– the earlier you start to put it into practice, the better.
Future
Planning for your future in college is important, but can also be seen as a daunting task. Learning how to budget and manage your money as a student can have a long term benefit to your life.
Maintaining a monthly budget template helps you keep track of where and how you are spending your money. If you see that you are spending most of your money on non-essential items, make note of that and cut back.
This does not mean that you can’t have these items, but by creating a budget you can save up for the things that you want. Larger expenses later in life, such as a car, house, wedding, pets, or kids cost money. And while these may not be the things you are thinking about in college, a little foresight can go a long way.
Essentials
These are the items that you cannot live without – and the bills that get taken care of before anything else. Food, rent, electric, heating, insurance, and car payments are a few examples.
In college you also have your school essentials, but there are ways to get essentials for school on the cheaper side. The practice of savvy buying can save you a lot of money in the long run.
Shop secondhand and try to compare prices between different vendors. A little bit of work upfront can save immense amounts of money in the long term.
Fun
When all your friends are planning on doing something, of course you want to be a part of it – none of us want to be left out of a trip or a fun night out.
Getting a part time job in college can help you have more incoming money to set aside for non-essential items, such as the best CBD oil for your dog Fido, a 4-person tent for your upcoming camping trip, or great food for your next house party.
Setting aside fun money weekly will give you practice on when to have self-control over spending.
Accidents
Accidents happen all the time, and sometimes they can be expensive, so set up a safety net for yourself. College is a time to prepare for the real world; while you might have less financial obligations, it helps to start preparing for the possibilities of them.
other valuable tips:
There is a good chance you might not have a lot of expendable income to put in this category during your college years, but try starting with a smaller amount. Having a little money to cover an accident is better than nothing, and if you end up with car trouble or something of the sort, it is important to have money to cover the cost (or at least part of it).
Debt
Chances are you will be graduating with student loans, and you don’t want credit card debt on top of that. Credit interest rates are also much higher, so if you don’t pay the amount you owe, that could increase exponentially by the time that you have to pay it off. This might be a lesson some people have to learn the hard way, but if you plan and stick to a budget you can avoid the extra cost.
Image Credit: set a college budget by twenty20.com
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