I've been teaching an undergraduate class for almost 20 years called "The Economics of Desire." I always thought "desire" in the title was the attraction, but it turns out "economics" is the draw.
In some ways, today's students are more financially savvy than their predecessors — they score higher on
For that reason, it's important for students heading to college now to focus on five tasks to get their financial lives in order: track spending, create a budget, clarify income sources, understand debt along with its returns and stop buying just because.
I like
It's essential to itemize income sources, even if parents provide general promises to pay. Most college expenses are paid from student work, loans and parents. Ideally, young adults should know exactly how much college costs and which income sources will cover what, but that's rarely the reality. Most students don't have parents who budget or plan, so they must budget themselves and coax their parents to plan with them.
Too many times I find students who are in the dark and then left in the lurch when their parents find out they can't afford the cost or are disappointed with their grades. One student told me her parents took out two mortgages to pay for her undergraduate degree at an art school.
New York University anthropologist
Understanding student loans involves more than what the financial aid officer tells you. Sure, the federal government has forgiven a portion of debt for some borrowers, but that doesn't mean loans taken out now
It's important to research the
Finally, ignoring your consumption psyche is an important life skill. Economist Juliet Schor explores the social reasons we buy what we don't want, and addiction expert
This behavior is not shameful because humans are social, and having a certain type of good (like a luxury handbag) is a shorthand for status placement in a social hierarchy.
While about
I have taught my class on economics and desire for 19 years — 15 at the University of Notre Dame and the past four at The New School. I guess students are learning something: Recently, two first-year students told me they were transferring to their state schools for half the price, reasoning they would enroll back in a private school for the last two years.