When I first came to Lovely Professional University, I experienced how it feels to manage your life independently. Navigating to a new campus environment, social lives, taking care of myself and keeping up with academics often consumed more of my time than I realised. Hustling through my new and adventurous phase of life, I forgot about the expenses until one day when I tracked my account balance. The cringing expression on my face reflected my falling economy, not to mention way faster than I expected.
Later that week I decided to set up a budget. Honestly, I failed. But as I realised how things can be a lot simple and manageable if I just calculate my daily expenses and spend accordingly. I can buy that new pair of sneakers and go for a trip without thinking twice. Now, I am in my sophomore year and here are 5 things I learned about budgeting –
Spend on the Right Things and only on what’s necessary
Naturally, college students shouldn’t use their scholarship money to fund Domino’s pizza night in their hostel rooms, but the temptation is a very powerful thing. Take the time to realise the importance of using debt wisely. Even if loans look like “free money” now, they come back to bite you back. It’s your job as an independent individual to define what is okay and what isn’t okay for you to use loan money for.
Fund Extras with a Job
If you want to fund a social life, it should be done with a part-time job, rather than you using your scholarship money. Work-study jobs usually offer the flexibility a student needs with the convenience of internships, while an off-campus job is also a great option for exposure. Either way, you can go with “pay now” policy for nonessential purchases so that you don’t have to really pay for them later.
Set Financial Limits
One way to help your first-year spending is to set financial limits for the unnecessary items. Setting a limit doesn’t always prevent you from making impulse purchases, but it should give you a pause to your splurge and think whether or not the new iPhoneX is really necessary.
Use Online Services
We are never likely to sit down and go over finances on an Excel spreadsheet – especially when we have so many more options. Instead, set yourself with an online service or app that makes money management easy and simple. After all, the smartphone is practically glued to our hands anyway.
Borrow When Required
Every student doesn’t have a financially stable family and it’s all right to understand the limitations. If you are taking out student loans, remind yourself that the amount borrowed should be only be used for things that are necessary. Taking out more cash to spend on extravagant college lifestyle might seem to lure you, but could become a serious problem later. As a fresher, you should start a pattern of living frugally now and avoid paying interest on things like a bigger hostel room or weekend parties that are way too costly.
