Fines, Fines and More Fines

So, you are currently at Brandeis honing your skills for the work force or graduate school, yet you still need work when it comes your personal finances. Your fall semester bill has come and gone and with the spring 2010 bill on its way why pay more than you have to? Many students leave Brandeis having to settling past due balances related to fines they incurred, but never paid for. And, because they have not started working yet money is at a premium or in other words they have none. Many of the fines are related to parking, dorm damage or forgetting to return a book to the library. The fines add up and believe it or not, balances can be in excess of $1,000. Some students even have to consider loans to pay off their balances. Sadly, these fines can be avoided and the money that would be spent on such charges could be put to better use. It seems easiest to blame the parking office because they were being “ridiculous” and you were “just parking there for a minute”, but ultimately, the only person to blame and sometimes the hardest to blame is yourself. So, instead of spending $500 + on fines, you could instead put money towards your loans or credit card debt, heck you could even go on spring break. If this has happened to you, hopefully you have learned your lesson. If you are in this cycle please realize that your $55 fine is a warning sign of what could come and is the equivalent of a nice dinner out for two.

To further illustrate our point we would like to bring back our fictional character Mike.

Mike is a junior at Brandeis and insists that the $25 dorm damage fee was not his fault, it was his neighbors and he miraculously does not remember receiving the $75 parking fines. In fact, he already paid the parking office directly for a $30 fine he received. Nevertheless, Mike now has a total of $100 in fines, $130 if you count the extra parking ticket.

What could Mike have done with this $100? Saved himself a lot of stress, for one thing. But if he vowed to never get another fine for the rest of his time at Brandeis, he could reward himself by putting away enough money each week to accumulate $100 by the time he graduates. With this money he could pay an application fee or a broker's fee to rent his first apartment, or he could shop around for a new outfit to wear on job interviews. $100 can easily buy a discounted designer oxford shirt at a department store like Filene's Basement, or a good pair of classic dress shoes. Planning ahead for purchases like interview clothing will inspire you to save your money and of course, park appropriately.

Thanks for reading,

Savvy Student