College Student Credit Card Debt

Creating a budget as a college student can be tricky because you have a lot of expenses to keep track of, but never fear, it is doable!  Every college student needs to start with a basic understanding of how much money will be available each month and the amount to be spent on each expense.  Keep in mind that checkbooks are a good way to keep track of expenses and record-keeping (and they keep you from the temptation to use your credit card), so a checkbook might be a good thing to use for your expenses.

So, here’s some overall tips for creating a budget:

Write it down – Remember the old adage “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”?  That adage applies to budgeting, so write your budget down, and keep track of your expenses on paper!

OK, so how do you write a budget?  First, we recommend that you budget for a specific time period… let’s do a month.  Start with your income.  If you have a part-time job, write down the income you receive from your job.  If you go to school full-time, write down any money you receive from grants, scholarships, parents, etc. for that month.  Once you have your total income, list your expenses.  Expenses include food, rent, utilities, transportation, debt payments, insurance, clothing, etc.   Once you have the total of both income and expenses you are good to go.

Spend less than you earn

This is the tough one!  Look at your budget, if your expenses are greater than your income, see if there is something you can cut back on.  Maybe this means buying some “gently” used clothes or used textbooks, whatever it means to keep a balanced budget.  If you find your budget impossible to balance, don’t put your extra expenses on a credit card.  Instead, look into taking out a low-interest student loan or finding another source of funding.  If you can avoid student credit card debt, you will be glad you did once you graduate!