Summertime presents a great opportunity for college students to work and save money for the upcoming school year. Most students do not take classes in the summer, and most tourists travel in the summer. Both of these factors equal a relative boom to our economy. Therefore, the summer allows us as college students to get ahead in the financial game, eliminating some of those winter cash flow worries. If we work in the summer, and save the profits, we can make sure that there is plenty of money available during the school months. When cash is short during the school year, some students end up borrowing money (mostly on credit cards) in order to stay current on their bills. Excessive borrowing gets many students into trouble. Acquiring a large debt load takes a long time to pay off and makes life miserable. By working in the summer, we can avoid this predicament. But in order to be sucessful with you summer earnings, it is paramount that spending be less than the money earned and that the money left over be saved. It may be difficult to imagine, in the warmth of the summer sun, but the money saved now allows for partying in the cold harsh winter months. And we all know that partying can be expensive. Summer jobs can be fun. There are a lot of cool, new people to meet while working. Since I started working summers in 1994, I have made a lot of new friends through my job experiences. I have worked various jobs in maintenance, construction and food service. I am pleased to say that each of these jobs has provided me with invaluable insight, self-esteem, and most of all, financial opportunity. I am grateful for each of my working experiences and what I ended up with at the end of each summer. Summer jobs are a way to make things easier for yourself financially during the upcoming school year. For some people, a summer job might mean more party money, or for some it could mean the difference between that B or D in Biology because of not having to work and take classes at the same time. No matter how far you go back in time, if you ask most successful people, they will say that they all had summer jobs. But who cares about the advice of the prehistoric, the bottom line is that having a summer job and reaping the benefits of it is a good thing; and it is how you can get ahead today.