You may have had a part-time job in high school and you may feel you can manage your finances, but when you get to college, there will be a lot of new places to spend money and a lot of temptation. If you are like most college students, your spending money is limited and you have to use it wisely. If you don’t believe that your bills can add up quickly, consider that the average undergraduate student has four credit cards and over two thousand dollars in debt. The average graduate student has nearly $6,000 in debt. These averages do not include student loan debt, so you can see that your bills can add up pretty fast!
Consider that if you buy a cup of coffee each day before class, you might spend $50 per month in coffee expense. Maybe you’d better buy a coffee maker!
Here are a few things you can do to prepare for those money management decisions:
Do Your Homework – Talk to your parents, siblings and others you know who went to college. Ask them how they manage money now and what they experienced when they were your age. What lessons did they learn that you can learn without making the same mistakes? You can even get a basic book on money management and read it to get some ideas about how to handle your money, and save it for those things you really want or need.
Ask for Help – Ask someone to help you put together a budget. Consider all the income you have, e.g. money in the bank, scholarship money, etc., and all the expenses you will have, e.g. gas money, movie night money, etc., and put together a budget. Be realistic so you can stick to that budget throughout the year. Here are the things you may or will need to include:
| Income | Expenses |
| From Jobs | Rent (for off campus apartment) |
| From Parents | Utilities (if this applies) |
| Miscellaneous Income (gifts, etc.) | Telephone (monthly cell bill etc) |
| Groceries for room | |
| Car Payment, Gas or transportation | |
| Insurance | |
| Sundries for room (shampoo, soap) | |
| Entertainment (video, movies, etc.) | |
| Dining out and/or vending machine | |
| Books or other fees | |
| Computer fees | |
| Laundry | |
| Miscellaneous |
Be on the lookout for ways to save money. Restaurants and other merchants in college towns will typically offer student discounts and coupons for services and products. Take advantage of those. Buy used books for class work, instead of new books. Rent a movie and get a pizza instead of going out to a more expensive theater and restaurant. Look for free and inexpensive events on campus for entertainment. Share the task and expense of driving your car so that every time you go out you choose a different person to use their car and gas. Find the closest discount store and shop there for sundries instead of buying things in your school bookstore or concession.
With some planning, a budget and a little self control, you can graduate from college without incurring the national debt