7A Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1
The Opportunity: Many students in college have a difficult time budgeting their money, as for many of them it is their first time having to do so.
The Who: Students in college
The What: Have a hard time budgeting their money efficiently
The Why: This is the first time many of them have to learn how to budget their money, because it had not been taught to them previously.
Testing the Hypothesis:
Testing the Who: Any student who relies on money for food, groceries, rent, car payments and leisurely activities will undoubtedly have this problem.
Testing the What: Many students who have a hard time budgeting their money efficiently often struggle when they run out of money.
Testing the Why: These students usually have little or no prior knowledge on how to budget their money, which in turn causes many consequences. Most of these students face a harsh reality when it comes to learning how to budget their money, often needing to get a job to help with their expenses. Getting a job can cut into the time these students use to study.
Interviews:
Katie: Katie is a sophomore at the University of Florida. She currently receives a weekly allowance of money from her parents which she uses to buy groceries and helps pay part of her rent. Katie expressed to me the difficulty she has when trying to budget some portion of her money when it comes to hanging out with her friends, who usually spend a lot of money on eating out and other activities. She wishes she had the skills to budget her money better and stop impulse buying. She is even considering getting a job to help with her monetary difficulties.
Liam: Liam is a junior at the University of Florida. He was told by his parents that they will only support him financially with his classes, books and room and board. Because of this, Liam had to find a job in order to support paying for things like food and activities. Liam explained to me that it was really difficult for him to budget his money in his first two years of school. He was usually found with no money in his bank account with days to spare before his next paycheck. He wished he was taught in high school how to budget his money instead of taking a class called "High School 101".
Parker: Parker is a freshman at the University of Florida. Parker received many scholarships that are helping him pay for his tuition, meal plan, and room and board. He currently does not have a job but is clearly worried about how he will budget his money in the future. He believes that once he gets out of college, his lack of knowledge on how to properly budget his money will get the best of him. He wishes there was a way that would teach him how to budget, because his parents never taught him and he never learned in school.
Devin: Devin is a sophomore at the University of Florida. Devin also receives a weekly allowance from his parents and also has a job on campus. He believes he manages his money fairly well and doesn't usually have a problem when it comes to budgeting. However, he still realizes there is a necessity when it comes to learning how to budget money. He has many friends who are awful at budgeting their money and blames the education system for not teaching us how to do it earlier.
Alexia: Alexia is a senior at the University of Florida. She explained to me how the last four years of being at college was an experience she would never forget, and that budgeting your money is something you MUST know how to do before you graduate. As a freshman, she had no idea what budgeting even was and alway had to ask her parents to send her more money. In her sophomore year, with her parents annoyed at how much money she spent last year, cut her off financially until she proved herself to be financially stable on her own merits. While she eventually learned how to budget, she believes that her parent's method of teaching Alexia how to budget was too harsh. She, like the others who were interviewed, wishes there was an easier way to learn how to budget.
To summarize, learning how to budget your money seems to be a huge deal, especially on college campuses. Each of my interviewees gave me strong opinions about the importance of budgeting. Even people like Devin, who seems to be pretty good at budgeting his money, sees the importance of it. I realize that the opportunity presented here is stronger than i previously realized.
The Who: Students in college
The What: Have a hard time budgeting their money efficiently
The Why: This is the first time many of them have to learn how to budget their money, because it had not been taught to them previously.
Testing the Hypothesis:
Testing the Who: Any student who relies on money for food, groceries, rent, car payments and leisurely activities will undoubtedly have this problem.
Testing the What: Many students who have a hard time budgeting their money efficiently often struggle when they run out of money.
Testing the Why: These students usually have little or no prior knowledge on how to budget their money, which in turn causes many consequences. Most of these students face a harsh reality when it comes to learning how to budget their money, often needing to get a job to help with their expenses. Getting a job can cut into the time these students use to study.
Interviews:
Katie: Katie is a sophomore at the University of Florida. She currently receives a weekly allowance of money from her parents which she uses to buy groceries and helps pay part of her rent. Katie expressed to me the difficulty she has when trying to budget some portion of her money when it comes to hanging out with her friends, who usually spend a lot of money on eating out and other activities. She wishes she had the skills to budget her money better and stop impulse buying. She is even considering getting a job to help with her monetary difficulties.
Liam: Liam is a junior at the University of Florida. He was told by his parents that they will only support him financially with his classes, books and room and board. Because of this, Liam had to find a job in order to support paying for things like food and activities. Liam explained to me that it was really difficult for him to budget his money in his first two years of school. He was usually found with no money in his bank account with days to spare before his next paycheck. He wished he was taught in high school how to budget his money instead of taking a class called "High School 101".
Parker: Parker is a freshman at the University of Florida. Parker received many scholarships that are helping him pay for his tuition, meal plan, and room and board. He currently does not have a job but is clearly worried about how he will budget his money in the future. He believes that once he gets out of college, his lack of knowledge on how to properly budget his money will get the best of him. He wishes there was a way that would teach him how to budget, because his parents never taught him and he never learned in school.
Devin: Devin is a sophomore at the University of Florida. Devin also receives a weekly allowance from his parents and also has a job on campus. He believes he manages his money fairly well and doesn't usually have a problem when it comes to budgeting. However, he still realizes there is a necessity when it comes to learning how to budget money. He has many friends who are awful at budgeting their money and blames the education system for not teaching us how to do it earlier.
Alexia: Alexia is a senior at the University of Florida. She explained to me how the last four years of being at college was an experience she would never forget, and that budgeting your money is something you MUST know how to do before you graduate. As a freshman, she had no idea what budgeting even was and alway had to ask her parents to send her more money. In her sophomore year, with her parents annoyed at how much money she spent last year, cut her off financially until she proved herself to be financially stable on her own merits. While she eventually learned how to budget, she believes that her parent's method of teaching Alexia how to budget was too harsh. She, like the others who were interviewed, wishes there was an easier way to learn how to budget.
To summarize, learning how to budget your money seems to be a huge deal, especially on college campuses. Each of my interviewees gave me strong opinions about the importance of budgeting. Even people like Devin, who seems to be pretty good at budgeting his money, sees the importance of it. I realize that the opportunity presented here is stronger than i previously realized.
Hey Ozzie, I thought your statement on the opportunity you want to pursue was very accurate. I agree with you when you say that this can be a person's first time really attempting to budget their money during college. All of your interviewees provide great points in supporting all aspects of your hypothesis as well. I like how you mentioned in your summary that you noted the importance of budgeting money as a college student from a specific interview and how you realized the importance of this issue can be much more serious than looked upon.
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