Short on funds shouldn't mean you're short on brains. Don't be that guy who has to admit, "I was young; I needed the money."
True: being a college student means making mistakes, but in these financial times, there are some lessons it's better not to have to learn the hard way.
No matter how bad it gets, making one of these poor financial decisions will probably make your situation worse:
True: being a college student means making mistakes, but in these financial times, there are some lessons it's better not to have to learn the hard way.
- Payday loans: Don’t mortgage your future paycheck by paying exorbitant fees to get your money a few weeks or days earlier.
- Credit card cash advances: Interest rates on cash advances are usually much higher than the credit APR.
- Selling textbooks early: You’re in college for an education to help you make money later in life. Don’t jeopardize that by selling books you will need to succeed in your classes.
- Gambling: Placing bets online or through the campus bookie might be a tempting way to double or even triple your money very quickly. However, the risk you assume is simply not worth it when money is already tight.
- Get-rich-quick scams: There is no shortage of offers that claim to earn you a lot of money in a short amount of time for doing next to nothing. Use common sense—offers that sound too good to be true probably are and should be avoided.
