by Suzanne Rose

Created on: January 22, 2010

It can be difficult to manage your finances while you are in college.  For some, they have been accustomed to Mommy and Daddy taking care of all of the money matters and only now just starting to be independent.  For many they have little to no income coming in and so they must make do on a very small budget.  There are different things that you can do to make the most out of your financial situation.  The following are some tips to managing your finances in college.

Make a budget.  No matter how much – or how little – money that you have coming in, you will want to make a budget.  Decide how much you have to spend on different items and where you will spend the funds that you do have.  If you go over in one area, try to figure out a place from which you will deduct to make up for it.  A budget can help in different ways. 

First, it helps make sure that you do not spend all of your money on things that you want and then run out of money when it comes time for things that you need.  For instance, you will save some of the money for grocery shopping instead of spending it all on going out to eat. 

Next, making a budget helps keep you from getting into trouble by going into debt or going beyond your credit.  Many people are in debt right now.  You may be so too because of college loans, but those might be debt that isn’t too bad with low interest rates.  The debts that you get from credit cards might have gigantic interest rates, and sometimes it becomes a spiral that is difficult to crawl out of.  The budget will help you avoid this.

Another thing that will help you manage your finances is to have a consultation with one of the financial advisors on campus to make sure that you are getting all of the money available.  Many college students are eligible for money from a wide variety of sources, including grants, scholarships and even very low-interest loans.  A financial advisor can often help you maximize the amount of money that you can get.  Some of them might be able to provide more in-depth help depending on the school and the amount of students.  By being careful with your money and maximizing your income, you will have the best chance of having sound finances as you journey through your college years.

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