system works.
For example, many such electric circuits are available which allow you to set the voltage and the appliances together to see how much current and power does each appliance consume. On a higher note, many appliances allow you to handle a transistor or a radio circuit to see how they work and study the dependence of the quantities on each other.
E-Solutions and Doubt-clearing: Many sites and solution providers have started consolidated services to help students study in a wholesome manner. Sites like ‘Meritnation’ provide key features like pointers, solutions to your books and many other services like asking doubts to expert faculty and more.
LERNR is the new kid on the block which is the brainchild of fellow IITians and has gained immense popularity due its unique curriculum. If you’re looking to take the plunge, this would be a good place to start!
Online Courses: This is by far the most balanced option to learn creatively and make the best of both worlds. Sites like EdX and Coursera offer amazing courses, capstone projects and specializations in all kinds of fields. The process if synonymous to SimpliLearn.com but here’s a catch, the certificates that you get from Coursera are actually signed by instructors with seals and logos from juggernaut universities like Stanford, Harvard and MIT. Many other top universities around the world conduct their courses through Coursera. This is a brilliant way to get international certification. Plus, the price for each course varies from INR 1,700 to INR 3,000 which is very cheap when compared to their Indian counterparts that have far lesser value (These are non-credit courses).
Another site, namely Stanford Online offers premium certificate courses from the prestigious Stanford University without any third party platform like Coursera and they actually provide credits for your undergraduate degree.
Google also offers multiple courses in its applications for free. To get certified after completion of the course, you can pay INR 650 and schedule a test. All you need to do is pass the test and give your resume that much needed edge and voila!
Motivational Books and Videos: You should definitely try to watch motivational videos and other great thought-provoking videos on YouTube and TEDx. Also, you might wanna read books like ‘You Can Win – Shiv Khera’ or ‘Surprising Truth about what motivates us – Daniel Pink’. Indeed, these books and videos act as catalyst to the champion inside you. P.S. – The ‘Eye of the tiger’ Rocky video will work just the same!
Planning Schedules and Reading Blogs: Another great way to increase productivity is to be efficient, have a great schedule and avoid mistakes. Sites like Letsintern.com publish amazing amount of articles and interviews that highlight how to be more productive. They share real-life stories of people who’ve made it big without necessarily having all the amenities at their disposal.
Talking about the status quo, your productivity is directly proportional to the number of Coursera and International Certificates you can flaunt. These resources not only help you learn new things, but they help you find the right subject and topic that will help you rise and touch the horizon. The seeds that you sow today will reap mangoes and probably roses tomorrow.Indeed, there are many more resources available on the Internet; you just need to look harder for them.
About the Author: Alyssa Sellors has been teaching English and Journalism for seven years. Currently she works for a number of online publications as a freelance writer and contributor.
Here’s something all college students share: they deal with a lot of stress. Homework, tests, papers—if you’re in college, you’re very familiar with the causes of stress. A common statement is, “Why do all my professors have to throw all these tests and papers at me at the same time?”
Turns out a lot of the agony is self-inflicted. According to the American Journal of Health Studies, in a study on college students’ stress, “Students, in general, experienced higher stress due to pressure and self-imposed stress as compared to changes, conflict, and frustration.”
Not managing your time correctly is one way of imposing undue stress on yourself. Procrastination means you have to deal with more work, all at once. There’s the standard stress from changes and conflict. Then there’s the stress you create for yourself because of poor time management.
Have you seen this TED Talk with Psychologist Kelly McGonigal? In it, she reveals that stress is only bad for you if you view it that way. College is your chance to problem-solve and use these time management techniques. This is your chance to view stress as a good thing, a thing that gets you going.
Organize
Organization can be as simple as keeping a three-ring binder with sections for each class. Keep syllabi and other course materials in each section, and plenty of paper for notes. It’s also a good idea to organize your class schedule in blocks. Long breaks between classes often don’t end up as study time. Charge through all your classes, leaving yourself blocks of study time, as well as important periods of leisure time to balance your life.
Live on campus
You don’t want to be late for class. Some professors won’t recognize your attendance if you’re late, which may hurt your grade. Some professors even lock the door after a certain amount of time has passed. Living on or near campus will help eliminate tardiness. It will also eliminate stress from commuting. But a caveat: you have to follow the other time management techniques on this list to make living on campus work for you. No matter how close you are to classes, it doesn’t mean you’re managing your time efficiently.
Focus
If you can’t focus on your studies, your time is wasted. It’s easy to say, ‘Hey you, pay attention!’ But that’s not very helpful. When thoughts unrelated to your academic focus enter your brain, try the following:
Be patient with yourself—frustration doesn’t help; it’s easy to get frustrated when you judge thoughts as ‘bad’
Give yourself space—clear unneeded clutter from your workspace
Label—it’s not about ignoring thoughts or judging them; label distracting thoughts so you can file them away in categories
Make an inventory—sum up important thoughts and questions to deal with; list them
Labeling and categorizing distracting thoughts helps you deal with them, instead of dwelling on them. This is part of practicing mindfulness and appreciation.
Still having trouble focusing? You might have too much stuff. Too many external distractions can make it hard to focus on the subject at hand, especially if it’s a subject you’re not particularly enthused about. You may want to consider decluttering, storing things you don’t need somewhere that offers a student discount. See this Guide to Student Storage. Or, sites such as Craig’s List are a good place to make a little money on your stuff.
Segment
Don’t try and do all of your work at once. Break large projects into smaller segments you can manage effectively. This will keep you from pulling ‘all-nighters’ that lead to fatigue and lower quality work. Space your work throughout the week.
Plan ahead
Write assignments, as well as test and quiz dates, in an electronic or print calendar. Then, take a minute to prioritize and determine what you need to begin first. Since you’ll be breaking assignments into segments, place the harder, longer assignments at the top of your priority list and start chipping away at them. Then, after a certain amount of time each day, move on to the easier stuff and knock it out.
Get a head start
Now that you’re planning ahead, consider studying for tests as soon as you know they’re coming up—not at the last minute. Cramming for tests is a waste of time. Research indicates it leads to average scores, and you forget the information not long after cramming it into your brain. You may even forget it during the test. Furthermore, cramming negatively affects the brain because it conditions you to feel anxious, frustrated, confused, and panicky.
Ask for help
This is a key part of coping with stress, networking, and learning new things. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, talk to a professor, advisor, or fellow student. You may learn a new strategy, a new approach for tackling a task. And, you’ll be networking, which is a vital way of spending your time in college.
In her TED Talk, Kelly McGonigal points out that stress is a natural reaction that serves an evolutionary purpose. Its primary function is to help the human being survive. Indeed, stress helps facilitate connections between people. Without these connections, we wouldn’t be where are. Consider your college stress a good thing as you continue finding ways to manage your time.
Bio: Daniel Matthews is a writer with a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing from Boise State University. You can find him on Twitter.
If you belong to a student organization, you likely have a pretty good idea of how difficult it can be to get funding for your organization. In most cases, students have to get out there and peddle the streets to raise the money they need for their activities. There are loads of fun and interesting things you can do with your organization to raise money. Here are a few great ideas to get you started.
Showcase Talents – Hold a talent show, fashion show, etc., anywhere you can find a stage. Get people in the organization to take part, and make it open to anyone who wants to be involved. Charge an entrance fee, and sell refreshments, etc. to make even more money.
Have a Rummage Sale – Talk to as many people as you can about donating items you can sell to raise money for your organization. These items should be gently-used and be in good condition. Once you collect enough items, have a big rummage sale.
Sell Custom Buttons – Remember the days when we used to get those button-making machines that turned out really crappy buttons? Those days are long gone, because you can go online and make awesome buttons for your group to sell. If you are having an event, promote it by selling buttons that you can easily create at Uber Buttons.
Have a Get to Know You Auction – A fun way to raise money, and get to know others, is to encourage everyone, including teachers and school staff, to each bring an item to sell that has something to do with their hobbies and interests. Not only do you raise money, you get to know everyone a bit better.
Hold a Bake Sale – This is a tried and true fundraiser. People love buying and eating home-made baked goods, and it is a cheap and easy way to make money. You can save money on ingredients by buying flour, sugar, etc. from bulk stores. Set up in a common area where there will be a lot of foot traffic. Advertise in advance, so everyone will know you will be there with treats to sell.
Hold a Casino Night – If you can get permission, a good way to raise funds is to hold a casino night. It doesn’t even have to be anything fancy. Set up a few board games, and have everyone who wants to play pay an entrance fee. Have prizes for the winners and a few munchies, and you have the makings of a great fundraiser.
Hold a Movie Night – If you can find a venue with plenty of space for seats, a projector, and a snack table, you have the makings for a great movie night. You may be able to use an empty classroom for this. Choose a popular movie, and charge an admission fee. Sell snacks to make even more money.
Have a Drive – In Movie Night – If you have portable gear, such as a movie projector, a screen, and speakers, you have everything you need to set up a drive-in movie night. Just like with a regular movie night, you can charge admission, and sell snacks and drinks. Make sure that you get permission to use the area first.
Set Up a Car Wash – Here is another tried and true fundraising method, and one of the most popular. Make sure you can get a group together, and find a commercial place with a big parking lot. Ask for permission, of course, and make sure that you can get running water.
Hold Raffles – Go to local businesses and ask if they would be able to donate items that you can raffle off for funds for your student organization. Another option is to hold 50/50 draws, where you keep half of the proceeds and the winner gets the other half.
Byline:
Jane Hurst has been working in education for over 5 years as a teacher. She loves sharing her knowledge with students, is fascinated about edtech and loves reading, a lot. Follow Jane on Twitter!
A new study found that students who start at community college earn bachelor’s degrees at much lower rates and have lower career-earnings, but those who transfer fare as well as students who went directly to four-year institutions. (Inside Higher Ed, May 3)
Personal finance is an incredibly important issue for college students, for many reasons. It is the first time most people acquire full freedom to earn and spend as they like. It is also the time people often acquire financial habits they retain for the rest of their lives. Which means that it is also the perfect time to start learning how to keep your personal finances in order. Here are some ways to do it.
1. Differentiate between Needs and Wants
There is a world of difference between a want and a need. A need is something you must have in order to survive: food, shelter, healthcare, transportation, clothes. A want is something you would like to have but what is, when all is said and done, is not necessary for your immediate survival. While people tend to have an ability to rationalize any purchase as absolutely vital, you will do yourself a world of good by learning how to separate wheat from chaff – both during your student years and later in life.
2. Invest
As many students seem to have hard time making enough money to cover their everyday expenses, the idea of investing during this period of life may seem ridiculous. However, it doesn’t mean that it is impossible – even if you manage to scrape up a small sum of money, e.g., $25 or $50, and keep yourself from spending it on one of the many silly things students tend to waste their money on, it can serve as a foundation of your portfolio. If you have no idea how it is done, use the services of a broker or an automated portfolio management system to invest your money.
3. Budget Your Money
An all-round useful habit for a student, and a vitally important to acquire at as early an age as possible. If your parents haven’t bothered to teach you basic financial literacy, it is your job to acquire it yourself. Budgeting your money is immensely useful for survival in our unstable world – and when you actually start managing the entire picture, you will automatically learn to treat money with greater respect.
4. Create, Maintain and, Ideally, Grow an Emergency Fund
An emergency fund is exactly what it says on the tin: it is a certain sum of money you set aside to deal with a possible emergency. The emergency may be anything from car repairs to a sudden injury. The usual recommended practice is to set aside from 3 to 6 months’ worth of living expenses – however, they cannot always account for sudden larger expenses associated, for example, with healthcare. If you follow our advice and budget your money, it is best to put emergency fund as your regular expense item.
Just like so many other things, better financial health is much more about the creation of proper habits than about immense feats that can be accomplished once and for all. Once you’ve turned these habits into an integral part of your makeup, you may be sure to improve the quality of your life both for now and for the future .
Melissa Burns graduated from the faculty of Journalism of Iowa State University in 2008. Nowadays she is an entrepreneur and independent journalist. Her sphere of interests includes startups, information technologies and how these ones may be implemented.
