Build A Budget That Works

By Buffie M. Edwards

Are you known as the thriftiest of your friends? Do you always know how to have a good time and spend as little money as possible?

Back-to-School Budget

Before you know it, your fall semester will be starting and you’ll be heading back to campus. You’ll probably have a lot to do to get ready...and that will probably cost you some money. We will shared with you our budget basics in hopes that you feel empowered to take control of your money and expenses when you head back to school.

What's it worth to reduce my spending?

By creating and maintaining a budget, you can project how much you’ll need to save and how much you can spend so that you don't lose control of your finances. So, how do you plan to build your Back-to-School Budget?

How Much Am I Spending? Action to Take

Current Monthly Cost

Budgeted Monthly Cost

Monthly Savings

Annual Savings

Eat fewer restaurant meals $160 $90 $70 $840

Give up Manicures $30 $0 $30 $360

Set clothing allowance at $60

per month$110 $60 $50 $600

Give up health membership $29 $0 $29 $348

Find lower auto insurance rate $140 $110 $30 $360

Cancel phone extras—call

waiting, caller ID$14 $0 $14 $168

Cut Bank of America credit

card interest rate$40 $20 $40 $240

Totals $523 $280 $243 $2916

Ways to save money—Cut backs

Gifts Charitable contributions Checks Get a free checking account Magazines and books Swap services Haircuts Manicures/Massages Cable television Phone extras Movie rentals Dry Cleaning Alcohol and tobacco products Use coupons

Frozen meals Compare supermarkets Buy generic Buy day-old bread Buy in season Don’t eat meat every night Brown bag it at work Don’t buy what you don’t really

need Don’t jump into purchasing a

new car unless necessary

Make a Realistic Plan  

Take about one week to record ALL your spending, then break down your spending into categories like food, transportation, wants, needs, etc. That way you can estimate your spending more accurately. Think about the kinds of foods you eat and how much they cost. If you have a car, think about how many miles you will be driving while in college per month and calculate the cost of gas.

Once you have made estimates for all your monthly spending, organize the data into a table/list that states the category name and the amount of money you will spend on that category each month. Keep in mind your actual income and edit your budget so that you don't exceed the amount of money you have. (That step is pretty obvious)

A Lesson In Savings

Then, throughout the year, keep a copy of the table in a place where it will be easy to access like inside your planner/organizer, on your desk, posted somewhere on a wall, or wherever. And finally, keep track of your spending as you go along to make sure that you stick with your budget. It would be a good idea to carry around a little notepad for record keeping.

And before you buy something, always think: Do I NEED this or is it just something I WANT? Limit spending money on wants. And most people don't think of this, but it's good to put some money aside for emergencies. You never know what could happen. You may get sick or may have to visit the doctor. Those things cost money, too. This is a pretty foolproof way to manage your money.

Play It Safe

With the planning of any budget you have to establish how much money you are going to be dealing with. From there you can begin to place and categorize where that money will go. If you are planning a monthly budget, begin by putting money towards the essentials.

Some essentials of college life are food, tuition, housing, etc. Once the essentials are taken care of, put your money towards your needs. Yes, there is a difference between essentials and needs). Some needs of college life are car payments, gas, bills, etc.

KICK Bad Habits

Once the essentials and needs are taken care of see how much money is left over. It is now time for wants. This category takes SELF-DISAPLINE. You already know that you should put some of your money towards saving, paying back loans and those sort of things. But I'm the first to admit that it is hard to put money away when you want that CD so bad or you have other desires.

Just use wisdom in dealing with your wants. It's like an upside-down food pyramid. Deal with your essentials first, then your needs, and end with your wants. I have found this to be one of the most effective ways to deal with a budget.

Get Organized :-p  

Knowing what you'll be spending your money on is the first step to budgeting for it. The largest and most predictable school expenses should be at the top of your budgeting list, ie. tuition, books, lab fees, laptop... This list should be combined with your current (or future) expenses, such as your rent, car note, gas...

Once you know how much you'll be spending from month to month on the necessities you can compare how much you're making with how much you're spending and see what's left over for the movies (or save it ;). Keep this information on a chart half for your income and half for expenses and don't forget to save your receipts and write everything on the chart. Hope this helps :)

Spread the Wealth  

I would use something like a bulletin board to make a noticeable place for my monthly budget chart. Needs books would dominate the top of the budget chart. I would then put wants on the bottom of the page only to be supplied when the needs are funded. Once my budget gets going, I can change it to better serve my new school goals.

I would check my bank accounts every month making sure my budget proves successful. If I am lagging on money, I would cut finances for a want and use the money to replace the account's loss. Nobody wants to be low on cash because of having too many hamburgers at McDonald's.

The Savings account is important to have growing at a continual rate. If I were to have money left over from a need, then it would go into savings.

You don't need to be the king of Persia spending all of your money.

Questions

Thank you for your participation!

I hope this information has given you some useful tips. If you have any suggestions for future seminar topics, please see Mrs. Edwards or another Student Support Services staff member.

If you are viewing this workshop online, please come by Student Support Services, 109 Eldridge Hall, and complete an Academic Seminar Evaluation form, so that we may have documentation of your program participation. You may also print this form online.

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