As a student, one of the biggest stressors is finances. Whether it’s time to pay tuition or a monthly Netflix subscription, money is constantly withdrawn from your bank account, and it’s difficult to keep up. With student and home life obligations, keeping track of finances is difficult, but with help from these tips, it’s easier than you think!
Scholarships
Scholarships are one of the most helpful tools in paying tuition and can grant hundreds to over a thousand dollars per semester. Scholarship money awarded to you never has to be paid back—who can pass that up! While applying for scholarships can be daunting, applying for as many as possible increases your chances of earning one.
UW-Green Bay makes applying for scholarships easy by only filling out one application to be considered for all the scholarships they offer.
Transfer Credits
If you are a transfer student, have received College Credits in High School or took AP classes in high school, don’t let your work go to waste! These credits can transfer to your university as general education or graduation requirements. This way, you save money on tuition and school expenses by graduating faster and not paying for courses you’ve already completed. Check your university’s Credit Transfer webpage or contact a transfer counselor to ensure all your transfer credits are accounted for.
Student Budgeting
The first step to financial planning during college is creating a budget. Budgeting is crucial whether you’re a student looking for some spending money or one with dependents and a home to provide for. You should divide your monthly income so you’re never left without money for necessities, like rent, food or school supplies. Unlike that new pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing, necessities have due dates for when they need to be paid and are most important in your budget.
Another thing to prioritize in your budget is placing money into a savings account. Saving even a small amount of money each month helps your future self with expenses after graduation and is helpful if you run into a financial emergency.
If you want assistance with budgeting as a UW-Green Bay student, the Charles Schwab Center for Financial Wellness offers financial counseling at zero cost.
Student Loans
Many students don’t have thousands of dollars to pay for their tuition, so they take out student loans. While it’s easy to forget about student loans during the school year, if you have unsubsidized loans like most students, they build interest every day.
The annual interest rate for student loans taken out between July 1, 2024, and Jun 30, 2025, is 6.53% for undergraduates and 8.08% for graduates. While the interest rate doesn’t change after it is set, once you start paying off your loans, the payments will go toward the built interest first, then the original loan amount. This also applies to students with subsidized loans, but the interest isn’t added to their payment until graduation.
To save yourself money, take out as little as needed in student loans and pay them off as soon as possible. If you are unsure which loans you have, visit the Federal Student Aid website—you can start paying off your student loans today, even if you haven’t graduated yet. Future you will thank you.
Student Jobs
We could all use some extra money in our pockets—getting an on-campus job is a great way to earn it. Supervisors are especially mindful of your obligations and schedule with student jobs because they work for the university you attend. On-campus employment even has caps on how much students can work so you will never have to worry about working more than you can manage.
Applying for on-campus jobs can be as easy as using UW-Green Bay’s Handshake site. It shows available student jobs with clear hourly pay, requirements and weekly hours. You can apply for jobs in food service, custodial, information technology or whatever fits you.
Student Credit Cards
Credit cards are necessary and offer many benefits, like decreased interest on loans, lower fees, and rewards despite their repercussions. The higher your credit score and the longer you hold a credit card, the better the benefits and credit cards you can apply for in the future. That is why opening a credit card as early as possible is crucial to financial success, and there are many student options for first-time credit card holders.
At first, credit cards can seem like an easy way to pay for things because you don’t need money in your account to use them. In fact, the average college student has $4,000 in credit card debt, and unpaid bills at the end of the month significantly hurt your credit score and financial success. Your credit score, which is important for buying homes, cars, and more in the future, may decrease, your interest rates on loans will be higher, and late payment fees can add up. Not properly using a credit card leads to adverse but avoidable consequences.
For advice or assistance opening a credit card, visit a credit union or bank like the UW Credit Union. At UW-Green Bay, this is located in the University Union.
Student Discounts
Everyone loves free stuff and discounts. As a student, they help when other expenses are looming. Luckily, the number of student discounts is endless! Check your university’s provided student discounts on items like technology and software used daily as a student.
Additional popular student discounts include Spotify and Hulu, Adobe and Amazon. To check for more student discounts on personal items, clothing or more, visit the UNiDAYS website to ensure you’re not spending unnecessary money.
Textbooks
Textbooks are one of the most expensive items students purchase during the school year. While they’re needed for most classes, buying new textbooks can cost hundreds of dollars, making their costs unmanageable. Some of the easiest ways to lower this cost are buying used textbooks, renting textbooks and utilizing eBooks. In fact, opting for eBooks alone could save you as much as 50% on a textbook fee. Luckily, most of these alternatives are provided through your university’s bookstore webpage under purchasing options for the textbooks you need.
Also, if you prefer a new, physical textbook but don’t need it after your course is finished, you can try selling it to your bookstore. At UW-Green Bay, you can get as much as 50% back of your textbook’s original price after selling it to the bookstore.
Managing student responsibilities, especially finances, can feel overwhelming. However, financial planning doesn’t have to be complicated. Utilize your university’s resources and take advantage of student options for things like credit cards and discounts to make your everyday financial tracking easier.
Reese is a senior studying Writing and Applied Arts from De Pere, Wisconsin. She lives off-campus but has worked multiple on-campus jobs as a GBIT Service Desk Analyst, GBIT Endpoint Content Writing intern, and now a Web Writing intern for MUC. Her favorite thing about campus is the beautiful scenery. When she graduates, she wants to be a technical writer or web content writer.