When you are a college student, you may think that planning out a budget is simply a waste of time, because why does a college student need a budget? No matter how young or old you are, having your own budget is vitally important, and this actually happens to be especially true when it comes to going to college. College courses unfortunately do not really teach students anything that they need to know about personal finance, budgeting or the steps that they need to take in order to handle their money. These college courses figure that most students will already possess these skills by the time they arrive in college. However, this is unfortunately largely not the case, and it likely never will be.
Just because you are not making a lot of money, or any money for that matter, that does not mean that you can survive or thrive without the use of a budget. Remember that it is important for you to know how you are doing financially no matter whether or not you are earning or spending any money. Here are the things that you should do in order to create and manage your very own budget for the first time as a student in college.
1 - First you want to determine how much money is being earned every month. If you have a job or make money in any other way, then you are going to want to cite it here. No matter how many dollars you are earning per month, you want to know what you are earning and put it down on paper.
2 - Now you are going to want to have a handle on what your expenses are. Where is your money going? Setting a proper budget is going to mean learning how to spend less than what you are earning and this is going to mean knowing where every single penny of your money is going.
3 - Now you are going to want to ask for help if you need it. A great place for you to begin is to talk to your parents. Any time that you can get advice of any kind from someone that has "been there", you should absolutely take it.
4 - Track your purchases as closely as you can, no matter how large or how small they are. Where are you spending money? Every single penny that you spend should be tracked as it leaves your pocket or your bank account. This is going to help you avoid problems with balancing your checkbook.
5 - Finally, make a list of the things that you need and the ones that you want. College students often overlook this but it is vitally important. You do not need a new wardrobe or to drink beer all the time. Focus on the things you really need, such as books and school supplies for example.
Photo Credits: Monica's Dad
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Great article and a topic that is very important. A budget is the most essential and critical money management tool and the most underutilized. What a lot of young adults don’t seem to understand about the importance of budgeting is it will provide a key element to ‘living within your means.’ Anyone who wants to know the disaster of not doing this does not have to look very far – what do you think has caused the greatest financial crisis in American history? Why do you think the revolving debt was at $970 billion? The sooner young adults grasp this concept the sooner they will begin to experience financial success. I champion it in my recently published book, Your Money Day One: How to Start Right and End Rich. It is available at amazon.com or in an MP3 format at audible.com and iTunes. Please feel free to visit my website –
www. michaeljwagner.net for more information.
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