MCU: StartPoint (sm) - Budgeting at School

Budgeting For School

Don't let that early river run dry.

It's August and you're ready to head off to college and move into the dorm. You've been working all summer and saving your money for school. Then your student loan checks arrive and you put those into your account too. You're flush. You have never had this much cash before. So... what to buy?

Not so fast! Making a budget will help be sure that the money keeps flowing all semester long. To make your budget sit down and take a few notes:

Fixed Expenses

These are the expenses you HAVE to pay and usually on some kind of schedule. Examples include: tuition (although maybe mom and dad might cover this one); car payments and insurance; meals (in case your meal plan skips a couple); phone bills; etc.

Variable Expenses

These are the expenses you choose to pay based on stuff you like to do. Examples include: pizza, drinks, CDs, football/basketball tickets, extra clothes, parties, road trips, etc.

Now if you have not been to college yet, some of these will be estimates. But you probably have done some similar things with your current friends - ask yourself, "what did that cost?" - and you should be able to make an educated guess.

After you have your list of expenses add them up based on a monthly spending habit. This totals your monthly expenses. Multiply that number by the number of months in the semester and boom, that'll give you roughly what you are planning to spend over the semester.

The next step is to turn your month into a pie chart. Divide up the pieces of your list for a single month. Total your fixed expenses - the rest gets divided up between each of the activities in your variable expenses list. Step back and take a look. Are you spending too much on music or pizza? This allows you to visualize your wallet, balance your spending, and gives you general ideas where you might need to cut back to make your money last all semester.

Last of all remember that budgets change. When you get to college you will find things you love to do that you never knew about before. And they may cost money. Adjust your budget every few weeks to keep yourself on target.