Month: April 2025

When you’re in college, it’s easy to think you’re too broke, too busy, or too early in life to even think about investing. Between classes, ramen dinners, and trying to survive finals week, money stuff can feel like it belongs in your “someday” file.

But here’s the truth: college is actually the perfect time to start investing—and starting now can seriously change your future.

Time Is on Your Side (and It’s a Big Deal)

If you only take one thing away from this post, let it be this: the earlier you invest, the more your money grows. This is thanks to something called compound interest—aka, money making money on money.

Here’s a quick example that might blow your mind:

• You invest just $50 a month starting at age 19.
• Your friend starts at 30, investing $100 a month.
• Even though your friend invests twice as much, you’ll likely end up with more money by the time you both hit retirement age—just because you started earlier.

Time is basically free money. And right now, you have more of it than anyone.

You Don’t Need to Be Rich to Get Started

Gone are the days when you needed thousands of dollars to invest. Thanks to apps like Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, and Acorns, you can start with as little as $5.

A few low-cost, beginner-friendly options:

• Index Funds – great for passive growth
• ETFs – kind of like the snack packs of investing: diversified and low-risk
• Stocks – own pieces of big companies like Apple or Amazon without shelling out hundreds

Starting small is 100% okay. What matters most is just starting.

Inflation Is Real (and It’s Stealing From You)

If your money’s just sitting in a savings account or Venmo balance, you’re actually losing buying power every year. That $10 burrito today might cost $12 in a few years. Investing helps your money keep up with inflation so it actually grows, not shrinks.

Start Now, Thank Yourself Later

College is the best time to start investing. You don’t need to be a finance major or have a ton of cash. Just start small, stay consistent, and let time do the heavy lifting.

Even if it’s just $10 a week—that’s not even two Starbucks runs—your future self will be thankful you did.

Life as a college student is stressful. You have to balance many things at once and oftentimes your own finances get overlooked. Many college students are never taught how to take care of their own finances which adds further stress to their lives. I am going to give you some things you can start doing now to take control of your financial situation and set you up for success.

Budgeting

Creating a budget is simple and easy to do and will help you learn more about your money habits. Tracking the money you have coming in and the money you have going out will help you grasp how much you are really saving and spending. To create a budget track how much you spend in one month and how much you make in that same month. Then sort your spending into categories (Food, Housing, Entertainment, etc.). Use this information to set a budget of how much you are going to spend every month to ensure you are saving money. The most important part of a budget is sticking to it!

Savings/Emergency Fund

Once you have your budget down and can consistently save money, putting your money in a savings account is the next step. Even if you are saving a small amount at a time, getting into this habit is very important. It is recommended to keep 3-6 months worth of expenses in an emergency fund in case of unexpected costs such as car repairs or medical bills. After you have your emergency fund account, put the rest in a normal savings account that you will take spending money out of.

Pro Tip: I recommend looking into high yield savings accounts that will give you around 4% return on your money for just having it in the account.

Credit Cards/Credit Scores

Be mindful of credit cards. While they can help build credit, it’s crucial to use them wisely. Only charge what you can afford to pay off each month, and avoid carrying a balance to dodge high interest rates.

More information regarding the best credit cards for college students as well as how to build your credit is available on the Financial Literacy Center’s blog.

Link: https://blogs.uww.edu/financialliteracycenter/

Take advantage of Free Resources

The Financial Literacy Center offers free one-on-one coaching, workshops, and tools to help you make informed money decisions. We are Located in the University Center room 129 and make blog posts like this twice a month. We are always willing to help!