Freshman year can be overwhelming. Besides living away from your family for the first time and learning campus life, understanding how to spend your funds can be even more stressful. With so many unknowns, cultivating a budget should be your top priority.
Think of your budget as a financial bible to guide you as you purchase items pertinent to your college education.
As your freshman year fly’s by quickly, it will become easier to understand how to allocate funds. Here are some tips to help kick start your financial planning.
5. Write the Plan and Make it Plain
Regardless of the goal, preparation is key to finding any form of success. Create a spread sheet and itemize your day to day operational needs. For example, (groceries, clothing, transportation, etc.)
Planning your expected expenses, will help you remain organized and aid in limiting the threat of a negative account balance.
To provide context, if you are the fortunate freshman with a car, log how much you plan to spend on a weeks worth of gas. To stay within budget, you may need to occasionally turn down free rides to friends. After you create the plan, stick to it and try not to deviate from your budget.
Also, accidents may happen, so it’s always nice to incorporate a savings plan as well, just in case you overspend.
