An important skill to have especially as a business major is to know how to manage money. I think I speak for the majority of the WNEC students when I say that we have begun to notice our funds dwindling rapidly. Many of the other students here come from extremely wealthy families and easily drop hundreds or thousands of dollars on a night out on the town. I know personally I worked two jobs this summer in preparation for this trip so it can be frustrating to hear about some of the things people spend money on.
However the consensus from the Americans I have talked to is “I am totally broke right now”. Being study abroad students, we are not allowed to get a job either. It is hard not to want to do everything and experience everything possible. Currently I am in the process of planning a trip for fall break. Already we have cut it down by at least half because we are feeling the financial strain. Things are not cheap over here and the exchange rate is far from favorable. We are not even halfway through the experience and some people have already blown through all or most of their saved money.
Here is where we as future moguls start to get creative with our money. Going out at night can easily rack up a hefty bill which may discourage some people from going out. I suggest only bringing a small amount of money maybe 10 or 20 pounds to cover the whole night and leave the debit card at home. If you don’t have the money you can’t spend it. Also people spend a lot of money on going out for food. However, the local grocery stores have decent food for a fraction of the cost. I also know some people write down how much they spend on what every week so then they can look at where they can cut down on money. Give yourself a weekly budget based on how much money you have for the whole trip.
In the future, people will trust us with their money whether in stocks or investments or company assets. Before we can handle that kind of responsibility, we can practice with our own money, and where better to start than with a place full of temptation like Europe?
However the consensus from the Americans I have talked to is “I am totally broke right now”. Being study abroad students, we are not allowed to get a job either. It is hard not to want to do everything and experience everything possible. Currently I am in the process of planning a trip for fall break. Already we have cut it down by at least half because we are feeling the financial strain. Things are not cheap over here and the exchange rate is far from favorable. We are not even halfway through the experience and some people have already blown through all or most of their saved money.
Here is where we as future moguls start to get creative with our money. Going out at night can easily rack up a hefty bill which may discourage some people from going out. I suggest only bringing a small amount of money maybe 10 or 20 pounds to cover the whole night and leave the debit card at home. If you don’t have the money you can’t spend it. Also people spend a lot of money on going out for food. However, the local grocery stores have decent food for a fraction of the cost. I also know some people write down how much they spend on what every week so then they can look at where they can cut down on money. Give yourself a weekly budget based on how much money you have for the whole trip.
In the future, people will trust us with their money whether in stocks or investments or company assets. Before we can handle that kind of responsibility, we can practice with our own money, and where better to start than with a place full of temptation like Europe?
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