How to live on a budget

Whether it’s the nagging parents, juggling expenses or developing good monetary habits—money management and budgeting in college affects everyone.

For some students, it’s having parents constantly nagging them to watch their spending, stay on budget, stop wasting money on going out to eat and useless stuff and many other complaints. For others, those students who aren’t monetarily supported by their parents, this act of personal budgeting and staying within one’s limits, may be more familiar. Nonetheless, there are many ways to cut corners and save money, while still attending events and not missing out on fun times. These cost saving measures may just not be so obvious.

“I probably should be on a budget, I spend money on things I don’t need…I need a job so I can buy what I want and that will help me be less dependent on my parents even though I’m not full dependent on them, ” sophomore economics major Melissa Mooney said.

Overspending and thus overdrawing your bank account can be embarrassing; having your credit card declined in front of all of yours friends at dinner just as discomforting.

Planning ahead is probably the most effective and simple way to save money.

The entire process should begin with a basic outline, monthly ongoing fixed expenses should be totaled first (rent, utilities, car expenses) and subtracted from the initial budget, then the remaining, variable expenses should be divided into weekly allotments; smaller and more specific spending.

It is then necessary to decide what things will be a necessity to buy weekly (food, toiletries, gifts) and the same for social and recreation expenses. This monthly exercise will help greatly to keep you budgeted.

Mapping out a simple game plan once a week is a great way to see where money will be going and how much spending can be done in advance.

Pre-determined meals, events, and other activities in advance and setting money aside is the ideal. This only takes maybe ten to fifteen minutes a week to accomplish. Also, once this habit is firmly established, after budgeting for a few months, it’ll only get easier to stay on budget.

“I definitely spend the most money on food but I know how to budget my money. I spent around $35 a week on eating out and other activities,” Junior chemistry major Joey Sennebogen said.

Simply pre-planning meals once a week, before venturing out to the grocery store, will prevent buying unnecessary things.

Remember to never go out shopping hungry. Once your plans are planned and your list is made, finding coupons to use can save even more money. The adage –it’s easier to save money, then make money still hold true!

Also, search around for the cheapest gas prices; there are websites that will tell you the best prices in your area. Dont just fill-up at the most convenient location, five to ten cents on a gallon may seem like nothing but overtime even that adds up; some stores, such as Sam’s club, Costco or even Kroger give you ten cents off a gallon on locations.

Gasoline is expensive, and expected to go up this Spring and Summer, so more students should walk to class and/or carpool instead of driving around searching for a parking spot for fifteen minutes every day.

“I get money from my parents but I’m good at budgeting it. My parents give me x amount of money every two weeks and it’s too bad if I spend it all the first week,” junior special education major Sara Landers said.

Lastly, everything eventually goes on sale. There are best times of year to buy anything, why pay full price for clothes, electronics, vacations or even text books if you can save money simply by purchasing them at a certain time.

Technology is making it even easier with applications on phones and devices that once a barcode is scanned for an item, it will tell you if it’s cheaper at another store nearby. With websites such as Groupon (Google and Amazon are also both launching similar sites) you get a daily coupon, if activated by a certain number of people; it is usually for a variety of local businesses and services, you can save up to 70 percent off.

Budgeting is a way to design a realistic plan for spending and expenses. All of the money saved could be spent on something more worthwhile.

It also firmly establishes positive life-long habits. Founding father Ben Franklin, over 200 years ago had it right…“a penny saved is a penny earned.”