College students have faced financial hardships recently, ranging from inflation to overturning President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. Despite these concerns, a new survey from WalletHub suggests that kids may actually be fine as they enter the new school year.
College students see inflation as a tough life lesson
WalletHub’s 2023 College Student Financial Survey asked 200 representative college students to share the current state of their finances. The biggest shared concern was, unsurprisingly, inflation.
In WalletHub’s data, more than 9 out of 10 students said inflation caused them concerns about their financial future. However, 79% of college students also said that their financial literacy has improved because of inflation.
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Think of it as a glass half-full moment, where current financial difficulties help prepare an entire generation of students to face the economic struggles of the future.
Students still think it’s worth taking a loan
The next elephant in the room is student loans. We’ve reported a lot here at Kiplinger about the ongoing student loan forgiveness fight in the political and legal arena.
Despite all the negative press surrounding the affordability of college and the burden of debt, more than 3 out of 4 student respondents to WalletHub’s survey said going into debt to pay for college is worth it. However, it is expected that they exhaust all their scholarship opportunities before taking any loan.
Moving to other types of debt, 54% of students reported that they got help from parents in paying their credit card bills, up from 43% last year. But 83% of respondents expressed confidence that their parents would approve purchases with their student credit card, furthering a sense of financial discipline among this generation of students.
A promising financial report card
There are plenty of reasons for optimism in the rest of the survey. 83% of students said they feel prepared to fend for themselves financially. 70% consider themselves to be “savers”, while 30% consider themselves to be “spenders”.
Finally, respondents give the following grades to their personal finances:
- “A”: 32%
- “B”: 35%
- “C”: 22%
- “D”: 10%
- “F”: 1%
Overall, 67% of WalletHub survey respondents rated their personal finances worthy of at least an “A” or “B” grade. While this may be classic overconfidence, it is encouraging to see these students continuing the Gen Z trend of savvy money management.
The remaining 33% shouldn’t worry – there’s plenty of time to turn the ship around when you’re ready to enter the working world. Consider checking out our College Tips section as a starting point for boosting your financial skills and confidence.
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Source: www.bing.com
