Personal Finance for College Students

For any youngsters out there, college is the first step towards adulthood. Unless you're a day-scholar, this is also the first time you will have to live completely on your own.

Whether it's cooking, cleaning, or laundry, young people have to experience a learning curve that comes with acquiring any new skill. Personal Finance is no exception to this rule.

Around Feb 2020, the Mumbai Mirror reached out to a handful of college students within the city and asked them what their monthly allowance was.

The students came back with a range that varied anywhere between Rs.15,000 – 30,000 per month.

Even with such generous allowances, the youngsters reported difficulty in managing their traveling, tuition, food, and recreational expenses.

Personal Finance Challenges

The idea of money in hand gives young people a false sense of freedom. Add peer pressure to it and you have a recipe for disaster.

Unfortunately, this fallacy is an indispensable rite of passage in their eventual journey towards personal financial independence and success.

• Personal Finance Literacy: Lack of financial literacy is very common among Indian college students. Fortunately, it is never too early to plan for the future.
  Frugality is a skill that sets one up for lifetime success. Learning how to stay debt-free, saving every month, and living within one's budget are all essential to long-term prosperity.
• Learning To Invest: Often, youngsters are caught up in the rush to make a quick buck.
  If it's not an internship, it's a gig. Sometimes, it's a hot tip on volatile shares in the stock market.
  At this age, there's still time before you start investing. However, it doesn't hurt to become knowledgeable about personal finance.
  Cultivating a curious attitude towards financial planning will stand you in good stead in the long term.
• Loan App For Students: Today, instant personal loan app products allow college students to borrow money without collateral. Unfortunately, young people get carried away and end up incurring large debts.
  Using instant personal loan app products wisely can help youngsters maintain a healthy credit score. By closely monitoring how much they borrow and spend at a time, they can learn financial planning at an early age.

Ways To Improve Personal Finance Literacy

The OECD/INFE 2020 International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy was conducted across 26 countries from Latin America, Asia and Europe.

According to this report, young people aged between 18-29 years consistently display lower financial literacy when compared to other age groups.

Thankfully, just a handful of good practices daily can help the youth of our country gain their financial prowess in no time.

• Reading: If you are not a habitual reader, start with the very basics.
  Begin with the Finance section of your daily newspaper. Once you are comfortable with common financial terms, you can move on to publications such as The Economic Times, The Mint, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist.
  The internet is a limitless source of financial materials through which you can improve your understanding of the economy.
  In addition to well-known publications and authoritative sources, you will also find bloggers with unique insights into personal finance that can help you achieve success.
• Apply The Learning To Your Own Personal Finance: All the reading will be to no avail if you fail to apply your learning and manage your personal finance better.
  Luckily, knowledge brings about a change in habits and mindset, often causing a paradigm shift in one's perception.
  Applying your learning to planning for the future, managing debts, and making monthly budgets will help you achieve your long-term personal finance goals and enjoy a lifetime of prosperity.

Managing Personal Finance Effectively

Learning to manage one's personal finance prudently at an early age is easier said than done. Financial literacy is an acquired skill that takes years to mature.

Thankfully, there are a handful of tips that one can adopt with relative ease. These serve as the building blocks to a lifetime of financial planning and security.

• Sticking To A Personal Finance Budget: College life can be fairly routine. The same group of friends, familiar hangouts, and favorite places to eat.
  Once you've settled into a groove, it's a good idea to stick to a monthly budget. In addition to the ease of mind that comes with financial discipline, you may also end up saving for a rainy day.
• Do Not Overspend: We know. Peer pressure eventually gets to everybody. College is as good a place as any to choose your circle of friends wisely. The company you keep not only shapes your present but also your future. A well-chosen group of friends will not force you to validate yourself or seek their approval constantly. This means less time spent in idle shopping and at expensive coffee shops and more time having meaningful conversations, forming close bonds and lifelong friendships.
• Student Discounts: These days, student discounts are all the rage.
  Not just non-profits or government-run institutions, even corporates are sold on the idea.
  Offering student discounts is one way to attract your target group early and build lifelong brand loyalty.
  Be it gadgets, vehicles, traveling, study materials, or dining out, don't shy away from grabbing your student discount at your favored outlets.
  You've earned it.

If you are a college student or a young professional who can manage your personal finance well, mPokket is the right instant personal loan app for you.

Simply download and install the Instant loan app for students. Register by uploading a handful of documents and get approved.

Voila!

Now borrow instant personal loan online up to Rs.45,000 depending upon your credit score and your repayment history with us.

We credit the money directly into your bank account.