Monday, 6 May 2013

Money and Me: The Love-Hate Relationship Students Know Too Well

I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to put that back because I know for a fact that you can’t afford it.  I’m sorry, but you can’t afford that top you’ve had your eye on, or to go to that new Mexican bistro that’s just opened up in the Union (which is, incidentally, very expensive).  How do I know this?  Well, because you’re a student of course.  I don’t need to tell you that the student lifestyle does not accommodate fiscal responsibility.  In fact, students are infamous for being in a constant state of economic crisis.  You’d even think the EU was run by students who have misinterpreted the continent’s idea of a “union”.  Even with loans, bursaries and student discount we just don’t have money on our side – or in our wallets, or bank accounts.

     One timeless solution is thrift.  For the past few weeks I’ve been implementing rigorous self-austerity measures that are so disenfranchising they would make George Osborne look like a socialist.  My friends hate me because I refuse to do anything that involves spending money – so, I pretty much refuse to do anything at all!  I’ve even adopted phrases like: it’s not “fiscally pragmatic” or “economically rational”.  The trouble is, when you become stingy, it’s almost impossible to stop.  Your mind-set changes: you become anxious and conservative – questioning the affordability of everything and calculating your budget down to the penny.

     If your budget is anything like mine then it could potentially reflect the larger economy.  A brief flurry of affluence usually entails high levels of spending (and thus happiness); quickly followed by a (predictable yet unpredicted) financial crash and consequent penury.  The worst part of it is that I honestly don’t know where the money goes.  I should really start keeping receipts and try to close the monetary vacuum.


     Believe it or not, I am in fact employed.  But wages tend to be spent before they’re earned.  There is a tinge of envy for those who seem to have an infinite flow of cash but don’t appear to have a job; especially when you suspect they have a current account with the Bank of Mummy and Daddy.  Nobody can judge who deserves what and when.  But, in my mind, I take the high ground and remember that every penny earned is worth more than every penny borrowed. 


     Perhaps unlike George Osborne, I am looking forward to the end of my austerity policy.  As soon as I have accumulated sustainable savings I will be able to spend money again.  But this time, I won’t be caught out when the river meets the waterfall.  I think long term money management is in order so I never have to panic about my finances again.  My plan is simple: no more impulse buying, save at least some money, and when buying something I’ll need to ask myself if I actually need it or do I just want it for the sake of it.  That advice isn’t new; it was given to me a long time ago.  I just haven’t had the willpower to follow it.  I believe this is a path us students must take to make it to adulthood. 
     Money is deceitful - it will play tricks on you.  It’s arguably the greatest manipulator of human beings.  No other external force has so much control over our lives: always on our minds, in our pockets, and often dictating how we feel.  But even more so, it can have a direct effect on our actions by deciding what we can or can’t do – our fate is often decided by numbers.  Some people know this and they understand it; they use that knowledge to varying degrees of good or bad, practical or wasteful.  But right now, we don’t really need to worry about money because we never have any to fuss over!  

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