Budgets For College Students
Typically, when we think about college we think freedom and fun. However, there is nothing fun about daily stressing over your finances and there is no freedom in being chained to an ever-increasing pile of debt. Managing your money will help you avoid these stressful situations. You're going to have to start sometime in your life and the sooner the better.
What college students should know about money management:
Money management is generally done through creating a budget. The purpose of a budget is to outline a practical plan for spending the limited money that most college students have. Due to the fact that your income and expenses are constantly changing, whatever budget you decide to use needs to allow for flexibility.
The first step you'll want to take is writing down your sources of income. This can include income from work, grants, scholarships, allowance from home, etc. The next step is to outline your expenses. Split them into two catagories: fixed and flexible.
Fixed expenses are exact amounts that are due on specific dates. Flexible expenses are amounts of money that fluctuate depending on your needs and wants.
Example Fixed Expenses:
- Rent
- Car payment
- Health insurance
- Tuition
- Savings
Example Flexible Expenses:
- Books and various school fees
- Gasoline and maintenance for your car
- Going over on your cell phone minutes
- Social expenses (movies, dates, football games, etc)
- Personal expenses (clothes, food, health costs, haircuts, etc.)
Calculate all the income and expenses you have. Look at your paper. Do your expenses exceed your income? If so, you should think about how you can increase your income or decrease your expenses. This is simple but necessary if you want to stay out of the hole while you are attending school.
It is going to take some sacrifice to reduce your expenses. Many college students are used to spending their money impulsively. This kind of poor money management leads to financial slavery. Here are some helpful tips that will assist you in reducing your expenses:
- Pay your bills on time
- Stand against peer pressure
- Buy used books
- Shop at discount stores
- Look for sales
- Stop eating out and buying junk food
- Share an apartment
Everybody is going to need a different type of budget to fit his or her individual needs. However, basic budgets can be found all over the internet, in finance books or you can simply ask your parents to help you create one. Don't let debt to enslave you. Form a budget, use it, and be willing to sacrifice to stay out of debt.
NOTE: Use of this article requires links to be intact. By: Blake Provo Article Source: http://www.ArticleDashboard.com To learn more about money management visit the Managing Student Debt page. A college student herself, Elise Fisher enjoys writing articles to help college students learn more About-Student-Loans.
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