Plan (and use) a College Budget
helping you control and manage money and expenses
This budgeting tool will help you manage your financial aid and college expenses for academic year. Parents and students should work together on this budget plan to understand expectations and to avoid running out of money during the academic year.
(you can download these steps as a 1-page trifold - information borrowed from our companion site: offtocollege.com)
Below are eight (8) quick summary budgeting tasks
Page Topics:
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Download Budgeting Worksheet
File Type: excel
The download is a MS Excel worksheet that calculates your running spend and cash position. Requires MS Excel or other spreadsheet to open: Use the FREE OpenOffice program to open worksheets and other files: click here
The worksheet is segmented into three sections:
1: Budgeting Worksheet:
input cells for entering the available financial aid and cost budgets for each academic year
2: School Years 1-4
monthly budget and net cash position for each academic year.
3: Tracking sheets
recording sheets for tracking scholarships, loans and other aid
Note: another option that parents and students can use is budgeting software to track fund allocation and money accounts.
college aid tools note
Budget Your Financial Aid for the Academic Year
Open file: college-budget.xls
Move to the tab "Budget Worksheet"
and enter all of the available or expected financial aid you will receive for the academic year (either Year 1, Year 2, etc.)
Enter available financial aid amounts for:
- grants
- scholarships
- student stafford loans
- PLUS loans
- private student loans
- college and state aid
- investment savings
- work salary
- other financial aid
Understand that your fixed aid includes:
— grants and scholarships
— stafford student loans
— PLUS loans
— other one-time aid
These aid positions are usually fixed and awarded only once each academic year. You are not likely going to get any more money from these sources during the year.
Understand your variable aid sources include:
— private student loans
— work wages
— other flexible aid
These aid positions are "variable sources" meaning that you can turn to these aid sources if needed when your cash position becomes low.
This is important information to know when you manage your budget throughout the year.
college aid tools note
Estimate How Much You Can Spend Each Month
Open file: college-budget.xls
Move to the tab "Budget Worksheet"
and scroll down the worksheet to cell number: A30.
Now budget the expected costs for the academic year. Your college is required to send you costs upon acceptance of your application. Make a best estimate on what you expect to spend for:
- tuition and fees
- books (search for old books to help reduce the expense)
- academic supplies
- electronics - laptop, printer, etc.
- housing
- food
- entertainment
- transportation (around the campus and town)
- travel home
- other
Understand that your fixed expenses, such as:
— tuition and fees
— monthly housing
— monthly insurance payments
— books
are fixed expense -- meaning, that there is nothing you can do to cut these fees. Your financial aid must cover these expenses.
Understand your flexible payments, such as:
— food and home living supplies
— clothing
— transportation (fuel, repairs)
— recreation and entertainment
— travel home
are "variable" expenses. These expenses can be reduced and in some cases eliminated in months where your cash position is low.
college aid tools note
Check the Financing Gap
Open file: college-budget.xls
Move to the tab "Budget Worksheet"
and scroll down the worksheet to cell number: A49.
This area shows any financing gap that you may have by subtracting the cost of education from total financial aid. If it shows a negative number, you need to 1 of 2 things:
- You need to look for additional aid such as borrowing money using private student loans or by earning wages or by other
- You need to decrease some of your budgeted expenses such as food, entertainment, transportation or other or do both
You need to generate a positive cash position for the academic year.
college aid tools note
Manage Your Budget
Open file: college-budget.xls
Now it's time to view and manage your budget for the year.
Move to the tab "School Year 1"
(for students attending their first year, and so forth).
The worksheet has allocated your aid and expense budget by month. Your net cash position at the start of your academic year should be positive and equal to your total financial aid (since no money has been spent).
Now move down to Cell: A49
This section shows your budgeted costs allocated by month and by category. This is how much money you have to spend for each category during the academic year. As you start school, you will enter the total money spent under each month for each category.
For example, let's say your tuition bill for the year was $5,000 and paid in full in September. You will enter $5,000 in the "yellow" input cell under September for the category: Tuition and Fees (Cell: G55).
Since you budgeted $5,000 for tuition, the net annual spend position should be $0 (Cell D57). This means that your annual spend equals your budgeted expense. Any additional spend for tuition will put you in a negative spend position.
college aid tools note
Record Your Expenses
Open file: college-budget.xls
You must enter "actual spends" each month for each category. Your actual spends include credit card charges, cash payments, checks, and other. You need to keep tabs on everything you expense to make sure you stay within budget.
We have suggestions on how to manage and record your daily spend:
- TIP 1: use our budgeting tally sheets to record your daily spend. Carry these sheets in your notebook to record daily spend.
- TIP 2: if you have a electronic hand-held, record your daily spend in the expense area. You can download these expenses to an Excel worksheet.
- TIP 3: use a pre-paid credit card to load monthly budget amounts. Your card charges can be tracked online to give you a daily spend for each category.
college aid tools note
Watch Your Net Spend Position
Open file: college-budget.xls
You need to watch the "your annual net spend position" for each category. It must remain at $0 or more. Anything less than $0 puts you in a negative cash position (based on your budget).
Unless you find additional aid or reduce other expenses, you will run out of money before your academic year is over.
That takes us back to our earlier discussion about "fixed" and "variable" financial aid and expenses.
Since most federal aid programs and scholarships are fixed, you are not likely going to find any additional aid from these sources.
Likewise, most tuition, room and board, books and fees are fixed expenses. You won't be able to reduce these expenses.
You will need to look at "variable" financial aid resources and "variable" expense items to bring your cash position back to positive:
You can increase aid by:
- borrowing money using private student loans
- earning wages (see student income ideas)
- getting family contributions
- looking at other financial aid options
You may decrease some of your variable expenses such as food, entertainment, transportation or other
- link to our "Lower Monthly Bills" web site for tips on reducing expenses
college aid tools note
What if You Run Short
Open file: college-budget.xls
If you find that cash is running low, you have the option of applying for Private Student Loans to help fill the gap.
You can borrow up to the cost of education each academic year.
Helpful Tools
Some helpful tools for tracking n' managing aid decisions:
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