Campus Hazards Can Affect
Your Financial Wellness
Bad choices can cost you both socially and financially
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Money is a major source of stress for many college students. Be aware of your needs – versus your wants – and the psychological triggers that cause problems for you and your friends. Excessive drinking, gambling and other bad choices can lead you down a path to financial ruin before your adult life has even begun.
Decisions in the area of alcohol consumption, gambling and other hazards are yours to make, but be well-informed about facts and consequences BEFORE making your choices. Hazards can derail progress toward our goals and our goals are strong motivators to avoiding hazards.
In “The Financially Savvy Student” course at U-M’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts, instructor Kristin Bhaumik quotes surveys showing how stressful money can be. Surveys from the Center for the Study of Student Life, Higher Education Services Corporation found that 69 percent of students at 4-year public universities are stressed about their personal finance situations and that the average amount of credit card debt for final-year students is $4,100.
Consider your expenses, whether they are needs or wants and whether you can afford to spend money on them.
Gambling is one area that can preoccupy a student's time, cause an emotional dependence and drain a student’s bank account. This can include video poker, slots, casinos and lotteries.
According to a study from Eastern Illinois University, an estimated 80 percent of college students have gambled in the past year and nearly 20 percent report gambling on a weekly basis. This can include going to casinos and gambling on college athletics and online gambling using credit cards.
“Because there is no tangible, cash money is involved, students feel a detachment to their losses and spending,” said Bhaumik. “Online gambling can be accessed 365 days a year, 24 hours a day and it gives the illusion – like a video game – that you are playing with money rather than spending it.”
Sometimes gambling and drinking can become problems together. Alcohol is always a “want,” not a need, Bhaumik said. She noted that 45 percent of students binge drink (five or more drinks for men and four or more for women). They are 21 times more likely to drive after drinking, engage in unplanned sex, damage property and miss or fall behind in schoolwork.
Not only are these behavioral issues, but financial ones as well. Drinking can cost a lot, not just in consumption costs but also in legal fees and college sanctions if you get into trouble. Bhaumik said college students in the U.S. spend about $5.5 billion (that's a "b”) on alcohol each year.
Take this example of three nights out per week with three drinks of $2 to $5 each and an appetizer. It can cost you an estimated:
- $63 per week
- $2,016 per academic year
- $8,064 over four years of college.
Take the same 10.6 hours per week and work for $8 per hour, earning $84.80 per week, $2,713 and change for the academic year and more than $10,854 for the length of your college.
So, should you spend $8,064 or earn $10,854? What’s your choice?
If you need help on campus, visit U-M Student Life Campus Information for assistance and links to campus and community services.
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