Friday, July 31, 2020 Money Matters: Building a student budget
It's essential to create a student budget to stay on track with your money. You always want to know how much you're
spending and where those funds go. However, it can be hard to begin building a functional and easy-to-understand
budget. Here are some things to keep in mind when creating your own.
- Know exactly how much you need to contribute to your school costs. This involves figuring out how much of your money will go to tuition, room and board, textbooks and student loans. Also, remember to take into consideration whether you'll receive help from family or scholarships.
- Be realistic. Don't give yourself a massive entertainment budget if you need to pay for essentials like rent or groceries. On the other hand, don't restrict your "fun" spending to the point that you're unable to enjoy yourself or go out with friends.
- Try and save at least a little. While in school, you may not be working or only have a part-time job. It can be hard to cover your essentials and still have leftover funds, but putting anything you can into savings will really help you in the future.
- Fill out a spending guide to visualize exactly how much you spend and on which items. Big Red Resilience and Well-being offers financial well-being tips and offers budgeting guidance for on-campus students, off-campus students and off-campus students with a spouse or children.
- Create your budget with this step-by-step guide with detailed instructions and sample calculations.
For additional guidance, connect with a money coach
through Big Red Resilience and Well-being. Coaching sessions are free and dedicated to assisting students with
financial concerns. You also can check out the online
resource library to get the specific help you need.