Money Struggles

One of the most important skills you can learn in college is how to manage your money.  It can be tricky trying to make it last.   Everything including food, textbooks, transportation, and fun will cost you money.  I have worked summers, as well as every other break, in order to have enough money throughout the year.  It was my decision to not have a job while at school, but it did create more restraints on my spending.  I know personally I don’t have much extra money to spend, so managing my account well was necessary.  If you are struggling with managing your money, here are a few tips:

1. Create a weekly budget for yourself. This requires figuring out how much money you have and how much you use.  Make sure you are realistic with these numbers.  Once you know how much money you are spending on unnecessary items, it will feel much harder to hand over the cash or card.  This will help you spend your money only on important items, but you have to make sure you actually stick to that budget!
2. Eat most of your meals on campus. You pay for a meal plan already anyways, you might as well use it!  Trust me, I know how tempting it can be when you see your friends and roommates come home with all sorts of different types of food that are not served on campus, but don’t stretch your budget if you don’t have the money for it.  My roommates this year especially love to eat off campus- it’s our senior year, who isn’t sick of campus food yet?  But I know I can’t afford to eat off campus more than twice a month, so many times I miss out.  It is hard to find the bright side at the time, but your bank account will be better off in the long run. 
3. If you have leftover money at the end of the week, put it away in an emergency fund for another week when you might need a little more money. Just because you have a weekly budget does not mean you need to spend it all each week.  For example, I have three formals a year for my sorority and about a month before each formal I make sure I have enough money on hand to buy a new dress.  However, if I have spent too much money recently I know that my budget won’t allow for it.  In that case I try to borrow a friend’s dress for the occasion.
4. Look for deals on books, food, entertainment, etc. Books are one of my biggest expenses, but I manage to lower the cost by renting them or buying them used.  Food is another large expense.  I have found it to be more affordable if you buy things in bulk, as long as they don’t expire quickly.  You should also look to see if stores around you offer a loyalty program.  Loyalty cards can surprisingly save you a good amount of money.   Whether they are student discounts or just in-store deals, they will save you money in the long run.
5. Find a way to minimize transportation costs. Instead of driving to class you should look into other options, such as public transportation.  If your school doesn’t supply it for free, chances are there is a discount for students.  You could also find a friend who has a similar class schedule to you and ask to carpool.  This would also be environmentally helpful!  If you are close enough, the best option would be to take a bike or to walk.  This will cost you no money and will be good daily exercise!
6. Get a part-time job on or off campus if your schedule allows for it. School is your first priority, so before even applying to jobs make sure you can handle the workload.  This will bring in some extra income giving you a little flexibility with your spending.  It would be a good idea to only permit yourself to spend 50% of each paycheck you receive, while saving the other 50% for an emergency or later down the road in your life.  Looking back, I wish I had done this so I could have put the 50% I saved each paycheck towards an apartment after graduation.

Once you learn how to manage the minimal amount of money you have while in school, then you will have a much easier time budgeting once you have an actual salary.  Managing your money is life long task and the earlier you learn, the easier it will be.