Cha-Ching! How to Budget in College

Cha-Ching! How to Budget in College Ever since I began writing blogs, I’ve learned about various topics like how to manage classes, how to stay involved while still being a full-time student, etc. Something that came to my mind that could be useful for many of us is a quick discussion on budgeting. We’ve all heard that college students are broke, and while it is true that we have tuition and books to pay for during our four years, I’ve come up with a few tips that I have implemented in my life to help me save a few extra bucks at the end of the day! Check your bank account. Checking your bank account is the most important thing to do. Sometimes it can be difficult to check it daily given our busy schedules. Set aside a few minutes every day to keep tabs on your account activity. This will ensure there are no discrepancies and youre aware of how much you have and are spending. Set financial goals. This past semester, my goal was to save enough money to be able to buy graduation gifts for my close friends and family at the end of the semester. No matter how big or small, it is nice to have a goal to work toward so that you don’t lose track of what you’re saving for. From: Kiplingers Financial Planning Create a budget. I prefer creating a weekly budget of how much I allocate for food, social activities, and miscellaneous costs throughout the week and over the weekend. Create an excel sheet or some sort of organized document that can list out your budgeted money for the week/month. Many programs have templates for budgeting that are completely free to use! These are just a few basic tips I think every student should follow to help with budgeting money. I have been following these few steps the past two semesters and I have seen my savings grow in my bank account. Being mindful of where and when you spend your money is a tough but important thing to do. This is especially vital as we will soon enter the real world where we will deal with more money. But before that happens, it’s important to take responsibility for our earnings and put them to good use! Kripa Class of 2020 I'm majoring in Psychology, minoring in Spanish, and pursuing a pre-dental track. It seems like I’m all over the place, but that’s what I like about college! I get to choose to study what I’m interested in, and I’m happy to be doing just that at Illinois.