It might be tempting to take all that cash and reward yourself a little — or a lot — with a post-graduation splurge. But you should put the brakes on that train of thought.
Congrats high school graduates! Your hard work has paid off — literally.
Thanks to the time-honored tradition of gifting grads with cash, you’re likely getting regular checks or gift cards in the mail for $25, $50, and — dare we say it — even $100! By the end of the frenzy, you may find yourself more financially flush than you’ve ever been.
With great power comes great responsibility
It might be tempting to take all that cash and reward yourself a little — or a lot — with a post-graduation splurge. Say, a new laptop, a futon for your dorm digs, or even a ballin’ night on the town. But you should put the brakes on that train of thought so hard it flies off the rails and over a cliff.
Why’s that? Because the thing about cash is, when it’s gone, it’s gone. And the thing about college is that unexpected expenses come up at the drop of a hat (or a class).
College costs can surprise you — and never in a good way
What kinds of costs can accost you? We’re glad you asked. Here’s just a smattering of the possibilities:
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You borrow your roommate’s ride to take a quick trip to the store but you forget about that stop sign that always comes out of nowhere…and now you have to cover car repairs.
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You lose your dining card. It costs a whopping $50 to replace. You either need to fork over cash for a new card — or at least to buy some Ramen while you search.
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There aren’t any used copies of that book you need for that class you can’t drop because it’s core to your major. And new copies are, like, $200.
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That cute classmate asks you to a concert, and going would mean discovering you’re the two most compatible people in the world and that you never have to watch another show on Netflix alone, ever — but tickets are $75.
Savings put you in control when life happens
In a few short months, you’re going to be on your own. Maybe not completely on your own, but more on your own than you’ve likely ever been. And that’s exciting and awesome but it also sucks sometimes, because adulting can be hard.
Give future you a nice soft place to land after you fall out of that nest. Put your grad cash in a savings account that earns a high rate, like free Kasasa Saver® — our branded savings account that links with a free Kasasa checking account to build up savings automatically.
Cash rewards earned in your checking account become savings each month, and you never even have to think about it. Which is a good thing because you’ll be devoting a lot of brainpower to your studies in a few short months — right?