Your alarm rings, it’s 8:00 am. You struggle to get out of bed and after being on your phone for what feels like forever, you finally find the will to get up and begin your day. You make yourself a fresh cup of coffee, and as you go outside you feel the cool breeze on your skin reminding you that fall has just begun. You smile, go back to your room and change into your comfiest sweater.

When I first started college four years ago, I thought I had prepared myself enough (well as much as a first generation college student could anyway), but I soon realized that I was lacking knowledge when it came to finances. The only knowledge I had about finances was from my parents, but I didn’t know how to translate that into my college experience. I remember walking into the Financial Aid office knowing that I had to take out a loan, but I was clueless about how loans worked and that scared me a little. Thankfully, a Financial Aid Counselor was able to explain to me the basic knowledge of how loans and scholarships worked and how they would be applied to my account. After this instant, I took it upon myself to become self-sufficient by learning about all the different resources on campus in case I needed any other assistance. This experience taught me about advocacy and how important that is.

If you’re like me, you probably despise dealerships and anything that has to do with car shopping. It can be a stressful, overwhelming, and intimidating experience for some, but it doesn’t have to be! What has helped me become more confident in the car shopping world is researching! Sitting down and understanding the value of a new/used car, how depreciation works, how to negotiate price value and more has given me the necessary skills I need whenever it’s time to buy a car. Before I get into this blog’s topic, I must say, while I am no expert in the car shopping field, I can tell you that the first thing you absolutely need to know about car shopping is that you have to have an enormous amount of patience. You’re probably not going to get the first car you test drive, and that’s okay! Don’t let that bring you down, just keep looking.

When you think about some of the most important decisions that you’ll have to make in your lifetime, what comes to mind? Do you think about where you are going to go to college? Who you are going to marry? What kind of career you will want in the future? All of these questions are very important, but there is one question that traditionally students don’t really give much thought to. The question of taking out student loans, figuring out how much to take out, and planning to pay them back seldom are discussed. Why? I am not sure. Should it be talked about? Absolutely. This decision could impact your life just as much as the other typical important questions mentioned above.