Students may not be responsible for the current economic crisis, but now, more than ever, students need to take control of their personal finances and start planning for the future.
It may sound like crazy advice, but get a credit card. If it hasn't been beaten into your head yet, believe it: When you graduate and want to buy a house, a car or even rent an apartment, you will absolutely need a credit history. Even DirectTV checks your credit these days.
But keep in mind - the only thing worse than no credit is bad credit. Don't forget how we got in this entire mess to begin with: living beyond our means. Get a credit card, use it in a very limited capacity and manage your debt responsibly. Preferably keep your debt at a level that you could entirely pay off if you had to.
The main weapon students can employ in this situation is education. Find out how your credit score is calculated and what you can do to be in financially good standing. Take a class or read a book on personal finance, and learn at least the fundamentals of investments and markets.
And if a few years sounds like a long time, retirement must be an eternity away. Yet, it's not too late to explore Roth IRA and other retirement account options. Maybe learning economics doesn't sound like fun, and these concepts aren't all easy, but that's no excuse for ignorance. This is just too important to blow off.
Maybe we aren't responsible for this mess, but with adequate planning and research, weathering the next storm will be a breeze - because there will always be another storm. It's just up to us to be ready.
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