OUR SPACE: Can you spare a dime?
College student works to maintain lifestyle
By Joanne Fox, Journal staff writer | Posted: Monday, April 28, 2008
Morningside College student Nick McGraw delivers drinks to a table at Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar. (Staff photo by Jim Lee)
Nick McGraw's approach to money is pretty straightforward.
"It burns a hole in my pocket," the Morningside College sophomore said with a wry grin. "If I have it, I spend it."
Most students know paying for a college isn't easy. You spend time researching and applying for scholarships, grants and loans to pay for the big ticket items: tuition, room and board.
But you still need cash to support yourself. There might be the occasional pizza or movie. There's certainly the need to purchase school supplies and personal items.
It turns into a love/hate relationship with money, McGraw admitted.
"It's an issue," he said. "I never seem to have cash in my pocket, but I don't because I love to spend it and I hate it when I don't have it."
McGraw has worked since 14 at a variety of jobs, including a paper route, food preparation, inventory stocking and office help. He received an allowance, but admitted that it "didn't cut it" for him.
"I'd get allowance for doing chores and would beg to be taken to Toys R Us (when it was in Sioux City) so I could buy Pokeman cards," he said of the collectible cards based on the video game series. "Looking back now, that was so stupid.
"But, I always wanted to work," McGraw added. "I love having money and I love having money to spend."
As with most students, McGraw had trouble finding positions that would accommodate a school schedule.
"It's hard to find jobs where I could work 3 to 5:30," he said. "I was in school all day and then I'd have activities in the evening. It was tough."
Buffalo Wild Wings gig
Summer is better and that was the time McGraw would work five or six nights a week, if the employer would allow him that many hours. He took a server job at Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar last May.
"I had to take time off in October, because I couldn't do school and the job," he confessed.
"But Buffalo Wild Wings has really been good to me," he added. "They've allowed me to work a little or a lot depending on my time off; like at Christmas break and spring break, I worked almost all the time."
In addition to waiting tables at BWW, McGraw also works in the admissions office at Morningside, where he leads tours of the campus, files papers and helps out with mailings. So do fellow roommates Derek Nolan, Brady Helmink and Troy Weber.
"That's been great because it's easier for me to work around my classes and activities right here on campus," McGraw said.
Even though most students have taken care of tuition, room and board at college when registering for classes, there's still expenses that surface during the school year.
"Gas is a killer right now," McGraw said. "I think I spent $300 last month on gas."
McGraw said he pays his mom money for car insurance and his cell phone. Even with meals at school, McGraw admitted he likes to eat out occasionally; that takes money, too.
Saturday night and I just got paid
Socializing is a huge aspect of the college experience, but McGraw said he's gotten more sensible about his activities.
"I don't go to movies every weekend and eating out is too darn expensive," he acknowledged.
But McGraw's weakness for merchandise remains.
"Clothes and shoes," he said without hesitation. "Then, in the summer, there's four of us who love to go to Hunan Palace."
This is the first year McGraw has a credit card, "so I can develop a credit record," and so far, it's not been a temptation. That's not the case with his checking account.
"In high school, I can't even tell you how many times I overdrafted; it's more times than I can count," he said. "And it would be for something like 30 cents, because I would try and spend right up to the time I would deposit my money. I discovered $75 in charges wasn't worth it."
Hindsight being better than foresight, McGraw said his advice to college students would be to develop a budget.
"You can't plan for everything, but I think it helps if you're aware of your expenses," he said.
Reflecting on his money sense, McGraw mused that he's "grown up" when it comes to dollar decisions.
"My dad wanted to give me money for school, but wanted me to be more responsible about my spending," he said. "So, I made an Excel spreadsheet to track my money for the school year."
Sheepishly, he added, "I guess I have to grow up sometime."
Poll: College students stressed
A recent nationwide canvass indicated that college kids endure stress -- often.
According to a poll of undergraduates from coast to coast, students were worried about grades, relationships, and of course, money. The survey was conducted for The Associated Press and mtvU, a television network available at many colleges and universities.
Four in 10 students said they endure stress often, but most were handling it. Nearly two-thirds in the survey said they enjoyed life.
Seven in 10 students attributed stress to school work and grades. Financial problems were next. Relationships and dating, family problems and extracurricular activities were named as adding pressure.
The survey was conducted by Edison Media Research from Feb. 28 to March 6 by having 2,253 undergraduate students fill out confidential forms. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
"It burns a hole in my pocket," the Morningside College sophomore said with a wry grin. "If I have it, I spend it."
Most students know paying for a college isn't easy. You spend time researching and applying for scholarships, grants and loans to pay for the big ticket items: tuition, room and board.
But you still need cash to support yourself. There might be the occasional pizza or movie. There's certainly the need to purchase school supplies and personal items.
It turns into a love/hate relationship with money, McGraw admitted.
"It's an issue," he said. "I never seem to have cash in my pocket, but I don't because I love to spend it and I hate it when I don't have it."
McGraw has worked since 14 at a variety of jobs, including a paper route, food preparation, inventory stocking and office help. He received an allowance, but admitted that it "didn't cut it" for him.
"I'd get allowance for doing chores and would beg to be taken to Toys R Us (when it was in Sioux City) so I could buy Pokeman cards," he said of the collectible cards based on the video game series. "Looking back now, that was so stupid.
"But, I always wanted to work," McGraw added. "I love having money and I love having money to spend."
As with most students, McGraw had trouble finding positions that would accommodate a school schedule.
"It's hard to find jobs where I could work 3 to 5:30," he said. "I was in school all day and then I'd have activities in the evening. It was tough."
Buffalo Wild Wings gig
Summer is better and that was the time McGraw would work five or six nights a week, if the employer would allow him that many hours. He took a server job at Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar last May.
"I had to take time off in October, because I couldn't do school and the job," he confessed.
"But Buffalo Wild Wings has really been good to me," he added. "They've allowed me to work a little or a lot depending on my time off; like at Christmas break and spring break, I worked almost all the time."
In addition to waiting tables at BWW, McGraw also works in the admissions office at Morningside, where he leads tours of the campus, files papers and helps out with mailings. So do fellow roommates Derek Nolan, Brady Helmink and Troy Weber.
"That's been great because it's easier for me to work around my classes and activities right here on campus," McGraw said.
Even though most students have taken care of tuition, room and board at college when registering for classes, there's still expenses that surface during the school year.
"Gas is a killer right now," McGraw said. "I think I spent $300 last month on gas."
McGraw said he pays his mom money for car insurance and his cell phone. Even with meals at school, McGraw admitted he likes to eat out occasionally; that takes money, too.
Saturday night and I just got paid
Socializing is a huge aspect of the college experience, but McGraw said he's gotten more sensible about his activities.
"I don't go to movies every weekend and eating out is too darn expensive," he acknowledged.
But McGraw's weakness for merchandise remains.
"Clothes and shoes," he said without hesitation. "Then, in the summer, there's four of us who love to go to Hunan Palace."
This is the first year McGraw has a credit card, "so I can develop a credit record," and so far, it's not been a temptation. That's not the case with his checking account.
"In high school, I can't even tell you how many times I overdrafted; it's more times than I can count," he said. "And it would be for something like 30 cents, because I would try and spend right up to the time I would deposit my money. I discovered $75 in charges wasn't worth it."
Hindsight being better than foresight, McGraw said his advice to college students would be to develop a budget.
"You can't plan for everything, but I think it helps if you're aware of your expenses," he said.
Reflecting on his money sense, McGraw mused that he's "grown up" when it comes to dollar decisions.
"My dad wanted to give me money for school, but wanted me to be more responsible about my spending," he said. "So, I made an Excel spreadsheet to track my money for the school year."
Sheepishly, he added, "I guess I have to grow up sometime."
Poll: College students stressed
A recent nationwide canvass indicated that college kids endure stress -- often.
According to a poll of undergraduates from coast to coast, students were worried about grades, relationships, and of course, money. The survey was conducted for The Associated Press and mtvU, a television network available at many colleges and universities.
Four in 10 students said they endure stress often, but most were handling it. Nearly two-thirds in the survey said they enjoyed life.
Seven in 10 students attributed stress to school work and grades. Financial problems were next. Relationships and dating, family problems and extracurricular activities were named as adding pressure.
The survey was conducted by Edison Media Research from Feb. 28 to March 6 by having 2,253 undergraduate students fill out confidential forms. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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MB wrote on Apr 28, 2008 8:45 PM:
This article makes it sound like working while in college is a new concept. I would like to see employers put an emphasis on hiring those students out of college that worked all through college and high school.
"
a mom wrote on Apr 28, 2008 6:11 PM:
What wrote on Apr 28, 2008 3:17 PM:
Stuart wrote on Apr 28, 2008 8:06 AM: