Financial Literacy for Undergrads

According to Investopedia, Financial Literacy is the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills including personal financial management, budgeting and investing.

As undergrads, I know we are too young to manage money or even invest, after all, our source of income is our monthly allowance and of course, those of us who engage in side hustles.

Financial literacy is a skill, if correctly harnessed as an undergrad could prepare us for life after school. So, the question now is how do we become financially literate? Here are some tips:

1. Don’t fall for the YOLO phrase: This stands for “you live only once”, so you can spend anyhow, this has led to financial recklessness, especially among young adults. This doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it. This is also called delayed gratification.
2. Budgeting: You can do weekly or monthly budgets to make your spending if you can't budget manually, with the help of apps such as Trakka, you can plan your budget.
3. Save first, spend later: As a student, saving for rainy days is essential, you can use savings apps such as Cowrywise, Hervest, Sparkle or piggyVest. You can also have a savings plan, for instance, you can save 1K every day for 6 months.
4. Start Investing Early: As said earlier, you're not too young to invest but investing wisely is also important. By investments, I don't mean money-doubling schemes ie Ponzi schemes. Savings apps mentioned earlier can also help with investments.
5. Have an Emergency Fund: Saving for emergencies is also essential in managing money as it enables you to be ready for anything that comes outside your budget.
6. Engaging in side hustles: As a student, you can also engage in side hustles that suit you such as hairdressing, makeup artist, renting out or selling old books etc.

There are also other tips to note such as staying off debt, avoiding impulse purchases, selling what you no longer need or use, shop where student discounts are offered.

I hope these tips help in one way or the other in helping you become better at avoiding ‘sapa’.