The school sent plenty of emails and paper mailing to both us and our parents, detailing the new system. It was his responsibility to log onto the new online bill system and set up his parents’ emails so that they would get their email copies of the bills. And, this system was set up in June of 2005, so don’t ask me how he’s just finding out about it now – it’s been this way for all but his freshman year.
I can see why the school would make the switch. I personally enjoy the fact that they’re saving tons of paper with the new system, rather than sending out a paper bill to each of the 10,000+ students 6-8 times a year. But I can also see that someone saw this as an opportunity to not only save some money for the school, but also make some. How much more in late fees can they collect off the irresponsible students who never bother to set up the emails for their parents? I kinda like this, as well – let the irresponsible kids pay more, so my tuition rates don’t go up as much. It’s a win for those of us who are on top of our money!
Of course, that’s where the conversation lead. I had always had the particular feeling that this friend had no idea about his money – at least, not as far as the school was concerned. Of course, his parents pay all the bills that come, but I knew that he had to have some student loans of his own in there. And when I asked? He had no idea.
*sigh*
People, you have to PAY those when you graduate. With interest! You should be checking them, at least a few times a year, know exactly how much you owe, and watch out for scholarships you can apply for to lessen the load. It’s not that hard.
The problem is that money, especially debt, freaks out most everyone I know – and this is not limited to my age group, but it’s especially prevalent. The idea is “I won’t think about it, and I definitely won’t talk about it, and I’ll just deal with it when I graduate.” Right… that sounds fun. Post-graduation job search and move aren’t stressful enough for you? You have to add in a brand spanking new slap-in-the-face of a 5 or 6 digit debt? What is this… Xtreme Graduating(tm)?
No wait, it gets worse. So I start in on my spiel, which is basically Ramit’s 5 Steps to Getting Rich, plus some other things to just help him build credit. I would have just sent him some links, but he stubbornly refused to go near a personal finance blog (huh?), so I had to do the whole thing myself. Each step was like wrestling with porcupine, I swear.
Here are some key quips:
Friend: I take control of my finances
Stephanie: got any investments? an emergency fund?
Friend: ok….
Friend: maybe not
Friend: but if I invested in anything I’d lose all my money
Stephanie: WRONG
Friend: I don’t have the capital to start investing
Stephanie: WRONG
Friend: I got bills to pay
Stephanie: *sigh*
And later on…
Stephanie: do you have a credit card?
Stephanie: There’s the first thing you can fix
Friend: um
Friend: no
Stephanie: ok, credit cards usually = bad, right?
Friend: no credit for me
Stephanie: why?
Friend: cause I like to actually pay for things
Of course, I went on to explain that there are good ways to use a credit card, and that you really need to, at our age, to start a credit history and boost your score. Still, this “stubborn ignorance” and defensive need to find excuses for not looking after your financial future bewilders me. We like to spend money just as much, if not more, than any other age group. Why wouldn’t we want to find ways to maximize our money?
Some days, I just don’t get it.
Gregory says
Wow. I mean, people like that exist somewhere, it bugs me tremendously to hear about things like that.
Money is the tool to the good life, whether you value it on its own or not. But I guess it’s too much to ask a student to learn anything about money.
(Not that I know a great deal of the details of my college financing just yet, but that’s because I’m lucky enough to have parents that saved a bunch of money for it. No loans to keep track of yet. And yes, I’m spoiled rotten.)
Stephanie says
I don’t think you’re spoiled because of that. Your parents saved up to send their three kids to college, not just you (at least, I hope… or else I think your sisters might have decapitated you by now), and you spent two years at a cheaper college to save a boatload of money.
You are doing fine.
Ramit says
Grr. That’s really common among the people I talk to, but it still never fails to surprise me. It’s especially aggravating that he wouldn’t look at a personal-finance blog (or whatever) to learn more. That Ostrich-like mentality is sad. When people wonder why they have money problems for their entire lives, I wonder if they ever took even 5 hours to learn the basics. It’s not just about money, it’s about figuring out how to achieve your goals.
Anyway, thanks for the shout-out.
Stephanie says
Thanks Ramit! Yes, the most aggravating part of the conversation was when I sent him just two little links, and he brushed me off. I couldn’t help but thinking “What? I know you’re sitting at your computer, just chatting with people. Don’t tell me you’ll do it later, do it now! I know you have the time!”
People are just stubbornly sticking to their “if I don’t think about it, I won’t ever have to deal with it” theory.
By the way, Ramit, one of the link I tried to send him was I Will Teach You To Be Rich, so we should both be annoyed! =)
Anonymous says
Yes… but are your friends poorer than you? If not, I think you should drop the arrogant tone. When I was 20, I knew very little about personal finance and didn’t have a credit card. Now that I am 24, I have a college diploma, a good credit score, a 401k, a six month emergency fund, and $0.00 debt- even my student loans are completely paid off. Will you be able to say the same?
Stephanie says
Anon: the title of the blog was inspired by the fact that few of my friends (especially film students) actually realized how poor I really am.
I was never attempting to be arrogant – snarky, yes, but arrogant was never my intention.
I doubt I will be in your position when I am your age – I certainly hope to have a college diploma, a good credit score, a 401k, and a six month emergency fund by then, but I doubt I will be debt free. However, you haven’t really given me enough information to answer your question of “will you be able to say the same?” Here’s what I would need to know:
How much did you have to take out in student loans?
How much is in your 401K?
Did you receive any outside help, especially from parents or other family?
What constitutes “a good credit score” in your opinion?
Also, I don’t even have a wish to have all my student loans paid off in four years. I can think of several reasons not to, including the fact that they have a fairly low interest rate.
Steve "The Debt Settlement Man" B says
Wow ananymous sounds like four years really made a world of a difference for you.