Every year, college students around the United States struggle to pay for books, food, tuition and daily life necessities. Even the small things like a cup of coffee begin to add up when paying for things becomes a challenge. Because every student is brought up in different financial situations, each individual has their own ways of paying for what they need.
“If I want money to go out and do something, I need to get it myself,” Katie Fazio, sophomore at Cabrini University, said. “I work all summer to save money and then try and find work at school or somewhere close but I’ll also budget my money and only buy things I truly need.”
Along with finding jobs and getting through hours of endless school work, some parents are able to help along the way by lending some cash when needed.
“My mom will start me off with everything I need in the beginning of the semester with things such as room necessities and snacks, but then I have to pay for everything else myself such as books and other school supplies,” Fazio said.
“What I usually do is whenever I go home for breaks I work and try to save as much as I can for school, but if I’m out of cash and there’s something I really need money for at school then my parents will help me out,” Joe Berardi, sophomore at Cabrini University, said.
Many students rely on themselves and also finding a decent job on campus or as close as possible to help save up for every necessity.
“I try to babysit as much as possible so I don’t have to ask my parents for money,” Lindsay Hurwitz, English major at Cabrini University, said.
Websites such as care.com and rover.com allow anyone to sign up and become a babysitter, pet sitter or a house sitter and earn some extra money. These websites make it really easy to sign up and apply for local positions.
I also mostly pay for everything by saving up what I made as a camp counselor this past summer,” Hurwitz said. “I try to spend my money wisely and I’ll only ask my parents for money if I start to run super low on cash and truly need money for food.”
