Cost of education has been increasing and students have been bearing the brunt. Colleges are pushing them to take sizable bank loan to fund their study.

Colleges often select a bank for the students. They provide a form to students and ask them to fill it so the formal request for obtaining the loan could be made. However, it’s not necessary for you to go with the college’s choice. You can choose a bank of your own choice.

In this article, we’ll deliver banking tips for college students. Our discussion will touch base money management as a whole.

Be sure before settling

As mentioned above, your college cannot force you to take loan from any particular bank or financial institution. They can only insist. The institution suggested by them may not necessarily offer you the lowest fees. So you shouldn’t settle for your college’s choice without shopping around. Better you search online and check if any other bank or credit union is dishing out any better offer.

The dreaded fine print

Regardless of whether you opt for a bank of your choice or your college’s, read the fine print with extra attentiveness. Whatever agreement is taking place between you and the bank, the terms and conditions should be well read. For example, if you are applying for a debit card, you should check if mailing the statement to your address will add extra charges. Similarly, if you are taking loan, check if there’s any possibility of the interest rate to increase in the future.

Protect personal information

You might wonder why we didn’t mention this at the beginning. Well, we assume you are sensible enough not to share sensitive information with anyone. But the dorm life could spoil all the privacy. People sometimes have sneaking habit. Some other student living under the same roof may snuck up on you and get access to your banking details. To prevent this from happening, keep all your personal information in a safe place; preferably inside a password locked hidden folder on your hard drive.

Track spending

No matter what you buy, always ask for receipt. Students are often recommended to create descriptive budget, which is nothing but making a list of everything you are spending money on. If you have receipts, it will be easy for you to maintain the budget. For convenience, you could create a budget sheet on excel. If you know excel formulas, you could automate the tracking process save time.

Following the above tips could help you bank with more confidence and with better security. So follow these tips and stay totally worry-free.