With the past few years being so difficult, and the inflation rate being higher than the past at 3.48%, it is hard for young adults to live a healthy lifestyle without support from another person.

As high schoolers emerge into adulthood, they have the responsibility of taking on many things at once, which can be a very overwhelming time for young adults.

Outside of college, rent at its low point is about $1,223, and for a student in debt from tuition and other payments, this is a large burden. The average American spends around $60,000 on necessities like bills, and for most, that is an insurmountable amount.

The average cost of college tuition in Michigan is $15,907, excluding fees like housing. Housing, on its own, is not an easy task to take care of due to its price, let alone with the cost of tuition.

Senior Jimmy Olbrich explains, “I plan on paying for college tuition through taking student loans and also trying to work as much as possible while I’m in college. The high prices scare me because I am not sure if I’ll be able to pay for the other things I need to pay for in a timely manner”.

Olbrich explains that the high inflation rate and the cost of college and other necessities cause fear because of the high price that college students need to pay. There are many ways to effectively pay for your needs and your wants while still having money left over. 

So, how do people live a healthy day-to-day lifestyle with such a high standard of living? If you don’t have a full-time career, your best bet is to minimize unnecessary expenses. As an example, you don’t need a gym membership to stay fit, go for a run outside or an outdoor gym course.

Senior Dominic Duey says, “I save money the best I can by working out without a gym membership. Most people have a membership but I really feel that it is unnecessary because you can work out in so many different ways, and you have money for other things, like clothes for example”.

Duey provides a solid example for limiting expenses and shows that when you limit unnecessary spending, you have a lot more things you can spend your money on. Not only that, though, it also allows you to save money for required future spending, such as college and bills. 

Although there are barriers that need to be overcome with high prices, there are ways that you can live happily and pay for the things you need to pay on time. With this, it is clear that the fear is universal, but everything can be paid for as long as you are smart enough to save money and minimize expenses.