The following article is a guest post from Laura of Green Panda Treehouse. It’s also the first article in the College Money Network’s “Back To School Shuffle” series, where we will be sharing articles on a variety of back to school topics and giving away an iPod Shuffle and other prizes.
After graduating college, many people plan on starting work in a career they love, handle their finance responsibly, and build a fulfilling life. I want to show you how you can get your finances together with transportation. I’d like for you to be a college graduate without a car payment tied around your neck.
Lower Transportation Costs Now as a College Student
First off, do not spend a lot of money if you’re buying car in college. I recommend getting a car that can get you to class, work, and home. If that car is $1,000 or less, than go for it. I had a reliable car that was $500 and lasted 3 1/2 years. You can get a nicer car later, but you’re a college student and your income will be be lower than normal. Once your income increases after graduation when you are working full time, you can slowly increase your spending.
If you live in a city with decent public transportation, take advantage of it. It’s a great chance to free up some cash for later and you’ll be helping the environment.
Build an Automated System
Open a savings account specifically for purchasing a car. I use ING Direct for my savings and one advantage is you can open a sub-savings account very easily.
Every paycheck you receive, automate at least 5-10% of it to go towards your car fund. Have it deducted from your checking account into your savings account. You should be getting some income while in college because you want to build your resume up with practical work experience. Find an FDIC bank or CUNA credit union that offers high interest rates for savings and watch it grow faster.
I worked as a beer-tender occasionally to earn some cash and tips. I helped out during concert seasons, so I was usually out of school for most of the nights and it put some money into my pocket.
Use your tuition refund. Some savvy college students will be getting some money in the form of tuition refund. This is a great chance for you to sock away money. After setting aside money for your emergency fund, put 20-30% of your refund into your car fund account. As long as you don’t have any credit card debt, have fun with the rest of the money.
What kind of financial aid is available?
- Federal Pell Grants
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
- State Grants
Fill out your FAFSA early. Besides getting qualified for federal grants, filing easrly can also open up oppurunties to get state grants. You’ll cut down on having to rely on student loans.
Hunt for more scholarships. FastWeb is a popular site that searches applicable scholarships for you.
By taking advantage of automatic transfers, you can painlessly build a car fund that you can use after your graduation instead of getting a car loan and being in debt.
Your Take
How have you saved money for your goals?
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I’ve been looking on the internet for a kit to put together, knowing it would be quite substantial. oh, and it would be a big plus if it ran on an alternative energy source, hydrogen etc..
You also can grab bad credit car loan without keeping your asset as collateral, but you have to pay competitively higher interest rate. Hence–>you can take this loan at better rate, because competition among lender.You can reduce your interest rate after talking with the lender
I worked as a beer-tender occasionally to earn some cash and tips. I helped out during concert seasons, so I was usually out of school for most of the nights and it put some money into my pocket :hi:
I work about 15 hours a week making minimum wage and am planning on saving up for a car. I’d also be nice if they’re a good amount of locations to visit, but not if it compensates a fair interest rate…
However, an account with no fees and charges can effectively be better than one with fees but that pays a little interest.
Do most college students look forward to huge parties? Charity events? Fundraising events? Social gatherings? What is it that attracts students to major clubs on campus? Please tell me in details..
@handmade, I would say it depends who you talk to, myself being a college student, I look forward to them, but at the same time some of them can be horrible so it depends who is at the party.
College student car loans can be easily repaid and the repayment term ranges from 2-7 years. You can choose a repayment plan according to your repaying potential.
Its always good to save up for a car, but if you live in a big city, public transportation is the way to go. It saves you a lot of money and also saves on the hassle of finding parking.
You can get billions of recipes online that only require those three ingredients, plus whatever you want to add to it. It’s simple to eat healthy on a tight budget. It’s also cheaper to eat healthier!!
Having taught financial markets topics in the classroom, I can certainly agree with the comments in this article relating to the value of students learning about the subject and their lack of confidence in that area – even among finance concentrators.
I have met new people, discovered new blogs, and read and/or participated in interesting discussions on practically every career-related topic imaginable. I’ve also had over ten of my blog posts featured on the front page of Brazen Careerist.
College student car loans can be easily repaid and the repayment term ranges from 2-7 years.
I agree with the author. Make sure you buy a car only with money you actually have. Cars on credit can be risky, especially to a young kid who really wants a car badly. I sincerely pity any student that forks out £5000 for a nearly new hatchback on credit.
I guess the white kids that are left in Olney are SOL. If there are any.
What a great article!
I feel really happy to see any grants coming. Students loan are helpful but you gotta be responsible to paying to back with minimum interest.
I think kids at West Philadelphia High School’s Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering are a driven bunch, and that’s good news for everyone.
Hi thought that Students asked the lawmakers to protect the proposed increase in capital funding for community colleges in the upcoming budget.
It’s sad for someone who is not getting any tuition refund. However it depends on personal situations.
I guess the white kids that are left in Olney are SOL. If there are any…
The google mobile apps in general are me and my girlfriend’s favorite She is a student so I will forward this.
This is a very calculated move by Google to lure the much coveted demographic that is the younger generation of mobile users. Google are certainly moving further in the right direction with Android.
It’s somehow a nice money saving tip.
We should join similar cause like this.
Great idea. This is a good way to go for saving up for a car.
Hope we could make hand in hand the possibilities of this cause.
This would be the awesome gift I have ever received escort agency london!
I like to meet people like this once they have been notified all these stuff for all these reasons.
How could anyone make some irrelevant comments here?>
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It’s better than you trying to spam this site!
Great tips especially for those of us just getting started with grad school or college in general. I have always driven cheap (and reliable) $500-$600 cars bought at a nearby auction. Other steps I have taken to save: having an apartment within walking distance to campus, buying books at discount online stores, making own food (no cafeteria plans), most basic but adequate phone plan, no cable tv (internet for entertainment if need arises), and most importantly, learning to buy things because I absolutely need them and not because I just want them for the sake of amassing stuff for comfort.
Great post. In terms of saving 5 – 10% of your paycheck, I highly recommend setting that up as a direct deposit so you don’t even have to think about it. Made a huge difference for me at least.
How did they do that? It was awesome and inspiring in the first place.
I completely agree with the car part. It doesn’t make any sense to get a really expensive car when you don’t need it. A cheap car means a cheap way of living. Avoiding car payments is always nice. It’s hard when you have to do things on your own with little to no support from anyone. Also make sure you have a car fund. So if it breaks down you will be alright.
Student life is really a lack of confidence in the financial area. The one who manage funds properly, will get more advantage in the end.
great idea. are you planning on posting anything new soon?
One should be very frugal in order to survive in college.
I should say that could be the worst scenario that will happen to you!
Yet people still believing that if may help but in reality it could destroy your reputation both online and in offline.
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