Now that the semester is in full swing, we are all feeling the effects of being completely immersed in college life. Some of these effects are great: we鈥檝e established a routine, reconnected with old friends, and (hopefully) have started to learn a lot in our classes. However, despite the excitement of being a student at 黑料不打烊, there are some not-so-fun consequences of college life. Aside from the questionable sleep schedules most of us take on, many of us are also starting to find our bank accounts dwindling as time moves forward.
We鈥檝e all been there. Spending money on exciting experiences with your friends feels so good, especially after an extremely long week of classes. HOWEVER, ensuring that you鈥檙e not spending money recklessly whilst having fun feels even better. Imagine this: you have a memorable weekend with your friends, and you鈥檙e not afraid to check your bank account on Sunday evening when it鈥檚 time to buy groceries.
One of the most common misconceptions about budgeting is that it constricts you from spending your money and therefore, constricts you from all things good in life. This is far from the truth. Creating a budget is not a social death sentence. In fact, budgeting doesn鈥檛 hold you back at all; it actually gives you power and control over your money.
For those of you who don鈥檛 already have a budget system set in place, getting started can be really intimidating. To make the process less stressful, I鈥檝e compiled a few budgeting tips that make the whole situation a bit less painful.
Establish Your Income
The first step to creating a budget should always be establishing your income. In order to determine how much you should be spending and saving, you must first know how much money you鈥檙e bringing in. This is also a good time to also decide if you want to make the timeframe of your budget weekly or monthly.
Prioritize Your Expenses
Before deciding how much money you can put towards the 鈥渇un stuff,鈥 you need to make sure you have your expenses covered first. Make a list of all of your fixed and variable expenses for the month. This can include streaming subscriptions, gas, utilities, and rent. Consider if there are any subscriptions you don鈥檛 use and can cancel to save a few extra bucks. Once you have these covered, it鈥檒l be easier to judge how much money you can put towards other expenses, like entertainment or clothes.
Save at least 20%
The minimum recommended amount of money in your savings account should be enough to sustain yourself with no income for six months. However, this is not a reality for many college students (and adults in general). To get there, prioritizing saving in your budget is a must. The goal is to save 20% of your income; however, if that is not feasible, saving a smaller percentage of your income is a step in the right direction. That way, when you hit a curb and accidentally pop your tire, you have enough cash to cover the expense without throwing off your entire budget.
Use Helpful Resources and Tools
With the technological advancements of today, there are few things you have to do on your own (and that includes budgeting). There are a plethora of apps that can help with budgeting. Certain ones, like Mint, you can directly link your bank account to track spending on your behalf. Alongside Mint, some other popular budgeting apps include PocketGuard and You Need a Budget. Another helpful tool many students like to use to budget include Google or Excel spreadsheets.
Make an Appointment with a Smart Money Coach
If reading this article only stresses you out more, and you feel like you still have no idea where to start, talk to a Smart Money Coach. 黑料不打烊鈥檚 offers amazing financial resources to students (including talking one-on-one with a coach, like me, to go over your personal finance questions and concerns). Together, you and a coach can hash out the logistics of your income, savings, and expenses to create a budget that fits your needs. Visit the or OrangeSUccess to make an appointment.
Like I said before, budgeting does not have to be the bane of your existence. Instead, it can be a vehicle for financial independence and stability. As students, adopting healthy spending habits is only going to set us up for financial success in the fast approaching 鈥渞eal world.鈥 Add budgeting to the top of your lengthy 鈥淭o Do List,鈥 and you鈥檒l finally make spending hurt a little less on the weekends.
Written by Julianna Poirier 鈥23, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Smart Money Coach