Is Saving Money Worth More Than Well-Being?

This week, I had one of those conversations with my son that reminded me how much pressure young adults carry, and how easy it is for us, as parents, to feel it too.

My son is eighteen and in his first year of college. He took fifteen credits last semester and signed up for one more class this spring.

If you know the college system, you know this:

• Twelve credits or more is full-time.

• Fifteen is normal, but it can feel heavy.

• Sixteen is more classes. It can feel heavier.

• And anything above twelve costs the same.

That “same price” detail creates a quiet but powerful push to take more. Why not? It feels financially responsible. It feels efficient.

This is where my son and I didn't talk about efficiency, but about balance.

We talked about workload. We talked about protecting space.

• Space for rest.

• Space for health and well-being.

• Space for working a part-time job, potentially.

• Space for playing intermural sports. He's a baller!

• Space to enjoy college rather than simply survive it.

And in having that conversation, I realized something: these talks don’t happen nearly enough.

Not with our kids. Not with ourselves.

As parents, we feel the financial pressure too. Tuition is expensive. We want to be smart. We want to help our kids graduate on time, maybe even early. But sometimes the temptation to “maximize credits” blinds us to the hidden cost.

I learned this the hard way with my daughter.

She once took eighteen credits. She did very well with keeping her grades high. But under the surface, she was emotionally drained. I watched the joy slip out of her daily life as she managed a heavy load and worked a job.

School became a checklist, not an experience.

She graduated with honors, but she later told me she’d never repeat that semester for any amount of saved tuition. That stuck with me.

We talk so much about the price of college, but not enough about the cost of burnout. We talk about graduating quickly, but not about whether students are thriving in the process.

Money matters. Education matters.

I know this all too well as I'm a financial educator. If you ask me after twenty-five years in the industry, and seeing my own kids go through college, what matters more:

It's overall well-being. Truly a healthy hustle. Whether that is choosing fewer credits for better mental health, or going higher and choosing no work or less work.

To me, a healthy hustle is when you can value both your work (school or professional) and your well-being.

When well-being becomes impacted, that's when it's time to revisit.

My oldest son works full-time and is currently attending college part-time. He's found a way to make it work without the burnout.

Sometimes the smartest financial decision isn’t squeezing the most out of a tuition bill. It’s giving a young adult the space to stay healthy, engaged, and resilient.

Because the degree is important, but the person earning it is even more important.

Healthy Hustle,

Melanie