For a broke college student, I spend way too much money.
The culprit for this, in my case, was digital, cashless transactions. This is known as the Cashless Effect – you are more likely to spend money when you don’t physically have it. And I am a Gen Z student in the 21st century with constant access to the internet and therefore, online payments.
Hence, the draining bank account. The worst part of this is the unnecessary spendings – an extravagant dessert after already having my fill of sugar for the day, sneaking in cups of instant noodles instead of cheaper and much healthier options into my diet – the list is long and almost endless.
I needed to put a stop to this; so here’s a list of a few things I plan on doing to keep my excessive spending under control and stick to my budget that you can try out too!
Put my BuJo to use:
If you are a BuJoer like me, this article is the sign that you should make a budget and spendings tracker in your journal. There are some super cute trackers out on the internet that you can get inspired from, but the charm of a BuJo, of course, is that you can be as minimalistic or messy as you want – your tracker just needs to be functional.
Use a Spendings Tracker on my phone:
When you can see the money leaving your bank account, you are less likely to spend it. Divide your spendings into categories like food, travel, textbooks, bills etc. Knowing where you are spending your money is important to be able to curb unnecessary expenses. There are plenty of apps you can use – Mint, MyWallet and Monefy to name a few.
Create a monthly/weekly budget for myself:
And you can use the savings from this to treat yourself! Being careful with your money does not equal being an absolute miser. You can still buy yourself a cute outfit at the end of the month or an extra dessert from your favourite cafe.
Create savings:
Being financially secure means having money to fall back on during hard times. And that starts from your very first income. Getting into the habit of setting aside money in the form of savings is going to be valuable for years to come.
Being financially aware is very necessary! As students stepping into the real world, for quite a few of us, it is the first time we are being responsible for our money. I spent a few long hours trying to figure out how I could track and save money at the end of my first semester, when I realized I was overspending, and these are the tried-and-tested methods for a college student to get into budgeting. Hope these help you out as well! Happy saving!