Learning about Personal Finance through Trial and Error

Personal finance is a necessary and vital skill in any adult’s life, and special precautions need to be taken to keep yourself afloat and pursue financial comforts. High school touches on a few aspects of personal finance, but the majority is learned from personal experiences. Compared to what I have learned in high school and college, my major financial lessons have come from personal mistakes and struggles as well as the misfortunes I witnessed from others. I feel as if I was thrown into the financial stresses of adulthood.

These complications grew as I started borrowing money for student loans and trying to figure out how to pay for rent and groceries.

Although these stresses constantly weigh on me, I believe that I can work towards my goals of being financially stable and living a comfortable lifestyle through my future career in marketing. I am still young and have a vast future ahead of me, and with knowledge and hard work, I believe anything I can absorb from my experiences will help me towards my end goal.

I have learned a lot about personal finance in just my first few years out of college, and even though it has been tough sometimes, I think it has helped me grow and mature. Personal finance was a required class in high school, but I felt it was focused too far in the future to be relevant to me and it did not prepare me for my college years. The class focused more on investing aspects such as stocks and bonds and how to manage large sums of money.

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Unfortunately, I do not see any of that as helpful information and probably will not for years to come. Instead, I have had to learn the hard way. Renting my first apartment was easily the most impactful reality check of my personal finance knowledge. I had to learn how to efficiently budget and make every penny count.

My initial thought was that the money saved from working full time all summer would suffice throughout the school year. I was very wrong and learned quickly how expensive living is. I did not know how much money I had saved, or how much I spent. As Elizabeth Hoyt says, “Without following a budget, it’s difficult to hold yourself accountable on where your money is coming from and what it’s going toward”. I quickly realized this and had to make rapid adjustments. I picked up a job on weekends to help stay afloat. I started marking down on a calendar every dollar I spent each day plus rent for the first month. I had to adjust my budget to about 200 dollars on spending and 300 for rent. Once I started following this budget plan, I felt somewhat at ease with my financial situation. There were definitely some unpredictable costs, which in turn, spurred me to create an emergency fund. Living in the real world with rent, bills and groceries really gave me a better idea about the necessities of living and the objective wants. still have a lot I need to learn and still have many worries.

My main stress factor, shared with many other college students, is having to pay back student loans. It is a heavy burden that many face and the majority do not fully understand what they are really getting themselves into. Ed Zwirn from the New York Post tells, “49.8 percent believe they would be able to receive federal forgiveness on their student loans after graduation”. He shows just how confused some of these college students can be with financial education. I do not want to be a part of that 49.8% and will take steps to pay back my loans in the most financially responsible way. Even though college is a cost assisting me towards my end goal of financial comfort and success, I can see it comes at a sizeable price. I believe the debt will be worth it as it has been shown that, “high school graduates earn an average of almost $30,000 per year. Bachelor’s graduates earn an average of just over $50,000 a year” (Loveless). This large discrepancy shows just how beneficial my college education can be for me and how the loans should pay for themselves within a few years. I think it is healthy to worry about loans to an extent.

I do not want to forget they are there, and I think it helps push me and motivate me to do my best to find the optimal career path. My main goal in life is being able to live comfortably with a great work to life balance. We live in a world where money drives our lives. James Gustave Speth from Common dreams tells, “A consumer society is one in which consumerism and materialism are central aspects of the dominant culture, where goods and services are acquired not only to satisfy common needs but also to secure identity and meaning”. He illustrates that money drives us physically and mentally- it is a part of who we are. Everyone enjoys buying things and I want to be able to do that as well. Although I do not feel I have to live lavishly, it would be nice to not have to always stress about my financial stability. I want to have enough money to travel a bit and see some of the world. I have only been to six states and want to be able to travel across the country; experience as much as I can in life, then someday maybe settle down and relax.

Without money, none of this seems possible. I have seen the effects of money being tight and how it can be such a burden on families and relationships. Being a “broke college kid,” I sometimes get jealous of the things some people have, but I think if I continue to work hard I can someday achieve my financial dreams. I know I have to take certain steps to achieve these goals, and at times they can seem a bit far-fetched. To make these things seem more reasonable, I must know and work on these steps. My first step in setting myself up financially is finishing college. I am currently pursuing a career in marketing and am trying to keep my grades up here at Kent State and learn as much as I can for the real world. I am doing my best to take out every piece of information I can. I am paying for it now, so I might as well try to get everything I can out of it. I know now that I may be struggling, but most college kids do.

I have to put in the time and effort to establish myself for later in life. It is crucial that I make these sacrifices now so later in life things can get easier. The next step is finding a good job that has growth. I think that if I continue to work hard in school and outside of school this is a very achievable goal. I know I will not start off making crazy amounts of money, but I want to find something steady and comfortable. The last step is working hard. I have always been a strong believer that hard work pays off. I have been working hard my whole life and will try to continue my path. There are many things I cannot account for and certain situations may arise that could put me in a bad spot, but for now, I am taking action for my own future. I am going to continue to work hard now and take all the right steps in order to live comfortably and try to experience everything I want to.

Personal finance and money will continue to be a relevant issue in my life, as will it be in most people’s lives. It is very important to have a good grasp of personal finance in order to help my life run smoothly. Learning these aspects can be challenging, but I think it makes you more well-suited for the struggles that one can face. I know I have learned a lot about personal finance through my own experience, as well as seeing others struggle. I still have my concerns, but I can continue to work towards my goals of being financially stable and living a comfortable lifestyle. Taking each and every step along the way. I think having a college education will make these goals much more achievable. I cannot lose sight of my goals. I know money will always be a relevant issue and we need it to manage our lives. I feel that if issues arise, I can work through them and combat these issues.