By Nancy M. Scuri
Campus News
One of the best pieces of advice I’d ever gotten was “Don’t be the smartest person in the room.” It doesn’t mean you should dumb yourself down, of course. Instead, look for people who are experts in their field, so you can learn from them. Now, I’m nobody’s financial advisor, so I look for people who do that sort of thing for a living, then take what works for me. In this case, I came across Ramit Sethi. He’s great at breaking things down into simple concepts and helping people work out their own solutions.
In one Instagram post, he discusses how not planning ahead can lead to financial ruin. Specifically, he talks people who will buy a house, change jobs, then buy a car in the span of a year. It sounds great, until a small setback turns into big problems. He does say that if you lose your job or your car dies, do what you have to do, but if you can avoid chaos, why not? Why not, indeed. We don’t “do all the things” with just money, either. Think about last New Year’s. What were some of the resolutions you heard? “I’m going to get in shape… I’m getting organized….” So, what happens? The gyms and office supply stores are packed with people in January, but by March and April, the workout gear and all the rest are gathering dust. Everyone comes in with good intentions, but it’s easy to pile on too much, get overwhelmed, and quit out of frustration. Fortunately, there’s an alternative. Like Ramit says, the key is to plan. Treat the new school year like it’s a smarter version of New Year’s. You can do this in a few different ways. One is to focus on a single major issue. Perhaps you hadn’t given yourself enough time to complete assignments in the past, so for one semester, just concentrate on starting early and giving yourself time to finish before the deadline. Once this becomes second nature, tackle another issue, like scheduling regular visits to the tutoring center.
Another is to take small bites out of a few things you want to work on. This could include taking ten minutes before each class to review your notes and reading assignments, finding a study group for a challenging subject, or listening to podcasts related to your major when you’re in your car. Take time to figure out what your biggest challenges are and think about sustainable ways you can address them.
Secondly, don’t undervalue psychology. In finances, Ramit advises not to look to a “magic number” or situation as a condition of happiness. His example is a couple who make six figures, have no debt, and have hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank, but they won’t go on vacation or invest their money, because they are afraid that they do not have enough and will lose everything they’ve worked for. As a result, they keep every available dollar in the bank and cannot bring themselves to enjoy any of it. Swap out dollars for grades, and you can see how easy it is to get caught up in overvaluing one aspect of college life over everything else. This is NOT to say that grades are unimportant. It would be like telling someone that savings isn’t important, and that would be silly. What I am saying is that while grades have their place in regard to academic progress, access to financial aid, and all the rest, it’s not the only thing. Everyone knows that one student who is completely wrapped up in their grades. They take up residence at the library, cram in every available extra credit assignment, and live and die by their GPA. You need to have balance. Work the mind, absolutely, you’re in school to learn. If you don’t pay attention to your physical and mental well-being, however, it will catch up to you in ways that you will not like. Celebrate your successes, take the lesson when things don’t go as planned, and keep moving forward. A perfect GPA is wonderful, but it’s not the only thing.
Finally, there is living a rich life. What that means is that you cut out what doesn’t add to your happiness, while getting the most enjoyment from what you have right now. Ramit talks about streamlining your finances, so you can focus on whatever helps to make your life better. One of the things I regret from my time as a student, undergrad and graduate, is that I didn’t spend enough time appreciating what was available to me. I’d take my classes, go to the library to work on assignments, then run to my day job. I never attended games, went to events, or even enjoyed down-time with my classmates. It may seem silly now but having great experiences and making life-long friends is never a waste of time.
So, what’s next? Take the first week or two of the semester to figure out what to focus on and look for ways to do it while having fun. Doing a little bit on a regular basis is better than trying to get it all done at once. Also, don’t forget to enjoy the process and stay in the moment. Nothing is ever perfect, but no matter where you are, you can always find something amazing. It all starts right now.
Nancy Scuri is a freelance writer and editor with over fifteen years of teaching experience at the college level. You can reach her at www.nmscuri.com.
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