Many college expenses can be planned for, like tuition, housing, and textbooks. However, at any time, unexpected financial emergencies can disrupt your budget and peace of mind. Seven students from colleges and universities across the U.S. share the unique or challenging money emergencies they experienced while in school.
1. Lost or misplaced items
Whether you spill something on your laptop, ruin your favorite pair of pants, or misplace your wallet, accidents happen. While these mishaps are a normal part of life, it can be really frustrating when the item is expensive or sentimental (especially on a college budget). Sophia from UCLA shares what happened when she lost her retainer:
“I lost my retainer for the second time. When I reached for the case on my nightstand and found it empty. I spent twenty minutes tearing apart my room, checking my backpack, my volleyball bag, my car, and even the trash can before I accepted the truth. It was gone. It’s probably in a cafeteria trash bin somewhere, sealed under a pile of someone else’s lunch. My first feeling wasn’t panic. It was dread, because I already knew how this conversation with my parents was going to go… I’d been treating my retainer like an accessory instead of something that cost real money, and this was the first time that carelessness had an actual price tag attached to it.”
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Sophia S. University of California, Los Angeles |
2. Unexpected medicals bills
College students have plenty to worry about, from studying and taking exams to making it to meetings and home football games on time. When you add unexpected health issues to the mix, it can make everything overwhelming, especially when you don’t have an emergency savings fund. A student from Maryville University shares how needing heart surgery caused anxiety and a tight budget:
“The envelopes started arriving before I was fully recovered. One after another, full of explanations of benefits and testing statements that I could barely pronounce. Tuition, housing, and gas money had all made their way into my college budget. But cardiac care had not. A few months ago, I would have laughed if someone told me I would spend my freshman year of college recovering and getting treatment for heart surgery…Each episode seemed to arrive with no warning and leave me with questions. So my days started filling with doctor appointments and tests. Each appointment brought clarification, but also added another expense I didn’t plan for. Eventually, I was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia and recommended to have cardiac ablation surgery. At eighteen years old, hearing “you need heart surgery” did not feel real. I knew it was the best decision for my health, but it didn’t relieve much anxiety.”
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Madalyn S. Maryville University |
3. Loss of a loved one
Losing a loved one is never easy, especially if you aren’t expecting it. During an already difficult time, having some money set aside can ease some of the financial burden of funeral expenses or loss of income in the family. Brian from UT- Austin shares a time that the money saved for his housing instead paid for emergency plane tickets:
“During my first semester of college, I was studying for a test when I suddenly got a call from my mom saying that her father, my grandpa, died…My mother told me that her and my little sister would be going to Vietnam for the funeral the very next day. At first, I did not realize that this was a financial emergency because I felt that was only natural. However, I realized that each plane ticket costs around a thousand dollars. With two tickets, that would be about two thousand dollars. That money was originally saved for my housing and living expenses at UT Austin. Looking back, I remember feeling helpless because I felt that my living expenses had just been pulled out from under the rug, leaving me with no way to pay for housing. However, I couldn't ask my mom not to go to my grandpa's funeral.”
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Brian R. University of Texas at Austin |
4. Housing issues
Finding a place to live during college is stressful enough, but discovering a last-minute problem can turn stress into an emergency. Having three to six months’ worth of expenses in your savings account can help immensely when your living situation falls through, your rent spikes, or you need extensive home repairs. Kayli, a student from University of the Cumberlands explains a time she was forced to quickly change her plans:
“This past fall semester of school, my college had accepted too many students, and there weren’t enough housing positions available. This was an extreme issue for me for a few reasons. The most obvious reason was that I lived three and a half hours away from my college, so commuting isn't an option. But the more pressing issue was the financial challenge this situation presented. I was planning on starting Nursing School, and I would never have expected that I would be left stranded. I had in-person courses, and they weren’t available online. So, I had to try and find a way of housing myself. I only had a few weeks of time before school started, and I was pressed for time and money.”
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Kayli C. University of the Cumberlands |
5. Damaged devices
You’ll likely use your laptop and/or phone every day of your college career. So when one of these essential devices needs replaced, the unexpected expense can put a strain on your budget. A North Carolina A&T State University student shares how he dealt with a broken phone:
“It was a regular day of class, and I was nearing the end of my 2:00 p.m. class, ending at 2:50 p.m. Suddenly, my phone fell a short distance to the ground, blacking out my screen. Granted, I have been having screen issues with this phone for a long time, but this was still unexpected. As soon as I picked the phone up to see that the screen was broken, I immediately had to think about my next steps. What should I do now? Initially, I panicked. My phone was my alarm, my only way to reach my parents and friends, and more. In high school, a broken phone meant a few days without texting friends. In college, it felt like losing an entire part of your life with no help. I walked back to my dorm, and immediately altered my schedule to figure out how I will get my phone fixed. Keep in mind: no car, phone broken so I cannot use it, no idea of where I can get it fixed, and not enough money that will cover the expenses.”
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William J. North Carolina A&T State University |
6. Hidden costs
While you can’t predict an emergency, you can plan for unexpected expenses. Start building an emergency fund in high school, so hidden fees and unplanned costs don’t throw off your college budget. An Emby-Riddle Aeronautical University student shares a time he didn’t look into the full cost of a class:
“Growing up right down the road from Johnson Space Center in Pearland, I’ve always known I wanted to be an astronaut. Because of that, I try to do everything I can to build up my resume. I went to a NASA camp and an aviation program at Embry-Riddle, but I also learned that astronauts do a lot of their training underwater to practice floating in space. So, this summer - right before my senior year, I decided I needed to get my scuba diving certification. I looked up the cost of the class online, saved up my money, and thought I was totally good to go. But I was completely wrong. The emergency hit as soon as I paid the class fee. It turned out the base price of the class didn’t include any of the actual gear. To even get into the pool, the instructor told us we had to buy our own professional mask, snorkel, fins, and boots so they fit perfectly. On top of that, we had to pay extra for the rental tanks, the regulators, and the entry fees for the lake where we had to do our final open-water dives. Suddenly, a cheap class at $450 turned into over $1000 overall… I could either postpone the class or work extra to buy the gear and start my senior year completely broke.”
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Hunter D. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University |
7. Car accidents
Accidents happen. While you can plan for monthly expenses and expected car repairs, you can’t always prepare for someone hitting your vehicle or your brand-new car breaking down. Elyse shares a time an accident happened to her car when she wasn’t even in it:
“Everything changed when one day I lent my car to a friend who ended up crashing it. It was an old car, 2004 Honda Accord, and it was worth more to me than its market value. The car was totaled, and my friend couldn’t help financially with the damage. In a moment, I lost the vehicle I relied on to travel home, get groceries, and go to appointments. When I got the news, shock washed over me, but also anger, fear, and a sense of regret. I sat on my bed staring at the wall, replaying my predicament in my head and wishing I could take back the decision that led to this moment. To top this all off, I was so afraid of telling my family what had happened. I didn’t want to disappoint them or add financial trouble to their lives.
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Elyse R. Virginia Tech |
No matter the emergency, the lesson remains the same. It’s more important than ever to start saving for emergencies. You never know when you’ll need to tap into those extra funds. Putting money aside into a bank account that’s easy to access can be the difference between continuing school with less stress or having to make difficult decisions because of financial pressure. Even a small amount saved over time can provide peace of mind and provide a safety net for whatever comes your way.
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