Making A Budget
Just like handling your classes, handling your budget is another part of the college life. When you begin college, you may want to establish a budget to help you manage your finances.
Your first step should include establishing what type of income you have. If you are working your way through college, you may have limited income once you pay for tuition or any kind of student financial aid loans. Perhaps your parents are helping you pay for college and supplying you with a monthly allowance. After making a list of your incoming money, tally it up and see what you have to work with.
After you find out how much you have coming in, you need to figure out how much is going out. Some traditional methods involve carrying a mini spiral notebook and logging in your expenses. If you use this method, you may want to make categories to help you stay organized. You will want to keep track of your expenses for about a month, which allows you to really see what you are buying. This will also give you a great idea on those expenses that really are not necessary.
After you have kept your log for about month, you can begin establishing a budget. Start by making a list of the things you have to spend money on, such as:
• Rent
• Utilities
• Books
• Student Financial Aid
• Food
The items shown above are usually set in stone. You probably will not be able to talk the electric company into giving you a better deal. However, other expenses are more flexible.
These expenses include eating out at restaurants, going to clubs and going to movie theatres. When you are establishing your budget, you will want to make sure that you will be able to pay for the necessities. If things are tight, you will have to make concessions on the other expenses. The movie is not a necessity nor is that Grande coffee from Star Bucks. Try a very handy budget calculator from ed.gov
After you have established what monies are coming in and what monies have to go out, you will have a budget. My belief is this is the easy part. It is very easy to have it on paper knowing were you money needs to go, but there are times when emergencies or unplanned expenses have to take presidents.
What do you do when this happens? First of all, be aware this can and probably will happen. You have to have an emergency plan. You can have a low balance student credit card that you only use for emergencies. Give it to a parent or a very trust worthy friend that can hang onto it until such emergency comes up.
Another option is to take a small amount of money out of each month’s income. Stick it away or, once again give it to a family member for safekeeping. You would be surprised at how fast the money piles up.
These above ideas are only suggestions. Please feel free to try them or put your own spin on it. What every works for you to make your situation work. Your are studying hard you do not need to worry about your finances as well. Make it easy for your self and plan ahead.
