Loan anxiety and making ends meet are common problems that nearly every college student faces one way or another. Whether it be on-campus meal plans, room and board or paying apartment rent, students share a common struggle on financing these expenses, along with balancing them on top of pursuing a major.
Everyone is familiar with the usual remarks of college alumni surviving off of Top Ramen or prepackaged dinners to avoid paying too much for everyday meals. To some students, it isn’t studying or doing homework that brings them the biggest challenges; it’s finding ways to afford the student lifestyle while fulfilling the classroom expectations of a student.
“The biggest struggle is to balance school and work," international relations junior Sophie Spano said. "On one hand I need to make money for rent and food, but on the other hand I need to do schoolwork.”
To help sort out her expenses during the school year, Spano made an Excel spreadsheet that tells her how much money she needs to save and use for all her needs. Likewise, she usually puts 50% of her paycheck into her savings.
Moreover, Spano relates to other students with money being an obstacle to her personal life.
“It’s hard when you and your friends have a different budget," Spano said. "As someone who fears missing out, I don’t like when I have to skip hanging out with my friends because I don’t have the budget to engage in activities we do.”
Advertising management junior Luke Angels shares similar struggles.
“As a student, balancing money can be tough because there’s so many things that need to be paid for, and it’s hard to work with school and other activities going on," Angels said.
Angels also puts most of his paycheck into his savings, not touching it unless he absolutely needs to.
This past month was declared College Savings Month by the Michigan Department of Treasury in effort to raise awareness of wealth management within the college lifestyle.
“College Savings Month serves to remind families about the importance of saving for a child, grandchild or another loved one’s higher education while highlighting the value and flexibility of saving with a 529 college savings plan,” Ron Leix, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Treasury, said.
To help with these expenses, Michigan offers savings plans and programs to make saving for college more efficient: the Michigan Education Savings Program, or MESP, and the Michigan Education Trust, or MET. These plans give benefits and tax advantages to those who take them.
According to the state website, the savings plan has no sales charges, enrollment fees or annual account maintenance fees.
Last August, the MESP recorded over $5 billion in withdrawals for education expenses, aiding many students with their education expenses.
Within investing into this savings plan, anyone can contribute to its funds. It isn’t a family-based funding requirement, which makes building the balance easier for students on their own, according to the state website.
As College Savings Month ends and October begins, the stress of loan anxiety doesn't go away; yet the MET is still financing savings plans and raising awareness of the college financing struggles and the need to save money for the most important needs.
