It’s tough to be good with money when you’re a student. You have so many things going on and between school, friends, and extracurriculars, it’s easy to lose track of your money. On top of this, many of us aren’t taught how to manage our money so there is no shame if you slip up. It’s not your fault. Money can be scary, but avoiding thinking about it and making excuses will only make it worse. So where to start with getting better with money?
- Try a financial cleanse
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This could be a cash-only month, trying to save half of your income, reducing any expense that isn’t essential. The point of this is to get a better picture of your life and put into perspective what’s worth spending money on and what you really don’t need.
- Check-in with your money regularly
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Take a quick look every day to make sure there is nothing out of the ordinary. Every week look through your statements to check for fraud, make sure bills are being paid on time and you have enough money for your expenses. Every month take a look through everything again and see where you are money-wise and see how you’re doing towards any savings goals you may have.
- Analyze your purchases
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The purpose of this is not to judge yourself but to understand your money spending habits. Even if you don’t change anything, you should know where your money is going.
- Create a current budget
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It’s important to know where you are money-wise. Just be realistic and roughly know what percent of your money is going to what.
- Identify your goals
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While your goals may change, especially over the next few years, you should have a rough idea of what some goals are and what you need to save to get there. Some goals could be paying off school, moving out, traveling or having a pet.
- Get to know your credit score
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I don’t know about you but I’m honestly a bit scared to check my credit score. However, to fully understand where you’re at financially, this is important to know and be aware of.
- Use your credit card to your advantage
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Rather than whipping your card out for every other purchase, try leaving it at home or using it for big purchases. This will help you stay on top of your spending and manage your credit score. Also, keep in mind that you should really only be using your credit cards for things you would purchase anyway and not just because you have a credit card. This has been told to me several times by financial advisors, various online resources and books.
- Rotate monthly spending challenges
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On top of your budget, choose one thing every month to focus on spending less on. This could be take-out, going out with friends, coffee, groceries, or shopping.
Money isn’t something that can control you and there’s no such thing as being good or bad at money, it’s about being good at managing it. You have a relationship with your money and like with all relationships you have to spend time and put effort into cultivating a healthy one. It takes practice and you don’t have to be perfect. Just take it one step at a time.
Please note that I’m not a financial advisor. These come from advice and ideas that I have personally implemented that have helped me and my money situation and I hope they help you.