How to start managing money as a college student
College students face anxiety and uncertainty around how to begin budgeting, handling student loans, and saving for long-term goals like retirement and homeownership. This lack of a clear starting point leaves them feeling hopeless and unsure about how much to set aside.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1saving money
- 2working in the summers
- 3taking out loans for college
- 4Making a bare-bones budget
- 5Building a small emergency fund
- 6Using budgeting tools and spreadsheets or apps like YNAB
- 7Reviewing community wikis and financial flowcharts
- 8Reading subreddit wikis and common topics guides
- 9Setting up direct contributions from work
- 10Opening high-yield savings accounts at separate bank entities
- 11relying on family accounts
- 12asking for community recommendations on beginner cards and banks
- 13searching wikis and financial forums
- 14Focus on good grades, studying hard, and securing college scholarships
- 15Relying on parents for financial support during school and college
- 16Planning for full-time work only after finishing high school
- 17Learning a trade after graduation instead of pursuing traditional academic paths
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I am currently a highschool junior, working as a music teacher at a company ($22/hr) and as a performer ($100/hr)”source ↗
“It is super difficult to get gigs, especially living in a small city, and hours are unstable as a teacher and hard to get due to balancing competitions, school, and college prep”source ↗
“I barely spend any money either, per month I spend around $20 on food while I’m working”source ↗
“I am trying to become financially independent early so I could move out and be able to support myself, any suggestions on what I can do?”source ↗
“I am 20 years old and was never taught on how to save,have a HYSA, credit card or retirement account and such”source ↗
“I would like to know what are some steps that I should take to start since I’ve been told it’s better to start now than later.”source ↗
“I would like to be able to live comfortably in the near future without worries and would want to learn now on how to be able to do that”source ↗
“I'm a full time grad student and have never had a credit card, or a bank account of my own (I've always had one under my parents), and I just moved in with my partner so I want to establish my own finances independently.”source ↗
“I really appreciate the kind words, I don’t want my parents supporting me throughout college because they will use that as leverage for me to come back and visit, which I do not want to do, is there any way I can earn more?”source ↗
“Thank you for the kind words, if I rough it out and hop around friends’ houses, I do still have 2 years of school to go and then college”source ↗
“Idk why I’m just really nervous about it and am not going crazy over it which is why I’m posting.”source ↗
“Not sure how to start managing my money. Need advice.”source ↗
“Ultimately my goal is to have a home and family, but I have been feeling rather hopeless. I’m just looking for advice on how I should save money and how much I should put into retirement etc.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 9How to stick to a personal budget without feeling restricted
- 2How to pay for private college after a layoff without draining trust funds
- 2Why can't I sync my Aidvantage student loans to budgeting apps?