21 and Financially Unstable
I remember when I was a kid and my mother always warned me about growing up too fast. Now here I am in my early 20s wishing I had actually listened to her.
Caitlin Munson
As kids, we don’t believe everything our parents say until it’s too late. To survive in the real world, you need to find a job. Once you find a job you must commit to it because your bills won’t pay for themselves. That, and if you don’t commit, then you won’t’ have a job, leading you right back to square one.
At 21 years old, I hold a part-time job while attending college full-time. School first, job second–that is how my priorities work but not necessarily all the time. Sometimes I mix up my priorities and put work over school.
Not because I want to, but because I feel I have to.
My junior year of college I took on five courses and worked 30 plus hours a week. In addition to my hours, I would pick-up more shifts whenever possible. Things weren’t financially great at home and I was helping my mother out whenever I could. As you can imagine, juggling both school full-time and work full-time didn’t end well. I became overwhelmed and frustrated trying to balance the two. My time management was poor just like my academic efforts; I never had time to do homework. By the end of the semester, I failed two classes and barely passed the other three. I was mortified.
I had never received any grade lower than a B- prior to the semester. Did I regret not prioritizing? Yes. Did I regret all the money I had made? No. It went towards helping my mother pay bills.
Living in New York City, the cheapest commodity would probably be the air we breathe. It costs money to do just about everything. To commute, have a roof over your head, to eat, etc. pretty much to live comfortably. I committed to a CUNY school because it was cost-efficient for my mother’s pockets; her goal was for me to graduate debt-free. She hopes that I can save up and start a life for myself without owing anyone a single dime. In other words, she wants me to make it in the real world. Then again, most parents hope that for their children. Because she pays for my tuition, I owe it to my mother to pay for all my amenities.
My weekly budget consists of buying groceries, getting a metro card, and paying off my credit card bill (or trying to at least.) My monthly budget includes my phone bill, my gym membership, my health insurance, and my music subscription. A phone and health insurance are more important than going to the gym or listening to music but I pay for the subscriptions because I find them important. Working out and listening to music allows me to escape from reality for the time being. Oh, I almost forgot about paying for Wi-Fi. Now, these are monthly bills meaning they don’t hurt my debit card as severely. But after budgeting and paying everything off, I’m left broke. Some weeks I’m left with $3 dollars. With all these pricey responsibilities, sometimes I’ll pick up an extra shift at work. Education is important but how else will I be able to pay for everything and have something left over?
I’ve watched friends of mine, myself included, mix up their priorities because they’re money hungry. They’re eager to make money and have access to it now. Some have even considered drop classes and skipping semesters to work more, with hopes of working their way up. We go to college with hopes of leaving with a degree that will help us make more money in the future but that’s four-plus years away. The average undergraduate student finishes in five years. After graduation, we then have to use our degree to help build a career. Our parents lecture and reprimand us about how important it is to excel in school but it’s hard when college leaves you stressed out and broke. In addition, your degree doesn’t guarantee you any career in your field, if at all.
65 percent of Americans don’t have a savings account – shocking but realistic. The majority of that percentage is college students aged 18-23. Based on personal experience, I’ve tried to a start building a savings and have failed time and time again. The bank provided me with a free one because I’m a college student which I find ironic.
I’m a year and a half away from graduating college and to be honest, I don’t know what’s in store for me financially. But I’ve learned that at my age it’s ok to be broke. It’s ok to be to want to work hard to earn money, as long as I keep my priorities in check. School first, work second; a chance at success.
Cait Munson. A Brooklyn girl with a big heart, big dreams and even bigger hair. An optimist, a grammar-Nazi, a chocoholic, a journalism major, a bookworm and mother of a Shih Tzu.
