Editorial

Financial independence problematic for students

By Student Voice

March 31, 2010

As the Student Voice Editorial Board has pointed out week after week, graduation is approaching quickly, and with its arrival comes a whole slew of responsibilities the newly-graduated seniors will have to tackle. Amongst these are things like finding a career, a place to live, etc. But, more importantly is the abrupt sense of financial responsibility and independence that will ultimately smack every student in the face as they take the big step into the “grown-up world.”

A lot of college students are not paying their way through school. A lot of college students are not paying for their cell phones. A lot of college students are not paying for their car insurance. These are just a few examples of the things that are going to go from something that didn’t have to be worried about to things on the forefront of all these newly aged minds. Not to mention, newly graduated students will have six months, just about, to kill before they have to start paying back four years worth of student loans.

It is important for these 20-something-year-olds to start being independent, in the financial sense. Mom and Dad won’t be able to be there for you forever, supplying you with all the necessary funds needed as you take on the “real world.”

It is understandable as a freshman to have your parents pay your means, but by the time senior year gets here, there are few excuses as to why parents are paying to put gas in their child’s vehicle.

Becoming financially independent is a scary thing, but the lessons learned, and the maturity developed, are irreplaceable. Starting with something small, like paying a cell phone bill each month, will enable students to start slowly toward the goal of independence. By the time graduation rolls around, there should be no reason for a senior to not be able to know how to balance their checkbook, handle their savings account, budget their paychecks and pay all of their bills.

Parents will always be there to turn to when, for example, rent can’t be made one month because of additional expenses, but relying on them solely is unnecessary and relatively immature. If itís impossible to pay rent for each month, then perhaps that individual shouldnít be living off campus, on their own. Responsibility and maturity go hand-in-hand with becoming financially independent.