Student Profile with Introduction

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Juliana Henry, 19

Business major

University of Arizona

image I have had to keep my spending to the bare minimum in college. That was a tough transition. image

Juliana Henry was born in Bogota, Colombia, and was adopted as an infant by a family in Massachusetts, where she attended high school. During the college application process, she decided that she wanted to attend a big university, one with Greek life and lots to do, and she wanted to find an institution with a highly-ranked business program. The University of Arizona fit the bill, and the warm weather far from the harsh New England winters didn’t hurt either.

Juliana had worked hard during high school, and she managed to save a lot of money the summer before she left for college, so she opted to try attending the university without holding an outside job. The trade-off was that she had to keep her spending low. “It was a tough transition from having lots of money while working full time,” she says, but she quickly learned how important it was to have a balanced budget. “When I first got to school I wasn’t able to immediately adjust to the thought of not buying things when I wanted them. I have had to keep my spending to the bare minimum in college. That was a tough transition.” Like many students, Juliana also has a credit card now, which she got to begin building a good credit score. She has to be careful with that, too, and she tries to use it only for necessities. “My parents cosigned for it,” she says, “but I am still the one who has to make the monthly payments!”

After a year at the University of Arizona, Juliana has realized that she actually misses New England more than she thought she would and has decided to transfer to a college back East. “The process of applying to colleges as a transfer was exhausting, but worth it in the end,” she says. “I am at a point in my life where I need to make decisions that will truly benefit my future and help me set up my career.” She sees herself working in hotel management in the future and hopes to get a job at one of Boston’s many fine hotels. Her advice for other first-year students? “Save much more than you think you will need. That money can come in handy!”

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Juliana made a hard choice; she had just enough money to manage expenses without working, but her strict budget didn’t allow her to spend her hard-earned dollars on anything but the necessities. Living within a budget during the first year of college can be tough, and that’s why some students begin to depend on credit cards. Counting on credit cards to extend your available financial resources can be a slippery slope, however. Problems with managing money can make it more difficult to establish a strong academic record and complete your degree. Money issues can also affect your specific academic goals, causing you to select or reject certain academic majors or degree plans because of their future earning potential.

Money is often symbolically and realistically the key ingredient to independence and even, some people have concluded, to a sense of freedom. Money can also stir up problems. You probably know of instances when money divided a family or a relationship, or seemed to drive someone’s life in a direction that person would not have taken otherwise.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide some basics of financial literacy—a specialized form of information literacy—and suggestions so that money issues will not be barriers to your success in college. Sources of financial assistance are available through loans, grants, and work-study programs, and this chapter will help you develop a strategy for investigating your options. Think of this chapter as a summary of needed financial skills; if you want more information, consider taking a personal finance class at your college or in your community.

assess your strengths

Whether they work, receive financial aid, or receive money from their families, successful college students must learn to live on a budget. As you begin to read this chapter, remember areas where you think that you have had some success managing your money in the past.

set goals

What are your most important objectives in learning the material in this chapter? Think about challenges you have had in the past with money management, or areas that confuse you or make you nervous. Write down three money-management goals, such as tracking your spending and expenses for one month and using that information to create a monthly budget.