10 money mistakes I made during my undergrad

1. Paying cash for the bus. Bigcity has bus tickets and bus passes that save MEGA bucks over paying cash. I wish I had gone the extra block to buy bus tickets!

2. Buying brand new textbooks. I barely opened a lot of my textbooks especially the general knowledge ones from first year. Used would have been a much better buy...

3. Also, not selling my textbooks back when I had the chance. Now I'm stuck with a bunch of books I didn't read when I HAD to.. why would I read them now by CHOICE??

4. Cash advance my line of credit to pay my line of credit payment! I'm lucky that I didn't get hit with cash advance fees but still not a good idea because I wasn't helping my overall debt situation. The bank never told me to stop but if you are paying the card off this way you aren't really paying anything off.

5. Cash advancing my VISA. Not only did I have to pay cash advance fees on this card but I also was hit with interest from day 1. No grace period :(

6. Eating out.. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Yes, I had a meal plan that was tax exempt but I still ate at restaurants not covered by my meal plan very, very frequently.

7. Intoxication. Don't get me wrong, getting way too drunk, way too often is DEFINITELY a part of first (and second) year (okay maybe third year too). But you have to do it the right way. Go to the liquor store, buy the biggest bottle you can and make it last as long as you can. DO NOT go out to bars sober. It's way, way too expensive. Unless you're a pretty girl.... but that's another story ;)

8. Not calling to see if I could lower my interest rates on my credit cards. The minute I did that I noticed a HUGE difference in my monthly charges.

9. Cable, internet and a landline in second year. I got the WHOLE kitten caboodle. The fancy channels, the faster speed and caller ID. Like I need to screen my calls. Waste of money!!

10. Laundry.. okay I'm lying but you all know how much I hate laundry. I moved to 2 different apartments where I had to pay for laundry (including my current one)... but the rent is/was cheaper...so its a cost I guess I've accepted!

Hopefully this list will help you struggle a bit less through your undergrad. Always try to live within your means. Even if its next to impossible during school!

Jenny~Z!