Basic Money Management
One of the most basic money management techniques is learning how to budget properly.
Establishing and following a budget is a new experience for many college students.
Creating a budget involves coming up with a plan for managing your income and expenses.
To create a budget, you first need to begin by listing all of your fixed monthly
expenses. Depending on your situation, your fixed expenses may include rent, car
payment, cell phone bill, utilities, etc. You will also need to document your income.
It is important to note when your bills are due and when your income is expected
to arrive so that you can make sure funds will be available to pay your bills in
a timely manner.
The next thing you will need to do is notate your mandatory variable expenses, such
as groceries and fuel. You can allocate dollar values to these items, based on (a)
the amount of income you have left after your fixed expenses are accounted for and
(b) what you really need to spend for these expenses.
If you don’t have enough money to cover your fixed and variable expenses,
you need to investigate obtaining an additional source of income. If you have money
left over, those funds represent your disposable income and can be saved or used
for non-essential and/or emergency expenses.
The personal money management skills that you learn in college will be beneficial
to you throughout your lifetime.