Managing Money for College Students | Financially S.M.A.R.T. Advice

I’m heading off to university for the first time this September, and I’ll be living on campus. I’ve never left home before and I’ve been accustomed to having my parents buy everything I need. I would like some advice on how to spend my money carefully and stay within my budget.”

College life can bring new-found freedom for most young adults. For perhaps the first time, they can make their own decisions: how long to stay out at night, what type of food they want to eat, what to spend their money on. The problem is- most students have had little experience in managing money, and end up making poor choices when it comes to their finances.

Here are some tips to help you to successfully navigate the tricky financial waters throughout your college years:

1. Start With A Budget

Write down all your monthly and periodic expenses such as tuition, boarding, transportation, food, books, and entertainment. Then make a record of all your sources of income such as allowances, student loans, grants or scholarships, savings, and work. Putting these figures on paper will help you to know if you’ll be on target to meeting your expenses or not. If you discover you will not have enough to meet your expected costs, you’ll have to cut back on spending or find other sources of income. A free college budget planner is available at www.financiallyfreenetwork.com

2. Track Your Spending

Your actual spending amounts may be very different from your budget. Most people don’t have a clue how much money they really spend until they start recording it. Little purchases such as magazines, bottled water, and fast food all add up. If you’re not careful in the early months, you’ll use up all your money and be forced to dine on crackers and water towards the end of the semester. Track your spending for at least one month to see how your actual money usage tallies with your budget. Make any necessary adjustments to your spending to ensure that you stay on track.

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3. Set Spending Limits

There’s going to be a lot of temptation on campus to wear the latest fashion and attend all the hip shows. Many students get into financial difficulties by trying to keep up with the crowd. If your budget says you don’t have the disposable income to go out every night, find creative ways of getting free entertainment. Have your friends bring food and drink and have a party in your own room, or split the cost of renting a DVD instead of heading to the cinema.

4. Make alliances

Team up with friends and roommates in order to save money. You can pool your money to buy wholesale food items or share transportation costs if one of you has a car. Your roommate can decide to buy the microwave while you get the television set, so that you both can share the home comforts.

5. Plan in advance

You may need to put aside money regularly in order to meet a big expense during the school year. For example, if exam fees are due at the end of the semester, it might be easier to save monthly towards the sum, than to find the total amount at one time. If you have plans to do something fun for the summer holidays, defer some of your current entertainment spending to be able to afford it.

6. Be Careful With Cards

If you use a debit card, remember that you could be charged each time you swipe. Try to plan your grocery shopping monthly instead of every day. Don’t keep heading to the ATM daily to get cash- withdraw just enough for the week. If the cash is finished before time, discipline yourself not to go back until the week is up. If you have access to credit cards, remember that you’re spending money that not yours and at some point, you’ll have to pay it back. If you have problems staying in your budget, leave the credit card at home and only use for real emergencies.

7. Learn From Your Experiences

The art of managing money well has to be learned just like any of the subjects in your curriculum. Take advantage of the internet and financial publications to teach yourself how to become financially savvy. However, chances are at some point you’ll make mistakes with your money. Use the experiences you’ve gained on campus as valuable lessons which will help you to graduate with honours in money management.

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Originally published in The Daily Observer, September 13, 2007

Cherryl is a financial columnist, consultant and coach. See more of her work at www.financiallyfreenetwork.com and www.financiallysmartonline.com. Contact Cherryl