Managing Money & Time When You Work Part-Time by Erica
Erica, Class of 2018, shares her experiences with managing your time when you go to school & work a part-time job.
One of the most important things about senior year is learning how to save money and manage your time. Coming into senior year I knew I had to get a job, because I knew that this year of all the years was going to be one of the most, if not the most, expensive years of high school with things like senior dues, prom, and college application fees etc. coming up I knew not having a job wasn’t an option. I had been looking for a job the summer coming into my junior year and all throughout junior year. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find one because a lot of jobs like for you to have experience, and I also had this thought that I was honestly better than certain jobs, which prevented me from applying to a lot of places I probably would’ve gotten hired. I finally got a chance when I sucked it up and just went to the open interviews that McDonald’s was having. I ended up getting the job and it was really great. Working there has made my work ethic stronger; I worked harder and was willing to put in more work for the things I wanted. I could even see changes in the way I would do chores around the house.
Another important thing about senior year is knowing how to manage your time properly. Having a job helped me to improve that about myself as well. When you work, everyone is expecting you to move quickly, so you only have a certain amount of time to do things. You also have to a lot of the time actually decide what’s the most important and what your next step should be. Having to make decisions this quickly was a big reason why in the beginning of senior year I was good at getting work done and knew when to do it and when it was an okay time to take a break. As the year progressed this became harder for me to do. Juggling a job and going to school became very stressful, and I started to mess up. I would get off work and try to come home and do homework in the early hours of the morning which led to me never getting anything done and constantly being late for school. Everything kept getting worse for me, and the first thing anyone would say when I asked for advice would be “ Just let go of the job.” I knew that I had no choice but to work though. I also know that’s the case for a lot of seniors. The thing is you can’t let the little job you have now get in the way of your academics; you have to remember that this is just the beginning, and you won’t have it forever.
A tip I’d suggest is that you try to arrange your hours with your job so that you can have enough time to do what you’ve got to do for school and still be able to go to work. As far as saving money goes, that parts hard; there’s always something we want shoes, clothes, etc. You have to have that self discipline and tell yourself that there are more important things that you need and that you can wait. You can also apply that when it comes to time as well. This doesn’t mean don’t have fun, hang out, or buy yourself things you like, just make sure you’re choosing the right times to do it. There will be times you’re going to have to skip out on because you’ll have work to do or you’ll have to save up for things. Going through this experience with having a job and learning how to manage everything has really prepared me for next year when I’m in college and I’ll have to do the same thing but on a bigger scale, because I’m going to be on my own, and there won’t be anyone there monitoring my every move and telling me what to do for every situation I’m in. I’ll have to make my own decisions most times and make the right ones to stay on top of my game.
Another important thing about senior year is knowing how to manage your time properly. Having a job helped me to improve that about myself as well. When you work, everyone is expecting you to move quickly, so you only have a certain amount of time to do things. You also have to a lot of the time actually decide what’s the most important and what your next step should be. Having to make decisions this quickly was a big reason why in the beginning of senior year I was good at getting work done and knew when to do it and when it was an okay time to take a break. As the year progressed this became harder for me to do. Juggling a job and going to school became very stressful, and I started to mess up. I would get off work and try to come home and do homework in the early hours of the morning which led to me never getting anything done and constantly being late for school. Everything kept getting worse for me, and the first thing anyone would say when I asked for advice would be “ Just let go of the job.” I knew that I had no choice but to work though. I also know that’s the case for a lot of seniors. The thing is you can’t let the little job you have now get in the way of your academics; you have to remember that this is just the beginning, and you won’t have it forever.
A tip I’d suggest is that you try to arrange your hours with your job so that you can have enough time to do what you’ve got to do for school and still be able to go to work. As far as saving money goes, that parts hard; there’s always something we want shoes, clothes, etc. You have to have that self discipline and tell yourself that there are more important things that you need and that you can wait. You can also apply that when it comes to time as well. This doesn’t mean don’t have fun, hang out, or buy yourself things you like, just make sure you’re choosing the right times to do it. There will be times you’re going to have to skip out on because you’ll have work to do or you’ll have to save up for things. Going through this experience with having a job and learning how to manage everything has really prepared me for next year when I’m in college and I’ll have to do the same thing but on a bigger scale, because I’m going to be on my own, and there won’t be anyone there monitoring my every move and telling me what to do for every situation I’m in. I’ll have to make my own decisions most times and make the right ones to stay on top of my game.
Finance U is funded by a grant from American Eagle Credit Union Foundation.
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