Going through your college years can be very hard due to being overworked and stressed out by the great responsibilities. Although college is romanticized by many, some students tear at the seams when it comes to trying to manage their finances, daily stress and their physical and mental health.
To avoid facing the same problems, you need to be aware of the steps you need to take to manage all of these important aspects of the daily lives of students. What can you do to manage finances, stress and your health as a student? Here are 5 tips that outline practical tips on how you can do this.
Start budgeting
When you are in college, you will most probably face real-life alone without parents to do everything for you. That includes doing simple tasks such as buying groceries, paying for bills and going shopping. In this case, you will need to learn how to budget to fit in the most important items on the list and leave out the less important.
By doing so, you will learn how to be a responsible adult that uses money wisely by carefully budgeting it. Ensure that the budget includes money that you will save for rainy days instead of spending every cent.
To boost the income source, you have you can buy and sell textbooks online on BooksRun to other students. Selling textbooks especially work once you clear the first year of graduation because you can sell the old ones you already have.
Improve your credit score
Avoiding credit at all to develop a healthy financial life is a myth. You need to have access to credit whenever you might need it for unforeseen circumstances that your savings can’t cover.
Also, you might decide on buying a car or house on credit when you get a job and that can be hard to do when you don’t have a good credit score. Start working on the credit score issue while you are still at school and improve it by using credit responsibly. Consider having at least one credit card but do not abuse it.
Adopt a diet
Precooked meals or easily cooked food is the norm amongst college students because of their busy schedules. Avoid falling for this trap because it can be very detrimental to your health.
Nutritionists argue that to function to the optimum capabilities, you need to eat diverse healthy food. That might require you to adopt a diet of some sort by consciously planning what you will cook and eat.
A diverse diet boosts cognitive functionalities and physical capabilities. You can avoid taking sick days and missing out on the curriculum by eating healthy.
Get enough sleep
Sleep debt can be very harmful to students and their academic performance. Although some students might argue that they stay up late to study and better their academics, this can be very dangerous in the long run. Without getting enough sleep, you might end up being awake but your brain being fast asleep.
In classes, you might end up dozing off while the teacher is explaining important concepts, and at times, there might be serious health problems. Those health problems include heart problems, rheumatoid arthritis, tongue ulcers, and many other illnesses.
Don’t overuse technological devices
There are many portable devices that students have access to, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops that students use every day. In fact, some may be used during classes to learn and take notes, but when these devices are overused, they can pose health hazards.
For example, exposure to blue light emitted by the screens of these devices can limit the amount of sleep you get. Take some time to connect with nature instead of being hooked on devices all day every day. Unplug and relax without using mobile devices or watching TV to improve the quality of sleep you get.