Making the most of summer wages takes some thought.
According to Pew Research Center , thirty five percent of traditional aged students work during summer in between academic years. Wages vary widely based on the summer job, geography and skill level. For some, they may need to pay for college costs like room and board out of their summer wages. If this is not the case, consider putting those hard-earned wages into the following educational expenses.
Save up to pay for books and supplies
According to the 2017 U.S. College Book Price Index , the average new academic book costs $72.67. Holy smokes with nine classes in two semesters, that is a whole lot of dough.
Stock away some of those summer wages to pay for college costs like hardcovers, transportation, extraneous costs, and student loan interest.
Plan to use your summer job wages to get your Chemistry book and notebook.
Save up to pay to get to and from campus.
Monthly bus passes in US cities range from about $48-$122 per month according to ValuePenguin . If you are enrolled for 9 months, this can set you back from $432-$1,098 to get to campus. Even if you pay for gas, a gallon of gas will set you back $3.07 according to AAA on June 21, 2021. Whatever your mode of transportation, save some of those summer job wages to pay for college travel costs.
Save up pay for those “miscellaneous” expenses.
We all want to cheer on our Zane at the hockey finals, hear Kathy belt out that solo at talent show, and see Manuel speak at the auditorium. Having these experiences are a part of paying for college costs. Ensure you have the funds to be able to support your friends and have fun by saving some of those summer job earnings.
Pay any unsubsidized interest on your student loans.
Whether from the federal government or a private lender, the majority of student loans have interest accruing while a student is in school at least half time and often during a six-month grace period before repayment begins. Although it seems great to not have to make payments on loans during this time, interest is accruing. If not paid, then the interest is capitalized – meaning it is added to principal just before entering into repayment. No one wants to pay interest on interest, so consider making interest-only payments to your lender(s) with your summer job or work-study wages to cover your college costs.
Colleen Krumwiede
Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer
Colleen MacDonald Krumwiede is a financial aid and paying for college expert with over a decade of financial aid experience at Stanford GSB, Caltech, and Pomona College and another decade at educational finance and technology companies servicing higher education. She guides go-to-market strategy and product development at Quatromoney to transform the way families afford college.
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