Back To Campus : Creating a Budget in College + Printables

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As college students, it’s hard out here. I believe whether you have a part time job or receiving an allowance from your parents, learning how to properly manage what you have is highly important.

Let’s be real right quick! I’m not perfect when it comes to handling money. My account over-drafted more times than I could count, and I’ve made $5 last a whole week. With every experience, I have had to learn from my mistakes and correct them in order to improve.

I understand everyone is faced with different circumstances and, this is not a “YOU HAVE TO  ” follow step by step in order to succeed type of post. Like the saying “Eat the meat, spit out the bones”: meaning take any parts of this post that you seem fit and leave what you don’t.

1. 1. Edit Bank Statements: Ever receive your paycheck and two days later you find yourself looking at your bank account sideways like, ” where the hell did my money go?”.One day I decided I wanted to physically see how my hard earned money was being spent. As scary as it might be, I decided to print out three months of my bank statements. I took three highlighters and highlighted my bills in one color. My automatic payments in the second color; like Netflix, Spotify, Blog Host. Everything else in the third color; like how many times I was loading my Starbucks card. Girl, I was out here spending close to $100 dollars a month on Starbucks.
   2. Cut out Unnecessary Bills: There are things we have the ability to control and others not so much. You can’t control your rent, your tuition dues, but you can control your phone bill amount, your grocery bill…etc. With Wifi being available almost everywhere you go, do you really need such a high data plan? Instead of spending $100 dollars a week on groceries that you most likely not going to eat, spend less and buy in small portions.
   3. Live within your means: We are all out here tryna look our best, stay on trend and be on the scene, but is it worth it if you have to eat cup noodles for a whole week. College is all about having fun, making memories and experiences. I say: don’t limit yourself but don’t go broke trying to keep up. As a student, there are many clothing stores offering discounts on trendy clothes and the hottest shoes. Check out my post on stores that offer student discounts HERE.
   4. No. Is a full sentence: Set a budget for fun things, like going out to eat with your friends, attending a party or a weekend getaway. If you get invited to something that seems to be out of your budget, simply say no. Don’t ever feel like you have to explain yourself, and there will always be a next time.
   5. Save for it: If your squad wants to go to Mexico for spring break, and you know its out of your budget, get a side gig or an extra part time job and save up for it.

Always keep in mind that everything doesn’t always go as planned, some months, you might experience some inconveniences that may break your budget, but don’t give up.

I work really hard to make these, please use for personal use ONLY.

FREE STUFF!

I’ve provided a FREE printable of a budget sheet which you can download and print out for yourself. Along with a ” Grocery Budget List” and a BONUS “Daily To Do List” sheet.

I hope this post was super useful and informative. If you found it to be helpful, feel free to share it with other and spread the wealth.