Budgeting Your Money In College

Budgeting Your Money In College

      By: Nicole Strunsee

 College years will always represent a time of very limited funds lots of endless possibilities to spend your money on. While going to college, budgeting and setting goals is a very important step as it allows you to create a spending plan for your own money, such as tracking where your money is going or where it is being spent. By having a budget, it is proven that it can prevent individuals from going into debt. You're not just going to be spending thousands of dollars for college tuition, textbooks, housing, fees, and transportation as shown on the graph. You are also going to need to take into extent that you are going to have your own personal expenses; which can add up to a significant amount of money in the end. I am going to give you some tips on how to budget your money properly by setting goals for yourself and budgeting your money correctly so you are able to avoid any type of debt in college or after college.

   Setting financial goals is a very important step for students attending college, and even for people that aren't in college. Setting realistic financial goals gives you a head start to create and personalize your own budget. It is important to ensure you're working toward realistic goals you can actually meet so you don't end up disappointed by not accomplishing that specific goal. Think about the goals you want to set realistically, both short- and long-term. An example of a short term goal being for a college student is to save enough money for next semester's books so you can pay in on time and not get behind. Or to try and pay extra money for your student loans each month so you are not overwhelmed later on. A long term goal can be paying off your student loans within the next 4 years. Or getting a job that you like and pays good money. These are called smart goals. A Harvard study found that 3% of their MBA grads made ten times as much as the other 97% combined. They questioned what were they doing differently from the other students? They found that the 3 % of their MBA grads physically wrote down their goals and making them SMART and realistic personalized to themselves.

   Another tip to save your money is to use your student ID or student email while you are in college. Your student ID earns you some student discounts on a lot more items and products than you think. For example, with a valid student email address, you can sign up for prime student on amazon and receive free shipping on millions of items you may need. You can also use your student ID for food, and clothes. Always ask if a student discount is available.

 One last suggestion is to track and budget your money is with an app, or just write it down. First, you need to be honest with yourself about what you are going to be spending your money on. Think about your wants and needs. And when you do spend money on something write it down, so you know what you spend your money on. It's not only important to create a budget; but it's also important to check your budget to see how you are doing. You can use a calculator called a budget checker. Just setting simple goals and budgeting can easily prevent you from going into debt and can save you years of stress trying to pay off everything in time.

Works Cited

“4 Easy Steps to Start A Budget in College.” Frugal Rules, 8 Aug. 2019,

www.frugalrules.com/budget-in-college/.

“Budgeting Tips.” Federal Student Aid, 4 Feb. 2019, studentaid.ed.gov/sa/prepare-for-

college/budgeting/budgeting-tips#get-started.

“Budgeting Tips for Students - Great Lakes.” My Great Lakes,

mygreatlakes.org/educate/knowledge-center/successful-budgeting.html.

“Cost of College Room and Board over Time - 1971 to 2013.” Cost of College Room and Board

         over Time - 1971 to 2013

, www.freeby50.com/2014/09/cost-of-college-room-and-board-over.html.

“What Are the Major Expenses for Students?” College Choice,

 www.collegechoice.net/college-life-3/what-are-the-major-expenses-for-students/.

“Why 3% of Harvard MBAs Make Ten Times as Much as the Other 97% Combined.” Sid Savara, 16

          Mar. 2017,

sidsavara.com/why-3-of-harvard-mbas-make-ten-times-as-much-as-the-other-97-combined/.