A student budget is a necessity in university to manage where your money is going to make it last. Never made a budget before? Well, it’s a new semester and a new year which means you can leave your past financial mistakes behind and start over fresh. Here are 10 tips on how to make a successful student budget and sticking to it:
1. List All Your Sources of Income
Write out a list of every source of income you will receive during the semester. This includes things like part-time jobs, financial aid, scholarships, and others. Figure out an estimated income for each one so you have an idea of how much money you have for the semester.
2. List All Your Expenses
Make a list of all your expenses and determine how much you will need to spend on each one. You can determine this by estimating how much you spent last semester in those categories. For most students expensive include: rent, utilities, travel, food, cell phone, personal care items and entertainment.
3. Set up Timeframes
Decide how much of each expense you are going to spend on for the entire semester, then divide it up into how much you are willing to spend on them each month and each week. Be reasonable, and make sure that you can live off the budget you are setting for yourself.
4. Plan for Emergencies
Set aside a certain amount a money for any emergencies that may come up, and no, a super cute dress does not count as an emergency. Provision an amount for unforeseen circumstances such as your car breaking down, an emergency flight back home, etc.
5. Avoid Having More Than One Credit Card
Although it is nice to have the extra spending money, you are a student and you don’t need any more debt. Basically, if you acquire a credit card, don’t spend more than you have in your bank account. Because if you don’t dish out enough money to pay the bill at the end of the month, there will likely be interest in addition to that every month you don’t. It is recommended to have one credit card with a fairly small limit (most student credit cards are about 1000$) and only use it in emergencies. Creating bad credit for yourself can also hurt you in the future when you want to buy a house or car.
6. Look for Ways to Cut Back
To keep within your student budget look for ways to cut back. Simple things you can do include cutting back on your cellphone features, on how much you eat out or how often you buy coffee. There are many little things you can do to cut back, but they will all add up to more money left in your budget.
7. Keep Yourself Accountable
It is a little tedious, but the best way to keep yourself accountable for the money you spend is to write down in a journal every time you spend money and always keep the receipt. Especially when using cash, sometimes it is hard to say where your money went. By writing down where you spend money, you can keep yourself accountable and figure out the money-spending trends in your lifestyle that can be cut back.
8. Review Your Budget
An important step to sticking to your budget is to review on a regular basis. This provides an opportunity to look what is and isn’t working in your budget. If necessary you can use this review to adjust your budget to meet your spending goals.
9. Seek Help if Needed
If you are having trouble coming up with a reasonable budget or dealing with debt go visit Carleton’s Financial Aid for assistance. They hold several seminars on how to budget your money including their “Budgeting 101 Workshop” happening on January 28th. Additionally, you can book an appointment to speak with an advisor at any point during the semester.
10. Forgive Yourself
No matter how much your promise yourself you are going to stick to the beautiful student budget you created, mistakes or mishaps can happen. It is not feasible for you to follow your budget 100% of the time, so don’t sweat the small stuff! When it does happen readjust your budget for that week and get back to your plan as soon as you can.
Following a student budget can be hard but it is important to try your best to follow to minimize debt. Use these tips to start your student plan and stick to it!
Sources:http://www.cicmoney101.org/Articles/Paying-For-College-How-To-Make-A-Budget.aspx
http://www.cicmoney101.org/Articles/Paying-For-College-10-Budgeting-Tips.aspx
https://www.rbcadvicecentre.com/3-steps-to-making-a-student-budget-you-can-live-with
http://university.which.co.uk/advice/student-finance-budgeting-things-to-remember