Managing money as a college student is not an easy task. As you start your college journey, there are many activities to manage such as school work, extracurriculars, social life, etc. Most students quickly learn that it is essential to be cautious of the money you spend in order to continue with daily activities. Here we will tell you three easy steps to budget your money in order to get the full college experience and take off stress.
Gather your financial details
This is an important first step in order to understand how much money you will be spending. You can do this by talking with your parents, checking your bank account cash flow, and searching for scholarships and grants that your university offers. By gathering all of this information, it will allow you to see exactly how much money you will have to manage.
Predict and Plan your Expenses
This includes anticipating how much money you will be spending on rent, food, textbooks, clothing, transportation, and extra cash for fun. Having a clear understanding of what you have to and would like to spend your money on will help you form a direct plan. This will help you stay cautious of where your money will be spent while at school.
Track Your Spending
This is an important final step in budgeting your money as you will need to keep track of all your expenses. By doing this, you can see exactly where you spend your money in case you need to reevaluate your spending. This helps to see where you can cut back or have room to spend more.
As a college student, it’s been difficult to balance studying with managing my finances. Being a student living in Berkeley, it’s also hard to fight cravings for late night boba or ramen, which can add up fairly quickly if done too often. Since I love reading Refinery29’s Money Diary series, I decided to do one of my own. Looking back and seeing my expenses for the week really helped me open my eyes to my spending habits so that I know how to better manage my finances in the future.
Day One
I woke up right before logging onto zoom for my morning class and had two shots of espresso with dairy-free creamer. I am addicted to caffeine so I purchase a bulk pack of Nespresso pods from Amazon ($1.50/pod = $3)
I ordered some necessities from Target since I was running low on dental floss and facial cleanser. I also ordered some mouthwash and toothpaste since I would run out of those things eventually. ($30)
I also decided to purchase a new workout set from Girlfriend Collective. I have a set in black from them already, so I know that I love their fit and quality. I went for a matching sports bra and legging set in moss green. ($100)
Day Two
I knew today would be really busy for me, so I braced myself for a day of classes and meetings with another cup of doubleshot espresso with creamer, courtesy of my housemate’s Nespresso machine. ($3)
I grabbed lunch and dinner at the dining hall during my short breaks since I have an off-campus meal plan. I don’t know how to cook, and I don’t have a car so going out to buy groceries is often a pain for me. Each meal comes out to an average of $9 or less. ($18)
Day Three
It was another busy day for me that started off with a doubleshot and creamer. ($3)
After a morning class and meeting with my college advisor, I had to hop on Amazon and order a new office chair for my desk. I’ve been borrowing my housemate’s chair since they don’t use it, but it’s too uncomfortable. I used an Amazon gift card so the total was less than I expected. ($18)
Then I grabbed lunch, which was sun-dried tomato pasta, tri-tip, and seasoned cabbage. ($8)
Day Four
I’m taking a class about Wall Street this semester, so everyone is talking about Reddit’s power on the stock market. After browsing some subreddits for a bit, I noticed that DogeCoin was getting some attention. DogeCoin has interested me for a while, so I decided to put a little money in just to see what would happen. ($10)
For dinner, I couldn’t resist the temptation of spicy ramen and milk tea. Before my last class of the week, I placed an order for red tonkatsu ramen and a black tea latte at my favorite ramen place across the street. No regrets. ($15)
Day Five
It’s the weekend! The day escaped me, as I took the time to recharge and relax. One huge perk of living in Berkeley is that so many restaurants are open late at night. I went out for a late night snack and grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza and a banana cream pie milkshake. ($14)
Day Six
I got breakfast with a friend at a cafe across the street from my apartment. They do really good eggs, so I went with an eggs benedict with french toast and fruit. ($15)
Later in the day, I got a taro boba as a reward to myself! I also got red tonkatsu ramen again since the cravings were overpowering my sense of self-control. ($15)
Day Seven
Rent is due today. I have autopay so I don’t have to worry about it, but I log into the payment portal anyway just to make sure my payment went through. ($650)
For lunch, I picked up a sandwich at a cafe on campus using my meal plan points. The sandwiches there are pretty good, but they are only a tad more expensive than picking up a meal at the dining hall. I got a salmon and coleslaw sandwich on a brioche bun. ($12)
