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Budget for Your Health: A College Student’s Guide

Posted on Thursday May 13, 2010 by

By Lauren Bailey

Your parents, advisors and professors all probably tell you that your number one job at college is to finish assignments and prepare for life in the real world. According to you, your priorities are probably socializing, learning how to live on your own, and building your resume through extracurriculars. But there are two key aspects of your life that you’re probably neglecting as a college student: your budget and your health. And while they might seem unrelated directly, learning how to balance your budget and discovering ways to keep yourself healthy and safe are intertwined.

Start with your diet. If you live on campus, you undoubtedly eat most of your meals and snacks at the dining halls, and pay for food with a pre-paid meal card. Food prices on campuses are usually inflated, making it hard to really judge how much you can spend on nutrition. But when you go off campus to restaurants, to order pizza or to the grocery store, save your receipts for one week and then review how much you spend on healthy food, snacks, junk food, alcohol, and late-night munchies. Use an Excel spreadsheet or other budget tracker, and then commit to spending the highest proportion of your food budget on whole foods and foods that contribute to your productivity and well-being. These include fruit, frozen veggies to keep in your freezer, healthy snacks like yogurt or granola, and salads or appetizers at restaurants. Allow yourself only a certain dollar amount to spend on pizza, alcohol and junk food, and you’ll not only save money, you’ll be looking after your diet and health.

Next, get over your thrifty self and accept the fact that you’re going to have to spend money on your well being sometimes, even when you’d rather go shopping or throw a party with it instead. Vitamin supplements can make a huge difference in a college student’s health, since grabbing food from vending machines and the student center is often the quickest and easiest way to refuel between classes or study groups. To save money on supplements, by a multi-tasking vitamin that satisfies your needs, like vitamins designed especially for men or women. Visiting the health services center regularly is also a good idea, especially when you feel a cold or virus coming on. You might have to spend a few dollars for a prescription, but taking care of yourself as early as possible when you get sick will save you in repeat doctor’s visits and wasted time if you have to miss class.

Your number one job at college is to prepare for life in the real world, but that includes monitoring your health and learning how to budget. Spending money responsibly involves eating right and taking care of yourself instead of blowing it on fast food and parties, but you’ll feel better for doing it.

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