Saving Money in College Feels Close to Impossible

Money is in the back of many college students’ minds constantly. That looming burden of trying to save up is a pressure that just doesn’t go away.

Trying to save money in college feels close to impossible.

I am fortunate to come from a family that is paying for my degree, but most students’ situations are much different than that. However, even without a monthly college payment, I still find it extremely difficult to try to save up for my future.

Being a full-time student who is involved in extracurriculars leaves little time for a job. While I do have a job, my hours are few.

As students, we’re told to get involved on campus and meet new people, adding friends into our lives as well as building our resumes. While those things are very important, they take away vital work hours that students need in order to pay for their education, well-being, and futures.

When a student chooses not to get involved because they need to prioritize their job, people question why their resume is lacking that involvement.

As students, we’re pressured to pick and choose, but oftentimes neither option feels like the correct one.

Bills are the first to pull from the bank, followed by groceries, gas, and necessities. Before you know it all the day-to-day expenses drain paychecks not even a few days after they hit a person’s account.

In a blink, the money we worked hard for is gone.

We give up something to work more thinking it will help. It doesn’t.

Nothing is affordable anymore.

According to a survey done by Forbes Advisor, more than one in four Americans have below $1000 in savings, for Generation Z it’s 32% of the generation.

The closer students get to graduation, the often daunting task of apartment hunting becomes just another stressor to add to their plate.

Looking through listings is fun and exciting at the beginning of college, but it becomes scary when one has to start looking seriously. High price after high price makes up the majority of the market.

While some students can return home for a while before they have to go out on their own, there are many who can’t or who have to find something closer to cities for their career field.

Saving up for an apartment or a car feels like such an easy idea when entering college, but I figured out very quickly that it is far from it.

Academics take up most of students’ time, so working full-time too is not an option for most people.

In addition to that, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) has increased by 2.6% since October 2023.

The CPI-U is the measure of the average price change for a basket of market goods and services over time purchased by urban consumers.

With the inflation trends of the last few years, even repurchasing items to simply take a shower can cost over $50.

College students are fortunate to be able to pursue higher education, but being able to afford to live both during and after college should not be the difficult task that it is.

Our labor is needed, we pursue these degrees to go into the workforces that we want to dedicate our time and abilities to, but how can we contribute to that if we can’t even save up for a place to live?

Many older adults seem to have the mindset that because they struggled when they were younger we have to as well. Instead of helping fix this broken cycle, they contribute to it.

We’re told to go to college, get a car, get an apartment, have all this “emergency money,” and then still have more to spare. It’s not realistic. Saving money isn’t realistic anymore, and telling us to do the work without helping fix the system gets us nowhere.