Budgeting During Your College Years

When coming to college students do not realize how much money they will really spend on unnecessary items. One of the biggest thing’s student do when going to college is spend money on Ubers, food, and misc. stuff. Students need to realize that when they are finally out of their parent’s supervision then that is when they spend the most because no one is stopping them. This blog can help you to learn to budget your finances while still spending money on things you want to.

Eating out is one of the most common ways for students to spend their money. It is also one of the most common ways because it is the easiest activity to do with friends when you want to spend time with them. It is a little harder to go out to eat as a freshman because most do not have cars, but later in the semester you make friends with people who have cars so they can take you and soon you are eating out all the time. I first suggestion is to budget each month a certain amount you are willing to spend on eating out.

My freshman year I budgeted about $100 or less per month on eating out because I did not have a job. When I became a sophomore, I made it more because I got a job and had the money to eat out more. During my junior year I eat out all the time because I saved up money from working more hours and having a good summer job. It is really up to the amount of money you have saved up or the amount of income you have, when it comes to setting a budget. My suggestion is to always set your budget lower and then go up from there.

Ubering/Lyfts are also another very common expense when going to college, especially the years you do not have a car at school. Freshman year their needs to be a higher budget on rides because you do not have a car like you will the other years of college. You will still need to have a budget for rides during your later years of college because you can start drinking while you are out and you will need a way to get home. So always make sure to set a high budget for rides at the beginning of college and lower it as you go.

Shopping is another huge part of budgeting that needs to be talked about. I went shopping every weekend my freshman year of college, like I had the money for that. I had no job and was spending all my money on unnecessary clothing items. Budgeting the amount of money, you spend on shopping each month can have you save more than you know. During my freshman year I wish I budgeted about $50 per month on shopping because I would have more money saved up to use for more important things in my life now.

As a student going to college it is very exciting to begin a new life and be away from your parents, however, you need to be your own parent and be strict on yourself. If you do not set a limit for yourself then you will have no money by the end of the semester. My biggest recommendation would be to get a job because it can really help with expenses. Wait until the second semester of freshman year or sophomore year because starting at a new school especially college can be a real challenge and students need to focus on studies.

According to https://www.collegecovered.com/paying-for-college/real-college-budget/ this is a list of the most common things students spend their money on:

· Rent

· Utilities

· Internet

· Groceries

· Eating out/coffee

· Ride shares

· Entertainment

· Home supplies

· School expenses

Planning out your finances for each month can help you to focus on what money you have and cannot spend. For example, my dad always told me that most of each paycheck I got from work needs to go into my savings account because when I am older and out of college that can be for important expenses. Putting any amount of money in your savings account can help tremendously in the long run. There are several ways to start budgeting, here are a few:

· Personal finance blogs

· Download free templates for excel

· Download free spreadsheets

· Budgeting apps for phones or computers

· Budgeting books

· Personal finance advisor

· Student finance advisors available at your college

These applications can help you in many ways to start your journey of budgeting. Personal I use a template from the internet for excel that I just type in my information and it does it for me. However, I know my sister uses an app because it is easier for her because she does not have a job and the template I use has a space for monthly and annual income. There are so many different resources out there for students to use.

Just remember to always think of the amount of money you spend when you first attend school because it can be hard to tell people no to going out or going to dinner. You can always say no to things to save money; your friends will understand. Everything counts when budgeting, so that $0.95 coffee or that $300 shopping spree you went on all count towards your budget when you are trying to save in college.