Good Morning Green Panda Friends. Today we are discussing the valuable lessons that we learn during our college years but that are not included in the cost of our tuition.  During our four years of college we learn several life lessons that are not taught from our books. If we move out of our parent’s home we may be experiencing independence for the first time. If we have to work in order to pay for tuition we may be learning how to live on a personal budget as well as experiencing financial responsibility for the first time.  If we are trying to juggle a full course load along with a part time (or full time) job then we are learning valuable multitasking skills as well as group work ethics.

– Learning to Live on a Personal Budget.  They say that our college years are supposed to be the best times of our lives, but I am not sure how much fun it is to live on a teeny tiny student budget.  People always say that students are broke, and they always also ask why. Students are broke because they have to pay for tuition and books as well as living costs.  Students don’t have a lot of time to work because they are always studying or in class. Our college years may be the real first time in our lives that we are forced to live on a budget. The budgeting and money management skills that we learn in college will set the foundation for our financial priorities and spending habits in the future.

– Gaining Personal Independence. The freedom of living on our own is priceless and it can’t be taught.  As young adults who may be experiencing life on our own for the first time we can only try to be as prepared as possible and learn from our mistakes as we go along.  After all isn’t that what life is all about, trying new things and living outside of our box?

– Learning Financial Responsibility. Being financially responsible means that we have to actively manage our money to make sure that we always have more money coming in than we have going out. We have to manage our personal spending to ensure that our bills are paid on time and that we can afford basic food, clothing, and shelter. We shouldn’t expect to have a very lavish lifestyle during our college years, but at least it will help us to learn financial responsibility.

– Acquiring Multi Tasking Skills. If you have to get a job during college than you are probably trying to manage your work schedule with your school schedule as well as your assignments, term papers, and projects. Organization is a major skill that is required to be successful in college and multi tasking skills are the key to organization skills.  Good habits and proactive behaviour during our college years will lead to success and good work ethics in our future careers.

Photo by Wonderlane

Tahnya Kristina

Tahnya Kristina

Tahnya is 30 years old and lives in Montreal Quebec. She graduated in 2005 from Concordia University, and she currently works for a major International Financial Institution. She recently launched http://www.mediamadam.ca/. You can follow her on Twitter @TahnyaP.